Please help me understand.......

[ilovdisney2]

We are a family of 5, children are ages 12, 9, and 7. I am not understanding why we would pay $250.00 per night and up to stay onsite in one hotel room when we can rent a 4 bedroom home with a pool for 99.00 per night, less than 3 miles from the gate. I know everyone is raving about staying onsite and maybe I am missing something, that is what I am asking of you.......please tell me how to get a better deal on a nice hotel (that would sleep 5) onsite or tell me the advantages to staying onsite that would outway the money we could be spending on other things. The homes I have seen on the internet look really nice and to have 4 bedrooms so each kid could have their own room sounds like a vacation to me, not staying in a cramped room paying 3 times the rate. I know you must get some perks onsite, please tell me. Thanks for your help

 

[sha_lyn]

Pro's to staying on site
That 3 miles will take you a lot longer than you would think. If you plan on getting to a MK at opening you would need to leave your rental house at least an hour before that. All We will have to do is walk out of our room at the contemporary and walk 5 min to the park.

You will have to drive every day. We can park our car the day we arrive and not move it until the dya we leave.
You can easily return to your room for a mid day break and a swim. To do so off site you will waste about 2 hours of travel time.

By staying onsite you can take advatage of E nights




Have you looked into getting 2 rooms at one of the All Star Resorts? with a code you can get a room there for as little as $49.

 

[DW Goofy]

A big advantage that was brought to my attention was that the World is VERY large and with children their comes a time in the day they can poop out. You just hop on the bus, or rail or boat and head back to your room for a couple hours recoup. Then you still have time for play the rest of the night. No it's not cheap but you will be surrounded by like minded people that never see the outside world for a week or so. It adds something you can't get from going back and forth. Believe me, I've done both. Hope that helps a little. Once you try it you usually never go back to off site.

 

[jaret]

We are also a family of five and went in Feb.,When I found out ee was gone I thought next time we would be staying off site to save money,then we went.We did not have to rent a car as disney has transportation to the parks.I mean you are dropped off close to the gate.So we did not have to catch the shuttle to the gate.As the bus was pulling into the theme park there was a line up of cars just to get in.(now why would I want to do that.)Then there are the midday breaks,would I want to drive back to my hotel and return later,probably not.This enables you to catch the bus back for a nice break and return for the evening.Another big plus is how friendly everyone is,the CM's are very helpful and are always pleasent to deal with.(we needed info on pandas,for my dd's homework assignment, and a Cm at guest relations was great at trying to help us out)Another thing I like is the security,which was very visible while we were there.Coming into an unknown area I like to know my family will be safe(or as safe as I can get)I am sure that the homes are in nice areas but this would worry me.The resorts are also beautiful and I enjoy the theming of them.You can also charge to your room and carry minimal cash(for the cart service in the park)into the park,another plus that I like.But everyone has their own likes and budgets so you have to do what is best for you.I know alot of posts talk about "mousesavers "for discount codes so you may want to look there and keep checking the boards as there is always advice on how to save.I know for our next trip that is what we will be doing.

 

[sha_lyn]

jaret reminded me of something my DH said on our first trip. We were staying at ASMu and we were on the bus to MK on our second day. When we went past the main gate to WDW DH turned to me and said "boy I am glad you talked me into staying onsite".

 

[cbutterfield]

Without EE I agree with you. We stayed for the first time off-site over Pes. week in Feb. It did not take more then 5 min from westgate villas on 192 and we also saved alot of money by having our own kitchen. You do lose some of the magic but if this is not your first visit I think you will be just fine. Make sure your off-site is really 3 miles from the gate.

 

[Disneyfan08]

We had friends who went to WDW in February and decided to rent a home. They went through what they thought was a good agency but had one problem after the next. Things malfunctioning and needing repair etc. My friend said that she would never stay off site again. We have stayed both on and off site and when we stayed offsite I tried to convince myself and the family that we weren't missing anything but we were. On site a family of 5 can rent 2 rooms at a value resort, a moderate with a trundle, or a deluxe for less than $250 and get the benefits of staying in WDW which include confidence in safety, maintenance, and transportation. Be very careful when booking something offsite. If you are going to pay your hard earned money to go to Disney make sure you are comfortable with where you are staying. There is a lot to be said for Disney Magic which is something we missed when we stayed off site and won't do again!

 

[Patrick IL.]

The mid day swim or nap breaks comes to mind, as does the convienence of the transportation system to take you to your resort.

 

[jennymouse]

I believe I get more from my Disney Dollar when staying on site. For years my DD and I stayed with my aunt & uncle who lived in Orlando. (My uncle was an engineer with the company who built parts of Epcot & MGM.)

Of course I loved visiting my a/u and all, but here's how we used to do Disney:

Sleep until 8 or 9, drive to MK/Epcot around 11, tired by 3 or 4, drove back to a/u house with full intentions of coming back to park, but never once did. We only spent one day at whichever park we were going to that trip. Did the same thing at SeaWorld.
Do you think we got our moneys worth out of those tickets?

Last April I took my DGD and we stayed at ASMu for 4 nights. We did the afternoon swim break and hopped back on that bus and went back to the parks. It was awsome.

It's just a wonderful feeling to stay in the magic all week. That feeling you get while at the parks stays with you all week when you stay onsite.

MHO

 

[Richyams]

We took advantage of a Marriot $99 three night one bedroom condo timeshare presentation a few years ago. It was VERY close to being on property. It was actually very close to OKW....the drive just wasn't the same. It was a hassle at times with clogged intersections, it just wasn't right.

The condo was nice, not as nice as OKW, kind of similar to BWV. But the stay did remind us how nice it is to stay on property.

Oh yeah, Marriot timeshare presentation is real, real low, I mean, no, pressure. If you ever get one of those offers in the mail, don't be afraid not to take it because of being subjected to a high pressure timeshare pitch. It was a very pleasent, quick, informative, presentation. We thought it was nice, but it just aint on property, it just doesn't compare.

 

[Mandy aka Minnie]

Something I know I can never live without now is the Mickey wake-up call. It is the most exciting thing in the world to recieve a call from Mickey in the morning, telling you it's time to start your day at Walt Disney World!!!! Also, when I stayed at the All-Star Music last August, 'Be Our Guest' was almost always playing in the main building with the food court, check-in, etc. This also made the stay at least 10 times more exciting!!!