on or off site with 2 yr old

[the real Alice]

We are making our first trip to WDW with our 2 year old (almost 3 yr old by then) and my parents in Dec. We usually stay onsite at Pop. We have reservations for that now, but I'm thinking about an offsite 3 bedroom condo at the Lake Buena Vista Resort Village. Would we lose a LOT more time by traveling to and from there for naps in the afternoon? Since he does still need a nap most days should we stay onsite instead? the kitchen sure would be nice and it is cheaper than 2 rooms at Pop! Any input is appreciated :mickey:
Thanks!

[Tink#64]

Alice, my :twocents:, only having stayed offiste once, I have to say I'm a huge fan of onsite, especially knowing that you'll be taking that break for sure everyday! The convenience of WDW transportation, and not having go out & make the long hot trek to your hot car, & then do it all over again in a few hours! One year we made a very last minute trip to WDW, arriving a week after I made ressies & NOTHING available onsite the first few days, I didn't feel like our vacation really began until we parked our van at our resort & let WDW do the driving. I hated driving around, the parking lots, and more walking! To me it seemed like it took forever navigating WDW property & the parking lots, not to mention the roads & TRAFFIC outside of WDW! :ack:

To further the benefits for us of staying onsite, that same trip, youngest DS started feeling bad one evening & I was able to have him back at the resort in about 15 minutes, letting my DH & oldest DS stay & enjoy Fantasmic. We've made several trips with family & staying on property allows all of us to come & go at will & not always have to be on the same page all of the time! :thumbsup

[the real Alice]

Thanks Shari!! We used to always stay offsite when I was a kid, but I agree onsite is much better. My last 3 trips have been on site and I never thought I'd do it anyother way, but that kitchen and lower price is just so darn tempting :) We will probably end up onsite because of naps.

[NJGIRL]

You can take a look at this recent discussion:

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=183487

[keacc]

Staying in a small room with a 2 yr old is not a vacation. Having separate bedrooms is much better. You can put him down for a nap and still do normal things. Let's talk WDW transportation (or torture system). Having to wait for a bus (it can be the longest 15 minutes of the day with a young child). You can't always get a seat, plus having to carry a stroller on (I assume that you will have one), is a major pain. It is an easy treck to Lake Buena Vista Resort Village. Being able to have breakfast in the condo is not only a huge savings, but also a big time saver. Having the extra room for a young child to play in helps keep your sanity. We've stayed on and off site with young children and would only stay on site in a condo, and I can't afford a WDW condo.

[iceicebritney]

If your there for five days or less I would recommend in site just for the convience and to maximize your time. If your the more than five days, I would say there's no difference either way.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I would stay onsite

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

I would stay onsite for sure.

I do agree that you need a room to put the child for a nap that is separate and a kitchen for us was a must.

I suggest that you look into renting DVC points. Much cheaper than reserving a DVC villa from disney.com.

I would look intoo renting a 2 bedroom villa. The convenience of also having everyone in one suite is great! We did this when my oldest dd was 2. My parents stayed in one bedroom and we stayed in the master w/ dd. The best part was my parents were content having dinner in the room and put dd to bed a few nights so DH and I could have a few 'Disney date nights'. We shopped DTD in peace, went to Epcot just the 2 of us. We didn't have to worry about dd. She was 'at home' w/ my parents. And once dd was asleep, they could watch TV, sit out on the balcony, do laundry and/or go to bed themselves without waiting for us to come home. JUST LIKE AT HOME!! :thumbsup:

That is priceless!

[the real Alice]

Thanks Jennifer. We are actually trying to do that exact scenario with my parents. If we stay onsite we are getting 2 connecting rooms at Pop so mom and dad can bring him back. I have looked at DVC rentals, but everything I've found is out of our budget. The offsite deal I found was much cheaper. I'm so confused at this point about what we should do. We will probably just end up at Pop. We have done that before and the transportation wasn't bad at all.

[dizneydeb22]

Hi Alice,
I have to agree with Shari. We stayed off site once and my husband swore we would never do it again. Honestly, although the kitchen sounds convenient, we NEVER used it! Between going back and forth, parking, etc. we found it wasted more valuable time. BUT, that being said, you have to do what's best for your family! Good luck with your decision, and hope your trip is magical either way! :tink: