Questions about staying offsite...

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm headed to my first ever WDW trip next week (if IKE will go away!)

but already planning a large family trip (with IL's) in Jan. 2010. There will be 8 of us. I was thinking of just two separate rooms at Pop, but really wanted to save money and thought that if we stayed somewhere with a fridge/kitchenette, it would help.

I found a couple places offsite, but wondering what I will be giving up by doing this? I know we won't be able to use EMH but what about ADR's? Will we not be able to make those either? I believe the places I'm looking at have bus service to the park, or we will drive, but what are the advantages/disadvantages to staying offsite?

 

[liamsaunt]

You can still make ADRs if you stay offsite. The only difference is that off site locations do not get the 180+10 option--you can call at 180 days, but only for that day. So, you would have to call Disney Dining every day that is 180 days out from your trip dates if you wanted to make ADRs on the first available date for booking. On site guests can make reservations for 180 days out+ the next 10 days (so they only have to call Disney dining once). This of course will not impact you since you are going so soon. You'll be able to make all your adrs in one phone call.

If you opt to stay offsite, I recommend renting a car. The shuttle buses to the offsite hotels don't run as frequently as the Disney buses. You can get a car for pretty cheap, and the added convenience is worth it, in my opinion.

 

[davinakb]

• We always drive at Disney, prefer it to the buses, so I agree with the last poster about the car rental if you won't be driving down, maybe even try Priceline.
• And yes, you can still book your ADRs, just not quite as early as if on property.
• You loose the EMH, so my advice would be plan your days around them to avoid that crowd.
• For a list of advantages/disadvantages, check this AllEars post.

Since you are looking at 2 rooms, even in a suite style hotel, you may want to look at a timeshare or condo rental. Many of the timeshare places (Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, etc.) offer 3BR/2BA places that sleep 8. You would have a full kitchen, laundry, all that. Just look for deals. Or you can try a private condo/villa would also offer lots of space for the money, places like Windsor Hills or Emerald Island. Probably a little early to look for 2010, but you never know. FWIW.

 

[cheerky]

Windsor Hills is very nice and very close to the parks, grocery and restaurants. You will need your own transportation though. Check it out... we stayed there for a week last April and only paid $550 for a 2BR condo. Had a great time!

 

[Darcy03231]

With a large party I would look into renting a vacation home. We did last summer (there were 9 of us) and I think its the best thing we could have done. We had a 5 bedroom, 3 bath, private pool home with a full kitchen and washer & dryer for $700 for the week including all taxes. That was less than the cost of one room at a value resort for a week.

 

[HeatherC]

Once you stay in a villa, it will be really hard to go back to a regular hotel room.

There are tons of awesome resorts within minutes of the parks. Here are a few to check out.

WindsorHills
Bonnet Creek
Marriott's Grande Vista, Cypress Harbor and Horizons Resorts
Sheraton's Vistana Villages and Vistana Resort,
Orange Lake
Windsor Palms

Just a few.

Hope this helps you.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!! I think we will be going with a rental home, they are HUGE and many of them are Disney themed so I don't feel like we lose all the magic! Loving what you get for the money, offsite.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We went with a group of 9 total and rented a 4br at Windsor Palms (before WH was built.) We had lots of space. Besides having the pool right in back, it was nice that we could all be together but still have our own separate rooms to retreat if we wanted some quiet time. In a hotel with separate rooms, you have to get dressed and knock, hoping you're not waking them or interrupting.
We did rent 2 cars so we wouldn't all have to agree on where and when to go every day.