What's it like staying off site???

[Miniefan]

I am having a problem, and I am not sure what to do about it and I knew some of you have undoubtedly had the same problems so here goes: My plans have changed several times already, and the trip is not until Oct. the trip is 10/15-10/23.
First is was just me, dh, dd4,ds7 HIFS res
Second, me, dh, dd4,ds7,mom HIFS res/FTWC res
Third, me, dh, dd4,ds7,mom, mil No res now, and not sure what to do.

Here is the deal, I really want to stay at the Ft. Wilderness in one of the cabins, but Fl res and Ap rates aren't available yet. The best rate I can get now is $242 with my AAA. My mil is employed with Homewood Suites by Hilton, and she can get us a rate of $89.10/ night. I don't know what I should do, I want to save money but weve never stayed offsite before and I am afraid that staying at an offsite property would take away from our vacation and add extra transportation hassles. What should I do?? Does staying offsite take away the Disney magic??
Please help,
Kim

 

[etwinchester]

I've stayed off-site all my life. I went as a child with parents every 4 years. Our trip last year was the first as a wife, mother to DD and we stayed off-site. We were offered to go with 10 other family members, renting a house for $300 (a couple) for 2 weeks and our grandmother was paying the rest. Couldn't turn that down...

From now on, I vowel to stay on-site or I'm not going. It was a beautiful trip, but I think I would have loved it MORE surrounded by Disney. I want the flexibility to come and go to parks more quickly. Take a bus and go for half day. Not worrying about driving and the traffic. Having the Disney Magic all around us...

Don't get me wrong, staying off-site we still had a wonderful trip. How can you not in Disney? But, in my opinion, I think it would've been better to stay at a resort...

Others may feel differently as some always stay off-site. I'm just a kid at heart and love and need to be in the center of it all...

 

[JohnnyOldBoy]

A difference of $150 per night for 8 nights = $1,200. That's a lot of pixie dust.

I noticed from your other thread that the Homewood Suites is the one on the Parkway. I have not stayed there but I have stayed at Radisson Resort on the Parkway and at Vacation Village, right across from the Radisson. Homewood suites is just north of the Radisson. The Parkway is a very nice area, close to everything, yet set back away from all the busyness.

As far as transportation hassles, as long as you have a vehicle big enuff for your crew you will have no problems. There is only one traffic signal between the Parkway and any of the 4 WDW parks.

From the Parkway, turn right on US192, go over I-4 and follow the 3 lane ramp into WDW. That's all there is to it.

 

[jmatias]

We just got back from our 2 1/2 week trip to WDW. The first 2 weeks was off site at the Marriott Grande Vista and we had a total of 11 people in a 3 bedroom.

The last couple of days was just our family of 5 ( DH, Me, DS8, DS6 and DD 7 months) and we stayed at the BWV.

If we had a choice and $ is not an issue I would stay on site the whole time. It is just so much easier to get around and take mid day breaks while on site.

However, since we had such a large party the first 2 weeks we needed the 3 bedroom at Marriott.

We enjoyed the entire trip regardless of where we were sleeping!

Good luck with your decision.

 

[BevS97]

we have stayed off site and on - while I do love staying onsite, I don't think my trips have been ruined when we were onsite - I have still had a wonderful magical time and I would definitely stay offsite again (in fact we are, in December, 1 week off and 1 week on)

for a difference of $1200 I would stay offsite without hesitation.
I would rent a car though, I wouldn't be happy relying on an offsite hotel shuttle. If you have a car, then there is no extra hassle driving to the parks - other than MK it is very easy to drive to the park, the carparks are all very convenient and to be honest, we rarely get a tram, we find it's just as easy and quick to walk to the gate.
At the MK I have to be honest and say it is more inconvenient than using the Disney bus - but you do get to ride the monorail I wouldn't say it was a showstopper though.

the way I would look at it, for $1200 you could stay another few days, or have some mega extra special treats, think of all the shopping, nice meals, photos etc that would cover. You could even put it towards another trip.

Bev

 

[swilshire]

We always stay off site for the extra room we can get for the money. You can probably even beat the Homewood Suites discount in a larger unit unless you are going the Columbus Day week. There are loads of timeshares at cheap rental rates in the Fall. Try www.skyauction.com for one source of cheap rentals.

Sheila

 

[Miniefan]

Because we've never stayed offsite, I guess I am afraid that maybe when all is said and done we will have enjoyed this trip less or something like that. Last trip we arrived in Orlando around 1:15 am, so we just stopped at a Days Inn Hotel that looked pretty decent, btw, looks are definitely decieving. It was horrendous, and we couldn't wait to get there, I'm just worried that we'll have that can't wait to get there feeling every day. Well keep the comments coming, I'm anxious to know how everyone feels about this
Kim

 

[kimwim8]

I've stayed offsite & onsite. I am now a DVC owner, so only onsites for me, but offsite was definitely do-able.

When we stayed offsite, it was my family (me, dh & dd13 months), my older sister, my younger sister with her dh & ds 19 months).

We rented a mini-van and it worked out ok. We stayed at a time share that was 5 minutes outside of WDW. The only issue was when one person didn't want to get up early and get ready, or if someone was tired & wanted to go back to the hotel - they couldn't take the van & leave everyone else stranded.

If you decide to stay offsite and save $1200, you may consider renting 2 vehicles, to give yourself more flexibility.

Like the previous posters said, no matter where you stay, you will be "at Disney", and will have a GREAT time!

Enjoy!

 

[swilphil]

Since you are going during Oct., a slower time of year, I don't think staying off site will be that bad. If you were going during Christmas, summer or Easter, I would definitely stay onsite. In Oct., you'll get through traffic and the parking lots pretty quickly and you'll be able to navigate the rides easier with smaller crowds.

I love staying onsite (at the Dolphin!) but if I could save $1,200 and wasn't going during a busy time of year, I would. You could splurge for an Illuminations cruise, a special show or meal, etc.

 

[Miniefan]

Hi guys I just want to say thank you to all of you who replied and gave me their advice on what to do. I am glad to say that we have decided to stay at the Ft. Wilderness Resort in the cabins, I am glad because it was my first choice for where to stay, and it really does have a lot of activities, in my opinion, more than all of the other resorts on WDW property. My kids can't wait to do the campfire movie/singalong with Chip and Dale, and we will definitely be bringing our sm'ore's fixings, I also called the resort directly and found out that there will be a haunted hayride, and they will be showing halloween/scary themed movies at the nightly movie. I would also recommend to anyone that is staying onsite but may not be at the Ft. Wilderness, do stop by for a visit. There are too many fun activities to mention, but I think it is going to be great, and as far as the price, we have decided to split our resort stay in half and stay at the Ft. Wilderness for the 4 night mom&mil will be there and switch to a cheaper resort for the rest of the trip. Thanks again everyone.
Kim

 

[suerob]

We stayed at HIFS last year. It was me, DH, 3 DD's ages 1,4, and 6, and my sister. We really enjoyed it. The shuttle service isn't that great but we used our own vehicle anyway. We found that to be much easier because we used our own stroller and could come and go as we please. We were very close to the parks and it took us no time to drive. We didn't feel like it took away from the magic and I've stayed on-site before. We had a great time and loved the HIFS. This year we just wanted to try something different so we're staying at Poly.

 

[stacy6552]

learn from me.......

we stayed with disney several times, then we stayed athte wyndham at DTD because we got a good deal. It was aweful, IM sure made more horrible because it lacked compaired to Disney.

Stay with Disney, especially if youre used to all the pixie dust.