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Stasha
04-05-2002, 09:59 PM
Ok.....I MUST be missing something. In looking through recent posts, almost everyone insists on staying on a resort within WDW. I am not against the idea but I need to be told/shown what the advantages are of staying on the property vs. off. This is what I'm looking at:

In September, myself, my husband and another couple will going to WDW. I can get a house, FULLY equipped, 2 master suites, private pool, private spa, kitchen, laundry etc. for $130/night ($65/night per couple). Since it is equiped, we could do some serious grocery shopping and save major disney dollars on food. We would need to rent a car so that adds to the bottom line expense (rental, parking), but again it is split between the couples. Also, is renting a car all the bad even if you do stay on the resort (flexibility, doing offsite stuff like Cape canaveral, etc.). Hubby wants to stay on the resort, but when I ask why, he gets a deer in the headlights look :eek: and says "Cuz I wanna"....

Can some of you help me (and my husband) by explaining the advantages whether monetary or sentimental about staying on the property? I would truly appreciate it! graemlins/notworthy.gif

Thanks so much! BTW...this is only my 2nd post, but I can tell already that I am going to enjoy this board! Everyone is soooooooo nice and informative!!!!

Tinkerbellfan
04-05-2002, 10:09 PM
If you stay at a Disney Resort you are immersed in WDW culture 24 hours a day. Plus, you are allowed to take advantage of e-nights which allows you and only 5,000 other Disney Resorts guests to stay 3 hours later at Magic Kingdom.

I am with your husband regarding a staying at a hotel vs a house. If you stay at a hotel you have to go out to eat and the mousekeepers do all the cleaning for you. If you stay at a house, you will have to do the cooking and the cleaning of the dished.

TiggerRPh
04-06-2002, 12:32 AM
Being onsite, you save travel time...you're already on grounds and your a short bus ride or monorail trip from any of the parks.

You're on vacation...do you really want to spend time doing housekeeping and cooking...go for a hotel, I say.

Ms. Darling
04-06-2002, 12:39 AM
Go stay on good Disney property. Hands down.

Rekced
04-06-2002, 01:25 AM
The atmosphere of staying on the grounds makes it totally worth it. And there is no worries about traffic or dealing with a car while going to the disney parks. Just hop on a bus or monorail and relax and enjoy the ride.

After staying on the grounds on our third thrid there we refuse to stay off the grounds now. 3 trips to Dixie landings for us, and this time we are trying All Stars Movies smile.gif

15 days to go!!

lph
04-06-2002, 01:45 AM
We've stayed both on and off site, and for the most part have stayed mostly off site due to cost (we have 2 adults and 6 kids). We haven't stayed at a house yet, but do rent mostly timeshare villas for around the same price (130.00/night). It is great to have laundry facilities and we always come home with clean clothes. We don't cook because I do that at home all the time and that wouldn't be a vacation to me, but we do prepare breakfasts, etc. with minimal clean up time.

Also, we are not a big fan of Disney transportation. While it is convienent to have available, there is nothing worse that standing on a packed bus after an exhausting day for the return ride to your hotel. Not to mention that at the end of the day, the line for the bus is so long that by the time you would have walked or trammed to you car in the parking lot and driven back to the resort it would have been much quicker.

The up side to staying on site that we miss participating in is the e nights, but oh well.

It really is a matter of personal preference. When we have little to no kids, we might stay on site but I do know we will drive our car to and from the parks just because its faster.

I hope you have fun whatever place you decide to stay!

Kathy

Laura's Dad
04-06-2002, 03:47 AM
We just love the variety of themeing to the resorts and the "special" feeling of being on-site. We stayed off-site on our first trip down and were really disappointed. The service at Disney (in our experience) has been more than worth it. Each resort we have stayed at has an ambience that is completely different than staying off-site. I know that ther are better deals on off-site hotels/timeshares/rental properties, but for us, it wouldn't seem like a WDW vacation without staying on-site. I guess we are just spoiled.

padisneylover
04-06-2002, 06:43 AM
We DH and I have stayed both off and on site. After staying on site I would never go back to off site again for all the reasons above. The magic of staying on site can not be beat and the choice of restruants is overwhelming. We always take the Disney Magic Plan and even though it might be a little more than going without it we know before we leave almost to the penny what it will cost us. By using the flex features we don't feel guilty eating those expensive meals since it was paid for already. What ever you decide on just going to WDW is a joy in it's self.
Well have to run have a DH with his bags in hand. Off to a fun week at AKL today. graemlins/muscles.gif
Yes it is finally here graemlins/clappy.gif

aprilzw
04-06-2002, 07:22 AM
I think everyone has well described the literal benefits of staying onsite... and so much of it is personal choice. We have stayed onsite each time at a range of places and will be staying our first time offsite in May. graemlins/shakehead.gif I am not looking forward to it. But a patient of my DH lent us his timeshare for the week so while I'm pouting about being offsite, I won't complain too much about an extra trip to DW! And I console myself by the fact that we will make our first trip 'home' to BCV in September! graemlins/clappy.gif

Enough about me - what I wanted to suggest was that you explore another option: renting points from a DVC member. This might be a nice compromise for you and your husband - depending upon how much $ is an issue. For instance, in September you can get a 2 bedroom villa at Old Key West for 218 points for 7 nights. If you can rent from someone for $10. per point, that's $1090. per couple for the week or about $155. per night. This includes tax. For this you get a lot of space (~1300 sq ft), laundry room, full kitchen, and big jacuzzi tub with the master suite. Plus you are on Disney property and get all the amenities and ambience that goes with it. I, personally, think it's a great deal and have done this very thing (before joining DVC myself). An even better deal is to cutoff the Friday and Saturday (which are more points)... if you stay Sunday night thru Thursday night it's only 110 points!! This is only $550. per couple for the 5 nights! Then you can move to another resort for the weekend nights if you like. We did this very thing and it was actually a lot of fun. We got to try out another resort (WL) and we stayed at some of the nicest places on Disney property for a BARGAIN! Not to mention, sometimes you can find people renting points for <$10. per point.

Sorry for the book! Just wanted to offer another option...

mickeyland
04-06-2002, 07:54 AM
Excellent points above. I can probably add some personal experience.

I've done off-site hotels, an off-site private villa and on-site resorts. It really depends why you're going.

If you're with kids or intend to do Disney, Disney, Disney then you really can't beat the resorts. Immerse yourself in the magic and forget about the rest of the world. I can't really add to the rental car question (yet) as we've always rented a car (on or off site) - but I'm going to try to save the money this year and go with the Disney transport.

So, if you want to eat, play and sleep Disney and want that extra bit of cleanliness, safety and magic pay to go to a Disney resort - you won't beat it.

However, if your intention is a adult vacation in Orlando, Florida and Disney will just be a part of that then an off-site villa is fantastic. You don't pay the premium for a Disney resort if it's not important to you and you can pay $4 for breakfast and Ponderosa rather than $20 at WDW - but less Disney magic!

Does that help?

MNNHFLTX
04-06-2002, 08:40 AM
Okay, here are my reasons why I prefer to stay on-site....I already live in FL in a house with a pool, spa and all the typical amenities. We can go to WDW for a day trip if we want to (and often do). However, when we want to do a real Disney vacation where we can spend several days seeing the sights, I want it to feel like a vacation. I want to eat out, not worry about the laundry or dishes or housework. And better yet, at the Disney World resorts you can immerse yourself in a whole different world--a northwest park lodge (WL), Africa (AKL), the old south (POR), a south seas island (the Poly) and so on.

I know that you'll have a wonderful time at Disney World whether you stay there or not. Perhaps you might want to try staying on-site at some point and then you'll know if it's worthwhile. Meanwhile, have fun with your trip planning! graemlins/mickey.gif

Roland
04-06-2002, 09:06 AM
Well, there is a one best reason for staying offsite, there is a one best reason for staying onsite.

Offsite: Cheaper $$
Onsite: You're hubby said it best, 'cuz I wanna'

There's always a balance of costs vs. benefit. I do that all year long. I'm with your hubby. "cuz I wanna"
I don't work hard all year saving my money just to work hard all vacation saving my money.

[ April 06, 2002, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: Roland ]

Bob NC
04-06-2002, 12:05 PM
"I don't work hard all year saving my money just to work hard all vacation saving my money."

GOOD ONE!!!!!!

Stasha
04-06-2002, 12:16 PM
Thank you so much for all of your input!!! It is very much appreciated. I'll let you know what we decide!

graemlins/muscles.gif

disneydreamer33
04-06-2002, 04:14 PM
And don't forget that 2 couples and 1 car means that you have to go everywhere together. On site you can go to different parks or choose not to go to a park at all .Even the best of friends need time apart!