Why do you stay off-site?

[peanut1967]

We will be renting a villa for our 3rd trip our children will be 20 and 16, to spend it in one room would be no holiday for us. Also hopefully we will be foster parents by the time we go and legally they have to have a room of there own so basically we need at least a 4 bedroomed villa. I did look into renting points in say a grand villa....yeah right it came out at something like £8,000 for 3 weeks, I cant justifie that, even if I was loaded.
So we will have a 5 bedroomed villa, with a pool and a big chill out factor. when it is just me or the two of us, I will stay on site in a heart beat, but considering Disney is big on family its accomadation is not family friendly...unless of course you have lots of dosh (money)

 

[inaminute]

after you don't stay on WDW property for a year might be two - you will definitely get a postcard or email.

That might work to attract some. In my case, it may be too little, too late. Unless it's one heck of a good deal, that is!

 

[Taratink]

We actually prefer to stay offsite. I have stayed at 3 nice WDW resorts and I enjoyed it. I need more room traveling with my two kids and I refuse to pay the high prices for onsite. I do budget vacations so we can go every year. On our first offsite trip we stayed at the Vistana resort and it was beautiful. I love having 2 bedrooms, the washer/dryer, kitchen and our own screened in porch. We save money and I find it more relaxing.
Tara

 

[Gabkatt]

We love Disney and have stayed both on and off site. Just can't stay on site any more. For all the reasons listed...cost & space. We stay for 2 weeks and you just can't beat off site for that length of time. I hate to give up the extra hours, but with a little planning and some common sense you can have just as awesome of a time off site and not miss a thing! You know we still get the itch to stay on site...so last year we did. 12 days at POFQ. Amaizing resort, loved the pool, great service, fantastic room.....WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! 5 of us cramed into a 425 sqft room...can't do it again. Well until the next uncontrolable urge to be cramed like sardines for the "pure Disney Magic". We even had free dinning and thats not all its cracked up to be either. Great value...about had a heart attack by the end of the trip...lol...too much food! We had to stop eating! Its nice to be able to cook a few meals in a full kitchen.

Anyway, we have done the 3 bedroom timeshares, once a 7 bedroom pool home with friends and family (loved it!). This year we're staying at Windsor Hill in a 3 bedroom condo privately owned. (1500 sgft) It shares a property line with Disney, we can be to any of the gates in less than 10 - 15 min. Just as fast as any Diney transportation and we can still easily get back to our room for a mid-day break. BTW, we do have the advantage (I wouldn't call this an advantage, but I'm sure someone will) my DW has severe arthritis and we use her pass for handycap parking which does put us much closer to the gates than regular parking. Also, some people will say were crazy, but we love having a washer and dryer in our room. We don't want to do laundry on vacation, but a load or two isn't much and better than lugging laundry to a facility.

Finally, the bottom line, cost! For a fraction of staying on site for a week I can stay off site for two weeks for less! Yes, that includes tickets. We buy them from AAA or online or with whoever has the best deals when we are going. For us this year, its online from the Disney website 10 Day base tickets saved hundreds over the park hoppers and our crew just doesn't hop so it works for us. A couple that will be with us are buying hoppers since its just 2 of them and then they wont be chained to us. Well thats my opinion!

 

[wahoostampingirl]

We stayed offsite on our first trip last Jan. in a 4 BR villa with another family. We loved it, but I wondered what I was missing by not staying onsite. So in June we took a quick 4 night trip and stayed at POFQ. It was ok, but it didn't suit our family. My ds6 has trouble sleeping with other people in the same bed (although he's ok with sleeping in a twin bed in the same room as his twin sister), so he was up until 2:00am on 2 out of our 4 nights. I much preferred having our own car, kitchen and laundry facilities when we stayed offsite. I think if my dh and I went by ourselves, I might like to try a Deluxe or the Swan/Dolphin, but for our family, offsite just has better options for us.

 

[Checkers]

We are staying offsite at the end of the month. Before we bought into DVC, we purchased a timeshare offsite and we are staying there. We do enjoy it also, in a different way. We use our DVC to take our family with us so usually stay in a 2br most of the time. We once took extended family and stayed in a GV at OKW. Was nice. But, I do agree, offsite does offer more in amenities and for most families is worth the tradeoff. We also like to rent a car anyway and with APs don't have to pay for parking. This time we are looking forwarding to trying more offsite restaurants as well.

 

[R.S.Winters]

i have been to WDW 3 times and not stayed onsite. been to disneyland CA 3 times and not stayed onsite. been to disneyland paris 7 times and stayed onsite 3 times lol.
i can honestly say that most of the time its due to budget.
but i also think that, even as much of a die hard disney fan i am, u need break from it, even when ur away on holiday! to spend an evening in a hotel and its surrounding area SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN DISNEY, having dinner etc can be just as nice.
the thing is im from the UK, so i guess the novelty of being in the US on holiday is different for me anyway. so staying onsite would be a bonus.
i am planning on staying onsite for my 2009 trip though... fingers crossed...

D.

 

[OB1]

EASY ANSWER - to save money. We go twice a year (at least). If we book one of our trips off site, then we probably save $2-300 for the trip in lodging. That helps pay for the next trip. We stay on site when the season is slower and the rooms are cheaper.

PW

 

[CarolA]

I am currently staying at the Marriott Courtyard and will move tonight to OKW.

I tried to do a comparison in my mind to the mods for this hotel. I am single so renting a home isn't going to happen LOL!

Transportation. Definite edge Disney! If you don't want to drive NO comparison.

Parking. If you don't have an AP plan on $11 a day extra to park if you stay off site. Plus if it's busy like this weekend you can be parked pretty far away. I hate trams so it's a long walk. (That "no further boarding" announcement was NOT an invitation for you to try to shove your stroller and five family members on! This was not the last tram Disney will ever send to the parking lot, be polite and WAIT!)

Food. Off site. More options then at Disney and since most "offsite" folks have a car they are easy to get to. And it's cheaper!

Time to park in car. About the same from here as from a mod. (I am good at Disney backroads however!)

Room Size. Off site wins. bigger room and for $13 a night I could have had an upgrade to a two room suite.

Bed quality. This is where Disney REALLY drops the ball! Off site by a LONG SHOT LOL! My Courtyard bed is a lot nicer then any bed at Disney and it's a KING!

Theme Disney takes this one. No comparison. So you get the total immersion which is great!

Price. That's why I am here. For this weekend Disney wanted way too much money. Sorry but a value is not worth $140 a night. This is right at $100 with an AAA discount.


Pool. Theming not near as good. However, they have not been crowded at all. (I tend to like uncrowded LOL!)


I rotate back and forth, but the truth is that Disney pricing has pretty much driven me offsite if I am not using my DVC membership. I refuse to pay those RIP OFF prices for deluxe. I travel a lot on business and am lucky enough to stay in REAL Deluxe hotels, often for LESS money and the room quality/service just put Disney to shame. (I don't buy the DIS theory of "it's Disney so expect less" I am not going to keep coming when the parks are the same as Six Flags so why should I expect less in a hotel. Isn't Disney about "exceeding"?)

 

[mungo]

I enjoy disney, but its not the be all and end all for me. I come to Florida to see many more things and to relax and enjoy my holiday.


I am sorry to say the ddp does nothing for me, would not tempt me to stay onsite, as i am not keen on their food anyway, it is nice enough, but imho it is overpriced for what you get, and you can get much better value off site.

Disney like to keep you onsite, and spending your dollars there, but Florida is a wonderful place with lots of great places to stay and see

 

[avic77]

This will be my first trip to Disney and we are currently booked off site. I have fretted over this choice time and time again. I am still watching for codes to see if on site is possible but currently off site is where we are booked and where we will stay. Here are our reasons:
1: COST! I can pay 600 to 800 for a good moderate off site hotel room compared to $1,200 on site. This savings allows me to go from a 4 day vacation to a 7 day vacation!
2: Family size! As a family of 5 we are limited with Disney's accomodations. There are few resorts within a reasonable budget for a family our size. 2 rooms at a value resort comes out to be more expensive then the moderate resort.
3: Amenities! granted the Disney "Magic" is a wonderful amenity and I know that the price you pay is for that magic. However off site i will get a 2 bedroom suite with sleeping space for 6 a kitchen with a full size fridge and cooking area.
4: No need for Disney transportation! We will drive our on car down to orlando so we dont need transportation.
5: More dining options and the savings that offers. We will eat several meals off site (since we are going with TGM plan of action we will leave for a rest and come back for the nightly entertainment eating dinner before we return)
6: The magic of relaxing away from it all for a few hours! We all need some down time and the idea of having a chance to get away from the Disney mania and recharge is appealing to me.

 

[1stluvispooh]

Our first family vacation to WDW we stayed on site. The kids were 3 and 5. I wanted their first trip to have all the Disney "magic" . I also didn't ask my single sister if she wanted to come with us (which she always does). I'm glad we did it but now we only stay off site. Money be a big issue the other is my youngest has autism and the kids having there own rooms is a nice option. Although last trip they stayed in the same room 1/2 the time I as others have mentioned like having a kitchen, at least for breakfast. DD is also allergic to milk so even though Disney does a GREAT job with people with food allergies it's just easier if I bring our Mickey waffle maker and make safe waffles one morning. Also my husband hates crowds ( I know so we does he go to Disney, for me and the kids )It's nice to get away from the crowds, and have a little room. Lets face it your 2 feet away from your loved ones all day in line or next to you on the ride or at the show. (It reminds me of the breastfeeding days when there was Always someone on me!!!) It's nice to get some physical space for your own psyche

 

[ICF]

We can get an offsite condo for about $350 / wk for 7 nights (via www.afvclub.com). This is a 2 - 3 bedroom condo w/full kitchen and W/D as well. Later this month we are going to be at Silver Lake, which appears to be very close to the Animal Kingdom lodge, so we are still only minutes from Disney.

If I were lucky, I might get a value resort in the off season for about $59-$69 night. This would be an average size hotel room with no extra space for us to move around in.

We are a family of 4, with kids age 5 - 7 1/2 and while we don't spend a lot of time in the condo it is nice to be able to have "space" for us to spread out and not all try to fall asleep in the same small room. We also have 2 bathrooms and more then enough closet space to hang all of our clothes for the week.

We stop at WalMart to get groceries for the week which allows us to eat breakfast in the room every day and also some days we'll be back there for an early dinner before heading back to the parks....thus saving $$$ we would have likely spent on-site.

The $11 / day to park isn't fun to have to pay, but even with that added in I'm up to about $61 / day in "room" expenses when compared to a disney resort room.

 

[starwishing]

Definitely SPACE!!!! After a day at the parks it is so wonderful to come back to the condo, put on your pj's, grab a snack from your stocked kitchen, curl up on the couch to watch a movie...or climb into your bed with a good book...or maybe go out on your screened deck and just talk. All the while, everybody else is off doing what they want to do, too. And at the end of the night, laying in bed with my dh, talking about the days events....or not talking ....in our own room with a door & a lock, enjoying some alone time. I mean hey....it's our vacation too!!! And then the mornings, puttering around the kitchen, enjoying coffee & a cooked breakfast or a box of donuts (YES....we sometimes do that on vacation!!!) Not having 4 people waiting for ONE shower.......as far as "feeling the MAGIC"....well I have to say, that for us the magic is everywhere.....it's the planning, it's the plane ride, it's the pulling up at the condo, it's the shopping for trinkets on rte. 192 & eating at Logan's Roadhouse (fantastic place, we go everytime) or breakfast at Perkins (YUMMMMM!) it's even grocery shopping to stock up our fridge at the condo....I think it's all magic. (OK, you can call me crazy if you want) Of coarse the GRAND MAGIC is Disney & US & IOA !!!!!! (Is it sacrilege to say them all together??? ) I LOVE IT ALL!!!!!!

 

[mickeymousemom]

We stay offsite only because we stay onsite once a year and can't afford to do it more than that right now. Before I got the rest of my family Disney obsessed, we had already bought into Bluegreen. I even had to talk DH(thanks to the help of some obsessed coworkers of his ) into staying onsite at first. He couldn't understand why it would be so great, when we could actually be in a 2 BR condo with lots more room. One stay at POR and he was hooked. We stay here every year for a week, then drive down other times to stay in our timeshare. We are lucky because not only do we have points but we have lifetime bonus time---meaning we can pay around $60/night anytime we want to stay in any Bluegreen resort and we don't have to use our points.
We just upgraded thru Bluegreen in June, and are now deeded in Orlando...besides changing our deed to The Fountains, we are now dual members of both RCI and II(which is what DVC is a member of). SO...now we can exchange a week and stay in a DVC resort. Not easy, but we at least have that option if we try to book months in advance.

SO.....the answer is....we ONLY stay offsite because of our bonus time. We are a family of five so staying in a value won't work. We love to be immersed in the magic 24 hours a day so I really am at a loss as to how others are satisfied staying offsite. Oh well.

 

[DaddyDon]

Okay! I love wdw!!!!! So before the flames begin let me say i have stayed from the contemp down to pop cent and Fort wilderness in my camper.I love to stay off site for the price...example ...This christmas i could camp in my camper at fw for 85 plus dollars a nite or i could stay in a 2 bedroom condo for 75 a nite...let me see .....camper???? or king bed ...and all the room like 1300 sq feet of room.2 baths or a porta a potty.....coleman stove or a real kitchen,,,,pay to wash and dry clothes or warsh room, pay for ice or ice maker in fridge......
That being said i hope you get the picture...To be honest i have seen real little Disney Magic in the past 10 yrs......The last CEO killed it.................
I am a Disney stock holder so dont flame me if you dont have all your fact toghther...Disney has really went down hill in the past yrs as far as customer service goes....Just ask my 10 yr old dd she wont dare stay at pop cent anymore....But thats another story
1: Cost
2:room size
3:food cost
It all comes down to what you want ...I like money still in my account when i come home!

 

[bdink921]

We've stayed on site the past 2 trips to WDW. We stayed at Pop and CSR and had a good time both times. There are things about staying on site (or in any hotel for that matter) that I didn't love--they mostly had to do with the habits of my own family--like DH watching TV late when I want to sleep or trying to get DS settled down after a busy day at the parks and having to lie quietly in the dark waiting for him to sleep. Those things kinda dull the 'magic' after a day or so. Next April we were going to use my sister's timeshare but she ended up selling it so we looked into renting a condo/townhome. We're staying in a townhouse at Windsor Hills for 1 week for less than it would have costed to stay at a value resort. It's still my dream to stay at Wilderness Lodge just once, but that's a little out of our budget at this time. We're also splitting our time between WDW and US/IOA and as much as I would have loved to stay on site there for FOTL... the price is just too much.

However, for me magic it getting up as early as I want to without disturbing anyone and having a good cup of coffee in my PJ's. It's also getting time to spend alone with my hubby in our own room that has a king sized bed. For my DS magic will be getting to swim in our splash pool whenever he wants--and he'll probably be in it as I'm having that first cup of coffee LOL--that kid loves a pool. Magic is being able to relax and unwind and have some space after being so crowded all day at the parks. Because we'll have a car we can eat wherever we want and go to places we've never seen. Staying off site this next time is a good fit for our budget and family style--that's where the magic begins.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Being blessed with a job that allows a lot of free time off I stay off-site in the summer (I drive down from NY) so that my buddy pictured below can go on vacation too and being an AP holder I fly down in the fall & stay on-site for the discounted room rate. Alot of Pros & Cons to both, this time I am going to rent a car for 1/2 the stay to get the freedom of going to the outlet stores and other off property experiences

 

[luvsJack]

I started reading this thread hoping to get some ideas for a possible extended family vacation in 2008. I have only stayed on site, except for waaaay back in the 70's. We (me, dh and dd9) are already planning to be in wdw in nov 08 and had been planning to stay at POP again. But, now we are hoping to include my SIL and her family (her dh and 2 teens), MIL and FIL, and our two grown sons and the oldest son's finace. So, now I am wondering if there may be a better option that would be cheaper (and would convince my MIL and FIL to go!) Does anyone have a website I could go to to look into rental vacation homes ( or other options that may be cheaper per family) close to wdw? Thank you for any suggestions!!

 

[starwishing]

I started reading this thread hoping to get some ideas for a possible extended family vacation in 2008. I have only stayed on site, except for waaaay back in the 70's. We (me, dh and dd9) are already planning to be in wdw in nov 08 and had been planning to stay at POP again. But, now we are hoping to include my SIL and her family (her dh and 2 teens), MIL and FIL, and our two grown sons and the oldest son's finace. So, now I am wondering if there may be a better option that would be cheaper (and would convince my MIL and FIL to go!) Does anyone have a website I could go to to look into rental vacation homes ( or other options that may be cheaper per family) close to wdw? Thank you for any suggestions!!

Try Villadirect.com, you can put in the dates, how many people, where you might what to stay (or leave that open) and it will pop up with a whole bunch of choices.....& the best thing is....you can actually look at REAL pictures & tours of the ACTUAL condo or townhouse or home you might want.