pros and cons to off property

[homeschooler]

I have never stayed off property but am seriously considering it this year. Anyone who has done it, can you give me the good and the bad and if you would do it again and why? Thanks

 

[Robinrs]

I do both.

The pros are obvious:

1: Price

2: larger spaces

3: variety

The cons depends on what you prefer:

1: transportation

2: Parking

3: Traffic

4: Missing out on the onsite perks such as "magic", charging to card key, EE, Enights.

I do both on all my vacations, depending on my needs.

 

[homeschooler]

What are EE and Enights?

thanks

 

[Robinrs]

Sorry... EE is Early Entry and Enights are special nights Disney has for on site guests. They are after hours at Magic Kingdom on certain nights during the month and for only certain rides. It's aLOT of fun, BTW!

 

[nhrenee]

Hi! There was a great post on this very subject in the not too distant past. I tried to post a link but it didn't work. Go to the search feature- in keyword type"staying off-site"-under forums choose Orlando attractions.

Go to Mz Diz's post titled" pros and cons of staying off site", about 8 posts from the top.

We personally prefered off site because we could rent a house 10 minutes from the main gate for $700. I don't like to eat park food all the time so having a kitchen was nice even though we only cooked a couple of meals. I liked have a frig so we could store fresh fruit and snacks to eat when we returned from the parks and we also ate a good breakfast before heading out in the morning. My family prefers having space to spread out. We get to the parks at opening and are ready to leave by 4pm so we end up spending quite a bit of time in the house. Also, although some people would rather cut their hands off than do laundry on vacation I loved being able to through some things in the washer/dryer when needed.

It's a very individual choice. Have a great time whatever you decide.

 

[Jane E.]

We homeschool too and love it! We generally stay offsite because of the money. Also, since we have two teens we need to get either a suite or separate bedroom. However, we stayed onsite once and loved it!

 

[apagano]

We saved a ton of money and got a huge suite by staying offsite. That being said, there were definitely some moments where we wished we had stayed onsite. I got tired of squinting at the road signs trying to figure out where the heck I was going most of the time. On numerous occasions it would have been much easier to take resort transportation.

 

[jtryan]

We have stayed off-site and on-site. We prefer more room (suite or condo) and therefore have stuck with off-site on our last couple of trips as well as our upcoming December trip. For the price, it can't be beat. In my opinion, it is much more important to have seperate bedrooms and bathrooms when traveling with children or other friends/family members. We also love to have the convenience of a full kitchen and washer/dryer in the unit. Finally, my husband is not one to take Disney transportation so that is not an incentive for us. Even on our last trip in which we stayed on-site (1990) we used our own car after one day. He cannot stand to wait for a bus, stand on a bus or even worse - to have a full bus pass you up. Good luck on your decision and have a great trip.

roxanne

 

[horseshowmom]

Hi! We homeschool too (and love it as Jane E. said)!

The last few times we also rented a house for all of the reasons already mentioned. It didn't take long to get to the parks. We like to take a day off between parks to rest up and enjoy other activities (including the private pool). The washer and dryer were wonderful (pack fewer clothes and no dirty clothes to have to cart home). Last year my SIL and I did take our girls and stayed at Embassy Suites. The breakfast was incredible, but we weren't nearly as comfortable as we would have been in a house (and ES cost a lot more!).

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[LeahA]

I've stayed off-site 5 times and I have to say the biggest reason why is the greal deals we have received though Priceline or Hotel Kingdom. We've never had bad traffic getting to and from the parks and we've always enjoyed ourselves.

Our 2002 trip is planned for CBR and that is simply because it's our anniversary and were sort of curious on how much magic is in the air onsite.

You don't need to stay onsite to have a magical, fun, awesome vacation. You just need to be with the ones you love!

 

[crusoe2]

We just got back from Orlando this afternoon. We went down with the intention of staying off site at Vistana Village but after one nite we checked out and went to the Wilderness Lodge. There were several reasons for the switch. First tho I should mention that Vistana Village was really beautiful, the unit we were in lived up to everything I had heard about the place and we were told that we would be mailed a refund for the nites we did not use.( Hope they come thru as promised.) For us, the down side to staying there was mainly the loss of Disney transportation and perks. We have found that what works for us is to get to the parks before opening, take a mid-day break at the hotel and go back out to the parks about mid-afternoon. Our very first morning we ran into a problem with getting into Magic Kingdom before official opening time even tho we had an 8:00 PS for breakfast at Cindy's. I got up in the wee hours one morning several weeks ago just to make that PS and we missed it because we were sitting in the MK parking lot on a tram waiting for it to fill up enough to make the trip up to the gate. (Just about the time we decided to get off and walk they announced that we were about to depart for the gate and then we still sat there for another 5 minutes or so. ) Once we finally got to the TTC we had trouble finding someone who would let us board the monorail rather than wait in a very long line with all the other day guests. Of course, the only monorail running was the resort monorail and it made stops at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian before we finally got to the MK stop. By the time we made it thru the security check and the turnstiles it was 8:35 and there was no way we were going to be able to eat at Cindy's and get down to rope drop by 9:00, even if they had a table still available. Another problem we ran into was finding somewhere to buy groceries. The folks at V V gave us a sheet with directions to a Publix and a WalMart and we opted to go to the WalMart because we also wanted to pick up a fanny pack for my DH. That place was a zoo! I would not recommend that anyone try to shop there - we were constantly being cut off, run over, having other people's kids poking around in our buggy. We thought our hometown Walmart was bad but this was unreal! We finally gave up and went to the Publix only to find that it had just closed. Overall we found that staying off site (even with more space & amenities) can be just as problematic as staying on site and making do with less space and fewer dining options. Granted we spent more money and we might have been able to manage OK if we had stuck with the condo and just given ourselves another day or two to work out all the little glitches but I didn't want to risk it. The other thing we disliked about being off site was that we felt kind of isolated from everything - the Disney parks, the off site restaurants, places to shop - everything. If I were to try off site again I think I would probably go back to Kissimmee - we found that we actually preferred that area over International Drive. I think that the final decision on whether to stay on site or off site should be based on which one is the vacation that you really want - don't sacrifice what you really want to save a little money. If you go home feeling like you missed out then, really, all the money you've spent was wasted. Hope this helps - sorry it's so long.

 

[jtryan]

crusoe2,

Sorry you had a bad experience at the Vistana Villages. However, that is where we are staying on our upcoming December trip and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me how long it took you to get to the TTC? Sorry your experience getting to an early PS went so badly. I do agree with you about that Wal-Mart - it is a zoo!

roxanne

 

[Lewisc]

I believe E-nights are cancelled (at least until the end of the year) and there are rumors that early entry may become a thing of the past.

 

[crusoe2]

jtryan,

The trip from Vistana Village to the parking lot at MK only took about 15 minutes. The long part was waiting for the tram to take us up to the gate and then getting from the TTC over to the MK gates - that took about 30 minutes. We were running just a few minutes late to begin with but thought we could still make it since I had been told they will hold your PS for about 15 minutes. The trip from Vistana Village to Disney property is very easy but once on property the roads can be kind of confusing and, of course, you have no control over things like the problems that we ran into. I guess that was what really turned me off about being off-site -- if we had been at a Disney resort, getting into the MK at 8am would not have been a problem. (We've done it before when staying at ASMO.) Something else that I thought I'd pass along - there were almost no restaurants between Vistana Village and the Disney parks. Also, all the places to shop for groceries seemed to be in the opposite direction. We found this to be very inconvenient but it can be worked around - it just would have been nice to know in advance since I hate to use up much of my time on things like finding a grocery store or restaurant. Hope this helps.

 

[aprincessmom]

I have done both. I actually prefer off-site. Here are the pros and cons.

Off-site
Pros
-- Can usually get more space for the money (we can rent a house with a private pool for a the same rate as a moderate WDW hotel per/night during the time we go)
-- Don't have to have to get dressed or leave hotel room for a hot breakfast
-- Room for everyone when you start to get on each other's nerves
-- Got to the parks quicker from offsite than when using Disney transportation
-- Saved money on meals
-- Went to more places that were not WDW-related
-- Gave you a break from the Disney themes

Cons
-- Requires a car


On Site
Pros
-- Can use Disney transportation
-- Mickey wakes you up
-- Onsite special entry for parks (which we've never used)
-- Package deliver (which we've never used)

Cons
-- 24/7 Disney which can get overwhelming
-- Limited space unless you get a vacation home
-- If you eat in your room, there are only 2 chairs at the table
-- Transportation can be uneven with long waits between or for busses

 

[apagano]

aprincessmom, you give a pretty compelling argument for staying off-site. To be fair, however, I will point out that depending on personal preferences some of your "pros" could be considered "cons" and vice-versa. For example, some people want to be immersed in Disney theming on a 24/7 basis. Also, the amount of time it takes to get to the parks depends on where you stay and where you're going. People staying in the monorail resorts have great access to both MK and Epcot, while others are quite a haul on crowded buses. Also, to add to the "pros" list for staying on-site, you will not be denied admission to the parks during peak season. Guests staying off-site during peak times have occasionally been turned away when the parks are packed.

Ultimately it all depends on what your priorities are.

 

[Lewisc]

aprincessmom--I think your summary is valid if you're comparing the Disney value and moderate resorts. The EPCOT resorts have boat and walking access to MGM and EPCOT and the monorail resorts have monorail and boat access to MK. I agree, if you're going to rent a car you can freqently get to your hotel offsite almost as fast as if you take to bus to a moderate or value Disney resort. A pro for off site--many hotels off site include a continental or even full breakfast.
Staying in a Disney resort guarantees you acess to A PARK but a particular park could be closed to resort guests and if a park is closed to off site guests it's probably too crowded to be worth visiting.
If I can't get book a room at a rate I'm comfortable with in a Deluxe hotel (including S/D) I'd rather save the money and stay offsite than stay in a moderate or value.

 

[Planogirl]

We've also stayed both onsite and offsite and I like doing either one. It is fun to sometimes be immersed in the Disney atmosphere and we did enjoy EE and e-nights from time to time. Of course, if those perks go away, there's certainly less reason to stay onsite IMO!

As far as offsite goes, it's nice to have more room and to save money. We stayed in a really nice resort in Kissimmee once which we got at a bargain price through Priceline. The trip into WDW was easy from this location even though I continually got lost coming back, I blame myself for that.

I also like exploring more of Florida and I think for some reason that it's easier to do so when we stay offsite. Florida has a lot to offer even if WDW is the best attraction.

 

[Mercy]

Hi, homeschooler, I used to be one too!

Our last trip we stayed half off/half on. And I have to say we enjoyed staying on more. There is just something about staying on property, and just catching a bus or a boat or whatever right there. Now we only go to DW once every other year or so, so because we don't go that often I want to make the most of that time. So as long as I can afford it I will stay on property. I guess if I went every year or a couple times a year then I might stay off property some times to save money.

 

[Kay1]

I like both but seem to prefer offsite lately. This weekend my sons and I are staying one night at an Amerisuites I paid $28 for on Pricline. We'll get the two rooms, hair dryer, iron and board, fridge, coffee maker, microwave, and free breakfast. At Po or AS, I would paid $89 or $49 with a Florida Resident's discount and received none of the above. Had I paid full price for the Amerisuites, it would have cost $69. We're planning a Christmas trip and still can't decide what to do. Last Christmas, I paid $50 for the MOWC which was a beautiful resort.

I would make sure my offsite hotel was not far from Disney and factor in the price of a rental car if you're not driving. Good luck making your decision.