Actual Savings Staying Offsite Versus Onsite

[Angieandsteve]

Has anyone ever broken down the actual cost savings of staying offsite versus onsite and if so can you share it with me? We went to Disney June 1-June 6. We booked our package directly through Disney with free memory maker.

Total cost for 5 nights at the Polynesian, 2 adults and 1 child with the regular dining plan, memory maker, and 5 day tickets with park hoppers was $3868.00

Last night I priced what it would cost to stay at the B Hotel (it is where we got our rental car when we left WDW to drive to the beach for a week and we thought it looked really nice and I would consider staying offsite there next time.)

We flew and probably always will as we are not long distance car drivers and it takes 17 hours to get there so that doesn't change the savings either way. No matter what we would fly.

We would need a rental car for Disney which we didn’t need for the Disney part of vacation. I estimate that at $250.

A B Hotel room charge if I pay advance rate charges in full was $159.00 per night however there were resort charges and parking fees, plus taxes so I estimate $1000 ($200 per night with everything included) I think this is a pretty good rate too but then again I am not sure how much other places like WBC cost.

Tickets – We got memory maker so if we got that again it would be $150, plus $180 for park hopper (which I could probably skip next time,) and then $949 for the tickets. Total for tickets was $1279.

Dining plan costs $700 total for all 3 of us.

Total for our trip was $3868.

If we had stayed offsite at the B hotel it would have been $250 for car+ $1000 for hotel + $1279 Park tickets and MM, $85 for parking (using daily rate of $17), and then food. We ate a 4 table service meals which cost over $100 each alone plus one more that was a little less. I suppose we could have gone cheaper had we of paid out of pocket though by not eating at such nice places or doing less character meals. I will estimate for 3 of us $600 on food, drinks, snacks etc should we stay offsite.

Total if we stay offsite - $3214.

Difference was a little over $600 from our Poly trip and offsite estimate.

While I think that is a nice amount of money to save, I was expecting larger savings. We had the monorail practically right outside our door (could see it from our window) and it made things so convenient. We used the busses to AK, HS, and DTD and wait times were short. As much as I don’t like the busses it was painless. Plus we were able to book FP’s 60 days out getting everything we wanted at least once. From when we walked out of our room to walking into MK it was always less than 20 minutes. It was so convenient.

Keep in mind we stayed at the Polynesian too which is super expensive. I am imagining we could have saved the $600 on a moderate so it would have been even cost between staying onsite and offsite.

I am still interested in a possible stay offsite though. Can someone explain to me the large savings I always read about? What am I doing wrong here? I would love the savings but I am not seeing it as much as I thought when I break the numbers down.

Maybe if we had more people we would see higher savings?

Thanks so much in advance! Looking forward to responses so I can find a way to save money and go more often!!!

 

[Itinkso]

We have rented a house through VRBO for three of our trips. For a four bedroom house, only 15 minutes away from the parks, with pool, hot tub, and game room, we paid $750 for 9 nights which also included the cleaning fee. We buy a few snacks for the house, pick up breakfast food at Wawa on the way to the parks, and then mainly have one very nice (Jiko, Sanaa, Coral Reef, Kouzzina, bluezoo, Be Our Guest, etc.) TS meal per day.

I check the Transportation board for car rental codes and sign up for the membership rewards program with the major car rental agencies.

Last week we did a very short, quick post-cruise trip:

Rental House as described above for 3 nights: $350
Car Rental: $207 for a week-rate for a van... we stayed in Boca Raton for a couple of days after WDW.

Every time I shop at Target, I purchase Disney Gift Cards using my Target credit card and save 5% on each card. I use these Gift cards to pay for our meals so when combined with my daughter's CM discount, I feel we get a great deal.

We don't always need the 4 bedrooms as sometimes it is only three of us, but the pricing is excellent!

 

[sb682]

We drive our own car, book rooms on Priceline, Hotwire or Vacation Strategy (paying $100 or less per night for a 1 or 2 room suite), bring snacks and breakfast foods from home or purchase them at Publix when we get in. We generally do 2 CS meals per day, each buy a snack or two, and eat TS for 1 or 2 meals on the trip. We would generally rather spend our money on snacks and souvenirs than on so-so TS meals. I priced CP for breakfast during peak season, thinking it would be a fun treat for my birthday. Not for $100! I would rather stuff myself with Dole Whips and carrot cake cookies and eat at Cosmic Ray's or Columbia Harbour House.

I budget $80/day for food in the parks for 2 adults and 1 child, and DS gets about $50 to spend on souvenirs. I also buy Disney gift cards at Target with the discount. We bring Brita water bottles and get free ice water from CS restaurants, and sometimes we share meals or order without the sides if we aren't very hungry. IMO, Memory Maker isn't worth the money. I always pick up a card from a photographer and get several pictures taken by the pros, as well as with my own camera. I have never gotten any from MM that were worth spending money on.

 

[limpy]

For me, and for a lot of people I think, it is also about what you are getting for your money too. I want a fantastic vacation for less. When I was seeking a DVC 1 bedroom rental, the travel agent pointed out that I can get twice as much space for over $1K less offsite.

We probably would have to rent a car regardless because we have two small children and have no interest in contending with bus schedules, waiting in line, juggling the stroller with tired little ones. The freedom is worth a lot. Being able to grocery shop instead of paying for delivery service also saves money.

Even if I only saved $500-$600, it would be worth more to me in my particular circumstances.

 

[KristenCarll]

I have gone through and priced it out, and for my family we would only save a couple hundred dollars.

We are staying value at AOA in a family suite(we would do the LM rooms, but my Mom and brother are joining us), we are doing the counter service dining meal, no park hoppers(we will be there 8 days 7 nights so I don't feel it is necessary), and adding the memory maker.

Personally I like staying onsite, with the convenience of ME picking us up and dropping us off, being greeted with "welcome home", having the gift shop and dining area right in the hotel, and not having to worry about a car seat for my little one that will be 2 at time of travel. I feel that having to fold up our stroller for the buses is just like having to fold it up and put in the car so I do not see a difference there. And less likely for me to get lost while driving.

 

[dougsmom98]

I think the big savings are to be had if you have a large family. Our family of 6 could never afford to stay on site at Disney, but we can afford off site pretty easily in a condo/town home or off site villa.

 

[Lewisc]

...
Total cost for 5 nights at the Polynesian, 2 adults and 1 child with the regular dining plan, memory maker, and 5 day tickets with park hoppers was $3868.00

Last night I priced what it would cost to stay at the B Hotel (it is where we got our rental car when we left WDW to drive to the beach for a week and we thought it looked really nice and I would consider staying offsite there next time.)

..We would need a rental car for Disney which we didn’t need for the Disney part of vacation. I estimate that at $250.

A B Hotel room charge if I pay advance rate charges in full was $159.00 per night however there were resort charges and parking fees, plus taxes so I estimate $1000 ($200 per night with everything included) I think this is a pretty good rate too but then again I am not sure how much other places like WBC cost.

Tickets – We got memory maker so if we got that again it would be $150, plus $180 for park hopper (which I could probably skip next time,) and then $949 for the tickets. Total for tickets was $1279.

Dining plan costs $700 total for all 3 of us.

Total for our trip was $3868.

If we had stayed offsite at the B hotel it would have been $250 for car+ $1000 for hotel + $1279 Park tickets and MM, $85 for parking (using daily rate of $17), and then food. We ate a 4 table service meals which cost over $100 each alone plus one more that was a little less. I suppose we could have gone cheaper had we of paid out of pocket though by not eating at such nice places or doing less character meals. I will estimate for 3 of us $600 on food, drinks, snacks etc should we stay offsite.

Total if we stay offsite - $3214.

Difference was a little over $600 from our Poly trip and offsite estimate.

While I think that is a nice amount of money to save, I was expecting larger savings. We had the monorail practically right outside our door (could see it from our window) and it made things so convenient. We used the busses to AK, HS, and DTD and wait times were short. As much as I don’t like the busses it was painless. Plus we were able to book FP’s 60 days out getting everything we wanted at least once. From when we walked out of our room to walking into MK it was always less than 20 minutes. It was so convenient.

Keep in mind we stayed at the Polynesian too which is super expensive. I am imagining we could have saved the $600 on a moderate so it would have been even cost between staying onsite and offsite.

The rate you're using is too high.

The current Travelzoo promotion at the B Hotel is $99 /night. The parking fee and resort fee is waived for guests using this promotion.

There are usually hotels available in the under $100 price range. The downtown Disney hotels run a decent shuttle service. You don't need to pay to park at WDW. Some of the offsite proponents have annual passes and don't pay for parking. Some of the offsite people still park at DTD to avoid parking fees.

Many of the offsite people rent timeshare condos and vacation homes. Read through this forum. Posters are renting two bedroom units for under $500 /week. Families who want a hotel experience can rent a two room suite in a hotel which offers a free breakfast. Some of your meals will be enjoyed offsite, at a lower price then at WDW.

I kind of agree with your point. The cost of a rental car and Disney parking offset part of the increased cost. A person who wants to rent a regular hotel room won't get dramatic savings.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

A person who wants to rent a regular hotel room won't get dramatic savings.

^^Agreed^^.

Compare with our two bedroom, two bathroom villa at Sheraton Vistana Resort for this coming August (a two week stay).

Our price for SVR: $1726 ($863 total per week).

A 2 bed/2 bath villa at Saratoga Springs with the 35% off summer discount offer: $6814 (using same dates, August 17th to 31st).

Difference = $5088

Our rental vehicle (a midsize SUV) is $466 taxes included. Then let's assume $150 for gas.

We are still saving $4472.

Then we can eat WAY cheaper offsite (and in our villa) than we can eating Disney food each day. That more than makes up for parking costs along the way.

Other other costs (flights, shopping, tickets, etc.) would be the same offsite or on.

Our offsite savings are very significant.

 

[artemis4]

We have a family of six and always stay in condos when traveling. I'm going to put aside the fact that we love the extra space of the condo and wouldn't happily stay in Disney value rooms because of the size. I ran comparisons of our 3 bedroom condo to our family staying in two rooms as All Star Sports. This isn't a fair comparison of accommodation level, but I'm going with it for academic purposes only.

For the purposes of this comparison, I'm not going to include things we'd pay for regardless of where we stayed (gas, lodging and food on the drive to and from Disney, Memory Maker).

Offsite food figures are determined on our previous experience at Disney combined with current menu prices as well as our normal vacation food budget for meals eaten in the condo:

• 6 day base ticket $1889
• 7 nights at 3 bedroom condo $439
• Parking $90
• Breakfasts $50
• Lunches in parks $360
• 2 dinners in park $120
• Snacks in park $40
• Snacks offsite and carry in $60
• Dinners offsite $200

Offsite total $3128

__________________________________________

I used the Disney website to determine the cost for our family in two rooms at All Star Sports for seven nights using Free Dining with 6 day base tickets.

• Lodging and tickets $3367.64
• This assumes that we will subsist on 2 CS meals and one snack per day, nothing OOP for food. Obviously, that isn't happening, so I assume eating Disney CS for breakfast and I have no idea what a Disney CS breakfast costs. I'm going to assume $5/person or $30/meal. Total: $180

Onsite w/free dining total: $3547.64

Offsite savings $419

__________________________________________

If I take free dining out of the equation, this becomes my math:

• 7 nights at 2 rooms All Star Sports sale price $81.07/night and with 6 day base tickets = $3092.92
• Lunches in parks $360
• 2 dinners in park $120
• Snacks in park $40
• Snacks offsite and carry in $60
• I can't determine costs for breakfast and 5 more dinners without a lot of legwork that I'm not willing to do for an academic exercise. Assume $30/day for breakfast and eating Disney CS for dinner, so $60/meal for these extra meals. Total: $480

Onsite w/o free dining $4152.92

Offsite savings: $1024.92
__________________________________________

There is my math. Add in the comfort of more space for a larger family with multiple teenagers. FWIW, Disney transportation is not a plus for us. Buses are hell on wheels for me and my two children who are prone to car sickness. Seriously. We'd be driving to the parks even if we stayed on site. We also make a 21 hour road trip to Disney instead of flying because we have the time and the cost savings are substantial, so Magical Express isn't a benefit for us.

My bottom line is staying onsite costs our family more even with free dining and doesn't get us any benefits.



Edited to add that I figured the costs at Saratoga Springs or Old Key West for our family in 2 bedroom villa for 7 nights with 6 day base tickets with the fall discount rate. I assume these two would be fairly comparable to the 3 bedroom condo we would be renting, and they are the least expensive option for villas. It came to $4319 plus food. I assume we could cook like in the condo, so I determined food costs as the same as offsite. This gave me a total of $5149. Offsite savings $2,021. FWIW $2,000 is what we spent on an entire week's vacation for our family in Colorado last month.

 

[kathy884]

No, but seeing your post I just did some quick numbers for our stay the week before Christmas. Please note, I like a condo rather than a hotel when my stay is more than four nights, and I did this for a seven night stay.

My parents did a timeshare trade to stay at Cypress Point offsite.

I just took a look and see that from a timeshare owner that I could rent that week before Christmas, not Christmas for $1150. It sleeps eight. I've rented at this resort before for a similar (actually slightly lower price).

I took a look at one of the older Disney condos, and see that a two bedroom at Old Key West that week runs 232 points. I also read that renting points on DIS usually run from $11 - $14 and went with the more conservative $11 per point number to give me a rental cost of $2552.

Both condos sleep eight, which is what we want so family members that aren't couples don't have to share beds.

With my offsite condo, I need a rental car and found a standard sized one from a major rental car company for my dates for $244. To be fair, if you need a minivan your rental could be a good $200 more than this. We on this trip don't need one, just five of us.

If I were doing five full days at Disney, parking would be $17 per day or $95.

At Old Key West I'd need to do at least one grocery store run and wouldn't have Magical Express renting points, so let's be conservative and say four cab rides totaling about $100

Figure everything else will be the same

Offsite:
Condo: 1150
Rental Car: 244
Gas: $50
Parking: $95
Total = $1539

Onsite:
Condo: 2552
Cabs: $100
Total = $2652

So offsite saves about $1113 for this scenario.


Percentage wise for accommodations, car/gas, and parking, my costs are 1113/1539 or 72% higher to stay in a condo at Disney vs. one offsite.

 

[Angieandsteve]

Thanks so much for the responses! I can definitely see how I could reduce our expenses if we stated offsite and that would enable us to stay more days! I worry I would miss the magic although we stayed at POR in 2013 and I really liked the resort but found the busses to be far from magical!! Poly was amazing but expensive for sure! You all certainly have given me some things to consider.

 

[etoiles]

I agree that you get more space for less money. Since we have a sensitive baby sleeper, DH and I agreed that we wanted a separate sleeping area so we wouldn't have to tip toe around if DS goes to bed early.

The only place (DVC rental was unavailable) an AOA suite was about $3,000 for our ten night stay for a one bedroom. Now we have a two bedroom with balcony at WBC for a third of that. We will pay the $15 parking and car rental but there is no way that will cost $2,000 different.


Also you can save on the photo pass or memory maker by joining a Facebook share which I have done the last two trips we went so we only paid about $30 for it.

Dining plan we have never done since I am a vegetarian my meal is always the cheapest and I don't always want an entree since sometimes the sides are better. We always drink water and bring little flavor packets to add to it as well.

 

[jaykorf001]

Over spring break we stayed in a 1 BR Presidential at Wyndham Bonnet Creek which is within Disney gates. The place was huge (1,130 square feet) and cost $120 a night inclusive of all taxes and ALL fees. Our full sized rental car was $20 a day -- fwiw we've been to orlando twice in the last year and both times we've rented a FULL SIZED car for $20 a day unlimited miles. Parking is $17 a day. So we are at $157 a day. What kind of space can you get at a Disney resort for $157 a day? Plus I'd rent a car even when staying onsite for convenience.

I did not even highlight all the savings on food possible by having a kitchen and all that space -- even for breakfast only. The previous trip we stayed in a Disney deluxe and were cramped as hell -- and it's just 3 of us. We also paid well over 4 times the cost per day on lodging. Also, WBC is a full on resort and fabulous.

I feel like many times when someone is justifying that offsite isn't any cheaper they are not comparing apples to apples. The new Four Seasons is less expensive than most, if not all, of the Disney deluxes. The FOUR SEASONS. If travelers want to stay onsite then stay onsite. I get that it's really important to some. But I'll never be convinced it costs the same for the same type of space, amenities, finishings, et al.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[katyjeka]

I don't think people realize how small even the suites at values can be. We enjoyed the music suites but was somewhat taken back when we first entered. I guess I wad thinking suite equals big. We always travel with 8 people so we need a value suite and one room. We've also stayed at OKW and SS, both were nice but hardly worth the four thousand we spent on them. For this December we rented a 2 bedroom at Bonnet Creek, 2 weeks, for 1480.00 total. The resort is soooo much nicer than any value onsite. We have always rented a car and find Orlando has some of the cheapest rates. The only place we've found cheaper is Las Vegas. We always bid on priceline and have yet to have our price rejected. One other thing, we love a balcony and to get a balcony onsite you have to go with deluxe. Even then, with the exception of villas the balconies are big enough for two and a child which is ridiculous for the amount they charge. Bonnet creek balconies are huge!!

 

[SFailla]

I think it ultimately depends on your circumstances. we are a family of 5 & what disney charges for that 1 extra person in the room b/c we need a suite is ridiculous in my eyes. We have stayed onsite twice & that was when my twins were considered "infants". We priced Disney for this December & the best price Disney could come up with was $6300 for the 5 of us (if we were 4, that price dropped to $3300 in a value) so I basically need $3000 extra for my 4 yr old.
Staying offsite in a townhouse we are paying $1000 for the townhome. Park passes are $1500 & even if we go crazy with food & spend what the dining plan costs, we will still be way ahead of that $6300 quoted by Disney!!!

 

[Lewisc]

I feel like many times when someone is justifying that offsite isn't any cheaper they are not comparing apples to apples. The new Four Seasons is less expensive than most, if not all, of the Disney deluxes. The FOUR SEASONS. If travelers want to stay onsite then stay onsite. I get that it's really important to some. But I'll never be convinced it costs the same for the same type of space, amenities, finishings, et al.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

It's not a matter of "justifying". Costs of a rental car and Disney parking offset many of the offsite savings if you're comparing apples to apples. Hotel room vs hotel room. In some ways DME was a game changer. Renting a car used to cost about the same as a car service. Renting a car made sense, economically, for all guests.

Orlando is overbuilt with timeshare resorts. The weekly cost to rent can be less then maintenance fees. No question people who want that kind of vacation can get a great deal.

DVC is in demand. It's not cheap if you reserve through Disney. Renting points, for a 2 bedroom unit isn't cheap. People who want that kind of vacation should consider purchasing DVC.

Apples to Apples....I don't see any of the offsite comparisons including the cost for daily maid service. Daily maid service is included with a hotel. The cost must be added into the timeshare cost for a fair comparison. I understand many people don't want daily maid service, or at least don't want to pay for it, but the comparison isn't really valid unless it's added in.

 

[nugov2]

It is all in what you want. I would never want to stay on site with my family of 5...just not enough of what I need to enjoy my vacation. I want a private pool, but also the opportunity to enjoy the public one with a fun waterslide. I don't want to be forced to hang with the masses(especially when a group of obnoxious people happen to be hanging around) and we did enough activities on site to know they are at all the resorts/parks. I don't want to be restricted to sitting in my room at night or in the morning when my little ones are asleep. I like heading out to the pool while they sleep. I don't want to take public transportation...wouldn't do it in my everyday life, don't want it on vacation. Being crammed on a bus/boat/monorail is a minus for us. I like a car where I can blast the air and enjoy a nice quiet ride back to our house and have fun talking about our day without having to shout, stand, be smushed or smell people. I also like being in my car and back to the house before I would even get onto that public transportation. The lines at night are brutal. We don't eat at the house unless we are tired of eating out. We dine and participate in all the on site activities throughout our whole stay. I do like housekeeping and it would be great to have it but the 5 minute daily wipe down by two people isn't enough to make me change to on site.
We rented a 6 bedroom disney themed house and we paid $250 a night so comparable to a moderate on site. For us it isn't about huge savings, but about having the type of vacation we can enjoy. For us that is having space and luxury and still keeping our vacation reasonable. I love WDW but a 2 bedrm villa(our minimum type of accommodation for over a short 2 day stay) would run us closer to $1,000 a night(maybe we could rent points and lower it to $500, but still not worth double the 6bdrm house)...I just don't think anything WDW has to offer for amenities is worth that. We can dine on site, do activities on site so the only thing we miss is 10 days advanced booking, EMH, pools and room cleaning. They are not worth an extra$250- $700+ a night.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

We just got back and I have to do the Disney side of the trip. I had all the extras (house sitter, kennel...) added in to our budget. Budget was $4400

Family of 5--2 adults, 2 teens, 1 preschooler (age 3).

Off site townhouse {3 bed 3 bath private pool} $976 for one week.
On site Family suite $400 per night or 2 bed DVC $800 per night.

Savings: -$1824

Tickets: had military salute so no price change

Parking: 4 days at $17 = $68
OOP cost versus staying on site

Dining: We bought $400 of groceries in town house, ate at Golden Corral and McDonalds. So total there is about $550.

In parks dining was $415. Crystal Palace was only TS (tip in the total). QS and snacks for everything else. We brought in water bottles so we asked for glasses of ice from time to time.

DDP would have been $1596 for the adults and teens. Plus the tips for TS. I don't have the charge for the preschooler, but I am guessing $105 for the plan.

Savings: -$736

We also bought souvenirs off site.

Total cost savings for our trip: -$2492 by staying in Townhouse versus Family Suite. More if we had gone DVC.

 

[2girlsmom]

Someone commented on daily housekeeping, and I know some folks don't care about that, but I love that, so won't stay somewhere without it for more than a 2 night stay. However, apples to apples, right? We stay mostly at Caribe Royal, which is on World Drive, about 10 minutes drive away from the parks. We do have annual passes, so don't pay for parking at the parks, and Caribe doesn't charge for parking there (I know many offsite hotels do). So we were just there over Memorial Day weekend, 3 night stay:
Cost of Caribe 2 bedroom suite including taxes, etc: $865
This also gave me a $90 food/beverage credit at the hotel's restaurants or lounges, and a $20 Hess gas card for staying 3 nights or more.

Cost of AoA for that weekend (smallest we would consider, but still not comparable in size) and with AP discount - $385 per night + tax = $1250

Cost for a 2 bedroom OKW - 121 points x $11 per point (which is optimistic, as usually I see for more like $13) = $1331

So minimum savings is nearly $400, and more than that for comparable space. And Caribe DOES have full housekeeping daily, a couple terrific pools (1 with slide) and hot tubs (no hot tubs at values or water slides), 3 restaurants onsite, pool bar, etc. But I am getting 1200+ sq ft, a king bed for dh and me, a 2 person jacuzzi + walk in shower in master bath, 2 queens for my teens, a 2nd full bathroom for their useage, full kitchen, living room, washer/dryer, etc so best of both worlds for us, the kids each get their own bed, we get a seperate bedroom, we CAN choose to cook (though we generally don't much) and do have a full sized fridge for leftovers, etc (we ordered a cake for my daughter's birthday on our first lunch day, and had cake till the day we left for evening snacking). So the best of both worlds, the space etc of a condo/house, the amenities of a hotel, including room service, which we have been known to use a time or two, and STILL saves money over onsite. For the record, we have stayed in single hotel rooms, mostly when my kids were younger. Now that they are teens, they are ADAMANT that they will not sleep together in one bed, which drives us into suites.

 

[Lewisc]

We do have annual passes, so don't pay for parking at the parks, and Caribe doesn't charge for parking there (I know many offsite hotels do). So we were just there over Memorial Day weekend, 3 night stay:
Cost of Caribe 2 bedroom suite including taxes, etc: $865
This also gave me a $90 food/beverage credit at the hotel's restaurants or lounges, and a $20 Hess gas card for staying 3 nights or more.

Cost of AoA for that weekend (smallest we would consider, but still not comparable in size) and with AP discount - $385 per night + tax = $1250

Cost for a 2 bedroom OKW - 121 points x $11 per point (which is optimistic, as usually I see for more like $13) = $1331

So minimum savings is nearly $400,

I agree with your numbers but you drive, have an AP and stayed over a holiday weekend. Your savings would shrink dramatically if you had to rent a car, over a holiday weekend, and pay for parking at WDW.

People in this forum like the extra space offered by a vacation home or timeshare resort. They like the pricing.

People who post in the resort board love (overstate?) the benefits of onsite. They would never give up the Disney "magic". They like EMH. Package delivery. Transportation.

JMO but a family of 5 has the most "issues" staying onsite. A DVC studio is generally too small. Family Suites are expensive.