Staying Offsite - Pros vs Cons

[RCBlackburn]

HELP!

1) My DH just got handed four 4-day Park Hopper Passes at a business meeting he's attending in Orlando.
2) We have various tickets from years past that have a day or two left on them.
3) There's a guy here at work that has a condo available the week we're supposed to be going that rents for $850/week.

So basically my $5k+ vacation just got considerably cheaper if I decide to stay offsite and save some serious $$$$.

I know that we'll have to rent a car and pay for parking each day at the parks, but we probably wouldn't save any money on food since we'd be at the parks all day - once we leave, it would be hard to go back that evening.

Any thoughts/suggestions? I know I can trust you all to give honest opinions. The hardest part of this decision is that we were finally splurging and staying the The Contemporary - Tower Room - Magic Kingdom view....

Decisions, decisions, decisions... ....

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm a BIG fan of onsite and a BIG fan of the Contemporary Tower! That's a tough one though cause the savings is big and you'd have lots of space.

I love staying onsite for the convenience, the special magic that just can't be explained, the benefits like EE mornings/evenings, the free transporation, etc...

The convenience of the Contemporary especially with kids is GREAT!!! We went back and forth from MK like nothing. We'd go for EE or breakfast, come back and swim or rest and then go back again and it was so easy and VERY quick. There is no other resort or transportation quicker then going to and from MK to the Contemporary. With the walk or monorail, it's SO fast. Then there's the magic you feel being at the resort that was Walt's baby. Then there's the views; we watched the fireworks from our bed! The electric water pageant you can see either from your room or downstairs by the pool. The monorail going through it. Chef Mickey's is SO much fun for my kids.

You are right, staying off site and going to and leaving the parks, you might not want to come back at night which would stink. You'd miss the fireworks and the Spectromagic parade. I had friends who stayed offsite for their first trip and they stayed till they were tired and never went back at night and missed so much.

I'm bias, I know. I love being onsite and I love the Contemporary! Good luck planning and deciding. Best wishes on your tough decision!

 

[KTSMOM]

I'm a big fan of staying on site as well. My DH and I stayed off site once and we really didn't like it. Of course we didn't have a car so we were at the mercy of the hotel transportation or we had to cab it. If you have kids I recommend staying on site, especially since the Contemporary hotel has such a wonderful location to MK, as well as it is much easier to get back to the hotel room for a break. It's worth the $ to have the convience of transportation on site.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

One important question is "Where is the Condo???"! Some are very close, such as on 535 between I-4 and Osceola Parkway, and I once had some friends stay at one that was actually East of the Turnpike off 192 (and it took me over 1/2 hour to get there late at night (no traffic) from WDW).

Also, "What is the Condo?" which might not be as important as where. But some are better (or much worse) than others.

 

[disneysteve]

There are lots of threads on this topic so if you search around you'll get lots of opinions. Here's mine.

We PREFER staying offsite. We can afford onsite. We can afford a Deluxe hotel. And we still stay offsite by choice.

Offsite, for about the cost of one nite in an onsite deluxe we get a full week in a 2-bed, 2-bath condo with 3 TVs, VCR, stereo, full kitchen, washer and dryer, Jacuzzi tub and plenty of space to relax and unwind after doing the parks.

We eat breakfast in our condo every day which saves us time, money and aggravation. It leaves us charged and ready to hit the parks early and beat the crowds.

We occasionally eat dinner in the condo, though rarely cook. We will pick up a pizza on our way back or grab deli sandwiches at the supermarket. We have a full size refrigerator and freezer for storing snacks and drinks. That also lets us freeze our water bottle overnite and have nice cold water all day in the parks.

Having a washer and dryer means we can pack much lighter and just do some wash when we are back at the condo. No quarters needed and no running back and forth to the hotel laundry room.

We like getting away from the hustle and bustle onsite. We also don't care for Disney transportation (except the monorail). Even when we stay onsite, we drive everywhere we go.

And, honestly, we are just plain cheap. Even though we can afford to, we can't imagine ever paying Disney's prices for the nicer hotels.

 

[polkadotladybug]

You can still stay onsite if you want - it would definitely cost more, but think of the money you save with the tickets being paid for! LOL

What is the your total for the Contemporary for the week?

 

[Debbie Jean]

Since we find advantages in on-site and off-site, we do both. Transportation and theming at Disney are great, but it's wonderful having the space and facilities of a condo... bathrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer, jacuzzi, etc. Distance is an issue for us so we select places which are closer, e.g. Cypress Pointe which is just outside Downtown Disney. Depending on how you organize your day, it is certainly possible to enjoy all the parks at night.

Since you have this great opportunity to save some serious cash, how about trying off-site and seeing how you like it? Of course, you would still have the money to reschedule that trip to the Contemporary for later!

 

[isla bonita]

Try the offsite after you know where it is to ensure you are close by. With the money saved take another trip on site. Sounds like a plan to me. The next rip you can upgrade with the extra $$.

 

[kfeuer]

One important question is "Where is the Condo???"! Some are very close, such as on 535 between I-4 and Osceola Parkway, and I once had some friends stay at one that was actually East of the Turnpike off 192 (and it took me over 1/2 hour to get there late at night (no traffic) from WDW).

Also, "What is the Condo?" which might not be as important as where. But some are better (or much worse) than others.

I totally agree with this. We stayed close offsite on our last trip, and we found that we got to the parks as fast or faster then using Disney transportation on previous trips. Thus, I disagree with the statement that you won't feel like going back at night IF you stay close by. It was no more hassle to leave the parks and come back then if we'd been staying onsite. Whether you're onsite or offsite, there's always transportation time. We really enjoyed not having to struggle getting the kids, strollers, bags, etc. on and off the buses. I also agree with the points Disneysteve made. We especially like being able to put the kids to sleep in their own bedroom and then enjoying some couple time

Can you tell us where and what size this condo is? Unless you're going in peak season, $850 sounds on the high side to me.

 

[MrsPete]

We PREFER staying offsite. We can afford onsite. We can afford a Deluxe hotel. And we still stay offsite by choice.

I'm in the same boat. We could afford to stay at the Grand Floridian (though I woudln't --it leaves me cold), but we stay in a range of places. Most recently we stayed in a Residence Inn and enjoyed it. The trip before that was to Wilderness Lodge, which was fabulous. Sometimes we stay on-site, sometimes we stay off-site. While we enjoy them both, they are different vacations.

On-site tends to be more about the Disney parks. On-site we're go-go-go. We eat nice restaurant meals, we're up and ready early for early entry, we take a mid-day break, and we stay up late for the fireworks. We love the Disney transportation.

Off-site we're more relaxed. We have a few nice restaurant meals, but we also cook together, we spend lots of time at the pool, we sleep in. Extra space doesn't really matter to us; we're only there for a week. We don't hit the parks every day. We try to arrive at opening time, and we stay until dinner time. We don't get in nearly as many rides and shows, but we have more family time.

The question I'd ask is, which vacation do you want?

 

[magiroux]

We used to go to WDW every two years for a week- 10 days and stay on site because it took that long to save for it. Now, we get annual passes every other year, stay off site in 2 bed/2 bath condos and go at least 4 weeks every other year and still don't spend as much doing it as staying on site. We always rented a car anyway even if we stayed on site so that was a wash.

I love staying on site. It is convenient and much more magical, but I love going to WDW as much as possible even more. There are tons of resorts and private pool homes that are very close to the parks that offer room to spread out and relax. I don't think our family could ever go back to staying in a hotel room and a 1 bedroom at DVC is just too much money, IMHO. Unless, of course, I win the lottery

 

[loveysbydesign]

I totally agree with this. We stayed close offsite on our last trip, and we found that we got to the parks as fast or faster then using Disney transportation on previous trips. Thus, I disagree with the statement that you won't feel like going back at night IF you stay close by. It was no more hassle to leave the parks and come back then if we'd been staying onsite. Whether you're onsite or offsite, there's always transportation time. We really enjoyed not having to struggle getting the kids, strollers, bags, etc. on and off the buses. I also agree with the points Disneysteve made. We especially like being able to put the kids to sleep in their own bedroom and then enjoying some couple time

We're having an EXTREMELY hard time deciding whether to stay on or offsite. If we stay offsite we can stay for more days, however we've never been there before as a family and I feel like the kids might miss out on something if we stay offsite. ( I was at WDW as a child and stayed offsite)

Can you tell us where and what size this condo is? Unless you're going in peak season, $850 sounds on the high side to me.

CAn you recommend a good condo/ condo area to stay at? We're looking at Fantasy Villas, but I'm unsure exactly how far they are from WDW!

 

[Luv2trav]

We're having an EXTREMELY hard time deciding whether to stay on or offsite. If we stay offsite we can stay for more days, however we've never been there before as a family and I feel like the kids might miss out on something if we stay offsite. ( I was at WDW as a child and stayed offsite)

I wouldn't worry about them missing out on something they never had. I think the fact they are going to Disney will be magical in itself. I perfer to stay on site but the our first time was off site and it was awesome.

 

[BethR]

CAn you recommend a good condo/ condo area to stay at? We're looking at Fantasy Villas, but I'm unsure exactly how far they are from WDW!

If you take a look at our Orlando Accomodations Board: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=15 , you will find lots of recommendations for various Orlando Condos. We stayed at Cypress Pointe and were VERY happy. Cypress Pointe is VERY close to Disney.

I highly recommend staying off site. Being able to go to Disney AND stay in wonderful accomodations at very reasonable prices is the deal maker for us. I just recommend doing your homework AND having a car. (But I recommend having a car when staying ON-site as well. )

 

[bdb7607]

I wouldn't worry about them missing out on something they never had. I think the fact they are going to Disney will be magical in itself. I perfer to stay on site but the our first time was off site and it was awesome.


Our first trip was off-site and we had a great time, it's not an off-site vs. on-site discussion, it's how you want to spend your money and how you make your vacation magical with your family....yes, the "feel" is more magical on-site, but the bottom line is it's up to you on the attitude towards a vacation.

 

[kfeuer]

We're having an EXTREMELY hard time deciding whether to stay on or offsite. If we stay offsite we can stay for more days, however we've never been there before as a family and I feel like the kids might miss out on something if we stay offsite. ( I was at WDW as a child and stayed offsite)

CAn you recommend a good condo/ condo area to stay at? We're looking at Fantasy Villas, but I'm unsure exactly how far they are from WDW!

Honestly, my kids couldn't have cared less where we stayed. While the Disney resorts are lovely to walk around in, once you get inside the room it's basically like any other hotel room. We stayed at a pool home on our last trip and the kids loved having our own pool. Plus we had a big-screen TV, the master suite had a huge bathroom and there was plenty of space to spread out.

As for areas, we stayed right off 192 in Kissimmee (Windsor Palms, to be exact). There's a back way into Disney via Sherberth Rd. that was very easy (little traffic, no interstates). It took us less then 10 minutes to get to AK, about 15 for for the others (MK of course took a bit longer after you add on the monorail or boat ride from the TTC). On this upcoming trip we're staying in Orbit One (time share resort) that's even closer. We got a 2-bedroom condo on Skyauction for $209 for the week (yes, the week). It doesn't have to be the Taj Mahal for that price, and it came with high recommendations from Disneysteve which is good enough for me

If you're really interested in staying offsite, check out the Orlando Resort board. You can do a search for virtually any offsite place and find some threads for it.

One last comment--I'm not a fan of staying offsite in a hotel room. If I wanted a hotel room, I'd stay onsite. However, pool homes or condos where you get so much more for the money are a different story!

 

[RCBlackburn]

You can still stay onsite if you want - it would definitely cost more, but think of the money you save with the tickets being paid for! LOL

What is the your total for the Contemporary for the week?

$4800 which includes the Dining plan for four people... we're checking in on 6/3 and checking out on 6/10.

 

[RCBlackburn]

One important question is "Where is the Condo???"! Some are very close, such as on 535 between I-4 and Osceola Parkway, and I once had some friends stay at one that was actually East of the Turnpike off 192 (and it took me over 1/2 hour to get there late at night (no traffic) from WDW).

Also, "What is the Condo?" which might not be as important as where. But some are better (or much worse) than others.

I think I trust the guy on the condo because he works at the same MAJOR OIL COMPANY that I do.... Condo is four bedroom, three bath fully furnished with tvs/dvds/washer/dryer, etc - its about 15 minutes from the MK. Its very nice - hubby knows the area because its across from a golf resort - photos of the place are very tempting - it has a water slide and lagoon type pool that wraps around the resort - one where you get in an inter-tube and float around...

 

[RCBlackburn]

We're having an EXTREMELY hard time deciding whether to stay on or offsite. If we stay offsite we can stay for more days, however we've never been there before as a family and I feel like the kids might miss out on something if we stay offsite. ( I was at WDW as a child and stayed offsite)


CAn you recommend a good condo/ condo area to stay at? We're looking at Fantasy Villas, but I'm unsure exactly how far they are from WDW!

We'd be staying in the Regal Palms Townhomes... they have a website www.regalpalmsorlando.com

 

[Smydovro]

I think a deciding factor may be how old your children are. My kids are 9, 6 and 1 and I will consider staying off- site next time. We recently stayed at the wilderness lodge and it was great but 5 people in one room was too much together time for my husband. We thought we would come back to our room for naps but that was not practical and lugging the stroller on and off the bus was a pain. Disney magic didn't mean much when we had to wake the baby to put the stroller on the bus and he screamed all the way back to our room . I think we would have been better served in a condo with room for all of us and our own car to go back and forth. Either way you will have a wonderful time.