Please Compare CP/CPGV To On Site Accomodations

[KevinM]

Hello everyone! First post on this forum!

My AP's expire on December 5th, and I was hoping to get one more week out of them before then (21 days in the parks!). However, going to Disney 3 times in 12 months can get pricey, so I was looking to stay offsite and take advantage of the lower rates.

I have stayed at POR, CBR, Dolphin, and AK. I've read great reviews about CP/CPGV, and I found fantastic rates. My question is for those who have stayed on site and also at CP. Would you compare them to a moderate or value resort? We have never stayed offsite at a resort; we did stay at a house once and didn't mind driving to the parks (especially with the free AP parking).

Many thanks in advance!

 

[pixelpixie]

Hi. I haven't actually stayed at the CP/CPGV but am considering a couple of nights there myself in November. We are staying 7 nights at another resort that is not far from CP/CPGV and stayed at the Vistana last September, which is in the same general area - or at least about the same distance from the parks using the same entrance. We LOVED staying offsite. We have a 5yo daughter and liked that we could put her down for naps and early bedtimes (essential to her sanity as well as ours) but that didn't mean Mommy and Daddy had to go to bed. We also enjoyed lunches and some dinners and breakfasts in our room with groceries we purchased upon arrival and it's great to be able to do your laundry in your own room at your convenience. We stayed 7 nights at the Vistana and then 2 nights at the AKL. When I booked the vacation I was more excited about the time that we would be staying at the AKL. But all of us MUCH preferred our time at the Vistana. We got really spoiled to the spaciousness of our unit. And although AKL is beautiful, impressive, exciting - all of that stuff - to us it was small and trying to be quiet at 8:30 for a 5yo's bedtime was not so great.
Just thought I'd share our experience of on and off-site. Everyone is different. Hope you have a GREAT time!

 

[dawgsgirl]

I have stayed on site at POFQ and FW cabins. Also stayed a couple of times at CP. CP is much nicer than either place I stayed onsite. I really hate living out of a motel room and love the space at CP. For the money, CP is just a GREAT deal and we consider this our Orlando 'home'.

 

[spiceycat]

some people love to stay offsite others hate it.

doesn't generally have anything to do with where they stay.

If you go with the right attitude you will love CP or CPGV.

If you with the attitude I am going to hate it - stay at Pop Century.

CP is a condo - not a hotel room - so you have more room. It doesn't have bus transportation -so you need to be able to drive. If you don't want to drive or can't then stay at Pop Century or All Stars.

I look at staying offsite as fun and little more Kissimmee or Orlando or Lake buena Vista than staying onsite. Others will disagreed. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I second everything PixelPixie said. We have stayed at Vistana and CP and we love both. We like on site, too, though, and have stayed at ASMo, ASMu, and CSR.

I think it's a little like comparing apples and oranges because the two are so different. You get the theming, transportation and EMH on site but a small room. With CP, which we absolutely love , you get a spacious, well equipped condo. It's great to have all the extra room, the screened in porch, the kitchen, the whirlpool bathtub, the washer/dryer, etc. If you book through Hotelkingdom.com, you can get a 3 bedroom/3 bath suite for $90... now that's a great value! And it's convenient, too... CP is right around the corner... literally... from DTD. We have AP's also so we park free.

Our solution is to split our stay bewteen on and off site so we can enjoy the advantages of both... which is exactly what we plan to do in June

 

[disneymom3]

If the choice is going to WDW or not going, you can bet I will pick going even if I have to stay at the Econolodge!!

That said, I have stayed at the Poly and several offsite locations including CP. Obviously the actual rooms are not even close in comparison. At CP we had a full kitchen, large living room, two bedrooms and whirlpool tub as well as a separate bathroom for the kids. As for the grounds, well we stayed at the Poly so that isn't too fair of a comparison. I would rate the Vistanas grounds as equal to the Poly though.

However, CP has a really fun pool with three (small) waterslides and it's quite big in my opinion. Then you can also go over to the CPGV and there is another pool there that is really nice and I liked that it was more tree covered. There is also a great playground for hte kids and minigolf. THe onsite store is sufficient for emergency needs, but for buying items to prepare in your villa, Wynn Dixie is just up the road. The location is great and getting to the parks is a breeze. I would stay there again with no hesitation. (Well, if I can't get into Vistana where I want to be a permanent resident.)

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I can agree with everything that has been said here.

We have stayed at all three levels at WDW. ASmovies, POR(twice), and WL(twice).................loved them all, especially WL.

Didn't really want to consider going off site.........I guess I was reading the Resort Board too much.

But then, it was one of those, "we can't go if we don't find a cheaper way", type of situation. Looked into Skyauction, was scared to death. It worked out so well, we are going back for two weeks, 11/26-12/10, staying at two different places.

We have stayed at Vistana, Lakes section. Absolutely loved it, thought we had died and gone to heaven. My DH said he won't do a hotel room again when it is all 5 of us.

Now I haven't been to CP but am going to CPGrandvillas next trip and my friends also stayed there last November. They loved it.

Comparing............yea, that's hard because onsite has:
transportation, Mickey soap, theming, EMH, deluxes have great restaurants, valet service, concierge, Mickey wake up call.

Offsite has: bigger rooms (in this case 1200 or more sq. feet for two bedrooms compared to WL's 340sq. ft.), kitchens, washer/dryer in the room, many have jucuzzi tubs in master, two bathrooms, able to park closer to your room, two or three tv's.

These are just some of the things I can think of. As much as we LOVED Vistana, it can't compare to the theming of WL. I mean, not many hotels can. But we have come to find we enjoy the perks of offsite more and are content to visit WL and the other deluxes for lunch or dinner. This way we kind of get the best of both worlds.

Good luck with deciding.

 

[dgaston]

Just stayed at CP at either end of a BWV stay. I think the CP villas are amazing. I'd echo comments from above and add that even the silk flower arrangement throughout the condo are beautiful. You cannot beat the luxury of the space for the price these units are available from at hotelkingdom.

 

[KevinM]

Thanks for all the feedback. Now all I have to do is get another week's vacation approved!