good vs bad staying onsite or offsite

[dyin tago]

hi,

wife and I have visited 6 or 7 times and have stayed at moderates and last few times at a valu. all trips except one were with free dining in september.

we love to do other stuff in florida as we go for 10-12 nights. we have considered trying offsite this time and stay closer to places we are at during the day rather than drive back to disney.

the dilemma is when you figure the park tickets we would still need,15 dollar daily parking fee if you stay offsite and paying for all meals even if we still eat at a few other places the onsite deal is pretty darn good!

[#1donaldfan]

It's up to each visitors preference.....staying off site you won't have EMH available to you. I'm sure you can save a few dollars, but for me it's the "way" Disney makes you feel staying on property !!

[emerzmom]

A few things I would consider:
Dining Plan: I have never thought the Dining Plan was a good deal. If it is only the 2 of you and you do not usually eat 3 big meals a day then I would think it was not a good deal for you.
Parking: If the $15/day parking fee is a reason to consider onsite vs. offsite are you saving more than $15/day on the hotel room offsite vs. onsite or you have a bigger room with more amenities offsite?
EMH: Do you like to take advantage of early mornings or late nights at the parks? If you want to take advantage of this "extra" then that is a strong consideration for onsite, if not, then it is not a factor.
There is one more "not so practical" but in my opinion very important factor: the Disney feeling you get staying onsite vs offsite. We have taken many trips to WDW and have done both onsite and offsite. Every time we stayed offsite we say "never again". We just miss that extra "Disney magic" that you get by staying at a Disney resort. We love everything about it from the lobbies, extra touches in the rooms, friendly Disney staff, Disney transportation, etc...
Every couple of years I get this big idea that I am going to save some money and/or get something bigger and better offsite. I use all my "logical" thinking and book the stay. Then when we get there I realize that I forgot to apply my "magical thinking" that factors in the "Disney Magic" component
It really comes down to logic and preference. If it logically makes sense to stay offsite and the onsite experience is not that big for you then that is a good way to go.
Either way...you have a WDW trip to plan...that in itself is a VERY good thing
Enjoy your trip!

Julie

[faline]

It is personal preference and, personally, I prefer to stay onsite.

[JerseyDad]

...although we've never stayed off-site....we've been to WDW with a large "entourage" of friends that chose to stay at the Wyndham in Downtown Disney. The spoke wonders of how nice the hotel was...how nice the rooms were...how much they enjoyed their room service...the pools...and whatever else they felt made it "spiffy".

...that said...they (the whole lot of them) didn't get the EMH's perk....they were consistently late in getting to wherever they needed to meet us (even though the Wyndham is literally across the street from the DtD bus stop). At days end...they simply couldn't get on a bus at the park...and head back to a WDW resort....they had to do the "bus shuffle"...and a few of them started to express displeasure with that after about day #3 (they had young ones in tow).

...now...the kicker was that they got these rooms for practically nothing...because of someone in the group "knowing the right someone, somewhere in the Wyndham corporation". At some point...the "bargain" seemed to wear off.....and maybe it was when they were buying "things" in the parks...and had to lug them everywhere they went (not having the perk of sending "stuff" to the WDW resort).

...from what I've seen of the "Disney Way" of doing things....I doubt that I'd want to pass on that aspect of the vacation.

....of course....it's just my opinion.

[spinnerf]

I agree its your preference but you can really save some $$$ on the room rate offsite. I stayed at Floridays in a 2 bedroom suite, just as nice and clean as Disney, and I timed it one day, under 15 minutes room to through the turnstile in Epcot. But yes I had paid for parking, I stay on site many many times per year and have only once done free dining and found it a waste for my family. That being said, we still do mostly stay on property, have recently joined DVC, theres just something about staying onsite, but its expensive.

[Ms. Mode]

We have done both and like staying on propery best!

[EJS-Houston]

It's up to each visitors preference.....staying off site you won't have EMH available to you. I'm sure you can save a few dollars, but for me it's the "way" Disney makes you feel staying on property !!

Couldn't have said it better myself; love being immersed in the Disney experience...plus the perks like Extra Magic Hours, The Magical Express, gift delivery to the hotel, etc....

[joonyer]

If it's just two of you, or a small family the $$ you can save by staying offsite may not be worth losing all the perks you get by being a Disney Resort guest. But for large families or groups, you can get get some really deluxe accommodations, like an entire 3-4 BR house with a private pool (see All-Star Vacation Homes) for significantly less money than you can stay on-site. These home rentals can be an amazing value for large groups, saving you hundreds or perhaps even more than a thousand dollars (on a week long stay), compared to a Deluxe or Moderate resort on-site. If your budget is really important, that is the main advantage to staying offsite. Otherwise, we find the perks of staying on-site to be worth the extra few dollars to stay there (we usually stay at the Value resorts).

[KAT1811]

Funny, this year my mother and I drove to Disney with my four children for a girls trip (and then on to Fort Myers to "pick up" my 90 year old grandparents and bring them back to RI). When we were driving on property to check into our resort I couldn't wait to get out of the car and immerse myself in everything Disney. We parked the car day 1 and never even visited it until we left 5 days later. For us, personally, it was SO unmagical off property, actually even driving on "property".

We have friends that would give us their timeshare for the two weeks we were there last year and we very nicely turned it down because we could never imagine staying off property.

We like the ease of the transportation system and that it allows us to separate if need be. Sometimes one of us will stay with our oldest in the parks later and the other will take the smaller children back to the resort. LOVE sending the packages back to the resort, we get the dining plan, not because it is financially a good deal but it is so much easier to have most of our meals pre paid. We love the night EMH.

We actually ended up going back to Disney for one more night this past April and stayed onsite again last minute (couldn't possibly drive right by Disney without stopping ). We drove to the park the next morning so we could get right on the road as soon as we were done in the parks. I have to say that navigating the parking lot and dealing with the tram stunk. I will never do that again.

In the end like everyone said it is personal preference. Good luck!!!

[BigRedDad]

Something else to consider if staying off site as well, most hotels charge up to $15 per day to park. We did Universal and SeaWorld this Summer. The room rates were great until we got the final bills. $15 daily at Disney World plus $15 a day off site is tough to swallow.

You would need to just plan accordingly on how much everything is worth to you. When we go to Disney, we go for Disney only. This is why we stay on site for all trips.

[BrerSchultzy]

We enjoyed our trip when we stayed offsite...we were able to get a really good deal on a room that wasn't great, but ended up costing us about $40 per night. Even with the parking fee, we saved at least $50 per night on lodging. We ate our complimentary continental breakfast (saving a little bit more money), packed our lunch, and ate dinner at a counter service in the parks. We didn't do EMH, but we did arrive at the parks at the regular opening hours (going to parks that did not have morning EMH), and rode all our favorites by 11. We drove back to our hotel for a nap (from the gate of MK to the door of our hotel was still less than 30 minutes...since our car was really close to the front of the parking lot because we got there early, we didn't have to use the tram).
True, we didn't have the "Disney" experience in our room, and we missed that...but it was a luxury we couldn't afford.
Ultimately, we spent 10 hours a day in the parks while we were awake, experiencing the magic, and most of our time in the hotel sleeping. And we had the added bonus of being able to go to the 7-11 for super cheap snacks if we wanted to.

[eandrsmom]

We go to Disney at least once a year, and recently discovered Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Renting directly from an owner, we got a fantastic deal. We are a family of six, and found that we really do best with a two bedroom villa. The cost at DVC is quite a bit more, even with occasional discounts and paying for parking. We drive our own car, and I wouldn't even consider staying offsite without a car. If we had a small family, I'd probably say onsite if I could get a good deal. Being off property lets us explore other restaurants in the area that we'd never even thought of trying. (We now have some new favorites.) As my kids get older, they are wanting to go to Universal and have asked about SeaWorld. I anticipate staying offsite in the near future.

[Jayhorn]

We prefer to be enveloped in the magic of Disney for our entire trip. We haven't stayed off-site for 25 years, but it always seemed like we were "just in a hotel" when we did. While when staying on-site, we feel like we are transported to another world.

... maybe I should do some of the Disney advertising.

[Tinkerbella16]

Only ever stayed onsite, except for one time and that was my first trip when I was 6 years old so I really can't say much on that. But I cannot imagine my WDW vacations any other way than staying onsite w/ a package. Being immersed in the magic 24/7 is a big deal to me and I love that feeling that I get as soon as I arrive on WDW property, and that feeling doesn't go away until we pass those gates to go home. I love feeling like I have shut reality completely out when staying onsite. No rental cars, nothing.. all disney all week! Thats just what we like. Everyone has their own preference.

[Cinderelley]

I have done both and didn't mind either way.

We have used our timeshares with our large family groups. We've had a great time. The places are nice, and the extra room they provide really help out with everyone visiting everyone else. You can imagine what it is like trying to cram three generations worth of people into hotel rooms.

When I go with my friends though, I'm generally going for relaxation. To me, staying onsite is the epitome of that. I drop my lugage off at the airport when I'm leaving and don't have a care in the world until I land at home again and pick them up - No driving, no luggage pick up, no cleaning (not that we're pigs, but mousekeeping every day is nice), sending packages to our resort or even mailing them back home. I only have to carry my kttw card and camera (if I want).

It all really depends on your priorities.

[Mousemates]

More and more for me, the thing I like best about staying on site is the ability to go days without ever having to drive the car and still be able to get around without difficulty. Staying on site allows that happen and helps me go into "I'm truly relaxed vacation mode" much more quickly.

However, we used to stay offsite (Downtown Disney) for most of our trips and certainly enjoyed them too, However, at this point we are on property folks...and would prefer a stat at a value over a nicer room on the outside.

[Silver_Surfer]

I'd stay on site for the safety factor. Florida can be a crazy place