Wanna Join My "Offsite Support Group"?

[ohiomom28]

Yahoooo!!!! Count me in!!

 

[HappyLawyer]

Magic is what you make of it, no matter where you stay, i love offsite so much more then onsite, i like not being restricted and enjoying more of florida,

 

[Mainebound]

We love both onsite and offsite, but I agree about being tired of being pitied for the offsite stays. Count us in the group. Can't wait for our OFFSITE trip in MAY!

 

[MinnieMom]

I've had the onsite and offsite experiences and I actually prefer offsite as well.

I would like to do an onsite again just to give the dining plan a try, but that isn't nearly as important to me as having my own private pool, private bedroom, and extra bathroom!

We stay offsite more than on and we rent a house 3 miles from the main gate. We usually get the same house . . . LOVE it! It has a very large pool, 5 bedrooms & 4 bathrooms to really spread out, hot tub, kiddie pool, and everything we need to feel like we're at home.

Staying in a house like that is more of a luxury to me than being in a cramped room with two kids! When the youngest needs to take a nap, we take the monitor out and enjoy the pool. What do you do if you're in a hotel room?

I, for one, never want to be pitied for being offsite. Could I afford to be onsite? Sure, but the real question is - Do I want to be onsite? Not really!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I guess I am bit of a hybrid, as most of my Disney trips start off-site for 1-3 nights, then onsite for a few more. I alway enjoy my off-site hotels - I even love getting a suite as a solo, with all that room to myself! I stayed all over the place off-site: Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village; Hampton Inn LBV; Hawthorn Suites SeaWorld; Hawthorn Suites LBV; and the Castle Doubletree. All very nice places, and you can't beat what you get for your money, especially in the suite hotels. I paid as little as $70 a night for a one-bedroom suite offsite, while one-bedroom suites onsite could be in the $600 range!!

 

[Del]

I'm a clinical social worker....will be happy to lend my services for the support group. We love the extra room and meal freedom of staying off-site.

Del

 

[kydisneyfans]

Add me in-a 2 bedroom condo with full kitchen-3 TV's-washer and dryer-for 50.42 a night vs a VALUE resort at $111.00 per night

granted I had a 5 mile, 8 minute drive to the world and had to pay to park-but that beats holding a stroller in one hand and a 4 year old in the other trying to stay balanced standing on a bus after a 45 minute wait in line.

Now if the $49.00 AS codes came back out-we MAY go back onsite for a year.

 

[heatherbelle]

Count me in too.

There is far more to Florida than Disney. Don't get me wrong. I love Disney to bits. But when your coming from overseas, you want to see everything.

I would also add, that it is often quicker to drive from off-site than from on-site.

My sister stayed at POP and it took her 30 mins to get to MK. It took us less time from LBV.

AS for the cost of those Disney hotels and food. Well, the money you can save can pay for another holiday.

 

[DonnaLeah]

Would someone please suggest a good pool home or condo. I hear such mixed reviews I am very confused. We usually stay in a hotel in the DTD area.TIA!

 

[emer95]

I would like to join this support group! Hold on to me tightly, because twice I've almost been swayed!
We stayed off-site for our first trip last August, at Staybridge Suites. We really did have a Magical time. The people at the hotel were so fabulous to us (I keep meaning to write a thank you letter!). We had tons of space, the kids slept in their own room, Hubby & I got some private time (highly important) and we stuffed ourselves on the FREE deluxe continental breakfast every morning and ended up only needed to buy one meal in the parks.

Here is what almost swayed us- the thread with pictures of Disney food on the restaurants board. I want that Dining Plan, even though it is way more food than any of us could ever eat. My dh was excited about the convenience of a monorail resort, so we thought about really doing it up big next year and staying at the Poly, with the Dining Plan.

Then we looked at prices.

Oh. My. GOSH! I honestly had no idea. I can't believe anyone would pay that much. One night in a Deluxe could cost the same as a whole week in a nice two bedroom suite- where's the logic there? Plus, we looked at the pictures of the rooms. They're beautiful, but they're still small rooms with two beds in them. Dh and I rationalized that we should stay off-site, go for 10 days instead of 7, make reservations at restaurants we really want to eat at, and still come home with more money in our pocket.

So phew! That's what we're gonna do!

 

[MouseGirl]

Count us in too! We have stayed at the Contemporary Resort before and while we loved the convenience of walking downstairs to the monorail, the lack of space was definitely hard to take. Our last two trips have been offsite at Windsor Palms and Emerald Island and we're completely spoiled. The space, privacy, washer/dryer, kitchen facilities for breakfast and having your own pool and hot tub at the end of a long day make it a no brainer!

I'm with Robin though with respect to Universal Studios - we went from two weeks in offsite villas to one night at an onsite resort to get Front of the Line privileges on our last trip. After we got over the initial shock of having to put four of us in one room (with one tv and one bathroom for the night we decided it was worth it for the benefit of strolling up to the express line of any ride we wanted to go on. But one night of a hotel room is enough!!

 

[MagicLovinMama]

Yes!! I can't imagine throwing down the kind of money that's required to stay onsite, considering the amount of space you get for the money. I have an offsite room that totals less for 5 nights than it would cost for 1 night at a deluxe on-site. It's a no-brainer! I'd much rather spend my money on fun things to do rather than a (maybe) prettier place to sleep where the shampoo has a picture of mickey on it.
Can't wait to go back and sleep in my clean, inexpensive offsite hotel room!

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

My DD is 21/2. That means she crashes about 9:30 p.m. TOPS. Mommy and Daddy aren't ready to hit the hay that early, and she's a "turn that light off and go away" type sleeper. It's nice to be able to have a separate bedroom for her so we can still read and watch television for a little while longer. That's why off-site works for us!!

The only thing we like about being on property is the bus system. But this Sept., we're staying in a suite at the Doubletree for $85 a night through Mousesavers at a savings of $200. We were thrilled!!

 

[disneyfan67]

There has been some really good points made here for staying offsite. I love staying at the Polynesian but I have to admit that it's expensive and I don't like spending any long amount of time in any hotel room. If I was going to stay for 7 to 10 days, it would have to be in a 2 bedroom villa with kitchen, washing machine, etc. For a 3 day trip (quick weekend get away) I would prefer to stay at a monorail resort but it is getting too expensive, IMO. In the end it's all up to the individual and what they prefer.

 

[Shutterbug]

Count me in as well!!!

Past 3 years have been renting a house. I go in the off season so I'm able to get a whole house with like 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, private pool and that also looks out onto a lake with nature perserve in a quiet neighborhood for 500-600 for a WHOLE week! Compare that with the lowest onsite POP resorts at like 75/night and the house beats it hands down!

Yes this means I have to rent a car but with discounts and such I can get it for around 200. So worth that everyone gets to have a seat while traveling back to the house while listening to the Illuminations CD in the radio. Plus I love using the car as a base of operations. I can keep the tripod, change of clothes food coolers in the trunk. No need to hop on the bus and go back clear to the room.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

What you mean Barbequing poolside while my kids swim in their own private pool aint magical You mean waking up in the middle of the night and going to the Big fridge and pulling out my takeout cheesecake and eating it aint magical. YOu mean leaving the park and feeling tired and dipping into the jacuzzi aint magical. You mean my hubby want to play playstation, the kids want to watch cinderella for umpteenth time and we dont have to share One t.v. You mean actually being able to have relations with my hubby on vacation is missing the magic And all this for under 1,000dollars for 8 days. I think I will stick to off site ANYDAY!!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Can I half-join?

We've done both, and liked both for different reasons. We went to Disney this past spring for 2 weeks (OK, and Universal and a conference with it...) Our first week was spent in a townhouse with 7 of our friends. There was more than enough room for all of us and all our junk, we could get breakfast in the morning without having to figure a way to get stuff for 9 people into one of those little fridges, and all for $1000 for the week for all of us. Can't beat that!

DH and I stayed at CBR after that for 3 days, and loved it also. The Magical express thing and the busses were a lifesaver for us so we wouldn't need to rent a car. The EMH thing was also really cool. Being in the middle of Disney was great for a few days.

Now, we don't have kids yet, and that will probably greatly influence where we stay next time we go. I think a single hotel room with little kids might be a bit complicated, but who knows

Just my thoughts....

Jen

 

[MiaSRN62]

My DD is 21/2. That means she crashes about 9:30 p.m. TOPS. Mommy and Daddy aren't ready to hit the hay that early, and she's a "turn that light off and go away" type sleeper. It's nice to be able to have a separate bedroom for her so we can still read and watch television for a little while longer. That's why off-site works for us!!

Did you all hear about these new potential family suites at the All Stars (nothng official yet....still in planning stages from what I read) : http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asuites.htm

There was also a little blip about it on the Mouseplanet site. If this turns out to be more than just rumor, I'll bet they'll be very popular. Of course, I'm also wondering what disney will charge for them.

Again, still in keeping with the Offsite Club.......maybe disney is starting to see how popular & rational offsite villas are for families. I still think offsite digs will be more affordable, but at least it's nice that Disney is recognizing the value of suite accomodations (aside from the DVC villas).

 

[kikakeko]

I think for us and I have already said it before and many of you are in the same postion is that we are a family of 5. And while I at first was going the on site route, off site just made more sense in the long run.

 

[dis ms.]

Count me in.

We've stayed onsite and off. As I've said before on onsite vs. offsite threads, I go where the deal is!

For our October trip, we're staying 4 nights at Nick Family Suites (for free because we're using Priority Club points); then we're staying at Embassy Suites LBV for 5 nights (for $217 total--incl. tax). We'll have plenty of space, plus the kids eat free at NFS, and ES has an awesome free breakfast. Plus we'll have a fridge for snacks, etc. Both hotels have free shuttles to WDW, but we're renting a car. I don't mind paying for the car and parking, since we're saving so much on the hotels.

So, we're paying just over $200 for 9 nights. That's "magical" to me!