Review will we regret not staying onsite?

[megs1313]

we have been offered a condo to stay at for free for our trip...it's about 10-15 minutes' drive from Disney and is a very nice place to stay. but, i'm worried we'll regret not having the whole "experience" by staying on-site. is it worth the savings? i'm sure we'll do Disney again, but it could be a couple years before we can afford it a second time. Thoughts?

 

[bcinohio]

I don't think you will regret the amount of money that you will save. We have always stayed on-site but next month we have rented a house off site for the first time. We have 5 in our family and always need 2 rooms at the value resorts and it cost a lot. This time we will be saving over $1,100 just on the rooms. We are saving even more because we are taking other famly members with us and are splitting the cost of a 4 bedroom house. It is only a few miles from Disney. I'm anxious to see how we like it.

Maybe with the money that you save you can do a special dinner or somthing to add more magic.

 

[Stitchnut]

I don't think you will miss out by not staying on site. There are so many wonderful things once you are in the parks, you will enjoy yourselves and not even think about the resort. Saving money is always a good idea. We've stayed in a Disney resort and off site as well and it has not changed the magic for us at all. I agree with the op that with the money you'll be saving, use it to buy something special or do a character dinner, tour, etc. Enjoy yourselves

 

[Bonnie40]

Just returned this week from a quick trip to see our daughter who is working down there right now and for the first time in many years, we stayed offsite. It was awesome! I crunched the numbers, and even with a sizeable room discount, it was still much cheaper to stay offsite. It's amazing how many online coupons you can get to make the food budget stretch even more!

We found we would leave the parks around 1 p.m. and eat our main meal early in the afternoon and then pick something up (like Earl of Sandwich!) later in the evening. Worked out great and we were amazed at how much more bang for your buck you get offsite!

Have an awesome trip!

 

[Hoopfamily]

I doubt it. You lose some of the magic, and of course a few of the benefits. But you may save enough money to afford to do other things on your trip that make up for the magic missed.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

For me, the magic is in the parks, not the resorts **ducks head**
Sure, many of the resorts have lovely grounds, but to me, a hotel room is just a room. We have sooooo much more space off-site so we can relax and not be in each others way all the time. Plus, you will often have a kitchen off-site and so save on breakfasts, at the very least. Also, you won't have to deal with the WDW busses!
Especially if you are getting accommodations for free, I say it's a win-win situation.

 

[greenmyvalley]

You can't beat free! I love staying on-site, but my off-site trip was magical in its own way! I loved all the space we had and it didn't have much of an impact on our park touring. Given the choice, I would go with the house and use the money I saved toward a future trip.

 

[BlueEyes78]

What exactly ARE the benefits of staying on-site that people are concerned about losing?
Our extended family of 8 has reserved 2 cabins in Fort Wilderness for November. We just found a house off-site for HALF the cost of what we paid, even with the discount, that is in Windsor Palms (less than 10 minutes away). One member of our party is a very experienced Disney visitor and prefers to be on the property. Since we weren't getting dining, were planning to rent a car anyway, and eat meals in the cabins...what other benefits am I missing? Seems to me the off-site house is a no-brainer. MUCH more space, private pool, no one sleeping in the living room, etc.
But maybe I'm not thinking of something!

 

[bcinohio]

We leave for WDW in 8 days!! We have rented a house with other members of our family, 10 total. This will be our first time off site. We would need 3 rooms at the value resorts and the house (at Sunset Lakes) is costing less than 1 room. We get 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, pool and game room. We are very excited to try this. I know that we have to drive but it is only about 3 1/2 miles from Disney. I don't think we will miss the Disney magic not being on site, it maybe faster to drive than wait for a bus, and we have enough days that the EMH is not a big thing. We can cook some of our meals at the house to save money too.

If you were going to save that much money I think i would try the house.

 

[Merryweather27]

What exactly ARE the benefits of staying on-site that people are concerned about losing?

We just came back from our first off-site trip, and overall it was great, especially considering the price, and that we were able to bring our dog along and skip having to kennel her. The few things I did miss were:

- evening EMH. We are NOT early risers!

- the short distance back to our room at night. We stayed out near Universal for about half of what rack rate at a value would be, so it was about a 20 minute drive. We could've paid slightly more to be closer and still been offsite though.

- not having to carry "real money" (cash or credit cards) in the parks thanks to room charging.

- the intangible "escape from the real world" feeling. Yeah, it's still vacation and still an escape from work and the daily grind, but driving past outlet malls and Walmarts every day never quite lets you forget that the real world is lurking just around the corner...

 

[Vickilynn42]

We rented a car and stayed off site at Buena Vista Suites. We had a blast!! Walmart was just a few minutes drive away, so we were able to get any snacks, water, etc. that we needed. We saved almost a thousand dollars off of the cheapest rooms we could get on-site- and that gave us a lot more money to play with! Unless someone paid for us to stay on-site, or it was just a trip for hubby and I, we will continue to stay somewhere else and save the money. The drive in the morning to the parks was very short also.

 

[stevenpensacola]

We found it was nice to escape "the Magic" when our kids were little. Gave them time to wind down and actually relax.

At times, the whole Disney atmosphere can just get so tiring...the announcements, advertising, everything is so "hyped up", it kind of nice to get away from all that.

 

[shalom]

What exactly ARE the benefits of staying on-site that people are concerned about losing?

For commando families, being close to the parks and having EMH is the main benefit. I would walk out before I paid Disney prices only to got some of the views in the "Worst Room View" thread, but many of the posters there pretty much shrugged it off because they just don't spend that much time in the room. View matters to me; doesn't to them.

I also think for a lot of on-site fans, the total Immersion factor is huge. We stayed in a place close enough to Disney that we were not driving "past outlet malls and Walmarts" to get to any of the parks, but still we were off site and there is a difference. Our resort was not particularly "themed," the lake off our two balconies is pretty much wild except for the dock with the canoes and paddle boats, there are no hidden Mickeys -- even the road-side signage is different off site. Once you're in Disney, everything changes.

Four out of my five kids don't even LIKE Disney, so that Immersion thing is not something we're looking for. And definitely not something we're going to pay extra money for.

That said, I love the Disney resorts. I like to walk around the grounds or the indoor public areas. I like to check out the shops. I like to eat at the Disney resorts. I spend way too much time hanging out on the Resort Photos board, and would love to stay in one sometime when it's just hubby and I. But I would only want to do that a day or two, because Disney Resorts are like my brother's best friend in high school - an excellent stimulant for a while, but after a bit I'd like to get away from the noise and spectacle and find somewhere quiet to reconnect with the real world.

But if Disney is what you wish the real world was, or something you enjoy and tolerate well long-term, there's nowhere else to get that, and it's clearly worth what they charge to a great number of people.

 

[disneychick0412]

- the intangible "escape from the real world" feeling. Yeah, it's still vacation and still an escape from work and the daily grind, but driving past outlet malls and Walmarts every day never quite lets you forget that the real world is lurking just around the corner...

This is the reason that we stay onsite! Well, that, and the fact that driving to the parks on vacation sounds like a pain in the butt!! We love the break from driving.

But on the other hand..........you can't beat free!!

I agree that the "total immersion" factor is priceless to DH and I! It's what makes Disney different than any other vacation!
To some people, that's not important, but to us it's MAJOR!

 

[SanFranciscan]

Take the condo unless you want to avoid driving. My husband and I are staying on site in October because we don't drive, and getting around by Lynx is slow and not particularly pleasant. Do I expect to get some great total immersion experience on site? No. We are staying at the Pop Century, and I have heard that the value resorts are like a Motel 6 with Disney statues.

 

[mel&me]

I say use the money U save for other things. You will have to pay for parking, but that is very little compared to savings. We always get a rental car even staying on grounds. It is nice walking around the resorts but must people don't spend a lot of time there anyway. I don't think it will take away too much magic.

 

[litlpixie]

We are staying offsite for the FIRST time next month. We rented a 2-bedroom at Bonnet Creek.....and I couldnt be more excited!! We do WDW once a year and have always stayed on property, and to be honest-I've had it!! lol. As much as I love the World, I cannot justify giving Disney the money they want for the smallest of rooms. As families grow, so must your space when youre on vacation together. When you have tweens and teens, its no longer comfortable staying in one room together...I love my children more than anything on this planet.....but they can be really annoying and sometimes they smell funny .......they need their own room and I need MINE!!!

This will also be our first time renting a car down there. Again, I'm looking forward to it. My vehicle will be there waiting for me when I want to go to whatever park I wish, it will not stop anywhere in between and I am guaranteed a seat each time!!

And most important--I will be guaranteed a decent cup of coffee in the morning, rather than that God-awful "Nescrape" that they serve at the food courts,lolol

Enjoy!!

 

[henderkm]

We've never stayed off property, but I say go for it. Free is good. You can always stay on property next time.

 

[WyomingMomof6]

We stayed off-site at Windsor Hills in 2008 and I don't think we missed out on the Disney experience on iota. We had a private pool. It was a quiet place to come back and relax and we were able to cook a few meals and saved tons of money on dining.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We stayed off-site in Windsor Palms last month and will be staying at Bonnet Creek in March. At this point, with my boys being so small, we NEED the extra space... I can't imagiine having to share one room with the baby when he goes to bed at 8:00. Evening EMH is out of the question for the same reason..... we try to keep their schedule as close to normal as possible.

We get A LOT more space for 1/2 the cost of a what one room in a value will cost.

I have no doubt that we will go "on-property" in a few years, but for now I am thrilled with the extra space and cost savings.