Poll- on site or off site?

[Planogirl]

We used to stay onsite and probably will again but nowadays I'd just as soon be offsite. I like the extra space and better amenities and find that the nicer Disney hotels are usually just way too overpriced. We do a lot of stuff around Orlando now and it's not that important where we stay. "Free" dining is no bargain for us so that is unimportant too.

I do like Port Orleans Riverside and the Animal Kingdom Lodge and will stay at those again. That is, if the price is right.

 

[Pigeon]

It depends for me. I enjoy off site but as long as Disney offers free airport transportation they will most likely see me in one of their hotels. It is nice not having to rent a car.

.

This. Part of the vacation for us is a week without driving at all. But offsite is OK, too.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Which ever one gets me into the parks for the most reasonable price. Sometimes that has been onsite and sometimes it has been offsite.

 

[eliza61]

If I am going on a tight budget then it will be offsite. I hate the values so for me I would rather stay offsite then at a value. since I always have a car, ME is not a draw for me and I find that a few of the places are so close to disney that Ihave gotten back to my condo quicker than I would have gotten back to my room on disney transportation, which is hit or miss.

If I'm feeling a little flush or we were extra good with the budget, we'll stay deluxe on site. I love the proximity to the parks and the theming of the resorts.

Personally, either way I've never been lacking disney "magic". We are liking the ts restaurants less and less also so ddp is less and less attractive.

I think have my dvc keeps me on site way more than any thing else.

 

[DawnM]

We have stayed on-site before and honestly, I didn't feel that much more magic.

Now we are a family of 5 and stay in a 2 bedroom condo off-site only.

Dawn

 

[MamaJessie]

I am having a "this would be easier if we were on site" dilemma right now so thought I would chime in again.

We're heading to MNSSHP and with two young kids that will fall asleep early and two that can hang much later, I wish we were on site so we could take the busses back and divide up, but since we will have our own car we will all have to leave at the same time. But then again we're going to MNSSHP because of all the money we are saving being off site

 

[mhsjax]

I grew up here, I am 48 years old. I never stayed on site until about 6 years ago, and we only stayed on site because we were meeting friends from NC and we wanted to stay next to them. . Now, I will never stay off site. As another pp said, I just don't feel like I am on a WDW vacation.

 

[mdsd8700]

My husband started going to WDW in 1971, when there was one park and the Poly cost about $25 a night!! So staying off site is considered blasphemy We never leave the hallowed grounds of Disney once we are there until it is time to go to the airport. We like to poke fun at ourselves for our inability to think "outside the Mouse"

We know plenty of people who stay off site and they love it and it works for their family, for us when we are in Disney, that is the only place we want to be!

 

[kimmyann]

Our first & only trip so far we stayed onsite. It just wasn't that great to me for the money we spent.(we had to get two rooms) I am planning another Disney trip for next June & we plan to stay offsite, in a house. I would much rather have the extra space, private pool & hot tub, game room, & be able to fix our own meals. I don't like eating out much, it makes me feel

I can see it now, in the evenings, sitting in the hot tub with a drink in hand while the kids play in the pool.

 

[marmalade]

We are an onsite only family. I love the fact that I don't have to drive anywhere. I would not enjoy Epcot as much if I knew I had to drive back to the hotel, I enjoy having a few drinks while there. Staying onsite feels complete to me. I don't feel like I'm not missing any of my vacation by leaving and going to an off-site hotel/condo/etc... .

 

[stargazer2892]

On site. Staying on site gives this sense of "being in the Disney bubble" as DM likes to say. One of the reason we enjoy WDW is the feeling of leaving the real world outside and just enjoy being there. Having to drive, cook, ect. takes away from that feeling. However once I have kids it may be a different story. but since its only DH and I now it suits us perfectly.

 

[gerald]

offsite only so far...We are a family of 5 and we need the space. The only way I could see us staying onsite is going through DVC (buying or renting). We drive down from GA so we would have a car either way. And if we did DVC we would have to have a 2 bedroom at least.

When we went two yrs ago we rented a house 6 bedroom house with friends of ours and cost us $700. for the week. This year we are going with my parents staying in there time-share offsite.

 

[dalstitch45]

I voted onsite. We like to be totally immersed in Disney.

 

[mafibisha]

I've stayed offsite once.....and only once. Never again. I did not feel like I was on a "Disney World vacation" at all. It was depressing to leave the parks and go to the hotel and you're just done for the day.

When we go to Disney, we like to be right in the middle of the magic. If that means we don't go every year, then okay, fine w/ me. There's something about staying on-site that you just feel like you're "part of the whole experience". When we stayed offsite, we felt detached. I know, that probably sounds weird. But I hated it.

ITA
We like the days / nights to extend all night, 24/7. It really IS very very special.

There are nice hotels, condos and houses all over the country. But there's only one WDW, and we are there.

We stayed off site once and going back and forth made it feel like we were at home doing day trips to our local amusement park! Nothing wrong with that park but it sure isn't WDW!

 

[DOOM1001]

I live in Florida but still 4 hours away,we try and go as often as we can which can be 10-15 times a year,staying on site that frequently will add up and since I can usually find hotels like Comfort Suites or Hampton Inn for $30-$50 online I stay offsite on 90% of my trips,the hotels are fine and I always try and get the ones with free breakfast as well.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

"On Site" is the best for sure! Actually I have only stayed on site, granted I have only been twice....but to me it is the absolute best way to do it.

 

[sjs314]

Our first two trips in '89 and '90 we stayed offsite at one of the official downtown Disney hotels, back then it was a Travelodge but has since changed hands and we loved it but of course at that time choices were very limited as to where you could stay on property. Once we stayed on site we never looked back . We just love staying at a Disney resort it is just a total different feel being totally immerced into "Disney" 24 hours a day.
Since they added EMH, DP & ME it just makes staying on site that much more attractive.

 

[bigmama67]

I'm wrestling with this very question for next year's trip. We are hoping to go in late August of next year and would do YES 5-day hoppers if it is possible to sign my DS up for a class (he will be 9 then). Therefore, a package isn't for us and we will also do the Busch and Universal parks. Ideally I'd like to stay 10-11 nights and we'll need a rental car.

Right now I'm thinking of staying onsite for one half of the trip, and we could use ME and Disney transport for that leg of the trip; then move to a hotel on I-Drive and get a rental car for SW/Aquatica/Busch/Universal. I'll have to keep my eye on things once they get the "value season" dates up for next year I guess. I'm interested in Art of Animation but don't know if it will be open by then. I'd LOVE to stay at Wilderness Lodge but that's not going to happen.

When we went in late November of '07 a friend gave us a week in her timeshare at Vistana and we added on a night at the Best Western in Kissimmee. It worked fine. That was before DD though...I find we enjoy having more space in a room now that there are 4 of us!

 

[choppee]

voting offsite for this chick; since we are a family of 5 we need the room, especially after a long day at the parks. need to spread, need the pool and need to get away from the crowds....after awhile crowds just stress us out too much, but i do understand that for some the hype is part of the vacation. so to each his own.

 

[deakam]

I picked onsite but I have stayed off-site. Traffic is the reason I prefer on-site. Sooooooo very many tourists and soooooo very many ways to have an accident. I prefer to park it and let Disney do the driving.