So nervous about staying offsite..

[Dallas_Lady]

I have been lurking here and reading more and more about the villa and pool home rentals and they seem really appealing. Many of these homes with private pools cost less than a Disney Value resort! And with our family growing, I am having a hard time justifying spending the money for a Disney resort.

We have stayed on property and really enjoyed it... but with more kids, DH is wanting to drive instead of fly and that makes staying off property even easier. But I am so worried about the "magic" that has been engrained in me since I joined the DIS. I have this fear that I'll have a big "off property" sign taped to my forehead and I'll feel like a total outcast the whole trip for not staying at a Disney resort, LOL.

So, those of you who have done on property and then went off, please tell me it will be okay

 

[Brian Noble]

As someone who frequently slums it with the rest of the offsite horde, Disney is just as happy to take your money in the parks, no matter where you are staying! Other guests won't know unless you tell them---or unless you make yourself a sign.

We too need a little more room than a single hotel room, and having done both onsite and off, onsite is nicer, but for us it's not really a thousand-dollars-a-week nicer.

 

[jsmla]

I was exactly where you are now. Hubby and I went to Disney this past January. We were going to stay on site like usual until I found a great deal for an off-site condo on Skyauction ($199/week!). We really liked it! It was great having a kitchen and if hubby wanted to watch football he could do it in the bedroom while I had the kitchen/dining/living areas to myself. We saved sooo much money eating in the condo!

I was worried about the commute but it wasn't at all bad. Our condo was in Kissimmee and, except for the Magic Kingdom, we were able to make it to the parks door to door in under 20 minutes.

We were there in the slow season so park hours were short and we missed the evening EMHs. Other than that I'm now a firm off-site convert!

Jennifer

 

[alliesmommy]

First off, hi! We used to live in Plano...on the west side between Spring Creek and Legacy.

We just stayed off site last month and really had a great time! I was really nervous as well. I was afraid that the trip would lose some of its "magic" because we weren't on property. We loved the resort that we stayed in, Sheraton Vistana. The 2 BR villas are huge and we liked having a full kitchen and a washer and dryer.

The only real downside for us was that we had to pay for parking.

HTH!!!

 

[earthfaries]

Hi. We had always stayed off site until our visit in 2006 and that year we had a wonderful 2 bedroom condo. Let me just say that year was our best ever!!!

We love the space and ammenties you get off site , having a home away from home, a living room and TV for the kids to relax and have breakfast watching the cartoons in their pj's on the couch...having to pack less because we have a washer and dryer, having a kitchen so we can have our favorite foods...it was wonderful!

We stayed off site in Jan. this year again in a 3 bdrm townhouse and it was wonderful again, and have a villa booked at Silver Lake for our next trip this Sept.

To tell you how much I like it Off Site ~ we will need a place to stay for 3 nights before checking into our villa and can stay at a value for the same price as Comfort Suites Maingate East, and we choose Comfort Suites!

We just like the space and the more relaxing, less craziness of the values.

Anyway, don't worry, you will love it and probably prefer it to on site

​

 

[Chelley00]

I've only stayed offsite, so I can really compare the two, however I can tell you that I don't think people who stayed onsite the same time we were offsite had a more magical vacation than we did When they left the parks, they were all crammed into resort rooms and fighting over pool space. We went back to our big ol' villa with private pool and stretched out in our own bedrooms. While other people were fighting for the line in the food court for breakfast, we were stretched out in our dining room for 6 eating bacon and eggs before heading to the parks for the day. We didn't have to stand in line waiting on a bus to take us to the world, we drove about 10 minutes and were there.

Heck, we even had a towel animal the day we checked into the villa. We had friends staying onsite who didn't get towel animals!!

We're staying onsite this time, and I'm nervous about that :lol:

 

[MiaSRN62]

I have this fear that I'll have a big "off property" sign taped to my forehead and I'll feel like a total outcast the whole trip for not staying at a Disney resort, LOL.

Don't have a fear of this. THOUSANDS stay offsite and love it. While we stay both on and offsite we do prefer onsite (for various reasons).

But offsite has always been fine for us. There is no "scarlett letter" stigma with staying offsite. So relax and have a great trip.

 

[iwannago!!]

We have stayed on site at the Beach Club, the Dolphin, the Boardwalk (in a 1bdr) mulitiple times. But I now happily trade that for a 2-3bdr condo & a grocery stop. I love having the kitchen, fridge, washer/dryer. I love being able pack less & don't mind doing a few loads of laundry for that reason. I love having 2 bathrooms, multiple bedrooms and basically, room to move. The kids love having room to play, a place to spread out, a couple tvs so that they can watch 'their shows' in bed, on the couch, or while eating their cereal.

No shame in being off-site, I actually prefer it! My favorite places are Vistana and Orange Lake - but we are trying Grande Lakes in December!

 

[mom2kayzb & jakers]

We've stayed on site many times. Our last trip in May was the first time renting a house. It was the first time we went with three kids in tow. And you know what?! It was the most relaxing trip to Disney I have ever had!! I miss the atmosphere when you drive into the hotel as opposed to a subdivision, but that's it! We were 5 minutes outside of AK! I would do it again in a heartbeat! I say do it!!!

 

[7165red]

No need to br nervous about staying offite. We have done bothe. The past two yrs. wehave rented a villa and will never go back to a hotel room. The majic is there. We ate at Poly, Wl,GF,Ak and enjoyed all the majic. We went to all the parks and had a great time but coming home to a pool and room to move about and a kitchen for a snack really puts the cherry on the cake. It took us less than 8 mins. to get to WDW.

 

[Taratink]

We really enjoy staying offsite. It works well for my family. My dh cannot deal with disney magic 24/7. We stay at really great resorts and we have more room to spread out.

 

[conniehar90]

Once we went offsite, we will never go back. There is nothing like having all that room for less money. No lines for the bus, you can be on your own schedule, no cramped hotel rooms. You can put the kids to bed and watch tv if you want. We save time and money by eating breakfast in our condo.

 

[Disneydreamer5]

WE HAVE ONLY BEEN TO DISNEY ONCE{JUNE 05-ASMOVIES}WE ALSO HAD 7 DAY PARK HOPPERS WITH WATER PARKS AND DDP. THERE ARE 7 OF US AND THE TRIP RAN US $4,700.00.
WE WERE ALL SET AND BOOK FOR SEPT 2007, SAME TICKETS, FREE DINNING AND STAYING MODERATE FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF OUR 2005 TRIP. IN AUGUST 07 MY DH WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED BY A FORKLIFT AND WE HAD TO CANCEAL OUR TRIP. NOW IT HAS BEEN OVER 2 YEARS SINCE OUR LAST VACATION AND MONEY IS VERY TIGHT. I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE THE FAMILY TO DISNEY AGAIN BUT EVEN THE VALUES AREN'T MUCH A VALUE FOR THE TIME OF YEAR WE WOULD HAVE TO GO. CAN'T TAKE SUMMER MONTHS OFF FROM WORK AND HAVE DAUGHTER STARTING COLLEGE IN THE FALL. THE ONLY TIME WE CAN GO WOULD BE DECEMBER BREAK OR SPRING BREAK, VERY EXPENSIVE. PLEASE HELP ME FIND THE BEST OFF-SITE FOR MY LARGE FAMILY THAT WON'T COST AN ARM & LEG. MOMMY NEEDS A VACATION MORE THEN SHE CAN EXPRESS!

 

[conniehar90]

The owners we always stay with are www.disneyneighbor.com. They do not have homes but do have 3 bedroom townhomes that I believe will sleep 7. Great prices, great owners and the units are always spotless.

I hope you get the vacation you deserve.

 

[isla bonita]

I have been lurking here and reading more and more about the villa and pool home rentals and they seem really appealing. Many of these homes with private pools cost less than a Disney Value resort! And with our family growing, I am having a hard time justifying spending the money for a Disney resort.

We have stayed on property and really enjoyed it... but with more kids, DH is wanting to drive instead of fly and that makes staying off property even easier. But I am so worried about the "magic" that has been engrained in me since I joined the DIS. I have this fear that I'll have a big "off property" sign taped to my forehead and I'll feel like a total outcast the whole trip for not staying at a Disney resort, LOL.

So, those of you who have done on property and then went off, please tell me it will be okay

Staying off might not be a very good idea. It is not for every one and if you have not so good feelings about it your vacation may not turn out as wonderful as I know it could be.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thanks guys! I guess I am just getting caught up in all the things I can't do by staying offsite. No EMH, no charging to my room, no ME, no package delivery, etc. But I am going to be going back to teaching, and I can't take off during the school year. And I am having a really hard time justifying those summer room rates. I would never pay $100 for a Value resort, and almost $200 for a moderate is ridiculous.

 

[Brian Noble]

I hear you; I usually visit in Peak Season, which is even worse.

The biggest thing I miss offsite is the on-resort transportation, especially to and from MK. I'd rather rent a car than use ME, for a variety of reasons. I can charge to my credit card just as easily as to my room (and the room gets paid with the credit card anyway.) I rarely use package delivery, as it's usually the kids buying something, and they don't want to waituntil the next day to play with whatever it is they just bought. I usually avoid EMH.

Okay, I miss Stacy too. But, only a little bit.

 

[ohanaMAMA]

My family and I stayed onsite on our first trip and I have to say there is something about the magic.. its like you never leave it the whole trip. You get the spinny whirly pixie dist feeling up your spine the whole time. BUT

We have stayed offsite ever since. We found that we spend so little time at the actual resort. We are so pooped out from shutting down the parks every night that we didnt do much but hit the pool for a bit and then the beds.

We stay at the Seralago. Its clean, its decent and they have a hot tub and a food court.Its litterally minutes from the gate on IBD. Kids eat free there too. You can usually get a coupon in one of the hotelsaver books. I have had them as low as $35.95 a night. Its not onsite. Its a little roadside motel-ish. But like I said for us? We are happy with clean and close.

 

[skmommy]

We went for the first time this January. I had started planning last May and had us booked into Wilderness Lodge (Courtyard view with bunks for the kids) because friends had convinced my DH that the only way to go was onsite. We would have been paying ~$300/night just for the room! We changed plans at the last minute (6 days prior to departure) and found a great 3BR/3BA townhouse in Windsor Hills for $105/night including taxes and pool heat. Aside from the $ saved on the room, we ate in quite a bit which also was a big savings and we ate healthier and didn't have to "wrangle" the kids in restaurants when they were already tired. We also had about 1500 sq. feet of space to spread out in and could put the kids to bed when they needed it and still have grownup time. We also loved that we could do laundry.

I can't really imagine trying to stay in a tiny hotel room with the kids even though I was really excited about WL. Disney certainly has a lot of magic, but for their prices we will stay offsite and enjoy the extra perks at Windsor Hills. In the end I think it comes down to what is more important to you personally. Good luck in choosing

 

[maxiesmom]

I've done both on and off site stays, and have had fun doing both!


Off-site you usually get lots more room for the money. Plus you can save money by eating in your room or at off-site restaurants, and some places include breakfast in your room rate.

It can take a bit more planning, because it is not as easy to get back to your room for breaks and then back to the parks. Plus you do loose the EMH benefit. But if you just plan on going to the parks that don't have EMH that day, you will be fine.

Don't be nervous. Go with an open mind and you will have a great time.