Staying onsite ?

[umaangel00]

Is it worth it? It' only me and DH. We do not have children. We always drive when we go. We won't be using the dining plan because I had gastric bypass surgery 2 years ago tomorrow (eek) and it' not worth it. What do ya'll think?

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Is it worth it? It' only me and DH. We do not have children. We always drive when we go. We won't be using the dining plan because I had gastric bypass surgery 2 years ago tomorrow (eek) and it' not worth it. What do ya'll think?

For us yes! We wouldn't do it any other way.

 

[4DisneyFam]

We always stay onsite also..works great for us

 

[tinkerbella16]

To us, it's the only way we'd do Disney. We love staying onsite and being in the bubble 24/7. Not having to drive and being right in the middle of it all is amazing. We love the resorts and we've gone so much over the years, that the resort is a more important factor of our trips now. We spend more time at the resort than we ever did before. There are a lot of people who prefer offsite and it can save a lot of money, so it really is a personal preference.

 

[loves to dive]

We always stay on site, always have, always will. We drive down and park the car and don't get in it again until we leave. We love Epcot so always stay in one of the Epcot resorts.

 

[ncc1701]

DH and I stay on site and do not get the any of the Dinning plans. We aren't all day park people so coming back to the resort to relax by the pool is part of our day. When we did have a rental car (we fly & now use ME) we rarely went offsite.

 

[HopperFan]

I stay ON and OFF site. Each trip is different. Different plans, different budget etc.
Sometimes hotel rooms, sometimes suites, sometimes condos ....

To me the biggest perks of onsite are:
(1) DDBD. Designated Disney Bus Driver if it's a trip we are going to enjoy drinks.
(2) Extra Magic Hours, if they are working within our trip.
(3) Magical Express for those who fly (not us)
(4) Disney Bubble

Look at hotels offsite that meet your needs, price them plus daily parking fee (if not AP).
See how they compare to onsite hotels. Go with whatever meets your expectations.

 

[caliope]

We've done both on site and off, with and without our son, both driving (e.g., with a car) and flying (e.g., without a car)...and given those variables, I'd now choose on site every single time it's remotely possible. We just enjoy our on site trips more.

 

[Emma Rose]

For us, we always stay onsite because it adds a little more "Disney Magic". Don't know what it would be like with staying offsite, and don't want to know. We enjoy all the amenities and being close to the parks.

 

[Elle23]

We've only been once, but stayed onsite and definitely will if we go back.

I like being able to reserve fastpasses at 60 days out, enjoyed the theming of the resort we stayed at, and liked being able to use the bus transportation to and from the parks.

Also, the Magical Express was a great (and free) benefit.

ETA....I also really liked being able to use my Magic band to charge things to my room.

 

[Shellyb84]

To us, it's the only way we'd do Disney. We love staying onsite and being in the bubble 24/7. Not having to drive and being right in the middle of it all is amazing. We love the resorts and we've gone so much over the years, that the resort is a more important factor of our trips now. We spend more time at the resort than we ever did before. There are a lot of people who prefer offsite and it can save a lot of money, so it really is a personal preference.

We feel the same way - I would rather not go than stay offsite. We are not all day park people and spend at least half our time at the resort.

 

[AngiTN]

We are 2 adults and we never get the DP. Neither have any bearing on staying on site or not in my opinion. I won't go and stay off site, quite honestly. It's on site or we don't go. Being on a Disney vacation means being at Disney. That experience is part of the trip. You can't get that off site. If I was staying somewhere else, I'd go somewhere else.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Yes. DH and I have always stayed on site, even before kids. We wouldn't do Disney any other way.

 

[ellie05]

Well I truly think it depends on your budget. We used to be strictly onsite people, but the raising prices and better options have made us consider. If you are thinking doing Disney deluxe I would definitely consider your other options (depends on the rates you are getting). IMO Waldorf and four seasons are also on Disney property but usually much cheaper than their Disney counterparts as well as dolphin and swan (don't forget to include resort fees if you are doing a comparison). If you are going to have a car then you can avoid Disney buses and if for whatever reason you don't feel like driving you can always uber. If you are thinking more about the values then yes I would say stay onsite.

As you can see by PP most people haven't even tried it to see the true comparison

 

[rwdavis2]

Onsite. But, IMHO, only if you're staying at a deluxe resort. They are nice hotels and most have their own pluses. Animal Kingdom has the savannahs and great restaurants. Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht clubs are walkable or boat rides to Epcot and DHS. The monorail resorts are convenient to MK. And Wilderness Lodge is just amazing to walk into.

But if money is your main concern then stay off site. You will save a lot of $$ that way.

 

[AngiTN]

As you can see by PP most people haven't even tried it to see the true comparison

I should have included we have tried off site, once. So I was able to compare and there isn't one. An off site stay was a lesser experience for us, without question. We won't do it again. The worse of all was driving from the hotel to Disney. So not magical
And for the record, Swan/Dolphin, to me, is still on site. Being on site doesn't have to mean being in a Disney owned resort. It just has to be inside the property and I don't have to deal with the outside world

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We have always stayed onsite because we like going to the parks in the morning and then going back to the resort after lunch to relax or enjoy the pool, then go back to another park for the evening. However, everyone is different, but this is how I have grown up going so I enjoy this way of touring the world!

 

[ntmec]

We've done it both ways for different types of trips...
To me, if we are onsite it is a "Disney vacation".
If we stay offsite it is a "Florida vacation" in which visiting Disney World is one part of it.

 

[Shellyred8]

We have done both and I prefer staying on-site. When I'm going to WDW, I want to be in the "bubble" and not have to deal with the rest of the world. When we stay off-site, it's an OK trip, but in my mind we always have to leave the "bubble" and be faced with dealing with the rest of the outside world. I also like not having to deal with getting a rental car while I'm down there (though that won't be an issue for you). We fly in and let Disney do the driving after that.

So, it really depends on what you are hoping to get out of the trip and what your budget is. As others have mentioned, staying off-site can be less expensive and the rooms just as nice (if not nicer in some cases). But make sure to watch out for "resort fees" or "parking fees". Those can add up fast because they are usually daily fees, not a once-per-stay fee. You should also consider the daily parking fee at WDW when planning your budget. I think it's at $20 a day now. If you stay on-site, you don't have to pay that daily parking fee, even if you do drive to the parks each day.

If you want to be super close, you might want to look a the resorts by Disney Springs. A lot of them have daily resort fees though, so make sure to take that into account. Many of these are within walking distance to Disney Springs. We stayed at one of these once and I really liked being able to walk over there in the evening for a meal or just to take in the nightly entertainment.

We did the dining plan once and probably won't ever do it again. It was fun once, but it was soooo much food. Much more than we usually eat in a day.

Wishing you a fantastic trip!!!

 

[Guyton dis lover]

I will not stay anywhere but on site. We do the dining plan all the time. It saves us money. If you want to stay on site but are on a budget Camp.