What keeps you at a Disney Resort?

[mdricks]

Avoiding the drive to and from the parks.

[EJS-Houston]

After reading another post about an off property stay, i began to ask myself. Why do i stay at a Disney resort?

Of course there are several things that factor in, but the first thing that come to mind is location. I love being close to the parks. My favorite resorts are those right at Epcot's back door. But i don't always stay there, so then what.

Transportation is the next key factor. I might get ridiculed, but i enjoy Disney transportation. I love being able to hop on a bus or in a boat and let disney do the driving. Any time i have actually driven my car, it stays parked the entire time. Part of my vacation is not having the responsibility of driving. But there is always the option of taking a cab.

EMH is also a nice perk. I especially love staying out late at the parks. And getting a jump on the morning crowd is great fun. But what if this perk is phased out? What would keep me coming back to a Disney resort? Umm, i'm not sure.

So i ask. What keeps you coming back? And if EMH is phased out, would that be reason enough to book elsewhere?

I stay only at Disney properties for all the reasons you cite...but pulling back and looking at the big picture, I would say that I stay with Disney for two basic reasons: 1. I love being immersed in Disney for my entire stay. The music, the iconography, the atmosphere, it all adds up to a complete escape into a fantasy world. And 2. I love having all my needs completely taken care of by Disney. I prepay my Disney vacations so that when I leave my house to go to the airport, from that point on I worry about absolutely nothing. From the Magical Express, to the hotel amenities, to the Disney transportation system and everything in between, all of my needs are met throughout my Disney vacation. All I have to do when I wake up each morning is decide what I'm going to do that day to enjoy myself.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

~ The total removal from reality. I see nothing but Disney magic for the trip
~ Seeing our Disney Family when we get there. We know alot of the CMs at the FQ, and it's like a family reunion!
~ No driving - LOVE IT!
~ KTTW shopping and resort pick up
~ The beauty of an evening walk along the Sassagoula, or the stagger from Riverside to FQ after spending an evening with Bob!
~ the fact that it is safe, worry free place to wander around

[kurt]

i like the convience. using magical express to get from the airport & back again. the baggage check-in when departing. the Disney buses to the parks. the ability to return to the hotel easily any time is a plus for me. the convenience of the food courts.

[BrerGnat]

the baggage check-in when departing.

YES! This is the best! Love being able to skip this process at the airport on the way home.

And, I also love the whole process of DME and not having to worry about getting our bags at the carousel and dealing with them all the way to the hotel. With little kids, this step is SO much more fun when Disney takes care of the luggage for us!

[SandmanGStefani24]

so many little things.

1. security/quality control. it's rare that you see big problems or safety issues at WDW resorts. i keep thinking about the one time i stayed offsite to save money. the parking lot was really sketchy with undesireables kind of hanging around and the building was a dump. this is a bit extreme of an example but you get the idea.

2. Never "leaving". Staying offsite also made me feel like I was on the outside looking in when I left. Plus, offsite in your room you could really be anywhere. When on property, even in your room, you KNOW where you are.

3. All the little things...
So many things I look forward to...the WDW soaps you get, the great service at all the resorts, the WDW TV stations, the free transportation (which i don't use, but is great for so many other guests), the freebies you get for booking your room (free arcade card, ect in the booklet) and ending your day by the poolside bar chatting with whomever might be there.

To me, the cost isn't a factor. I want the WDW experience and offsite just doesn't make things complete.

[thrillme]

I used to be 100% a on-site property girl. I prefered to "drive" because I didn't like to wait for the bus but I finally relented and it wasn't too bad. BUT my "main" perk was the extra magic evenings. You paid about $13 a person and you could ride for a couple of hours after closing. It was SWEET! But then they changed to giving it FREE to property guests and it became useless. WAY way way too many people after dark now. Now that I remarried and there's 3 people in a room...I don't like the double beds (come on Disney...you CAN squeeze two queens in your value room...sacrifice the "table" or something). I don't see how two adults sleep on a double bed...it's so tiny.

My son recently went and said the transportation from the off-site that they stayed in was pretty good. Hmmm...might be food for thought...they paid half the price, got free breakfast and queen beds.

The resorts are definately losing their magic...We tried CSR for the queen beds and moderate but it was a nightmare. I preferred the Values.

[SandmanGStefani24]

The resorts are definately losing their magic...We tried CSR for the queen beds and moderate but it was a nightmare. I preferred the Values.

point taken, as i stick to values. if i wanted to throw money out, would go with something on the monorail, or an offsite. but, until that happens....values are my first choice!

[hauntedmansiongirl]

*evening extra magic hours

*transportation- monorail or boat rides to MK, Epcot, DHS or DTD- depending on where you stay! The buses are a good break from our 22 hour drive!

*theming of the resorts and feeling like you're always in the magic!

*Yehaa Bob!

*free dining! Please let that promo come back!

*great pools and waterslides!

For us, staying onsite is not even a question, it's an assumption! We don't think that there would be as much of the magic if we didn't stay on site!!!

[AvonleaCF]

Definitely the convenience. I don't want to deal with driving and parking while there, so Magical Express and Disney Transportation is my #1 reason. Plus if I'm going solo, I feel 100% safe walking around the Disney resorts at night. Not sure if I'd feel the same way off-site.

Plus the perks of the dining plan and the ease of booking a full package. Not to mention having the plastic room key/park pass as opposed to a paper ticket.

When I go on a Disney vacation, I'm going on a Disney vacation and want to be immersed. No interest, really, in Universal, Sea World, or anything else in the Orlando area. Not having to rent a car is worth the extra cost of a Disney resort in my opinion.

[DisneyDINK]

Avoiding the drive to and from the parks.

Yeah, that's a big one for me. As long as the WDW bus driver isn't having what I'm having, we're good.

I grew up in LA where you drive everywhere, walk nowhere and the bus is taboo. By the time is was 18 I was kind of sick of it. When I go on a vacation I don't want to have to drive anywhere if I don't want to, especially in crowded places.

I kind of like the busses @ WDW. It is fun to watch the families excited to have a day at Disney in the morning and the kids asleep in parents laps on the way back in the evening. Lately I'm taking a few cab rides too during the stay, especially when going from one resort to another.

Another thing that keeps me there is the music. They are always piping in some nice tunes just about wherever you are on property. I like just chillin' out on the patio at Captain Cook's and listening to some old Hawaiian tunes or sitting and listening to the calliope in the BW lobby. It is little things like that that make the experience for me.

[Tink1]

Another thing that keeps me there is the music. They are always piping in some nice tunes just about wherever you are on property. I like just chillin' out on the patio at Captain Cook's and listening to some old Hawaiian tunes or sitting and listening to the calliope in the BW lobby. It is little things like that that make the experience for me.

I so agree! I have always said that life should come with background music.

Nanc

[bruin1344]

• theming of the resorts beats your standard hotel
• staying inside the disney area rather than going to the dreaded outside world of orlando
• nice customer service
• resort music
• overall cleanliness of the resort
• no car rental so thats a cost saver
• convenient and free transportation from resort to airport
• for the most part, transportation in convenient to the parks
• extra magic hours
• size and theming of the pools

[Kenny1113]

The immersion in the resort theme
Customer service
Cleanliness (after my last hotel stay venturing outside of hotel chains I frequent, this is a big one!!!!)
Ditto on the resort background music!!!!!
Ditto on bus transportation!!! Especially when
Although we rarely use EMH and oftentimes avoid the EMH park. It really is a nice perk.

[joonyer]

1. Convenience. Including the relative shorter distance to the parks (if driving) and the WDW transportation system. We always drive to WDW, but then leave our car at the resort for most of our stay. The WDW transportation runs almost constantly during park hours so there's litte waiting or having to schedule departure arrival times around the off-site shuttle schedules.

2. It's the Magic. The theming and decor, especially the background music playing around the exteriors of the resorts, just keeps me in the Disney mood. It's hard to explain, but you know it when you feel it.

[Sylvia]

Our reasons for saying at a Disney resort, in no particular order:

Our first on-site stay was in 1989 at CBR. After we checked in and were waiting for our room to be ready, we compiled a pro and a con list for staying on site. The pro list in favor of staying on site was huge. The con list against staying on site had one entry - cost of the room; our first Disney room was twice the cost per night of our off-site rooms. It didn't take us long to realize that the higher cost was so worth it, because of all of the perks that came with it. CBR was new at the time, so our room wasn't ready until check-in; we spent 4 hours exploring the resort grounds, having lunch at OPR, and enjoying the atmosphere. By the time we finally saw our room, we were hooked; that was the first of many stays at CBR and several stays at many other Disney resorts. Except for 2 years when I was in Orlando on business trips, we haven't stayed off-site since then; but I have to be honest, I combined a short stay at CBR with each business trip before coming home. I could have taken the shuttle to Disney from my off-site hotel, but something was missing - I needed a huge dose of Pixie Dust.

Back to many of the reasons why we always stay at a Disney resort:

Not ever having to catch the first shuttle in the morning from our off-site hotel and having to stay out all day, because the shuttle schedule was not customer-friendy or convenient and too much time would be wasted going back to the off-site hostel and waiting forever for the shuttle back to WDW. Disney Transport rules!!

Not worrying about missing the last shuttle back to our off-site hotel and having to pay taxi fee when we missed the shuttle. I say it again - Disney Transport rules!!

Not having to put up with the noise and traffic jams on I-Drive. Hearing the noise and laughter of kids in the pool and the music at our resort is much more enjoyable.

Feeling safe walking around our Disney resort early in the morning or late at night and knowing that the people we see are just like us, having a great time. Friendly smiles and hello from people we don't know are all just part of the magic.

Not having to rush to the exit to catch that last shuttle to an off-site hotel. It's so much more enjoyable, and ends a fun day on the right note, when we can relax and enjoy a treat and the sounds and sights as the theme park of the day is getting ready to say goodnight. We've always enjoyed the parks at closing, and since we started staying onsite in 1989 we're always among the last group of guests to leave.

Passing the "Welcome to Walt Disney World" and realizing we're back at our favorite place to relax and will be surrounded by Pixie Dust and Magic until it's time to head back home. Being in the "land of the purple, red and yellow signs", with a bit of blue thrown in, makes us feel all warm and fuzzy; we love being immersed in the feeling for the entire vacation.

We're also fans of Disney Transport, and love exploring the World and not having to worry if we'll be stranded. We know we'll always be able to get back to our resort and our room on our time schedule. We're not tied to someone's schedule. We have enough of that at home; we don't want it on vacation.

Having the freedom to visit different resorts and enjoy the variety of themes, decor, and food. How much fun is it to have breakfast in a Music-themed food court, lunch in an African-themed restaurant, and dinner in a restaurant hosted by Mickey and the gang, while the monrail zooms by, all on the same day and at various resorts?

The resort-specific music. No matter what type of music you enjoy, you'll find it at a Disney resort. There's nothing like having a Mickey waffle with strawberries and listening to some great lively music, or having a slice of flatbread pizza while listening to Hawaiian music and watching the ducks beg for food. . . I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

A Disney vacation continues even on days when we don't go to a theme park. Spending days at the various Disney resorts can be so much fun. We remember the first time we visited AKL; we planned to stay for an hour. An hour became 5 hours, because we saw many animals from the various stairways at the resort, and the resort is a museum of African artifacts throughout the common areas. Just another bonus of an on-site stay.

We enjoy all the types of transportation available. Where else can you ride a bus under a water bridge, ride a monorail through a resort, or take a ferry to a Magic Kindgom as often you prefer? Just another perk of staying at a Disney resort and having fun your way.

[roses]

I just love the Disney "feel" to any of the resorts, and love knowing that I never have to leave Disney property while I am on my vacation. Their customer service is outstanding, and everything is themed so well. I love that it isn't just another cookie cutter development like most that are outside of the Disney property.

[WhiteRose1]

for us:
it's convenient!
1.No driving!
2.Package dropoff
3.We do the platinum plan and we do room service breakfast every day for no cost...saves us time in the morning because we are not early risers....so the ability to pay one price up-front and not have any surprises.
4. Free resort mug becuse of the food plan.

If we were doing other things besides Disney, we would stay off property. We are a business traveler family and have status at all the national brands. We usually can get free upgrades, so staying offsite would make sense.

[epceddie]

My wife and I are DVC members with OKW our home resort. We love staying onsite for that wonderful Disney feeling. One of our favorite things to do is sit out on our patio in the morning and enjoy the river views that we've been lucky to get. Allison loves watching the boats go back and forth between OKW and DTD, especially in Building 45. We always rent a car and love the freedom that gives us to go where we want to, when we want to. Another thing we like about being DVC members and staying onsite is the pool hopping perk. That lets us visit different resorts and check them out.

[akaDisneyDreamer]

I love that I don't need a car on my Disney Vacation! I get off the plane, go straight to the Disney Magical Express and am delivered to my resort.

Most importantly, staying on site means I don't have to leave the magic behind at the end of each day. We stay immersed in the magic; we eat, sleep and breathe the magic during our entire trip! I wouldn't want it any other way!