Starting to regret decision to stay offsite

[summermac]

Snap me out of it.

I keep thinking about the EMH and the resorts and the DDP......smack me back into believing that offsite is better.

5 BR house for almost the same price as one hotel at value resort
Kids can go to bed and we can enjoy our accomodations
Our own pool

Okay, I'm feeling better. Add anything you can to make me even happier!!!!

 

[hmkenn0]

Less craziness checking in, you'll have your own car and won't have to wait for busses, no sharing bedrooms w/your kids! I still love staying at Disney bit there are some advantages to staying offsite!

 

[summermac]

Ahh..check in! YES, good one. After being in the car for 18 hours, dealing with check in is definitely the LAST thing I want to do. LOL

 

[bkstrick0725]

I know we miss out on some of the magic by staying off site, but I just can't justify paying the $$ you pay to stay on site for such small accomodations. My main issue is that I don't want to have lights out and the TV off when my son goes to bed. I think I could swing staying in a hotel room for one or two nights, but not seven. I don't think you'll regret it at all!

 

[tami82]

You can stay longer in florida because it is much cheaper to have the house. I am currently booked onsite for 4 nights but to think that i could stay 7 nights in a house is very very tempting and actually looking into it. Also i think staying onsite we will be mainly focusing on disney whereas if we had the house i would travel more around the area like i would usually do on vacation that is the only thing, i wont be doing that if we stay onsite so wont get to see much more of the area. If this is not your first time to Disney and you have stayed onsite before, i think the house is a great idea, nothing like your own pool. We stayed in Myrtle beach 2 years ago and had our own pool, it was fantastic as not many condos had this option. Yes and also with the hotel room everyone has to go to sleep at the same time and if you are an early riser, not good for me since i am up very very early sometimes.

 

[Freaky]

Don't forget the $$ you save by not eating on site all the time! There are loads of fabulous off site restaurants at very reasonable prices and then you don't have to eat out for breakfast every day, drinks and snacks can be bought at the supermarket etc etc etc

 

[acm563]

I have always been a firm believer in staying onsite, but I have to say that I stayed offsite 2 times in 2008 and I enjoyed every moment of it and it was a lot more reasonable in price than if I had stayed in one of the values. I would have to think about it if I was flying in and having to rent a car but since both times I stayed offsite I had driven to Fl I saved money both on the room, and on food. With kids offsite is sometimes the way to go for the money you will save on food alone Enjoy your vacation and relax

 

[Brian Noble]

I've never once attended an EMH, whether offsite or on. There are 30,000 rooms eligible for this "exclusive" perk---how exclusive can it be?

I've almost always spent less than the Dining Plan costs, just by eating what and where we want---normally we don't quite eat one TS per day. At most, the plan would have saved a few dollars, but it's less flexible than just paying cash.

 

[savannahcat]

One thing I love is the washer and dryer - I pack half as much!

 

[DawnM]

We have stayed on-site and off-site. We are BIG into off-site now.

We like having 2 full bedrooms, 3 TVs, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a washer/dryer.

We pack 3 days' worth of clothes and do laundry. We can all watch our own TVs at the end of a day of lots of walking.

The biggest reason to stay off-site (drum roll.....)

We can go to Disney more often!!!!!

 

[dougsmom98]

I like off site because I love to have coffee in my jammies while I sit out by the pool in the Florida sunshine.

I love that DH and I get an ensuite bathroom all to ourselves! We have to share bathrooms at home with the four kids.

I love that I don't have to pack up towels, sunscreen and the kids to head to the pool. I can walk out the door and it is right there. I can sit and have a glass of wine with my feet up while I watch the kids swim.

I love throwing a load of laundry in when before bed each night and then throwing it in the dryer before we leave for the parks and having clean clothes to bring home.

I love the full sized fridge for snacks, drinks, and to store leftovers.

I love pulling into the driveway and only having to walk 30 feet to the door.

I love the flexibility of not having to plan my vacation around ADR because the off site dining options are plentiful and accessible without reservations.

I love having more than one TV, a bedroom for everyone and usually a game room.

You'll LOVE staying off site.

 

[stepnut]

Starbucks. With Burger's half & half. That's probably my biggest reason for staying offsite. I get to make my own Starbucks in the kitchen of the condo every morning within milliseconds of rolling out of bed. And I get to do it in my jammies. Or better yet, I get my husband to do it for me.

I'm easy to please, except when it comes to my coffee.

 

[HeatherC]

After all these replies, I don't think I'll every stay onsite! We are also "offsiters" who cannot imagine cramming 5 of us into one room. We'd probably kill each other.

Thought of another reason......love the big jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. That's the best...put the kiddies to bed and relax with a long hot soak and a nice glass of wine and resting up for another day of fun!!

Have a great trip!

 

[summermac]

I knew I could count on ya'll to make me feel better!

WOOHOO!!!!

Ah yes, a glass of wine by the pool. Heck yeah!

 

[eugeniuss]

I've never once attended an EMH, whether offsite or on. There are 30,000 rooms eligible for this "exclusive" perk---how exclusive can it be?

it is exclusive enough that I def. can tell when EMH is on vs. off... it doesnt make me want to stay exclusivley onsite, but not having it is a major downside of off site....

 

[Cinderella]

I'm doing the same as you this year. Kids are getting too old to share a room with now. We could have done two rooms in a moderate for only a little more than a pool with a villa but I'd rather have all that space.

I haven't stayed in a villa with it's own pool in Orlando before but I've done it other places and it's wonderful to be able to get up in the morning and get straight into the pool.

We stopped doing extra magic hours when they changed it. When it was an hour and a half before park opening time it was great but you don't get such a big jump on the crowds now.

And the dining plan isn't as good now. You don't get an appetizer with one credit sit down meals and you have to pay gratuities on top.

I've done offsite before but in a hotel and it was fine. Having a car is much better. Even when we stay onsite, if we have a car, we use it for all the parks except MK, as it's much faster.

Have you chosen where you're staying offsite yet? I'm still looking. Windsor Hills looks nice - but it seems expensive for a villa with pool. Indian Creek and Rolling Hills are two areas that seem nice and more reasonable.

 

[crazelion]

Have more restaurants options without having to make ADR 6 months in advance. WDW restaurants is expensive. Do not have enough simple foods options for simple people tastes.

 

[summermac]

Have you chosen where you're staying offsite yet? I'm still looking. Windsor Hills looks nice - but it seems expensive for a villa with pool. Indian Creek and Rolling Hills are two areas that seem nice and more reasonable.

Yes, we are staying in Windsor Hills. We have a 5 BR villa (splitting it with my parents & sisters which helps) - it's around $1300 for the week.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I am a big on-site fan for the whole immersion thing, but when I do the math, off site rocks! Especially since we own a timeshare that has a property on I Drive.

Thanks to our timeshare and the military salute for tix, I have convinced DH that we can make a trip to WDW (we are currently a 6-hr drive from DL) this fall. I am so excited! I have been itching to get back to WDW, and thanks to off-site, I get to go back much sooner than I anticipated. I figured WDW was a pipedream for several more years (or at least until DH got stationed back east again!).

As far as EMH goes, it's not all it is cracked up to be. The last time we were at WDW, we avoided the EMH parks (even staying on site) with great success. We had a great time and were able to everything we wanted without doing any early or late EMHs (DDs were 7 and 4 then; will be 11 and 8 for this trip). I am a type A planner, so the only disadvantage to offsite that I can see is somebody has to stay sober to drive us back to our condo! DH and I can trade off, and we can make a conscious decision to cab it on our Epcot day!

 

[Cinderella]

You'll have a brilliant time then. If I was sharing with another family, I'd choose one of those villas - they look amazing.