Stay offsite and pay for perks?

[olliesmom]

With the announcement of the new Disney Early Morning Magic and After Hours events and discussions around price tags being added to experiences that are very close to perks traditionally available to only Disney resort guests, I feel like our family is getting pushed closer and closer to staying offsite. Not just because of our disappointment with the direction WDW is going, but because it's looking more and more like we might actually be able to create a better experience by staying offsite and paying for the new perks.

For example, our trips are usually about a week in length and we typically stay at deluxe resorts. If you compare 6 nights at the BC at a rough cost of $2400 (room only) vs. 6 nights at Wyndham Bonnet creek at a rough cost of $850, a very general estimate of the price difference would be about $1500 (I know this would vary greatly depending on discount/season/etc. but just a guess!).

During an average week at Disney, I would say we take advantage of PM EMH twice. If Disney is going to run events like After Hours, which I can only assume will be attended by fewer guests than EMH and offer potentially a better experience, I would seriously consider staying offsite and putting that $1500-- or whatever the figure is-- toward buying tickets to the more exclusive events. For two adults, if the After Hours event is about $300 and we assume any extra ticketed events that might start to pop up would be around the same cost, we could plan to attend say 3 of these events and still easily have enough left over to cover the cost of a car rental/parking/etc.

Additionally, if you figure in the added savings in food if you're staying offsite and have access to a grocery store/offsite restaurants, I can see how you could potentially take advantage of these new "perks" that are available to offsite guests and offset them with the savings of choosing a non-Disney resort. Especially with all the news of CM cuts, no more greeters etc., perhaps the adjustment wouldn't be so difficult! It also opens up the door to Universal, beach days, etc!

Anyone else feeling the same way?

Edited to add: we have never stayed offsite before -- have been to WDW almost yearly since 2007, this is the first time we are considering it.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Not going offsite, I like the proximity and ability to go all over property without driving a car, and maximizing time at MK is not a concern of mine. But it's a logical outcome; with the money saved staying offsite one can take advantage of some of the events.

Having someone greet me when I got off the bus was nice but I don't have a big issue with it not happening. I have more concern with live entertainment cuts but that's happened before.

 

[JessNewt]

Not totally "offsite", but I have cancelled my Polynesian reservation and changed it to a Shades of Green reservation. 3000 dollar price difference, with the only real Disney perk being 60 day FastPass booking. I'll keep the cash and take my chances on FastPass.

 

[pa. dad]

Makes perfect sense to me.
I have stayed at Disney hotels a few times (AKL and Coronado Springs and contemporary). And i've eaten at a few others. They are not bad places but they can be terribly overpriced.
I have stayed offsite at least 80% of the time. You get a room double the size for half the price. The being able to go the grocery store really saves time and money. The off site places have nice pools too , sometimes open more hours and the people staying there are mostly going to the parks same as at disney world.

 

[dragonflydoll2]

Our future trips will be at Shades of Green, we are only staying at Polynesian this time because this trip is for our daughter's graduation.

 

[soniam]

We go during busy times, so I would be a bit concerned about getting FP+. However, it is amazing what you get offsite for much lower prices. We have APs now, so if they would just give APs a reasonable FP+ window, we would be set. I am starting to think that is one of the reasons that APs don't get a bigger FP+ window.

 

[sretav]

For example, our trips are usually about a week in length and we typically stay at deluxe resorts. If you compare 6 nights at the BC at a rough cost of $2400 (room only) vs. 6 nights at Wyndham Bonnet creek at a rough cost of $850, a very general estimate of the price difference would be about $1500 (I know this would vary greatly depending on discount/season/etc. but just a guess!).

We're doing 14 nights at WBC for $1845 if that helps with your calculations and for a 3 Bedroom Presidential. Maybe 4 times the space, 6 pools and 2 lazy rivers to choose from at about a quarter the price of a tiny Disney room.

 

[olliesmom]

We're doing 14 nights at WBC for $1845 if that helps with your calculations and for a 3 Bedroom Presidential. Maybe 4 times the space, 6 pools and 2 lazy rivers to choose from at about a quarter the price of a tiny Disney room.

That does help-- and wow, that is quite a difference!

I think the main consideration for us, if that if the "perks" of being an onsite guest such as EMHs/FP+ are trending towards being monetized and offered to onsite and offsite guests alike as a more premium experience, then maybe we'll give the premium experience/offsite combo a try... if the trend continues, that is!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Oh, Iger, meet your unintended consequence. Yeah, you get to collect a few hundred from guests for a premium experience ... at the expense of thousands in resort bookings. And there are already rumors that the removal of FL resident black out dates were because resort bookings were down.

In Yoda-speak: See new perks for onsite guests in your future, I do.

 

[Tomh]

We are already staying offsite this year, partially because we have a 4th person with us, partially because our income tax return was much lower this year than it has been recently, and partially because of the increased cost of a Disney vacation compared to the past few summers.

The availability of these perks now on a pay basis just makes staying offsite that much more attractive.

 

[Planogirl]

We enjoy offsite because we like to experience different places and don't find most of the theming all that impressive at the WDW resorts particularly considering the prices. I kind of like the idea of buying any extras that will work for us but only if they don't become too pricey. For us the extended hours are more expensive than what they appear to be worth.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Staying offsite will always be tremendously cheaper. Although we loved Fort Wilderness last trip, I couldn't justify spending $1200 more for this upcoming trip. For ~$1200 less we're renting a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo with private pool within a couple miles of the gates.

That being said-I AM a bit sad that we're not staying onsite. There is something special about it. We were priced out this trip but I know there are several others willing to fill our shoes and spend extra to have the onsite experience. Although people will undoubtedly leave due to the recent changes there will be plenty who will continue to pay the inflated price to stay "in the bubble."

 

[PlainJane]

I don't see myself shelling out that much cash for a limited guest event, especially when it's incredibly late at night.

We mostly trade in through a timeshare, so sometimes we stay DVC and sometimes we stay off property. Once they opened Bonnet Creek, we've pretty much stayed there or DVC. We often also stay at other Disney resorts for a couple days to try out something new or to bridge two exchange weeks. Staying in a villa is nice with the kitchen. We tend to do a Walmart run, which is good for breakfast, and even some lunches and dinners if we have a kitchen.

While we miss EMH, ME, room charging, and now there would also be the benefit of 60 FP, it's not that big of a difference to stay at Bonnet Creek vs a Disney resort that doesn't have easy access to a park. There isn't the same theming, but we can visit the resorts for that.

We've almost always had APs, so paying for parking hasn't been an issue, and we often drive instead of fly, so we rarely need a rental car.

A couple years ago I stayed at Bonnet Creek and just hit rope drop everyday. We had to use FP a total of 1 time and we accomplished everything we wanted to do, including lunch, by 2. We also only had to park far away at DHS, that was our only tram ride of the trip. I know people are all doom and gloom about the parking, but at MK we haven't even lost anything because that used to be a AAA lot anyway.

Even if Disney stripped away the guest benefits, I don't see the need to pay for them while staying on or off site.

 

[snayak]

I would absolutely stay off-site, but wouldn't shell out for the "additions" either.

I am biased though, because we have been enough, and the parks haven't changed enough to sweat "doing everything" on a trip. Three FP+ plus a couple walk ons & good company of friends is a good enough trip for us (though, I'm a sucker for FoF parade).

Then again, to be completely hypocritical, we usually stay at the Swan (on SPG points) and don't rent a car, so its the best of onsite and offsite - cheap rooms + 60 day FP+ and EMH (which we don't use...)

I do not foresee staying onsite at at Deluxe resort in our future - its too pricy...while we could afford it, I would rather do other stuff with the $. Unfortunately the moderates & values are too far away from the Boardwalk area (not walking distance) so we won't be visiting for a few years - maybe when DHS construction is finished in 2020 (hopefully it's done by then?)

 

[rebekahw]

I was originally irritated by these events since I will be there when the first DAH is held (a MK night for us) and I was concerned about the crowd impact for regular guests but now I actually am seriously considering canceling my July reservation at Contemporary for a townhouse if they continue this through the summer. I'm taking my niece and nephew and they really wanted to stay at Contemporary because of the monorail and the ability to walk to Magic Kingdom but I could save over $1200, buy both the morning and evening event tickets for the three of us and STILL save close to $600, which would more than cover the cost of our food for the rest of the trip. And the kids would have a private pool, which I'm thinking will make up for not getting to ride the monorail at a whim (my nephew could ride the monorail all day and never even enter a park).

Even though I find these events wildly overpriced, let's face it, so are all the Deluxes. It's just a matter of where/how you choose to spend your extra dollars and these events plus an offsite stay will be cheaper than our current selection. Sure, I would lose out on FP+ at 60 days but two of those FP+ will be 7DMT and PP every MK day for us. If we do the early event, I wouldn't need 60 days out because only 7DMT really needs it (and A&E but that's a non-issue for us this time). The kids could ride PP several times, get it out of their system, and we can move on to the rest of the park. I got an AP this year so parking fee is not an issue and not having to deal with a bus is a huge bonus for us (we hate waiting on them, which is why we stay at Contemporary and spend a lot of time at MK).

I LOVE the MK access from the Contemporary but if these events allow us to get as much done as we would otherwise, then it is definitely a viable option.

 

[mshanson3121]

We stayed off site because it saved a massive amount of money. We got a 4 bedroom/2 bath house with private pool for less than the cost of a value room. There was no perk that was worth the cost savings. We went during a very busy time (week leading up to July 4th) and had no problem getting FP+ at the 30-day mark. That said, you can always book a throwaway room to get your 60-day FP+. We preferred having our own car with the ability to come and go as we please, instead of relying on Disney transportation. Driving around to/from Disney is so well marked, and easy (even for this country girl).

 

[pampam]

We stayed at ASSP this past trip. The main reason was for safety. We go off site a lot for groceries, shopping, restaurants and other entertainment, but we rely on Lynx busses to get around. I don't drive in Florida. We have stayed in Kississimee many times, and on International Drive too, but I don't feel those areas are safe anymore. We travel with a wheelchair, so it is just an older lady and another in a wheelchair. I feel vulnerable. We have even had some scares in the Old town area, so I make it a point to back on Disney property, or at least a bus heading back to Disney property as night falls. If we stayed off site we would want to back in our room by dark. I've weighed the pros and cons of off site vs. on site and although off site has its appeal, for us it just doesn't work.

 

[Shellyb84]

I would rather just not go than stay offsite. One of the major draws for me is the magic of the resorts and just being inside the Disney bubble.

 

[ellie05]

We stay on site, but if the they take away perks and start adding resort fees we will take a long break and when we go back we will stay in a non Disney resort. There are some good options like the Waldorf, bonnet creek, swan and dolphin, four season that are on property so we will avoid the traffic of staying off site yet get more for our money. Will I purchase the extra hours with that money ? NO because I don't see the value I think is insane that they will offer 2 hours of non crowded park time and some Mickey bars for $150. We will just spend less. We will still do extra things that we feel are worth the price like club villains, certain tours. But that was money we were going to spend anyway. So I will just take my savings and spend it somewhere else.

 

[tinkerbella16]

I would rather just not go than stay offsite. One of the major draws for me is the magic of the resorts and just being inside the Disney bubble.

This is how we feel. There are great discounts for on-site resorts to be had out there.. you just have to find them. We are paying a lot less for a deluxe resort stay this year, than we would have paid for a moderate resort.

If we were to go off-site (which I don't think we ever will), we would not pay for those extras. The price would have to be right for us, and they just aren't right now, for what they are offering.