Stay onsite or offsite?

[Haygar2]

This is your sign that she and her husband can also pay for their own tickets, food, and transportation costs

Rest on your laurels a bit, OP. You can even hint that you would like them to treat YOU for a change. What I remember most from childhood roadtrips was my dad and his guidebook, stressing out about where to stay and what to visit. I really enjoyed taking my parents to disney last year and saying "I booked your hotel room here, go see this and this and I made dinner reservations already" My parents paid my way for so long to set me up to be in a good financial position...now it's my turn to return the favor.

They will all be responsible for their own food. But, the tickets are on me. I never know what to get them for Christmas and their birthdays. This makes it easier. They don't get anything else but tickets. It's a win/win for all of us.

 

[Haygar2]

Yes. You can do 3 Studios. or a 2 bedroom. I would get one with 3 bathroom tho. You mentioned all stars, so I'm guessing this is budget trip. Summer Trip. Like other have said, there is always summer discount and those prices are hard to beat.

Yourself + SO
Daughter + SIL
Son + GF

2 bedroom at Kidani resort view, 7 night summer next year is 255 points. Need to find a renter for $18 = $4590.

It has 3 bathrooms. To be fair, this will still be tight but doable.

It's so much cheaper if we all do our own room at a value or even a moderate. I am pricing right now, and I have looked at renting DVC points. But I think we will do our own rooms.

 

[Lionezz]

How does the off-site cost compare to value, moderate, and deluxe options (which are around $656 per day for deluxe 2br)?
If you stay off-site, what’s your estimated daily cost for Uber or a rental car?
And overall, how much would you save by choosing off-site?
(I was happy staying off-site for $40 a night in 1997 and 1998, but I didn’t have much money then—I was only 21. I had to take four taxi rides each day, about $18 per ride, so the total cost came out to around $112 per day off-site. When I had more money in 1999, I invested in myself and booked Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside (a Disney moderate resort) for $100 per night.)

 

[Haygar2]

How does the off-site cost compare to value, moderate, and deluxe options (which are around $656 per day for deluxe 2br)?
If you stay off-site, what’s your estimated daily cost for Uber or a rental car?
And overall, how much would you save by choosing off-site?
(I was happy staying off-site for $40 a night in 1997 and 1998, but I didn’t have much money then—I was only 21. I had to take four taxi rides each day, about $18 per ride, so the total cost came out to around $112 per day off-site. When I had more money in 1999, I invested in myself and booked Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside (a Disney moderate resort) for $100 per night.)

If we stay onsite, we won't be staying deluxe. We will do 3 rooms at a value or moderate

 

[Rory607]

I will always vote for onsite if it’s a full Disney trip. I’d rather stay in a value and be able to use Disney transportation than have to deal work Ubers and traffic back and forth everyday. It would make it much easier for everyone to have some freedom to go take a break if needed.

I would also not be comfortable sharing a room if I were your daughter and would gladly pay the $650. How does the girlfriend feel about it? She might also feel uncomfortable and not want to say. Could you have the new college grad in your room or cover his portion since the trip is to celebrate him?

 

[LuvOrlando]

Onsite has gotten very pricey. We did a similar thing last Christmas and gifted everyone a trip to Universal. started traveling as a family of similar aged adults and what has worked for us is I have been booking both an Air B & B with a generous cancel policy and also hotel rooms with a generous cancellation policy. For the Air B & B we are getting 3 bedrooms and so far we are mostly staying in the Air B & B with DS while DD has been choosing to go her own way with the hotel. I'm booking the same way for this Christmas because it's possible job stuff can come up and then everyone might need a place to stay. I'm booking 3 separate hotel rooms and also an Air B & B and will decide which to cut when the time comes. Honestly, it's so far out I feel more comfortable taking advantage of good prices with deposits I can get back than paying double closer to the trip date or being super stressed because of some kind of random complications.

Best wishes for a nice time

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would look into renting DVC points for a 3 BR unit. It gives you some togetherness, but still have the privacy of each couple having their own bedroom, plus a full kitchen for anyone who doesn't want to buy every meal from a Disney restaurant and a W/D for anyone who doesn't want to have to pack a lot.
The cost may not be different than paying for 3 rooms at a value resort and you'd have all the amenities and better locations of a deluxe resort.
We love renting points!

 

[Finley]

Onsite is great for convenience, but once you’re splitting into 3 rooms the cost jump is pretty big, and you still end up separated anyway. A house keeps everyone together, gives you shared space to hang out, and usually makes the whole trip feel more like a group vacation instead of everyone just retreating to separate rooms.


Yes you lose some perks like early entry convenience and not needing a car, but since you’ve already been multiple times, that tradeoff feels easier. If the house is really 5 minutes from Animal Kingdom and the price is good, that’s actually a strong setup.

 

[SteveH]

Price out the Swan/Dolphin Resorts for your time frame too. Great location and sometimes the pricing beats a Moderate.

 

[2minny]

We have done both, and some trips we are good with off-site and spreading out in a large home (everyone gets their own room and bathroom - but we do factor in a rental van), it's quiet and relaxing and a break from the noise. Then sometimes we get a 2 bedroom villa at AKL, which is nice with some room to spread out, 3 bathrooms, and on site but not super noisy like some. This trip we are getting 3 separate studio rooms at Grand Floridian. We have enjoyed Port Orleans and Boardwalk with connecting rooms. Each has pros and cons, we just look at the group dynamics, and the cost/burdget. Sometimes space outweighs on-site for us. I've never had a trip that I didn't enjoy - ok, well I didn't enjoy All Star Music stay - super noisy and crowded and chaotic. So I think I would go off site before staying there again. But again, that's a personal decision, and it was probably the time of year we were there.

 

[hookala]

I would pick offsite. Honestly, for this crowd, I think it is better even if there were no cost difference. Having a living room area to hang out in will be a huge advantage for this group, because you can either be together or not when you go back to the rental. When your full group gathers together in the offsite rental just to relax outside the parks, SIL or GF can easily retreat to the room to rest earlier than daughter and son. That would give you more time with the kiddos, while allowing the SIL/GF down time. I think the cost of lyfts to/from the park would be offset by eating breakfast in the rental, even if you each take your own.

 

[brockash]

We are now a family of 6 adults. Myself (53), my husband (56), daughter and son in law (both 27), and my son and his girlfriend (both 23). We are planning a trip to Disney next summer to celebrate my son's college graduation. We have been to Disney multiple times and have always stayed onsite. We were able to get 2 rooms since it was the 4 of us. Our kids shared a room and we had a room. Now, we would have to do 3 rooms. My daughter said she didn't want to share a room with her brother and his girlfriend. So I started looking at rental houses. I found one at a fantastic price. Supposedly it's 5 minutes from Animal Kingdom. I can afford to pay for the house and then the park tickets. (Christmas and birthday presents for the next year). We would have to rent a car or Uber/lyft everywhere. But, like I said...we have never stayed offsite. Onsite, the cost does go up. I would not be able to afford to do the whole package for all of us. If my kids paid for their rooms (based on this year pricing and discounts so it's an estimate) if we stayed at an All Star, they would pay around $650ish for a 6 night stay. Do I stay offsite and pay for it all or do we stay onsite and the kids pay for their room? Do the benefits of staying onsite outweigh the extra costs? Since I have always stayed onsite, I am afraid we won't be happy if we stay offsite.

Stay on and have adult kids pay for their own rooms...or maybe option of paying for their room if they're open to sharing.