Why do you stay off-site?

[Luvchefmic]

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!!

I can also recommend vhbo.com (vacation homes by owner) I rented one this summer & while they are few & far between that allows pets Dillon & I had a great time I found a great lady with a 3 bedroom home in Kissimmee & it was minutes from Disney, I would definitely do the vacation home with the amount of your family going

 

[Mickeys_n_me]

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.

I rented through villadirect.com and am staying in a 6 bedroom home in the Windsor Hill resort. I am very happy so far with my choice as the CS at villa direct has been very pleasant so far. (I will report when I get back how the home was)
As the pp mentioned villa direct has a ton of homes. It took us about a month to narrow down what home to choose. Some great locations are Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms and Indian Creek. All are about a ten minute drive to WDW.
We got our home for $88 per couple a night (3 couples going - we didn't charge the children ) and the space we all will have beats staying in a motel room anyday of the week.

There are other sites as well. www.vhbo.com, www.allstarvacationhomes.com to name a couple.

 

[spiceycat]

There are other sites as well. www.vhbo.com, www.allstarvacationhomes.com to name a couple.

this is the big one - some of it advertises that a couple of people can get you houses together. don't have the direct ad - may someone who has uses them can post it.
www.vrbo.com - vacation rentals by owner


http://www.allstarvacations.com/
http://www.kissimmee-us192.com/orlandovacationhomes/bassrd.htm
http://www.floridavilla4us.com/
http://www.1stfororlando.com/Location-map.htm
http://thepalmshotelandvillas.com/
http://www.premierdisneyhomes.com/
http://www.onlinefloridavillas.com/florida-vacation-rental-1393.aspx
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa/map.htm
http://www.villasflorida.com/
http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/
http://www.villadirect.com/
http://**************************/
http://www.dsnyhomes.com/

also like
www .lastminutevillas. net

this is a new one
www.homeaway.com

 

[Julia M]

yea - but now you will get the cards.

disney has a very strange system. they don't give their best rates to their return customers. but give them to past guests who haven't been in a while.

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

.

This hasn't worked for me. I went to WDW in 2001, didn't return until 2004 (and room was booked under my mom;s name, not mine), so actually returned in 2005 (Xmas). I have a tripped planned in 2008. Never a postcard, email, etc!!

I have stayed on site with all of my trips, usually an extra couple of days. I did Port Orleans and Animal Kingdom that way.

We did a great trip at xmas to the Polynesian.....9 nights GV concierge.....what a trip!! But.....the regular room rate was $404, and we had a AAA discount for 15% off, so we paid about $340. Since we checked in during value season, we paid that through Xmas. That was in 2005. If I were to do the same trip in 2008, checking in two nights before holiday season, I'd about $404 the first two nights (Fri/Sat prices with AAA discount) and then $740 for 2 weekend nights in holidays eason and $720 for 5 nights in holidat season! So, I paid about $3060 for a room for 9 nights a couple of years ago....it would now be $5900!!!!! Just 3 years later. It was a great, awesome trip, I'm so glad I did it, (and that I did it when I did, because now I can't afford it), but I just won't do it again.

So, for me, the value is just not there. I don't really care enough about the theming. We don't do the EMH, ever. The dining plan....well, this may be sacrilege, but I just don't care too much about sit down restaurants at disney, either. I did the dining plan once, it was great fun, and I'm glad I did it, but once was enough for me.

Call me a snob if you will, but I have no desire to ever stay in a value resort. Even the moderates are a push for me.

What generally works for us is to do a week in a timeshare, and then spend 2-3 days relaxing at a nice resort. But now, I don't find DIsney resorts to be worth it.....we'll stay somewhere else, for the same price or cheaper, that is more upscale.

The difference for me, is, I don't care if someone will only stay onsite....more power to them. I don't see why it's such a big deal that I choose to stay offsite.

julia

 

[spiceycat]

you have to also register with disneyworld.com

got a couple of emails and one postcards in the last few years.

but only if I skipped a year with the regular wdw resort. (then dvc didn't count in their system)

 

[EPCOTWalker]

$$$$, or in my case, using my Marriott points from business trips. I enjoy the cluster of Courtyard/SpringHill Suites/Fairfield Inn just north of Downtown Disney. When I use those points, I can enjoy WDW with no accommodations costs. I've stayed at Disney resorts many times, so I know how to get around by car, and that's always been faster than using the decent Disney system.

 

[evenpar4me]

I stayed on property Sept 15-21 at AllStar Movies for 7 nights. Accomadations were small..Am staying At Bonnet Creek Jan 08 for 7 nights at the same price. Balcony,King bed,Full kitchen,including full size fridge,living room.with a real sofa and chair........Now thats pixie dust!

 

[Twitterpated Dad]

On our last trip, we did a split stay. Our first week was offsite in a 2br condo near SW. (I'm sorry the name escapes me at the moment.) We visited Discovery Cove, KSC and Busch Gardens in Tampa. (Our first chance to touch the ocean on the west coast of Florida.) I think the only WDW we did was the water parks. We also saw the Pirate dinner show and went to Steak and Shake and, of course, Cracker Barrel.

Our second week, we had a 2BR at OKW with the free dining plan. Boy did we have fun with that! The villa was about $30 more than the dining plan alone would have been. We ate our way around World Showcase. We also made maximum use of EMH.

Two very different weeks. I'm glad that we had the chance to do both.

 

[7165red]

for space . We love to rent a villa with a pvt. pool. Can't go back to a hotel room any more.

 

[Rora]

We stay offsite sometimes because there's no availability in Disney Resorts! Also, sometimes resorts at Disney run a little pricey and sometimes we can't afford it at the time but wind up finding a very nice hotel for lower the cost. However, I much rather prefer staying on site.

 

[DawnM]

I agree with all that has been said about staying off-site....extra room, kitchen, etc...

We also like having more than one TV. The kids just don't let us "veg" and watch non-kid shows without being entertained themselves. With 2 TVs it makes it easier to relax (which I need after the 2nd or 3rd say in the parks!)

We use SkyAuction for condos. The more we save, the more times we can go to Disney!

Paying $199 for 7 nights is like getting 6 nights free compared to staying in a hotel at Disney that will accomodate 5 of us!!!! Let's see.....$1400 or $199 for more than twice the room. It really is a no-brainer for us.

Dawn

 

[bama-mom]

While I long to stay on-site just once...I think I will always prefer off-site. We also have a timeshare and the units we usually stay in are HUGE. 3 BR 3 Baths, a full kitchen, balcony/patio, 4 TV's. We also prefer to have our own car, there are a lot of places off-site we like to eat and with 2 little ones, we make several milk/diaper/motrin/juice/snack runs! We stay 2 minutes from the DTD entrance and really love our arrangements. I could not stay for 7 or more days in a small hotel room with all 4 of us, talk about torture for me

Having said all that, dd (4) and I will probably take a short trip next year with just the 2 of us. I plan on booking one of the monorail resorts and we will just stay 2 nights.

I think you just have to try both and decide for yourself. Lots of pro's and con's to both situations.