WDW resorts vs offsite

[TifferRN]

I am new to this board and taking the first trip to WDW. We had orginally planned on staying at PC but have since decided to include a couple of days to US/IOA to our trip. My cousin and her DD10 and myself and my DD12 DS10 are going and had planned on getting two rooms at PC but it looks like we could get one suite at Buena Vista Suites. Now I don't know if we should stay at WDW and just take a taxi back and forth to US/IOA or stay at an offsite resort in btw the two that offers transportation to both or split our stay btwn PC and an US resort. Any suggestions/insite?

 

[ihearttink]

Hi and welcome to the boards.

IMHO I would stay on property at WDW and switch to a hotel at US.

Nothing beats staying on property. At WDW just the whole experience is worth it. When I'm tired in the afternoon it's nice to be able to leave the park and hop on a bus/boat/monorail to go back to the resort, take a nap or swim, and go back to the parks in the evening. Just being able to take a break is great. The extra magic hours are also a big plus .

We have split our vacation and gone to US and stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. My DD absolutely loved it. Staying at a US hotel allows you front of the line access on ALL rides ALL day. DH & I must have gone on Men In Black 15 times in a row.

US also has a Lowes Card which you can apply for a no cost. We have been upgraded, because of the Lowes Card, to really great rooms/views. If you decided to stay on US property apply for it.

 

[jmtf2004]

There are benefits to staying onsite at both WDW and US that are worth considering. At WDW you get easy access to your resort if you want to go back for a break partway through the day. This break is essential to include (for sanity and well being), especially when you visit during the summer. If you are flying (and since you mention using a taxi, I am guessing you are) then you would get Magical Express included for free (your transport to and/or from MCO to your WDW resort). Also you get access to the Extra Magic Hours - one hour early admission in the morning, three hours extra in the evening.
To take a taxi between WDW and US would be a bit time consuming - traffic tends to be heavy and there are lots of lights - definitely $$$. Another thing to consider is that US has their own version of a Fastpass that allows you to go to the front of the line (and lines tend to be long...45-60 minutes), but unlike at WDW (where Fastpasses are free with admission ) US charges $40 per day for this - unless you stay at one of the US hotels - then their front of the line access is included with your park tickets at no extra charge.
If you plan two or three days at US plus a few more days at WDW, for me I would stay onsite at WDW then move to a US resort (or you could even sandwich them WDW - US - WDW) The reason to sandwich them is you would get Magical Express to bring you both to and from the airport that way (town car service is ~$100).The US resorts are located within walking distance of both US and IOA. If you were planning to stay at a resort partway between the two, then you would probably be looking at renting a car for the length of your stay in Orlando.
For me it's not simply a question of saving $$ but also time. If you stay offsite between the two, you will spend a lot of time shuttling back and forth to parks, and you will be pushed to tour all the parks commando style (no breaks), since going back to your resort will take much more time out of your day. If you don't stay onsite, you will have to pay for onsite parking and your transfer to/from the airport - don't forget to factor these cost in (along with the rental car when you are pricing offsite hotels ).

 

[mike&amy1508]

We are staying onsite at WDW and taking Mears transportation to the offsite parks. It's $15 per person round trip.

 

[TifferRN]

Thanks for all the advice! The idea of staying at WDW the entire time and taking Mears transport to offsite sounds like a plan!! Is the $15 price PP or per group?

 

[TifferRN]

Oops sorry- just noticed you had already answered my question!!

 

[Cindy & Mickey]

Hi Tiffer,
How long are you in Orlando? If this is your first time to WDW, you might want to consider staying onsite and focusing just on WDW and the resorts/water parks there. It's easy to underestimate the enormity of WDW. Universal/IOA/Sea World makes its own fantastic vacation, and staying onsite is best there as well.

If you want to split your park visits between WDW and Universal, and are staying offsite, you'll probably do best renting a car. Otherwise, the shuttle or taxi costs will be quite high.

 

[trivial]

We almost stayed off-site on our trip, and I'm glad a lot of people suggested that we stay on-site. Being so close to the parks and using Disney's transportation was fantastic, and the best advice we received was to rent DVC points, which made staying on-site an absolute no-brainer. It'll be on-site with DVC points from here on out.

 

[DaParkers]

hmmm

 

[snykymom]

How do you book Mears from a WDW resort? We're thinking of checking out US, never having been there, but don't want to leave WDW or split the stay - not yet, anyway, until we discover whether we even like US.

Thanks.

 

[Mick&Minn]

Do it right through guest services

 

[Grumpy3]

One warning..........once you stay on site you will be hooked!!!