Our offsite stay cost breakdown

[At World's End]

We just returned from 10 days in an offsite townhouse. I thought I'd post our actual costs, and compare to staying onsite.

We are a family of 4, 2 adults, 2 kids. We booked a 3br/3ba townhouse at Crestwynd Bay for $65/nt plus tax ($734 total for 10 nights). Our park tickets were through the YES porogram. We paid $777 for 10 day park hoppers for 4people. We rented a fullsize car through Alamo for $149 incl. tax and ended up with a minivan. I made ADRs for lunch and we planned to eat breakfast at home and dinner either offsite or at home. Here is what actually happened:

Arrival day: Dinner offsite $50
groceries @ Super Target $62

Day 1: Lunch @ Pinnochios: $26 (2 adult meals, one kids meal, one soda). I had the kids meal and my 2 kids split an adult meal.
Dinner: Cosmic Rays: $26 (2 adult meals, one kids meal, one soda). I had the kids meal and my 2 kids split an adult meal.
Snacks: Popcorn & Sprite: $5.75, Dole whip ice cream & float: $7.86

Day 2: Lunch @ Sci Fi: $80 (2 adult meals, 1 drink, 2 kids meals, onion rings, 2 shakes)
Snacks: popcorn & coke: $5.50, cupcake & cotton candy: $7.50
Dinner @ Giordanos: $26 Med. stuffed pizza, fettucine alfredo w/chicken, side salad, 2 drinks, using $25 GC from restaurant.com

Day 3: Breakfast: Donuts @ Dunkin Donuts: $12
Lunch @ LeCellier: $102 (2 kids meals, fillet, burger, 2 soups, creme brule, 1 soda)
Dinner: leftover pizza @ home

Day 4: Lunch @ Sci Fi: $51 (1 adult meal, 3 kids meals)
Dinner: CS in Morrocco: $45
Dessert: 4 pastries in France: $17
Snacks: pretzel & popcorn: $18

Day 5: Lunch @ Tusker House: $83
Dinner @ Wendy's:$20

Day 6: Lunch @ Biergarten: $85
Dinner @ Steak N Shake: $30 (2 kids meals, 2 adult meals, 4 shakes)

Day 7: Snacks: popcorn & lemnade $5.75
Lunch @ Sweet Tomatoes: $40
Dinner @ Steak N Shake: $25

Day 8: Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons: $37
Dinner @ House of Blues: $45 (2 adult meals, 2 kids meals, 1 appetizer, 1 soda) with $25 GC from restaurant.com

Day 9: Lunch @ Beaches & Cream: $35 (onion rings, fries, Kitchen Sink)
Dinner: Houlihans: $53 (2 adult meals, 2 kids meals, 2 sodas)

Total food costs: $930

We ended up eating out more that expected. Whenever we ordered, we ordered whatever we wanted, and we were always stuffed. I think the dining plan would have been a ridiculous amount of food for us. Also, the kids meal choices are so limited, and my kids can only handle so many chicken nuggets! They would have been so sick of the the kids meals on the dining plan.

To compare the cost of our trip with the free dining option:

Offsite: Lodging $734 + tickets $777 + food $938 = $2449
Onsite (Value): Lodging $930 + tickets $1218 + Food $0 = $2148
Onsite (Moderate): Lodging $1570 + tickets $1218 + food $100 for tips = $2888

We would have rented the car even if we stayed onsite so the cost of the rental, parking and gas (totaled $330) wouldn't affect us. Based on the meal plan, I would compare our stay to a stay at a moderate because most of our meals were TS, either onsite or off. But there was really no comparing the room at a moderate (or deluxe for that matter) to our townhouse. It was great to return to our place within 5-15 minutes (parking spot to parking spot), park right in front of our unit, throw in a load of laundry at any time, have cold refreshments in the fridge, have a huge (comfy) king size bed, another queen bed, and two twins, have everyone able to get ready at the same time in 3 bathrooms, and be able to stay up watching tv while the kids sleep in their own room.

Here is the townhouse we rented: http://www.vrbo.com/281521

Crestwynd Bay is right next to Windsor Hills. The unit was wonderful. The owner is great to work with. We hope to return someday.

I hope this helps someone. I was really tempted by free dining, but in the end I'm glad we stayed offsite. We enjoyed the freedom it offers. Now I could not convince DH to stay onsite for anything!

Edited to add: I just remembered that the dining plan does not include tip for TS meals, so that would have to be factored in as an added cost to the meals.

 

[Kat&Dom]

Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation! It looks like you had some fantastic meals too.

What a great and honest comparative that you did.

On our last trip, we did a combination of on-site and off-site. We had a rental car for the whole week and spent a couple of days at All Stars Music then 4 days at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas. What a difference to go from a small hotel room to 2 bedroom/2 bath with living room, kitchen and laundy. Being able to park a few feet from our door and a short walk to the pool. I found at All-Stars, it was a hike (we were in Rock Inn) to get meals, go swimming at the main pool, even getting to our rental car in the parking lot.

We are going again this November and we might do a combination stay again as we are travelling with my best friend and her family. She is a huge Mickey Mouse fan so having a couple of days of getting the special wake up calls and being surrounded by Disney will be fun but then moving to a 3 bed/3 bath condo will be awesome (we have 7 nights booked at Grand Beach). The space with off-site and the laundry facilities in the unit will always win out over an entire on-site stay.

 

[sissy_ib]

We would have rented the car even if we stayed onsite so the cost of the rental, parking and gas (totaled $330) wouldn't affect us.

I just wanted to say if you stayed onsite you do not pay for parking. So you would have saved the $14 a day. Staying offsite clearly worked better for your family cost wise regardless, I just wanted to point that out for anyone who may not know.

 

[dioxide45]

It looks like you did very well even with eating a lot of onsite meals (both TS and CS). Did you sign up for the Sweet Tomato's e-mail program? If you didn't you may have been able to save $15 there by using their plentiful coupons that they always send via e-mail.

When we stay off site, we pretty much eat everything off site. We may hit a CS a few of the days or grab a snack somewhere. Looking at your numbers it is very obvious that there is a big price difference in eating at onsite TS vs those that are offsite.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Great comparison

In December we stayed 5 nights at the POFQ followed by 14 nights at Windsor Palms in a villa. My DD loved the hotel (we appreciated the landscaping and made use of the fridge in the room) - however I couldn't wait to move- The room was so noisy and I prefer the quiet and space of the villa anyday.

 

[lmil3112]

what is the YES program?

 

[powellrj]

You also saved by having free wifi, I am not sure how much it costs at WDW, but I know it isn't free.

 

[At World's End]

what is the YES program?

Youth Education Series http://www.disneyyouth.com/youth-education-series/

The program is offered year round for groups of 10+ students, and several times a year they have individual enrollment, where the student does not have to be part of a group. The student attends a class, and the entire group gets discounted tickets. We paid $193.21 for 10 day park hoppers, vs $293/316 from Disney.

 

[KellyWasHere]

Great comparison! This makes me a little bummed out that we have to stay onsite this year. I'll still be happy to be in Disney, but I'm really going to miss having a wonderful condo!

 

[aprilfoolwed]

THanks for sharing. We have questioned if we do the right thing by staying offsite. Sometimes those perks of being a Disney guest seem great.

We're goingin june, and (as of now) there are no extra incentives for staying on-site at that time, so we REALLY make out better by staying off site.

Love the tip about using restaurant.com - I would have never thought to look at Orlando rests. there! That will be great for us when we're down there!

 

[Scrock]

Wow!! How did you get such a cheap rate for such a nice townhouse? How far in advance did you book your townhouse?

 

[kathy884]

Great post! So many people always wonder about onsite vs. offsite, and I think the way you laid things out will be really beneficial.


We stay offsite (usually in a condo) for the same reasons you did. It just seems like such a great value for what we get. And we usually have extended family with us, so a big living room area that opens up to the kitchen is just so perfect and nice to have for visiitng vs. a hotel room. We tend to eat more meals than you guys do at our condo, but I have a picky kid who really doesn't eat that well at resturants. We also like to do things besides Disney (We love Disney, but time there for us is part of our vacation - not our whole vacation.)

 

[indigoxtreme]

I think for the little difference of 40 per day It is not worth it for us to stay off site and have drive and pay parking. The deal for offsite accomodations are cheap right now as the off site places are hurting for business

 

[obxlover]

Thanks for this post. We are going down in June and are debating between on-site and off-site, I can't justifiy the cost of a room compared to a townhome. I really enjoy the EMH but seeing your breakdown really puts things in perspective.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Youth Education Series http://www.disneyyouth.com/youth-education-series/

The program is offered year round for groups of 10+ students, and several times a year they have individual enrollment, where the student does not have to be part of a group. The student attends a class, and the entire group gets discounted tickets. We paid $193.21 for 10 day park hoppers, vs $293/316 from Disney.

Which program did you choose that allowed individual enrollement? How did you find that it's only certain times of the year that it's offered? Do you remember what times of year that is?

Sounds interesting.

 

[DnA2010]

Thank you so much for your post! I am thrilled that you liked the condo as we have booked one in the same complex for around the same money. We are DH and I, my sister and her DH and my mom, so the cost of 3 hotel rooms would have been a LOT more than the $65 a night...so excited!

 

[NHDisneyFan]

I think for the little difference of 40 per day It is not worth it for us to stay off site and have drive and pay parking. The deal for offsite accomodations are cheap right now as the off site places are hurting for business

Don't forget that the price is just one factor in this analysis. The living space gained from this condo to even the moderate room at Disney I would calculate at much greater than $40 a day. And some off site resorts also have excellent shuttle systems in place.

Edit to add: As soon as your spouse/child wants a snack at 3:30pm and you used their snack voucher at 11am that cost needs to be added in to the on-site total. Also in order to maximize the dining plan you will need to sacrifice flexibility in what you do each day. "It's 82 degrees and I'd like to hang out by the pool today. Can't do it honey, I made dining reservations 180 days ago, we need to at restaurant XXX at 12:30 sharp"

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Don't forget that the price is just one factor in this analysis. The living space gained from this condo to even the moderate room at Disney I would calculate at much greater than $40 a day. And some off site resorts also have excellent shuttle systems in place.

Edit to add: As soon as your spouse/child wants a snack at 3:30pm and you used their snack voucher at 11am that cost needs to be added in to the on-site total. Also in order to maximize the dining plan you will need to sacrifice flexibility in what you do each day. "It's 82 degrees and I'd like to hang out by the pool today. Can't do it honey, I made dining reservations 180 days ago, we need to at restaurant XXX at 12:30 sharp"

So true. This is why we LOVE having an offsite condo. Dh and I have our own room, our own bathroom, our own TV. Gives everyone some breathing space esp being together 24/7.
We'd never do the dining plan just for the reasons you mention. The last time I made TS ressies, 1 per day since my parents were with us, I ended up cancelling all but 2 of them. We like to go with the flow.

 

[At World's End]

OP here, back to answer some of your questions:

If you go to the Disney Yes program website, under Education, then Individual Enrollment, then Programs, you will see dates through December 2011. Just choose a class that works for your child. With Ind. Enrollment, everyone in your group gets discounted tickets. My 7yo loved the Synergy in Science class at Epcot. There is a thread titled "Disney YES program open to non-groups" that has tons of info on the program.

I booked the townhouse about 3 months ahead, and I received many, many similar quotes. I chose the owner that I felt most comfortable with.

This comparison is just based on food and basic room costs. For a true comparison, you should factor in ME tips, housekeeping tips, and laundry costs for an onsite stay. For on offsite stay with a rental car, you would need to add the cost of rental car, parking and gas.

 

[Bamadisdreamer]

I believe I received a quote on this same condo. Did you have to pay a $200 deposit? And if so has it been returned to you yet? Thanks!