staying off site

[DisKim]

I have to stay off site on my next trip. My mother is coming with us and she snores so I refuse to share a room with her. She can't afford to get her own room on site, so we decided to stay in a 3 bedroom condo off site. I'm sure it will be nice but I don't feel like it is as much of a Disney vacation when you stay off site. Can anyone cheer me up?

 

[ducklite]

Have you thought about maybe a Fort Wilderness home or two rooms at a value or moderate? Have you looked into renting DVC points? Might be affordable solutions to keep you on site.

Anne

 

[tinkerbella22]

I have never stayed off site....but come on girl this is Disney World. You can't miss!!! Remember the castle, the rides, the parades....you are going to get that all!!! Disney is magic!!!! Pixie dust and the best of wishes to you!!! It is DISNEY!!

 

[DisKim]

I looked into two rooms and the cabins but I just came back from a trip and can't afford expensive accomodations. Thanks Tinkerbella22, you're right! Hey, I'm still there!!

 

[spiceycat]

if you are used to a hotel room at WDW - then you might enjoy all the extras in a condo - there are several - now the drive back and forth to WDW you won't enjoy - but you might not also go to WDW the entire time because you are staying off-site.

there are a tons of things to do in the Orlando/ Kissimmee area - WDW is only one of them.

also before you eliminate the value resorts - remember the discount codes ......

 

[disneysteve]

If you are like us, you'll be far happier in that offsite condo. You will have much more space, multiple tvs, bathrooms, a full kitchen, possibly a screened in patio/lanai, much nicer furnishings than a hotel and lots more.

There is no comparison, IMO, between an onsite hotel and an offsite condo. I'll pick the condo any day. There are many things that make the condo better than staying onsite. The money saved is just one bonus.

You won't be sorry. Where are you staying BTW?

 

[Mandalou]

We've stayed off-site at a friend's condo quite a few times. No, you're not in the "magic" 24/7, but the place was great. We had 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (two of the bedrooms are bed/bath suites), a family room, dining room, kitchen and our own private washer and dryer. Plus, our friend gives us a great rate on the condo. Having said all of that, where will be staying on our next WDW trip?. . . Pop Century. We're going with the in-laws and are going to get two rooms. We want to take advantage of the Disney transportation.

I guess, there are pluses and minuses to both and you've got to pick the one that's going to best suit your needs and your pocketbook! That's what I would do! Good luck!

 

[Amirah95]

We stay off-site because my DH is picky about the rooms we stay in. We cannot afford to stay in a two bedroom villa at Disney for 7 nights so we stay off-site at different resorts. He loves the fact that we can get away from the hustle and bustle of Disney at night. We lay around the resort pool and it's quiet. Then the next day we are off to Disney. You'll be alright this one time.

 

[ttfn3]

Let us ease your worries. Offsite, spacious accomodations are really nice. It all depends on how close you are, where you are staying and what time of the year you are going. We have stayed offsite several times on the south end of International Drive and off 535 in HUGE spacious 2-BR condos. In addition to all the space, I LOVE having a washer/dryer. I never have any laundry to do when I get home - and it sure saves on packing. We drove a maximum of 10 minutes from our offsite parking lot to the farthest parking lot (TTC). It's nice having a car so we can go/come when we wish. Plus, we have saved gobs of money - which we then use on meals at Disney ;-) You will have a great time.

 

[DisKim]

DisneySteve - I'm staying at Windsor Palms in a 3 bedroom condo.

I just came across another little dilemma. I found $49 airfare for my dates. I was planning on driving which is not much fun from NJ. If I fly, I also need to rent a car if I'm staying off-site. I just don't know what to do. I'm trying to keep this next trip as cheap as possible. We just came back from a 10 day trip. Since we got AP's we decided to take this extra little trip . You know how that goes. If I fly and rent a car, it puts me about $300 over what I had budgeted for gas to drive. By the way, I forgot about the convenience of the washer and dryer. I did laundry twice during my recent stay at POFQ and I was not happy to be doing laundry while everyone else was in the pool. I hate having to "watch" your laundry.

 

[Amirah95]

Originally posted by ttfn3
Let us ease your worries. Offsite, spacious accomodations are really nice. It all depends on how close you are, where you are staying and what time of the year you are going. We have stayed offsite several times on the south end of International Drive and off 535 in HUGE spacious 2-BR condos. In addition to all the space, I LOVE having a washer/dryer. I never have any laundry to do when I get home - and it sure saves on packing. We drove a maximum of 10 minutes from our offsite parking lot to the farthest parking lot (TTC). It's nice having a car so we can go/come when we wish. Plus, we have saved gobs of money - which we then use on meals at Disney ;-) You will have a great time.

Oh yes! Taking clean clothes home is the greatest thing I could ever do.

 

[dawgsgirl]

Staying in a condo is great!! You will wonder why you ever stayed in a motel room. We have stayed at Disney and off-site and much preferred off. It sure is a lot cheaper and much more relaxing! Have a great trip!

 

[CJK]

We're staying off-site on our next trip too. I wanted to stay onsite, but it just wasn't in the budget this time round. If it makes you feel any better, we're staying in a little motel (La Quinta Lakeside) for the week. I've heard mixed reviews, but we got an unbelievable price so we're giving it a try. Another good thing about staying offsite, is that you can explore areas outside of Disney. I feel like I don't know the area very well because we tend to stay in WDW only so I'm looking at this as an exploration trip! Have a great time!!

 

[tyco]

Ducklite/Anne

The pictures of your home are beautiful! - I'm trying to get my husband to Orlando more often (hoping to buy there someday!) Any suggestions (locations, towns, realtor, builder?) Any info would be great - Many happy vacations in your new home!


Also, as for staying off-site - I think the Disney feel is all around - More room can't be beat! AKL was great but the room was way too tight - Enjoy the time off-site and know you are in Disney Country no matter where you stay! Happy trip!

Sue
(Our family also staying off-site -Silver Lakes Resort- for first time and looking forward to it! August 2004!!!!)

 

[Amirah95]

Yes, that home looks gorgeous...wondering what it looks like in the inside. Will you be renting it out when you're not there Anne?

 

[idontknow]

Even though you are staying off site, you can still spend a majority of your time at WDW. You've got the Boardwalk area that you can spend a few hours at, the campground, ride the monorail around to the different resorts and of course, DTD. Just because you are not staying in the middle of the action doesn't mean you can not spend time at the same places. I've stayed off site for the last few "Mommy's vaction" trips and havent felt like I've missed anything. (Ok, maybe I've missed the Mickey wake up call, but I heard Stitch was doing it for a while and it just isn't the same.) Don't worry too much about it, you'll have a great time!

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by DisKim
DisneySteve - I'm staying at Windsor Palms in a 3 bedroom condo.

I was planning on driving which is not much fun from NJ. If I fly, I also need to rent a car if I'm staying off-site.If I fly and rent a car, it puts me about $300 over what I had budgeted for gas to drive.

We rented a 3-bed condo at Windsor Palms in November. It was wonderful - probably the nicest place we've stayed offsite (and we've done quite a few). The complex is spotless. They have a nice clubhouse with community pool, game room, exercise room, theater, store and video rentals. The complex also has a playground, tennis and basketball courts I believe. You are a quick 10-minute ride from all the Disney parks. There is a nice shopping center right at the end of the street with a supermarket and a few restaurants and shops - very convenient. You won't be sorry - you may never stay in a hotel again.

As for the fly vs. drive dilemma, here's my 2-cents. We have driven from NJ numerous times. In fact, we'll be hitting the road Oct. 29 for our next Disney visit. Driving is definitely cheaper even with good airfare when you count in the cost of a rental car and airport parking. Driving is much more convenient because you don't have to deal with the airport check-in, parking, security, baggage claim, rental car counter, etc. Driving takes us about 17 hours door to door. Flying takes about 7 hours door to door, so the difference isn't quite as big as some people think. The other advantage to driving is you can pack a lot more stuff since your only limit is the space in your vehicle, not the number of bags the airline allows. We have a minivan and bring LOTS with us that we couldn't possibly do if we flew. That helps lower costs since we don't have to buy much except perishable groceries when we arrive.

 

[Gillian]

Steve, what route do you take on the drive down? Do you stop overnight?

We drove in April/may and took our time. It was our first driving trip with the kids and it went well. We actually stayed over 2 nights on the way down (thank you marriott points) and detoured through Atlanta on the way home to visit friends.

We're thinking about going again spring 2005 but would need to make it quicker!

 

[Amirah95]

We're driving from NJ to Orlando on the night of Oct. 29 too Steve! We always drive and we love it. Are you going to MNSSHP?

 

[disneysteve]

Gillian - We take 295 to 95 and basically stay on that until we hit I-4 at Daytona. There is a short bypass around Richmond and around Jacksonville - sometimes we take it, sometimes we don't. Its a really easy straight run. I always tell people go south and 95 and turn right on I-4 and you're there.

Amirah95 - No, we aren't doing MNSSHP. Never have - I guess we should one of these days.