Staying off Property?

[Princess Ash]

My parents are actually re-considering going to Disney for my senior graduation present. Prob is...they want to stay off property. However, I've always been spoiled, and we usually stay at the GF or Y&B Club...last time was GF Concierge...
So I'm wondering...has anyone ever stayed off property? If so, what was it like? Was it harder getting to the parks each day? Etc. Etc.

 

[wdwgirl03]

My family went this past December as sort of a last minute trip, so we couldn't get any rooms onsite. This was the first time we ever went to Disney World and weren't in one of the Disney resorts. We were going to be going to Universal Studios for the first time, so we stayed in a hotel right across the street from US. My sisters and I were sort of sad, but you know, we were still going to Disney World anyway! We had a rental car, so we were able to drive to WDW. We ended up doing something at Disney every day (not necessarily the parks- 3 days we went to the parks, and the other days we went to Downtown Disney, the Boardwalk, and we played at both mini golf courses). It probably took us 15-20 minutes at the most to drive from our hotel to WDW. It was sort of sad driving back to our hotel every night and passing through the Disney World gate (wow, I'm a dork!!), but it really wasn't that bad staying offsite.

 

[AmoDolphin]

I have stayed off site before. Though it is not as convienient as staying on site, concidering that it's Disney, you won't be spending much time in your hotel room, and more time in the parks.

 

[AllyGirlie]

Hi Ash! Long time no post..

We've never stayed offsite, but if we ever did this is where I'd want to stay:

Hyatt Grand Cypress
It's amazing, I actually want to stay there. They have horseback riding, swim-in movies in the pool, free shuttles to the theme parks, practically everything and anything..

Another one is: Gaylord Palms
The place is huge. There's like 6 different parts to the lobby each with different themes. (they even have live alligators in the "Everglades" part of the lobby)

 

[Darth Sidious]

i stayed off site but a really long time ago so i don't remember. but i would imagine that it would be harder to get to the parks. if u take a car u have to pay for parking and i think the buses have a set schedule, unlike the disney transport buses where they run every few minutes.

 

[Cinderella94]

Never stayed off site

 

[MuNkY]

I've stayed off site a few times. It was only a minor inconvienience.

 

[Sparx]

I've never stayed offsite. I'm spoiled to AKL.

 

[Suzyq9241]

Why not mention this ... Orange Lake Country Club....

Great place and about 10 minutes from wdw......

 

[wdwgirl03]

i stayed off site but a really long time ago so i don't remember. but i would imagine that it would be harder to get to the parks. if u take a car u have to pay for parking and i think the buses have a set schedule, unlike the disney transport buses where they run every few minutes.

Yeah, you do have to pay for parking, but if you decide to go to another park, you don't have to pay again as long as you have your parking ticket. As for the buses, I don't think they have a set schedule- I'm pretty sure they just send them where they need them.

 

[Daisymae26]

I've only stayed onsite once!
It's not hard at all getting to the parks. We usually have a rental car and it's super easy to travel from place to place.

Ooo, and the Orange Lake Country Club like another poster mentioned is really nice! We usually stay in little villas like that. I can't remember the name of the place we stayed in last time, but we've stayed in the Grovesnor (I think it's part of Mariott). Have fun Ash!

 

[Princess Ash]

Thanks for all your feedback guys!!!

Ok, so now that I've found that it's not a problem with convenience....

Does it ruin some of the Disney magical feel?

I know that when we used to stay at the GF...one of my fav parts was the little old guy saying "Welcome home folks!" That'd def be something missing...

So...whaddo you all think?

 

[Daisymae26]

Since I don't remember staying on site, the magic really hasn't been any different, but I can see how it would be a little let down to come "home" to a hotel that wasn't Disney. It's not all that bad! Sometimes you're so tired that it doesn't matter if the hotel is Disney or not!

 

[DollfieDreams]

it doesnt ruin the magic, not really. besides, it isnt THAT big of a deal. its just a hotel room. my point is, why freak out about where youre staying? the more you spend there, the less you spend in the parks. *sigh* such is my mothers philosophy. and its not like youre going to be "roughing" it. just be warned, you might be sharing the hotel with another even going on.

 

[tiff13]

We've stayed off site twice. The first time I dont remember. The second time I was with my band. I thought it was a hassle to have to drive to the property. We stayed at a place right on I4. So thats what we took everyday to get there. It was always super hard to get on I4, or maybe it was the fact that we had 4 coach buses.

But remember you can always just stay at Disney all day and just not spend lots of time in your room.

 

[Princess Ash]

Bump...there must be more of you who have an opinion on this...? This is a....gasp DISNEY BOARD!

 

[ploto]

I stayed off site the first time I went to WDW in 2003. It was o.k. It took longer to get to parks. (car crash, traffic jam) It just didn't feel as magical when you went off site each nite.

2003-offsite

2004-Pop Century

2005-Contemporary Resort


Me escaping to WDW !!!!!!!!

 

[WBHoenig]

last time was GF Concierge...

lol sounds like us this time.

Never stayed off property before. However, there is a Gaylord also near D/FW airport 200 miles north of us... seen it but never stayed at it, and from what we've seen, it is AMAZING.

 

[Tiinkerbelle]

We picked the hotel closest to the MK, I spent 40% of our vacation in the room since you already know Ash I have chronic fatigue had have to rest/take naps to just make in through the day. I stayed at a hotel just a few blocks away from Disneyland one time, I never felt as much magic though. Even though your not that far away. DL is a lot smaller then WDW so I can't imagine how I'd feel 15-20 minutes away. I'm a really huge kid at heart.

 

[Tiinkerbelle]

P.S. Ash how did you like the Y&B club I'm thinking of changing my hotel there along with the reception. The food looked a little better.