Question for those who stay off site from Walt Disney World

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have a very simple question for those who stay off site when they visit when Walt Disney World. My question why do you stay off site? Is it because of money, like to a lot of things outside Walt Disney World property, find it to be less insane? Just curious what are your reasons for staying off site?

 

[SammieG]

we have stayed onsite and offsite.

We stay offsite so we can have a luxury 2500 sq ft apartment with 2 bathrooms and bedrooms and a huge living room/kitchen with every modern appliance you can think of including washer/dryer dishwasher/microwave/bose sound system for a fraction of the price you would pay at a disney resort.

Every room has a kingsize bed, and a spa bath as standard.

We enjoy eating breakfast in our apartment and coming home by DS6's bedtime most nights, putting him to bed in his own room and having some time to ourselves just to watch tv or sit on the balcony and enjoy a quiet drink in the evenings.

Going to a resort where we had to sleep in one room for two and a half weeks would not be a vacation for us. DS6 cannot do many late nights (and we have jet lag to contend with from the UK too) and is often up VERY early. This way he can watch tv in his own bedroom or play his gameboy or read with the light on without disturbing us. Also if you are jet lagged and get up at 4.30 am its great to be able to make a cup of tea or coffee and grab some toast or cereal without getting dressed or waiting for a food court to open.

Unless we could stay in a 2 bed DVC apartment we would never consider staying onsite again.



We are also 5 minutes from Disney property - so distance is not an issue either.

We enjoy travelling in and out of Disneyworld every day.. I get such a thrill going under the WdW sign every day and we always shout Hooray!

 

[susan1]

I have a very simple question for those who stay off site when they visit when Walt Disney World. My question why do you stay off site? Is it because of money, like to a lot of things outside Walt Disney World property, find it to be less insane? Just curious what are your reasons for staying off site?

all and everyone of those is why we stay off site, you have summed it up where i have failed several times

 

[gjw007]

I have a very simple question for those who stay off site when they visit when Walt Disney World. My question why do you stay off site? Is it because of money, like to a lot of things outside Walt Disney World property, find it to be less insane? Just curious what are your reasons for staying off site?

I own at DVC and offsite. In general, I prefer the offsite units. As an owner, I can use the facilities whenever I want whereas DVC, where I am also an owner, I have some limitations such as when staying at the resort (i.e. use of the pool). My offsite units are larger, less expensive, and give me a break away from Disney. Disney is fine but 24 hours of Disney can be too much! I also don't spend all my time at Disney as I go to Orlando to get away from home and there is a variety of things to do in Central Florida besides Disney. Sometimes it is nice just to be able to sit around and relax without doing anything. The time it takes to drive from my condo to the theme parks is roughly the same as taking Disney transportation; sometimes slower, sometimes faster.

 

[Keacc]

There are always at least 5 of us. My 3 sons are ages 22, 20 and 18. and sometimes ther friends come along. We usually rent a 4-5 bedroom pool home near WDW for about the price of one room at a moderate hotel on property. We have several bathrooms, a kitchen where we always eat breakfast, several TV's, a game room, and our own private pool and hot tub to relax in. nuff said.

 

[isla bonita]

SammieG said it best

We have a home instead of a twonhome. We come home and can go swimming in our own pool no matter what time of night. Or use the spa late in the evening.

Children have the own bedrooms with TV's, DVD's, game system.

We plan pool days. Our 3 children are part fish not sure what side of the family it came from but for gill you would swear it is true. While the kids swim I get to go bargain shopping with out the stress.

We enjoy Disney restaurants but also like to do others while in the area. We also have a full kitchen for breakfast, snacks, bottled water and soft drinks.

For all the adults we have the most lovely appliance called the blender. While in florida we blend a few adult drinks and kick back by the pool.

We rent a car always on or off.

We go down for ten to 17 days. To stay in Disney for 5 people comfortably it would be very expensive vacation and I know we could do shorter trips but why?

Lastly it is our vacations that give me and my DH our time to relax and enjoy each other. We as a couple need that time on vacation and it is very nice to have a suite all to ourselves.

Our idea of a great vacation is not all 5 of us in a single room for 10 or more days. If it was for a weekend I might think about but it.

This option is not for all. It just gives some of us a different vacation then the on site one. We for one spend a lot of time in Central Florida and love it. All of it.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

WEll as the other have said there are many reasons. We have stayed on and off site. I can tell you that staying off site at at 2 bdrm resort with a full kitchen, bath , living and dining room for the same price as a VALUE resort is one reason. WE do not take the bus and to the parks and thus avoid the feeling of being herded like cattle. WE are free to eat snack or a few meals in the apartment and thus keep down our meal costs.

Here is an example, we stayed at Vistana Resort last year which we got on Skyauction for 50 per NIGHT with ALL the amenities mentioned. They have 7 pools security and very nice accomodations. How can you compare that to a Disney Value resort where you are crammed in the room and you cannot even get a cold soda w/out paying 1.50.

If you are thiking of staying offsite I say go for it. There is a whole world out side that you might not explore if you are limited to onsite. Remember Disney's philosopy is keep them ON SITE for everything so they can get every vacation penny you have.

 

[we3disneygo]

more room and what all the other poster's above said...

 

[spiceycat]

my reasons were a little different.

Disney is not pet friendly - they have kennels - but I like my pet with me.

So I stayed in timeshares, condos, or hotels offsite they were and are pet friendly.

Now that Spicey is gone. I don't know.

I own at a DVC resort - OKW - which is very, very laid back and relaxing...

so it is not stress.

besides I can get a week (sometimes) at a 1 or 2 bedroom condo for around $211 to $300 for a WEEK not a day.

you will never find that bargin on Disney property.

www.skyauction.com
be sure to add $195 (exchange fee) + $15 (fee) to your bid.

Now I have an annual pass - without I would not go as often. Plus WDW parking is free if you have annual pass.

now that say - because I belong to DVC - I do both....

at least one night (generally Sun - MK - EMH) I do onsite..... we never check out of the other place - just one night do Disney - EMH is good for the next day too......

the problem is always going from a 1 or 2 bedroom to a studio.... people get very, very use to their own privacy. and I refuse to get a 2-bedroom for even one night on WDW property - too expensive point wise.

if you stay offsite it is generally easier to do other things. Disney is great - but they made it hard to go offsite. I like to bargin shop myself - I hate to shop at home too expensive. but there are several outlet or factory shop close to WDW which have some great bargins!!!!

here is a link
http://www.orlandotouristinformationbureau.com/shopping/malls.htm

 

[Jennifer70]

Thanks for all the info. I am trying to plan our first WDW trip (been to DL few times) but I am still in the stage of researching resorts and trying to figure out on or off site and off site has very valid points that my husband has already pointed out to me.

 

[SammieG]

Thanks for all the info. I am trying to plan our first WDW trip (been to DL few times) but I am still in the stage of researching resorts and trying to figure out on or off site and off site has very valid points that my husband has already pointed out to me.

Many people have stayed on and off site...
what are your concerns about staying offsite?

Or onsite for that matter?

Maybe we can help your decision further.

I only ever stayed at moderates at WDW, and Im glad we did it, but there is no way I would go back again now we have a family.

We found it limiting, noisy and rather basic to be honest.

Our time share or the condo's we have rented have been so much more luxurious than the moderates - and much more convenient in many ways.

We dont use disney transport though, even when on site, so staying off site is not a problem to us.
I would, if it were just DH and myself, like to stay at one of the monorail resorts one time.... but I cant see us ever going without DS..

 

[Paxtrist]

We have stayed onsite and offsite. My family prefers offsite. We love how large the condos are. The kids each have their own bedroom and bathroom which is a big plus. I feel offsite is less crowded and therefore less noise. Plus I like the childrens activities that are offered at the condos. We are usually only 10 to 15 minutes away from the park.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Simply, you get alot more value for your money. I realized that after I stayed at the Polynesian for a week back in '03.

 

[mbb]

Ditto all the above

We like onsite too, and try to get a few days onsite at a "new" resort, ie, one we haven't tried yet.

(Up next is the CR, or POR )

We love that the Orlando area has soooo many choices for us, whether it be shopping, accomodations, attractions...whatever.

All good

 

[Brian Noble]

We rent private pool homes. Much more space and better-equipped facilities for much less money. Last year, we rented a 3BR/3BA private townhouse with a splash pool for the cost of a single Value room. To come even close to what we had offsite, it would have cost easily 3x as much.

We do give up onsite benefits, but those benefits aren't worth the cost to us. We drive ourselves even onsite. The dining plan doesn't really work for our touring habits. I can charge to my credit card just as easily as to my room.

Lugging packages is a drag, but not a $1,400 drag. Likewise, if I really miss Stacy, I can download her from google video. (And, really, I don't miss her that much.)

When we really want to take advantage of an on-site benefit (for example, an EMH that we'd like to attend or a resort we'd like to experience) it's cheaper to book an extra onsite room for a night or two, but keep our offsite townhouse where we are more comfortable, than it would be to book large-enough onsite accomodations for the entire week.

 

[sammielynn]

I love having a bedroom for each of us. That way the family can spread out and not be together 24/7. With Teen boys that is a blessing. Also the cost is a fraction of on-site. We had a two bedroom condo in May for $265.

 

[buzz2400]

My reasons:
I stay offsite at a hotel because you don't have to walk a mile from your car to your room. You don't have to walk a mile to your room to the eating areas of the hotel. I don't use disney buses because in the morning you wait forever to get a bus and then at night you have to stand because there is no room on the bus. I am staying at comfort inn lake buena vista for $54 a night v. if I stayed at the all stars it would be around $99. I don't do the early morning extra hours or the evening extra hours but instead go to a park that does not have any extra hours that day. I will have to pay $10 to park at the parks but that would only be another $40 since we only go four days to the parks. Also it seems that everytime I stay at Pop Century or the All Stars something is wrong with the room. Oh and also pretty much the only channels you get at the disney resorts is disney, disney, disney.

 

[QT Pooh]

I like the fact that when we stay offsite, we save so much money on food, drink and lodging that we're able to take a second family vacation every year. We also like all the space that we get at a vacation home vs. an on-site hotel. We have teenagers (one of each sex) so we'd need three different sleeping spaces.

 

[jme829]

For us it is mostly $$...We stay free at Holiday Inns, Marriots, Hampton Inns, (though at Disney we focus on Holiday Inn)..So right off the bat we are saving several hundred dollars by not needing to pay for a hotel. However, if we did have to pay out of pocket, we would still stay offsite for basically the same reasons as posted by others. Plus the hotels we choose are just as close if not closer to the parks than some onsite hotels, or at least just as convenient to get to (we don't take breaks either, so that is not a concern to us-when the kids were younger, they slept in the stroller )

WE have stayed at WDW hotels, but to us, other than the theming, a hotel room is a hotel room. WE have stayed in a Doubletree in Columbus Ohio (for free!) that was nicer (roomwise) than the 2 Disney hotels we stayed at..
We are not hotel "groupies" in that we don't hang out at the hotel much, so for us it is bascially a place to sleep and shower. As far as pools, again, other than theming, the water is just as wet on a hot day so as long as there is a pool and its clean, we don't care what it looks like.
For the record, we did use WDW busses, etc on our first trip...never again..Now we will always rent a car whether we are onsite or not.

We also like to do nonWDW attractions, and as much as we love Disney, we don't want to surrounded or focus on it 24/7...WE would burn out to quick and then have nothing to look forward to next trip. By staying offsite and not being %100 immersed in DIsney keeps it "fresh" for us. KWIM??

 

[lovindonald]

We stayed at the Nick Hotel last year and my kids just LOVED it and now they don't want to stay anyplace else. We also felt like we had more freedom. I kind of feel like it is a waste to rent a car when stay onsite but then you are tied to their transportation. I liked having a car and coming and going as I pleased without feeling like I was wasting $$. I stayed at the BC and spent a fortune and had a miserable time. It was cheaper to stay at the Nick Hotel and we had no problems at all.