Why stay on property?

[kylenne]

Agree with this!! My family (all adults) all met down there at Christmas in...I think 2000 and that time we stayed off property to save money. Well, as it turns out, a kiddo in the nursery at church on Christmas Eve (I had to keep it for that service as our normal workers were college students who were home for Christmas break) had probably Noro - at the least some kind of GI bug - and passed it to me. Our first day in the park, I got sick before we got on Ellen's Energy Adventure and thought I was ok, but...my sister sacrificed her backpack while we were on the ride. I spent an hour or so in Epcot first aid and we thought I was better until about 30 minutes after my parents and sister picked me up. Got sick AGAIN, so my sister (who was a WDW-based CM at the time) took me back to the hotel because she could get back into the parking lot or worst-case use a CM lot where I rotated between the bathroom and the bed and pretty much slept off and on all day. If we'd been staying on property it would have been MUCH simpler for getting me to the room. That was the last time we stayed off-property.

Oh no! That sounds horrible.

My family was always religious about midday breaks growing up and that's something that's stayed with me as an adult. The logistics of MK parking make it so much more onerous when staying offsite. So Swolphin is as "offsite" as I'm willing to get lol. Though if they keep using Mears buses that's a dealbreaker for me.

Tbh the only real perk loss that hurts me is the luggage handling since I always check a bag. But I'm willing to deal.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

IMO, nothing beats staying on property. You stay immersed in the WDW experience. You don't need to take a ride off property to your hotel...you simply get on the monorail or boat. Yes, you can probably grab some great rates off-site somewhere. And that's fine. But the question posed is "why stay on property?". None of those off-site hotels can replicate the feel of staying on-site. Again, just my opinion.

That really only applies to the Premium resorts and Shades of Green (which is really not Disney and has it's separate military pricing scheme).

The All Star value resorts are far away and only have bus access. A hotel like Quality in at The Parks is virtually an identical distance as the Disney All Star value resorts to all the parks at half the price and equal or superior quality.

 

[nwandless32]

Go with the swan and dolphin. Best of both worlds. On property but better prices.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

Go with the swan and dolphin. Best of both worlds. On property but better prices.

Before Disney started hoarding out the EMH to all the Disney Springs hotels this was the best offsite hotel to go to since it was the only non Disney hotel to offer EMH.

It also used to be much cheaper but I feel they've raised the price relatively to other offsite hotels.

 

[Lashed34]

From the UK, the cost of staying at the Sawn/Dolphin is hugely expensive IMO and since they brought in Mears I haven't even considered staying there because of that cost.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

If the bubble doesn’t matter to you, then sure all of this is correct. For those of the

If the bubble doesn’t matter to you, then sure all of this is correct. For those of us that it matters for, none of this makes a difference.

I absolutely don’t give a toss about the rest of Orlando tbqh and if I wanted to stay at a random Marriott I could save airline points and take a 30 minute subway ride to do that.

I can’t wake up to sunrise on Seven Seas Lagoon from the Sheraton Vistana down the road. More pragmatically, if I’m feeling overwhelmed/overstimulated/just plain tired in a park I can’t walk back to my room in some Disney Springs hotel.My last offsite stay was in 2016 and I swore never again no matter how much cheaper it is. I would honestly rather stay home. I don’t feel like I’m really at Disney among other reasons.

People have different priorities and different needs and different dealbreakers on a Disney trip.

Ok. Continue paying for your “magic”, good for you.

I’ll continue staying at fabulous hotels around Orlando that have great customer service not waiting for their clunky, slow transportation, and have a car ride that doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to get to my hotel.

I’m not sure why some people on this board equate staying off property as staying in a motel six....And if you read this board enough there are plenty and I mean plenty of problems people have with Disney service..

 

[SaintsManiac]

lol why do you care how other people vacation? My goodness you seem very angry.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

lol why do you care how other people vacation? My goodness you seem very angry.

A debate seems angry I guess, good to know. Trust me, I don’t care at all how you vacation I just like giving a counterpoint.

 

[SaintsManiac]

A debate seems angry I guess, good to know. Trust me, I don’t care at all how you vacation I just like giving a counterpoint.

There's discussion and debate and there's snark. It's just how you come across.

Glad I misinterpreted it.

 

[Farro]

Why stay on property?
Because we want to.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Why stay on property?
Because we want to.

I mean I ALMOST posted this word for word...

 

[DVCSunDevil]

That really only applies to the Premium resorts and Shades of Green (which is really not Disney and has it's separate military pricing scheme).

The All Star value resorts are far away and only have bus access. A hotel like Quality in at The Parks is virtually an identical distance as the Disney All Star value resorts to all the parks at half the price and equal or superior quality.

Have you ever stayed at Shades of Green? I totally disagree that it "is really not Disney". That resort feels just as magical as all the "Disney" properties. Disney partners with the resort and allows all the access (advanced reservations, etc) that anyone would have if they stayed at a deluxe hotel. Everything is linked on the Disney Experience portal just as it would be for any other property. And Disney guest services has access to the reservation, also. The Disney theming is great and the location is really attractive (right across the street from Poly). The only difference between Shades of Green and the other resorts is that it is for current or retired military. That's the only difference. We stayed there three times (my father in law is retired military) and loved it! We just recently bought into DVC because we wanted an affordable way to stay on property.

As has been said many times on this thread, everyone has their own thoughts and feelings about staying on property versus off-property. For those who don't care about the Disney magic and who only care about the bottom line cost, yes, staying off property probably makes more sense. But for MANY of us the WDW experience is worth the added cost to stay on property, as well as the convenience. As I said, I want to stay in the "bubble" to stay immersed in the magic and have more convenience. That is everything, IMO.

 

[Lashed34]

If there was a hotel on the moon, why stay on a satellite?

 

[nwandless32]

From the UK, the cost of staying at the Sawn/Dolphin is hugely expensive IMO and since they brought in Mears I haven't even considered staying there because of that cost.

That makes sense to me being from overseas. I put that down because I can drive there and walk to Epcot and Studios and pay far less then other hotels around like boardwalk, or beach and yacht club. I don't get on the busses so I just drive my car over to MK because you get free parking there if you stay at Swan and Dolphin. If you cant drive then that plan will not work at all.

 

[SaintsManiac]

That makes sense to me being from overseas. I put that down because I can drive there and walk to Epcot and Studios and pay far less then other hotels around like boardwalk, or beach and yacht club. I don't get on the busses so I just drive my car over to MK because you get free parking there if you stay at Swan and Dolphin. If you cant drive then that plan will not work at all.

I'm looking at the Dolphin, but the dang resort fees and parking fees add up. I might have another look at it, especially if Disney doesn't put out a decent discount. I think you can get a AAA discount at Dolphin, right?

 

[nwandless32]

I'm looking at the Dolphin, but the dang resort fees and parking fees add up. I might have another look at it, especially if Disney doesn't put out a decent discount. I think you can get a AAA discount at Dolphin, right?
Yes, as well as teachers, military, law enforcement, senior citizens,

 

[ucf_knight]

From the UK, the cost of staying at the Sawn/Dolphin is hugely expensive IMO and since they brought in Mears I haven't even considered staying there because of that cost.

If you can’t get the Florida resident rate there are many times all stars/pop is very similarly priced to swan/dolphin. And that would be with the resort fee of $35 a night.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I've always been team "on-site." To me, not staying on-site feels like there's a party going on and you're outside looking in. I do believe some Disney perks will return. We even splurge to stay at Beach Club since it's so close to the parks and we love being able to walk to and from Epcot. To us, the ease and efficiency outweighs the cost.

I can see them bringing back FP in some form, providing an incentive to stay on property, etc. but honestly, I've spent a few days watching Disney Vloggers stay at Waldorf Astoria and Hilton Bonnet Creek and....wow. The fact that you can stay in a 2-queen room for the price of a mod, and be a quick car ride away from Disney Springs? I believe they provide shuttles to and from the parks (at least during normal times). For the same price as Grand Floridian you can get a big suite with rolling views of all the parks - and see fireworks during normal times. It has me seriously reconsidering our next trip. Sure, we won't be able to walk outside and see Donald and friends at Cape May; and we won't be a stone's throw away from Epcot... but they money we save will make way for other trips and experiences.

I understand why Disney is making cuts. While it's an opportunistic time for businesses to cut costs, it also comes at a bad time in the travel industry. Most of us lost a year or more of our lives. I had a lot of travel planned in 2020. I had weddings planned in 2020. That's all been pushed. Would I love to take a big expensive trip to Disney? Sure. And I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford it right now. Do I want to? Well, that's another story. I miss Disney...but COVID, along with losing my dad in 2019 taught me one thing: life is short. And we won't always get to see and do the things we want. So I'm not gonna spend all my money on ONE location. I'll save some money, stay off-site, and get to go to Austin...and Tennessee...and California as well.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

Have you ever stayed at Shades of Green? I totally disagree that it "is really not Disney". That resort feels just as magical as all the "Disney" properties. Disney partners with the resort and allows all the access (advanced reservations, etc) that anyone would have if they stayed at a deluxe hotel. Everything is linked on the Disney Experience portal just as it would be for any other property. And Disney guest services has access to the reservation, also. The Disney theming is great and the location is really attractive (right across the street from Poly). The only difference between Shades of Green and the other resorts is that it is for current or retired military. That's the only difference. We stayed there three times (my father in law is retired military) and loved it! We just recently bought into DVC because we wanted an affordable way to stay on property.

As has been said many times on this thread, everyone has their own thoughts and feelings about staying on property versus off-property. For those who don't care about the Disney magic and who only care about the bottom line cost, yes, staying off property probably makes more sense. But for MANY of us the WDW experience is worth the added cost to stay on property, as well as the convenience. As I said, I want to stay in the "bubble" to stay immersed in the magic and have more convenience. That is everything, IMO.

What I'm saying is SofG is not really Disney because not everyone is allowed to stay there. It's not open to the general population and due to the government/military nature is subsidized and a great value.
But once again it's not open to the public.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

MK because you get free parking there if you stay at Swan and Dolphin. If you cant drive then that plan will not work at all.

Free parking at MK overnight?