Switching to Offsite

[LadyJayne813]

Good Morning All!

My sister and I have a short weekend getaway to Disney in October mainly to go to the halloween party.

We are currently booked for the pop for 2 nights. We've never stayed on property before. We are giving on property a shot this time to see what the hoopla is about.

We're paying about $120 a night for the pop in a preferred room.

To tell the truth, I am not that excited about staying at the pop. I keep looking at the pictures online, and the room screams motel 6.

I don't expect the place to be equivalent to the waldorf or anything. We've stayed off site previously at Caribe Royale and Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista and were always very pleased with the rooms and properties. The pop seems like a step down!

Using the mousesavers rate, plus the resort fee, I can get a room at holiday inn lake buena vista for $89 a night. I've been thinking more and more about cancelling pop and moving offsite. We will have a car so transportation is not an issue.

Is staying on property really that special? What would you do?

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Personally I don't think staying onsite is worth the increased cost, but since you've never stayed onsite before, I think this short weekend would be a good opportunity to give it a try at little increased cost. We always stay a full week in a condo for about $500 so the cost difference offsite vs. onsite is huge for us. In your case, it's only about $30 more a night and you may decide that you love it. If not, you're not out too much $$ and you'll know to plan trips offsite in the future. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[Upatnoon]

Good Morning All!

My sister and I have a short weekend getaway to Disney in October mainly to go to the halloween party.

We are currently booked for the pop for 2 nights. We've never stayed on property before. We are giving on property a shot this time to see what the hoopla is about.

We're paying about $120 a night for the pop in a preferred room.

To tell the truth, I am not that excited about staying at the pop. I keep looking at the pictures online, and the room screams motel 6.

I don't expect the place to be equivalent to the waldorf or anything. We've stayed off site previously at Caribe Royale and Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista and were always very pleased with the rooms and properties. The pop seems like a step down!

Using the mousesavers rate, plus the resort fee, I can get a room at holiday inn lake buena vista for $89 a night. I've been thinking more and more about cancelling pop and moving offsite. We will have a car so transportation is not an issue.

Is staying on property really that special? What would you do?

I would keep Pop. After a full night at the party, you will likely be tired. The Disney bus you catch right outside the gates of MK will take you straight to your resort -- no driving at all.


The rooms at Pop are tiny and not luxurious, but for 2 people for 2 nights it's fine. It's also fun to walk around there. I would also suggest walking over to Art of Animation, which is also super cool.

If you were a family of 5 staying for a week, I would have a much different answer, but staying at Pop is exactly what I would do if I were you.

 

[Bete]

There is a parking fee to the Disney parks that you need to consider which is $15/day. So, now there is only a $15 difference and whatever tax consideration between offsite and onsite.

Next, if you are onsite you get the magic band. You can do your fastpasses ahead of time.

Getting to MK is a drag by car; because, you still end up having to take the monorail or ferry boat to the park.

At the end of a long day it's nice for everyone to sit back and let the bus driver do the driving.

There will be more Disney theming at an onsite resort. By no means is POP that great, but it's where we like to stay the most when it comes to a value resort.

For a few days, you get to see how it works for an onsite resort. If you are sharing the cost of the room then it's really not that bad to try onsite.

Maybe, reconsider the preferred room and downgrade to a regular room and just ask at the desk for the closest room possible.

Finally, depending on your schedule you may be able to take advantage of extra magic hours either in the morning or at night for a park if you are an onsite guest.

 

[LadyJayne813]

Thanks everybody for the replies.

I guess I'll stick with the pop.

Either way, I won't be using disney buses. I don't ride buses at home, so the idea of waiting around to get on a crowded bus doesn't appeal to me while on vacation.

I guess I'll stick to the preferred room too, b/c pop for my dates is sold out. Either way I wouldn't want to take the chance of having too far a walk to the lobby. It's only a few dollars more for preferred anyway.

I'll let everyone know how it goes!