To cabin or not to cabin? That is the question...

[disneymami]

Alas....I am in a quandry. I'm planning my WDW vacation for Feb 2011 (its only 14 months away you know )

I've been puzzled as to stay at FW or rent a condo. My twin DD's are aching to camp. We would take the cabins. They want to ride horses and enjoy the campfire songs. Sounds great. But really? $340 a night for a cabin in Feb? Not only that but it sounds like we would have to rent a cart just to get around. Only ferry service to MK but bus for everything else. Hm.......

If we get the buy 4 get 3 free deal at that time, it sounds like a better deal. But we'd have to buy a 4 day park pass. Staying at FW would be so much fun. I'd rather have 2 days at the park and the rest at the campground.
Am I just being to penny pinching?

And when I see the prices of all those off site condos like 2 bedrooms for $150 night. I think WOW, what a great deal. All that room for less than half the price of a FW cabin. BUT we'd have to rent a car and drive ourselves to the parks and just be happy with whatever the condo has to offer (probably just a pool.)

So, cabin at FW at those prices but easy access to the parks?
OR, off site condo at cheaper prices but needing to drive ourselves to the parks.

Do I actually save any money really?

 

[m1tchells]

Have you thought about renting an RV? There are people who rent their personal RV to you and they deliver and do all the setup and break down. You just reserve your site and everything else is ready for you. I would think that it would be a much cheaper alternative.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

There is no doubt that you would save money (a lot) by staying off-site.

But, the Fort is magical. To me, staying on site is a big part of the WDW experience.

Unless you are planning to visit during President's Day weekend, you should be able to get a much lower rate on a cabin than $340 a night. I just was looking at passholder rates on the cabins for $189 a night for next month (November, 2009). Perhaps you want to consider becoming a passholder? But, those deals typically do not come out until a few months before your stay (they apparently use these enticements to fill empty rooms).


TCD

 

[disneymami]

There is no doubt that you would save money (a lot) by staying off-site.

But, the Fort is magical. To me, staying on site is a big part of the WDW experience.

Unless you are planning to visit during President's Day weekend, you should be able to get a much lower rate on a cabin than $340 a night. I just was looking at passholder rates on the cabins for $189 a night for next month (November, 2009). Perhaps you want to consider becoming a passholder? But, those deals typically do not come out until a few months before your stay (they apparently use these enticements to fill empty rooms).


TCD

I guess I could tinker with buying an AP but I know I can only get down to WDW only once every couple of years. I live in NY. And what you say is quite true. Staying on site is part of the magic. Who said a WDW was cheap anyway?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I guess I could tinker with buying an AP but I know I can only get down to WDW only once every couple of years. I live in NY. And what you say is quite true. Staying on site is part of the magic. Who said a WDW was cheap anyway?

Even though you live in NY, think about buying one pass. If you are planning to come for seven nights, you could possibly save $1000 on the cabin, plus you wouldn't have to buy park tickets for one of your party members. Consider all the options. The only bad part about this, is you won't know if you will be able to snag a passholder rate until a few months before your trip.

TCD

 

[laura-k]

Staying on site is so nice after the busy day at the parks the peace and quiet are
wonderful ,there are so many things to do my kids bike ride ,fish , swim in the pool
and don't forget the movie and smores and the water mice -
oh there is also the hoop-de-doo and the hey rides
All this makes for special activities to do in the afternoon or a couple
of days you take a break from the parks but i would think you would
still want to get to each park once too !
Buy 4 get 3 might be a very nice option -
Good Luck
Laura

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

If you are a AAA member you can often get discounts up to about 20% depending on when you want to stay.

 

[tloveswdw]

We love the cabins, and are going back to them, here is why.

1. The park transportation is great- we were there in June and it was never an issue. We did have a golf cart, (we viewed the cost as part of the whole package, and our extra instead of a tee shirt/etc), but, we never waited more than 15 minutes, and the boat to MK... well that is magical

2. The grounds are fabulous, so much to explore

3. Pool is perfect- just enough extra to keep all ages entertained

4. Cabins kitchen is great! We cooked full meals, had room for soda and beer by the case, and snacks... well, we recouped lots of savings there.

5. Room in the cabins...and, a nice size bath. Not palatial, but even with 6 of us, there was room!

6. On site. The magic, no car

7. Laundry As the do-er of all laundry, it was fabulously easy

Off site is savings... but, it is nearly impossible to 'compare' it to the cabins

Keep your eyes open to the savings... I get a new email all the time with the next savings. I think in Feb, they will be dealing.

 

[Skyw]

I haven't paid full price for the cabins yet. I love staying there but I really don't know if I would for the full price. It is a lot of money. I started staying there in 04 and have found discounts everytime. I would suggest making ressies where you really want to stay and then try to get a discount.

I would always recommend staying on property then off. It is so much easier and a lot of fun. But if you look on some of the other forums, you will see that others prefer to stay off site. Personally, the only way I would stay off site, is if we went on a large family gathering.

 

[jebiford29]

Mami, sorry to rain on your parade, but you're looking at 15-16 months out, not 14.

 

[disneymami]

Garsh, I think I was just a little too optimistic

 

[disneymami]

Ok, you have really convinced me. The cabins... here we come....
But how does someone snag a discount during president's week? That must be quite difficult.

 

[retired and happy]

Unless you know something concrete, I'd be skeptical of the size and quality of a condo for $150. Besides I've been to WDW sincw 1974 and only stayed off property twice. And since 1976 all have been to the Fort. It truly is a great place to serve as a base of operations, offering transportation, activities, laundry, comfort stations, convenience, etc. Ok I'm prejudiced, but when I can no longer stay at the Fort, I probably will be too old to care, or go.

And you have an option of taking the boat to MK, then monorail to EPCOT or busses to other parks.

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

We are trying out the cabins for the first time this trip. They are a bit pricey, but still cheaper than the Villa resorts

 

[eandesmom]

Last year the buy 4 get 3 was good during President's week!

We used it for our cabin stay. It made it MUCH more affordable. Most of our nights were peak rate so it really helped us out and it sounds like you are looking at that time frame...mid winter break! In our case, the savings basically paid for the dining plan. And the dining plan saved us another several hundred on what we'd have spent OOP. You are correct, you will need park tickets but I think you only have to have a 1 day park hopper for it to qualify. Not positive but I'd check into it.

We did not rent a car for the majority of the trip and had basically zero issues with transportation. If you stay in one of the loops closer to the outpost you can just walk to the bus which we did almost every time. That said the internal busses run constantly. We did not do a golf cart. 6 won't fit easily on it and it just was an extra expense we didn't think we needed.

Bear in mind the boat also takes you to the Contemporary or WL so it opens up dining options and you can do boat to MK and then monorail to Epcot.

Yes. A house or a condo is cheaper. Having done both (huge house off site through All Star) and then a week ON property...you just can't compare. We will give up the room and the space to be on property from now on.

For a family of 6 our only other options were a villa, or 2 rooms at another mod, neither of which worked well for us. We loved the cabins! If you want to read a TR about a cabin trip during President's week just click on the link in my siggie "How EMH saved our trip".

 

[tam626]

We just love the cabins. I can't imagine staying anywhere else. I even checked the prices at one of the value resorts but it's just not worth it. We love to just chill in the cabin after our ds is asleep. It's like two vacations in one. I love the woods but don't like to camp in a tent so this is awesome.

 

[disneymami]

Unless you know something concrete, I'd be skeptical of the size and quality of a condo for $150. Besides I've been to WDW sincw 1974 and only stayed off property twice. And since 1976 all have been to the Fort. It truly is a great place to serve as a base of operations, offering transportation, activities, laundry, comfort stations, convenience, etc. Ok I'm prejudiced, but when I can no longer stay at the Fort, I probably will be too old to care, or go.

And you have an option of taking the boat to MK, then monorail to EPCOT or busses to other parks.

I really can't wait to get to the fort. Our trip is not until Feb 2011 which seems an enternity. But I'm now very much convinced that FW is the way to go. I can't get the idea out of my head. My girls are just going to love it. The ferry to MK is the best way to arrive. And since EPCOT is on the plan too, then I'll just transfer to the monorail. I love this idea.
Thanks for the encouragement.