Ugh! This drives me nuts!

[robinb]

I agree on the splitting up thing, but we've never had a big issue with it. One time we rented two compact cars (cheaper than 1 minivan, we're a family of 6), and split up that way. We've also had one parent take the younger two bck for a break, while the other parent stayed with the teens, and met up again later. So, it can be done, but it's more complicated than, say, letting some people take a bus back at park closing.

Didn't you have to pay double parking too?

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Didn't you have to pay double parking too?

We had AP's at the time, IIRC. Unfortunately, they didn't make sense for this next trip, but we have a minivan lined up for a reasonable price. And on the 2-car trip, I think it would have STILL been cheaper to pay double parking, versus renting a minivan. For some reason, there were no deals to be had that particular time.

 

[Teacher03]

I agree, and it is what sold us on Windsor Hills. We stayed there in 2009 and I couldn't believe how easy it was to get to the parks. We are planning another trip in 2012 and will stay in Windsor Hills again. I love Disney as much as the next person, but I also value my time and LOVE saving money.

 

[MamaJessie]

Well, I have done both. I was actually worried about staying offsite after hearing this over and over again here on the DIS. We stayed at a condo in Windsor Hills. We had our own car. Door to door to the MK- 20 minutes. Epcot and DHS- 15 minutes. Animal Kingdom in 10.

Thanks for the info. headed to WH for our first time in September and was starting to worry. I have read that TTC makes getting to MK a real pain. Happy to read you gave it a review of 20 minutes! Especially with reservations at AK one morning and MK one morning it is good to know I won't have to plan on my usual 45 minutes of transportation.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thanks for the info. headed to WH for our first time in September and was starting to worry. I have read that TTC makes getting to MK a real pain. Happy to read you gave it a review of 20 minutes! Especially with reservations at AK one morning and MK one morning it is good to know I won't have to plan on my usual 45 minutes of transportation.

The TTC/MK combo does make getting to the MK take a bit longer, but I never thought of it as a pain. Being able to ride the monorail or take the ferry every time was fun for us, it was like the first ride of the day. And if you get there early, you can get a close parking spot. Sometimes we park at the TTC just so we can take the monorail into Epcot, which is a really nice ride.

 

[dtum]

The TTC/MK combo does make getting to the MK take a bit longer, but I never thought of it as a pain. Being able to ride the monorail or take the ferry every time was fun for us, it was like the first ride of the day. And if you get there early, you can get a close parking spot.

Does the TTC run early enough to get you to rope drop at MK? We always enjoy riding the ferry across the lake.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Our TA recommended parking at Epcot and taking the monorail to MK for easier/moe fun transportation. I don't know that it would be any quicker, and I haven't actually tried it. her thought was, it woud be easier to get out of the Epcot lot at the end of the day. We may try this one day--DS5 is a monorail fiend--and I'll let you know if it's any quicker or easier.

When we went to AK, it took us 15 minutes from our front door to locking the car. But, that's because some idiot missed the AAA parking and had to circle the entire lot twice.

 

[tiggerplus5]

Thanks for the info. headed to WH for our first time in September and was starting to worry. I have read that TTC makes getting to MK a real pain. Happy to read you gave it a review of 20 minutes! Especially with reservations at AK one morning and MK one morning it is good to know I won't have to plan on my usual 45 minutes of transportation.

TTC can bottleneck later in the morning when regular guests finally arrive (think non rope drop tourists). You have two options, ferry and monorail. If you time it right, the ferry loads fairly quickly.

I can tell you that the buses are not necessarily magical. Our last trip was the last week of August 2010. It was busy but not necessarily crowded. One night we were returning from dinner at the Poly and it started raining. It seemed like the entire Magic Kingdom emptied out and we waited in line at the bus stop for a long time back to Pop. We arrived in line around 9 p.m. and opened our hotel room around 11 p.m. Waited and waited and waited. Not magical at all. My Dniece was holding a sleeping toddler the whole time.

And while I understand that wheel chair guests need special accommodations, it just takes a long time. So if you don't care about time, the buses are the way to go. We were waiting for well over an hour and wheelchairs/scooters could just walk up and get on the bus immediately. The line of people would groan every time it happened.

Downtown Disney has very slow bus service also. We were late for a dinner ressie because the buses run very slowly. We waited 50 minutes for an AK bus. It was crazy!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I can tell you that the buses are not necessarily magical. Our last trip was the last week of August 2010. It was busy but not necessarily crowded. One night we were returning from dinner at the Poly and it started raining. It seemed like the entire Magic Kingdom emptied out and we waited in line at the bus stop for a long time back to Pop. We arrived in line around 9 p.m. and opened our hotel room around 11 p.m. Waited and waited and waited. Not magical at all. My Dniece was holding a sleeping toddler the whole time.

And while I understand that wheel chair guests need special accommodations, it just takes a long time. So if you don't care about time, the buses are the way to go. We were waiting for well over an hour and wheelchairs/scooters could just walk up and get on the bus immediately. The line of people would groan every time it happened.

I have had the same experience. At the end of the night after a parade you may leave the park at 9:30 and not be back to you room until 11 (or later) if you are taking Disney busses. Understandably so, the waits at the end of the days are very long. Add to that all the sore feet, cranky people and tired kids and we were more than thrilled to just jump in our car and head straight back to the condo.

And, not to be insensitive, but the abundance of scooters on the busses really has turned us off. Our first trip onsite in 2002 this was not a problem. By 2007 every time we got on a bus we had to wait for the driver to load one (or more) scooters which takes a lot of extra time and takes up a bunch of room, meaning it was nearly impossible to get a seat.

Our 2009 trip we took Grandma and we rented a scooter for her for the week. We did not want to deal with the scooter and the busses, which was part of the reason we went with offsite and our own car.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

I was on the fence about staying in WDW like we always do next time we go or staying offsite. Offsite is looking better and better. With the way flights are right now, we may drive anyways and are thinking of staying at Buena Vista Suites. Our dds cannot sleep together and instead of hauling an air mattress with us, we'll have a sofabed. Anyone have any experiences staying at this hotel?

 

[jkc0325]

So nice to see this thread!!! We are staying off site at Caribe and really looking forward to it. But, every time people ask where we are staying, I end up having to explain why we chose to stay off site. It gets annoying. I always get the same thing "oh...well I suppose...but NOTHING beats staying on property" I have been to WDW 4 times and never stayed on site. I managed to have a wonderful time all four trips.

We stayed at the Nick hotel last trip and we had a 5-10 minute commute to the parks. I can live with that!

 

[keishashadow]

we're DVC, stay resort when deals are out and have enjoyed offsite deals too (sheraton vistana is vastly under-rated), but and it's jmho i miss the onsite 'vibe', just isn't the same for me.

i'm sure a rental home is lovely, it's just that we have our own pool in the backyard and i really don't want to cook anything (because i'm on vacation and that's what i do every day at home). Having a full kitchen staring @ me makes me feel guilty, an efficiency I can ignore.

that said, even when staying onsite, if i can afford to rent a car i do so vs dealing w/ME

Have to laugh when i read snotty posts though as to values/deluxe onsite & offsite accommodationsjust consider the source and book whatever works for you.

 

[Planogirl]

So nice to see this thread!!! We are staying off site at Caribe and really looking forward to it. But, every time people ask where we are staying, I end up having to explain why we chose to stay off site. It gets annoying. I always get the same thing "oh...well I suppose...but NOTHING beats staying on property" I have been to WDW 4 times and never stayed on site. I managed to have a wonderful time all four trips.

We stayed at the Nick hotel last trip and we had a 5-10 minute commute to the parks. I can live with that!

I have stayed onsite but staying offsite is fun too. I get the same questions and comments and I don't even bother to respond.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

we're DVC, stay resort when deals are out and have enjoyed offsite deals too (sheraton vistana is vastly under-rated), but and it's jmho i miss the onsite 'vibe', just isn't the same for me.

i'm sure a rental home is lovely, it's just that we have our own pool in the backyard and i really don't want to cook anything (because i'm on vacation and that's what i do every day at home). Having a full kitchen staring @ me makes me feel guilty, an efficiency I can ignore.

that said, even when staying onsite, if i can afford to rent a car i do so vs dealing w/ME

Have to laugh when i read snotty posts though as to values/deluxe onsite & offsite accommodationsjust consider the source and book whatever works for you.

If you like onsite, and it works for you, you're good by me! The people who crack me up are the "onsite at all costs" types, who are cooking ramen in their coffee pot and quesdaillas on their irons. To me, that's no vacation. But, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the perks of onsite.

 

[Tikitoi]

If you like onsite, and it works for you, you're good by me! The people who crack me up are the "onsite at all costs" types, who are cooking ramen in their coffee pot and quesdaillas on their irons. To me, that's no vacation. But, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the perks of onsite.

LOL!

And not to put ones down who do that, but I agree.

 

[Cotton's Parrot]

I can see the benefits of both onsite and offsite. We're offsite people because I don't mind, and actually prefer, to drive ourselves around. But for people who don't plan to leave WDW during their stay and just want to use WDW transportation, more power to 'em! I, unfortunately, don't have the patience for public transportation and my DW has nearly a 2 hour commute into the city every day on train and bus, so there's no way I'm making her ride on buses the whole time we're at WDW.

 

[LisaTC]

I can see the benefits of both onsite and offsite. We're offsite people because I don't mind, and actually prefer, to drive ourselves around. But for people who don't plan to leave WDW during their stay and just want to use WDW transportation, more power to 'em! I, unfortunately, don't have the patience for public transportation and my DW has nearly a 2 hour commute into the city every day on train and bus, so there's no way I'm making her ride on buses the whole time we're at WDW.

Touche! You say tomato, I say tomaaaato! I think it's whatever works, what your price point is, how much you want to get away from the fray at the end of any day, etc. Many variables. I'm full of love for both onsite stayers and off site stayers...I don't think there's a right or only way. I'm always looking for a deal, so next trip we may hunt around offsite and see what we can find. No biggie!