Onsite vs offsite

[Hilary]

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!!!

Change that to two weeks and I'll put up my hand and admit to having done the same (and enjoyed every minute of it, and stayed sane enough to tell the tale)

I have also stayed off-site, stayed on-site at WDW and at USF, stayed elsewhere in Florida and plan to do all sorts of those combinations in the future! So, is there a right way and a wrong way to 'do' Florida? no, of course not - just a whole lot of different ways, not all of which will please all of the people all of the time.

If you're planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip then you'll want to see more than 'just' WDW and would probably benefit from splitting your stay between WDW on-site and somewhere else (maybe I Drive).

If I had to choose just one way of 'doing' Orlando then it would be a no-contest vote for staying on-site for all the reasons already mentioned

 

[Frances999]

I understand what you mean, AndRu, like you say, the world would be very dull if we all thought the same (and the Disney resorts would be very full too!)

I thought of another benefit of staying onsite which hasn't been mentioned yet ~ Disney's Magical Express service. If you are staying onsite and flying into/out of MCO, you can make use of this coach service to/from the airport. The themed Disney buses will have TVs and Disney theming and drop you off directly at your resort. Furthermore, your baggage is collected for you, so once you arrive in MCO you can just forget about it and rush to the coach to get to WDW. Then, if you decide to hire a car you can use the Disney Car Care Centre to pick it up. Your baggage is then taken to your room for you, once you have checked-in!.....best of all....it's free!

 

[crim1978]

When DW and I visited last September for my first time (her second) we travelled around first week and stayed onsite second (DTD).

This time we are taking 8 extra family with us so staying in a villa all together. I agree with the post earlier, the idea of pirvate pool and to be able to make own snacks etc is very appealing.

But if we were on our own again we would probably do one week on I-Drive (seaworld, US, IOA, DC etc.) Then onsite for second, somewhere like AKL where we couldn't afford two weeks.

 

[alisonbestford]

We've stayed both off and onsite
I was SOoo excited to have slipped 5 nights at the Coronado Springs Resort in our itinary on our trip last month. To stay onsite was my dream but, now I've done it, to be honest, I've got to go with off site
I love WDW but I also enjoy the whole American experience. We spent 6 nights offsite at the Sheraton Safari (just across the road from WDW) and 5 nights in Clearwater. To get up in the morning and nip out for a walk to pick up milk etc is, to me, great fun and, I have to admit that I did feel a little stifled staying onsite .
The only place I, personally, wouldn't be too keen on staying would be on IDrive as it's all a little too frantic for my liking Saying that, if you choose not to drive, there's nowhere better
Everyone is right, there are no right or wrong ways to 'do' Disney. It all comes down to personal preference.
Whatever you decide, have fun.
Alison

 

[peewakio]

If Disney is your thing then what's the problem with people staying there.
Personally I enjoy strolling along I-Drive after a nice meal at Charleys .
I can understand everybodys point of view of which we are all entitled to.
I can appreciate that too much of a good thing can in fact become a bad thing.....................................................

..............................I'll get my coat

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Our last two trips have seen us staying in five different hotels . . . .

1st night of holiday – Gatwick Hilton
1st & 2nd nights in Orlando – Sheraton Safari hotel, nr Crossroads (Lake Buena Vista)
3rd – 5th nights in Orlando – Disney’s Polynesian Resort
6th & 7th nights in Orlando – Hard Rock Hotel
8th – 18th nights – Hilton, Marco Island

We stayed at the Sheraton Safari mainly because it had become a bit of an Osborne tradition – we just needed somewhere as a base for the first couple of nights (first night of arrival and second day we went to Busch Gardens so didn't want to waste good money on a Disney or USF hotel when we wouldn't get much benefit).

We really like moving from hotel to hotel to give us the bases we want for the parks we want. We have also stayed at the AKL - fantastic, will definitely be back. We chose the Poly simply because the only Disney parks we wanted to visit were MK for MNSSHP and Epcot, so given the monorail was there, the Poly was great. However, the rate I got $380 per night, was not so good and when I look back I still can't believe I actually paid over $1100 for three nights' in a hotel - but saying that it was a great experience.

We much prefer the Universal parks and we have stayed a few times now at the HRH. It is SO much better value for money - and dare I say it too, it's not got that "Disney in yer face" all the time

With the Universal Hotels, you feel you are getting value for money with their "onsite" perks - front of line access, virtually onsite for the parks and nightlife (well within walking distance or a nice little boatride). . . . we shall be staying at either the Portofino or Royal Pacific this summer to give them a try, but we won't be staying onsite at Disney since again we only want to visit a couple AK and MGM since as I've already said we're Universal park people and we are only having 5 nights in Orlando - relaxing on the beach for two weeks beforehand this year in a friend's apartment nr Fort Myers beach, can't wait.

As you've seen from some of the replies to this thread, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Personally, I agree that to spend more than a few days in a Disney hotel would not do for us - too much Disney . . . . and now we've been spoilt staying in the Deluxes, the prices for Disney really can be extortionate.

 

[MsMoneyPenny]

OK, I admit it ----- I'm a complete Disney nut I love Disney, I love the parks, I love all the Disney resorts and I'm in complete heaven whenever I stay on site. Everyone likes different things, and to me my perfect holiday is staying onsite at Disney. I've experienced both onsite and offsite but much prefer staying onsite at Disney, just like some people prefer to stay offsite. I would just like to add though that I do venture off site to try 'non Disney' restaurants and 'non Disney' attractions.

 

[Kevin Stringer]

Stayed on-site and off many times and it has to be on-site for me.

I think it can depend on how any times you have been to Florida and what you intend to do on your stay.
The more we visit the more time we spend in the resort as opposed to the parks. Staying in any of the DVC resorts is fantastic and is a holiday destination all of it's own.

If you intend to be on the go all day every day then I can see the case for not spending too much to stay in an expensive resort.
I must admit that the one thing I would like to do one day is spend a week in a villa. We did stay in one for 2 nights just before Christmas, but it was too cold to swim. I can see the appeal of 'getting home to the relaxing villa'.

Kev

 

[UKDEB]

We find there are advantages to both, so we usually try to do both! The first couple of times we visited Orlando we stayed in offsite hotels. We booked packages (because we didn't know any better - it was before the advent of the internet) and never imagined we could afford to stay onsite. As our girls got older and we found that we didn't particularly relish the thought of spending 2 or 3 weeks with them in one hotel room, we progressed to villas.

We still dreamed of staying onsite and so, in 2000, we spent a night at the Beach Club. One night wasn't enough to really feel part of it all - you check in at 3pm one day and out at 11am the next - so these days we usually do 2 or 3 nights. Sometimes WDW, sometimes US, and occasionally both.

I love Disney, Universal and the whole Orlando area. If I was just visiting for a week, I <i>could</i> be persuaded to stay onsite at WDW for the entire duration, but I wouldn't want to restrict myself to just Disney for any longer than that. I think I would still want a car - couldn't go a week without a shopping trip!

For me, the benefits of staying in a villa are space, privacy, our own pool, ability to do a daily wash, not having to eat out at every meal and cost:quality ratio (in April/May we will be staying in a brand new, ex-show model, 6 bedroom villa furnished to a higher standard than any onsite hotel I've stayed at including the BoardWalk Grand Villa, Grand Floridian and Portofino Bay, for £650/week including pool heat and taxes). We usually stay near the Splendid China area of the 192 which is as close to the parks as many of the onsite hotels. There is nothing I look forward to more than relaxing in the jacuzzi with a glass of wine. I even love the experience of grocery shopping, although I appreciate that's probably a downside for many people!

Having said that, we also love doing the hotel thing. There is a lot to be said for being able to stroll down to the bar for a drink and then on to dinner. And you don't need to think about driving or taxis. For me, this gives the BoardWalk and Yacht & Beach Club the edge at WDW. We stayed at AKL when it was brand new and it <i>is</i> a fabulous hotel, but there is no real benefit to staying there. I'd rather stay at the Ritz Carlton which is a million times superior to any onsite hotel. The monorail resorts are good, too, but there's nothing quite like being able to take a leisurely stroll back to your resort after an evening at Epcot. The same can be said about the Universal Resorts and staying onsite there really does enhance the whole experience. Staying onsite also gives our daughters much more freedom to do as they please. The downside is that we need 2 rooms which gets expensive, but we wouldn't want to stay onsite for the entire trip in any event.

We try to have our onsite fix mid-trip. We can then just pack an overnight bag and leave everything else at the villa. It does mean that we're paying for accommodation we're not using, but it somehow isn't the same when we've stayed onsite at the end of a trip. Once you pack up to leave the villa and move onsite, it somehow brings the end of the holiday closer.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

My experience is we stayed offsite on I-drive for 2weeks and then 2 weeks onsite at the ASMO,and the hotel on I-drive doesnt even come near to what we had at asmo, the hotel was clean,lovely food,great pool,friendly people,it was overall the best hotel I have stayed in regarding disney.
I wouldnt stay offsite again.

We had days at the hotel,and days mooching about (we had a car), and days at disney,dd had a whale of a time,the atmosphere is fantastic,along with the people,it is overall just a more pleasant hotel.

I have never stayed in a villa, I do like the idea of a villa,but just never got round to booking etc,it seems too much I rather just booking it all in one go...we are planning to go next july,and are looking at asmo, and AKL...

But each to there own.

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

Thanks so much for all of your replies - I cannot believe the debate I started.

I think that from our experience last year the only time we stayed at our hotel was during a hurricane when we could not go anywhere.

If I had my way we would be staying onsite every trip but I can appreciate what DH is telling me.

On our last trip (Sept/Oct) we were stayed on I Drive and we were up and out early and at the parks before they opened and stayed until they closed which was around 6pm (except Halloween,Spectromagic and Fantasmic) so we used to go back to the hotel, shower, change and go for a wonder down I Drive for dinner. For the majority we were back in our hotel by 9:30 and ready for bed.

We never made use of our hotels facility (not even a dip in the pool, although I did become familar with the laundry room!!)

So I guess my point is will it be worth staying in a Disney hotel if we are hardly going to be there. DH insists we have a car wherever we stay.

Oh I really dont know what to do. This all started because I saw that Virgin are doing a deal for bookings next year (but you have to book by end of march this year) DH insists on flying with Virgin and OH I REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO !!!!!

Maybe I will just flip...........a coin to decide.

Oh just another question, we are purchasing our AP for this years trip and I was wondering if anybody could give me an approx idea of what it costs to stay at a moderate resort around end of may, beginning of june.

Thanks for listening to my little rant. I feel slightly better now.

 

[AndRu]

You need to weigh up the cost of staying onsite compared to off. Not only will onsite accomodation be (considerably) more expensive, staying onsite is likely to mean eating at Disney restaurants/food courts more often. As you say, you'll have a car so you could drive offsite but I would bet that most people don't - they're tired, stay inside Disney and pay premium prices for food. And as you point out, if you're that busy that you don't use the hotel rooms that much, does it make financial sense to pay a premium price to be onsite?

From my POV, staying onsite would be around £1000 less to spend whilst I'm there - and I love shopping!

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

I do agree,but it depends on your financial perspectives.

Also pointing out with virgin, when we booked our first hotel,we paid full price,but for the second hotel we paid half the price...

We chose ASMO as we knew DD (5) would love the experience,and so would we...on days off it was nice to chill around the pool,and go shopping into the shop they have onsite,etc..
We eat a few times in there food courts but not always when out and about we usually eat whilst out,shopping etc...and bought goodies for when back at the hotel.


I preferred staying onsite, but everyone is different.
I really want to experience a villa,that way I will have experienced all accomodations hehe

 

[vernon]

There are a number of factors that decide for each individual group how viable a stay on site for the complete vacation is. These include
1) group size
2) ages of group
3) financial constraints
4) plans for travelling to other attractions
5) privacy issues
6) how much time you spend enjoying the facilities of the hotels
7) length of stay

IMHO staying in a hotel room for a family of 4 or more , kids all teens for 3 weeks simply isn't a viable option. On site you could stay in the FW cabins or the more expensive DVC units, but a standard room just doesn't work. For a longer stay it exagerates any financial differences between on and off site. Eating in particular can run to a huge expense and having kitchen facilities can reduce the overall cost enormously. If you're planning to visit a lot of off site attractions, IMHO why pay the $$$ premium to stay on Disney property, IMHO it makes no sense to spend an extra $40-50 a night to stay on Disney, if you are travelling off site and not using their facilities. For a longer stay mom, dad and two ( or more) kids sharing a hotel room is going to cause "privacy" issues, particularly if the kids are older than 10/11. For a short/split stay it's something that can be worked around, for 3 weeks it can cause embarrassment and make people uncomfortable, finally if you're paying top $ for a Disney hotel and it's facilities, make sure you use them. They have some great pool areas, transportation and activities, for which you are paying in your higher room rate. If you don't make use of the facilities you're paying for, you might as well stay in a bigger or cheaper unit elsewhere.

I think a split stay can work very well if you want to sample the magic and really use that time in the Disney hotels to the max, it also allows you to save some $$ while visitting the off site attractions as well as giving you the option of allowing the whole group some personal space.

I understand there are many families who are happy being in close proximity to each other all the time, and that's fine, but it's not something that works for me for any length of time.

 

[Miffy2003]

This has come up several times in this thread so I just wanted to share my experience. Don't automatically assume that the Disney hotels are much more expensive than offsite hotels of a similar quality.

When I stayed offsite at a 2 1/2 star Howard Johnson it cost me about £40 per room per night in a package deal (I do know we were ripped off before anyone points that out!)
When I stayed onsite at a 3 star Disney "Value" resort we paid about £50 per room per night.

So this is only £5 extra per adult per day (based on 2 adults sharing).

I had assumed (wrongly) that all Disney hotels were very much more expensive but when I did the numbers, I found that it just wasn't so (for the example I quote above)

I wholly accept that most deluxe resorts (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Yacht & Beach etc etc) are a lot more expensive than most of their equivalents offsite. Also Virgin used to (no idea if they still do) price all Disney hotels up with tickets included which does absolutely ramp the price up. You have to take the ticket cost to one side really (assuming they still do this which they may not)

I would hate for someone to dismiss the idea of staying offsite as "too expensive" without looking for themselves


Karen
(Who has stayed offsite in a villa, offsite in a budget hotel, onsite at a value and onsite at a DVC resort in a 2 bedroom villa and I totally agree with all the pros and cons listed so far. It was just the price thing I wanted to share)

 

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
Until I joined DVC I was a firm I-Drive fan but recently I think it seems to have got a bit "tacky" Not sure if this is actual fact or just my own impression as I've been "spoilt" with Disney accomodation. Also it's not just about the standard of the Disney rooms it's their location too, it's a great feeling after watching the fireworks at EPCOT knowing my room is just a short walk or boat ride away. Ok so eating at Disney is expensive but we don't stay on Disney property all the time just because we have a room there, we eat at Golden Coral, Sizzler and the like and anywhere else that takes our fancy.
One thing that clinches it for me though is a room with a Boardwalk view people watching with a nice coool beer and if we don't fancy going into the park we can still see the fireworks at EPCOT from our room..!

Mick.

 

[UKDEB]

Well, if it's a choice between onsite or an offsite hotel, then onsite wins hands down. No contest. Well, apart from the Ritz Carlton, of course!

 

[sharon78]

UKDEB

On one of your posts you said"We booked packages(because we didnt know any better-it was before the advent of the internet)& never imagined we could afford to stay on site"

How do you normally book,is it individual,D.I.Y.

If so could you PM me with some tips Thanks!

 

[DisneyBB]

Until we bought into DVC we booked packages. I was forced to arrange everything myself once we started using the DVC accommadation. We still mix it up and book hotels to start the holiday off or for change of pace in the middle. It is so easy to book hotels either through Disney, watching for any discounts etc or through hotel internet sites. However the last holiday we wanted to stay at the Fairfield by Marriott for 3 nights to start the holiday off as it was easier to get to US and IoA. Well I priced it up on every web site and it was still far cheaper to book 3 nights through VH with my 10% disocunt. The flights were booked separatly. VH don't mind just booking the hotel for you on its own. I paid £36 per night for a king suite, where as the price I was getting from everywhere else was about $129 plus tax. So it is worth looking at the package brouchers for hotel prices.

 

[UKDEB]

UKDEB

On one of your posts you said"We booked packages(because we didnt know any better-it was before the advent of the internet)& never imagined we could afford to stay on site"

How do you normally book,is it individual,D.I.Y.

If so could you PM me with some tips Thanks!

Sharon, yes, we book everything individually. It really is just a case of shopping around and spending lots of time on these boards ( ) to pick up on all the current deals. We're Annual Passholders at both Disney and Universal and have always managed to get a discount on booking onsite hotels. Keep an eye on the Universal Resorts forum and Mousesavers.com.