What will push you offsite?

[Disneypro1]

Currently booked at the Yatch club with a discount for 7 nights. If I move to the doubletree at Disney springs I save almost $1500.

I agree if I was staying value I would not be saving much. If anything at all.

Gotcha. YC is very nice.

 

[Disneypro1]

Not everyone can stay in a Value.

Yes they can. AoA has suites if you have a big family. But anyone can stay at a value. That doesn’t make sense. Music also.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I used to be in the "nothing" camp, but having stayed offsite now a few times I change my vote to "cost." When factoring the costs of staying offsite, I include transportation (either rental car or rideshare costs including tips) and parking fees (if we're not using rideshare or if we'll have to pay them at the resort) and I try to compare resorts with similar amenities (at least the ones we will use).

$1500 is a lot of money and I wouldn't think twice about saving that and booking offsite but before you do:

-be sure that you've added up your transportation costs (as you won't be taking Disney transportation to/ from the airport if that's a factor, you won't have free parking at the parks, and you won't be taking Disney transportation to/ from the parks). If pricing rideshares, be sure to include the additional $$ for a car seat and be realistic about the size vehicle you need, and factor in everywhere you would need to go.

-be sure you're comfortable not having on-site guest "perks" for booking ADR and FP. I was surprised at how little I cared and how successful I was getting FP I wanted at 30 days out but not everyone likes to plan that way.

 

[Disneypro1]

I will say at DLR we do stay off property. Simply because all of the in property resorts are deluxe. So off property is kinda a must out there. For us.

 

[firefly_ris]

Yes they can. AoA has suites if you have a big family. But anyone can stay at a value. That doesn’t make sense.

That's true. But at over $350/night for an AoA suite, that is no longer a "value"... and you can easily find an off-site suite with similar or better amenities for much less.

 

[scard192]

No more FP+ advantage would be my breaking point.

isn't that already happening with so many "Good Neighbor" hotels now being able to make FP+ at 60 days; same as on site?

 

[NJlauren]

Gotcha. YC is very nice.

Very nice, but $1500 nice? I’m torn on this one for sure...

I used to be in the "nothing" camp, but having stayed offsite now a few times I change my vote to "cost." When factoring the costs of staying offsite, I include transportation (either rental car or rideshare costs including tips) and parking fees (if we're not using rideshare or if we'll have to pay them at the resort) and I try to compare resorts with similar amenities (at least the ones we will use).

$1500 is a lot of money and I wouldn't think twice about saving that and booking offsite but before you do:

-be sure that you've added up your transportation costs (as you won't be taking Disney transportation to/ from the airport if that's a factor, you won't have free parking at the parks, and you won't be taking Disney transportation to/ from the parks). If pricing rideshares, be sure to include the additional $$ for a car seat and be realistic about the size vehicle you need, and factor in everywhere you would need to go.

-be sure you're comfortable not having on-site guest "perks" for booking ADR and FP. I was surprised at how little I cared and how successful I was getting FP I wanted at 30 days out but not everyone likes to plan that way.

Great points! The largest additional cost will be a rental car. However we are 95% getting an AP due to 3 other trips planned so park at the parks would be free....

All things to consider, thanks for your great feedback!

 

[isabellea]

isn't that already happening with so many "Good Neighbor" hotels now being able to make FP+ at 60 days; same as on site?

And that's why I will consider them when we come back in 2022 if they still offer them at GN hotels. In the meantime, we will go to DLR and maybe DLP...

 

[Brett Wyman]

Only loss of income would change that for me, but even then Pop is VERY affordable for being onsite. So really I can't see staying offsite at all really. One caveat is if I was with a huge family group and we needed more than 2 bedrooms.

 

[KrazeeK120]

The only reason we’re going to stay onsite next year is because my son (will be 4) still needs to be in a harnessed car seat and I don’t want to drag it through the airport.

We’ve driven down the last 2 times and when they added the parking fee, I decided that if we ever drive again, we’re staying offsite.

Also, when my son is older and can use a backless booster, we will be looking offsite.

 

[AngiTN]

The only thing that will push us off-site is the elimination of on-site transportation. Buses.
If we have to rent a car and drive. Right now, we don't want to drive. Period. Or rely solely on rideshare to arrive to the parks. Or sit in traffic getting there.

 

[billlaurie]

Children who grow up and have their own families coupled with increased cost of staying onsite, but mostly decreased benefits for onsite guests. We are renting 4 rooms at CSR this summer because we love being in the bubble. Compared to our last visit, we have to pay for parking, get fewer EMH, and have to compete with good neighbor hotels for FP and dining ressies. Next time we will rent a house (we are doing this for the second half of our trip at half the cost of just one CSR room) and save some $$ unless they sweeten the pot (for no extra charge) for onsite guests.

 

[lynzi2004]

For us the cost of parking plus the rumored potential loss of Evening EMH's is making me consider it, with the added up-charges for longer park hours. When I plan a Disney vacation, I typically have a certain price in mind for our family of 5. (the youngest being an infant so no room/ticket cost yet). Whether that number be $3000, $4000, or up. I then plan my vacation around that number. So stay value with a longer stay or stay deluxe for a short stay, have more resort days instead of tickets, (which we love for swimming), etc. We like to vacation where we get the most of a park days ticket, rope drop to close kind of people and then potentially an off day after that. So I'm now looking at cutting hotel costs, especially once we "outgrow" the values when the baby turns 3, by staying offsite in order to have more money allotted for special events, parties, etc if that is the way Disney is taking their business plan going forward. The 60 day onsite advantage isn't a big consideration anymore if I can do an after-hours event instead and ride the same headliner 3-4x. This method isn't for everyone, but I'm capping the amount of money Disney gets from me and am not willing to make a trip that normally cost $3000 cost $4500 or more for the same perks I had a year ago or two ago.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Very nice, but $1500 nice? I’m torn on this one for sure...



Great points! The largest additional cost will be a rental car. However we are 95% getting an AP due to 3 other trips planned so park at the parks would be free....

All things to consider, thanks for your great feedback!

RE: Yacht Club. So, we are DVC owners at Beach Club and we love it and I would never say a bad word about YC/ BC because we really do love it there. That said, unless I get an incredible deal, it pains me to spend that kind of money to stay there (if we're not using points). It is beautiful, the pool is great, the distance to Epcot and HS and strolling over to the Boardwalk is nice.

I can't tell you it's $1500 nice vs something clean with similar amenities and I am the one in tears with my nose pressed to the Tragical Express bus window looking at it forlornly when it's time to leave.

 

[bsj1701]

Cost of course, and it has already happened. The money saved on hotels is used toward longer stays. My maximum time spent on site was 9 days years ago. As the lodging and admission prices rose the amount of days became less and less. Now instead of staying 2-3 nights on site, we go generally 3-5 nights offsite. Disney is still getting my money in the form of my admission, but now I can determine how long I stay based on admission and hotel cost. The lodging has never been more than a place to sleep for our family, we spend as much time in the parks as possible.

 

[NJlauren]

RE: Yacht Club. So, we are DVC owners at Beach Club and we love it and I would never say a bad word about YC/ BC because we really do love it there. That said, unless I get an incredible deal, it pains me to spend that kind of money to stay there (if we're not using points). It is beautiful, the pool is great, the distance to Epcot and HS and strolling over to the Boardwalk is nice.

I can't tell you it's $1500 nice vs something clean with similar amenities and I am the one in tears with my nose pressed to the Tragical Express bus window looking at it forlornly when it's time to leave.

I think we have a good deal, I priced out renting DVC points and it only saves about 500 for a studio which won’t really work for us as we want to real beds.

We stayed beach club last year and loved it, so really want to stay again.... but the pricing is a bit crazy, I do think staying someplace offsite we lose the walking to two parks which I love and add having to drive which I am not going to be happy about....

 

[samsteele]

If you're an onsite person will something push you to move offsite? If so what?

Cost and park crowds. But when I hit that wall, I'm not going off site. I'm just not going to WDW. I'll be pushed into the arms of Universal and its fab looking Cabana Bay. Probably a much shorter trip in total with 1 day at WDW only. I'll then go back to Europe or check out California.

 

[Darklord77]

Significant changes to Fastpass system for onsite guests would be the final push. I'm willing to pay for a lot, but with park ticket prices skyrocketing I will not pay for the "privilege" of fastpasses.

 

[Mrs. W]

We're also people who only stay onsite. I cannot think of anything that would lead us to stay off site. To be fair though, I consider Dolphin/Swan "onsite" because of the transportation options (walk, bus, boat) and proximity to parks. The ability to use Marriott points at Dolphin/Swan and stay for next to nothing, makes it highly unlikely that we'd ever venture elsewhere.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

Money. If I can get a decent deal at YC/BC or Swolphin I'd much rather stay there than deal with the hassle of staying off site, and I love the proximity to Epcot. The parking fees pushed me out for a while, though. I'm a passholder which means if I drive my "free parking" at the parks is cancelled out by having to pay at the resort. Either way, they were getting an extra $25/day from me. I let my pass expire and took almost a year off when that went into effect. Also, my onsite discount for YC was a whopping $4/night for my last stay. DH & I stayed at an offsite hotel (I think it was a hilton?) on points in May that was one of the Disney Springs hotels. I loved the pool (it had an amazing lazy river) and the drinks at the bar were $6 for hurricanes! We figured if we had to pay for parking either way, might as well stay off site. The room itself wasn't as nice as staying on site and I missed the Disney-ness of a Disney resort, but in the end it didn't make a huge difference to me. If I have to drive or take a Disney bus, I'm the kind of person who would rather drive. I like to make color-coded schedules for Disney and nothing throws those off more than a 45 minute wait for a bus at Animal Kingdom to get back to your resort.