The Disney Bubble

[EMHDad]

I grew up in central FL and liked Disney,but was never a huge fan. Entering into adulthood I moved to IL. My I have a family with 2 boys. We took our first Disney trip when our oldest was 2 (2 weeks away from his 3rd birthday). I was hooked. Now, I am a total Disney freak. We went again on a shorter Disney trip last fall with our boys at ages 4yo, 1yo. We are heading back for a week, and the Dis marathon in Jan. I want to stay on property. I would love it. However, I am a commando at getting the best bang for my buck. How can I ratio it to get the best vacation at the lowest cost. I cannot ever make it work to be onsite over offsite. The cost for an offsite condo that is close, with the luxury the condo affords is just to good to pass. If I wanted to stay in the (what I call the Dis loop) GF, Cont, or Poly I would have to pay 3-4 times as much, even with discounts. And that would be for a room, not a villa, so the living status would be greatly degraded. I know that I can get a comparable price to an offsite condo by staty at a value result (although, again, greatly degraded living sit.) So, here's my question...

I know people talk about wanted to live in the Disney bubble. I can def. see that bubble if you are staying in the loop or even Wilderness Lodge. I can even potentially see it with some of the moderate resorts. However, I just dont see the Disney bubble at the value hotels. Outside of the theme, the hotels are basic motels. The buss system is valuable to people, but I see that as a noncar nes., not that Disney magc. I would personally just drive to the parks, even if staying at the value hotel. Basically, what makes the value hotel feel a part of the disney bubble and feel magical?

An offsite condo beats staying at a value hotel (the two are the best comparisons in price) in every tangible way possible, by far. The only advantage the value hotel has is on the intangible. So, can someone share their thoughts on how the value hotels make one feel in the disney bubble in a way that is worth staying there over an offsite condo.

*Also, I know many fly and dont have a car. However, for my situation, a car will always be available. Thanx for the thoughts and opinions.

 

[ceecee]

The values are great if you have younger kids. DD loved the icons at ASMo and Pop when she got a little older. We spent more time at that resort than the others. DH actually complained that the moderates weren't as fun!!! We were always close to the bus stops and the food court (preferred room) and the arcades were also a lot of fun, and much nicer than the moderates. We even liked the variety at the Values food court vs the two moderates we have stayed at (CS and CBR) The queen beds are so much nicer though at CS. Overall, I see nothing wrong with the values, they are magical and fun and that's what Disney is to us. I also didn't notice a lot of different between CS and Poly except the $ and the monorail.

 

[rvchat]

The values are great if you have younger kids. DD loved the icons at ASMo and Pop when she got a little older. DH actually complained that the moderates weren't as fun!!! We were always close to the bus stops and the food court (preferred room) and the arcades were also a lot of fun, not as nice as the moderates. The queen beds are so much nicer though. I see nothing wrong with the values. I also didn't notice a lot of different between CS and Poly except the $.

IMO, Disney should extend the monorails to include more and other hotels. The best part of the poly / contemp and etc in my opinion is being able to hop on the rail. No worries about a car, driving and eating/drinking. DELIGHTFUL

 

[tink2dw]

1. while staying on site you do not pay parking prices which at last glance were $14.00 a day

2. While staying onsite you are elegible for extra hours early morning, or late nite hours

3. I would not stay in any of the All Star Value rooms there isn't any "Disney Themeing" in those room

4. I would however stay at POP because, there is Mickey Themeing

5. We bought breakfast foods and ate on the way to the Parks in our Car and we had sandwich items for dinners for the nights, we didn't eat at the parks to save dollars

 

[Fyrefly]

I dunno, I felt pretty well in the bubble on my vacation. I was in AS Sports, which admittedly has a pretty boring exterior. I would have picked one of the other All-Stars or even Pop Century but the rooms weren't available for the promo I was going for.

But there's Disney icons in the main buildings, great service, theming in the shops, food courts, etc. Our bedroom had towels in a Mickey shape when we came in, had Mickey themed rug, bedspread, a picture of Goofy playing football on the wall, I think Mickey shower curtain, bath products, etc. So if that isn't "Disney Theming" I'm not sure what is. Honestly it was probably at critical mass for me for Mickey. I got Disney music on the bus, Disney music waking me up on the phone in the morning, and Disney channels on the TV.

I stopped by the Polynesian and that was a gorgeous hotel, but I didn't really see what made it more "Disney" than the one I was staying in. It's a pretty fancy themed hotel but it's not like it's Disney themed.

Maybe I'm not understanding the question, but I guess my opinion is the All Stars are even more overtly Disney than say, the Grand Floridian.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Hearing the operator say, "We wish you magical dreams!" when setting up a wakeup call happens at any Disney resort. A silly little thing I know.

Having stayed at all levels of Disney resorts, I don't feel not in the Disney bubble when staying at a value. And we like the dining plan so staying onsite enables getting that. With 2 in college and 1 soon to be in high school, it's values for us for a while!

 

[pat fan]

I guess I have the opposite feeling you do! We have stayed at Music & Movies and feel completely immersed in Disney from the time we wake up until we shut our eyes at night.

DH and I have toured other hotels in anticipation of an adults only trip in the next couple years, and we found none that felt "Disney" to us. We toured (in no particular order):
AK Lodge
POFQ (twice)
Polynesian (twice)
Wilderness Lodge

Now, some were nicer than others. I would NEVER stay at AK Lodge. Too dark, and what about it says Disney? It may say Africa, but not Disney (to me).

The Poly. What can I say. I wanted to love it. I did not. Again, maybe it says Polynesia, but I did not get that "Disney" shiver up my spine.

POFQ was the closest to what I feel is a "Disney" resort (other than my fave's!)

Wilderness Lodge...we might stay there, but not for the "Disney" feel, but because we like the atmosphere of camping and lodges etc....

I guess to each their own, but to me, the Music is my FAVORITE place to stay, and the Movies a second to that (but it REALLY needs a refurb!!!)

 

[ceecee]

I would however stay at POP because, there is Mickey Themeing

Our room at ASMo had themed buildings as well as pictures on the walls matching that theme. The bedspreads were all Disney Characters. Maybe they changed it, it's been 4 years since we stayed at a Value. The CS room was just re-furbed and we were the first to use it. It was very nice, with small Mickey icons around, but imo it was much less themed. I found even less at AK lodge and it seemed so dark!

 

[Havana]

To me being in the bubble means not seeing the outside world. No billboards, buildings, business signs. It's all disney 24/7. We don't leave property from the time we cross under the gate until it's time to go home.

 

[MomRN]

My 4 year old loves Toy Story. We went to ASMo last November in the Toy Story building and his eyes just lit up whenever he saw the decorations.

I considered upgrading this trip because it's going to be tight...tight... with 4 of us in a room, but we'll make do. We did the off-site thing last year and it just wasn't as magical as our on-site trip. I love the convenience of flying with no worries about transportation.

 

[clutter]

See, Disney to me is NOT COOKING. Plus, it's not just the days in the parks, its the nighttime, too. (my dd, when 3, closed MVMCP at 1am.) So to me, a Disney vacation is not going to an offsite condo, going to the parks during the day, then going back to the condo at night to eat and hang out and sleep. It's going to a Disney hotel (we did do offsite a few times, not the same), hanging around the parks during the day, going out to eat at night, going back to a park, or maybe playing mini-golf, or maybe going to DTD. Getting on the bus, going back to the room and starting all over again the next day.

There is a LOT more in the bubble than just the parks. But, given your kids ages, our way may not work for yours.

Btw, as DVC owners, we still love the All Stars!

 

[elainesj]

Actually, our last 2 trips, staying at the Values was way cheaper than staying offsite.

Our first trip was 3 nights quick getaway. I was going to stay offsite in a free hotel we got through points (Quality Suites). But the cost of getting from MCO to the hotel and from the hotel to the parks was a fair bit. It ended up being cheaper to spend $70 a night on the Values and use ME and buses to get around than to get our hotel for free and pay for transportation (and parking if we used a rental car).

Our second trip was for 10 days. Value plus free dining topped any deal we could get offsite and paying OOP. We could conceivably have spent a little less if we packed food and cooked in a condo constantly, but we didn't want to do that. In that case, the value was the cheapest option for us by far.

So using your analysia, the Value hotel beat the offsite condo in a tangible way, by price. We simply couldn't stay offsite for less. On the other hand, we could have spent a few hundred more to spread out in a nice condo.

As for the intangibles - I guess not seeing the outside world made it feel like we were in a Disney bubble. Everything could be charged to the room. We only had one bill to pay. We had Mickey and gang all over the place and the Disney buses. I don't value the Disney bubble that highly though. I would have been fine offsite if it had worked out cheaper.

By the way, I actually liked All Star Sports theming over Music. I thought I would like Music better but after touring the place, I liked Sports better....and Sports has better busing!

 

[SunnieRN]

Towel animals, proverbs or sayings on the cards the mousekeepers leave for us, hearing, "thank you for staying with us" and "welcome home", not coking, but having a big frig for water and leftovers, hearing "have a magical day", getting on a bus and letting someone else drive, being closer to the entrance than the parking lot, not having to take another form of transportation to the MK after parking, but can if I want to (monorail or boats), knowing that after a long park day, I don't have to walk a long way or find my car, just walk to the bus stop and climb on board when it gets there.

Some of the most wonderful people on Disney trips, are those I met at bus stops or on the bus!!

I am sure there are just as many negatives to on site, but the positives make me fall more in love with Disney every time!!

 

[SunnieRN]

Oh yes, another biggie, Magical Express when we do fly and NOT having to pick up your luggage after the flight on arrival! We drive about 1/2 of our visits though.

 

[brerrabbit]

Seems to be a couple of threads about cost and the bubble going on here lately. We went to WDW for the first time in 1989 with our then almost 5 year old DS. Stayed offsite bought tickets with no hopper feature in Oceola on the way down (driving). We enjoyed it. We returned in 1993 with friends and our DS and DD who was 3. Stayed offsite, bought tickets from a vendor at the motel, and enjoyed it. (we drove). During the second trip we noticed the buses and found out they were people staying on site. The friends we were with were everything we turned out not to be when visiting WDW. Sleep late, find a all you can eat breakfast buffet, eat till you can hardly walk, go to the park late stay till close without eatingand stop on the way back to the motel to find the largest quantity of food you can at the cheapest price. I don't know if it was this less than stellar trip or the next trip out family took but from that point forward we were sold on the idea of the "bubble" and staying on property. We stayed at Port Orleans. Back then PO Riverside was called something else. We had a first floor room facing the pool and we immersed in Disney from the time we got there till we left. We fell in love with the idea of shutting yourself off from the world for a week and living all things Disney. On susiquint trips we stayed onsite, we made ADR's we used the transportation we bought to much and loved every minute of it. Since that time we have drove and flown but go again and again. We will be there June 18-25 this summer and can hardly wait. We are at a point where our Kids are older with one graduated from college and the other a junior in college. It will be just DW and me. No doubt we could do the trip cheaper by staying off site, eating off site, and using other money saving ideas, but we don't want to. We want the magic, and yes we still find it after all these years.

Off site wins the cost battle hands down, but for us we are fortunate enough for it to not be just about cost anymore and are willing to pay a little more for the magic.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

We have stayed at all four values (Music is our fav.) two different moderates and two different deluxes, as well as the cabins at Fort Wilderness. Additionally on one trip, we went for three weeks. The first week we stayed at Orange Lake and then moved to the Music for the last two weeks. Let me say we loved Orange Lake, the extra room and fabulous pool area was wonderful. However, our choice is too stay on site even if it means a small room and one bathroom. Here are a few things we enjoy,
-friendly CM's from the bus drivers, the person at the DVC booth, in the gift shop, food service, life guards, etc.
-we LOVE to watch "Stacey's must-do" show, as well as a few other promotional Disney shows and the daily park info loop. Sometimes we go to sleep watching these.
-the "welcome home" greeting every time we drive back to the resort.
-the game room.
-at the Music they have activities with two recreational directors all afteroon, and at night they show a Disney movie on a huge screen at the pool.
-my kids love to pin trade, so having the gift shop near the bus stop, affords them pin trading oppurtunities to start and end the day.
- we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the food court!
-we get a kick out of the Mickey and Stitch wake up call.
-we enjoy the daily housekeeping with towel animals and the occasional treat.
-we dont use the buses all the time, but its handy to have that option a few minute walk from our room.
-FREE DINING!!!! we went last August for two weeks. Our room was 102.42 a night, BUT we averaged almost 150.00 per day of free food with four people eating two counter service and two snacks a day. Now that is a value that cant be beat!!!!!
Of course, if your happy with your off site condo and all the extra space that affords, then all the above perks I mentioned will mean nothing to you. As I always say to each their own, what means a lot to one person may mean nothing to another!!!

 

[mhsjax]

We have stayed at all four values (Music is our fav.) two different moderates and two different deluxes, as well as the cabins at Fort Wilderness. Additionally on one trip, we went for three weeks. The first week we stayed at Orange Lake and then moved to the Music for the last two weeks. Let me say we loved Orange Lake, the extra room and fabulous pool area was wonderful. However, our choice is too stay on site even if it means a small room and one bathroom. Here are a few things we enjoy,
-friendly CM's from the bus drivers, the person at the DVC booth, in the gift shop, food service, life guards, etc.
-we LOVE to watch "Stacey's must-do" show, as well as a few other promotional Disney shows and the daily park info loop. Sometimes we go to sleep watching these.
-the "welcome home" greeting every time we drive back to the resort.
-the game room.
-at the Music they have activities with two recreational directors all afteroon, and at night they show a Disney movie on a huge screen at the pool.
-my kids love to pin trade, so having the gift shop near the bus stop, affords them pin trading oppurtunities to start and end the day.
- we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the food court!
-we get a kick out of the Mickey and Stitch wake up call.
-we enjoy the daily housekeeping with towel animals and the occasional treat.
-we dont use the buses all the time, but its handy to have that option a few minute walk from our room.
-FREE DINING!!!! we went last August for two weeks. Our room was 102.42 a night, BUT we averaged almost 150.00 per day of free food with four people eating two counter service and two snacks a day. Now that is a value that cant be beat!!!!!
Of course, if your happy with your off site condo and all the extra space that affords, then all the above perks I mentioned will mean nothing to you. As I always say to each their own, what means a lot to one person may mean nothing to another!!!

OMG, I am so glad that I am not the only person out there that watches Stacey over and over and over again. I just hate that they changed it, I liked the older music.

I am 48 and have been going to WDW most of my life. I always like it, but since I live only 2.5 hours away it was mostly day trips.

About 5 years ago, some friends from out of state asked us to meet them there. They were staying at PORS. So we stayed there so we could be close to them. Well that was all she wrote. I won't stay off property now, I didn't know what I was missing. To me, it isn't really WDW unless I stay on property. Others feel differently, but for me I want to stay on property.

 

[pat fan]

-we LOVE to watch "Stacey's must-do" show, as well as a few other promotional Disney shows and the daily park info loop. Sometimes we go to sleep watching these.

We love the cartoon lops! Last year are favorite was the "Working for Peanuts". Even now, once in a while someone randomly busts out with "wa wa wa wa wa...Delores!!" and we all crack up! I think we saw that cartoon a hundred times last summer

 

[si-am]

For me, it's all about the transportation. I just love parking my car and not having to look at it again for a week!

I also enjoy EMH.

 

[eliza61]

Personally for me, I can't do the values. Sorry no matter how much pixie dust you throw at me, 2 6ft 3 boys and one dh over 6 ft tall are not going to fit and once again, if we hate our room, all the emh's and wake up calls is not going to make me feel the magic.

I've felt just as much "Disney magic" off site as I have on site. Just depends on how I want to travel. We stayed at the new Waldolf Astoria and let me tell you, Disney should be shot for even using the word "deluxe" on their resorts. And let me tell you, their shuttles have gotten me back way quicker than just about every disney bus. let's not mention that its cheaper than 3 of the disney deluxes.

For me, many considerations go into making a disney bubble. some times on site wins, some times offsite wins.

I own dvc so on site is far less expensive for me, especially since I brought many years ago.

and truthfully with the cutbacks and horrible food onsite. My disney bubble is getting smaller and smaller. I still love the parks, they are what gets me coming back. it may also be that I'm an annual visitor so I notice a lot of things most visitors don't

Op, if you really want objectivity, ask this same question on the Orlando forum or even the community forum. remember you're on a disney site so pretty much every one here is in love with the mouse, so can you honestly say we're objective? Check out other travel sites