Should we stay onsite or offsite?

[acjsmom]

We are going to WDW next year, and will be taking our three children (6, 4 and 2 at the time), my mother and my brother. DH and I keep having the discussion about staying onsite or offsite. I want to stay onsite, he wants to stay offsite. We both have valid reasons. I think transportation and all the little perks will be better onsite. He keeps looking at the bottom line-we can stay in a bigger place for much less.

So, what do you think? Give me the pros and cons, please. TIA!

 

[Darcy03231]

With the number of people you have I would stay off-site. You can definitely get a much bigger place to spread out for less than staying on-site. Its also nice to be able to put the kids to bed a night and not have to sit around in the dark. You can eat meals in if you want (and its really nice to get up in the morning and not have to get showered and dressed to have coffee and some breakfast), have a private pool (depending on when you go the pools at the resorts can get quite crowded) and lots of space for everyone. I found that by the time I rented the house and car it was less than it would have been just for the rooms as WDW. Once you're at WDW you can use their transportation for hopping between the parks if you want. We found we really didn't use the hopper much the first time we went so on all subsequent trips we haven't bought it (and saved even more $$).

 

[kevschickee]

I believe. Its not one of the expensive disney hotels but its really nice and you can get 2 rooms joined together. You also get the busses to the parks but I dont think you can get into them earlier. I would only stay where you can get the busses I would think driving to the parks would be a PITA. This hotel is right across the street from Downtown Disney with all of the shops

 

[jullip13]

I also have 3 children and have taken other family members 2 years. I found a 5 bedroom villa with a private pool for lots cheaper than we can stay on disney. I would like to stay onsite sometime but right now our budget will not allow that. PM me if you would like to check out the villa we stay at. It is a great deal.

 

[amy4bruce]

We refuse to stay offsite because we like the dining plan and prefer not to have a car around. Of course, we're only three (me, DW and DD7) which makes a big difference with how much room we need.

 

[TheDizMom]

Well here's my plug for on-site. You do get so many more benefits by staying on-site. Easy transportation, Magical Express to avoid the rental car thing, the dining plan, having any purchases made during your day sent to your hotel, extra magic hours, and a big thing to me the atmosphere. I have done both ways and I much prefer on-site. You could try getting one of the family suites at the ASmo for you and the kids and then you have a bedroom and living room area with a kichenette. The other family members can have their own rooms and everyone gets a breather from each other at night. So there's my 2 cents worth.

 

[mericletwins]

We go with myself, Dh, three kids, my mom and my brother. definitely stay on-site. Look into renting vacation points from a DVC member and getting a two bedroom villa. Or do as a previous poster said and get a family suite at ASMu and have mom and bro get a separate room. I can't say enough about staying on-site vs. off-site (which we have also done).

 

[dougsmom98]

You should stop by the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board and read some of the posts about the advantages of staying off site. We Love staying in vacation rental homes. The space with small children is fabulous. After you put the kids to bed, you can relax with the other adults and have a conversation without worrying the kids will wake up. You can keep the lights and TV on too. Everyone has their own space to retreat to. You don't have to pack as much because there is a washer and dryer. You save a ton of money on food. The driving is really easy if you find a place right of 192.

 

[Georgia]

Well, I have to be honest...I haven't stayed on-site but we have chosen off-site for our trip this summer and it was mainly a room size and price issue. We have twins that will be a little over one. I can't image trying to squeeze two pack and plays into 260 square feet. Plus, I like the idea of having extra rooms to move around.

I'm not sure I'd worry to much about the dining plan...I don't recall the food being anything to get excited about. I do think the extra magic hours, on-site transportation and package delivery would be nice!

 

[powellrj]

unless you really had your heart set on things like EMH and DDP, I would go with an off-site pool home. It would be much less money, you could have much more room, plus cooking and laundry facilities.

 

[pweyl36]

I vote for offsite. Big space,your own pool,washer and dryer.We rented a house 2wks ago and it was huge.We loved being able to make breakfast before we left.When the kids went to bed all the adults went swimming,it was great.As for driving to the parks,it was easy,you can leave when you want and you do not have to wait in the heat with tired kids,hoping that you all can fit on this bus with all the other families fighting to get on.Also did I tell you a six bedroom house w/3 master bedrooms,4 full baths ,pool,hot tub and 10mins. to the park cost us $800.00 for the week? Try and find that onsite.

 

[Chris]

With that many people, I would rent a house offsite.

 

[jakenjess]

What time of year are you going? If it's a busy time, or a time when it will be hot, I'd definitely stay on site for the ease of taking a break from the afternoon heat/crowds. It sounds like at least one, probably more, of your children will need naps, and it's very easy to use the Disney transportation to go back to the hotel for a swim/nap break and return to the parks later on.

 

[IcePrincess467]

I voted onsite, and while I don't have kiddos, I feel that with a 2 year old it would probably be better to stay onsite in case s/he needs to take a nap, then that way the whole family wouldn't have to leave the park...that's just my 2 cents

 

[jenseib]

On site. I just stayed onsite for the first time, and I won't go off site again, most likely! It was so fun and easy to get around. There was only 3 of us though. I really didn't think the off site palces were all that cheaper, but food wise it is. Disney food is exspensive. We did the dining plan and loved it, but if we went out of pocket, my DH would've been grumbling every day.

 

[U2_rocks!]

We like offsite because we like the space (yeah you can get that at DVC, but it generally costs a lot more), and we also like to have a rental car to drive around Orlando. We don't do "Disney only" trips. If you're not interested in going to any stores, restaurants or other attractions outisde of Disney, then onsite works out well - but it won't be "cheap" by any means for that number of people, unless you only need 1 room for you, DH and your kids, and the other adults in your party are paying for their own.

Some people like that they don't have to drive onsite, they just take Disney transpo - DH and I love the freedom of our own car! We don't mind driving at all.

DDP and EMH are obvious perks of onsite - great, if you plan to use them. We are happy not to - evening EMH is too late for us, only the morning EMH would be any use to us. We aren't big eaters, and we like to graze on fruit and other snacks between meals, so we end up eating pretty light on vacation, except for the occasional big meal - therefore paying out of pocket for meals instead of having the DDP isn't a big thing for us. We love having a kitchen so we can whip up scrambled eggs in the morning while we're getting ready (we're early risers), and so we can keep our own snacks and bottled water. We plan to take breaks from the parks now that we'll have kids with us, and will often have either lunch of dinner in the apartment - they are many easy meals you can whip up. Also, we like to travel light, and enjoy having a washer and dryer in our apartment.

If you can get a good package with DDP included, it might be worth staying onsite. It wouldn't work for us this time because we're staying for 2 weeks, and that would never be economical onsite!

 

[mama4]

Hmmm. I almost said onsite because I just completely insist on staying onsite everytime I go and we are a fam of 6...BUT....I think I changed my mind. Is this your first trip? Are you planning to return with just the immediate family? Will you visit other Orlando attractions? I've never stayed off site but I've stayed onsite 5 times w/ 5 people in the room AND 2 of those times with my Mom & Aunt and then Sister + 4 kids in connecting rooms.
Here are my pros and cons for each (keep in mind I've never stayed off site at WDW)

OffSite-
-Bigger, roomier, private- everyone will be more comfy and less likely to get on each others nerves (even TWO connecting rooms at a value are pretty small with that many adults)
-Your own pool
-Quieter for naptime for kids
-Cheaper for what you get
-Kitchen- preparing easy meals will save you some money
-It will be easier to go places NOT on Disney property for other attractions or restaurants which = cheaper meals.


Onsite-
- ATOMSPHERE + ATMOSPHERE + ATMOSPHERE (the main reason I stay onsite. I've never even stayed deluxe but the resorts are STILL part of our WDW vacations. Even the values are magical for my family)
- Ease of getting around Disney propery. We've never had a problem with the buses and remember there is a boat that goes from Ft Wilderness to MK (have you considered the cabins? but they do only sleep 6 )
-Fun themed pools (Don't know but I doubt the houses/condos would have such cool pools)
-You don't HAVE to leave Disney property. I don't want to mess with my car while I'm at WDW. We have a car everytime because we drive but I like to do everything the Disney way while I'm there. Plus, it's more exciting for my kids- they don't ride buses at home so they LOVE the buses. (my ds 4 even bought a WDW toy bus as a souviner)

So- I guess- if you think you'll be back with just your immediate fam, I would go offsite this time. But definitely try onsite next time. It's not for everyone but if you catch that Disney fever you'll understand while onsite is so much fun next time! Either way, you'll have a great time!!!

 

[write2caro]

We go with myself, Dh, three kids, my mom and my brother. definitely stay on-site. Look into renting vacation points from a DVC member and getting a two bedroom villa. Or do as a previous poster said and get a family suite at ASMu and have mom and bro get a separate room. I can't say enough about staying on-site vs. off-site (which we have also done).

Same here. I would rather stay in a smaller space if at all practicable to get the onsite benefits. IMHO you just can't beat the magic of staying in the world - the whole vacation becomes a real getaway. Hard for me to get the same feeling if I have a commute during my vacation.

 

[NU2WDW]

We are going to WDW next year, and will be taking our three children (6, 4 and 2 at the time), my mother and my brother. DH and I keep having the discussion about staying onsite or offsite. I want to stay onsite, he wants to stay offsite. We both have valid reasons. I think transportation and all the little perks will be better onsite. He keeps looking at the bottom line-we can stay in a bigger place for much less.

So, what do you think? Give me the pros and cons, please. TIA!

We're going this June and our girls are practically the same ages your kids will be (ours are 5, 4, & not quite 3). There was no question for us about staying off-site. We've rented a large house. For space, amentities & price it was hands-down no contest. I love that we'll have a kitchen, w/d, pool, lots of room to spread out. I look at this is a vacation for ALL of us and that means Dh & I get some grown-up time and privacy, too! Can't get that when you're in a hotel room and the lights have to go out at 8:00!

We'll actually be a group of 8 total, as my stepdd13 and in-laws are going as well, but even if it was just the 5 of us, we'd have done it the same way (reasons as stated).

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

We stayed on-site for the first time back in June and loved it. it was so nice to have the conviences that are offered to the resort guests. We stayed at the Poly and it was so nice to be able to jump on the monorail and just go.

We traveled with a very large group, 17 to be exact, and we all stayed at different resorts based on our taste and financial abilities.

I don't want to have to stay off-sight again!