Staying onsite ?

[ellie05]

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

Considering this board is for Disney resorts i would assume OP is talking about Disney resorts not all onsite resorts since talk of those get transfer to another forum.

 

[Masonmj84]

I've done on-site 4 times and off-site twice and, in my case, the on-site trips were vastly better than the off-site ones.

That being said, I believe the following factors come into play when deciding on-site versus off-site:

1. The size of your party (unless you go the DVC route, on-site can be prohibitvely expensive for larger parties)
2. Whether your vacaction is exclusively Disney or includes other destinations such as Universal, Sea World etc.
3. Whether you like to go back to your resort in the middle of the day
4. Whether you're flying or driving in (I personally find Magical Express to be a very nice perk if flying in)
5. Whether you prefer to dine on or off property
6. How you feel about being immersed in Disney 24/7

So, in a nutshell, if you're a party of 4 or under (or are doing DVC), are exclusively doing Disney, like to go back to your resort mid-day, are flying in, prefer to dine on property, and like being immersed in Disney 24/7, then on-site all the way. The fewer of these that apply to you, the lower the value prop of staying on-site versus off-site IMO.

 

[disneyvoice]

We always stay on site. Once we stayed off site because it was around Christmas and the only rooms left were way more expensive than we wanted (it was a very last minute trip). We never get the dining plan and we always rent a car. If my only option was to stay off-site than I would definitely choose that over no trip at all. But I just feel like it is so much more fun to stay on-site. Call me crazy but I love the WDW channel on the TV. I always have it on, even just as background noise, whenever we are in the room.

 

[clapton]

On site is definitely the way to go. Much more convenient and just more fun! We have been going to Disney for many years and we only stayed off site once. It is so worth the extra money to stay on property imo.

 

[AngiTN]

We always stay on site. Once we stayed off site because it was around Christmas and the only rooms left were way more expensive than we wanted (it was a very last minute trip). We never get the dining plan and we always rent a car. If my only option was to stay off-site than I would definitely choose that over no trip at all. But I just feel like it is so much more fun to stay on-site. Call me crazy but I love the WDW channel on the TV. I always have it on, even just as background noise, whenever we are in the room.

Are you secretly my DH? He loves that channel and keeps it on at all times when we are in the room. We don't watch anything else on the TV at Disney, just the info channel so DH can listen to the music.

 

[Caseheidi]

We do both. Have enjoyed onsite, however enjoy the savings of off site. And there are some lovely locations offsite to stay. And some greatnon-Disney places to eat if you want. I believe it is really a personal opinion. If you want an Emerson experience with nothing but Disney, then it is worth it. If you want to save money and don't mind a little non-Disney on your trip, try off site.

 

[NH-to-FL]

DW and I made many trips staying onsite. For us the BWI was "home". After many years, and in preparation for retirement, we decided to buy a place near Disney. We made a number of offsite trips before becoming snowbirds.

Our onsite trips were quite special. From the "Welcome Home" greeting to the last drive out of the driveway it was special to be inside the "Disney bubble". Our offsite trips were nice but a little less Disney.

We did not use the Dining Plan. DW has dietary restrictions and we are just not big on "dining out".

I know that many, many people have wonderful offsite visits but, for us, our onsite visits were the best.