Reassure me about staying offsite!

[UK Princess]

Hello!

We have just booked our villa for January and although I'm obviously very excited and happy to be going back to WDW I can't help feeling a little bit sad about being offsite!

We stayed at the GF last time for 11 nights and did not step foot out of WDW - we didn't have a car and never had any intention of going anywhere else! So this time we are planning on doing other things like Kennedy and Universal hence why it wasn't so important (to everyone else) to stay at a Disney hotel.

The villa looks lovely - it's on the Highgrove estate and will work out at £175 per head for 2 weeks so can't complain...

Come on guys - emphasise all the great things about being in a villa!

 

[luke]

See I'm the opposite and am apprehensive about staying onsite

You'll see there's so so much more to Orlando than just Disney now you're outside the 'bubble'
There's some great restaurants offsite, Universal will be cool especially with Harry Potter there. Don't forget Sea World and if you have time, Busch Gardens

 

[UK Princess]

that's cool!

I spent so much time on here and reading the Unofficial Guide last time I was totally cool with being completely Disneyfied!

Am really really looking forward to Harry Potter already!

 

[london75]

Ahh, the space, the freedom, your own garage, your own pool, your own washer dryer.

A kitchen for when you just want a snack, a mega fridge for a nice chilled champagne when you get back to the villa, an ice maker.

TVs, DVDs, Games, free internet that works.

I would hate to stay onsite I think, only done it in Paris and hated it. I'd imagine Florida is better but nothing compared to a villa.

 

[tony64]

We've never stayed on-site, we love the freedom of being able to go anywhere and do anything whenever we want too.

 

[fizz13]

Planning my 9th trip now so hope I qualify to help

I have a timeshare but due to date limitations the last few trips I have stayed onsite and have got really accustomed to being in my happy disney bubble. this trip I am going back offsite and admittedly i will really miss being onsite.
However the advantages are:

SPACE!! you will really notice you have the room to spread out, chill on a proper sofa in front of the tv etc

Facilities. Its really nice to have the use of a full kitchen, to not have to go to the food court to grab a drink, not have to fight off other people to get to food, and villa bathtubs/showers are proper size. seriously I have never come across a proper size bath on disney property lol. You wont need to carry a bag of quarters to use a washing machine or wait around, just throw in a load and go out for the day. You will always have a parking space outside your property!

Quiet. no people walking past your room at any time or waiting for housekeeping to knock

being outside the disney bubble. Now i know that doesnt sound like an advantage but really it is. it is forcing you to see other stuff, you will drive past shopping areas and want to go in. you will see restaurants and want to try something different and be so pleased at the saving in price. You will feel like you have visited Orlando and not just Disney World. And you will really love the other parks and wonder why you didnt make the effort before. It will have been 6 years (!!) since i set foot in another park and universal/ seaworld are awesome. As are some of the mini-golf courses (the theming is off the scale), the more minor attractions like Wonderworks, there is a lot to see and do out there and its a shame if you dont make the most of coming such a long way.

having said all of the above I am a tad scared about my december trip as firstly I have to try and drive a car out there eeekks!! (disney is so darn convenient for transport lol) and secondly I feel like i am going into the unknown. But I think you'll find that a villa is going to feel a step up in luxury even from the Grand Floridian, you will be amazed at the space and chilled vibe you feel and your holiday will feel more complete

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I love staying off-site. We have had many happy holidays on I-Drive where, unlike Disney, you can walk to restaurants at night and not be stuck waiting for buses! Stayed in a villa once - that was really nice. Your own pool - glorious!! I got up and swam every morning and didn't so didn't put any weight on that holiday (can't do that in Disney, with pool opening times not being early enough, and filled with splashy kids every other time!). You can make breakfast in the villa, to save time in the mornings! You can park right outside the front door, rather than that loooooong walk from the carpark to your hotel room!

We generally stay on site these days, but only because we rarely venture away from Disney parks - we feel we've done Universal / Seaworld etc to death. Otherwise I would definitely hire a villa again!

 

[scojos]

have done both, enjoyed visiting orlando, i agree with luke,places to go people to see....
staying in a villa for the 1st time and im so excited that i would have to listen to my kids snoring in the same room. sad huh?

 

[jockey]

We have done both and both have their advantages. The GF too is one of our fav resorts although I do find it a pain having to park up and then walk for a mile to the room! At least with a villa you can park at the front door!

Having so much space is fantastic too and having a massive fridge to store lots of treat and beer etc!

As has been already mentioned it's much quieter than staying in a hotel!

 

[UKDEB]

Over the course of 20 trips, we've stayed offsite in villas, offsite in hotels, onsite at Disney and onsite at Universal. We've done entire trips offsite and entire trips onsite, as well as many split stays. Each has its own advantages, but if I was forced to choose, I'd say I probably prefer to stay in a villa, with a few nights out onsite part way through. I like being able to throw a few things in an overnight bag, rather than having to pack up completely and move on to the next place. Maybe that's an option for you? Why not look at a night in a Universal resort for two days' FOTL access at the Universal parks?

The more I talk to friends and fellow DISers about the whole onsite/offsite and/or hotel/villa thing, the more clear it becomes that most of us have a very specific notion of what the Orlando experience is for us and, usually, it's what we're accustomed to. I love WDW, and whilst I don't hate being surrounded by it 24/7, without a doubt, I prefer getting out and about. It's what Orlando is for me.

What I love about hotels (not just those onsite) is the ability to shower and change in the evening, walk down for drinks at the bar and then on to dinner. Of course, we still go out for meals when we're in a villa, but it needs more planning and is nowhere near as leisurely an experience. And I hate getting all "creased-up" in the car. Afterwards, too, it's so much more civilised to just be able to stroll back to your room, rather than having to wait for a cab. Having said, that, we wouldn't spend 2 or 3 weeks in Orlando and just eat at our own hotel, so it's a moot point.

However, I find a villa far more relaxing at the very end of the day. You simply can't veg out in a hotel room in the way you can in a villa. When we get home in the evening, be it from a park or dinner, we love chilling out playing pool, taking a dip and relaxing in the jacuzzi. I enjoy the space and privacy - for us a hotel room feels very confining after a few days. I never use hotel pools or jacuzzis, but I'm in them morning and evening when I have my own. Having washing and drying facilities means we can take less in our suitcase and go home with a suitcase full of clean clothes. Using hotel laundry facilities is such a drag. I love staying in fabulous homes and living the dream for a few weeks each year. Making my own bed and cleaning the kitchen are not chores for me when I'm in them. Quite apart from all the practical considerations, though, the best laughs we have on holiday, no matter who we're travelling with, are when we're chilling out around the pool, or playing pool in the games room.

 

[Pegasus928]

Hi - and welcome to the UKTP section
We are also 'serial off-siters' so can only give our opinion from that perspective.
As others have said before us we love the freedom that a villa offers. The pool is never too crowded, you can always get a sun bed and it is never closed for cleaning in the evenings so you can sit in the jacuzzi with glass of bubbly listening to the wildlife all around you.
The internet and phone calls are usually free and once the fridge is stocked up you just help yourself whenever the mood takes. Also being able to veg on a huge comfy sofa, in front of a huge TV while the kids play in the games room, or in the pool or just do their own thing in their own room cannot be underestimated.
Although we have seen some fabulous pictures on here of the hotels, and read some trip reports where people have had a fantastic time whilst staying in a Disney hotel it has never been enough for us to sway away from a villa.
I hope you are reassured by all the positive comments on here but remember that if it wasn't an enjoyable experience there wouldn't be so many villas over there as nobody would want to stay in them.

 

[Head_in_the_clouds]

I would like to stay onsite in one of the Deluxe hotels for a few nights at some time but have to say we have been offsite every time we have been (14 times so far). Last year we spent two weeks at Hilton Grand Vacation Club International Drive and moved for a weekend to the JW Marriot at Grande Lakes. We were totally miserable even though it was a nice hotel, we missed the space so much as we are used to staying in villas. Even when we go elsewhere in the world on trips and holidays we miss all the space we have been spoiled with in Florida. To us the villas and apartments we have stayed in are much more luxurious than most hotels (and we have stayed at some beautiful hotels too). We were supposed to stay at the Grand Floridian last time (its the only Disney Hotel my mum would agree to stay at!) but my Dad put his foot down as after looking at the rooms we realised what we were paying for the night we could have a nicer "space" in a luxury villa for a week. We go to the Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom and the Poly etc for meals and afternoon tea and then sit in the lobby and relax for an hour or two or watch the fireworks from the beach so you can stay offsite and still get some of the magic!

When I have children I would like to spend around 5 nights at the GF or Poly or even a week as I think it may be easier with really little ones to stay at a monorail resort whilst doing the parks and then for another week stay in a villa but at the moment I much prefer the villa.

 

[T16GEM]

We have never stayed onsite! Even though I love Disney I think even I would be suffering from overkill after 3 weeks of constant Disneyness!

We usually stay in a villa and enjoy having our own space to do things, having our own pool and not having to worry about the kids being jumped on in the pool by older kids. Also being able to put them to bed in their own room is great.

I also like that I don't have to take quite so much stuff with me as I can wash clothes and dry them quickly, this means that I can buy more to take home!

We love having a HUGE fridge and an ice machine in the kitchen. All our snacks are readily available and we don't have to walk to the food court to get a drink.

I understand why people stay onsite but it's just not for us

 

[babystar]

We nearly always stay offsite. I love the fact that we can just jump in the car and go anywhere we fancy without having to look at buses and taxis.

We have and still are discovering so so so many more things to do in orlando (dont even think we will be going to Disney on our September hols) I think if we had stayed onsite we never would have had the need to leave the disney "bubble"

 

[dazzling]

deleted

 

[UK Princess]

Thank you so much everyone, I knew I could count on DISers

Phew now I've got over that one can start getting excited!!!