Why do you stay off site?

[disney-super-mom]

I was wondering why people choose to stay off site when visiting WDW?

Is it more common for larger families because there's so few options for a family of 5 or more at WDW?

Is it to get nicer accomodations at a lower price?

Is it to save money?

What about the extra money spent on a rental car and parking?

(I was looking at Windsor Hills, and was quite impressed by it. But, we're a family of 4, so I'm trying to determine what the advantages for us would be if we stayed off site - it's kinda hard to give up the convenient tansportation to/from the parks when staying on site.....ya know what I mean?)

 

[Ware Bears]

Purely cost for us. We stay offsite because we are a family of 5 and it costs us too much to stay onsite. For two rooms onsite we can get a nice hotel offsite plus all our tickets. We would always hire a car anyway so that doesn't come into the equation.

 

[jkelly86]

I have never stayed on-site, so I can't compare the two. We are planning our 5th trip to Disney and we have never stayed in anything smaller than a 2BR suite/condo. We have been traveling with small children and it just feels more like a vacation when we can put them to bed and then have some quiet time to ourselves. Also, we have a full kitchen and washer/dryer which makes life so much more convenient! This year we will also have a private pool which will allow the children to swim while we BBQ in the evening. Ahhh... I get relaxed just thinking about it! We rented our mini-van in April for $205 including taxes for the week. Parking is $10 a day and transferrable from park to park. It is very convenient to drive to the parks with small children! We have always made time for a mid-day rest back at the condo/hotel, and it was a very enjoyable pace for us. We have never stayed more than a 10 minute drive from MK, though, and I do think proximity to the parks is very important. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Freyja]

We´re a family of 6 and if we want something nice on-site it gets waaaay to expensive. We like the spaciousness of an off-site villa, the private pool and having a washer/dryer, big fridge, etc.

 

[perdidochas]

I was wondering why people choose to stay off site when visiting WDW?

Is it more common for larger families because there's so few options for a family of 5 or more at WDW?

Is it to get nicer accomodations at a lower price?

Is it to save money?

What about the extra money spent on a rental car and parking?

(I was looking at Windsor Hills, and was quite impressed by it. But, we're a family of 4, so I'm trying to determine what the advantages for us would be if we stayed off site - it's kinda hard to give up the convenient tansportation to/from the parks when staying on site.....ya know what I mean?)

We drive down. We do it to save money. We are there to go to the parks. We don't spend much time in our rooms. We usually priceline it, and get a room for under 40 a night.

 

[CHEK]

This year will be our 4th trip, the 1st year we stayed in a hotel, but after the confinement of 1 room we decided this was not for us, But ever since that 1st trip we've never returned on our own , we always have family travel with us , we have given them the WDW love bug too . A villa is lovely a break away from the hustle & bustle, & the children love coming home to jump in the pool, So for us offsite is definately the best , good luck with what you decide.

 

[spiceycat]

Now I do love WDW - but WDW is not offsite friendly at all.

I also like to visit SW, US/IOA, and the outlet shopping in Orlando is pretty great. staying onsite at WDW - well unless you have your own car Disney makes this very, very hard.

Offsite it is easy.

I generally drive to Orlando anyway - so most of the time I have a car.

I own DVC and have an annual pass - so believe me I am staying at WDW onsite too - but offsite can be fun as well.

you can get an entire condo what you pay onsite for a hotel room. (and sometimes less - you may be able to pay for the entire week what you would pay for one or two nights)

 

[crjack]

We're a family of four as well and we prefer to stay off-site.

- It's cheaper and we get more space for the money. (Never less than a 2-bdrm condo but sometimes even bigger for less than a deluxe room)

- We want at least a queen size bed for us to sleep in all week and at Disney we had to pick a deluxe to get that. It's not a vacation for me if I have to share a bed with one of my kids!

- We prefer to rent a car than rely on the buses, etc. and with the codes listed on Mousesavers it's not that much money.

- Parking is only $10 a day (may have just gone up) but you only pay it once, not per park so it's still not enough money to off-set the savings of staying off-site. We also like the water parks and will spend a day there, along with Disney Quest and Downtown Disney and I don't believe they charge for parking (at least I don't remember paying for it)

- We love having extra space to escape from each other! We like extra bedrooms, tv's, etc. to just unwind and relax. We love to swim so for us a pool home with a private pool is heaven.

- We love to try all different types of restaurants and also love Sea World and Universal. Easier for us to be off-site for that.

For us it's really more about the space and ammenities than it is the room savings. We just feel too cramped being in one room now that my children are getting a little older and my kids actually prefer off-site now that they have been spoiled with some of our accomodations.

We stayed in Windsor Hills this past summer and liked it. We've also stayed in Windsor Palms and really enjoyed that as well.

There's no limit to the choices you have from on-site to off. There's definitely something for every family.

Have fun with your planning.

 

[Brian Noble]

We are a family of four, as well.

I can imagine sharing a single hotel room with my kids for a night. Maybe two. After that, we either need more space, or there's gonna be trouble. I resent having to pretend to be asleep for an hour while my kids nod off. I hate not having enough chairs for everyone to sit on. My wife wakes up every time one of the kids stirs. It's just not fun for us.

Ideally, we'd like to stay in something like a DVC 2BR villa. But the price for that is too high for me to justify to myself, given the many offsite options. A wilderness cabin or a Family Value suite would be okay, but I can get a 3BR condo or townhome offset for about the cost of a single Value room. Even accounting for parking, I'm still saving almost enough on lodging to pay for our tickets.

Plus, everyone gets their own bedroom, and Mom and Dad have a whirlpool tub to relax in at the end of a hard day. That's not too shabby.

It's not the least expensive way possible to visit WDW---it's hard to beat a single Value room if you're flying in. But, for only a few dollars more, it's a vastly superior living arrangement.

 

[smi727]

We usually rent a house in Kissimmee. While just my DH and I have gone before, we usually travel with my parents and 4 sisters. We prefer to stay offsite because:

1. It costs less!

2. We're not tied to waiting for WDW's buses to get to the parks. We can come and go as we please without having to stand in the heat at a bus stop.

3. We can eat a good meal offsite for much less than in the parks/resorts.

4. Private pool!

 

[billcsho]

Staying offsite saves me around $200 which pretty much pay for the rental car and gasoline for that week. Since I am flying to Daytona Beach, I need a rental car anyway. In addition, I can hop easily to Universal Studio a couple days with a rental car during the trip. If I ever consider getting the DW hopping option or going to the water park (which was a free bundle at the time I made reservation), I would have chosen staying onsite.

 

[HopperFan]

I hate to stay offsite, each time it is so sad for me but we are a family of five and if we are all going on a trip we need to be where they will take us. Sometimes it has worked at WDW but sometimes not. We have also gone for trips where we want more space like last month at Embassy Suites for 9 days because it was two rooms. It also included breakfast, managers evening reception and we planned in case of bad weather to have the indoor pool.....DH gets perks at Hiltons (free internet - I mean how can teens live without it), and we got lots of points for another destination. It was a trip that included mostly non-Disney attractions too so that factors in to decision. We drive, so we have a car.

 

[spiceycat]

you can have pets in your room offsite. Disney does not allow that!

when Spicey was alive being able to stay at CWR, LQ, AS - was very nice and important to me.

 

[mbb]

We like both.

But off-site gets the biggest chunk of our vacation time..for all those reasons you listed, and we travel with the grandparents, usually.

And they're just not into theme parkin' all day every day

So, we plan the days they want to come with us, and on days they don't, they have a whole home or condo to relax in and enjoy.

And a king size bed, all that space, washer dryer and toasty hot tub spells VAY-CAY-SHUN to me

Have fun!

 

[A&CsMom]

I have never stayed onsite, but I have stayed in one hotel room with my DH and kids, and DH and I each sleep with a kid -- not fun.

These are our reasons:

-DH and I NEED a king sized bed
-DH and I are important too, and we can put the kids to bed and spend some time together (in the pool and hot tub of the rental pool home) in the evenings, this is an important part of the vacation when we can reconnect (we don't have the opportunity to vacation without our kids)
-we like to each have our space sometimes
-we also go to Universal and Sea World
-we get tired of restaurant food and like to cook and bbq for ourselves, we also eat healthier
-save money on food and lodging (we get the whole house for the price of one value room)
-we drive down so already have our vehicle
-we don't like taking buses and relying on someone else to get us around
-we like the amenities -- washer/dryer in our own home, large fridge full of whatever we want to drink/eat
-we love having our own pool to swim in whenever we want
-we have a great family bonding experience without overindulging in each other's company
-enough bathrooms that everyone can get ready quickly

Sitting in the hot tub with DH in the evening with drinks in hand catching up and discussing our day is not something we could do at a value resort.

 

[mtmbyck]

I grew up with my family always taking us and staying onsite (we've done almost every resort). I even honeymooed there on-site for 2 weeks! But once my babies came along, we tried the local homes (the ones 5 minutes away) and we got hooked. So for the last 5 years we have stayed in a home. Then last year we decided to try on-site again with the dining plan - the whole works!! While it was extremely fun...I find that when you are staying on site there is NO down time. The room is too small to hang out in and you almost feel like you are supposed to be at a park, or DTD, or somewhere "Disney" all of the time. We were exhausted after our trip. This year, we are back in a home - our own quiet pool, we will still do Disney 5 or 6 days but we will split these days up and have quiet DOWN days in between.

Best of all - mommy and daddy can put thew kids to bed and not have to lay in the hotel room watching TV at 9pm!

 

[lastminutemom]

With the exception of the Magic KIngdom, we find it more convenient to drive to the parks, even when staying on property.

Like many others, we really want our own rooms -- I can't imagine more than a night or two sharing a hotel room with my kids. Eating breakfast in saves time and money and I love that we can have a real kitcheny area and don't feel like we are eating on the bed.

We are excellent planners and simply plan our days at the parks when there are no early or late magic hours at that park.

 

[BonnieA]

I have always stayed offsite and I have been going since 1976. It's part of my "history". I have great memories offsite with family that are not longer around. Even the drive in is part of my disney experience, I think I might miss it. Since I know the area so well, driving around there is second nature to me.
Even with just two people we rent a condo. It's so pleasant to have extra room, bathrooms, washer & dryer and kitchen. We can grab a quick breakfast, keep wine cool for relaxing later and have places to store snacks. It's so easy and quick to leave for an afternoon nap if you stay in an area that is close. I also travel at less busy times of the year.
I don't have any small children and I myself don't need to be immersed in disney 24/7.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

I would prefer to be surrounded by the magic, but it's strictly a financial decision for us. $99/week for a condo exchange (with kitchen/resort amenities and space) vs. $99/day for staying on-site. Financially, a no-brainer.

If DVC were available before we had purchased a couple other vacation ownerships, we probably would have bought into DVC. But we only get to WDW maybe once every three years, so DVC isn't a huge draw for us now.

 

[Remember The Magic]

we can't affored to stay onsite, but last year we stayed in the Grand Floridian for 3 nights for my birthday and it was just amazing. Seriously considering staying in one of the POPs next time, it's worth the extra money just to get the shopping delivered back to the hotel!