Should we stay onsite or in family condo?

[mickey12810]

We have stayed onsite for all but one of our trips and vowed we would never stay offsite again. But my BIL just purchased a timeshare close to disney and have invited us to stay there in April. I am having a hard time deciding and I think I need someone to just guide me in the "right" direction. There will be me, my DS15, my MIL, BIL and his wife, her daughter and SIL and 2 kids, 9 & 4. They have 2 units so in the unit that we will be in will be MIL, BIL, SIL, DS15 and me. Please help me make a decision. TIA

 

[boomhauer]

Really depends on the person. My MIL has a timeshar at Vistana and I refuse to stay there. I absolutely will not stay off property, free or not.

But that's just me.

 

[alecam]

Posting this on the resorts board, you will get a ton of "never offsiters" telling you to stay onsite.

Post this on the Orlando attractions board and you will get a ton of "never onsiters" telling you to take the condo.

My point is you need to do what you feel comfortable with. I absolutely LOVED the condo I stayed at in June when I swore I would never stay offsite. But having two bedrooms and two bathrooms with two small children at $79/night and going home with all of my laundry done and the onsite magic for me dwindled!! I do plan on staying onsite again in the near future, but the value for your money with a condo can't be beat!!

best of luck in your decision!!

 

[melomouse]

Hi Mickey -

FWIW - We've done both. In general, for me, I think I like to make longer and/or more frequent trips, and if that means staying offsite to accomplish that - we do!!
Alecan has given good input, and you might want to check out past threads.
Two questions come to my mind for you that you might consider in making your decision - and it IS tough, for me at least -

How long will your trip be?? Shorter trip=onsite definitely to maximize park time and the "feel".

How do you get along with all these family members and do you want to "live" with them for the duration of your stay??? LOL!!

Good luck!
melomouse

 

[dennisnlisab96]

ON SITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[allshookup]

Is it possible you could join your family but spend a few days afterwards on-site? That way if things aren't going as planned, you'll have on-site to look forward to!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Really depends on the person. My MIL has a timeshar at Vistana and I refuse to stay there. I absolutely will not stay off property, free or not.

But that's just me.

Can I stay with her? We LOVE Vistana and are going back this month! Can't wait.

Mickey........alecam is right. I have done both, and I enjoy both. This is how I think..............

1) If I am flying and not renting a car, I wouldn't even think about staying offsite. For some people it is fine, but not me. In fact, we don't even stay ONSITE without a car.

2) Is it just me and DH or the whole family? For DH and I, we pick onsite. If it's just the two of us, we "fit" in the hotel rooms and one bathroom is fine. And this usually is a 3 night trip, so I'm not concerned about laundry.

If it's the whole family....(5 of us), a hotel room isn't going to cut it. (Only when we are desparate, and we are for 3 nights coming up. See #3 ) Not even the deluxes. It's fine for others, we just don't prefer it since we've experienced 2 bedrooms condos with 2 bathrooms, 2 TV's, balconey, etc.. And we don't even fit at deluxes like WL and AKL. And may I add, I REALLY LIKE A KING SIZE BED!

3) Budget.......or "how long do we want to stay?".......This next trip we are going for 17 nights. We just added 3 nights for T-day at the Radisson because plans with family fell through. (Hope we don't kill one another in that hotel room.......see #2 )

We could never do this if we were onsite. And we bought AP's so we can do another 14-18 day trip next year.

But, everyone is different. I once said that I would never stay offsite. Well, obviously, I've changed that. But not everyone is going to feel the same way. That's why there are many different places to make us all happy.

Oh, and the point about getting along is a good one. Could you live a week with them? Will you be basically sleeping there, so no big deal?

Anyway, good luck with your decision. happy planning

 

[solgent]

My advice is, don't overthink. Just try it! It won't be the same as your previous vacations. Don't compare, just enjoy. It will still be good. After you've experienced it you can decided whether you'd want to do it again. And your BIL can decide if he wants to invite you back!

 

[Skroops]

Free?
I am a huge on-site Walt Disney World fan, but if the words were "FREE", I'd have to go with that! That means that you could go again with all of the money you save! (Yes, it is a sickness...)
With all of the travelers in your group, you'd probably enjoy some time away from the parks as well, and being away from the property will help with that.
IMO, ANY time in WDW is good!
Have a great time!

 

[cruiserkaren]

Having the same dilema. My mom can get a 2 bed/2 bath villa for a $150 bucks for 7 nights from her boss. BUT our one and only trip was on site and it was so great with our 2 year old. No car seats, no traffic, no stress. I'm not sure if I want to go back to lugging a car seat, finding directions, fighting traffic, getting lost....etc....especially with my dad. We are so much alike it's scary. Neither one of us is big in the patience department.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Oh, and may I ask..........................What timeshare is it?

That would make a little difference to me, although I do agree with Skroops......free is free!

Where offsite did you stay before?

 

[mickey12810]

Oh, and may I ask..........................What timeshare is it?

That would make a little difference to me, although I do agree with Skroops......free is free!

Where offsite did you stay before?

I think it is the Wyndam Resort? Isn't that terrible, I've been invited someplace and don't even know the name. Last time we stayed offsite was back in 87 when DS #1 was only 14 months old. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Maingate West. It was nice, but I am a Disney brat and if I am in the area I think I would rather stay at Disney. But on the other hand I don't want to hurt my BIL's feelings. I would be sharing a bedroom with my MIL who I love dearly but, I get no sleep in the same room with her because she is up and down all night. Maybe if I take sleeping pills and earplugs it might be doable. My MIL made the comment yesterday that it would be nice to have all of us at the condo. So do I make her happy or...... I also forgot to mention that we will be doing US/IOA for a day and if we stay onsite we will definately go spend time at the condo. And the worse thing is DH is not even going so he does not have to deal with this at all. But I was figuring that if DS15 and I are onsite and we get back to the hotel at a decent time then we can still do things in the parks. Oh gosh, decisions, decisions. The other thing too is when I'm on vacation I want to be waited on for meals(that's why I don't do buffets, except CM), maid service, etc...I know call me spoiled but this is the only time that I get waited on. Maybe that's why we have done 6 trips in the past 2 years. Yes, all Disney! So sorry for rambling