The Perennial Question-Off site or On?

[Disney Debbie]

I'm going to post this on the resort board and the other Orlando board!

We're staunch On Site people - usually! But this June we're going to bring our teen age niece and nephew with us for 5 days. That will make us a party of 5 - it's a whole lot easier to stay on-site with just 3!!!

Soooo - I'm seeing 3 bedroom condo's on Dreams website for $105.00 a night for the first week of June. That's really hard to resist. My choice is between doing something like that - or maybe a suite in DD - as opposed to getting 2 All Star's rooms - hoping I can get a code to keep the price down.

I'd like to hear from those of you who've maybe done both in the past or have made this choice for yourselves. I really like the idea of on-site for the convenience - but I don't relish the idea of squishing 5 in a room - including a teen age boy who's NOT my son! And I want to keep it affordable!

Opinions and advice please!

 

[Robinrs]

Hi, Disney Debbie!!

How NICE to see you in my stomping grounds!

I am TOTALLY a space person, and mostly it's just me and my son! That accompanied with being a single Mom, onsite suites are out of the picture for me....

I stayed at some AWESOME properties offsite and on, and never stay at the same one twice! I like variety so I try them all!

You can't go wrong with Dreams. They do a great job getting everything from accommodations to PS's.

If you need anymore help or suggestions, email me!

Robinrs

 

[hercamore]

HI Debbie,

You are probably going to need 4 beds with 3 teenagers along. That is not as easy as it sounds to get for a good price! Believe me I know. My ds and dd are l8 and 2l and we need space!

You need to ask yourself are you going to let these kids go off by themselves to the parks? If you are then, i would recommend staying onsite in two rooms or a 2 br DVC unit so they can utilize disney transp. Next best offisite transpotation is dt disney hotels. You can get a suite at the Doubletree, but that's gonna be 2 doubles and a pullout only.

What we did last trip and are going to do again is split our stay between AKL (l queen and 2 bunks) and a 2 br suite offisite. Last year we stayed at the Marriot Residence Inn LBV. Very nice hotel, 1 king, 2 queens and a pullout with free bkfst. We had our own rental car for transpo. OUr next trip I am considering a 3 br unit at a timeshare or a 3 br condo in one of the close subdivisions to disney.

Herc..

 

[crazyme5kids]

I have never stayed on site at Disney, so I don't know if my opinion is one you can go by. We stayed off site (obviously), and I found getting to all the Disney parks painless, the roadways are so well laid out. We did have a car, so I don't know how it would be using hotel transportation. As far as the kids going off on their own, that was not a problem either. We would just agree on a place to meet at a certain time. I liked staying where we had a kitchen and a washer/dryer, made life so much easier for us.

 

[Disney Debbie]

Hi everyone - and thanks for your replies - Keep them coming folks!

 

[Fauster]

We stayed on-site at the Polynesian for our first trip to WDW. Our kids were 5 and 3 and we did a 4 day, 4 park blitz including one night at MVMCP until midnight. Hit the EE park each day and returned to our room for naps or pool time every afternoon.

We had a great stay and loved the proximity to the parks and the landscaping / theming. Some of our best memories were the boat rides across the lagoon when returning from the MK. The cost for all of this convenience? OUCH! But at the time, we decided it was worth it.

This year's trip will be off-site for a number of reasons. We're staying longer and spending two or three days outside of WDW. Throw in a free breakfast buffet and a suite and it's not hard to feel good about our decision.

Bottom line is that there are benefits (and liabilities) to staying on-site and off-site. Every family has to make their own decisions. Therefore, there is no right or wrong answer to the debate. The important thing is to have fun!

 

[Boots]

I don't know if I will be much help or not as I have only stayed on site. I go with getting the connecting rooms at one of the on site resorts. Last time we went our DD and son in law went too. I enjoy being with them but thought we would do better with a break away from them at night. I requested connecting rooms and had no problem getting them. I also did this when my parents went. They will tell you they can not quarantee connecting rooms but we had them both times. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Jane E.]

We have two teenaged boys who refuse to share a bed in a hotel. The last time we did hotel rooms, we regretted it. This year we rented a house for the first time. We found it beneficial in many ways. First, there was enough space for everyone. My sons each had their own room with a TV/VCR so there was no fighting about watching programs. If they didn't want to watch the familyroom tv they just went in to their rooms. Second, having a kitchen was a great perk. We stalked the pantry/fridge with oreos, milk & pizza so we had plenty to munch on. We also kept our bottled water cold in the fridge for the parks.

That said, our sons don't spend a lot of time in the parks anymore. We go every year & they've gotten parked out. We get up early for the parks & by 3 or 4pm have ridden all the rides we can handle. Since we spend a lot of time out of the parks I worry less about them in the home than I would if they would wander around a huge hotel. Dh and I had a vacation too, since the boys refused to eat out with us. We'd get them fast food and dh & I would go out for dinner. Going to the parks with teenagers is a whole different ball game than taking them when they were little kidz. I really miss those days!

 

[denisem]

I've become a MAJOR fan of rental homes...as mentioned, the flexibility/privacy of multiple bedrooms/baths and kitchen facilities over a coupla hotel rooms can't be beat. We rented a condo once, but found a private pool home was well worth the slightly higher cost/day.

Another plus is convenient laundry facilities (less packing - throw in a load of wash while lying out at your private pool/spa!) Our home this past July even had a rec room in the garage: pool table, electronic darts and various kid's toys.

Of course, you'll need a car. And while it may sound inconvenient/intimidating to those who always stay onsite and use WDW trans., it's fairly easy to navigate if you research the area you rent (keep within 4-5 miles of maingate, off 192 if possible).

Hope this helps - have fun!

 

[Disney Debbie]

Thanks again guys. A car isn't a problem - we'll be driving. I think we'll probably book something off-site and see if we get a good code for two AS rooms once we get closer to time. I'm mainly concerned about having two bathrooms!! We don't plan on cooking in the room at all so while a kitchen would be nice for snacks - it's not mandatory.

My DD is a Disney nut and the other two have never been so I think we'll be in the parks most of the time!