Should we stay in Disney?

[Becca3012]

My best friend and I are going to Florida next June from the UK for two weeks and are wondering what the benefits of staying in Disney World would be and are they worth paying a lot extra. I've been to Florida before but have always stayed in Kissimmee in a villa. This will be my friends first time in America. We are 19 and 20 if that makes a difference. Thank you for any help you can give us. We'd appreciate any other help or tips you can give us too! x

 

[trishadono]

My best friend and I are going to Florida next June from the UK for two weeks and are wondering what the benefits of staying in Disney World would be and are they worth paying a lot extra. I've been to Florida before but have always stayed in Kissimmee in a villa. This will be my friends first time in America. We are 19 and 20 if that makes a difference. Thank you for any help you can give us. We'd appreciate any other help or tips you can give us too! x

I have visiting many times over the years. My 18yr daughter wants to bring her friends this summer( no parents). They have all been here with their families. As a parent I like the safety of being on property. You get transportation from the airport and to and from parks to your hotel.( no driving, especially for you in a foreign country) Disney has a lot of security so I never worry about staying out late. I would absolutely worry if she hung out until 1 or 2 am in Kissimmee, Orlando or any other city. Where as at Disney the Magic Hours lets you stay out late and be safe!

I love the value resorts for price and theming if cost is important. Watch and learn about sales. Often I get a moderate for just a little more than a value.

This site has so much great info, read and learn. Also many of us like allears.net.

For me hands down I will choose Disney every time

My next trip is without dad or son , just us girls for her 18birthday, only 30 days!!! woohoo!

 

[Becca3012]

I have visiting many times over the years. My 18yr daughter wants to bring her friends this summer( no parents). They have all been here with their families. As a parent I like the safety of being on property. You get transportation from the airport and to and from parks to your hotel.( no driving, especially for you in a foreign country) Disney has a lot of security so I never worry about staying out late. I would absolutely worry if she hung out until 1 or 2 am in Kissimmee, Orlando or any other city. Where as at Disney the Magic Hours lets you stay out late and be safe!

I love the value resorts for price and theming if cost is important. Watch and learn about sales. Often I get a moderate for just a little more than a value.

This site has so much great info, read and learn. Also many of us like allears.net.

For me hands down I will choose Disney every time

My next trip is without dad or son , just us girls for her 18birthday, only 30 days!!! woohoo!

Thank you, thats really helpful to know. Is there a big difference in quality/ service between value and moderate resorts?

 

[nhmommy]

When you do your budgeting remember if you stay off site you will need to rent a car, and car rental for under 25 years old is an additional charge.

 

[davedmaine]

My best friend and I are going to Florida next June from the UK for two weeks and are wondering what the benefits of staying in Disney World would be and are they worth paying a lot extra. I've been to Florida before but have always stayed in Kissimmee in a villa. This will be my friends first time in America. We are 19 and 20 if that makes a difference. Thank you for any help you can give us. We'd appreciate any other help or tips you can give us too! x

Just know that you are doing it for atmosphere and ease of travel. I think a lot of people scratch their heads when they realize their $400 BW or CR room would be about $65 outside the gate. If you can afford it, do it. If not, don't worry about it. You'll still have a great time.

 

[Becca3012]

When you do your budgeting remember if you stay off site you will need to rent a car, and car rental for under 25 years old is an additional charge.

We probably wouldn't rent a car but i never knew this - thank you! Could be useful.

 

[patty57]

The actual benefits would be transportation to/from the airport, EMH (extra magic hours), being able to use you room key like a credit card, and atmosphere. With that said, maybe you could spend some of the time on WDW property, and some time off property if you plan on doing other things besides WDW. In order to get ME transportation, you could begin your trip onsite, and either end it onsite for transportation back to the airport, or use a shuttle, cab or towncar.
I want to add, as a mom to 19 & 20 years olds...the safety of being on property would certainly make me feel better.

 

[LSchrow]

We probably wouldn't rent a car but i never knew this - thank you! Could be useful.

in addition to the higher cost of a car rental for under 25yo, remember that there is a daily parking fee ($14?) - good all day, all parks. else, many off-site resorts charge a fee if you use their park transportation.

personally, i would seriously consider staying on-site:
no airport to resort & visa-versa cost with Magical Express, no cost for trans to/fro parks (not as limited hours as many off-site...so one person can easily and quickly return to resort if they wish), extended hours for on-site guests, package delivery to your resort, etc.
a large consideration is the safety factor: i wouldn't want my kids at that age to stay off-site. it may be a bit of a "bubble" - but disney resorts are well maintained and patrolled (often by undercover security so not to detract from the experience). we have stayed off-site, but found onsite to be much less stressful and enjoyable (like a true vacation!)
enjoy

 

[DizDaD7]

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Thank you, thats really helpful to know. Is there a big difference in quality/ service between value and moderate resorts?

1st off. Even as a dad of 2 I would always suggest staying on property. Besides the safety factor knowing that my kids will be safer with me not around is a huge weight off my shoulders . Throw in the fact that you really get submersed in the Disney magic when staying on property. ( regardless which resort u stay in ). No worries about how you get to n from airport. Or the parks.

Now to answer your other question. Difference between the two can vary but it generally goes like this.

Value generic clean room with full size beds.
Food at values is the food court.
Pools. Generally 3 with 1 main pool centrally located & nicely themed.
Transportation. ALWAYS the bus to n from wherever you go.

Moderates give a lil more. Rooms a lil bigger with queen size beds. Except CBR.
Food . They have the food court as well as a table service rest. & a quick grab n go place too. Alzo has a lounge.
Pools. Generally 3 pools again but the main pool is usually more elaborate. Details here and all feature pools have a nice water slide. Some also have hot tubs there as well.
Transportation is the same with only buses but POR/POFQ has the boat to Downtown Disney too.
When going deluxe once again roooms lil bigger with queens or king.
Food options go up considerably though. Usually food court then anywhere from 2-4 restaurants on site. Some more.
pools get a lil more Theming and still waterslides.
Transportation is the key here. You can bus to parks monrail to them boat to them n yes
walk to them too.

Obviously plenty of things to consider but as a prior poster stated keep n eye out for deals. Sometimes its not much more to upgrade. Have a safe n wonderful trip.

 

[Disneytwinsmom]

We always stay on property! So much more convenient! And I love that it just "feels" like Disney the entire stay!

 

[IbeAbitGOOFY]

Others have already said it, but I will reiterate. Staying on-property immerses you in the Disney experience. We’ve stayed off-property, moderate and deluxe. The off-property just felt like a hotel and Disney was something we did during the day. Staying on-property, I felt like we were at Disney day AND night. We felt like once we entered the Disney gate, we never left until we drove off property back to the airport.

 

[wiigirl]

We always stay on property! So much more convenient! And I love that it just "feels" like Disney the entire stay!

Agreed....staying onsite is a must for us.

 

[dis_guy]

We always stay on property! So much more convenient! And I love that it just "feels" like Disney the entire stay!

Yup. The real world stops when I step onto the Magical Express and it starts again when I step off at the airport. Priceless.

 

[Dis703]

I've stayed off property more times than I've stayed on property, but for as long as I can do it financially we'll be staying at Disney for future trips.

Others have mentioned most of the benefits of staying on property. The safety would be big for me as a mom too. But having stayed off property I wouldn't do it in the future without having a car with me. I'm sure it varies widely by hotel, but I found the transportation offered by several offsite hotels to be pretty crappy. They had very limited times they went to the parks in the am hours and then long span of no transportation and then limited pickup times in the evening. Staying onsite there are buses every 20 minutes to take you from your resort to the parks, so you can really come and go as you please.

We also had a terrible experience with one of the offsite buses having no air conditioning and the long drive to the parks was miserable.

 

[goofy4tink]

We probably wouldn't rent a car but i never knew this - thank you! Could be useful.

And there you go!! You just answered your own question. If you won't be renting a car, and I wouldn't recommend that in any case based on your age and the fact that you're from overseas, you would have to depend on cabs and/or shuttles from a hotel you choose. Most offsite hotels provide minimal shuttle services to the parks. And cabs get expensive.

So, book a value resort. See if you can find any good deals out there. Are you looking at this June, or next June? Next June would make it easier to find decent deals. My dd, 19, loves the value resorts. They are fine for just two. And they are bright and colorful. Even my now 36 y/o dd said that while she thought BWVs was beautiful, she wished she could have just continued our stay at Pop!!! Go figure!

The bus service from the value resorts is very good. And since you would be staying onsite, you get to use DME to get to, and from, the airport.

If you wanted to head to other 'parks' in Orlando, that is easily accomplished.

 

[Becca3012]

And there you go!! You just answered your own question. If you won't be renting a car, and I wouldn't recommend that in any case based on your age and the fact that you're from overseas, you would have to depend on cabs and/or shuttles from a hotel you choose. Most offsite hotels provide minimal shuttle services to the parks. And cabs get expensive.

So, book a value resort. See if you can find any good deals out there. Are you looking at this June, or next June? Next June would make it easier to find decent deals. My dd, 19, loves the value resorts. They are fine for just two. And they are bright and colorful. Even my now 36 y/o dd said that while she thought BWVs was beautiful, she wished she could have just continued our stay at Pop!!! Go figure!

The bus service from the value resorts is very good. And since you would be staying onsite, you get to use DME to get to, and from, the airport.

If you wanted to head to other 'parks' in Orlando, that is easily accomplished.

Thank you. We're planning to do all of the main Florida parks except Kennedy and Legoland basically and are also doing discovery cove so transport of of Disney was another one of our questions

 

[RedfromNL]

All of the tips and advice given before is so true, but never feel you should. You could and that is a difference.

That said, I personally would.
It's fun, nice, convenient etc etc (see other posters here...) And I like the hotels

 

[DizDaD7]

Thank you. We're planning to do all of the main Florida parks except Kennedy and Legoland basically and are also doing discovery cove so transport of of Disney was another one of our questions

Remember. Don't forget about DME. To me it's the most undervalued thing that gets overlooked. Nothing better than giving your luggage to the check in at your home airport and not having to worry bout those until you get to your resort room. Or not having to worry about a rental car,or bus or taxi.....Nice leisure stroll to ME bus and immediately you are into your Disney experience.

Even though you are going to visit other destinations its still a wise choice to come back each day to the most respectable place on earth. Safety too. Once again either choice u choose, enjoy and have fun.

 

[ChristaDeVil]

We've done both, and I can totally see pros and cons of both. This is just from my point of view and the opinion of our group.
We have stayed on-site several times, at both deluxe and values. We drive, so transportation isn't a huge factor for us, even though it is useful at times. We don't rely on it 100%, so it's not necessarily a "pro" for us. The biggest pro is getting back into the parks at night. Staying offsite the past couple of years, we just haven't gotten back at night. We end up coming back to the condo in the afternoon and just staying put. I love the parks and night and staying onsite helps give me the boost to get back in there.
Our biggest pro of offsite is the type of room we can get. We've been staying in a two bedroom condo with plenty of space for the three of us, plus the kitchen and washer and dryer have been wonderful. Going back into one room on property is going to be a challenge, but we won't be staying in the room as much.
I think everyone has reasons for either, but I think that everyone needs to stay on property at least once - just for the experience.

 

[leebee]

My daughter is 19.5, and I'd only be comfortable with her staying onsite- and I am a BIG advocate of staying offsite. If you are a Disney resort guest, you can take Magical Express from MCO airport to your resort, and back again at the end of your visit. While you are staying at Disney, you can use the bus and boat system to get you to any Disney park, resort, and Downtown Disney. As has been mentioned, rental cars are expensive, and if the driver is under 25 yo, there's a huge additional charge, and then there's the cost of insurance and parking at the Disney parks (currently $14 a day). Yes, some offsite hotels offer shuttle service to the parks, but it's often shared with other hotels, increasing transportation time. You also have to adhere to the set schedule... they really won't care if you want to go to/leave a park now, you have to wait for the next scheduled shuttle. We did a shuttle for one day, years ago, andthen rented a car. Offsite shuttles are a HUGE hassle. Just the convenience and additional cost of transportation makes it worth it for you to stay onsite at a Disney resort.

Stay at a value resort, if you don't mind double beds. (two to a room, each bed holds 2 adults but is only about 4' wide... not sure how that measures up for you). These rooms have private (small) bathrooms and each room also has a phone, TV, and small refrigerator. If you want to get some food for your room (breakfast stuff, snacks, etc) you can have an order delivered via Garden Grocer, or you could take a cab to the nearest Publix supermarket or Walmart (don't go to Goodings, they are SO expensive). Your resort will have a good food court, several swimming pools, and an arcade area. The value resorts are served by the Disney bus system. They are a great deal if you watch for specials and book "room only," getting your own park tickets and buying your food out of pocket. Having said that, you also should check into specials for non-USA residents, as sometimes the tickets are a much better deal than those you could buy here. You might want to check with a Disney travel agent (Dreams Unlimited is great- see top of page for a link) to see what the best on-site deal would be.

When we went to Universal to see Harry Potter, Dreams Unlimited was running a special that included tickets and transportation from Disney hotels. I don't think that kind of thing is still available, but a travel agency such as DU would know the best way to get bus/cab fare to the other theme parks. It's probably even possible to use the city bus system, but I don't know where you'd pick that up.

PS- Just asked DD and she said if it was just her and friends traveling, there's NO WAY she'd stay offsite!