Staying off-site

[mill4023]

I'm not sure I'd stay in an off-site hotel. I really have enjoyed the ambiance of the Disney resorts and the only real advantage of an off-site hotel is the lower cost.
But staying in a house is a different choice altogether.
On our last trip, we rented a 4 bedroom house with a private pool for about $140 / night in prime time summer season. That was in Indian Creek.
There were 10 of us with some extended family and we stayed for 2 weeks. It was a huge cost savings since we would have needed 3 rooms anywhere else (not counting the suites, which are as expensive as 2 rooms anyway).
It was also, by far, the most relaxing Disney trip we've ever had. Being able to step out the back door to let the kids swim was great. So much less stress than packing up a bag with towels and all that stuff and going to the pool at a resort.
I did miss the feel of being at a Disney resort a little, but we still had a fantastic time.
It's really just a matter of pros and cons and deciding what is most important for your family and your situation.
If we were doing a shorter trip where we would be in the parks most of the time, we might make a different choice.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

Like others here, we've done both. OP, what's your hesitation? I ask because I had one main issue.

The one thing I had the hardest time letting go of mentally was the transportation. I find WDW transportation so darn easy I was worried it would feel like a chore driving to/from the parks. I was worried that somehow we'd be missing out on some WDW magic. I grew up in CA, spent a whole lot of time at Disneyland and we always drove. So when we'd leave the parks we'd get right in to traffic, stress, etc. There always seemed to be congestion, or an accident slowing things down and a 'fend for yourself' attitude somewhere along the route, lol. It just seemed to underscore that the day was over and that we were out of our Disney bubble. I just didn't want to do that at WDW too when the resort transport was so 'dreamy' in comparison.

Turned out driving ourselves at WDW was a breeze and my worries were unfounded! It was nice to get in the car, crank up the air and laugh about our day. We were fortunate to not hit any major traffic as it was Easter. That's not to say it was easier or harder than the resort buses, but we found that sort of *instant* time out of the crowds pretty nice (surprisingly) and because of where we stayed we didn't have to drive along a lot of 'city' streets so our Disney bubble didn't burst like at the end of a DL day

Happy planning!

This IS actually one of my big hesitations. With the exception of our last trip we have never had issues with the WDW transportation and it has always made things SO much easier. Like I've mentioned before, we always drive so we have our car and renting is not an issue. I guess I just feel like going back to the car somehow takes me "out" of the vacation?? I don't know if that will even make sense to anyone else. I rememeber when I was a kid and we DIDN'T stay on-site how much I disliked driving in, parking the car, waiting for a tram, etc, and then doing it all in reverse when the day was over. I also think I have an unhealthy emotional attachment to being "at the parks." I like getting on a bus or boat to go back to my room and not feeling like I'm really "leaving". And, while I don't really know how big of deal it would be to him, our DS really likes the buses...he has this fascination with public transportation - probably bc we live in a place where that doesn't exist - and he just loves getting on the bus. When we are in a city that DOES have buses he always points to them and calls them "Disney buses."So I guess in some way I feel like I will be taking something away from him but I'm sure as he gets older it will not be as big of a deal with him.

We also have made an unfullfilled promise to him to stay in a Cars suite at AoA. The first time he went we were only there for a couple of days (short fall break trip) so we stayed in a Little Mermaid room and when we went back to AoA the next time we stayed in a Lion King suite. The last time we went we stayed in the cabins at FW so there is still this promise lingering out there. Honestly, he's not as in to Cars as he was when he was younger (he's 6 now) but I still feel like we need to do that for him or at least give him some say in where we DO stay. Our oldest DD picked the LK suite and we told him he could pick the next time and then the circumstances were different with my in-laws deciding to come with us kinda late in the planning the game so we didn't have as many options and the cabins were the best deal for what we needed.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Since you'll already have a car, that makes off-site even cheaper, since you won't need to rent one.

Honestly, I think your family will love off-site. For your son, could you maybe find a house with a Cars-themed bedroom? My kids are older, so themed rooms aren't such a hit for us, but I have seen some really amazing themed bedrooms on VRBO.

One thing we did when we stayed off-site was, our youngest was fascinated with the monorail. So, we declared one day to be "Monorail Day". We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's and rode around a few times. I think we even rode to Epcot and back, just for fun. You could do something similar--maybe plan lunch or dinner at a resort, so you take the bus there.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier, about costs--it very much depends on the number of people going. For a couple, off-site is likely to be break-even or a small amount of savings. But as the size of your party grows, so do the savings. 4 people is the magic threshold--if you're over that, you're going to get a ton more space for your money off-site. My kids are all Disney adults--fitting 5 of us in a regular sized hotel room would be cramped, but we could do it. With all 6 of us, we're much happier in a house or condo. (Suites are generally out of our price range).

 

[Katy Belle]

My kids are big, 20,18,16... We stayed offsite this year and loved it! We usually get two rooms at a value. We stayed at Lighthouse Keys. Had a 3 bedroom condo. It was HUGE. We loved all of the space, the 3 bathrooms, the balcony, etc. the drive to the parks was faster than Disney buses! Will do it again.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

My kids are big, 20,18,16... We stayed offsite this year and loved it! We usually get two rooms at a value. We stayed at Lighthouse Keys. Had a 3 bedroom condo. It was HUGE. We loved all of the space, the 3 bathrooms, the balcony, etc. the drive to the parks was faster than Disney buses! Will do it again.

We stayed at Lighthouse Key in 2013 and absolutely loved it. It was our 4th WDW trip and our first time offsite. It was just two of us, DS35 and me, but we got the three bedroom because we each wanted our own master bed/bathroom. The condo was huge, much bigger than my house. It was so nice to park right in front of the building and we found driving to the parks super easy. We found ourselves leaving the parks earlier than we usually would just to hang out in the condo. Because we spent less for the condo than we would for two value rooms, we were able to stay longer, for two weeks. It was very relaxing trip but we were still able to do everything we wanted to multiple times. Our next trip will be onsite, but we both remember that trip as one of our best and would definitely consider Lighthouse Key again.

 

[agavegirl1]

My DH is AGAINST staying off-site. I have ankle issues so standing at bus stops after a long day is killer for me. I really wanted to have a condo or somewhere with living room furniture to be comfortable elevating my foot, a kitchen to have a real breakfast and maybe even more than one bathroom. He likes POP so I am going to compromise by staying at POP (a value) AND getting a rental car for the Disney portion of our Orlando trip.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

Because we spent less for the condo than we would for two value rooms, we were able to stay longer, for two weeks. It was very relaxing trip but we were still able to do everything we wanted to multiple times.

I have thought about this and the only reason I would consider staying off-site is bc it would give us more money to put towards the parks and other activities, possibly leading to a longer trip. Although I don't think our schedules would allow much longer than the 5-7 days we usually do...there's just too much going on to be gone at home to be gone longer than that.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

We like offsite for all the reasons previously mentioned. We get more space, don't wait in line for buses or have to stand on buses, get our own pool, have the option to cook if we want, can pack less and easily wash a couple loads of laundry... If we stay onsite we still rent a car. I love riding the tram from the parking lot. It reminds me of my childhood when we always considered it our first ride of the day. We love passing through the Disney gate every day. We usually rent a house that is Disney themed. Most of the rooms on property don't really seem that Disney themed once you are inside. We rarely use EMH. We never do the dining plan.

The only way we stay onsite is with DVC. I do love staying at the Boardwalk and walking to 2 parks. We can get a kitchen and multiple rooms to spread out. Almost the best of both worlds. However my kids still prefer offsite where they each get their own bedrooms (instead of sharing) and we get our own pool.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

We usually rent a house that is Disney themed. Most of the rooms on property don't really seem that Disney themed once you are inside. We rarely use EMH. We never do the dining plan.

If we did do something off-site I think having something Disney themed would help since the kids are used to being on-site. Since our kids our young we've done AoA and the rooms there are extremely "themed" (maybe even a bit excessively, but the kids love it) and the cabins which are themed but in a much more understated way, so I think they would really miss that aspect of the on-property resorts (I know I would, even if it can a little overwhelming at times). We also take advantage of EMH and always do a DP (even though I think we'll step down to the Disney DP from now on; we've done the Deluxe DP the last 2 times and it is a crazy amount of food and we felt like we spent too much time eating with all the TS restaurants). So those are 2 other things I think we would miss being off site. I know DH realizes all this but I think he's just fed up w WDW in general so he justifies staying off-site because of it.

 

[dizzy daisy]

...I don't know if that will even make sense to anyone else...

I hear you LuckyBelle81! It's that Disney magic

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I won't say we'll *never* stay off-site, but we are big fans of being on-site. For us, that "Disney bubble" includes being away from all the typical, everyday "noise" of the real world - not just literal noise of radios and TVs everywhere you turn, but billboards, clutter, too many buildings and not enough green space. I once toured the Swan & Dolphin and the pop radio blaring as soon as I walked in the door was enough to make me want to leave. I love that the Disney resorts play themed music - we love Coronado Springs and the Spanish guitar music is so soothing to me. I love the water views and the green space everywhere. We usually use Disney buses to get everywhere and enjoy having a break from driving everywhere like we do at home. I don't want everyone to have their own room and their own TV - I want us to watch the Disney Top 10 show with Stacy. I don't want to cook or do laundry - I do enough at home. I don't mind bringing Pop-tarts, cereal and granola bars, but that's the extent of my meal-prep on vacation. I don't care if we have our own pool because we go to my sister's pool several times a week all summer long. We like the huge resort pools, the slides and games.

We stayed off-site for our honeymoon (an aunt gifted us a timeshare week) and we of course enjoyed it, except for the driving every day. I had stayed on-site many times as a child with my grandparents, so our first trip after we had a child, I booked CSR. I'll never forget one hot afternoon after a rest break we hopped on a bus that had just arrived, sat down in the already-cool bus, and my husband looked at me and said, "we're never staying off-site again."

Our kids have always had the understanding that if they want to vacation, they may occasionally have to share a bed (we have 2 boys, so not an issue). Do they *love* it? No, but they sure do love to vacation. When the choice is share a bed or stay home, they get packed. When they're older maybe we'll revisit the matter, but for now we're content to stay on-site when we visit WDW.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Full kitchen
Private bedroom away from the kids
8 minutes from the front door to a parking space at Epcot
$1,200 less than the overpriced Super 8 that is the typical Disney "value" resort.

Yeah, wasn't even a fair fight.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I won't say we'll *never* stay off-site, but we are big fans of being on-site. For us, that "Disney bubble" includes being away from all the typical, everyday "noise" of the real world - not just literal noise of radios and TVs everywhere you turn, but billboards, clutter, too many buildings and not enough green space. I once toured the Swan & Dolphin and the pop radio blaring as soon as I walked in the door was enough to make me want to leave. I love that the Disney resorts play themed music - we love Coronado Springs and the Spanish guitar music is so soothing to me. I love the water views and the green space everywhere. We usually use Disney buses to get everywhere and enjoy having a break from driving everywhere like we do at home. I don't want everyone to have their own room and their own TV - I want us to watch the Disney Top 10 show with Stacy. I don't want to cook or do laundry - I do enough at home. I don't mind bringing Pop-tarts, cereal and granola bars, but that's the extent of my meal-prep on vacation. I don't care if we have our own pool because we go to my sister's pool several times a week all summer long. We like the huge resort pools, the slides and games.

We stayed off-site for our honeymoon (an aunt gifted us a timeshare week) and we of course enjoyed it, except for the driving every day. I had stayed on-site many times as a child with my grandparents, so our first trip after we had a child, I booked CSR. I'll never forget one hot afternoon after a rest break we hopped on a bus that had just arrived, sat down in the already-cool bus, and my husband looked at me and said, "we're never staying off-site again."

Our kids have always had the understanding that if they want to vacation, they may occasionally have to share a bed (we have 2 boys, so not an issue). Do they *love* it? No, but they sure do love to vacation. When the choice is share a bed or stay home, they get packed. When they're older maybe we'll revisit the matter, but for now we're content to stay on-site when we visit WDW.

I get what you are saying, but I think it's just different depending on what a person or family desires from their vacation. I have 2 boys too. When they were little they would fight in bed, and and it was stressful for us. They would always choose to stay home if they have to share a bed on vacation, but I want to vacation. Of course we could force the issue, but I see no reason to if we have a choice. Now we pack an aerobed for the times we vacation and can't get separate beds for them. We can always squeeze it in, but it's so much nicer to have extra beds. We try to get a suite, or two rooms if we can't rent a house wherever we vacation. We still spend plenty of time together.

Cooking and laundry just doesn't bother me. I'm not doing anywhere near what I do at home, and I don't have to do either just because I can. It's my choice. If we don't get a house I still would use a hotel laundry room at least once mid week. My dad has a pool at home that we can use anytime we want. It's just not the same as having one enclosed out the back patio door. My youngest used to be up first and ready to jump in. In a hotel room he'd be waiting and impatient for someone to take him to the pool. In a house I can just say go ahead while I watch you from the living room in my pajamas drinking my coffee. That was a huge luxury for us. He can swim while DH and I are getting ready. We are also from Michigan. So DS would be so happy swimming in the winter on vacation. He'd swim every single morning and most evenings. At a resort I would find myself saying no too often because we didn't have time to go down to the pool.

We actually want to stay onsite more now with the boys being teens. They can come and go as they want now that they are more independent. we still spend most of our vacation time together, but youngest can sleep in and meet up with us later if he wants. One of us can go back early if we are tired, and the rest don't have to leave too. The boys stayed at Magic Kingdom until 1:00 AM last time. I was able to go back and go to bed. We just have to stay in a DVC villa or 2 studios to get that extra room to spread out.

 

[damskipi13]

I posted this on another board but wanted to get input from here also. I'm sure most everyone will side with my DH on this one but I wanted to see what you had to say nonetheless:

Maybe I feel an unreasonable amount of loyalty to Disney but the thought of going to WDW and NOT stating on property makes my heart hurt a little. I'm not sure when our next trip will be (2017 at the earliest) but recently DH has really started pushing the idea of not staying at a Disney resort for our next trip. I think he's a little bent out of shape at the recent litany of price increases and that's coloring his perception a bit, but there is also the reality that the next time we go we will have a 10yo that we will be paying adult prices for and 3yo that we have not had to pay for to this point (and just so I don't leave him out, our DS that we will still be able to pay kids rates for) so we're looking at double the price of our last trip just bc of changes in our fam. I've looked and OF COURSE we can go and stay off-site and pay less but I just hate the idea of not staying on thr resort property. Anyone else been in this predicament and have insight?

Honestly, I am having the exact opposite problem! I haven't stayed onsite since I was a child, but I have a reservation at ASSports in September. I am having trouble wrapping my mind around having a teeny tiny motel room with a drink cooler instead of a big, luxurious suite or condo like I am used to. It'll be okay because this is a solo trip, but I know I will be thinking about that when I enter the room.

My last trip was in 2014, and for $92/night after tax we had a beautiful 2 bedroom suite in a hotel (1 with king bed, 1 with two queens), including a full living room, two full bathrooms, and a kitchen. Now I will be paying basically the same price for a standard room at ASSports. I loved having the kitchen to store snacks and drinks and leftovers. Plus the hotel had a free full hot breakfast every morning. Considering we were four adults, that's at least a $40/day value right there (more if you count all the coffee my friends carried out!). We had free parking at the hotel and no resort fees. The pool was about 20 feet away, but because everybody was at Disney all day it was never noisy or busy. We were only a mile from (old name) Downtown Disney and could have walked if we'd wanted to, but we drove everywhere and it was soooo nice not having to wait in line for the buses at the end of the day.

In 2012 my family (5 adults and 2 children) stayed in two 2-bedroom luxury timeshare suites for a total of ~$1000/week. Everybody/couple had their own bed and no more than two people had to share a bathroom. And each unit had in-room laundry, which is great for me because I aim to only ever have carry-on luggage. The kids were over the moon with the resort amenities and my SIL and I loved having a fully equipped gym on site. We stopped at a grocery store on the way to the hotel and for about $200 we had breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for 7 people for 5 night. SIGNIFICANT savings there.

Honestly, staying offsite has some great benefits. They aren't the same benefits as staying onsite, but it's more than just being cheaper. There are some significant comfort-factor benefits as well.

I'm not sure I'd stay in an off-site hotel. I really have enjoyed the ambiance of the Disney resorts and the only real advantage of an off-site hotel is the lower cost.

This is somewhat true if you get a regular hotel room (which will still be bigger than Disney) but some of the area hotels also have suites that give you all the amenities of renting a house and the amenities of having a hotel room (daily maid service!). It just depends on what you choose.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

We were looking at it last night and basically decided that we can go and stay off-site and plan a trip in the next year OR we can stay on-site but we will have to wait longer bc it's more expensive. I've seen some really nice places off-site and I'm not quite as against it as I used to be but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to miss the "bubble". We are looking at places right around Disney Springs so maybe that will suffice. I REALLY don't want to drive to the parks everyday and most of those resorts seem to have shuttles.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We hate the Disney buses and always rent a car. We've stayed onsite for probably 14 trips. (Including 5 great stays at the Dolphin - I truly have no idea what a pp is talking about with pop music blaring there, lol - we find it very soothing and will often sit in the lobby for a while to cool down and enjoy the atmostphere, etc.)

Last year, though, we had a different kind of trip - we drove down for a college visit, and stayed offsite. We even brought our dog, who enjoyed a stay at the Disney kennels. We loved it. Got a great deal on a club level room and it was fantastic, with an awesome view of the Disney fireworks from the terrace of the club, an amazing pool - the best we've ever been in, anywhere, all kinds of activities, restaurants, etc. Literally right around the corner from the Disney gates. Our kids went to Universal with friends, while DH and I got to explore the area a bit as well as enjoy some park time by ourselves. (Yay!) Our whole family agrees we want to go back again! I'd say give it a try, wherever you decide to stay. There are always pros and cons wherever you are. If saving a little money means you can go more often or stay a little longer, then I think it's worthwhile. Disney resort rooms have become ridiculously overpriced.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Just be sure to read the fine print on the hotels with shuttles--sometimes there's an extra fee to use them, and sometimes the shuttle schedule isn't very convenient. Just check into it before you make your final decision.

Honestly, we didn't find driving to the parks to be such a big deal. Windsor Hills is literally a mile or so drive to WDW (to be fair, the back entrance of AK, but still...). We also found it very easy to navigate the roads around WDW property--everything is clearly marked and traffic moves along well. The biggest driving hassle is going to MK, because the lots are so far from the entrance--it's easy to get spoiled by those buses dropping you off right up front! But OTOH, if you're leaving MK at park closing, you could be waiting at that bus stop for a while before getting crammed on a bus, so there's that.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Just be sure to read the fine print on the hotels with shuttles--sometimes there's an extra fee to use them, and sometimes the shuttle schedule isn't very convenient. Just check into it before you make your final decision.

Honestly, we didn't find driving to the parks to be such a big deal. Windsor Hills is literally a mile or so drive to WDW (to be fair, the back entrance of AK, but still...). We also found it very easy to navigate the roads around WDW property--everything is clearly marked and traffic moves along well. The biggest driving hassle is going to MK, because the lots are so far from the entrance--it's easy to get spoiled by those buses dropping you off right up front! But OTOH, if you're leaving MK at park closing, you could be waiting at that bus stop for a while before getting crammed on a bus, so there's that.

Yep, driving around WDW is super easy. We prefer it over busses. I really hate waiting in line for a bus and then standing up on that full bus at the end of a long day. We go to our car, hop in and are back in our room within 10 minutes.....way before those folks stuck waiting for a bus.

 

[RyansMum]

I rented a condo in Kissimmee near the entrance to Disney for $70 per night. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen and laundry. TV's in all rooms and short walk to the pool which was huge.

I have great luck with Trip Advisor. Click the vacation rentals tab......put in your criteria and search away! I prefer the map view so I can quickly see where the properties are. I think the place I chose was Regal Oaks but don't quote me on that. Yes, driving to the resorts and paying for parking may seem like such a pain but in reality, my kids preferred it. When we were done with the park for that day, it was nice to escape all of it. Room to spread out. Meals at our fingertips (I LOVE Publix grocery store) and no one banging on walls/floors above.

 

[brymolmom]

We stay onsite for some trips and offsite for others - and each has plusses and minuses, but I love them BOTH equally. When we stay offsite - it is usually at Staybridge Suites LBV. It really feels more like a vacation to me since we get free, full, hot breakfast each day...And REALLY saves on food costs. We usually have a nice big breakfast...Bring a bunch of snacks and drinks in our cooler backpack, have ice cream sundaes for lunch...and then eat at the park for dinner a few nights and a couple of nights grab some takeout on the way back to the hotel. If you can fit into a full size vehicle, you can usually rent one for $175 - $225 per week...And obviously you have to pay for parking (maybe $140?)...SO those are the only 'extra' costs...But since you'll only pay between $100 - $150 per night for the hotel (and you could even get 2 bedrooms if desired)...and getting a full meal for 5 for free per day...that way outweighs the additional costs to stay onsite. I like not having to deal with food courts at the end of a long day...Just grabbing some pizza or Chinese take out and then relaxing in our own kitchen or by the pool at our hotel.

Especially with a family of 5 - I recommend trying it to see if you like it.