Why stay offsite?

[yasmina]

I'm just curious, because I never have stayed off-site. Everytime I think about it (some of the prices are very tempting!), I always reject the idea bacause of the perks you get as a Disney resort guest, plus you can only get the DDP if you stay on-site.

Are the cost savings worth it? Is the money you save enough to make up the difference in what you pay in parking and eating?

Thanks!

[Nekochan]

Probably depends on what you plan on doing in Orlando. If you are also planning on non disney attractions (seaworld, universal, busch gardens, kennedy space center, wonderworks etc.), then an off property hotel makes sense. Eating outside the world also is probably cheaper and more varied. And if you get a room with a kitchenette, then you can really save time and money by making your own breakfast.

This trip, the last 3 days we're going to the nickelodeon hotel - I'm meeting my friend there and my friend and I are going to shmooze while my son gets to run around the hotel in a safe environment (he's 12 now).

[wendy*darling]

Like you, I think you will find the vast majority of people here on INTERCOT prefer to stay on site.

I have never stayed off site either.
And I agree, some of the rates are very tempting, but in addition to not receiving the perks of early entry, free transportation and ability to purchase the DDP, you need to factor in the TIME it takes to drive in and park every day. You can't easily return to your resort for a refreshing dip in the pool or a nap. Plus, you have to pay for that parking every day as well.

For me and my family- there are no reasons compelling enough to make us consider staying off-site. And that's just one of the reasons we bought into DVC.

I just prefer to immerse myself in the magic the whole time I am there. :pixie:

[DessertDivaFL]

I have done the off-site thing and yes, you can save money but there is more aggrevation when you are off-site with the traffic, hotel conditions and basically not knowing the restaurants I can trust to eat at. :ack:

There is something about Disney that envokes a level of trust. I trust them to give us a clean room, safe transportation, food that is edible and won't make us sick and Disney hospitality that you really can't find off-site. So for me, I will pay a little more for peace of mind. :joy:

[NJGIRL]

We own a time share that is one mile from Disney. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, washer and dryer and a patio. It has 8 pools on the property plus much more. If we had to rent this place it would be well over $500 a night. We occasional spend additional time at Disney hotels if we spend more than 7 days in Florida, which we usually do.

This is why I like the time share better. Besides the fact it is "free" to us at this point it has so much room. When we stay in a Disney hotel will feel cramped in compared to our time share. It gives us room no to be on top of each other for 10 or 14 days. We also have room to bring additional people with us at no charge.

We have taken the disney buses from disney hotels before and we have driven from our time share in our rental car. It takes us 5 mins to drive to one of the disney theme parks. It took us 20mins from one disney property to the same theme park on their buses.

We also like to do other non Disney things while on vacation (other theme parks and non disney restaurants).

We don't care about the dining plan because that is way too much food for our family. We eat one sit down meal per day and one counter service or big snack usually.

I love going to Disney and think their hotels have really cool themes and that is one reason we somtimes stay at their hotels but we don't
feel we need to be "Disney" 100% of the time we are there. We have stayed in their nicer hotels but don't feel we are missing anything not staying there.

I guess our biggest thing is the space that keeps our vacation relaxing and enjoyable.

[Nekochan]

The ONLY reason I would stay offsite is if I wasn't planning on going to disney (i know, i know - the horrors!!!). If I plan on Disney at all, then it would a disney property all the way. 37 days to go to my stay at the Polynesian.

[pogo]

We've stayed off site once because we were a little tight on money but still needed our Disney fix and it worked. :thumbsup: I was starting a new business and we were reinvesting our extra money.

We flew RT from Rochester and stayed 5 nights in a cheap hotel. The air, hotel, ground transfers and tickets (4 day MYW, no hopper or dining.) cost us just about $1,200 total. We had about $150 in Disney reward dollars which paid our meals at WDW. I think we spent another $150 ourselves.

Now would I do it again ? :nope: I don't think so. For the amount we saved, I don't think the hassels of getting back and forth to the parks was worth it.

Good luck and happy planning. :D

[cjb121879]

This kind of question is a bit problematic in that it assumes that there is one right answer for everyone- or that there is the same answer for everyone for every trip.

Don't get me wrong, I love Disney:thumbsup: and it is the primary reason we travel to Orlando- but I cannot see going down there and never going off-site. We always plan a day or so at Universal (which is pretty fun in its own right) and we often eat off-property. Also, when we occasionally travel with a large group (this past June, there were ten of us), it just makes more financial sense to rent a big house. The prices are awesome and being able to be together, instead of separated into a few different rooms, was just right for us. The houses are always furnished amazingly, plus the kids love having a private pool and a game room for when we came back from the parks at night. I agree that distance traveled to and from the parks can be a big issue, but we always research before we go to make sure that we are literally no further than 10 minutes from WDW.

However, there are times like this September when I thought it would be fun to stay on-site again (its just me and the BF) and the dining plan is just the icing on the cake.

Personally, I think every family has different needs and the needs change depending on the components of each trip (number of people, priorities, etc.) Different strokes as they say;)....

[BigRedDad]

I think it is a balancing act. It depends on how much aggravation you want to deal with vs the cost savings. You have the hassle of traffic, paying for parking, transportation to and from the TTC from the parks, being locked out of parks due to attendance.

If you know a good travel agent or maybe the right one, you can get those rental houses very cheap 2-3 miles outside WDW. We have a friend at a travel agent. She said she can get it to us at their cost. She said it would be less than $500 for a 5 bedroom home. That means we could take most of our family (16 people) for next to nothing to stay there.

However, when I am on vacation, I do not want to be hassled. I will stay on site every time I go.

[merlinmagic4]

I'm right with NJGIRL 100%. We really prefer a timeshare to a hotel room. We couldn't afford DVC (especially since we need to travel prime time) so we bought a timeshare that is just outside Disney. We love it and I'm willing to bet that we are back at our timeshare before the bus is back to the hotel!

Perks for us:

2 bedrooms/kitchen/2 baths/laundry
7 pools
5 minute drive to Disney
750.00 per year for one week (can't stay a week in a value during peak season for that)


Don't get me wrong, if I ever win the lottery DVC is the first thing I will purchase but until then.........................

[Lizzie]

On our last trip with adults and kids there were 16 people in our group adults and kids. We were able to rent a 7 bedroom house for around 230 a night. I believe the cost has gone up now.

It was nice because we had a lot of kids to have our own pool and a kitchen available. We were able to put the kids to bed grab the monitor and go swimming at night.

Driving was a pain and paying for parking wasn't that great.

We always enjoy staying onsite more but sometimes depending on your group and cost staying offsite just makes sense.

[NJGIRL]

It's funny to me that people say driving to the theme parks is a hassle. I think driving in Florida (especially around the Disney area) is so easy. Everything is well marked and traffic flows very well. Maybe it's me but our 5 min trip in or out of the parking lot has never been a hassle.

[disneyorvegas]

Don't get me wrong, I love staying in Disney, but besides timeshare, there are some really great deals off-site like the one we reserved well in advance at a three star hotel 5 minutes from Downtown Disney:
Room Rate: 80.00 USD per night, 320.00 USD per stay
Room Description
ONE BEDROOM TWO QUEEN SUITE SOFA BD/KITCHEN/STEREO/FREE WIRELESS HS
INTERNET/HYATT GP PTS/FREE HOT BRKFAST/FREE SCHEDULED SHUTTLE TSPT TO
DISNEY/FREE COCKTAILS

A one bedroom suite with a full kitchen mind you, in a decent hotel, extremely close to Disney, for $80 a night, PLEASE! You can't argue with that, it will be our 4th vacation trip of the year, Iceland, Calif./Oregon, Vegas then Disney, so we are running out of money and deals like this make our annual Disney trip possible!

[Here we go again...]

We stayed off site one time... never again.
The free shuttle was more trouble than it was worth. We ended up walking to DTD to catch the Disney bus just to save time. (We did not rent a car) There is just something about the Magic of being on site. Unless we decided to skip Disney for some crazy reason we will never stay off site again.

Now that we are DVC owners we will be able to enjoy staying on site for years to come. :cloud9:

[snifflesmcg]

I've stayed onsite the past two years and am staying onsite again this year but there are advantages of staying offsite. I stayed on the strip in Kissemmee in 2003 and these are the things I found to be true.

-Most Disney dining and food courts close by midnight. Offsite there is always something open 24 hours.

-Alot more things to do in walking distance if not renting a car.

-you can save money by getting a hotel with a fridge or kitchen area around the same price as a value.

-Two words, Continental Breakfast

-You can buy Pepsi and gum.

-Alot of the offsite hotels offer transportation to Disney AND Universal.

-again, don't know if this is one of your things but....bars are open later, you can smoke at those hotels and some you can bring your pets (if that is something you like).

-grocery store/convience stores.....alot of times in walking distance.

-alot of specialty shops and non-Disney shops (Such as "Shell World). Great for spending the day.

Trust me, there are alot of advantages to staying onsite but I find that you are pretty much sheltered.

[ryca1dreams]

We stayed offsite at a rental home once when we went with my brother-in-law and his family. He has 4 kids. It is far easier and cheaper for the 9 of us (total) to get a rental home for a week and stay together, wash clothes, make meals, and still drive only a few extra miles to WDW.

We normally stay on-site and enjoy staying on- site, but on those rare circumstances, it just makes more sense and is more comfortable for everyone to go offsite.

Of course, free dining could change everything...

[RAIDER]

Ive done both and i think it all depends how your going to spend your time in Florida .

We tend to travel all around Florida like drive off to Jacksonville ,Tampa to see a NFL game and just generally take in the sites of Florida as a whole ..When we choose this type of holiday we will stay off site as its a waste to spend all that money on an empty room in WDW ... We even drove to New Orleans ( pre katrina ) one year

If we want a relaxing holiday and dont want to scoot or really explore much then we will stay on site

:mickey::number1:

[yasmina]

for your wonderful, thoughtful answers. Next time we plan a trip, I may consider what you said re: staying offsite to save some $.

We leave in 5 days! POFQ here we come!

[tink2006]

We have never stayed off site primarily because we do not go to the other theme parks etc. This might sound silly but my concern would be at the end of the day, when you feel like you cannot take another step, walking all the way past the resort buses to get to your car :( We drive to Florida and never use our car once we get to WDW - it is Disney transportation the whole time. Sometimes the WDW buses could be a bit more timely but we are on vacation and just do not rush around too much. :mickey:

[GrmGrninGost]

When we come to Florida, it is for WDW. We don't visit any other places. We stayed off site a few times when we first started coming down. Once we stayed on site, there was no going back! :mickey: I love being totally immersed in the Disney magic! We stay 9 or 10 days and never leave the property! To me, that is a Disney vacation! It's my favorite thing in the world!

[AvonleaCF]

As you can see from my signature, I spent the last several trips off-site. These were family vacations with 4 people over the age of 13, so my family wanted space. My parents bought a time-share in Orlando so our family had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a living room for about the same price as one room in a Moderate Disney hotel. We would rent a car and with use our AAA parking pass to park in the front of the lots. We never missed the Disney magic, even after staying on-site a couple of times when we were younger.

Now that I'm going solo I'm staying on-site so I don't have to deal with a rental car (plus I don't need all that space). And with free dining I won't need a full kitchen to prepare breakfast and I won't be saving any money by eating off-site.

There are pros and cons to both.

[DDuck66]

The only reason we will be trying an off site location is so that we can take our dog with us.We are new to the area and have not found a border that we trust yet. Luckily our new vet is expanding his practice and will have a overnight boarding area by the time of our trip in 08.

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I'm just curious, because I never have stayed off-site . . . plus you can only get the DDP if you stay on-site . . .

1) First, who really needs DDP?
. . . it is an excuse to stuff yourself and over-eat
. . . it has dumbed-down the restaurant menus
. . . it has reduced the dining quality & experience
. . . it doesn't always pay for itself

2) Second, Disney DOES NOT offer everything.
3) Where we stay
. . . we have two water parks (free)
. . . we have two lazy-rivers (free)
. . . we have nightly beach parties & music (free)
. . . we have a game building (free)
. . . we have organized activities 9:00am-7:00pm (free)
. . . we have billiards (free)
. . . we have texas-hold'em-poker (free)
. . . we hear and see AK animals (free)
. . . we have a weight-room (free)
. . . we have six swimming pools (free & hopping allowed)
. . . we have one regulation-size olympic pool (free)
. . . we have 99 holes of championship golf
. . . we have an 80-acre lake
. . . we have sailing
. . . we have wave-runners
. . . we have a large coin-operated game room
. . . we have putt-putt
. . . we have a weekly luau
. . . we have a weekly country-western show
. . . we have full kitchens for cooking
. . . we have grills for BBQ's
. . . we have daily bingo
. . . we have daily arts and crafts classes
. . . we have daily exercise/fitness classes

NOTE: This is not to compare the above to Disney resorts, but a simple statement of what is available elsewhere, in order to answer the OP's question. We do Disney, but not every day, every year. After all, there are other things than Disney.

[mttafire]

For us its just not worth it. If we need to save money we stay at a Value resort. With free parking and other perks we just dont see the value of staying off site. We really enjoy staying within Disney.:mickey:

[tink2006]

1)
2) Second, Disney DOES NOT offer everything.
3) Where we stay
. . . we have two water parks (free)
. . . we have two lazy-rivers (free)
. . . we have nightly beach parties & music (free)
. . . we have a game building (free)
. . . we have organized activities 9:00am-7:00pm (free)
. . . we have billiards (free)
. . . we have texas-hold'em-poker (free)
. . . we hear and see AK animals (free)
. . . we have a weight-room (free)
. . . we have six swimming pools (free & hopping allowed)
. . . we have one regulation-size olympic pool (free)
. . . we have 99 holes of championship golf
. . . we have an 80-acre lake
. . . we have sailing
. . . we have wave-runners
. . . we have a large coin-operated game room
. . . we have putt-putt
. . . we have a weekly luau
. . . we have a weekly country-western show
. . . we have full kitchens for cooking
. . . we have grills for BBQ's
. . . we have daily bingo
. . . we have daily arts and crafts classes
. . . we have daily exercise/fitness classes

NOTE: This is not to compare the above to Disney resorts, but a simple statement of what is available elsewhere, in order to answer the OP's question. We do Disney, but not every day, every year. After all, there are other things than Disney.

Wow what a list! Can you share where you stay?

[yasmina]

1) First, who really needs DDP?
. . . it is an excuse to stuff yourself and over-eat
. . . it has dumbed-down the restaurant menus
. . . it has reduced the dining quality & experience
. . . it doesn't always pay for itself

2) Second, Disney DOES NOT offer everything.
3) Where we stay
. . . we have two water parks (free)
. . . we have two lazy-rivers (free)
. . . we have nightly beach parties & music (free)
. . . we have a game building (free)
. . . we have organized activities 9:00am-7:00pm (free)
. . . we have billiards (free)
. . . we have texas-hold'em-poker (free)
. . . we hear and see AK animals (free)
. . . we have a weight-room (free)
. . . we have six swimming pools (free & hopping allowed)
. . . we have one regulation-size olympic pool (free)
. . . we have 99 holes of championship golf
. . . we have an 80-acre lake
. . . we have sailing
. . . we have wave-runners
. . . we have a large coin-operated game room
. . . we have putt-putt
. . . we have a weekly luau
. . . we have a weekly country-western show
. . . we have full kitchens for cooking
. . . we have grills for BBQ's
. . . we have daily bingo
. . . we have daily arts and crafts classes
. . . we have daily exercise/fitness classes

NOTE: This is not to compare the above to Disney resorts, but a simple statement of what is available elsewhere, in order to answer the OP's question. We do Disney, but not every day, every year. After all, there are other things than Disney.

For all that, I would be more than willing to give up the "few perks" offered by Disney!

Seriously, I'd like to know. I'm sure it's too late for our trip starting next Wednesday:mickey:, but for future trips, with something like this, I could probably talk dh into visiting more often!

[TheRustyScupper]

Wow what a list! Can you share where you stay?

1) Orange Lake Country Club & resort.
2) It is a timeshare.
3) But, they also rent the rooms and villas.
4) It backs up against Animal Kingdom.
5) Driving time to WDW is about 10-min.
6) They do have a website.

[NewmanFamily6]

As a child we never were able to stay on site. The first time we took our children and stayed at ASMO it just felt more magical to me. Since then I have said never again will I stay offsite. It is just not worth it to me as it takes something away from my experience. We joined DVC so that the 6 of us can always stay on site:cloud9:

[luvdiznee]

We've stayed off site and will most likely not do it again. But hey, never say never, right? I agree there are pros and cons to both. We just like the idea of being closer to the parks. :mickey:

[Rodders]

It's obviously a case of whatever suits your needs the most. Transport is probably the biggest factor. I fly in and choose not to drive if I can avoid it. For me to go offsite would mean that I need to hire a car and pay for insurance and parking at the parks. I find that any savings are then pretty much wiped out so the decision is no longer financial.

For me it's Disney value resorts all the way :mickey:

[Wrigley]

We stayed off-site for part of one of our trips at a timeshare because we were traveling with our whole family. Since that time, I have always said that I will never stay off-site again. I LOVE staying at the Disney resorts and I will have it no other way!:blush: I love the convenience to everything and the theming of all of the resorts. I like the Disney feeling I have when at the Disney resorts and I can honestly say that that feeling was missing when we were staying off-site.

[IloveDisney71]

I only stay off-site if I don't have any other choice. I just love being on-site, because you stay immersed in the Disney magic from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. I also like using the bus service and using the DDP. I have teenagers with hollow legs and they can really run up the food bill.

[Horizon93]

Onsite is the only way for us. That is why we joined DVC!

We only go to WDW. The convenience, the service, not having to drive, not having to park, and living in the magic is well worth the dollars!

[Becky'sMom]

I just got back from my 3 bedroom, 3 bath ENORMOUS timeshare where I stayed for 2 weeks....
I also would love to stay on Disney property, but only if I could have at least a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen.
I stayed in CBR for my honeymoon - and it was great for DH and me, but now...with my 4 year old, my 17 year old stepson and then my 26 year old stepson and my sister joining us for part of the time....well.....just having three bathrooms for showers saved us much more time than any additional driving would take!
Not to mention the homey feeling of waking up and fixing breakfast in our beautiful, fully stocked kitchen.
Then, since we own a 3 bedroom lockout, we can just use part of it and bank the rest, or have a huge group down and take the whole thing, or spend 1 week in the 1 bedroom part and 1 week in the 2 bedroom giving us twice as much time, or stay in one part and rent the other to recoup some of our maintenance....
I may wind up with DVC, but it is much more expensive for the same amount of space and frankly, getting your money out of a timeshare is pretty much impossible - so if I do buy Disney, it will probably be in addition to my present place and we'll just have to go on vacation more often - poor me!
Lauren

[prttynpnk]

I think it is a balancing act. It depends on how much aggravation you want to deal with vs the cost savings. You have the hassle of traffic, paying for parking, transportation to and from the TTC from the parks, being locked out of parks due to attendance.


For us, these are the exact reasons we stay onsite. Offsite works for others and can save money, but I like a vacation that has the least hassle possible. The only times I've done offsite the travel was a big pain and limited my park spontaneity (ok, my Sweetie is laughing at me and spontaneity in the same sentence) even I like to deviate from the agenda sometimes and I don't want to worry about bus schedules.

[mickey-mouse35]

Done both and prefer offsite, even for just DH and me. Here's why:
* Don't do the dining plan because too much food and too much time away from the parks; we do just a couple of sit-down meals each trip
* we stay away from EMH anyway because of the crowds
* always rent a car anyway, because it's much easier to get around to the different resorts and faster than the bus--have never had a problem getting into Disney from offsite hotel--always takes only 5-10 minutes
* love having a kitchen, living room and WASHER/DRYER in offsite suite--when you're staying for 10 days like we do, I don't own enough clothes for the whole trip!
* Disney hotels were cramped to us; would love to stay at a deluxe but not paying $300+ a night for that luxury when I can get a suite with kitchen, living, bed and huge bath for under $100 a night!