Is it Really Better Staying On Property?

[disneylovinfamilyof6]

Unfortunately connecting rooms are never guaranteed no matter what your reservation states. Many posters have had that on their reservation and still not received them.

Disney does what they can bit as they don't block out rooms as they are booked there is no way for them to guarantee connecting rooms. If you get them count yourself lucky. No matter what your reservation states connecting rooms are NOT guaranteed.

This is one of our reservations. It states guaranteed connecting rooms for family.

 

[disneylovinfamilyof6]

And another[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

 

[maxiesmom]

Yes. It may state that. But as I pointed out there have been posters who have had that on their reservation and not gotten connecting rooms. Disney has clauses that absolve them from having to completely guarantee anything. They don't even have to give you rooms at the resort you have booked, if they have a problem they can move your reservation to a different Disney resort.

Odds are good that you will get connecting rooms if you request them. But no matter what your reservation states, nothing is ever guaranteed by Disney. And there are plenty of posters who can affirm that. Go to the Resorts Board. Do a search on the subject. I'm not trying to upset you, but it is best you know this ahead of time. That way, if you get to Disney and are unlucky enough to not get connecting rooms, you at least (hopefully now that you have been warned) have a back up plan.

Disney guarantees nothing with regards to your reservation. Not even paid for room types. Not even that you will have a room at the resort you booked.

 

[disneylovinfamilyof6]

Yes. It may state that. But as I pointed out there have been posters who have had that on their reservation and not gotten connecting rooms. Disney has clauses that absolve them from having to completely guarantee anything. They don't even have to give you rooms at the resort you have booked, if they have a problem they can move your reservation to a different Disney resort.

Odds are good that you will get connecting rooms if you request them. But no matter what your reservation states, nothing is ever guaranteed by Disney. And there are plenty of posters who can affirm that. Go to the Resorts Board. Do a search on the subject. I'm not trying to upset you, but it is best you know this ahead of time. That way, if you get to Disney and are unlucky enough to not get connecting rooms, you at least (hopefully now that you have been warned) have a back up plan.

Disney guarantees nothing with regards to your reservation. Not even paid for room types. Not even that you will have a room at the resort you booked.

Wow. That's good to know, thanks. I'd be pretty upset if we had the "guarantee" in our reservation and they didn't honor it. Or at least move us to an equivalent resort that that could honor it. If that did happen I'd be a lot less likely to come back.

 

[maxiesmom]

Wow. That's good to know, thanks. I'd be pretty upset if we had the "guarantee" in our reservation and they didn't honor it. Or at least move us to an equivalent resort that that could honor it. If that did happen I'd be a lot less likely to come back.

Yeah, I think it really stinks that they will put the word Guaranteed on people's reservations, and then not honor it. If that word is on a reservation, it should be given without question. But, unfortunately it seems what Disney means is 'We will guarantee it as much as we can. But if something happens, all bets are off".

 

[cijay]

I presume we're talking Florida, not Calif. I go solo and I don't drive so it'd cost me an arm and a leg to get to a park every day if I didn't stay on property. Also, I like a midday quiet time back at the hotel. I like the All-stars for that reason. There's not a lot of stuff there that I am not going to use and I like going back to the room then choosing which park to head to after it.

 

[MommaBerd]

We are a family of six, and are usually joined by my MIL, and we have stayed off-site (villa & Windsor Hills), WBC, and most recently on-site at POR. They all have their pros & cons for sure. We drive down, so transportation is a non-issue for us.

First, I feel confident that if we stay off-site again, it will be at WBC. The condos are so nice and spacious; the grounds and pool are beautiful; and despite the fact it isn't Disney property, I would argue it's pretty much in the bubble - just sans Disney theming.

Most recently, there were only five of us, so we were able to stay at POR (with the Murphy bed) for two nights. It was a wonderful stay! The resort itself offers so much to do, we could easily see how some people can spend time at WDW Resort and never go to the parks. We loved it!
BUT...

Typically when we go, we are there for 8 or 9 nights. No way would DH and I want to spend that many nights in the same room as our kids. Like some PPs have said, we like having space to spread out - especially after being around so many people at the parks!

So for us, I think where we stay will depend on the length of stay. And, we may even try an off/on property split stay next time.

Or maybe, if I wish upon a star, we'll be able to stay in a DVC 2BR for our next trip.

 

[Ngwira]

We prefer onsite. We are a family of 4 and as long as I can get the Grand Floridian for $260.00 a night, I'm staying onsite. There's nothing like taking a monorail to the parks. We also have our vehicle so we don't rely on Disney buses. We like the all inclusive feel of staying onsite. After all, it's vacation and I don't want to cook or clean on vacation. However, if the choice was staying at a value/mod or offsite, I'd pick offsite.

 

[Amanda999]

...I used to commute to Manhattan on mass-transit, so I'm not averse to being packed in like sardines. But, hey, I'm on vacation, and if I can feel what's in my neighbor's pockets I think it's time to stop asking us to push in more!

(Sorry - OT!)

Texasroni75: You should be a writer - its so easy to get the feeling/point from your descriptions!

I remember your awesome description of Tomorrowland Speedway: "It is like dozens of barely functioning lawn mowers, sputtering down a road in the hot sun, while spewing large amounts of gasoline fumes"

 

[disneylovinfamilyof6]

We prefer onsite. We are a family of 4 and as long as I can get the Grand Floridian for $260.00 a night, I'm staying onsite. There's nothing like taking a monorail to the parks. We also have our vehicle so we don't rely on Disney buses. We like the all inclusive feel of staying onsite. After all, it's vacation and I don't want to cook or clean on vacation. However, if the choice was staying at a value/mod or offsite, I'd pick offsite.

How on earth are you getting the Grand Floridian for $260 a night?

 

[goofyernmost]

How on earth are you getting the Grand Floridian for $260 a night?

Might have been a bit of dyslexia and they meant $620.00 a night. You can't even sniff the air in there for $260.00

 

[Ngwira]

How on earth are you getting the Grand Floridian for $260 a night?

I have a magical deal during August.

 

[Ngwira]

Might have been a bit of dyslexia and they meant $620.00 a night. You can't even sniff the air in there for $260.00

Nope. Google magical deal, Labor Day.

 

[goofyernmost]

Nope. Google magical deal, Labor Day.

I didn't see any price listed. Do you have to pay extra to have a bed in the room?

 

[cruisingtwins]

I only stayed offsite as a kid and was so excited to stay on-site for the first time with my husband and kids. We stayed at cbr and boy was I disappointed when we saw the room. I apologize to the CBR fans but those rooms are cheap motel rooms. We hated the buses as well one day it took us 45 minutes just to go around the resort loading and unloading people. After that we stayed at WBC and loved it. We need space away from each other and I can't deal with disney food for every meal so I like having a full kitchen to make some of our meals. The only way I would stay onsite again would be in a 2br villa with a rental car.

 

[DIS_MERI]

On site is worth it for me in that I can send my teens back to the room on their own on a bus and know everyone will be safe, and much happier for it. If I have to get a job just to support vacations...well, how are the retirement options? We will have 8 on our October trip, and we also fly (for my sanity). We did offsite with a large group, and apparently I picked the wrong place because it just wasn't all that magical to me. I hated driving to the parks, having to make trips because someone forgot something, or was ill. I want that magic bubble.

 

[Ngwira]

I didn't see any price listed. Do you have to pay extra to have a bed in the room?

Ha ha...this is our third year using them and we will continue to do so to stay onsite.

 

[dragitoff]

Well, my family took the plunge and just bought our first rental property in Champions Gate. We love the Disney bubble; however now that our family has grown to 8, our options are very limited (and VERY costly) where to stay on property and even if we didn't own, it's hard to beat $200 per night offsite for a 6+ bedroom home 15 minute drive from the parks in my opinion. I also can't get over the fact that we often had to wait 10-15 minutes for a bus when we'd go to ensure enough room for all our crew to fit on the same bus + another 10-15 minutes no the bus. By staying off property, there's no waiting for a bus either direction, but of course, it takes longer to get to the MK due to TTC. We'll make that a fun thing too since we treat the monorail or ferry boat as an attraction.

 

[momimouse27]

On site is worth it for me in that I can send my teens back to the room on their own on a bus and know everyone will be safe, and much happier for it. If I have to get a job just to support vacations...well, how are the retirement options? We will have 8 on our October trip, and we also fly (for my sanity). We did offsite with a large group, and apparently I picked the wrong place because it just wasn't all that magical to me. I hated driving to the parks, having to make trips because someone forgot something, or was ill. I want that magic bubble.

I was just about to bring this up when I read your post. I have older daughters(22 and 19) and in the past, as they've gone off on their own, it has become increasingly difficult or impossible to coordinate so that we leave/return at the same time during off site stays. We all had a trip together last year on site for my younger daughter's senior trip, and if I had to cart those girls from the room to park and back from off site, I would have seriously lost my mind. They do their own thing, now that they're adults, but it is a real convenience when you have older kids and they can use the buses to get around.

 

[dragitoff]

I was just about to bring this up when I read your post. I have older daughters(22 and 19) and in the past, as they've gone off on their own, it has become increasingly difficult or impossible to coordinate so that we leave/return at the same time during off site stays. We all had a trip together last year on site for my younger daughter's senior trip, and if I had to cart those girls from the room to park and back from off site, I would have seriously lost my mind. They do their own thing, now that they're adults, but it is a real convenience when you have older kids and they can use the buses to get around.

If they're that old, couldn't they leave on their own (using the family car) and return when the rest of the party is ready to leave? It's definitely not as convenient; however that could be an easy alternative.