I can't shake the allure of staying on site

[Happyinwonerland]

Ughhhh... we have been twice now, and both times stayed off site at a very nice resort about 15 mintues drive from the gate. It is roomy and reasonably priced, and I would certainly not mind staying there again. However, the Port Orleans resort are so intriguing to me. I have never stayed onsite. I think I would love the perks, the magic bands, the free parking, the extra magic hours, the beautiful grounds. But to stay on site would cost us an extra $500, for a much smaller, less luxurious room. And before anyone mentions the values, I just can't. I haven't been inside one, but the photos online make me cringe.

Is it really worth the extra for on site? Really? $500 would buy a LOT of character meals.

We are planning on going July 30-Aug 8, so I doubt thy'll be offering any discounts while we are there.

 

[msmama]

For me personally, the perks of staying onsite far outweigh the savings of staying anywhere else. And to me, the extra money I pay for staying onsite is just part of the vacation budget. If I didn't have the $$ to stay onsite, I wouldn't go.

That said, my family is a family of 2 (my son and I). I like being on disney property knowing that I'll have help if anything crazy happens (rather than alone at some random place). Also, driving wouldn't be worth it with 2 people - buses work fine for us, and we can take up one seat if necessary (with him on my lap).

Again, because there are 2 of us, we don't need a ton of space (even when there were 3, we were fine in a regular sized hotel room). I've been traveling, and sharing a bed when we do, with my son since birth so I don't get the parents that need extra space while the kids sleep. Heck, at Disney I usually want to go to bed before he does!!

You say that the photos of the Value rooms make you cringe, but honestly, I've been in them and wouldn't say there's a huge difference between value and mods. The theming may be slightly different, but not hugely (beds may be different size, too, but like I said, doesn't matter to us as we're not fitting many people). I think maybe if you're not happy about value rooms, you won't be thrilled with mod rooms. (Unless you're looking at the royal or pirate rooms at POR). I did POFQ 2 years ago and it was quite nice, but not a zillion times better than POP, for instance.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

There are 3 of us, DH, DD age 2, turning 3 during trip, and myself. The condo we usually get is like 1300 Sq feet, 2br, 2 bath, full kitchen and full dining room, it is just so spacious! The rooms at the values look like a super 8 motel for a Hilton price tag.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We like the full kitchen to store fresh food in, and have breakfast in room and pack lunches. I don't guess we really cook much in the condo, but the storage for healthy foods is nice.

I guess we like the extra space because we can spread out. We are not light travelers, so it is great to have a place to put it all!
The grounds at port Orleans look so pretty, and the rooms seem a comfortable step up from the super 8 styled values. I don't know. DD would probably prefer the all star movies resort, and I guess it is her birthday trip.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

I am also planning another trip and am hit with the same dilemma. First step was to price out the dream vacation--6 adults and 1 child (all my children and DH). Put it all on the site with dining, tickets...Came to $11,000. I am hoping we can get discounts to bring that down and we will pay OOP for the dining so skip the DDP so we can stay on site. We will still be a couple of thousand dollars over a couple of off site hotel rooms...But we want to experience on site one more time. {This is also probably our last entire family vacation.}

$500 is a lot of money. If you don't feel comfortable putting it on the table for the extra, then don't.

Maybe, a couple of days on and a couple off would give you the best of both worlds.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I don't really want to move hotels halfway through, too much hassle.

Does all star movies have a fridge in room?

 

[powellrj]

Yes the all-stars all have fridges. We have stayed at both values and mods and it really depends on what kind of trip you want to have as to weather its worth the extra money.

We love a relaxing trip where we have a car to do what we want to do. We like the extra room to spread out. Love the extra TVs, bathrooms, full laundry and kitchen and our own pool. Thing like emh, dining plan and transportation are things we won't use so it makes no sense for us to pay extra for them.

If those are important to you, its worth the extra money to have them.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We wouldn't do Disney any other way than staying on site. To us, it's worth every penny but different strokes for different folks.

 

[Feberin]

We stayed in a Value and really utilized the fridge. We purchased breakfast and packed lunches into the park. It's not a full sized fridge but we were able to fill it up with a lot of food. We tend to like suites over a single room for our family. It makes putting the kids to be easier because we can retreat somewhere else. But besides the first night the kids were so exhausted that they were out right away. Plus the bathroom has a sink outside of the bathroom proper that's in a little alcove with a curtain so we'd sit there while they fell asleep for a little while before passing out ourselves.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Have you ever considered renting points from a DVC member? That would put you in a nicer resort on property and save money...its worth looking into to do a price comparison. Check out THe DVC Rental Store

 

[MandiC]

I can't bring myself to want to stay off site. Plus, to me, the savings of staying off-site wouldn't really be savings. We'd have to rent a car and pay $15/day for parking....that right there would eat away at half the 'savings' and that isn't taking into consideration the perks of being able to schedule ADRs and FP+ before off-site guests and to be honest. Our 'vacation style' is all-inclusive. I like to feel like we are being 'taken care of' and staying on Disney you really feel like Disney is taking care of you. I don't have to pull out my wallet left and right. I don't even need to carry it on me, just need that handy little magic band I would rather stay at a value than a luxury off-site house, but that is us. Plus I know my kids would love the values.
We did Port Orleans Riverside and it was BEAUTIFUL, lots to do and just a really great resort. I would happily go back if our family weren't too big. Maybe someday soon they will have dvc rooms and we will be able to

 

[katyjeka]

We've been going to WDW for years and always stayed onsite. Several years ago we started taking extended family with us and our opinion of offsite changed. We tried OKW & Saratoga, both of which were very expensive but could house 8. We discovered Bonnet Creek and haven't looked back. This past Dec. we paid $323.00 for a two bedroom.(7 nights)Our trip was very magical and the resort is as nice if not nicer than many of the onsite hotels for a fraction of the cost. We also left the Disney bubble and visited Universal Studios. We were surprised at how much our girls loved the characters and must admit, Scooby and the Gang, the Grinch, and Shrek were the best interaction we've had with any character in a long time. We took the money we saved staying offsite and enjoyed Universal. We have been going to WDW for over 25 years and it remains our favorite park vacation, we were surprised however that we enjoyed Universal as much as we did. I agree offsite is not for everyone, but BC is truly as close, if not closer than many onsite hotels. Yes, you don't get the perks but when we save literally a few thousand dollars on hotel, the perks are a lot less important.

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

All these opinions are nice, but you'll just have to try staying on site for yourself eventually. When you do, you'll probably find whatever you want to, since we humans are like that.

I've done it "all three" ways: I've stayed off site, at a moderate, and and a deluxe on the monorail or at the Epcot back gate.

NOTHING compares to staying on the monorail. If you have the money, it's worth it. Especially the Contemporary, IMHO. The monorail cruising through your hotel is the coolest thing on planet earth. ...and you're walking distance to Main Street Station.

A close #2 is staying out the back gate of Epcot - either at Beach Club, Yacht Club or Boardwalk. Again, these are expensive, but worth it if you can swing it. This is a better option for a couple with no kids than the monorail is.

The moderate resorts are very nice. I think they're the equivalent of many four star hotels I've stayed in. Really, there's nothing "moderate" about them (including the price). The only drawback to them is the size of the resorts and the number of people you have to wrestle with when taking buses. This is really only a problem when you're trying to go home late in the day, though. BECAUSE OF THIS, and the "hassle" of the busses, the moderates are only a little better experience than staying off site, IMHO.

Lastly, offsite is fine, if you want more space. The space doesn't matter to us - as we spend very little time in our room. Getting in and out of your car can be a drag, kind of like the bus hassle. ...but an off site resort can never have that extra "magic."

At the end of the day, you'll have to just try it yourself and see what you think.

 

[Candleshoe]

Ughhhh... we have been twice now, and both times stayed off site at a very nice resort about 15 mintues drive from the gate. It is roomy and reasonably priced, and I would certainly not mind staying there again. However, the Port Orleans resort are so intriguing to me. I have never stayed onsite. I think I would love the perks, the magic bands, the free parking, the extra magic hours, the beautiful grounds. But to stay on site would cost us an extra $500, for a much smaller, less luxurious room. And before anyone mentions the values, I just can't. I haven't been inside one, but the photos online make me cringe.

Is it really worth the extra for on site? Really? $500 would buy a LOT of character meals.

We are planning on going July 30-Aug 8, so I doubt thy'll be offering any discounts while we are there.

You know, staying on site has it's allure for sure, but whether it's "worth it" is a very personal thing. There are PROs and CONs and some of them may be different on each person's list. For instance my CON is housecleaning (i'm not a fan of people coming in to 'my' room) but that's a PRO for other folks.

My suggestion if you're really curious? Book a split stay. Two nights on and the rest off. Go for at least 2 to get a real feel. And ride the bus at least once while you're there so you know first hand.

 

[ajwolfe]

We've stayed off site once and would never do it again. Too much wasted time driving back and forth for one. And the huge one is that we just LOVE being totally immersed in the whole experience and the perks that come with staying on site. We have stayed at both POR and POFQ and both are gorgeous resorts in our opinions. To me it would totally be worth it to stay on site for the extra $500. Typically we are a family of 4 in a room, but on our last trip we had 5 in a room at POR - and were able to function just fine with the amount of room.

 

[Candleshoe]

We've stayed off site once and would never do it again. Too much wasted time driving back and forth for one. And the huge one is that we just LOVE being totally immersed in the whole experience and the perks that come with staying on site. We have stayed at both POR and POFQ and both are gorgeous resorts in our opinions. To me it would totally be worth it to stay on site for the extra $500. Typically we are a family of 4 in a room, but on our last trip we had 5 in a room at POR - and were able to function just fine with the amount of room.

See, I've wasted a lot more time at bus stops then I ever spent getting to my car and driving right to my place.

I love POFQ - one of my favorites, and it doesn't have the issues POR does and CBR and CS of being so wide spread.

I still say everyone should experience both because what is right for one person isn't for the next. We're a family of 3 (normally) and can fit anywhere I've stayed at Ft Wilderness in a tent, POP multiple times, ASMu, POFQ, POR, and OKW (love villa-side parking! best of both worlds). And we've stayed offsite in condos, timeshares, hotels, motels, and this will be our first pool house. It's such a PERSONAL decision that I think everyone needs to try the onsite experience AND the offsite experience to be able to make up their own mind.

Maybe the OP will stay onsite and get rid of the desire to ever stay onsite again. Or maybe they'll love it so much that they never stay anywhere else!

 

[pigletgirl]

I don't think we would do Disney if we didn't stay on site. The perks are just too good to pass up.

 

[soniam]

I wouldn't dismiss the idea of a discount. We went this summer at that time, and there was a 30% discount for the deluxe resorts. Moderates are usually 20-25%. I am not sure if POR/POFQ is always included, but I know POR is included for the Spring 2015 discounts. I think the July/Aug discount would come out in March. Check Mousesavers for the historical discount info.

 

[Emduc]

This will be my family's first Disneyworld trip. I have done tons of extensive research and found that the benefits of staying on the grounds were way better for us. Extra magic hours, the convenience of shuttle buses, all the little things also.

My brother and his family have stayed both on and off property and said never again to staying outside of Disney property. They really enjoyed the Disney transportation and the other perks of a Disney Package when you stay on the grounds.

 

[katyjeka]

We loved to stay onsite when they had food and fun packages. It was so worth the money as we took advantage of the fun portion. My dh refuses to use the buses and we tend to tour opposite the early/late day parks. So for us, the only benefit we would utilize would be purchases shipped to your room. Two rooms at contemporary, as we usually go with 8 people, and stay ten nights with a discount it is still a ton of money. This past December we left tower 5(11th floor) at Bonnet Creek and was as Epcot, Disney Studios, and AK in 7 minutes. It may have been 8 to MK. This was the second week of December, so an off time. The only traffic we encountered was to Downtown Disney, which seemed quite gridlocked. I respect people who will only stay onsite but want others to know there are options for large groups who may not be able to afford to go otherwise. Bonnet Creek is very convenient and a really nice option.