We're non-members debating, Onsite, Offsite

[JoeCathyAngelina]

We've only gone to Disney World 2 times and stayed onsite at the Grand Floridian (way over rated for the price they charged) and Old Key West ( a little better; great if you're a member or buy points).
We go to Orlando, WDW for the Disney parks and only the Disney parks. I was wondering if anyone, member, non-member has gone to Orlando, WDW for only the Disney parks stayed onsite; then another time they went they stayed offsite and regreted not staying onsite at Disney.
thanks,
Joe

 

[bwvBound]

We do both (onsite and offsite). Onsite is essential during our January visits (work-related confererence - not the parks!) ... but is completely optional for our vacation visits.

Staying onsite would be more important if:

• Your party needs or wants to use the room during the day: naps, lunch, change of gear, etc.
• Your party likes park hopping in early morning and late evening ... but would hang out at the pool during mid-day.
• Your party goes in different directions ... and needs to use the Disney transportation system to reach multiple destinations.
• Your party has different levels of park stamina.

Just ideas ... but when our group is highly "together" on daily activity plans and can agree on length of day (stamina) ... then off-site has worked fine. But when the group seems to be fractured in their agendas ... then an onsite location may help save relationships!

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

We did both just this summer...once onsite...once off.

While we had fun both times, I much prefer to immerse myself and my family in the WDW magic 24/7.

When we stayed offsite, it felt as though we were going to Disney each day and then leaving each night. When we stay onsite, we feel we are part of Disney.

And...the only reason we stayed offsite was we had a free room for the duration of the stay.

I recommend to everyone to stay onsite...and will do just that for each visit in the future (unless we get another freebie).

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

We only stay on Disney property unless we are planning to also tour Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. In that case, we will stay a few nights at the Hard Rock Hotel in addition to a Disney Resort.

I don't think I could stay off-site just to save money because you lose so much of the Disney magic. I'd rather stay on-site at a Value or moderate resort than off-site if it was an issue.

 

[Broken8ball]

For our trip in July, we stayed off-site in a (free thanks mom) condo about 5 mins from the main gate.

We always got there early and got front row parking spots so our travel time was comparable to the buses. It really wasn't a problem to go back tothe room and rest on days we were staying late.

We also spent 2 nights at the poly (the non-park end to our trip). The experience was magical but I could not have seen paying that price and then spending all day at the parks.

I've stayed at the value resorts (ASMu) and won't do that again. The rooms are too small for all of us.

If you're smart with your schedules and can stand to miss the EMH's then staying off site may save significant money (it did for us). IF the price is close, stay on site, the bonuses can be worth it.

 

[katerkat]

I've done both - grew up staying on property, but started staying off when I had to pay for it myself! There are, really, pros and cons of both.

Personally, I'd drive even on property - I can't stand waiting for buses. So the transportation isn't a draw for me.

Given the price we've gotten in the past, I'd definitely take a 1-bedroom condo with a kitchen over POP or an All-Star! No comparasion to the amount of room/amenities.

But, we do give up that Disney "magic." And for certain trips (with postcards!) I'm willing to splurge. But as we usually spend more time in the parks and rarely go back to the hotel for naps, I'd rather splurge on food/park tickets. (More days = off-site hotel.)

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I personally like staying offsite for longer trips. It's just two adults traveling and we always rent a car anyway.

For $500-$600 per 7 days we get a 3BR 3 BaR two story condo right next to the complexes pool when we stay offsite. That much would not get us a week at WDW in a deluxe.

I LOVE the atmosphere of the Disney resorts, but we are not really "resort" people (as in we spend 95% of our time out of our room, doing other things and we don't care about pools)

It really depends on what you are looking for. If you care more about being able to quickly go back to the room for breaks, or having a ton of anemities at your hotel, you may want to stay onsite.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think the moderates, Port Orleans, Coronado and several others, are a great happy medium, especially if you can get any of the rather frequent discounts.

A couple sites that might help............

http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_hot.htm


http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyresorts.html

 

[disneysteve]

Well, I'm never one to miss the chance to join an onsite - offsite debate.

I have done both numerous times as my signature shows. We are firmly in the offsite camp. I don't think there is anything that would sway me to stay onsite again. The rooms are quite small, even at the deluxe resorts. The prices are insane (even with discounts, postcards, etc.). We don't use Disney transport (except for monorail). We always have our own car and drive everywhere we go. We want at least a fridge if not a full kitchen. We much prefer having our DD in her own room. We sometimes go with other family (one or both of our mothers) and offsite we can all share one unit instead of being in seperate rooms.

Bottom line: Onsite, I can spend $79 or thereabouts per nite for All Star or Pop Century and have a VERY basic room with 2 double beds and not much else. Offsite, I can spend $79 or thereabouts per nite and have a 1200 square foot 3-bedroom, 2-bath condo with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, 3 TV's, screened in patio, stereo, dvd player and lots of other amenities. Its a no-brainer for us. For a little more per nite, about $100, I can have a 3-bedroom single home with a screened-in private pool and whirlpool. If we bring someone else with us, we split the cost so the house would cost us $50/nite. Nothing onsite compares with that.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Another person who mostly prefers offsite, for many of the reasons cited above. Unforunately, I do not have a limitless source of money, so that always has to be a concern. And when I consider that I often can get a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen and in-room hot tub for the same price as an on-site moderate--and taking into consideration that my kids and I have different sleeping schedules, we far prefer the extra space. This was well demonstrated on our longest trip to disney; we had 3 nights in a moderate; then 7 nights off-site in a 2 bedroom condo; and than 5 nights on-site in a studio at the Beach Club. By day 2 at the Beach Club, the kids were already saying how they wished we were still at the condo, where they had their own room and each had their own beds.

However--if price were not an issue, and I could stay onsite with the same amount of space, I'd probably choose that option.

Oh, and we are also people who always travel with a car, whether onsite or off. So the transportation isn't really an issue.

 

[Kallison]

We've stayed onsite always - first at the mods Port Orleans and Dixie Landings, then Contemporary, Beach Club and Dolphin. We've discovered we really like the Epcot area, able to walk to both Epcot and MGM. When we price offsite and figure in the price of a rental car, it doesn't save all that much. Have you seen the Dolphin specials? If you are a teacher or a nurse or a teacher's aide you can get significant savings at the Swan/Dolphin. How about if one member gets an annual pass, we did that one year too for the Beach Club. We loved Storm-A-Long Bay but were not that impressed with the Beach Club rooms. The Contemp. rooms were awesome for size, the bathrooms were marvelous but didn't like the pool. You should try posting over on the Budget Board, they always have great ideas about saving money.

 

[ZachnElli]

We became DVC members in 2003. We did it because we wanted the space of a 2 bed/2 ba and the accomadations of a deluxe. And we paid quite a price for it, we didn't do it to save money, we did it because that's how we like to travel. Before becoming members we stayed offsite so we could have that space. We always get a rental car, so we never factor that in, we just don't like the buses. I never missed this so called "magic" 24/7 and I'm a DVC member now. Still don't get how it's more magical to stay onsite, better view, yes, closer to park, yes, but magical? No, I don't see it. We never had a problem going back to our offsite resorts midday for naps and then going back to the parks (our kids were very young and we traveled during summer months). We really never had any problems with parking. There are definitely some really great offsite resorts in Orlando!