On or Off Property?

[bbopper]

We are six adults, 4 of which are early 20s. We were thinking of getting two rooms at an All-Star and paying for a dog sitter for our 3 dogs back home. OR would it be better to rent a vacation home near WDW that accepts pets? It would probably be cheaper that way but would we be giving up a lot now staying on property?

[Touchdown]

Personally, for me staying on property is an absolute must. It provides that intangible "leaving the real world behind" feeling that you just cannot get when you have to drive through I-drive and I-4 everyday to get to the parks but as for tangibles.

Youre going with teens which means youre going with night owls. Evening EMH (espeically at the MK and Epcot) are fantastic if you can stay till closing. On our last trip myself, mom, dad and brother ended up riding Dumbo with Chip and Dale, Donald Goofy and a few other adults and teens at 3 am. Usually Dumbo is full of little kids and has a line so long the characters are not going to take a ride so as not to slow the line, you just cant get that experience except during EMH.

Dining Plan-I dont know if it will be free when you go, but even if it isnt look into getting this its great. We use our TS as a break from the parks and generally have an earlier time so we beat the heat and the crowds and come out refreshed for the evening show and possible EMH.

[bbopper]

When are the parks open this late? That sounds awesome!!

I definitely think we are leaning towards on property but are trying to weigh all our options.

THanks for your input!

[Touchdown]

The MK was open until 3 am because it was July 2 and the park stayed open until 12 for normal guests. Evening EMH usually happens at one park every day, and that park is left open for resort guests for an additional 3 hours. Like I said I find it worth going to at the MK and Epcot, but did not find that to be the case at MGM. The key is to realize that the park will probably be as crowded as it was during the day for the first hour or so and then thin out from there, so just plan on doing the "big rides" until after the first hour. During evening EMH Ive done marathon sessions on BTMRR and Splash Mt. (they wont make you leave if there is no one waiting in your row,) rode Dumbo and the Carosel for the first time in years (due to them being walk ons,) and done Space Mountain 3 times in 15 minutes (no running involved.)

On the Epcot front, World Showcase is the place to be early, once the Illuminations exodus is complete the place is dead and its just fantastic walking through that half of the park after dark. We found all the shops still open and the two rides open as well. Soarin never really got a short line, but Test Track was less then 5 minutes by the end of the night and the rest of the Future World rides were a walk on.

At MGM (we did this pre TSM) ToT and RnRC remained >1 hour waits the whole night so we did not see the value in staying for that.

Ive heard fantastic things about evening EMH at Animal Kingdom as well but I cant spend a night at WDW and not see a night show so we are never at AK after 2:00. We typically do morning EMH here (1 hour earlier opening) though as the animals are much more active at that time of day and it allows us to get out of AK much quicker.

[SBETigg]

With 4 adults in early 20s, staying on property also gives you the flexibility of not all having to be at the same place at the same time. You can take advantage of Disney transportation to sometimes be together, and sometimes head off in different directions at whim. Bringing the dogs is great, but it's also added responsibility of having to be at a certain place at a certain time to care for the dogs as needed. So, really, it's up to you and the kind of vacation you want to have. Personally, I love my dogs, but I also love having a little vacation time away from it all, which is, as the previous poster mentioned, what you will get from leaving the dogs with a sitter and staying on property.

[bbopper]

Thank you for the great info!