Staying onsite still worth it?

[mattman2k]

We stayed at the ASMov May 2001 and had an incredible time. The entire vacation went off without a hitch, including 3 days at the HRH Universal. The main reason we stayed onsite was to take advantage of EE, which we certainly did. Had planned on using the Disney transportation but as we had a rental car anyway we ended up driving everywhere, which was fine and more convenient to us.

Anyway, we are planning a return trip for May 2003 and in starting the research again I just found out that the EE is no more. We will no doubt do the rental car thing again so the onsite transportation is not a value. What other reasons are there to stay onsite? No doubt I can get a nicer room at a nearby hotel for the money I would spend on a value or moderate resort.

Talk me into it guys!!

 

[dcedwards]

We prefer onsite because of the Disney Magic 24-7. It is just Disney all the time. We like the disney soaps in the bathroom and the theme at the resorts. It just seems to have the "magic" that you don't find at an offsite hotel. I think it depends on what you are looking for. Rooms off site are probably less expensive and might be bigger and nicer, perhaps, but they just feel like hotels that we would stay at anyplace else. Not the same. Even when I had a convention on International Drive we stayed at the POFQ instead of at the conference hotel. Plus, you never know when they are going to bring back EE. By the time you go, it might be back. They have brought back several other things of late.

 

[skuttle]

DH and I enjoy staying onsite because of the location! By staying onsite, the Disney magic never goes away. You're always at WDW and always feel surrounded by the Disney magic. And that's worth every penny!

 

[SouthernMom]

We were close to canceling our onsite ressies. We were staying at PBH during the Universal part of our trip, and at Caribe Royale while hubby was at convention. Somehow packing up and moving that extra time ... well, was it worth it? We ended up doing it ONLY because we wanted to take advantage of e-night. The CR is an ultra nice place, the room was much larger (and yes, nicer) than our on-site room. BUT, there's just something special about the onsite theming. Once we arrived at CBR we felt more like we were on vacation than at CR. I will say though, that we had that same special feeling at Universal's Portifino Bay. We'll never stay anywhere but Dis or Universal unless it's necessary for conventions.

 

[MELSMICE]

I think it's just all about the Disney magic. You can stay off-site & save money & we have done that, but nothing compares to staying on-site. I guess it's hard to explain unless you have experienced both.

When exploring your options if you do decide to go off-site check into Holiday Inn Family Suites. Very reasonable, clean, very close to WDW.

You'll pay more on-site, but there's nothing like!!!

 

[Billpowerrock]

got to stay on site, well i do anyway, i want the whole experience, and sure its more money, but i mean, a vactation to disney might not happen so often, i m going for the first time without my folks in jan, taking my girlfriend, and i ve been looking all over for deals, and sure i thought about staying off site, but i jus dont see the point, if i m paying, i want disney 24-7 and staying inside is great, i was at thw wl last summer with my folks, and it was great, such a goodfeeling, great service, disney is great, staying in the resort is great, i just hope everything there remains great, i keep hearing that the disney company is not doing to well

 

[eeyore0062]

MOST DEFINITELY! Stay off site, then stay onsite, and then weigh in with the opinion. There is NO comparison. While onsite you are immersed in the Disney Magic... you don't have to deal with traffic, you can park at the parks for free, you can take advantage of E ticket nights, and the character caravan, as well as the transportation, which is very convenient.

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

For yrs. I stayed off sight, it was fine, but then WHACK, reality woke me up and I tried onsite. My first onsite hotel was Dixey landings and from that moment I knew I couldn't do off sight again. I am leaving in 2 days and staying, are you ready for this, 5 nights 3 hotels just to experience the magic, I am going one of those days to US and was going to stay at Portofino bay hotel but changed my plans to stay one night at Animal Kingdon because there is nothing like the magic you feel from staying on a disney property.

 

[MHopkins2]

You didn't mention the members of your group, but...

* Munchkins: as everyone mentioned, there is just more "magic" on-site. Adults might not care so much, but kids might, once they're old enough to notice stuff like Mickey shower curtains, wake up calls, etc.

* Teenagers: onsite makes it easier to split up and let everyone do what they want to do (safe, reliable transportation back to the hotel if Mom & Dad went out to a nice dinner alone).

* Avid shoppers (like me! ) There is no joy quite like the one when saying, "Just send it back to the hotel, please." Not only do you not have to haul your purchases around the park, you don't have to wait in a long line at the end of the day at Package Pickup. If you're not a shopper, this probably sounds ridiculous; if you are, you know what I mean!

 

[Tesabat]

I've stayed off-site a couple times. Not really interested in doing it again. It was less expensive, but I felt like I could be staying at a hotel anywhere. It was a bland, standard, three-star hotel. I could have been waking up in Toledo or Topeka or...you get the idea. I had to "convince" my brother who is traveling with us this trip on his first, ever, Dis vacation that staying on-site was a good idea. He's seeing $$$ mega deals...not ambiance. But since this "is" his first trip, I want it to be special, and convinced him that total Dis immersion is a must! (I must be rather convincing as we are staying at VWL!!)

I think if you were only staying on site at the All Stars to get EE, and the room was basically just a place to crash, grab a quick bite, and jump in the pool...then you should stay off site, because you can do that anywhere. You don't need ASMu to do that! You are using your own transportation anyway...so, I'm not seeing much advantage. I'd try it offsite...there are tons of great deals out there right now...and then you'll have a good comparison.

 

[Trekker]

The only thing I can tell you is what I've experienced. In our several trips to WDW we did stay offsite one time because we got such a "good deal".

I have to say that as others have posted - once I drove out those Disney gates back into the real world the day was over and we could have been in any city in any state. It just felt like our vacation ended each day.

When staying onsite there is so much to see and do at each of the resorts that even though you leave a park you never really leave Disney, and you can truly feel the difference.

Offsite is not for us, my DW, DS, & DD all agree that the vacation is much "different" when staying at a Disney Resort vs offsite.

 

[sharoncity]

A friend of mine recently went down and stayed off site because of thge deals. When she returned, she said never again. When she mentioned it to people beforehand, they just sort of said "oh, offsite?" But no one really told her don't do it. Her experience was that by the time they packed up each morning, drove in, parked, walked......Well when they got tired they went back to their hotel. NO Way were they going to go back in to WDW again that day. So if you like to take a break now and again, that is a really big plus of staying onsite. You'll end up getting more for your money on the tickets. Also, as someone else mentioned, lets all hope that EE is back by May 2003! I think there is a good chance of it with the other things that have already returned. Good luck with your decision!

 

[jjsmom]

Don't forget that by staying off site, you have to pay parking ($7/day I think), spend $$$ on extra gas traveling back and forth (a lot of places advertise "minutes from WDW"-it ends up being longer if you sit in traffic coming/going).

I'm a big fan of penny pinching and budgeting, but if there is any way at all I can stay on-site, I will do it. We stayed at All Stars last year and loved it.

 

[s&k'smom]

Just wanted to add my pro on site vote! There really is something about the magic and being surrounded by it 24/7. We love not having to rent a car and being able to go back to our resort during the day. We feel very spoiled during our stays and I just don't think you'll find a place that treat kids and espeically kids with disabilities with so much respect. When I changed our ressies recently to GF the CM put me on hold to check with her supervisor on getting us a specific room request for our DS who is mildly autistic. She went out of her way without my even asking. Now that's magic!

 

[Kim&Chris]

I stayed off-site twice. After my first visit to an on-site hotel, I swore that I'd never stay off-site again. As other posters have noted, you can stay at any old Holiday Inn, but you can only stay at CBR, POR, CR, Poly, etc in ONE place!!

IMHO, the Disney hotels are as much a part of my vacation as the theme parks.

 

[Eeyore1954]

I am a definite on-property fan. Like someone else said, the magic definitely ends at the gates.

My DW and I went in May. We didn't miss EE/Surprise Mornings; in fact, we almost welcomed the change (is that heresy?). We didn't feel the pressure to get up early, grab b'fast and rush to the bus to get to the park. We took a more casual approach and arrived whenever...

The Character Caravan was fun. We stayed at WL and several times the characters grabbed some wooden ponies from the Whispering Canyon Cafe and started their own pony race in the lobby. It was a hoot to watch!

No e-nights? No problem, my DW and I hit Pleasure Island and had a blast. I could spend hours at Adventurer's Club. Anyway, we are not big "ride" people anyway.

We have stayed on and off-property. Our feeling: we stay on-property or we don't go!

 

[erikthewise]

When you go to Waikiki, do you stay inland and drive to the beach?
When you visit London, do you stay at a bed & breakfast in Reading and take the tube into the city?
When you visit Vegas, do you stay at a Motel 6 in Needles and commute?
Then you are a candidate for staying off-site at Disney.

Seriously, give off-site a try and see what you think. Obviously a lot of people do it and they can hardly all be miserable; I'm sure most of them still have a great time.

As for myself, I don't go on vacation to save money; if I want to do that, I stay home. Once I've paid for airfare and park passes, I want to make the trip as enjoyable as possible. The only way I would be tempted to stay off-site is if they paid ME $50 a night to stay there. Well, maybe $100....

 

[donnamerry]

and don't forget if one of the WDW parks reach full capacity anyone trying to get into the park that is not staying on-site, may have a problem! The on-site resort guests get in before off-site.

 

[Hollymom1229]

I will never stay off of Disney property again, to many bad experiences, but I would stay in one of the hotels in Downtown Disney again. The bus transportation is pretty good, they participate in e-night, you don't have to deal with the traffic of getting on property, very nice all around, without being total Disney immersion.

 

[gepetto]

E-nights were cancelled for our late May trip. But we got to the parks at opening and had no problems getting on the ride we wanted with minimal lines.

I prefer taking Disney transportation. I hate styaing offsite and having to worry with the traffic on the highway and then parking and trams. So even though I miss EE....it's still ok. We found the Character Caravan a little disorganized and unreliable.