Staying Offsite - Pros vs Cons

[Jen D]

We have our first offsite trip next month-- we're staying with my sister's family at All Star Vacation homes. I personally never wanted to do offsite but it was the only way they wanted to do it and since they have three kids age 3 and under I think I see why they wanted the space of a house and the convenience of a kitchen (restaurants really are no fun for them at this point.) Anyway, we'll see... we're doing 2 days onsite before we head to the house. I think it will be a very different Disney vacation but I am looking forward to things about it... no theme pool but a private pool will be fun... not sharing our bedroom with the kids is great... and we'll be driving, which we usually don't do; that will be an experience.

My problem is I really do love the themed Disney resorts--- picking the resort is my favorite part of the vacation. So while I don't mind doing something different this time I'm already looking ahead to future onsite trips.

 

[Kellydelly]

I love staying offsite ! But with four little ones, it's really the only way to go for us. We never miss anything at the parks, we stay all day till they close. My nappers end up napping in the strollers while the rest of the family continues to have fun. You can rent a private home with a pool for less than $850. It just isn't practical to stay onsite unless our whole family wasn't going.

 

[Grumpy_Disney_Dad]

With the lower prices of the Value Resorts i always stay onsite now. I Love being in the Disney Magic 24/7

 

[disneysteve]

I looked (it was hard to find - I had to search for "ready") - I could not find anythign between May 29 and end of July for that resort.

We do go in November. I don't know what the availability is during the summer. That's probably the difference.

 

[momofbgtwins]

We have gone twice a year for the last few years and have always stayed offsite. Our 3 year old twins are not yet Disney fanatics, so we spend a day or two in MK and AK, but they really prefer Sea World at this point. I can't imagine staying in a hotel room as opposed to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo. Our kids need their naps, and to eat their healthy meals and snacks. I cook all of our meals at the condo. And I love being able to relax, do wash, have the kids on their regular schedule.

Maybe we will consider a few days onsite when the kids are older, but for now offsite is the only way to go for us.

 

[spatenfloot]

I prefer to stay offsite. It is MUCH cheaper and you can get a much bigger place. Plus many of the offsite resorts have very nice facilities (pools, playgrounds, arcades, restaurants, etc) and usually offer kids activities as well. I don't care about the kitchen but having a refridgerator is nice. So is having a washer/dryer. Transportation from room to park is just as fast when driving as it is waiting for a Disney bus.

 

[d'Isigny]

what ever you decide...wishing you and your family a great trip!!

we've done both on and offsite.

I love the grounds/benefits/features of the resorts and the staff has always been wonderful...having the 'disney magic' 24/7 is a fantastic plus.

Since we've went to WDW (usually with a disney cruise) 6 times in the past 10 years...staying on site is not that important to us - anymore. We usually stay at Westgate Villas and have an ~10 minute drive to AK - ~15 minutes to other parks. Some of the below items are big selling points for us;
- washer / dryer allows us to pack lighter.
- a second bathroom - enough said.
- ~3x the space (over a standard hotel room) allows everyone 'down-time' pre/post park touring...DW and I can put the DD's down and spend some time on the screened pourch.
- full kitchen is convenient and a large cost savings over 'eating out'. Normally, we have breakfast and late night snack or dinner at the condo. We do have a nice late lunch or early dinner at the parks...taking some snacks in our back pack to 'tide us over'.
- multiple tv's in different rooms keep everybody happy.

this option works well for us...good luck on what ever you decide.

 

[laura001]

I am a big fan of staying onsite also, have stayed off site before but would never go back and do it again...it will be onsite for us forever. If you want to save money you could change to another hotel on disney property.

I do agree with the people that have said to watch what 15 minutes really means in travel time. It is always so busy around WDW and the traffic can be crazy.

My vote is onsite!

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

While I want to stay onsite one day we have only done offsite. First budget. We have stayed offsite free due to getting a bonus week trade in on our timeshare. The there is the convenience of having a full kitchen and a large living area, seperate bedrooms. We have brought my parents with us two trips now.
This may sound starnge but a washer dryer in our room is great. With three small kids, I do laundry every night.I also love having a full fridge and freezer. I am able to bring my frozen water bottles in the parks- very important to me in hot weather.
So until I can afford to splurge on the Poly, it's offsite for me.

 

[crisi]

Pros of offsite:

Cost - there are some expensive offsite options - as pricey as anything you'll find at Disney. But generally you get a lot more for your money offsite

Offsite options - if you are interested in SeaWorld or Universal, if you want to spend a day at the outlet mall, go to the beach or Kennedy Space center, if you want to eat offsite - BEING offsite (particularly with a car) makes all that much more doable.

Onsite:

Disney magic - from wake up calls from the characters to Mickey Mouse on the soap, everything says "I'm at Disneyworld"

Disney Quality - you are pretty sure you are getting what you pay for.

Disney Transportation - not always right there, sometimes you need to stand, but its better than any offsite shuttle service, and if you don't like to drive, better than renting a car.

Ease of going back to the resort - there are a few offsite resorts that aren't hard to get to. But if your kids need a nap and you are at the MK and staying at the Poly - its EASY and FAST to get them back to the room. In Epcot, staying at Boardwalk and the kids need a swim - not an issue, easy to leave at 2:00, have a good long swim, and still make it for a 5:00 dinner reservation. Of course, both the park and the resort factor in. It isn't that to get to Pop from the MK or to get to the Contemporary from the AK.

Extra Hours - Didn't use them last time, but we've used the morning hours in the past, and they do give you lots of extra park time - which is what most people want.

onsite Cons - when the magic doesn't happen, if the quality isn't there, the room isn't clean, you get a surly CM at checkin, the disappointment is more extreme because your expectations were there.

 

[RCBlackburn]

You have all been so great! I think we'll just downgrade our reservation at the Contemporary to a wing room and use these tickets as well as some old ones we have at home!

 

[etwinchester]

For our last visit (first for my DH & DD) we stayed offsite and even as a child my parents did. Now for our next trip, I want to stay ONSITE.

I would like the experience once and then I would be able to decide. I'm so looking forward to it. Everything being at your fingertips and using Disney transportation. I'm sure once I stay at a Disney Resort, I will be hooked. Having the big house doesn't mean much to me. I'd rather be at the parks and enjoying the fun things to do around the resort.