Wanna Join My "Offsite Support Group"?

[Brian Noble]

So since we're right, lets start our crusade to convert those poor souls who haven't seen the light.

Goodness. Don't do that! The villa rates will go up with increased demand!

 

[spiceycat]

my Disney budget
CWR - $274 March (exchange)
CWR - $168 May (home away - skyauction)
CWR - $166 Sept (skyauction)
CP - $323 Dec (exchange)

since I am a DVC member I get the annual pass for $315 - so total without groceries and gas (I drive to Orlando mostly) $1,246. pretty nice for 4 weeks in Orlando... that averages out to $311.50 per trip (and that includes WDW pass).

You can't do that and stay onsite...

although with the new dinning plan - $845.44 for 2 adults for 5 days with 3 day passes (includes the no expiry) and free dinning...at the Pop...
plus SW tickets for 2 - $204 - ($39 tickets + fees and taxes if this happens)


compared to $166 - 2-bedroom CWR for the entire week.
$78.75 part of the annual pass that I intend to use (5 days)
grocery - $100....
gas $136.50 (if the price is $3.50) hope for less

so $1,049.55 (onsite at the Pop) vs $481.25 (offsite at Celebration World Resort)

oh I forget Spicey's fees.... well since he can't fly SW - I will just leave him out of this demonstration...

I have stayed at Universal's Royal Pacific and I dearly loved it. Got great service.... and Spicey actually though he owned the place...

I would and will stay there again when I get all my debits played.... we had a wonderful time!!!

 

[FayeW]

As the OP of this thread, I feel that I have a duty to tell you that I am considering defecting, and staying onsite for part of my trip. Purely for research of course , as I believe that I should, at the very least, compare the accomodations that I have so vehemently, (and eloquently, I might add) disavowed!

But, to be fair, I'm looking at a 2 bdrm DVC rental, so I'm still not willing to give up my space for an expensive hotel room onsite. (Plus, I'm not crazy!)

 

[HappyCamperToo]

Sorry I didn't have time to read the whole thread--Forgive me if this has been said before.

Another thing that's great about a timeshare/condo/vacatin home is that you can eat healthier. My family would be a mess eating fried, fat-laden, junky food for all their meals if we were staying in a hotel w/o a kitchen. Sure they'd think they'd love it. But it would take its toll on their bodies and emotions, I'm sure.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Another thing that's great about a timeshare/condo/vacatin home is that you can eat healthier. My family would be a mess eating fried, fat-laden, junky food for all their meals if we were staying in a hotel w/o a kitchen.

Uh-ohh.....you mean those villa kitchens mean I have to cook ? On vacation ?

 

[Coreena]

That's where we like to stay
I really like the fact that it is close to Disney and also everything on 192. The closeness is a really big deal for our two year old

 

[saab]

even i am supporting you guys , since i want to see more than staying at the disney world. i am going for the first time to orlando ... can you all suggest some affordable places near disney and universal ....PLEASSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEE......

 

[spiceycat]

Uh-ohh.....you mean those villa kitchens mean I have to cook ? On vacation ?

you remind me of some of the DVC's saying that they though the kitchen was just an ornament.....

I have food allergies - so a kitchen or kitchennett is a must for me... Now I will eat a couple of meals on Disney property. but that involves talking to the chef and it definitely takes longer....I hate to use up my WDW touring time - eating.....

healther - well Disney these days has some really health stuff - fruits, salads, fruit juice (instead of the soft-drinks) - but heck a little junk food

I like their salads because they don't use the head of lettuce (I hate those things) - but use really leaf lettuce....(which I do love)

 

[Coreena]

I like the fact that you can now get affordable kids meals with healthy options in the park! Even so.... it is nice to be able to cook a hot breakfast and eat all as a family in peace before we set out to the park and the hustle and bustle

 

[MiaSRN62]

you remind me of some of the DVC's saying that they though the kitchen was just an ornament.....

I really was just kidding ......we do use our kitchen at Vistana and our DVC, but probably not to the extent we could/should. Mostly breakfast and late night snacks. I'll make pancakes/eggs etc for breakfast, and then maybe heat up some pizza bagle bites (or similar) in the oven for a late night snacks. But mostly we utilize the frig for storing milk, drinks, yogurts, eggs etc.
I'd guestimate we utilize our full kitchen to less than 50% of it's full potential because I really do prefer to dine out while on vacation.....but I can understand how some would enjoy using it more for special dietary needs or simply to save money.

 

[englishteacha]

I haven't read this whole thread, but you sure have made me feel better! For us, it makes a whole lot of financial sense to stay off site. We're getting a condo in Kissimmee for our trip in June. We never even considered staying at Disney. We knew it wasn't in our budget. We're going with another couple and splitting the cost of the condo and the rental car. We'll eat some meals at the condo, some in the parks, and some offsite. 3 out of 4 of us are teachers, and we don't get the option of traveling off season when the crowds and costs are really low, besides the fact that teachers certainly aren't rolling in cash. We have to scrimp and save where ever we can!

 

[tweetylori]

I love this thread. I've been going to Orlando for many many years, and had no idea what I was "missing" until I found this board. I have stayed on-site one time in all those visits, and ironically enough it was a "business"-type trip, when I was a volunteer for Make-A-Wish and we had a convention at the brand new Coronado Springs. However, it was a convention, not a "Disney" trip, so I never even visited a park on that trip. The one time I stayed on site, I might as well have been staying anywhere...lol, that's my luck. I have taken my family many times, but we have never stayed on-site. If I could easily afford it, I'd love to book the Polynesian, stay for a week, and hop the monorail as we pleased. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get jealous reading this board about all the people that fly their huge families down, stay concierge at the Grand Floridian, get the dining plan, and attend all the high dollar character meals. But every one of them help me continue to dream as much as the first time I saw the Contemporary hotel when I was a little girl and thought "I'm going to stay there one day".
Disney's about dreaming. This board is about dreaming. Those of us that haven't achieved the whole dream, still have the dream. And that's what I hold on to. In the meantime, I take my family down for the best time we know.

 

[susan1]

hi
definitely add me to your list, stayed onsite for 3 night and felt totally hemmed in. hardly any choice of eating places and crowded buses back and forth. it was a graduation present for ds who loved it so played along but was glad to get back to the suites we were staying at for the fortnight, have been going to disney for 20yrs now and love the freedom off site

 

[Coreena]

I like to eat out at night.... I am so beat by the end of the day! I guess I mostly like the kitchen for the breakfast..... and then for grabbing a quick lunch once in a while if the kids need to sleep

 

[sammielynn]

Count me in I have never stayed on-site but have visited my brother when he was on-site. The resort was nice, no doubt about that (all stars movie) but our condo was better. We have spent so much less staying off-site that I just shutter to think how we could swing on-site prices. I don't think that I will ever stay on-site unless someone else paid for it. I love having a condo where the boys have their own room and two baths how great is that. I do laundry every night and come home with mostly clean clothes, not a week's worth of smelly stuff, and I do it without hauling the laundry anywhere. We are sold on staying in a condo, it will be hard for us to stay in a hotel room ever again.

 

[calstitcher]

I really want to thank everyone for this thread. We are taking our first WDW family vacation in June and are staying offsite at Windsor Palms. We are renting a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom for 7 days and the cost is way cheaper than staying onsite.

Of course then I was reading theDIS and all the magic that happens when staying onsite. I was feeling nervous. But truth be told, we can't afford to rent a suite on site for 7 days. And there is no way I want to stay in one tiny room with the 4 of us.

So, thank you. It helps to read that others stay offsite and have a fabulous vacation!

 

[keishashadow]

Count me in

Only time we ever ventured off-site was @ HRH for FOTL (worth every penny). Call it the fear of the unknown or hesitancey to leave the all-encompassing WDW experience.

We're DVC and love all that entails, including the larger accomodations, Deluxe amenites & EMH's & overall immersion in all that is Disney... BUT, I'm frugal & absolutely hate paying triple the points to stay on weekends. Necessitating the need for 2 or 3 nights elsewhere.

Even though we have AP's, nothing's come out yet for June & the Values have been slowing creeping up in price.

*In '03 paid way less than $70/night w/AAA discount in late June.

*This year, same time was almost $100/night!

Planning on enjoying the great Vistana offer for 3 of the 4 nights I paid $49 for (w/o TS presentation). Hope they keep me on the mailing list for next year. Otherwise, lots of other fish in the sea.

We're a hybrid I guess, more fun for our $.

 

[spiceycat]

I haven't read this whole thread, but you sure have made me feel better! For us, it makes a whole lot of financial sense to stay off site. We're getting a condo in Kissimmee for our trip in June. We never even considered staying at Disney. We knew it wasn't in our budget. We're going with another couple and splitting the cost of the condo and the rental car. We'll eat some meals at the condo, some in the parks, and some offsite. 3 out of 4 of us are teachers, and we don't get the option of traveling off season when the crowds and costs are really low, besides the fact that teachers certainly aren't rolling in cash. We have to scrimp and save where ever we can!

You are aware that the Swan and Dolphin have a teacher discount -right?

now it won't put the price as low as offsite. but it is definitely lower than their normal price.

 

[Mainebound]

I really want to thank everyone for this thread. We are taking our first WDW family vacation in June and are staying offsite at Windsor Palms. We are renting a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom for 7 days and the cost is way cheaper than staying onsite.

Of course then I was reading theDIS and all the magic that happens when staying onsite. I was feeling nervous. But truth be told, we can't afford to rent a suite on site for 7 days. And there is no way I want to stay in one tiny room with the 4 of us.

So, thank you. It helps to read that others stay offsite and have a fabulous vacation!

So glad we can help!

Our boys are now 4 and 6 and they LOVE offsite. We gave them a choice this year and they said they wanted to go back to Emerald Island! It's much more relaxing for us as parents. You will have a GREAT trip.

PS. Do you still need a fairy godmailer? We arrive at WDW on May 5. Send me a PM if so!

 

[lsyorke]

OK, I'm convinced and after talking to DH, our next trip is going to be offsite. We were DVC for 3 years and found that we were going just to use the points and weren't really enjoying it as much. So after a few years off(we sold the DVC) we're heading down next year and are planning to stay offsite. We have a teen who absolutely needs his own room(Dad snores ).

So, what's a nice suite hotel for a family of 3 with a teen? I have NO idea about the offsite availability. Price isn't as important as quality rooms and resort feel. HELP!!!