Onsite Stay perks

[kylenne]

I like to take midday breaks at my hotel when at WDW, so proximity to my room from parks (deluxe resorts) or not having to drive/park multiple times per day by using WDW buses (mods/deluxes) make onsite stays worth it to me. I like not having to drive at all when I’m on vacation, so being able to hop on a bus, boat, monorail to go to get back to my room or go to dinner is lovely. I also like the theming at most WDW resorts compared to those offsite.

I have stayed offsite before and I found the parking/driving tedious and very tiring, felt compelled to stay at the parks all day to avoid driving back and forth, and didn’t enjoy hanging out at the hotels (which felt like they could be anywhere). Basically, the savings offsite weren’t so great that they made up for the parts I didn’t enjoy.

I completely agree. Taking midday breaks when staying offsite is especially onerous on MK days, which is bad because I feel MK is when I most need those breaks. My last offsite stay was at the Sheraton Vistana, which was lovely and not too far, but I swore never again.

 

[Disney Bubble Lover]

I agree that the perks do not have the same financial value that they did even a few years ago. Everyone has different priorities in what they value for lodging/amenities, transportation and location so determining if a cost is “worth it” will be different for everyone.

I personally love being in the “bubble” and that immersive feeling is something I’m willing to pay a little extra for as it’s uniquely Disney. If the values/moderates ever reach our breaking point I honestly think we may stop going as, for our family, the “bubble” is as much a part of the experience as the parks.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Some really good posts here. I don't have anything new to add, but my favorite perks when we stay at Yacht Club are the great pool, the view of Crescent Lake/Boardwalk, and being able to walk to Epcot and in a pinch Hollywood Studios.

 

[joedplumber]

We always drive from NE to WDW so we always have a car. Am I an odd ball, since when we stayed onsite we still drove to all the parks? lol

Anyway, we loved staying onsite but eventually needed more space. We have since made WBC (2 bedroom) our home for WDW. We are very happy and don't feel we miss any of the onsite perks as we have been reusing or disney bands for years now.

I think the onsite vs. offsite is very personal based on what you want out of it.

 

[crvetter]

I will add the rumor is that Disney has now decided to stop offering EMH in the evening at MK and replaced it with a morning EMH for only 1 hour starting in October. These were held on Wednesdays but now looking in October it is showing to be a morning EMH instead.

 

[kylenne]

We always drive from NE to WDW so we always have a car. Am I an odd ball, since when we stayed onsite we still drove to all the parks? lol

I don’t think that’s weird at all. On my family trips as a kid, we always rented a car. Granted we stayed at the Dolphin a lot, but the only park we didn’t drive to was Epcot. (In those days, they had a tram that took you to the IG from the Crescent Lake resorts!) My mom just liked the freedom of having our own transportation.

 

[gmorales29]

If you can’t come up with any other advantages to staying onsite then don’t try to convince yourself to do so. Save yourself a heap of cash and stay offsite.

Everyone has their own list of pros and cons and makes their decisions based on their own situation. Sprinkle in some pixy dust and ....

I totally agree with this! Our next trip will be my first official on-site trip (previously trips were at Dolphin/Swan) in ~15 years & this time the airport transportation pushed us in the on-site direction (no worrying about car seats for little ones). I think if my kids were older, we'd go back to the Swan for the savings or maybe try Waldorf Astoria -- especially if they had the 60-day FP window.

 

[Searc]

I totally agree with this! Our next trip will be my first official on-site trip (previously trips were at Dolphin/Swan) in ~15 years & this time the airport transportation pushed us in the on-site direction (no worrying about car seats for little ones). I think if my kids were older, we'd go back to the Swan for the savings or maybe try Waldorf Astoria -- especially if they had the 60-day FP window.

Waldorf does have the 60 day window. It was (very) recently added.

ETA link ~https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...icial-walt-disney-world-hotels-with-benefits/

 

[gratefulfred]

Well to the “offsite” hotels that currently have access to 60 day FastPasses is the Disney Springs hotel. Rumor is (though not confirmed yet) is the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria will get the 60 days. All these hotels are technically on Disney property. Also Shades of Green has access.

As for Magic Hours all the hotels above have access to them.

As for staying on site you have proximity and transportation and no resort fee (those hotels, except Shades of Green, charge a daily resort fee). Those would be the biggest perks in my opinion. You also pay to park at the resort but not at the Park. The hotels mentioned above have to pay at both.

Also the Swan and Dolphin share a special relationship with Disney and has most of the perks aside from magical express and room charging. It does have access Disney provides transportation to the parks.

Your paying a daily parking fee to park. It doesn’t matter where your car is your still paying. They just haven’t started to double charge yet by making you pay again for moving your car to a theme park lot, won’t surprise me when they do though.

 

[Farro]

In my head, on-site to me is a WDW vacation. Completely Disney focused, Disney touches, Disney feel - we stay at Epcot resort area, completely immersed. The hotel for us at this point is just as (if not more) important than the parks.

If we ever stayed off-site, it would be a Orlando/Florida vacation that wouldn't be Disney focused, but rather all Orlando attractions.

 

[gratefulfred]

I will add the rumor is that Disney has now decided to stop offering EMH in the evening at MK and replaced it with a morning EMH for only 1 hour starting in October. These were held on Wednesdays but now looking in October it is showing to be a morning EMH instead.

We drive to Disney and use the car to go to the parks, it’s quicker and much more comfortable than the buses except for MK where sometimes it’s not quicker but still more comfortable. The evening emh was the last perk that made it worthwhile to stay onsite. If this rumor becomes reality there is no reason for me to stay in a $250+ a night motel.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

In my head, on-site to me is a WDW vacation. Completely Disney focused, Disney touches, Disney feel - we stay at Epcot resort area, completely immersed. The hotel for us at this point is just as (if not more) important than the parks.

If we ever stayed off-site, it would be a Orlando/Florida vacation that wouldn't be Disney focused, but rather all Orlando attractions.

This is sort of where I'm at. We stayed at Yacht Club our last 3-4 trips, and the ability to walk to Epcot and walk/boat to DHS is a huge plus for us, plus the pool is awesome. Being able to see the Epcot fireworks from the resort pool, walk over to the Boardwalk area, and like you say stay immersed in Disney are all "perks." I don't really view the Disney buses as a perk because i hate riding them, but they might be better than having to drive to a park. We did really enjoy the evening EMH and I hate to see those go away. I'm not a huge fan of the new FP system generally, but I do think the Disney resort guests should have first pick since you pay so much more, but if we don't that's probably not enough to drive me away.

Ultimately, if I stop visiting Disney it will be because we want to stay onsite, and the prices are simply outpacing the value/fun of a Disney vacation. We booked a room at Epcot for next May and it is almost $800 a night just for the room. The resort discounts or free dining used to offset that, but I've had very little luck getting either of those the last couple of trips. Have to say I'm about at the point that I'm not going to spend well over $10k for a trip in which the parks are packed and I get three fastpasses or have to stand in line for 30 minutes just to ride A Small World.

 

[Farro]

This is sort of where I'm at. We stayed at Yacht Club our last 3-4 trips, and the ability to walk to Epcot and walk/boat to DHS is a huge plus for us, plus the pool is awesome. Being able to see the Epcot fireworks from the resort pool, walk over to the Boardwalk area, and like you say stay immersed in Disney are all "perks." I don't really view the Disney buses as a perk because i hate riding them, but they might be better than having to drive to a park. We did really enjoy the evening EMH and I hate to see those go away. I'm not a huge fan of the new FP system generally, but I do think the Disney resort guests should have first pick since you pay so much more, but if we don't that's probably not enough to drive me away. Ultimately, if I stop visiting Disney it will be because we want to stay onsite, and the prices are simply outpacing the value. We booked a room at Epcot for next May and it is almost $800 a night just for the room. The resort discounts or free dining used to offset that, but I've had very little luck getting either of those the last couple of trips. Have to say I'm about at the point where I'm not going to spend well more than $10k for a trip where the parks are packed and I get three fastpasses or have to stand in line for 30 minutes plus for A Small World.

Can I ask where you booked? And for this May or 2020? We booked for 2020 at Boardwalk with a water/boardwalk view and it's $670 or so a night (or more, but under $700) - but that's the highest rack rate of the entire year because we booked room only at 499 days, so price will change for early May, although with yearly increase it may be a wash...I do have an AP, maybe a small discount!

 

[cmwade77]

Ok, so here are the benefits that are exclusive to staying onsite:

• Disney Owned Hotel Exclusives
  • Officially Listed Perks:
    • Magical Express
      • Free Luggage Delivery from airport, but with most airlines, you can have them delivered for $40 for up to the first two bags, then $10 more per additional bag using Bags VIP, which is the same service Disney uses.
    • Dining Plan
    • Airline Resort Check-in and checked luggage handling from front desk
      • In all fairness, some non-Disney hotels also offer similar services.
    • Free Magic Bands
      • Debatable if this is a perk or not though given how many issues they cause.
    • Charging Privileges
      • With the likes of Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. this isn't too much of an advantage anymore and for many even less of one with the new way credit card holds are being placed.
    • Sending purchases back to your resort
      • This can be nice, but you can also send purchases to the front of the park and pick them up at the end of the day, almost as convenient.
  • Other perceived/subjective perks:
    • Disney Transportation back to your resort
      • Some non-Disney owned hotels also offer this, but not all
    • Disney Theming
      • Although this is becoming less and less at many of the resorts, so perhaps the inclusion on this list will be short lived.
• Available to all onsite hotels, including Non-Disney Hotels such as Waldorf Astoria, etc.:
  • Officially Listed Perks:
    • 180+10 Booking Window for ADRs
    • 60 Day Booking Window for FP+
    • Extra Magic Hours
      • These keep getting reduced, so I am assuming that unless there is a major backlash these will no longer be offered at all by the end of next year. They used to be offered virtually every day of the year for at least one park per day.
  • Other perceived/subjective perks:
    
    • Easy midday breaks
    • Escape Reality
    • Still can stay within the "Disney Bubble"

Perks do keep diminishing and the exclusiveness of them has been diminishing as well, look at pool hours for an example, it used to be that many of the quiet pools were open 24 hours a day, now they all close by 10PM - Midnight. Fewer and fewer extra magic hours, etc.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Can I ask where you booked? And for this May or 2020? We booked for 2020 at Boardwalk with a water/boardwalk view and it's $670 or so a night (or more, but under $700) - but that's the highest rack rate of the entire year because we booked room only at 499 days, so price will change for early May, although with yearly increase it may be a wash...I do have an AP, maybe a small discount!

Sure, booked Yacht Club from May 5-14 2020. But after looking back at my reservation I realized the total amount is a bit higher because we have 4 adults in the room, so we are paying an extra $70 a night (I think it is $35 per extra adult) for that. One night's deposit was $740 (I thought it was more like $780 but was off there too). So I'll have to revise to say the room itself is close to $700. Glad you asked!

 

[Farro]

@GeorgiaHoo We'll be at Boardwalk May 6-15 2020! I'll wave at you from across the pond!

 

[gratefulfred]

Ok, so here are the benefits that are exclusive to staying onsite:

• Disney Owned Hotel Exclusives
  • Officially Listed Perks:
    • Magical Express
      • Free Luggage Delivery from airport, but with most airlines, you can have them delivered for $40 for up to the first two bags, then $10 more per additional bag using Bags VIP, which is the same service Disney uses.
    • Dining Plan
    • Airline Resort Check-in and checked luggage handling from front desk
      • In all fairness, some non-Disney hotels also offer similar services.
    • Free Magic Bands
      • Debatable if this is a perk or not though given how many issues they cause.
    • Charging Privileges
      • With the likes of Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. this isn't too much of an advantage anymore and for many even less of one with the new way credit card holds are being placed.
    • Sending purchases back to your resort
      • This can be nice, but you can also send purchases to the front of the park and pick them up at the end of the day, almost as convenient.
  • Other perceived/subjective perks:
    • Disney Transportation back to your resort
      • Some non-Disney owned hotels also offer this, but not all
    • Disney Theming
      • Although this is becoming less and less at many of the resorts, so perhaps the inclusion on this list will be short lived.
• Available to all onsite hotels, including Non-Disney Hotels such as Waldorf Astoria, etc.:
  • Officially Listed Perks:
    • 180+10 Booking Window for ADRs
    • 60 Day Booking Window for FP+
    • Extra Magic Hours
      • These keep getting reduced, so I am assuming that unless there is a major backlash these will no longer be offered at all by the end of next year. They used to be offered virtually every day of the year for at least one park per day.
  • Other perceived/subjective perks:
    • Easy midday breaks
    • Escape Reality
    • Still can stay within the "Disney Bubble"

Perks do keep diminishing and the exclusiveness of them has been diminishing as well, look at pool hours for an example, it used to be that many of the quiet pools were open 24 hours a day, now they all close by 10PM - Midnight. Fewer and fewer extra magic hours, etc.

I always thought anyone could make adr’s 180 days out even if not staying onsite.

 

[pixiedustedme]

I always thought anyone could make adr’s 180 days out even if not staying onsite.

They can. Onsite guests get up to an additional 10 days in advance of that. Exactly how many days in advance of that is based on your length of stay. That's why that poster wrote 180+10.

 

[gratefulfred]

They can. Onsite guests get up an additional 10 days in advance of that. Exactly how many days in advance of that is based on your length of stay. That's why that poster wrote 180+10.

Ok it’s the +10 I wasn’t getting. Thank you for responding so quick

 

[pixiedustedme]

I was going to send Disney an email but I knew I would get the generic response so what's the point. What really is the advantage of staying onsite?
Now have to pay to park
Now have many "offsite" hotels able to book FP at 60 days making it harder to get FP

Really the only thing I can think of, is the extra magic hour.

Can you think of anything else?

The only resorts that are now worth it to us are the deluxe resorts. They are each very close to one of the parks. They each are creatively themed and beautiful. They each have wonderful pools. They keep you seemlessly immersed in the Disney experience throughout your vacation. The advantages to the resorts imo are primarily involved with being at the resorts themselves, more than they relate to the park experience.

EMHs, where you can still get them, are an advantage. (I really miss those long summer night EMHs!) If you stay club level, there can be FP perks in relation to that. The ease of not having to provide your own transportation, even to or from the airport, is an advantage.

We like the Disney bubble, so we prefer to stay onsite. That said, we're really becoming more oriented towards the Disney deluxe resorts & Disney cruises, and are less into the parks themselves than we used to be. My son is now a teenager, and the DCL cruises allow us to combine real travel with the Disney experience, while the resorts are a place for us to enjoy a peaceful & mindless vacation, in which we swim and hang out a lot, and visit the parks on the side.