Staying on property; doesn't seem worth it?

[aubreysmom09]

Been to Disney 3 times and have always stayed off-property. I have always been happy with that.

Hubby suggested next summer we try and stay in a Disney resort just to have the experience. However, I've researched it pretty heavily, and while the properties have great amenities,

1)They are super-expensive in peak season, even the "value" ones.

2)The rooms seem tiny in the value resorts, and anything else is likely out of the question. When we travel, we like to stay somewhere with a 1-bedroom suite so daughter can sleep on her own in living room and we can have our own space.

3)The bus service to the parks, which is supposed to be a good perk, from my research is unpredictable. We like to be on hand about an hour before rope drop and I'm not sure I would trust the buses.

4)We like to have a fridge and microwave, and the value resorts require a nightly fee to rent one.

So, I don't honestly see a single perk to staying "on property". I'm interested in hearing both sides of the debate (on property vs. off property), especially from those of you who have stayed in both.

Thanks!

I can relate to you. We always rent a house. This time we decided to stay at Disney in November for the FD, and to let our exchange student experience disney more. We normally have a place 8 miles away, and takes us 15min to get to and from. Plus I need a break from Disney most of the time, I haven't stayed there yet, but I'm really wondering of it is worth it also. We will find out after our November trip.

 

[Karabee]

I'm with most the others in that I need to stay on property. If I had to stay off property I just wouldn't go. Staying on property allows me to feel totally surrounded by Disney at all times and not just a day guest. I'm not sure why I have that feeling of day guests vs. full guests, but I do! Plus, the resorts for me are such amazing ways to escape from real life. When I go other places I stay in the typical Hyatt or rent apartments but at Disney I can be in New Orleans, an African savannah or the NJ boardwalk in the early 1900s- I love that!
It's clear that you have thought about this a lot and it appears off site might work for your family, but don't under estimate the benefits of being onsite - the buses are usually great in my opinion, and you can't beat the staff. The amount I save not having to rent a car or get a taxi from the airport is reason alone to stay on property. Also, remember there are always deals to be found. Last year we stayed at WL for the price of a moderate and I've stay at a value for less than $100 a night. This year were renting points at SSR.
While I love staying on property, I also love escaping the full on Disney feeling sometimes, which is why I'm not a huge fan of the Values, so I can understand that. However, many, if not all, of the moderates and Deluxe are more relaxed with the theming and not so "loud". I would suggest looking into renting points for SSR and OKW. Both are my go to places for a more relaxed feel. Plus you'll get the amenities you're looking for.
Good luck!

 

[bell.of.the.ball]

My personal choice is to stay onsite. Reasons:

1 Love sleeping in the magic!

2 If I do have a car I never pay for parking fees

3 Now that I have HS/college kids who sometimes like to sleep late or go off on their own, they can use the buses to meet up with us or go on their own with easy access to get back to the hotel room.

4 I NEVER have paid rack rate. Free dining works excellent for my family of 4 Disney adults. Staying at a moderate is my best savings.

5...Magical Express!!

 

[disneychic]

To each his own. BUT....All I can say is you couldn't pay me to stay off property. No way. There is NOTHING like staying on site, in the heart of the magic.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[raven69david]

We stayed off property until DD was born in 2004. Ever since then we've stayed on-property and have kicked ourselves for not doing it sooner. To us, we "feel" the difference. If you don't, then there's no explaining it to you as it's something that just comes natural. Most of the hotels we stayed at were scary and we'd never dare to try and stay off-property with our two children again. If you want to stay at a "nice" hotel off property, don't expect to save that much more money, even though you'll get more amenities. But you will have to pay for parking daily and no EMH.

For us, we stay on property and love every minute of it. We fear staying off property as we've lived and have learned not to do it. We may do it for 1 night, but my kids don't like it; in fact, I think I hate it more than they do, but the Friday/Saturday nights are much more expensive at a Deluxe such we do 1 night off-site sometimes if our flight is late in the evening.

If you have the "we're only going to sleep in it and then go to the parks" mentality, then you just don't get it. Simply stay off-site and be happy with the savings. That means availability for us. LOL Whatever you decide, you'll still be at WDW.

BTW, all Values have a free fridge and the microwave is in the cafeteria - not in the room. Only the Value suites have them in there.

 

[Nomad70]

For us, it's convenience. We have stayed at Moderate and Shades of Green (government/military resort on Disney Property) and always found it to be the easiest way to get around. Meaning, transportation for us has always been great, never had any issues getting where we need to on time (even early ADR's and rope drop). Even the one time we took our own stroller when we had a stroller baby we didn't find it to be that big of a deal. To us being able to go back to the resort at our leisure has always been a top priority. Off property we didn't feel it was convenient enough of an option. When we go to Universal we get a condo, and while it is great to have a three bdrm place to stay it would be nice if we could just hop on a shuttle and come and go at our leisure. We end up staying the whole day and everyone is usually wiped out by 5pm. No down time to relax.

 

[momtotwoteens]

I used to feel the exact same way as you...until we stayed on Disney property and now I wouldn't do it any other way! Good luck with your decision.

 

[Belle83]

We really love having Extra Magic Hours (the evening ones), plus I just love the theming of the Disney resorts and the feeling of still being at WDW while at your hotel. We stayed at the Dolphin last year, which was sort of the best of both worlds.

 

[baldy6060]

I certainly can relate to budget constraints but I've stayed off property twice then on property twice. I'll never stay off again. It's like staying in another universe. The worst part is having to transition back into the "real world" after an extended stay. If you can rent points for the type of room you want or settle for a moderate with 2 beds, I'd definitely give it a shot so you can see the difference and understand the crazy things we are all saying.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Mickey & Friends are ON property. It's just not the same off property.

Where is the "Welcome Home" that we hear at the Disney resorts? I would miss that sooooo much!

An off property hotel just doesn't "feel" like WDW. Extra Magic Hours, food courts, drink mugs & drink centers, resort walks, resort pools, resort Magical Days - all gone?!

We LOVE staying ON property - values & mods. The feeling of "being there" is within you. It's not felt when I'm off property.

We did 5 days off property once. It didn't feel as if we were at Disney until we drove into Pop. Then we knew we were there!

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

Our last trip was off site, but "somewhat on-site". We stayed at Whyndham Bonnet Creek which is located on site (next to Carribean Beach) but not owned by Disney. We had a 2 bedroom suite , 1000 sq ft condo (approx) and I tried to love it, I really did, but as previous posters said, there's just something magical about staying on-site . It was my least favorite trip because of the resort. Try it, just once and see.

 

[usd2bmd]

Like many PP have stated this is a personal choice. I can't imagine staying anywhere but on property...we just love it. The feeling we get when we walk into the resort is like no other.

As for the buses being unpredictable, I think you can find plenty of people on both sides of this argument. We have never had an issue with transportation, we've never waited longer than 10 minutes for a bus and if the one that came up was full another one was always right behind it.

We have considered staying off-site and getting more space, but in the bigger picture, I don't need a kitchen on vacation and we don't need our own bedroom because it's a family vacation and we are there to spend time together and we are always talking to each other. Right up until we fall asleep.

 

[TeresaNJ]

I've never stayed off-site, per se, but lived in the Orlando area for a year, so would do day trips to Disney, and it just doesn't feel the same. There is something about getting on that Magical Express bus at the airport, and being immersed in Disney from that point on.

I've been lucky enough to have stayed in all the deluxes, and mods, and have been a DVC member for the last eleven years. I never thought I'd be happy to say in a value resort. This past May we flew into Miami for my nephews graduation from the U of Miami, then drove a rental car to WDW for our graduation celebration. We were arriving in WDW on Saturday, and our DVC stay didn't start until Sunday, so I booked a room for Saturday night at Pop Century. What an adorable resort! Loved the theming and landscaping, loved that it was on water, and loved being able to see the new Art of Animation Resort across the way. I would not hesitate to stay there again if need be.

I just love knowing that at the end of my day I'm going to be sleeping on Disney property. Love sitting on a park bench at any one of the Disney resorts just people watching, or going to the hot tub late at night, or sitting on one of the beaches depending on which resort you're at, or watching the boats going down the lake from Port Orleans to DTD, again depending on where you are staying. It's just very hard to explain. There is none of that if you aren't staying on property.

Good luck and have fun, whatever you decide!

 

[E-P-C-O-T]

We have stayed on and off, many times, but, we definately prefer onsite. There is something special about staying onsite that you will never get offsite. Nothing like been inmersed in the Disney magic 24/7.

As far as the busses been unpredictable, well, driving is unpredictable too, there could be traffic, an accident, dead battery or a flat tire. For me riding the busses is part of the experience, you meet new families from all over the world who are as excited as your family been there and you get to share that excitement with them on the way to the park. There's nothing like riding a bus to the MK listening to all the kids giggling and getting excited as we approach the park while driving by the Contemporary. It always gets everyone smiling and in a great mood, best way to start your day, even if you have been standing all the way there... lol

 

[Chelley00]

I'm along the lines of "magic is what you make it". We've stayed offsite plenty, and our trips haven't been any less magical or less enjoyable when we did. For us, we like more space for less money, and to be able to stay more nights on what we have saved for our vacation.

We've stayed onsite, and it was a different vacation, but it wasn't that much better. For everything good about being onsite, we can list something bad. If you go in thinking you are going to hate offsite and there is no "magic" then that's probably what you will find.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Since we fly down, I can't imagine staying off property and having to deal with getting a rental car and then finding my way around the Orlando Area.

I alwasy joke and tell people we book the "Disney has you hostage" plan when we go to the World. Since the creation of Magical Express you don't have to spend a single dime off Disney Property.

 

[Planogirl]

We've stayed both offsite and onsite and personally I don't prefer one over the other. We just had a nice stay at POFQ and I would gladly stay there again but only if the price is right. I'm more about nice resort than any Disney bubble and the buses were challenging to put it kindly.

Why not shoot for a moderate and see if you can get one at a discount? That way you have a little more room, nicer amenities and you can still keep a car handy if the buses drive you crazy. You are bound to enjoy it even if you're more like us and don't find being onsite necessary. You'll just feel a little out of place sometimes because this is definitely a biased bunch here. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

[iamfishie]

We've also done both on and off property. Personally, we love staying on property. The price works out about the same once you factor in parking and such. Plus, I love being immersed in the magic. If you're worried about the buses and getting around, you can drive to the parks and not have to pay. We plan on doing that the morning we have breakfast reservations. I've actually not had a problem with the buses getting to the parks. Getting back to the hotel at night can be a pain though.

 

[dlhvac]

I didn't know you could rent the DVC points. How would I go about doing this?

look up davids dvc point rentals very well know very reliable

 

[eliza61]

As with all things, each side has it's perks that work in certain situations.

Now imo, if I did not own my dvc, no way would I ever pay disney's prices for the "pseudo" luxury. they are not deluxes, they are just close to the parks. So especially knowing I can stay at the Waldorf Astoria at 1/2 the price right next door.

Now I've been a number of times so the "supposedly" 24/7 magic isn't a big issue for me but that's me. When my kids were smaller it was important. Now, I can shut out the real world if I want to without paying 500 bucks a night. As others have said, we pretty much do a good job of "making" our magic when on vacation.

I don't use disney transportation and don't use the ddp so once again those are not "perks' that justify the outrageous price disney charges for a deluxe.
EMH's are the perk we really enjoy.