Why do you stay off site?

[minnieandmickey]

I have currently booked our family(DS and DD first time to WDW) at HIFS in Dec.. My husband and I stayed at POR in 99, and loved it. Am I going to regret staying here? I seem to see stay on site if you can,even on this board. The main reason we chose this hotel was because of the room being much bigger , and the money it saved us just on food and hotel costs alone. So why do you stay off site?

 

[CPM]

I stay off site at Disney because of the extra room also. I like having the kids in their own bedroom, I like having a fridge I don't have to pay extra for. I can't understand why Disney can't just put fridges and micros in the rooms. If you stay at a motel six you get one but at Disney you don't!!
To me Disney doesn't give you enough incentives to stay onsite.
Now, US/IOA I would never stay off site! those room key express passes are reason enough, plus the great discounts on premium rooms!

 

[TreeOfLife]

The two times I stayed offsite I did it before I ever stayed onsite, to save money.

And after savoring the can of sardines they sporadically use to provide 'free" transportation to and from the parks for standees, rushing to hop in and out of trams trying to beat the herds and sensing a stranger come into our room in the night because the hotel alternates key codes among rooms, I decided to stay onsite.

I, of course, went value season and used every code I could find. After the first visit to ASMo I went back to ASSp. Now, NOBODY can pay me enough (or save me enough) to ever make me stay offsite again.

 

[martina857]

I think it depends where you stay off site! If you stay HIFS, super 8 or Econolodge or the like then you are going to be disapointed if you are used to staying on-site.
If you stay in a price comparable place with on site then you will get better facilities, LOTS more room and probably be quicker getting to the parks than staying onsite.

 

[ilovefh]

I have stayed onsite every year since I was very little. However since I now pay for my own vacations I stay offsite when my boyfriend and I go to save money. We dont use the transportation since we are both CM's and we park for free. If I can get a good rate staying onsite I will take it (last Sept. it was $25 a night less to stay offsite than to use my CM discount). We do however feel that when we have children we will stay onsite. You just cant beat the transportation (and the MAGIC!!) for us! When we stay offsite it isnt quite as magical for us, but when it's not value season it is either stay offsite or dont go at all.....so its stay offsite for us!

I'm going in March and staying in Company housing while I work for a week, but in May I am taking my friend for graduation/birthday. We will stay offsite sine I am paying for te hotel by myself and buying her a park pass! (Unless I suddenly get a great job....or win publisher's clearing house!! ) For a week at Comfort Inn LBV it is 292...for a weekat all stars 405, I can use the extra 113 for her park pass!

 

[jessiesue]

I stay off site because it is less expensive, have more room, have a kitchen and washer & dryer. I know my DH & I would be to stressed to stay in a small room with DS 2 1/2, 4, & 6 for a week. We love having space to relax after a long day at the parks. Eventhough I do not like washing clothes on a vacation there are 2 advantages to it. I don't have to bring so many clothes and everything is cleaned when we return home. We cook most of our meals in our room so we save $ there. We can make more trips because our trips are not that costly.

 

[disvis2003]

We stay offsite for the same reasons, it's cheaper and more room. We are going to WDW the first week of March this year and will be staying at Sheraton's Vistana Resort. For a two bedroom suite with pullout couch in the living room (which we're splitting with brother & sister in law and thier 2 kids) we are paying $600, split it 2 ways and I pay $300 for 7 days. I looked at the All Stars Resorts and for the same week, 1 room for 2 adults/2 infants was over $850. I didn't use a code, but I think it's safe to assume that it won't beat my rate. Of course we will need to rent a car (because we plan on seeing Universal's parks and SeaWorld and various other things which require personal transportation), which currently we are booked for $246. But I think I'm still better off with my rates than staying in a tiny room on Disney property.

The moral of my story: I think it depends on how much "extra" money you have to stay onsite and how much the "Disney feel" means to you.

Nathan

 

[Local_Girl]

We stay offsite for a few reasons. Cost is the biggest reason--in our case, we were able to stay in a 2 bdrm villa with full kitchen and washer/dryer in the unit for $249 for a week (Hilton Grand Vacation Club) because DH is retired military. We ate several meals there. We drive to WDW and DH MUST have his car--LOL--so the onsite transportation isn't necessary. We also feel that we get enough of the "magic" while we are at the parks and visiting the resorts or DTD. That said, I'm not opposed to staying onsite...but finances are such a huge issue for us that we'd be silly not to take advantage of such a great lodging deal.

 

[hulagirl]

For us it's mostly a space issue. I have 3 little boys and we just aren't comfortable in a small hotel room. We can't afford some of the larger accommodations onsite so we rent a vacation home off site. It's a really nice alternative for this stage of our lives. The kids each get a room of their own and so do we! and the thing they really love is that we have our own pool right in the back yard. I really do prefer to stay onsite - there is special magic in that but I am content, as others said, just to be there. I can go and really enjoy myself if the kids are well rested and not killing eachother from climbing over eachother all week.
I've stayed both on and offsite at different stages of our lives. You have to do what works for you at the time. I have no question you'll have a good time either way with the right attitude!

 

[BonnieA]

It's not worth it to me to stay onsite. I get all the "magic" I need and pay a lot less for it. I love having separate bedrooms and kitchen facilities that I couldn't afford if staying onsite.
I did stay at the Royal Pacific in Universal. If disney ever offers front of the line for onsite guests I may consider it.

 

[pstepka]

I don't think you'll be disappointed at HIFS. It's not as large as some of the other off-site places that offer a full kitchen, two full bedrooms, etc., but it IS very kid-friendly. My kids loved it when we where there and it didn't feel any less like a Disney vacation than when we were on-site. We don't cook so we don't need a kitchen -- just a fridge for pop and a microwave for popcorn! We liked the breakfast buffet, and loved the 'kids eat free' deal at Pizza Hut and A&W.

Each time I've booked a vacation, I always second guess myself and wonder if I shouldn't change the reservations to onsite (or off-site, depending on where we're staying). That is until we arrive. Once we're on vacation, we always have a great time and never wish we had done it differently. It's vacation and it's at Disney -- you'll have a great time!

Pam

 

[Robinrs]

I've done both and I truly prefer OFFsite for Disney and ONsite for Universal.

Universal offers much better perks for their onsite guests, including location, convenience and the Universal express perk which is the best in Orlando.

Disney, imho, makes you a prisoner of the "magic", not allowing you to experience all that Orlando has to offer, not to mention cheaper prices!

I LOVE space and convenience while I'm in my resort, not just in the parks. When I go on vacation, I want peace, relaxation and silence once I leave the parks. Vacation homes and some condos offer this and I love it.

I do understand why some people prefer onsite at Disney, but for some reason they never seem to understand my preference for offsite. To each his own, I guess!

 

[hulagirl]

Robinrs,
I know this is off topic but can you tell me about "space and convenience" at US/IOA hotels? Are the hotel rooms over there more spacious? Space is a big issue for us and we are thinking about trying US on our next trip. (We are staying in a vacation home). I need to spend more time on the Universal boards I know but I was interested in your opinion...

 

[sillyminny]

Love staying on site: did Dixie Landings one year BUT>>>>

It is too much $$$ to stay onsite for 5 in a family. Two rooms at all stars is way too much.

Love more room for sure. Post trip report when we get back on Marriott SP. hIlls

 

[RamseyTrio]

We stay off site because it's always cheaper and the rooms are always larger than what we'd get at Disney. Even if we did stay on site we'd NEVER use the transportation system they offer. We always rent a car and enjoy driving to and from the parks on our own schedule.

Plus, we stayed at CBR for part of our honeymoon in '96 and the room we had was AWFUL and the service almost as bad. Felt we wasted our money staying on site.

we spend so little time in the hotel anyway that I can't see paying Disney prices.

If I was only doing Magic Kingdom and ONLY using the monorail then I could see staying on site OR if the trip was a freebie Otherwise count me as a loyal off-siter!

 

[Robinrs]

Originally posted by hulagirl
Robinrs,
I know this is off topic but can you tell me about "space and convenience" at US/IOA hotels? Are the hotel rooms over there more spacious? Space is a big issue for us and we are thinking about trying US on our next trip. (We are staying in a vacation home). I need to spend more time on the Universal boards I know but I was interested in your opinion...

I was referring to the vacation homes and condos when I spoke of space.

The USF hotels do have very spacious suites, in fact, a fellow DISer invited me to her suite in Portofino and it was 1800 square feet!!! Not to mention the most incredible furnishings and decor I'd ever seen. The Portofino is breathtaking!

I love vacation homes, it's just that they are so far from Universal, which is where I go mainly. But for space and privacy, nothing beats them!

 

[Lisa P.]

We've been spoiled by staying offsite in large, spacious, nicely appointed timeshare condos. We get more space (2 BRs, 2 baths, full-sized kitchen, LR/DR, balcony or porch) with more amenities (washer/dryer, double jacuzzi) for much less money than a single onsite Deluxe hotel room. From my sig below, you can see that we've stayed both onsite & offsite. For our family of 5 to stay onsite that we've had offsite, we'd have paid more than double to stay in DVC condos.

DVC condos onsite are lovely... and ridiculously overpriced. We sold our DVC timeshare while keeping our other, more reasonable timeshare points and trading into other nice places offsite. We relax more when we leave the hype and enticement$ of Disney resorts. We enjoy resort activities for at least a day or two of our vacations. My DH tops out on "Disney" otherwise. As long as the resort is located only a couple miles from the parks, it's still easy to drive back to our resort and relax midday.

We found the Disney transportation to be of mixed value. The gate drop-off at MK was most useful. We enjoy the boats & monorail, too, from Deluxe hotels. But we've had the "pleasure & convenience" of standing on our feet in long bus stop lines one too many times, so mostly drive regardless of where we stay. Driving between the 4 spread out Disney parks and our condos takes about the same time (or less) than waiting for & using Disney transport.

Other onsite benefits are easy to bypass as well. FastPass reduces the need for EE. Front gate package pick-up is almost as good as Disney resort gift shop package delivery (and available the last day of your stay, when we shop more). Hopper passes enable one to park-hop and you only pay for parking once a day. On days when we visit theme parks, we only swim a little while. On resort days, if we want poolslides, we visit a water park with the "plus" part of our hopper passes.

So the only real benefits (for us) to staying onsite are the interesting themes and the easy access to parks/restaurants from the Deluxe resorts, which are way-overpriced. When we've added a few hotel nights to an offsite timeshare condo week, we're reminded that our Disney hotel stays usually ended with us needing a vacation after our vacation. Separate sleeping rooms for us & the kids just works better for us. So does having a full kitchen for breakfasts & evening snacks. Having all that costs too much at Disney hotels.

 

[CarolynU]

I stay onsite if I haven't got a car and offsite if I have. I usually visit two or three times a year, and if I am without my DH who gets less vacation time than me I always feel safer on property. There is the added bonus of the Disney transportation although I absolutely hate those crammed busses, so if DH is with me and he will drive we always stay offsite with a room which includes a microwave and fridge as standard. We eat all our meals in restaurants so I could do without the microwave, but in Summer the fridge for cold drinks is essential. I know that you can rent one from Disney, but if one is provided free and the room costs less then I go for it. I must be very strange, because although I am a Disneyholic I don't need to be onsite to feel part of the magic.

 

[momofdbsdc]

I have stayed on site (before kids!) and it was wonderful, but now that we have 5 kids we stay offsite. We stayed at HIFS last time and the children adored the place. They actually wanted to leave Disney everyday to go back to the hotel to swim and participate in the evening activities. They are still asking when we can go back to the hotel!!! What is wrong with this picture?! LOL.
Personally I would open Disney and stay until close!!!

 

[Debbie]

momofdbsdc, my kids prefer HIFS to both Dixie (POR) and Beach Club! Hard to believe, but it's true. KIDS!!!!