Staying on Property vs off Property

[Postal68]

I have to say I definitely prefer to stay off property (BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!)

I have been going to Disney on an almost annual basis for 30 + years since I was 12.

Over the years the way things have changed I don't see the "magic" staying on site anymore.

-It's so expensive and the rooms are so small. The standard room is basically the same room from the value to the deluxe resorts, but the amenities do differ

- the transportation is horrible now. It takes forever to get from A-B, not even mentioning the crowds and wait to even get on at some times of the year. I will still occasionally use it it for specific trips when I know it will be fast, but honestly I'd rather pay the parking and use my car to get from point to point. It's much quicker if you know the Disney roads.

- I can rent a house with our own pool for the price of staying in a 2X4 room for a week.

- My favorite stays over the years on Disney property have been at Fort Wilderness and we had a great time in one of the first seasons of Port Orleans French Quarter.


I know I'm saying this on a Disney Board where people will probably jump all over me and think I'm crazy, but I think for value, comfort and time constraining reasons, staying off property is now the way to go.
(Disclaimer- We also rarely ever rent a home more than 15 minutes from World Drive)

 

[Princess Katherine]

Although I adore and worship the monorail resorts, I agree with you. Transportation is a joke and more trouble than its worth. The amount of money you pay and what you get don't really add up.

I say this with complete honesty. As much as these downsides get worse, I can never bring myself to stay offsite. To me, there is something magical about the resorts. It's pulls you so much closer to Disney. That is and always will be my goal when going to Disney. I embrace it.

Katie

 

[rwdavis2]

Can't say I blame you. If you need to get more than one room then off site is definitely a better way to go. We've done it both ways and really liked the house at Windsor Hills. 3 BRs/baths, kitchen, laundry, it's great. Since we always rent a car the Disney transportation is a non-issue as well. We prefer on site but when $$ is a factor we go off.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Nope, don't agree.... Headed for trip 50 in October.... all on property and only used Disney's transportation...

If I say so myself, Disney's transportation has gotten better...

Actually, if I had to stay off property, we'd not go...

From the buses, monorail, boats or walking... It's all Disney fun... If I wanted to stay in a house on vacation.... Again I'd stay home ... Part of the fun of a vacation is staying in a motel/hotel...we ain't cooking and no laundry...

To each his own, but from our standpoint and trips... disney has gotten better...

 

[darkwing818]

We used to stay off site years ago. But about 20+ years ago or so, we stayed at the Yacht club & haven't looked back since. in 1994 we bought into DVC so between the DVC resorts (some times use points for cruises) & the Disney hotels we only stay on site. For us all of the conveniences make it worth to us.

 

[BrianL]

I stay on property and rent a car, so best of both worlds. I don't ride busses and get a parking pass for every park.

I don't even find staying on property all that expensive at the values. Granted i go in the offseason, but my last trip was $109 a night at ASMo. Where can you get a decent (safe) hotel room for that anymore?

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I don't know why you think anyone would "jump all over you". You have an opinion, it's not necessarily right or wrong. I happen to disagree with it, but hey, you staying off property keeps my costs minimally lower by providing Disney with viable hotel competition. Go for it.

I don't think it's expensive. I mean, the deluxe resorts, yes. But a value resort is pretty cheap in my eyes. I don't care about furnishings. If I'm spending any time awake in my hotel room I believe I'm doing vacation wrong.

I don't have a problem with the busses or other forms of Disney transport. Rome, now that's a travel destination with terrible mass transit.

Have no desire to rent a house. When on vacation I don't want to stay anywhere where there is any likelihood of me being encouraged to (or guilted into) cook, clean or otherwise take care of my own needs. It's called vacation for a reason.

 

[cobright]

If I were going to Orlando to stay in a nice hotel I would choose an offsite location. But there is nothing in Orlando that I would go to see other than Disney, so I go to Disney.

 

[maxiesmom]

I've done on and off site trips, and enjoy both. But I do prefer staying on-site and being in the Disney bubble. To each their own. There is no wrong way to vacation, imho.

Though I have to say, I don't see the point of your post, especially on the theme parks board. If you are looking for an honest discussion, there are resort boards and even an Orlando hotels and attractions board. Posting here is an open invitation for people to "jump all over you".

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Nope, don't agree.... Headed for trip 50 in October.... all on property and only used Disney's transportation...

If I say so myself, Disney's transportation has gotten better...

Actually, if I had to stay off property, we'd not go...

From the buses, monorail, boats or walking... It's all Disney fun... If I wanted to stay in a house on vacation.... Again I'd stay home ... Part of the fun of a vacation is staying in a motel/hotel...we ain't cooking and no laundry...

To each his own, but from our standpoint and trips... disney has gotten better...

I was worried but had great bus service all 9 days of our May stay. Even the 24 hr night !

We used to stay off site years ago. But about 20+ years ago or so, we stayed at the Yacht club & haven't looked back since. in 1994 we bought into DVC so between the DVC resorts (some times use points for cruises) & the Disney hotels we only stay on site. For us all of the conveniences make it worth to us.

Same here

I stay on property and rent a car, so best of both worlds. I don't ride busses and get a parking pass for every park.

I don't even find staying on property all that expensive at the values. Granted i go in the offseason, but my last trip was $109 a night at ASMo. Where can you get a decent (safe) hotel room for that anymore?

We usually rent a car too.

 

[eliza61]

I have done both and have had "magical" vacations both ways.

1) I hate disney transportation so that is not a perk for me, I always have a car.
2) I always stay deluxe and would never pay those rip off prices Disney wants so if I'm not using my points I'm offsite.
3) When me and my honeypie wanted a romantic vacation we go to the Waldorf Astoria. LOL cheaper than many Disney deluxe and dare I say it, a real deluxe hotel.

Just depends on what type of vacation I'm going for.

 

[hookedonears]

We have found that our Disney transportation experience has varied with each resort we've stayed at. In our opinion the Disney transportation to and from the Poly is the best. We've stayed at 5 on property resorts.
The Poly – Best transportation experience overall. Shortest bus waits; best access to the monorail system.
The GF - Shares a bus line with the Poly, but Monorail access is not quite as good.
The Beach Club - SEEMED like much longer bus waits and rides everywhere. Easy walk to EPCOT, but still a little hike from the quiet pool area to the slow boat to China to DHS and a little hike once they drop you off.
The Swan - Bus waits are okay, and waits for slow boats to EPCOT and DHS are a little long.
The Caribbean Beach - the longest bus waits and rides of all of the resorts.
Off Property - We’ve stayed off property 4 times, 3 times before our first stay on property and only once after. There’s No question that quite a bit of the magic just wasn’t there.

 

[DLFT]

I would never stay offsite again (only done it once for half a trip), but that's just me...everyone has different wishes, needs, opinions, situations, feelings, ect. While Transportation is not the best, I prefer not having to worry about providing it myself. And I find EMH at MK (both) and Epcot (AM) important. Then again, not everyone is going to agree, so as long as whatever works for you works, enjoy yourself!

 

[MolonLabe]

And I find EMH at MK (both) and Epcot (AM) important.

EMH are down to 2 hours now.

The biggest perks for us, EMH at night, bus and monorail transport are all diminishing.

I'll gladly pay the extra $200-$300 a night for staying at CR (for example) as opposed to off property at much larger and nicer room with better amenities.

Because my time, or the time that should be saved, by staying at a WDW resort and on the monorail is worth the money spent to get that extra time in the park or being able to get in bed an extra half an hour earlier and wake up half an hour later by staying on property.

My last CR experience and the experience of everyone else on the monorail resorts during that same period were all similar, transport sucked via monorail and bus.

Where is the time savings?

I'll stay off site at a much nicer resort and pay cab fare each way and still save money and come out ahead or even on time.

Then throw in all the little B.S. like wait periods for filling resort mugs... what's the point? If they don't want my money, I'll take it elsewhere.

Also, if staying off property they are going to lose out on more than my room costs, dining options then expand off property too.... Oh my...

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I always rent a car and always stay on property. I wouldn't do it any other way. Once I drive into the Disney bubble - I don't want to drive out until I have to go home.

 

[BeerMe]

We do both but we generally stay much longer now and prefer off site because of the expense. When we do stay onsite it is often at SoG which caters to people i identify with much more.

 

[jade1]

BCV/BWV/BLT 2 BR. There is no point otherwise.

 

[melliemelo]

We're offsite fans as well. I just rented a 3 bedroom/3bath/private pool town house in WH for an average of $117/night for March. It's nice having space with kids and more than one TV and bathroom. We do not spend a lot of time there, but the time we do spend is much more relaxing than being crowded into a single room. And since we fly, we can pack lightly with a washer/dryer.

 

[powellrj]

I stay on property and rent a car, so best of both worlds. I don't ride busses and get a parking pass for every park.

I don't even find staying on property all that expensive at the values. Granted i go in the offseason, but my last trip was $109 a night at ASMo. Where can you get a decent (safe) hotel room for that anymore?

If you don't mind staying in a condo you can get lots and lots of places for less than that price a night and be even closer to the parks! You do pay to park, but at $15 its still cheaper and nicer to rent a condo!

 

[DESKRoberts]

We pefer onsite. It is a magical feeling IMO. If we continue to grow our family, however, we will have to look into staying offsite or going less frequently.