Thinking of switching to offsite - need advice

[deedeetoo]

We are currently booked in 2 rooms at Wilderness Lodge for 8 days in June. Was hoping for AP rates, but they came out starting July 5. A little too late for us. I'm booked at AAA rate so total cost is about $4000.

I just priced out switching to a 2BR at Marriott Cypress Harbor and renting a car (need a big SUV for all of us) and total comes to about $3000. So we can save $1000 by moving a few miles up the road.

My biggest issue is that my 71yo Mom will be with us and she wasn't going to tour with us the whole time. There were days we figured she would head back to the hotel early by herself for a break. Also, when we go to the waterparks she would hang out at the hotel until we came back to change. Then she would go to to the parks with us later in the day. It just seems that this is so much easier when staying onsite. I'm not sure how we would work this if our hotel was more distant.

So here are my questions...When staying offsite, do you go ever back to your hotel during the day? Is running back and forth as much of a pain as I am imagining it to be? If one of your party needs to rest during the day, how do handle it?

 

[gjw007]

I stay offsite more than onsite. I actually prefer the offsite. If you use Disney transportation, it can take much longer to go from place to place than if you just drive a car. Parking the car at times can be a hassle though. The resorts that are close to WDW shouldn't be a problem driving back and forth unless you are traveling the entire path of Disney which in itself can be long.

 

[Brian Noble]

We stay offsite, and go back and forth all the time. If you have a good location, it's often faster than taking the busses, and no more than an extra 5 minutes or so compared to driving to various on-site locations. I'm a huge fan of staying offsite. But, unless you have more than one car (and more than one driver in each party), splitting up is going to be complicated. For you, I think the Disney transportation is going to be worth a lot.

If cost is an issue, you might consider either switching to two Moderates or perhaps a Ft. Wilderness cabin.

 

[Gillian]

When we had a group that needed to split up (one pregnant person, one older), we got 2 cars instead of one big one. We did have to pay for parking twice, but the flexibility was worth it. And it is often less to rent 2 cars than 1 large van or SUV. YOu have to have 2 drivers though.

You only pay once per day for WDW parking, if that helps.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Off-site is easiest in the off season. The traffic to get in during June could take some time. Also you will lose the EMHs. With the situation that you describe, it would seem easier to stay on-site with the needs of your Mom. Could you switch to a cheaper resort and save the $1000 that way?

 

[Anthony1971]

If you are trying to save a few $$ why don't you try Port Orleans RS or FQ they are both nice and cheaper then FWL. They are of similar nature to FWL as far as the relaxation is concerned although it is a moderate resort so some will be sacraficed but a really nice resort for the price....
Good Luck

 

[Kay1]

I find it easy to drive to and from the parks while offsite but we sometimes take day trips which involve an hour and a half either way! Something you may consider is whether your mother would prefer to hang in a hotel room or in a condo. Everyone is different but I would prefer to stay behind in a condo or rental home . . . maybe putter around in the kitchen or something.

 

[Joy]

Have you considered renting points from a DVC member? Old Key West has the lowest points for a 2 bedroom (it will sleep 8). For one week in a 2 bedroom between June 1-10 it would cost 263 points (Members usually rent points for $10 to $12 a point) and for June 11-30 it would be 296 points. I'm not sure if you will find any availability, but it is worth looking into. You could also get 2 studios. Check out the Rent/Trade board.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[mbb]

Have you considered renting points from a DVC member? Old Key West has the lowest points for a 2 bedroom (it will sleep 8). For one week in a 2 bedroom between June 1-10 it would cost 263 points (Members usually rent points for $10 to $12 a point) and for June 11-30 it would be 296 points. I'm not sure if you will find any availability, but it is worth looking into. You could also get 2 studios. Check out the Rent/Trade board.

Good luck with your decision!

Have a boo :
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29
..it's a trust thing, though, and if you're not comfortable "renting" points from a DVC owner, I think I would switch ressies to a mod resort for the comfort of your mom (and your peace of mind )

When we took my parents in 2005 (well, we always take my parents, but that year my mom had to be in her wheelchair) and we had rented a house for our first 2 weeks, and then headed to OKW for our 3rd week.

The 3rd week turned out to be the real vacation We didn't have to worry about getting dropped off and picked up again for the day -so mom and dad could have the car, they just hopped on the wheelchair friendly buses when they were too tired to go anymore

HTH, and have a wonderful vacation!

 

[Rella Bella]

Wilderness Lodge is a 4 or 5 star hotel! You could save the same $ or more just moving to a moderate. They are still nice hotels.

I just like staying on property -- although I've done both -- I don't like have to do traffic. I also don't like all the extra decisions you have to make. The more people involved the more you're likely to hear "but I want to..."

I know that some people like all the options but our first several trips we didn't ever leave Disney until it was time to go back to the airport and we loved it. Since we've branched out we seen some other things but it's just not the laidback, relaxed vacation we had when we stayed put.

I also like to mention that the first time you drive at Disney it can be a bit confusing. We did the around and around several times and that was on our 4th or 5th trip.

You'll have fun either way but don't make the price difference the reason you stay off -- look at all the pro's and con's.

 

[deedeetoo]

Thanks for the input everyone.

We looked at renting DVC. For about the same price as our 2 rooms at WL we could have rented a 2BR Villa but we just couldn't get past the trust factor. We just couldn't bring ourselves to send thousands of dollars to someone who is just a name on the internet.

We also have been considering downgrading to POFQ. They have rooms open for our stay and that would save us more than going to the Cypress Harbour but I really don't think it is right for us. We like the queen beds and balconies of a deluxe. Also if my Mom does spend time in the hotel she won't feel trapped in a little hotel room. At WL she can go shopping, grab a bite to eat, or just sit in the lobby and people watch all without leaving the air conditioning.

Rella Bella, it's funny you mention driving round and round. Many years ago, we stayed offsite and that is my main memory of it. We never could figure out which way to go to get to a park, or to get back out to go back to the hotel. We spent more time driving in circles...

 

[Sherri]

We are currently booked in 2 rooms at Wilderness Lodge for 8 days in June. Was hoping for AP rates, but they came out starting July 5. A little too late for us. I'm booked at AAA rate so total cost is about $4000.

I just priced out switching to a 2BR at Marriott Cypress Harbor and renting a car (need a big SUV for all of us) and total comes to about $3000. So we can save $1000 by moving a few miles up the road.

My biggest issue is that my 71yo Mom will be with us and she wasn't going to tour with us the whole time. There were days we figured she would head back to the hotel early by herself for a break. Also, when we go to the waterparks she would hang out at the hotel until we came back to change. Then she would go to to the parks with us later in the day. It just seems that this is so much easier when staying onsite. I'm not sure how we would work this if our hotel was more distant.

So here are my questions...When staying offsite, do you go ever back to your hotel during the day? Is running back and forth as much of a pain as I am imagining it to be? If one of your party needs to rest during the day, how do handle it?

Make sure you get a AAA parking pass if you decide to do this. This way you can park in the very front section of the parks, right behind the handicapped section of parking. This may make going to your car easier and less of a time consumer. We have stayed both on and off property, we never have left mid day while off property.

 

[Reflection]

Wilderness Lodge is a 4 or 5 star hotel! .....

Wilderness Lodge, albeit a nice hotel, is most definitely not a 5 star hotel.

To the OP, as for driving back and from forth from an offsite location to one of the WDW parks, I've not found this to be a problem. Given that I'm, shall we say, navigationally challenged , I have no trouble getting around WDW from on and off property, and I've not experienced the traffic many people talk about--we usually go in June or August. I have experienced long waits for buses, which is why I rent car, even when staying onsite, because I can around faster and rather not rely on WDW transportaton. For the WDW portion of our Orlando visits, we do a combination of offsite and onsite. There are really nice time share condo rental options in Lake Buena Vista, which is right outside WDW. I would think your mom might be more comfortable in a spacious condo than in a small hotel room.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[sympatico]

We've never stayed on-site but friends of ours were there this year and we went around with them for a couple of days. We waited until they were picked up by the bus and then just followed it back to their hotel.The time it took them to wait for buses we could have been back and forth to their hotel 3 times in our car. We are from a small village in Nova Scotia and have found no problems driving around Kissimmee and Disney. I'm sure if we can do it, anyone who lives in a town or city would have no problems. We've been there a dozen times. We usually stay in a condo or rental house with a pool. It's great. You don't have a lot of people to deal with at a house, just your own family. Very quiet and lots of room. The sub-divisions around Emerald Island, Formosa Gardens, Windsor Palms and Hills are within 5 min. or so of Disney and if you take Sherberth Rd it's very easy. We travelled back to our house after being at MGM in the morning and then went to MK in the afternoon. No big deal. Just remember you'll be running back and forth anyway but you'll have to wait for buses when you're onsite. Besides that you have more options for eating: either at your house or from the many places along 192, which are alot less expensive than Disney.

 

[Lisa P.]

We've found it to take a similar amount of time (sometimes less, sometimes more) to drive from/to nearby offsite resorts as take Disney transport from/to onsite hotels. Marriott Cypress Harbour is closer to Sea World than to WDW. So add a good 10-15 minutes driving time each way in June, if this is the offsite you are choosing. Beautiful resort but not really one of the closer ones, IMHO.

Also, you mentioned preferring the queen beds in the deluxe hotels vs. full size beds in the moderates. The rooms at MCH are nice but they don't have queen beds. The master bedroom has a king bed and the 2nd BR has a full size bed and a full sleeper sofa - plus a queen sleeper sofa in the LR, of course.

Perhaps you'd consider Sunterra Cypress Pointe Resort or Cypress Pointe Grand Villas - 2 sections of the same resort. The 3BR/2bath condos at this timeshare resort offer more comfortable sleeping arrangments for a larger group and this resort is located 2 blocks from Crossings Shopping Center. This is only a mile from DTD - a shorter drive to the parks actually than from Disney All Stars hotel. The master BR and 3rd BR each have their own king beds and the 2nd BR has 2 twin beds - plus the typical sleeper sofa in the LR. This resort is not on a lake, like MCH is, but it's still quite pleasant. Being so close, it's also a reasonably cheap one-way taxi ride ($10-$15 tops). This resort is sometimes offered at VERY reasonable rental rates through some of the wholesalers, like HotelKingdom.com at less than $150 per night. If they have your dates available and you rent your large vehicle or 2 cars, you could potentially save more than $2,000 over the price of 2 rooms at WL. It's a nice place too. HTH.

 

[spiceycat]

the Marriott Cypress Harbour is nice.... very nice!!!

but for your trip offsite I would also suggest something closer.

Cypress Pointe - already listed by Lisa

Sheraton Vistana Resort

Silver Lake resort - are all very close to WDW.

the time to get these will be less than taking a bus to WDW - okay not all the time - if the bus is coming up to - but lots of the time.

here are some sites with rental from owners (cheaper)
http://www.myresortnetwork.com/rentals-state.asp?state=Florida&order=SortName&sort=ASC&offset=400

http://www.tug1.org/tugads/1-1sposted1.html

last minute
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16

if you prefer to rent from rental site
www.hotelkingdom.com

www.hotelmartusa.com

 

[HappyLawyer]

i say offsite but i am biased,
check into skyauction.com for some good deals,
good luck

 

[deedeetoo]

Thanks for the suggestions. One of the reasons I choose Cypress Harbour as an alternative is that they had availability. My trip is only 6 weeks away so I'm having trouble finding places right now. Cypress Point has no rooms. Neither does Gaylord Palms or Sheraton Vistana.

We do want a place that feels like resort, and not just a basic hotel on a strip with a bunch of other hotels. Somehow a pool home does not appeal to me at all. I think it wouldn't feel like a vacation.

I guess I am leaning toward staying put at the WL.

 

[CTtwins]

We just returned from a rented OKW vacation - we used a time share company that not only sells DVC contracts - but also rents out points. Cost wise, it was the going rate of $10 a point, only added cost was FL sales tax.

It worked out wonderfully - trust wise I felt very comfortable that I had a contract with the company and not an individual.. (and I'm married to an attorney!) and the 2-bedrooms at OKW was really great.

Feel free to contact me if you want to know who I dealt with.

good luck!

 

[spiceycat]

you are talking 6/23 right?

cypress pointe has villa on RCI extra vacation - not sure - but I think you are going through II?

anyway - Marriott Cypress Harbour is a beautiful resort. have you seem this website
http://www.marriottvillas.com/default.jsp
or this one
http://www.vacationclub.com/resorts/cy/default.jsp