Worth staying offsite?

[Mle8308]

We’ve owned DVC for over 25 years and prefer to stay onsite. But if we’re out of points, we’ll use our other timeshare to stay offsite. We love the three Marriott Palms just across the interstate at the Marriott World Center complex as well as Silver Lake which is around the corner from AK. Staying offsite is better than staying home!

So true!!!

 

[Mr_Woodchuck]

I would pick one of the hotels within walking distance of Disney Springs. we stayed at the Drury and it wasn't bad.

 

[georgina]

Hi guys. I'm new here but frequent WDW, at least 2-3 times per year. I've only stayed onsite twice and absolutely love it. It gives the vacation a little extra bit of fun. But, because we go so often we have to stay offsite. What is everyone's preference and when you choose offsite stays, where do you go and why?

I frequently stay offsite and often without a car, just Uber or Lyft to the parks (cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking at both the hotel and parks!) I stay at Flamingo crossing hotels a lot, they are quite close to the parks. I like the free breakfast offered, and often grab a yogurt, fruit, or extra muffin to enjoy later. I have a lot of Marriott points so tend to stay at the Fairfield Inn there. I completely disagree with the posts that say it is more expensive. It's not.

We have stayed offsite at Marriott timeshare properties, Sabal Palms at the World Center was great - 2 bedroom, 2 bath, full kitchen, living area, porch. Restaurants and small grocery area at the main building, and can use the pool there also. Free parking there.

I have some IHG points so next trip I am trying the Holiday Inn Express near Disney. I will be solo and using rideshare.

 

[smwisc]

We've only ever stayed offsite. We really value having sufficient space for our family of five, as well as the ability to prepare some of our own (easy) meals and do laundry without having to babysit machines. The cost for that would be astronomical onsite. We drive, so we already have our own car, and we're not bothered by the traffic. I don't understand the idea that mid-day breaks are harder; it's only a 20ish minute drive, faster than Disney busses in many cases once you account for waiting. Plus the break is way more relaxing when everyone can retreat to their own space instead of all being crammed in one room together!

The calculus for us might be different if we had only 2 or 3 people, or if we really hated driving, but right now, it's not even close.

 

[kathy884]

I've done about 40 visits, mostly in offsite timeshare condos -- more family reunion with just one or two Disney days, one SeaWorld day and lots of extended family time and activities. We always with this have gotten a rental car. I used to think offsite was great (love the great resorts -- Sheraton Vistana Resort / Cypress Point - lots of others too, but these are where I have stayed most often -- nice condos with wonderful amenities, pools, and grounds for less than a value resort. These condo rentals are such a great value, especially with a large group.

These days though with early entry for onsite every day (can't be one of the first people in the park anymore as an offsite visitor) and the Orlando traffic that has gotten worse if I were wanting to do a Disney theme park based vacation with a smaller group and could afford to stay onsite, I think I would stay onsite value resort (mostly for the early entry advantage - transportation is nice too).

Previous onsite experiences for me are five stays at Fort Wilderness as a kid (parents had a motorhome) and three stays at the Contemporary when DH had conferences there and his company was paying for lodging.

I'm kind of in a weird spot these days -- don't find staying offsite as appealing in the past (used to just be able to go on non-extra magic hour days and be the first people in the parks - I hate not having the rope drop advantage after having been a rope dropper for decades). Also though I don't like the high prices Disney lodging charges. Even the values seem like a small fortune compared to those beautiful offsite condos that are such a great value.

I have done offsite twice since the changes and didn't enjoy myself as much as in the past.

So where does that put me at the moment: Right now I just don't have any Disney visits planned for the next two and a 1/2 years, I am focusing on National Parks and Florida beach stays not theme parks vacations (Glacier National Park for a week starting tomorrow, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon late spring 2026 and the South Dakota - most of my time in Custer State for summer 2027) and I am doing some Florida beach stays (Clearwater Beach 2026 winter and Fort Meyers Beach winter 2027 for my next two winter trips ). For the first time in forever my vacation plans for the next two 1/2 years don't include Disney / Orlando - used to go there once a year.

Not sure if I will come back or not. We'll see what sounds appealing for 2028.

 

[snowwite]

I love onsite but at this point we rarely go back again later anyway so we have been off site. I can rent a whole house with a covered lanai and private pool for less than a single hotel room. Yes we have to get up early to make rope drop but it’s fine.
We usually tour until lunch, maybe see a show r a couple more rides then scoot back by like 2pm and chill by the pool, grill outside or try an off site restaurant. We have family there and DD was a CM so we’ve been.. a LOT and now our priorities are different.
I look forward to peace and quiet and no people after a day of people.

 

[snowwite]

We've only ever stayed offsite. We really value having sufficient space for our family of five, as well as the ability to prepare some of our own (easy) meals and do laundry without having to babysit machines. The cost for that would be astronomical onsite. We drive, so we already have our own car, and we're not bothered by the traffic. I don't understand the idea that mid-day breaks are harder; it's only a 20ish minute drive, faster than Disney busses in many cases once you account for waiting. Plus the break is way more relaxing when everyone can retreat to their own space instead of all being crammed in one room together!

The calculus for us might be different if we had only 2 or 3 people, or if we really hated driving, but right now, it's not even close.

So true. We save loads making some meals, having snacks and drinks and it’s great being able to spread out. I’d say like 99% of rentals also have themed rooms. Some also have game rooms etc

 

[Brian Noble]

What is everyone's preference and when you choose offsite stays, where do you go and why?

It's been a while since I've been able to post this!

For any WDW trip, there are three things one might want:

• To have a reasonable amount of space
• To spend a reasonable amount of money
• To be onsite

For most families, and for most definitions of "reasonable", you can have two of those three things. So, the first thing to figure out is which of those three is the most important. Once you've figured that out, you can decide which of the remaining two you can live without.

When my kids were in the house, our non-negotiable was space. We did not want to share a room with the kids, and we wanted room to spread out, maybe make (and eat) breakfast comfortably. That led to many offsite stays.

Our favorite place was Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and we bought Wyndham (resale!) to make that happen. A good close second was renting a townhome in Windsor Hills.

 

[Cfabar1]

We have done a little bit of everything.

My view is staying offsite is really not that bad. In fact, we find when we stay offsite we actually use the parks more than when we stay on property. There are many magnificent properties you can stay offsite at that just offer a significantly better value for the number of dollars you are paying per night.

At the same time, we genuinely like staying on property as well. The Disney resorts are so clean and well maintained and offer more engaging amenities and service.

We tend to stay off property for short stays/park trips and on property for a true multi-day vacation where we can relax. Even that though, off property can have the advantage of vastly superior pools than what Disney offers which is closer to a cruise ship experience in my view.

 

[verleniahall]

If I was looking at off site and driving myself, I would have to add in the fact that you are paying for parking at the parks, and potentially at your off-site location.

 

[elvispursley]

We’ve stayed offsite three times in the past. Once at a condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and twice at a VRBO. The first couple times were ok and certainly better than not going but the last time we stayed offsite, I swore never again! The home we rented was in a gated community of 192 and it could be 15-30 minutes to get through the security gate at the end of the night. And traffic going/coming from the parks was INSANE! I still find it crazy it could take 30-35 minutes to go 3 miles. Going back I. The afternoon to swim was totally unrealistic. My teen boys, who love to sleep in, were grumpy all day because they had to get up early.

I’d rather “slum” it at a value resort onsite than stay offsite again. We can get good space for us by getting a DVC (kick myself not buying in the 20 year s ago when we thought about it). Allowing our kids to sleep in and meet us at the parks is such a benefi of being onsite. And now that my mom (and sometimes me) use an ECV, it just easier to take Disney transportation.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We're fans of offsite, although we've done both. A lot depends on the size of your party, and your vacation style. We're a family of 6, and we value our space. We much prefer a house in Windsor Hills or similar. We also aren't "rope drop to fireworks" vacationers--we've always valued down time, whether at the pool or just hanging in the house. And my kids prefer NOT to sit through restaurant meals--they'd just as soon have burgers by the pool.

Obviously, someone who only sleeps and showers in the hotel is likely to find better value in on-site. Nothing wrong with that!

 

[Rory607]

We’ve stayed offsite three times in the past. Once at a condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and twice at a VRBO. The first couple times were ok and certainly better than not going but the last time we stayed offsite, I swore never again! The home we rented was in a gated community of 192 and it could be 15-30 minutes to get through the security gate at the end of the night. And traffic going/coming from the parks was INSANE! I still find it crazy it could take 30-35 minutes to go 3 miles. Going back I. The afternoon to swim was totally unrealistic. My teen boys, who love to sleep in, were grumpy all day because they had to get up early.

I’d rather “slum” it at a value resort onsite than stay offsite again. We can get good space for us by getting a DVC (kick myself not buying in the 20 year s ago when we thought about it). Allowing our kids to sleep in and meet us at the parks is such a benefi of being onsite. And now that my mom (and sometimes me) use an ECV, it just easier to take Disney transportation.

I agree that one huge perk of onsite is transportation flexibility. With both teens/tweens and grandparents, it’s so nice for everyone to be able to go back to the hotel and meet at the parks when it works for them. I can’t imagine if we all were reliant on driving together to and from the parks.

 

[MabelM]

We like midday breaks to avoid some of the crowds, so offsite doesn’t work for us. I don’t care about theming, but I love the convenience of staying on site and never having to worry about transportation. We don’t go to Disney often, but when we do, we go all in. We currently like to stay in the Epcot area so we can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

 

[Brian Noble]

If I was looking at off site and driving myself, I would have to add in the fact that you are paying for parking at the parks, and potentially at your off-site location.

In general, my experience has been that booking an offsite condo/townhome, plus getting a rental car and paying for theme park parking, is somewhere in the vicinity of what it would cost for a Moderate room for the week at the general public discount, and usually the offsite stay is a little bit less.

 

[Cadiewampus]

We have done both but have been onsite more than not. Most of the time it depends on how big a group we have. If it is just the wife and I with our adult kids we stay on site. Have been a few trips where some friends have come along so those times we did a VRBO

 

[Cynt]

We do both. Our offsite go to is Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Its offsite but still kind of in the bubble and we can drive to each park at our leisure and leave midday for breaks.

We prefer onsite. As we have matured its onsite or Swan and Dolphin. We don't mind paying for the convenience.

 

[deepti1011]

We do both. Our offsite go to is Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Its offsite but still kind of in the bubble and we can drive to each park at our leisure and leave midday for breaks.

We prefer onsite. As we have matured its onsite or Swan and Dolphin. We don't mind paying for the convenience.

Agreed - club Wyndham at bonnet creek if available is my fav off site. I’ve also done the Sheraton Vistana Villas but traffic is definitely worse at the start and end of the day.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I live across street from WDW almost and traffic is so BAD now I think twice about that long drive Haha . It can be very dangerous warning
I recommend anything on property POP is as low as I will go
Don’t forget , emergency responders, teacher or AAA discounts too!

 

[Minniesgal]

Since at most we go onve every three years we stay onsite. We bought DVC so we could