Staying Onsite

[Bigbluebear]

Im not sure whether to stay onsite next year or not. I have never done it before, but i've always felt that it could make a great trip even better.

What are the perks, and what are the drawbacks?

Do you still need to buy park passes if you are staying in a disney hotel?

 

[kev kendall]

It's a very personal thing I guess. For us we've loved staying on site. We've gone for monorail resorts so it's even more exciting!!! It's nice that it's Disney all the time!!!

You still have to buy tickets!!!!!!

 

[jtlover]

Definitely worth it - you dont feel like you have left the magic when you go back to your hotel and the dining plan is worth having. You also can park in the parks car parks and are not charged.

You do have to buy park tickets but if you have the dining plan this is all calculated together. Have fun planning

 

[Frances999]

Perks off the top of my head:

- Disney theming, shopping and dining.
- Disney transportation to all parks, water parks and downtown Disney
- Room charging
- Package delivery (gifts you buy in the park can be delivered to the resort free-of-charge)
- Extra Magic Hours (enter the parks earlier and/or leave later, on select days).
- Free parking in parks

For us, it's all about being encapsulated in the Disney magic for the whole trip. The Disney resort hotels are beautifully themed and you have the benefit of the wonderful Disney cast member service and some great dining opportunities, all coupled with easy access to the parks.

 

[gilld]

Having stayed off site and on site, for us staying on site is the only way to go.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Personally find a split stay suits us best and for part of the holiday we like the extra room and privacy a villa gives us.

Love Disney but do not want it to take over our holiday as we like doing many other things too.

 

[Frances999]

Love Disney but do not want it to take over our holiday as we like doing many other things too.

Yes, this is probably something the OP should consider. We go to Orlando a) for WDW and b) for Universal/SeaWorld/Discovery Cove. We don't go to "experience" Orlando or to do anything else at all. I have heard a few people complain that they dislike staying onsite because of the feeling that they are "trapped" in Disney and not experiencing the "true" Orlando/Florida. Different strokes for different folks, but definitely something to consider.

 

[Bigbluebear]

its really going to depend on how many of us are going.

If its just me and my girlfriend then id like to push the boat out and stay onsite, however we have asked some friends to come, so it will be a villa if they do.

 

[wayneg]

I think its something everyone must try for themselves. We tried and did not enjoy half as much as offsite. Maybe a moderate resort would be better but did not like ASM. Rooms were too small and under equipped for the money. It cost us 3 times price of what we pay at Courtyard by Marriott LBV but prefer location of Courtyard, also free wireless access is a big thing for me, Disney its $10/night, thats over $500/ year for us if we stayed onsite.
Even onsite I would have to have a car, Monorail is bad enough but hate Disney buses, we used them for 1 day while we waited for a car, ignorant people and overcrowded (I know it was Xmas which did not help)
I love Disney, have AP's and go into their parks about 25 days a year but like to get away in the evenings and do something else, their hotels just don't do it for me.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Its on-site for me, when I want to go to Disney, but I split it up, stay at universal on site, then Disney then off site you get the best of all.