Staying Off Site Worth It?

[ashleyr409]

if you cant get fastpasses at 60 days, you can try at 30 days stay offsite and for any fastpasses you cant get be at the park at rope drop and try to hit the rides he really want first.

That's my plan. RD if we decide to stay off site.

Still have awhile to decide if I want to stay at Disney Spring or Condos.

Now if Disney doesn't offer the perks for Disney Spring next year, offisite is will be mostly what we do.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

There is pretty much no advantage to staying onsite for me. I open and close the parks, and can find comparable, and vastly cheaper alternatives without taking anything away from my “Disney” experience.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Staying offsite is becoming more and more worth it. For example, today it was announced that onsite overnight guests will have to pay a daily parking fee to park at their hotel.

 

[Tiara2015]

There is pretty much no advantage to staying onsite for me. I open and close the parks, and can find comparable, and vastly cheaper alternatives without taking anything away from my “Disney” experience.

me either. I rent a car no matter what and I don't need extra magic hours. I be exhausted enough with the regular hours.

 

[Tiara2015]

plus I save a ton of money and have better and more spacious accomodations

 

[Tiara2015]

Staying offsite is becoming more and more worth it. For example, today it was announced that onsite overnight guests will have to pay a daily parking fee to park at their hotel.

yup ridiculous.. more and more money

 

[Klayfish]

This will be my first time and Disney and I have been going back and forth about staying off site vs staying onsite.

My biggest concern is FP. Will it really be that hard to get popular rides 30 days out instead of 60 days?

EMH: Do I really want to get up at 6am-7am to go to the parks,(RD) if we decide to stay offsite.

Nope, you will not have any issues at 30 days. The only possible exception is FoP. We only stay offsite, would never stay onsite. We also never rope drop, in our opinion it's a waste of time. We don't show up until 9:30am or so. We get on every single ride we want to, repeatedly. Getting same day FP+ is a wonderful thing, we take full advantage of it. We almost never wait in lines.

Even though I'd never stay on site, I don't buy into the outrage over the announcement over WDW charging for parking at the resorts. This is a common practice that sporting venues, theaters, and countless hotels have been doing for decades. Frankly, it's a wonderful and amazing thing that WDW has held out this long without doing it too.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

It’s not about not being able to afford or being cheap either but it’s come to a point where it’s just not worth the price. However, no one is taking your experience from you; similarly if you feel it’s worth it amen to you!

 

[Shanti]

So I'm trying to budget a trip to Disney in this summer and am looking at staying offsite. I've looked at airbnb and vrbo and have found a few places for about half the price as Disney resorts.

But we love staying on site. We've stayed at POP twice. We like the convenience. The parking/buses, the magic bands, the food courts. Would we miss these things too much? How much is parking per day now?

Basically I need someone to tell me staying offsite is okay and driving 3-5 miles is just as easy as the buses.

What are your experiences?

At this point, given the sharing of EMH & 60 day FP+ with other resorts, the no-privacy rule at the resorts, the new resort parking fees, etc., I would definitely say offsite lodging is worth it when compared to a value resort.

 

[Mrsbird1129]

We love staying off site. Much cheaper and everyone has their own rooms.

 

[pigletto]

At this point, given the sharing of EMH & 60 day FP+ with other resorts, the no-privacy rule at the resorts, the new resort parking fees, etc., I would definitely say offsite lodging is worth it when compared to a value resort.

I couldn't agree more. I saw the parking charges yesterday and thought "Yep.. no need to go back onsite." And this is from someone who was a diehard onsite guest and we've stated at at least three quarters of the resorts. We love them but the value is just not there anymore for us.

 

[ashleyr409]

There is pretty much no advantage to staying onsite for me. I open and close the parks, and can find comparable, and vastly cheaper alternatives without taking anything away from my “Disney” experience.

What about FP? Do you get what you want?

 

[Mrsbird1129]

What about FP? Do you get what you want?

It’s definetly harder to get fast passes sometimes. That’s the one drawback.

 

[ashleyr409]

Nope, you will not have any issues at 30 days. The only possible exception is FoP. We only stay offsite, would never stay onsite. We also never rope drop, in our opinion it's a waste of time. We don't show up until 9:30am or so. We get on every single ride we want to, repeatedly. Getting same day FP+ is a wonderful thing, we take full advantage of it. We almost never wait in lines.

Even though I'd never stay on site, I don't buy into the outrage over the announcement over WDW charging for parking at the resorts. This is a common practice that sporting venues, theaters, and countless hotels have been doing for decades. Frankly, it's a wonderful and amazing thing that WDW has held out this long without doing it too.

When does your family normally go?

 

[ashleyr409]

It’s definetly harder to get fast passes sometimes. That’s the one drawback.

Yeah, I think that's my main concern. Now that Disney off some "perks" staying at Disney Springs, we will probably do that.

Now, if that changes for 2019. Offsite we will stay. And just hope for the best with FP 30 days out.

 

[firefly_ris]

I've been to WDW 7 times since 1990; stayed on site 3 and off site 4. I enjoy off site. Not that on site is bad, but for what I paid to stay per night at POFQ last fall, I can get a much nicer room elsewhere for the same price -- POFQ is nice thematically and I do enjoy Disney's attention to themeing, that's what makes their parks special - but it's basically a glorified motel (the rooms were old and tired as well, but fortunately getting a refurb now), as are all the moderates and values.

Whereas for the same price or even $20 or $30 cheaper per night I can get a full on condo with multiple beds, baths, full kitchen, laundry (so I can pack less crap and also go home with a suitcase full of clean clothes that I only need to just put away) and an actual balcony (another reason I don't understand paying $$ for a certain "view" room at a Disney value or mod -- are you really hanging out in the open air walkway? Or peering out your window to the hallway?). And if I don't care about a balcony, I can even stay at a hotel that has suites -- Embassy is plenty roomy for 5 and has free breakfast to boot, and I can grab some Hilton points while I'm at it. The premium to be on site is not worth what we trade off, for my family personally. Everyone is different and things that I like having access to don't matter at all for other families or aren't a big deal. If we return to Disney while my kids are all teenagers, I might think about doing an on-site splurge for the convenience of being able to let them split up and do their own thing and return to the room when they want, but that is still several years away.

I did not care for using the Disney buses (not my concept of a $$$ vacation to wait in line for a bus to come then cram onto it with a bunch of other people and possibly not get a seat on top of it, when I could simply walk to my own quiet vehicle and sit in that), so we would rent a vehicle large enough for a family of 5, so after that and parking expenses it might not always be totally CHEAPER than staying onsite at say a value or a mod with no car, BUT for me the EXPERIENCE is more quality because of the amenities and convenience I get for a similar price. And if it ends up being cheaper? Great, then I have a few bucks to buy the kids some ice cream or get myself some Starbucks or something. 30 day FPs don't bother me none.

Now, if I hit it big with the lottery, I'd definitely do a big crazy on site stay at one of those insanely expensive 2 bedroom villas and ride the Minnie Van everywhere and do all the upcharge events, no question -- but while I'm still living in reality that will just have to remain a dream for now.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I've been to WDW 7 times since 1990; stayed on site 3 and off site 4. I enjoy off site. Not that on site is bad, but for what I paid to stay per night at POFQ last fall, I can get a much nicer room elsewhere for the same price -- POFQ is nice thematically and I do enjoy Disney's attention to themeing, that's what makes their parks special - but it's basically a glorified motel (the rooms were old and tired as well, but fortunately getting a refurb now), as are all the moderates and values.

POFQ has been refurbed, but lately as each WDW hotel is refurbed, the room theming is toned way down so that the room ends up looking generic, like a Holiday Inn room. For me the themed rooms were the main incentive to stay onsite, but that is disappearing.

 

[firefly_ris]

POFQ has been refurbed, but lately as each WDW hotel is refurbed, the room theming is toned way down so that the room ends up looking generic, like a Holiday Inn room. For me the themed rooms were the main incentive to stay onsite, but that is disappearing.

Yeah, I did see that.... I like that they are going for more of a "cleaner" look and trying to modernize the amenities, but at Disney a more "sterile" look doesn't jive thematically -- seems to me they could have found a good middle ground between the two -- get it updated, clean, less "90's" fixtures etc, but still keep that special "something". But I'm sure it has more to do with ease of maintenance and reduced cost to maintain more than anything, unfortunately.

 

[Sparkly]

I couldn't agree more. I saw the parking charges yesterday and thought "Yep.. no need to go back onsite." And this is from someone who was a diehard onsite guest and we've stated at at least three quarters of the resorts. We love them but the value is just not there anymore for us.

Yet some offsite hotels will charge a resort fee...

 

[sbd78]

Yet some offsite hotels will charge a resort fee...

I hate resort fees more than parking fees. But Disney hotel prices are so high to begin with, most offsite hotels are still cheaper than Disney hotels even with the resort fees. Do the math and you'll see. (And Disney doesn't charge resort fees YET. Clearly they are looking for any avenue to increase their revenue. Not to mention, everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't we?...)