why stay on site?

[disneydreamin23]

Okay this may be obvious but is the advantage to staying on site basically the experience and the transportation? I am not flying so we'll have our car and have the AAA pass to park and the buses seem to be a bit of a hassle anyway. The condos I'm looking at are about $125/night for 3 bedrooms. The disney resorts for 2 rooms would be exceptionally more expensive. If you had a car and tickets and not unlimited money (If we stay at a resort, other things will probably have to go like mostly counter service dining) would you stay at a resort still?

Thanks in advance! So glad I found this site.

 

[katrina1122]

To us the extra magic hours are way more important than restaurant choices at the resort.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Onsite looks very tempting, but we're saving a bundle by staying offsite. Also driving down, so transportation isn't an issue for us (obviously onsite would be a step up though).

Obviously, you get a better meal at a nice steakhouse than McDonalds. But, people still eat at McDonalds because it's cheaper. As with anything else, you get what you pay for. It's just a matter of budget, honestly.

 

[Sagginit]

i think its how much you want to spend and how you want to vacation. for us part of the disney experience/vacation is that we always got free dining and it became almost an all inclusive resort. i have a food allergy so we can not just eat at any restaurant outside of disney, so staying off site and eating at chain restaurants is not that much cheaper. also we get super cheap air fare so when you factor in that vs the cost of driving down to have our car or staying off site and renting a car for just the two of us then gas & parking the savings were minimal and the change in the style of our vacation was big. if you are going with a bigger family staying off site and having a car may be lower cost per person.

 

[disneydreamin23]

Thanks everyone. Yes, we still plan to get there early and stay till closing everyday so we will definitely be eating our meals at disney. I know a lot of people like the resorts so they can quickly get back and nap midday but I know my DS3 will throw a fit if I leave early. My parents advised for my brother and me they just let us sleep in the stroller and stayed all day.

 

[kimmyann]

I have only been to Disney once in 2009 & we paid a bundle to stay onsite & I was extremely disappointed. We stayed at the french quarter & to me it was just a glorified motel. Sorry, but the service was lousy, there are no microwaves in the rooms, no free breakfast, just pretty grounds. Now, granted I knew what amenities (or lack of) when I booked, but I was looking to give the kids & myself the entire Disney experience that I had heard so much about. I was almost angry by the time we left.

With that said, we may stay onsite again when we take just our youngest DD in 2014 simply because we only need one room & it will be much cheaper especially if we get a pin. We have stayed in the Orlando area many times to visit the Busch parks, so I do have grounds for comparison. We do plan also to rent a pool house next June when we go visit Universal. I could never stay in a hotel again with my kids, they are just too big now.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

The only time we can justify the cost of staying onsite is when FD is offered.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

To us the extra magic hours are way more important than restaurant choices at the resort.

We stayed onsite when we visited WDW *10/09* but we purposely avoided EMH parks *theory is the park with EMH is the most crowded that day.... We did enjoy Free Dining, all we did was sleep and get ready in our room *POP - regular dining plan back then * I brought air mattresses for the kids *my mom was with us* so we each had our own bed

 

[ICF]

Some people enjoy the "magic' of Disney when they stay on site---not having to drive, cook and being around Disney 24 / 7.

Me and my family...we find magic in the fact that the 4 of us arent crammed into a small room and we get are own bedrooms, space to move around and depending on the condo our own private pool.

The belief that it takes forever to get 'off-site' if you were leave for lunch or naps is generally a myth. Staying at Windors Hills (or even closer Silver Lake) and you can probably get from the park to the condo in 15 mins or less -- except for MK. No lines for buses, issues with getting to sit down or finding out you just missed a bus and will have to wait for the next one to come along.

We love staying off-site. If we were to go as just an adult couple, on-site might be fun -- but with 2 kids, we'll always be off-site.

 

[Fire14]

To each their own choices but by time I pay parking and gas to from parks each day I can stay onsite and let disney do the driving.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

For us, it is convenience. But we only go every couple of years, so I really don't mind the added expense. And I've always had PIN (which was better for us than Free Dining).

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Honestly, I would not go to Disney and stay off site. If I couldn't afford to stay onsite, I'd postpone the trip until I could. When I advise people about their Disney trips I make no personal suggestions, except about staying onsite. It is the one thing I do believe makes a difference.

Now, the OP is driving, but for those who are flying, they get off the plane, they're whisked away by Disney transport to their on-property resort, they do not worry about driving or parking, they never once have to leave the "magic" until they step off the Disney bus onto the airport tarmac at the end of the trip. That is what I pay for, never having to touch the real world in the slightest from the time I arrive at my destination until the time I'm dragged kicking and screaming away.

 

[FloridaPixie]

We go to WDW 2-3 times a year, and usually stay at POP, but have stayed offsite recently at Hampton Inn, Doubletree and Hilton's Homewood Suites (offsite using AMEX Hilton Honors points.)

While we have enjoyed our trips staying offsite, especially at Homewood Suites, we really love staying onsite at POP. The theming is geared towards my 6-year-old daughter, and we love the lively music playing everywhere, the festive food court/gift shop, and how immersed we are in the Disney atmosphere. Everyone just seems to be in a great mood at POP, very excited to be there, and there are huge, colorful Disney icons everywhere, which our little girl loves. OK, and I love them too : )

We still have a great time offsite, and the extra room at Homewood Suites and Doubletree near Downtwon Disney was really nice, but we just prefer staying at POP. I will add that we have toured all of the hotels on our "downtime" days, and I am not a huge fan of the theming at the moderates--nice for a couple or visitors who are not really into Disney, but because we are big Disney fans, we like the over-the-top vibe POP offers. BTW, we usually wait until we get super-low Florida resident rates at POP, and have stayed there for as low as $49 per night.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

The main (and really the only) reason I stay on-site is for the Extra Magic Hours at night. I love being able to be in the parks later at night and going during the first 2 weeks of December, parks are only open until 7-8 p.m. during the week. We go to a non-EMH park during the day and hit the EMH night park about 2 hours before it closes.

I prefer to drive to the parks (I hate shelling out $$$ to stay at the Poly and then being packed like sardines (and waiting forever) at closing on the resort monorail at night). The buses are hit or miss on service at most resorts and mostly it just depends if you have good timing.

We typically go for longer trips and since we don't have children, we have a slower paced time at WDW. I enjoy the drive into the parks every day and from the airport (but I drive 500 miles a week for work, so driving never really bothers me). We've never stayed off-site (because of EMH), but I think it would be nice to have a big living room where we could hang out and talk or a nice, quiet deck and a pool.

We do two TS meals a day OOP, so the packages don't appeal to us. If you're interested in a package, you would have to stay on-site.

The resorts are nice (and I've stayed at most of them), but you can definitely get nicer rooms and accommodations (or the same level, but cheaper) outside of Walt Disney World. I guess it all depends on the type of trip you prefer and/or your situation.

 

[puffkin]

We are DVC, go 2X a year at least and I see less and less value to staying onsite. If we weren't DVC owners (which I do love) we would probably not pay for WDW resorts unless we got a fantastic rate. I also don't like the dining plan and even free dining is not at all appealing to us (we don't eat like that and paying rack rate for the rooms means you still are paying for the dining ).

I am so over Disney transportation. Sure it works great sometimes, but we have had way too many horror experiences on it to make it worthwhile to us. If I am paying thousands of dollars to stay at a Deluxe, I expect Deluxe level transportation! My time is way too important to me. We always rent a car now and love, love, love it. Especially with young children.

Our favorite offsites are Bonnet Creek and Buena Vista Suites (for short stays). They are as close to, if not closer than some of the Disney resorts. We also are AP holders so we don't have to pay for parking. I do miss using our KTTW card for charging (I like the itemized bill at the end of the week) and sometimes I miss evening EMH when staying offsite...but that is about it. Since we usually split our stays with DVC and offsite though it usually isn't a huge issue.

 

[huskies90]

Honestly, I would not go to Disney and stay off site. If I couldn't afford to stay onsite, I'd postpone the trip until I could. When I advise people about their Disney trips I make no personal suggestions, except about staying onsite. It is the one thing I do believe makes a difference.

I agree with this. It's kinda like saying, why go all the way to FL when there is a local amusement park an hour away where the rides are just as good? Now, I agree with the "budget" aspect and need/desire for more space. I am a DVC member so I can do a 1 or 2 bedroom villa if I need the space (like this summer we are doing a 2 bedroom at the beach club cause there are 5 of us), but if it was for budget reason, I probably would wait til I could afford it like the pp said.

 

[disneydreamin23]

Thanks so much everyone! I'm officially at a split decision. I'm going to stay off site this year for 2 main reasons.
1. More Room...G-daddy and GiGi (my parents) are coming to be with DS on his first Disney Trip!!!
2. At 3-years-old, DS may be cranky waiting for buses/ monorail.

And then for our trip next year when it's just DS and me, we will stay on site for 2 main reasons.
1. Don't need as much room
2. It is a way to top this years trip.

 

[dougsmom98]

If you had a car and tickets and not unlimited money (If we stay at a resort, other things will probably have to go like mostly counter service dining) would you stay at a resort still?
Thanks in advance! So glad I found this site.

Like you, we have a car, tickets, and a LIMITED amount of money. We have never stayed on site and probably never will. We just can't justify the expense for our family of 6. I personally don't care to eat every meal out and the idea of scheduling advanced dinner reservations months in advance to do so is a huge turn off to me. We rent a 5+ bedroom, 4 bath home with my parents and in-laws. The home costs less than $1000 total. We split it three ways. We have a private pool and hot tub. We have coffee and breakfast at the house and then eat counter service for lunch and dinner if we stay all day. If we leave early, we get take out at an off site restaurant and relax and eat it at the house with some wine and our feet up at the pool.

Only you can decide what is important to you. For us, saving money is the most important thing, followed by relaxing/uncrowded accommodations. We hate staying in hotel rooms now that we know how good it is to rent a condo or house.

I am guessing that this is your first trip. No matter what you decide, you will have a wonderful time. If you do choose to stay off site to save money, you will not know what you are missing by not staying off site, so there is no way to be disappointed. If you choose to stay on site, I doubt you will be disappointed either.

 

[RitaE]

Years ago when we were All Parks, All The Time I never dreamed of staying anywhere but on a Disney property.

We are much more relaxed about our Disney now. Frankly, we've done most of the attractions numerous times and eaten at most of the restaurants more than once. The Disney parks just aren't as "gotta get it all in" for us anymore. Our Disney vacations tend to be much more relaxed now and we are seldom in a park for a full day. We often even skip a day mid-vacation and go do other things.

We do much better now spread out in a multi-bedroom condo or house - which really ends up costing less than the Deluxe hotels most vacations. Last vacation we had 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and our own private swimming pool and spa. My youngest could hit his bedtime and the older kids could do the game room in the converted garage until midnight or 1am. It just suits the way we vacation much better.

 

[kim929]

I love staying on site. Love the themed resorts. I hand my luggage over at the airport and don't worry about it. I get off the plane, go right to magic express and straight to my hotel. Within 2 hrs my luggage is delivered.
Then you throw in free dining, and emh and I'm in heaven.