Staying on property?

[Ponza79]

So my family is going to Orlando in August. I am debating if we should stay on property if we only plan on doing MK. We plan on doing Discovery Cove and Sea World and I can't not go to Disney if we go to Orlando. Has anyone else done a trip like this or stayed on property and not gone to a park?

 

[southjerseymom]

The only Orlando trip I did without staying on property was this past January. Went to a wedding at Rollins College and left on Sunday with my sister to head over to Universal. We were booked at Cabanas Resort and I was going to spend 2 nights and she was leaving after 1 night. By 2pm at the Park in Universal I was at guest services asking if they would refund my 3 day pass and just charge me for the 1 day. Happy to say they were more then happy to help me. Disney would never have done that so kudos to Universal. Anyway, while my sister waited to get on Hogwart's train I was on the phone with Disney and booked Little Mermaid room for the next day. We stayed the one night at Cabanas. Not impressed. Next day I took at $16 cab ride back to my Happy Place and it was wonderful. First solo trip. Just did Epcot and HS. Home early and sat at the pool bar for a couple of hours. One on the things I love about Disney is you are never made to feel uncomfortable whether your are traveling solo or with a group. Love the food court there. Reasonable price. If I had to compare apples and oranges the World just seems more vacation-ie lol. Just a vibe I can't describe. I did no parks my check out day but I had a late flight so I hung around the pool. Went to Disney Springs for lunch and came back and used the shower facilities to get cleaned up for my 9:30 pm flight. One factor to remember. If you stay onsite you get Magical Express. So worth it rather then paying out of pocket for transportation.

 

[jolene63]

We went to Sea World and Aquatica last summer and stayed across the street at the SpringHill Suites. We loved staying so close and the perks of staying at one of their preferred hotels. Like you, we could not imagine going to Orlando and not visiting Disney so we spent five nights on Disney property when we were done with Sea World. We never went into the parks because we had our big Disney trip planned for Christmas break. We had so much fun those five days. There is so much to do when staying on property. This summer, we are going to Universal for the first time. Again, we will spend 4-5 nights on Disney property when we are done. We are so excited for both parts of our trip.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think, for me, it depends on how many days you plan to spend at MK. If it's only one or two, I would probably pick an offsite hotel with great amenities and save your money. If you don't need the WDW onsite perks, you typically get more for less when staying offsite.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Can you do a one-nighter or two-nighter for your MK days? Quite a few years ago we went to Universal/SeaWorld/Discovery Cove and it was painful to walk past DME.

 

[buzznina]

We found the opposite of southjerseymom. When we finally (begrudgingly) decided to stay at Universal (Cabana Bay, their value resort), we were pleasantly surprised and thought it totally beat our beloved Disney values. A big plus is Queen beds vs twins, room size are almost the size of Mods at Disney. The food court is much better then Disney's as far as choices, taste and definitely quantity. One example, you get breakfast at Disney and I do not know how many times you have the server making sure that you only get 2 strips of bacon etc. At Cabana Bay the servers give you a pile of bacon. Shocked! Even our DD mentioned to me that we do not have to order extra bacon like we do at Disney. And the pool, with a very big lazy river, again not close. WDW is still our favorite, but I would definitely stay at a Universal resort in a heartbeat.

 

[terri1001]

Do you remember how late the pools at Cabana Bay are open?

 

[Ponza79]

We went to Sea World and Aquatica last summer and stayed across the street at the SpringHill Suites. We loved staying so close and the perks of staying at one of their preferred hotels. Like you, we could not imagine going to Orlando and not visiting Disney so we spent five nights on Disney property when we were done with Sea World. We never went into the parks because we had our big Disney trip planned for Christmas break. We had so much fun those five days. There is so much to do when staying on property. This summer, we are going to Universal for the first time. Again, we will spend 4-5 nights on Disney property when we are done. We are so excited for both parts of our trip.

Where did you stay?

 

[Ponza79]

I think, for me, it depends on how many days you plan to spend at MK. If it's only one or two, I would probably pick an offsite hotel with great amenities and save your money. If you don't need the WDW onsite perks, you typically get more for less when staying offsite.

Staying for 5 days but only doing MK and HS. 2 Days at Disney.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I wouldn't spend the money to stay on Disney if I wasn't taking advantage of the onsite perks that coincide with going to the Disney parks. I would stay off site.

 

[jolene63]

Where did you stay?

We stayed one night at POR, three nights at WL, and one night at AKL. We had our car so switching resorts wasn't that difficult for us. We originally planned on only staying three nights and then ended up adding a few extra later. My kids want to stay at every WDW hotel so it was fun checking three more off our list.

 

[buzznina]

Do you remember how late the pools at Cabana Bay are open?

10PM and the lifeguards are there the whole time.