Onsite vs offsite

[Andy Lou & Meg]

Having booked almost a year ago for this years trip in Sept I am now starting to plan next years trip at the end of May.

I was hoping that you could give me some good arguments about onsite vs offsite.

Both last year and this year we are staying on I drive but I am now thinking it would be nice to stay in the magic.

With this in mind please also be aware that we would go to both Universal and IOA possibly Busch and maybe seaworld and also pop to premium outlets.

Hoping that many of you experienced ones can give me your thoughts.

 

[carolfoy]

Dear Andy, Lou and Meg I can't be a great deal of help but thought I'd give you my input. I've stayed off site twice and have booked again for November, this time in the All Stars, am SO excited about staying on site as resort guests do seem to have so much more on offer and knowing you can relax and get around the resorts so easily without ever having to bother driving is, in my mind, worth a great deal. sort through the discussion boards and you'll see so many recreational activities that are just so much more available to you when you're a few minutes away. Oh, and the new extra magic 3 hours extra is a definate bonus. good luck in deciding

 

[KayleeUK]

Andy

I can only give my opinion of staying on site as I have never stayed off site. Here are a few of the reasons why I enjoy staying on property.

I love the theming of the resorts we have stayed at Caribbean Beach, Boardwalk Villa's and Old Key West. Very different themes for each of these but all lovely.

As previously mentioned - Extra Magic Hour. On selected day's an hour extra in the mornings and three hours extra at night.

Transportation - I love travelling on the buses, monorails and boats to get to the park it becomes part of the experience.

Dining - although you can dine at any of the resorts staying off site it is lovely to stop off at a resort restaurant on your way home.

Location, Location, Location - staying at the Boardwalk we stroll to Epcot in the morning and perhaps take the Friendship boat to Disney Studios. I am looking forward to staying at Wilderness Lodge to get the little boat over to the Magic Kingdom. I think I would be at my element staying at a Monorail resort

Package delivery to your room - nice to buy things during your day and have them delivered to your room rather that wait until the end of the day to do your shopping.

This is our first trip with a car this year, which I am happy about. We are going to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel for a couple of day's and are going to tie that in with doing a bit of shopping at the Malls. We have ventured off site on our trips before using Mears shuttles/lynx buses.

I hope some of this helps you with your decision

 

[the kabuki]

There was a thread not too long ago staying onsite vs. offsite. You'll find the majority of the people prefer staying onsite. IMHO, staying onsite is so much better. We stayed offsite only once and never again. Just don't get the total disney feeling staying offsite. We didn't use the buses as we had a rental, but even without taking advantage of the buses , the whole experience is just totally different. We did US also, not a big deal getting there from a disney hotel.

 

[orangebreezer]

I have never stayed on site, nor do I think I ever would. I can imagine if the resorts have half the attention to detail that the theme parks do they must be amazing, but I don't like to be tied to one area. I like the freedom of staying off site and the differant atmosphere. As much as I love Disney I should imagine I would get a bit sick of the sweetness after 2 weeks. Plus there is the difference in price. A hotel room is just a bed to me and all that extra detailing would be lost on me. I really don't think you get value for money for the extra you pay to stay on site. All of this is just my personal opinion. I have friends who have stayed on site and would never contenplate staying anywhere else. Guess you have to deciede what you want from the holiday and what suits you and your family

 

[Cyrano]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in
Does the length of stay that people go for have have any bearing on whether off or on-site?
Anyone done a mixture of both on the same holiday?

Reid

 

[AndRu]

Well, even though I love Disney, I wouldn't want to stay on site. I also love Mars bars but I wouldn't want to eat one three times a day as they're too sweet and I'd soon get fed up of 'em.

Disney is a magical place and one that I love going back to but staying onsite would be a bit too, er 'sweet'. Can you have too much of the same thing? I think so. I haven't stayed onsite so cannot speak from personal experience but from the things I've read and people I know who've stayed within Disney, it can be a little, for want of a better word, suffocating. It can also be expensive if you stay onsite without self-catering facilities. After our visits to Disney restaurants and food courts, I can imagine that you'd be spending a large amount on food & drink.

Our last two trips to Orlando have been to a private villa with its own pool. That's a big plus from the start. Yes, Disney (and other hotels) have pools but there is nothing like having your own, if only for 2 weeks. Our children had a bedroom each which meant we had some privacy and time to ourselves in the evenings. The villa also meant that if we wanted beans on toast, a sandwich or even a fully blown meal we could as we had a fully fitted kitchen. Not to mention the use of a washing machine, tumble dryer and dish washer. I dread to think how much four bedrooms and a kitchen would cost within the confines of WDW. Lets put it this way, it'd be a lot more than what we paid for the 2 weeks in the villa.

Finally, there is so much more to being in Florida than 'Just Disney'. I know this is a Disney board and my sentiments are probably seen as blasphemous. If I have offended anybody then I apologise. I do love Disney for the way it makes me feel but to stay there for the duration of a holiday would be over-the-top. Staying offsite gives you more of a chance to sample other restaurants, shops and attractions outside of the Disney influence. If you're onsite then you'd be more likely to stay within Disney and not stray. Which is, when it comes down to a purely business level, what they (Disney Ltd) want. Your money staying inside Disney and not going into the pockets of others. That would be the same of any business around the world be it the Alton Towers hotel, casino's in Las Vegas or a B&B in Blackpool!

So, it's up to individual choice based on the experience you want and how much you're willing to pay for it. Personally, I prefer the freedom of staying offsite and enjoying the huge variety that Florida has to offer.

 

[Miffy2003]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in
Does the length of stay that people go for have have any bearing on whether off or on-site?
Anyone done a mixture of both on the same holiday?

Reid

I've seen people speak highly of doing a week on I Drive (or thereabouts) to do Seaword, US & IOA for example and then go onto Disney for the second week - best of both worlds I've not done this myself though.

I've done offsite twice and onsite. For me personally there is no comparison - nothing matches the onsite experience. Totally understand what you mean about it being too "sweet" to cope with 24/7 but we didn't find this at all (we stayed in a Value) and unfortunately were extremely disappointed with our hotel on the coast after we left WDW (in comparison).

Why?

Love the transport. No need to drive - unless you want to - so those drinkies in Epcot are not a problem
The level of service is fantastic
Early Magic Hour - even better now you get 3 hours in the evening too!
Sending packages back to resort - this is a small perk (& I know WDW do it for their own benefit, LOL) but nice not to have to cart stuff around
Themeing - just brilliant.

If I wanted more than just a hotel room though (for example a villa) I would probably choose to be offsite as the only option onsite is DVC which is pricey (in terms of points / money) if you want larger accommodations.

 

[tartangirl]

We always stay off-site and there are two reasons why we do this - DS and DD.

The basic fact is that 4 of us in a single room just wouldn't work so it's not so much staying on-site that we opt to avoid but rather staying in a hotel.

With villas being so cheap and so well equipped in Florida I couldn't imagine us not staying in a villa.

 

[kevin harrison]

I have a friend who visited Florida for 3 weeks staying on-site the whole time and I couldn't believe it when he returned and he told me that they had never once left Disney Word - Insane behaviour!!!

 

[marv]

We have never stayed on site and wont be on our 2006 trip. We like the freedom of our own home from home, with three teenage children staying on site would be very expensive as we would have to have 2 rooms. Even if there was a room to fit us all in i dont think i could cope with bunking up with my kids for 3 weeks.
We loved the feeling of getting back to the villa and getting away from all the excitement and then looking forward to returning to it the next day.
We have always wondered what it would be like to stay on site so the next trip we are having a bit of the disney treatment and finishing of our stay with a 4 night disney cruise.

 

[DisneyBB]

We have stayed both onsite and offsite. If you want a hotel then you cannot beat staying on site, IMHO. If you want space and stay on site then OKW,BWV, BCV and WLV are all great. However you get more value for money staying in a villa off site over the apartments on Disney property.

I would rather have space and if staying off site meant I could have separate bedrooms for the kids and a kitchen, laundry room etc then I would stay offsite. I have done 3 weeks in the ASMu with DH and one DD age3 and I do not want to do it with two DD's.

We have also done a combination and stayed offsite for a few nights followed by Disney for the rest. The hotels in universal are great.

We are lucky we do not have to choose anymore, we bought into DVC and have an apartment in OKW best of both worlds.

 

[allie5]

Its a hard call. We have never stayed onsite, but have a holiday booked this Oct staying at AKL. Having recently come back from 3 weeks in a Villa (which is our usual accomodation) Im having serious second thoughts about the room at AKL.

I do find being a frequent visitor to a few Disney boards that I get carried away with the IDEA of staying onsite, whereas in reality none of the WDW resorts can offer a comfortable room in my budget. With two small children (one of them being "difficult"), ideally, we need 2 rooms. My mum also accompanies us quite a lot (free baby sitting, yay!), so that means 3 rooms! Even if we bought DVC (which we are considering) the points for a 2 bed room are astronomical. For a 2 week stay every year we would need 400/500 points. The service charge on this would cost more than we currently pay for 2 weeks in a 4 bed villa, with our own pool & Spa!

I think if it were just DH and me, we would defo do onsite, for at least part of our stay. We would also consider it when the kids were older say between 6-13, but after that, 2 adults and 2 teens in one room? Nah!

I really think WDW needs some affordable, 2 room family suites as there is a big chunk of the holiday market they exclude from staying onsite. The only real option for us at present is a Fort Wilderness Cabin, but again, pricewise, its ridiculous when compared to an offsite home with every luxury!

So, my advice is...if your family are comfy in one room, then yep, I would definately spend at least part of your holiday onsite. The fact you are close to everything is definately a big bonus! If you prefer a bit of luxury, and dont mind an extra 15 minute journey each day, then choose an offsite villa (often cheaper than an I-drive hotel!!).

Allie

 

[steve_rob]

Another 'never stayed on-site' here. It's basically the cost at the end of the day. As all we do in our hotel is sleep, it doesn't seem worth paying for a room that's two to three times dearer. It's the difference between being able to go every other year (as we do now) or only once every four years. After all, we fly indirect as well just to save money - no Virgin or BA flights for us!

All the benefits for staying on site mentioned so far aren't enough to swing it for us. Transportation - we'd still have to rent a car anyway as we only spend about five/six days out of 14 at Disney - the rest at SeaWorld, Universal and other attractions. Early Magic Hour - we go at a quiet time of the year anyway and typically are done in the parks long before closing regardless.

And plus, I'm not sure I'd want to be 'stuck' out at Disney. Half the reason we go to Orlando is to eat at all the places that we can't in the UK - Olive Garden, Wendy's, Sizzler, IHOP, Sweet Tomatoes etc. While we can do that easily on I-Drive, it'd be a 20-30 minute drive each way to get to all of these if we stayed onsite.

However, I never say never. Currently the plan is to save up a little each year and for our fifth anniversary (possibly) do a short onsite stay, probably at the Yacht Club, in conjunction with a Disney cruise. But until that time, you can find us at the Best Western Movieland!

 

[tim june and sam]

I have a friend who visited Florida for 3 weeks staying on-site the whole time and I couldn't believe it when he returned and he told me that they had never once left Disney Word - Insane behaviour!!!

Great point kevin - for fear of being pilloried for heresy, can I say that there's more to a trip to Orlando than Disney?

Whilst we just love Disney, every day is too much??

Watch the sparks fly from that.....

 

[Frances999]

Disney is a magical place and one that I love going back to but staying onsite would be a bit too, er 'sweet'. Can you have too much of the same thing? I think so. I haven't stayed onsite so cannot speak from personal experience but from the things I've read and people I know who've stayed within Disney, it can be a little, for want of a better word, suffocating. It can also be expensive if you stay onsite without self-catering facilities. After our visits to Disney restaurants and food courts, I can imagine that you'd be spending a large amount on food & drink.

I do love Disney for the way it makes me feel but to stay there for the duration of a holiday would be over-the-top. Staying offsite gives you more of a chance to sample other restaurants, shops and attractions outside of the Disney influence. If you're onsite then you'd be more likely to stay within Disney and not stray. Which is, when it comes down to a purely business level, what they (Disney Ltd) want. Your money staying inside Disney and not going into the pockets of others. That would be the same of any business around the world be it the Alton Towers hotel, casino's in Las Vegas or a B&B in Blackpool!

So, it's up to individual choice based on the experience you want and how much you're willing to pay for it. Personally, I prefer the freedom of staying offsite and enjoying the huge variety that Florida has to offer.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! IMHO you should not make those comments without experiencing staying onsite first. Too much of the same thing??! How is experiencing Disney-quality service and style 24 hours a day a bad thing?

Suffocating?? Please don't even go there! How is relaxing a large, well equipped room with the use of cast members just a call/walk a way, suffocating? Staying on-site does not restrict you from leaving Disney property! You can EASILY visit shops, restaurants etc. "outside of the Disney influence" when staying onsite, particularly if you have a rental car. There is not a limit to "freedom" when staying onsite either, and one is free to enjoy "the huge variety that Florida has to offer" as they please. Disney resorts provide a friendly, wonderful, magical place to stay within the heart of the magic. However; staying in the heart of the magic doesn't mean you can't leave the magic!

I apologise if I have gone overboard, but I found your comments particularly unjustified.

 

[Miffy2003]

I do know what AndRu means though, I must admit when I am onsite at Disney I find it hard to leave!!!

The great thing about the Dis is that you will get opinions from people who all enjoy doing different things. It's just deciding which you will enjoy the most that can be difficult!!

 

[jax100]

We have never stayed onsite. We have always stayed on idrive - stayin at quality inn international('95, '96, '99) and quality inn plaza(15th feb-1st mar 05). We are looking at going back either end of 06 or beginning of 07 and we are looking at the Nick family suites. It's close to disney, not too far away from universal and from what the reviews have said(well the one's i have read) a cheaper alternative to staying in an onsite hotel.

I would certainly look at all the pro's and cons about any of the resorts before making your decisions.We are certainly intending staying at the nick suites when we go.

 

[AndRu]

I stand by what I've said Frances999 - there can be too much of the same thing, even if it is something as nice as Disney.

As stated in my post, I haven't stayed onsite but I have read of other peoples experiences on the Trip Reports Board and other Florida based web sites. I also know two people from work that have stayed within WDW - both of whom stated never again citing a) The huge cost and b) the sugar-coated feeling 24/7.

My post was stating why I personally wouldn't stay on a Disney site - just as I wouldn't a Universal or any other theme park owned site. Sorry to sound cynical but once theme parks have you in their resorts they've got you (more importantly, your wallet) under their influence - which is why I would feel suffocated. I, and others that have posted on this thread that prefer off-site, like the freedom that we have to enter the 'heart of the magic' but then get out when we've had enough.

I love Disney, I'd just never stay there.

The world would be very dull if we all thought the same way ...

 

[Cyrano]

For someone who has yet to experience Florida and WDW I'm appreciating the pros and cons from everyone regarding onsite V offsite.
Each of the personnal viewpoints is very helpful to the WDW virgin

Reid