Our first ever ON Property trip

[momto4princesses]

THis will be our first ever trip to get to stay on property. Myself and the kids are so excited, DH however still needs convincing, lol.

We are staying at Pop in January. So what are all the awesome things I should NOT miss about staying on property?

 

[AJA]

Don't forget you can use the amenities at the other resorts (not the pools though lol). Visit the Poly and watch fireworks from the beach, take the boat from the Studios up to the Boardwalk area and spend an evening enjoying the entertainment, or catch a movie on the beach at Beach Club and have a treat at Beaches and Cream.

Have a great trip. Staying on site is much more relaxing IMO.

 

[CruiseBoundnKY]

We LOVE staying on-site!! You will be in love being surrounded by Disney 24/7.

Pop is an awesome choice! We started out at All Star Movies and loved it too at the time. Now we have stayed at Pop, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Things not to miss...take time to look around the property especially Generation Gap bridge. Enjoy your extra magic hours. Enjoy the ease of Disney transportation (it's not until your 2nd time that you'll realize there are good/evil things about busses). Enjoy the ease of sending items back to your resort and not having to pack your purchases around.

Happy Planning!!!

 

[UndercoverMama]

One of the things we missed staying offsite last time (besides the obvious EMH and not driving) was having packages sent to our room and not having to lug them around.

Have a great time!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

Don't forget to make use of the extra magic hours (entry into the parks up to 1 hour early, or stay up to 3 hours after close)!

 

[elainesj]

do u have free dining? the main reason we always stay on property is for free dining. it's a good enough discount for us that it's cheaper to do that than to stay off-site for free.

we find the savings of taking ME from the airport another big win. Our very first trip we were going to stay at the comfort inn right near the entrance and take the shuttle. than I found out how expensive it was to get from the airport to the hotel. Plus all the pain it was to take shuttles. It turned out to be cheaper for us to stay onsite than in the "free" (with points) room offsite. This was even considering we didn't do dining plan that trip.

 

[Sue M]

On site perks I enjoy are DME (airport transportation), Dining Plan, resort parcel delivery- if you buy something at any WDW gift shop, they will send it to your resort, EMH (extra magic hours), And Disney Transportation! Much better then the offsite busses. Using your KTTW card for charges. I travel light, around the parks, and don't carry a wallet. You can also buy a Disney Gift Card, which I sometimes do, and use that for buying suvies, and tips at restaurants.

 

[pampam]

Don't forget to look at my humungous LGMH in the window.

 

[Missytara]

Take advantage of all the transportation, not just the buses.

Hop on the ferry and go over to WL. Get on the monorail and do the GF/Poly/CR loop. Take the boat from DHS or Epcot and do the BC/YC/BW loop.

 

[rusty4]

One of the things we missed staying offsite last time (besides the obvious EMH and not driving) was having packages sent to our room and not having to lug them around.

Have a great time!

We have never done this. I am afraid to let the package out of my site. Maybe we will try it this year. Does it work for DTD stores as well?


OP, the Disney Magical Express is our favorite way to start and end our trip. Are you flying?

You can go back to your resort for a break during the day and then back to the parks at night. We love to do this too. A break doesn't have to mean a nap either.

 

[catra121]

My favorite things about staying onsite are the transportation, dining plans, and KTTW card. I just LOVE the convenience of all of these things. I like that once i board the plane in Chicago I have nothing at all to worry about. I let Disney take care of picking up my luggage, ride the magical express to the resort, don't have to drive a car at any point...that is heaven for me. Not for everyone, but for me personally I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love the KTTW card, having my tickets, room key, dining plan credits, and charge card all in one place so I can travel light at the parks. I use a lanyard and have found this is the most convenient way to use the KTTW card for me. I always take a picture of the front AND back of the card so that if I were to lose it it would be an easy fix (have never needed it though).

Dining plan...it's all about the convenience for me. So easy to just have everything taken care of ahead of time so I can just spend my vacation relaxing. I never look at the prices on the menu when I have the dining plan and can just get whatever I feel like at the time.

Package delivery to the hotel is nice and extra magic hours are great if you can take advantage of them...but they are not my primary reasons for prefering an on property stay.

So...yeah...what staying on property does for me is it gives me the freedom to really just relax and enjoy every moment of my stay. Disney takes care of everything. And yes...I pay a bit extra than I would if I stayed off property but for me it is totally worth it to be worry free on vacation.

 

[UndercoverMama]

Does it work for DTD stores as well?

Yes. We bought the castle this trip and each store we walked into the nice people working would tell us we could just have the packages delivered to out room oh.. salt in the off-site wound

 

[nadira36]

Yes. We bought the castle this trip and each store we walked into the nice people working would tell us we could just have the packages delivered to out room oh.. salt in the off-site wound

lol sorry but it is a bit funny

ME is the number one reason we stay onsite. Also dinning - we actually tend to get better deals through room discounts and pay for dinning, but just the ease of not needing money is a HUGE blessing.

Package delivery is also great - though we're light on souvenirs usually. A stuffy or two for the kids and a costume (pirate/pixie/princess) and they usually haul all of that with them. However it's been so nice to send everything else back to the room b/c I really don't want to worry about it - and no worries about it everything is documented in triplicate so there's proof if you don't get it.

We do tend to visit other resorts quite often and go for swims - though those things CAN be done if you're off property - but not sure why you would.

 

[momto4princesses]

Hadn't even thought about package delivery. That is awesome. No lost packages and no lugging them around. I will have a stroller but we still always have to lug all that stuff into the ques and on the rides. That will be awesome. Hope it doesn't make me spend more .

THanks everyone for your input. We are so looking forward to this trip.