Sorry if redundant - Offsite Marriott or Value resort?

[Cool-Beans]

I'd stay at the Mariott before I'd stay in a value resort. I always rent a car, no matter where I stay, so that wouldn't matter to me a bit. I never use the meal plans, so wouldn't care about that, either.

I get free parking with the AP, so staying offsite wouldn't bring a parking charge, either.

The only bonuses to staying onsite for me are:

1. Theme - the Disney hotels are pretty and nicely themed (except the values, IMO)

2. Easy and close - no sitting in offsite traffic

3. EMHs - but I don't use the evening ones and the morning ones were cut back when they put the evening ones in, so that isn't a big deal.

...I'm thinking I should stay offsite. I get closer to that all the time.

 

[moopdog]

Another perk of staying on WDW property is that you can do the EMH's, so that said if you stay off property then you cant do them.

I totally forgot about EMH's and that was a really positive part of our trip last time I have to admit.

As for some of the other replies... here's the thing. If we stay on-site, we'll only do disney parks. If we stay off-site, we'll be more apt to try US or Seaworld for a day. Either way we will mostly do disney related things, but I would really like to see another "sight" in Orlando this time. That being said, it won't devastate me or anything if we can't. So, where we stay will determine that - not the other way around.

At this point, I think we might wait and see if Free Dining does come and go from there! Thanks.

 

[joenan88]

I would stay at a nice resort outside of Disney grounds rather then a value. They are pretty much motels on property with very small rooms. They have a Disney theme but the pools are standard, no slides and they do not have sit down service just a big nasty food court. If you can not stay at a moderate or deluxe find a nice resort like the Marriott which will offer you better service and nicer accommodations. The car shouldn't be an issue...I would NEVER stay at a value without a car..their resorts are in the middle of no where. The only reason to maybe do it is the DDP..other then that stay off.

 

[spiceycat]

are you using II exchange for the Horizons - then Bonnett creek is not possible. (I think it is only RCI). DVC does show up on II - especially in Sept.

got the bounce back with free dinning and the value resorts were definitely included - got Pop.

okay now to your questions. the Marriott's are great stayed in several of them and love them.

are you traveling with children - what are their ages?

if children Pop wins - getting back to the resort using WDW transportation is almost painless.
of course there is definitely more room at Horizons! alot more room in your own villa. Horizons has an excellent play area for kids.

how about doing what I do sometimes - stay offsite - but one or two nights on site - especially for the EMH.

but in Sept don't even know if you will need the EMH - low crowds - that is why the free dinning is offered.

good luck with your choices.

because Sept is so low crowd might go with Horizons. (just don't buy it)

 

[moopdog]

because Sept is so low crowd might go with Horizons. (just don't buy it)

I won't buy - don't worry. I don't have to pay because my uncle is lending us his timeshare. The problem is that DVC doesn't show up for us because he must have low trade power or something. We DO have a request in but have just about given up.

I stayed at Pop before and liked it so that'll be the value we pick if we go there. My kids will be 7 and 5 (no teenager this time).

The plan about a splitting the trip might work. We plan to go for 9 nights so we could go to the Pop for a couple of nights get EMH and free dining then head to Horizons for the rest of the trip... would that work?! I think it might!

 

[spiceycat]

The plan about a splitting the trip might work. We plan to go for 9 nights so we could go to the Pop for a couple of nights get EMH and free dining then head to Horizons for the rest of the trip... would that work?! I think it might!

sounds like a plan to me.

just don't give up on DVC - of course then - by the time you decide to look elsewhere the Horizons might be gone.

 

[lntsmom]

I still can't see how people want to wait for buses and shuttles to get around Disney.

Here's why: I'm a single mom. I get to run my universe each and every day. Being able to hop a bus or monorail and get to the parks without having to drive, remember where I left the rental car, worry about the extra cost and hassle, and worry about whether I'll be carjacked since the car has that big old advertisement on the bumper to let everyone know I'm not a local is a treat!

When we go to Omaha or St. Louis or the Twin Cities I have to drive. At Disney I get to relax and leave the driving to someone else.

I'm able to totally leave the real world, including the car keys, behind for a week.

So what do we do if want to go somewhere else? We use these wonderful little inventions called cabs and limos. On our last Disney trip I hired a limo to take us to the beach for the afternoon. My kids got a MAJOR kick out of traveling in a stretch limo complete with sodas and radio/tv control. I loved not having to worry about driving directions or wrecks on the freeway!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Just to throw this at you.Why not try Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort.Its inside Disney and the members that advertise to rent their times give you alot (usually a 2 bedroom suite) for I would say the price of a value resort.My brother just stayed there and said it was a beautiful resort.You pull out of the resort and onto Buena Vista Drive (can't get any closer).No matter where you stay I say rent a car.I still can't see how people want to wait for buses and shuttles to get around Disney.Unless you do it at home why would you do it on vacation.......Just my opinion.

I was wondering why on earth people would waste their money by renting a car when Disney transporation is FREE? I was also wondering why we need a two bedroom suite and "all that extra room" everybody is talking about when all we do is sleep and shower in our room.

We have stayed at all different levels of hotels on Disney property. We mostly do the values now that we have 4 kids. It's economical and we have been pleases with the accommodations and the service. Also, we like to have EMH, free transportation (ME and Buses) and we love, love love the dining plan. Even with the tips no being included anymore, it will save us about $400.00 on our next trip. On-site is always the way to go for us.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

A couple of thoughts.

1. The "Free Dining" program offered this year to the UK residents does NOT include value resorts. To me that's telling. Remember it was the UK residents who first got news of the DDP changes (and tons of folks on these boards said "oh that's only going to be UK" which turned out to be not true) SO I view this as a leading indicator that Free Dining may NOT be offered for value resorts this year. (And remember REGARDLESS of what your CRO CM told you they don't have a clue. Disney executives know better then to give them inside scoop, they can't keep thier mouth shut. They are just passing on office gossip!)

2 Horizions is going to give you a LOT more space! Plus the full kitchen. The Marriott Vacation Club products are very nice!

3. Driving in this area is very easy!

Our neighbors booked Pop on the bounceback for free dining this past September. We also could have booked a value if we wanted to bounceback, but my husband said no more Free Dining. The crowds and heat were much worse than we expected. There are tons of people here on the Dis who booked the free dining bounceback at a value.

As for Disney not offering Free Dining again, well, Free Dining has been a brilliant plan on the part of Disney to fill the crowds during what was previously their slowest season, and hurrican season to boot. And then having the bounceback for free food while the free diners are there in the parks, on their Disney high, well I would call that pure marketing genius. Disney is making money hand over fist with the Free Dining promo. I love Disney and for us it is The Happiest Place on Earth, but first and foremost Disney is a corporation and they will go with what is best for their bottomline. The Free Dining has been very good for their bottom line. I would be shocked if they did not offer it again this year. I think the Free Dining secret is out, but it's here to stay in my opinion.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I would stay at a nice resort outside of Disney grounds rather then a value. They are pretty much motels on property with very small rooms. They have a Disney theme but the pools are standard, no slides and they do not have sit down service just a big nasty food court. If you can not stay at a moderate or deluxe find a nice resort like the Marriott which will offer you better service and nicer accommodations. The car shouldn't be an issue...I would NEVER stay at a value without a car..their resorts are in the middle of no where. The only reason to maybe do it is the DDP..other then that stay off.

I have never considered any of the foodcourts "nasty" that we have eaten at the ASMo or Pop. I can assure you of this, as my germ-aphobe husband would not have eaten there if they were "nasty." As for the accommodations, they have always been clean and decorated with a cute theme, afterall all we do is sleep and shower in our room. We have flown to and driven to WDW and have never needed our car. The buses have always been efficient and FREE. I also would not say they are in the middle of nowhere. Pop is very close to the parks. AKL, now that's way out, it's further out than all of the All-stars and it's a Deluxe resort. We like the Values for EMH, free transporation (ME and Buses) and the dining plan.

 

[MickeyNicki]

DH will not stay off site anymore, he is a spoiled on site fan

 

[septbaby]

DH will not stay off site anymore, he is a spoiled on site fan

Smart man, but you already know this; he married you!

 

[luckee37]

We have stayed on-site at Values several times (POP) and just completed a week in a 2BR at Marriott Horizons (12/07). The bottom line is that there is no easy answer. We loved the spaciousness of the 2BR unit at Horizons, but it's impossible to beat the convenience of staying (anywhere) on site at Disney!

Pros for On-Property Value Resort:
- Free DDP in August/September. This just can't be beat, especially if you are staying at a Value. We are already signed up for the Bounceback for next August.

- Free parking at parks if you are a resort guest.

- The Disney Magic! It sounds silly, but staying on-property at a value resort feels so much more like a resort vacation than staying anywhere off-site! When we stay on-site we love not having to drive anywhere. Although we are sharing the buses with thousands of our closest friends (including some stinky ones), it still feels nice not having to worry about the transpo. When staying off-site it feels like such a chore to drive to and from the park everyday.

- Magical Express. This is one of the specific transportation things that we love about the Disney Magic. It's wonderful not having to worry about a rental car, luggage, finding directions to Disney, traffic, etc.

- Park Buses. We didn't realize how convenient the Park buses were until we stayed off-site. We have found that on-property transportation means that we have more time in the parks and less time in transit. When we stayed off-site it was much more difficult. Here's an example of what it was like to get to MK from off-site:
1. Walk to rental car and load up with gear for the day
1. Drive to Disney property and pay $$$ for parking
2. Park in MK lot and walk to the tram loading zone and wait for tram
3. Ride tram to transportation center
4. Walk from transpo center to monorail station and wait for monorail
5. Take monorail to MK
6. Walk from monorail station to gates of MK
* reverse steps for the end of the day...

Compare that process with the on-site process:
1. Walk from room to hotel bus station and wait for bus (we love how frequent they are at POP)
2. Ride bus to MK
3. Walk from bus station to gates of MK
* reverse steps for the end of the day...



Pros for Marriott Horizons:
- More room. Almost all timeshares will give you more space than a value/moderate hotel room. If space is key, a timeshare can't be beat.

- Nice facilities. Horizons is a relatively new resort and has very nice amenities, including two nice themed pools. However, I wouldn't say that they are nicer than any of the pools on Disney property, including POP. The downsides of Horizons being new is that it is still under construction. There was a lot of construction traffic in our parking lot and the playground was still being built.

- Nicer linens and beds than a Value. We love Value resorts for the price, but greatly dislike the towels and beds at the Values. They just feel so cheap! Marriott linens and beds are much better.

- Ability to go grocery shopping and prepare food in unit. When we stayed off-site we found ourselves shopping at Publix and eating more meals in the unit. However, I would still choose free dining over grocery shopping any day!



As I said, there is no easy answer. When we went last and had free dining, POP worked great for us. When we went in December and had the grandparents with us (that didn't go into the parks each day), and we had sick kids, the Marriott Horizons worked much better because we spent more time in the unit. Either way, you are at/near Disney World and should have a great time!

 

[joenan88]

Quote:
Originally Posted by joenan88
I would stay at a nice resort outside of Disney grounds rather then a value. They are pretty much motels on property with very small rooms. They have a Disney theme but the pools are standard, no slides and they do not have sit down service just a big nasty food court. If you can not stay at a moderate or deluxe find a nice resort like the Marriott which will offer you better service and nicer accommodations. The car shouldn't be an issue...I would NEVER stay at a value without a car..their resorts are in the middle of no where. The only reason to maybe do it is the DDP..other then that stay off.

I have never considered any of the foodcourts "nasty" that we have eaten at the ASMo or Pop. I can assure you of this, as my germ-aphobe husband would not have eaten there if they were "nasty." As for the accommodations, they have always been clean and decorated with a cute theme, afterall all we do is sleep and shower in our room. We have flown to and driven to WDW and have never needed our car. The buses have always been efficient and FREE. I also would not say they are in the middle of nowhere. Pop is very close to the parks. AKL, now that's way out, it's further out than all of the All-stars and it's a Deluxe resort. We like the Values for EMH, free transporation (ME and Buses) and the dining plan.

I was speaking of my experience 3 years ago at The All Star Movies. I had two rooms and they were small! (I never stayed they weren't clean) The hotel was a motel set in the middle of no where...I can not tell you how many times we got lost. If you drive then a car is obviously not an issue for you...but the people who fly would need one...(you will waste so much time with the buses from The All star resorts)...in my opinion. The food court at The All Star Movies was nasty! From the food to the dirty floors and tables..that may have changed BUT when I was there that's what it was "nasty". I went back three years later (this past Nov) but I stayed at The Poly and now in Aug I will be at CR..so I can not state what the foodcourts at the value's look or taste like now..but that was my experience. I know the AKL lodge is in the middle of no where..so is the All star's... My post was not meant to offend anyone..

 

[moopdog]

1. Walk to rental car and load up with gear for the day
1. Drive to Disney property and pay $$$ for parking
2. Park in MK lot and walk to the tram loading zone and wait for tram
3. Ride tram to transportation center
4. Walk from transpo center to monorail station and wait for monorail
5. Take monorail to MK
6. Walk from monorail station to gates of MK
* reverse steps for the end of the day...

Is this really what's invovled everytime? I didn't realize this was the process. I thought you could park and walk in or if you had far parking, take a shuttle to the gate. I guess my DH might [gulp] be right! Thanks for the info!!

 

[G8r4evr]

Quote:
Originally Posted by joenan88
I would stay at a nice resort outside of Disney grounds rather then a value. They are pretty much motels on property with very small rooms. They have a Disney theme but the pools are standard, no slides and they do not have sit down service just a big nasty food court. If you can not stay at a moderate or deluxe find a nice resort like the Marriott which will offer you better service and nicer accommodations. The car shouldn't be an issue...I would NEVER stay at a value without a car..their resorts are in the middle of no where. The only reason to maybe do it is the DDP..other then that stay off.



I was speaking of my experience 3 years ago at The All Star Movies. I had two rooms and they were small! (I never stayed they weren't clean) The hotel was a motel set in the middle of no where...I can not tell you how many times we got lost. If you drive then a car is obviously not an issue for you...but the people who fly would need one...(you will waste so much time with the buses from The All star resorts)...in my opinion. The food court at The All Star Movies was nasty! From the food to the dirty floors and tables..that may have changed BUT when I was there that's what it was "nasty". I went back three years later (this past Nov) but I stayed at The Poly and now in Aug I will be at CR..so I can not state what the foodcourts at the value's look or taste like now..but that was my experience. I know the AKL lodge is in the middle of no where..so is the All star's... My post was not meant to offend anyone..

The food court at AS Sports was absolutely filthy when we were there. YUCK. Never again. However, due to the glowing reviews on this site, I am considering giving POP a try.

 

[plutospup]

Is this really what's invovled everytime? I didn't realize this was the process. I thought you could park and walk in or if you had far parking, take a shuttle to the gate. I guess my DH might [gulp] be right! Thanks for the info!!

For the MK...yes. For the other parks, no. Although we always get a rental car, when it comes to the MK we use Disney transportation which drops us off outside of the MK gates.

 

[CathrynRose]

A couple of thoughts.

1. The "Free Dining" program offered this year to the UK residents does NOT include value resorts. To me that's telling. Remember it was the UK residents who first got news of the DDP changes (and tons of folks on these boards said "oh that's only going to be UK" which turned out to be not true) SO I view this as a leading indicator that Free Dining may NOT be offered for value resorts this year. (And remember REGARDLESS of what your CRO CM told you they don't have a clue. Disney executives know better then to give them inside scoop, they can't keep thier mouth shut. They are just passing on office gossip!)
!

That being said - they DID offer free-dining to 'bounce backers' at POP, last September.

Im booked with Free Dining Sept 14 - 24 at POP, this year.