Cost difference off-site vs on-site?

[avance]

We are taking our first trip June 2012 and are staying off site. We are going with another family so we rented a three bedroom condo 5 minutes from Magic Kingdom. Our bill is $120/nt which is $60 per family. We priced both ways and we are driving so the condo still ended up being cheaper even after paying for daily parking. If you are flying it might be more effective to stay on site and just use disney transportation vs rental car and other expenses.

[kr105]

Consider a Downtown Disney hotel -- even with the resort fees (add $30/night to your room rate) it's still cheaper than a value disney hotel and much, much nicer (and larger!) They have a bus to the parks -- or -- you can walk across the street to Downtown Disney and catch the bus there.

The only thing you don't get is the Extra Magic Hours unless you're at the Hilton.

Also -- get the Entertainment Book and use it for your car rental and meals. They have coupons for the Downtown Disney eateries or go off site. International Drive is a hoot and almost every national chain is near there (Tony Romas, TGI Fridays, Applebees, Olive Garden, Dave & Busters etc.)
I'm paying $144 for a full size car from Alamo for one week using the coupon in the Entertainment book (2 car size upgrade coupon.)

[floydfamily4]

A hotel room in Orlando is better than my house! So, with that said you have to remember that comparing a hotel room is not the same as comparing a house or condo. If you are comparing a value to a condo/house its apples and oranges. But a room at a DTD hotel and a value might be a more similar comparison. For us the space and savings was more important than the "magic". Paid $750 for a week in a 3bd/3bath townhouse. My DH agreed to do all the cooking and cleaning of the kitchen so he cooked breakfasts (unless we had an ADR) and then cleaned up so I still felt like I was on vacation. When we go back it will have to be at least a Mod/Del or off site. I just spent a week in 1 room with my kids and DH and there was no magic for me

[Our 2 Princesses]

Originally Posted by ccgirl

Very true. Out of curiosity, have you tried the restaurants in the Orlando area? There are really some amazing places that are so much less expensive (and better IMHO) than the restaurants in Disney. That's part of the reason why I love getting a rental car.

We are staying offsite for the first time (in our adult lives anyhow ) and were wondering what restaurants you would recommend. Thanks!

[lkw8595]

We are going next week and for us the off site price was amazing. 3BR, 2 1/2 bath villa with full kitchen and washer and dryer, balcony, pool, free parking, free WiFI......718.00 for 9 nights. Car through Priceline for 10 days: 155.00 for full size. Gives us so much more flexibility because we are not doing all Disney, plus love some of the local restaurants and outlet malls.

[karinbelle]

Originally Posted by Bellamouse

For us, off site is WAY cheaper, and we are not going to be cooking in the room (except maybe a breakfast or two).

Free internet for 7 days, free fridge (full size one to boot) already saves us and 3BR/2.5 bath is so much more comfortable. The condo costs $490 for the whole week - including tax and cleaning fees.

We rent a car through priceline and paid $206.00 for 7 days including the tax.

To top it off, we are going with another couple and SPLITTING these already inexpensive costs! So it's super cheap. We will be eating in the parks doing a TS every day and paying OOP and will still be far ahead of staying on property. $35 a night for the condo is pretty much unbeatable. $103 for a car and $6 a day for parking (splitting with the other couple) is negligible. A tank of gas might cost us $25 (again, splitting).

I guess if we weren't splitting, it would come out to just about even - about $109 a night total. But we wouldn't have rented a 3BR/2.5 BA condo for just the two of us, either. So that one's hard to calculate. Not sure what a 1BR condo would go for or if those even exist.

We'd probably go back to the Radisson Celebration where they are having a special of $58 a night right now if we went by ourselves. And still rent a small car. We just like the freedom. We will be going to Universal Studios too, and we like to grocery shop, so it's always worth it to us to have the car. Plus I just don't like waiting for busses. But that's just me (personal preference). Most people don't mind the busses at all.

Bellamouse,

Where did you find your condo? We're staying at Windsor Hills, and for an October trip it's a little more than that.

Karinbelle

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by Our 2 Princesses

We are staying offsite for the first time (in our adult lives anyhow ) and were wondering what restaurants you would recommend. Thanks!

HI there....here are some of my recommendations. Also, I would to to restaurant.com and see what they have available. They have a ton of places that you can get gift certificates to for a fraction of the price.

Off the top of my head…bb kings restaurant (in outdoor outside shopping mall http://www.pointeorlando.com/dining/ ) live music most nights and still ok w kids if you go for and earlier dinner (5:30) this mall also has several other restaurants that we would have gone to – in fact we did, the copper canyon, very good food and drinks (I have the drink menu in my dining room it was that good) they specialize in rotisserie chicken. It’s right next to wonderworks (giant upside-down building) on international drive. Bennihana also on international dr. joes crab shack was ok but I’m not big on the giant pot of steamed shellfish (drinks were good) my baked stuffed fish was good. My sister and family really like giordano’s (very deep dish pizza) several locations.

We liked Denny’s for breakfast (when we went out) not fans of ihop’s selection

Gotta love Happy Hour in Florida. We don't have that here in MA.

[Our 2 Princesses]

Originally Posted by ccgirl

HI there....here are some of my recommendations. Also, I would to to restaurant.com and see what they have available. They have a ton of places that you can get gift certificates to for a fraction of the price.

Off the top of my head…bb kings restaurant (in outdoor outside shopping mall http://www.pointeorlando.com/dining/ ) live music most nights and still ok w kids if you go for and earlier dinner (5:30) this mall also has several other restaurants that we would have gone to – in fact we did, the copper canyon, very good food and drinks (I have the drink menu in my dining room it was that good) they specialize in rotisserie chicken. It’s right next to wonderworks (giant upside-down building) on international drive. Bennihana also on international dr. joes crab shack was ok but I’m not big on the giant pot of steamed shellfish (drinks were good) my baked stuffed fish was good. My sister and family really like giordano’s (very deep dish pizza) several locations.

We liked Denny’s for breakfast (when we went out) not fans of ihop’s selection

Gotta love Happy Hour in Florida. We don't have that here in MA.

Thank you so much for your suggestions! We will definitely try out rest.com. I know I saw Giordano's on there before.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by Our 2 Princesses

Thank you so much for your suggestions! We will definitely try out rest.com. I know I saw Giordano's on there before.

You're very welcome. There are also the restaurants at Citywalk at Universal...Margaritaville, Emeril's (expensive but beyond delicious). If you don't mind chain food Carrabba's is good as is the Outback Steakhouse. What ever you do...stay away from Angel's Seafood!

[Bellamouse]

Originally Posted by karinbelle

Bellamouse,

Where did you find your condo? We're staying at Windsor Hills, and for an October trip it's a little more than that.

Karinbelle

Sorry I just saw your post now (don't get updates anymore for some reason?).

Anyway, I found it through vrbo.com. There were lots to choose from.

[Tinkerbellah]

Originally Posted by At World's End

I did an onsite vs. offsite comparison after our last trip because I'm always tempted by the free dining offers, but can't stand the thought of sacrificing the space. Here is my comparison: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2651035

I'm sure the price difference would be huge between either of the hotels you list and a private home or condo. Some things people don't think about when comparing the two: at any hotel you have to factor in daily housekeeping tips, laundry, and possibly a daily resort fee and parking. These can add up quick.

I was once again tempted by the free dining option this year and ran the numbers again, including a split stay. For our family, it just isn't worth it to stay anywhere but an offsite condo or house. The total cost difference between a moderate and our 3br/3ba condo is about $100 for a 10 night stay. But $10 a night is worth it to us to have seperate bedrooms, two extra bathrooms, be able to do laundry while we sleep and park right outside our door.

good point. The free dining is a tempting reason to stay onsite. Some of the condos even have private pools!!! That is very tempting as well.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by kr105

Consider a Downtown Disney hotel -- even with the resort fees (add $30/night to your room rate) it's still cheaper than a value disney hotel and much, much nicer (and larger!) They have a bus to the parks -- or -- you can walk across the street to Downtown Disney and catch the bus there.The only thing you don't get is the Extra Magic Hours unless you're at the Hilton.

Also -- get the Entertainment Book and use it for your car rental and meals. They have coupons for the Downtown Disney eateries or go off site. International Drive is a hoot and almost every national chain is near there (Tony Romas, TGI Fridays, Applebees, Olive Garden, Dave & Busters etc.)
I'm paying $144 for a full size car from Alamo for one week using the coupon in the Entertainment book (2 car size upgrade coupon.)

Just wanted to comment on the bolded. You cannot take a bus from DTD to the parks, only the resorts. They stopped this because so many people were trying to avoid the daily parking that they stopped that bus route.

[Stereo]

We priced it and with the free dining onsite- we couldn't beat it. The cost of the tickets plus food was more than spending $100/night- which is the price we were looking to beat was set at. But we are only a family of 4, so if you are splitting it, it may be worth it. Also, bring food vs. eating at the parks on the dining plan, will save tons of money.

[auger]

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[davinakb]

Another vote for off site - though again, all depends on your trip and what you want. If you want all Disney, all the time - and need all the transportation, EMH, WDW perks, then sure - look for the best package, dining deal you can find. Sure it'll be great.

In our way, we can actually afford 'more' Disney this way - longer trips, fewer but nicer signature meals on property, etc. We usually get great deals on condos/houses, for whatever size group we have; if we're 4+ people then that extra space, bathrooms, the laundry, Internet, the kitchen all make it totally worth it. We usually drive, or Priceline a car. The car gives us more time, not waiting on transportation, and as mentioned, freedom to go off property. We save money both on food (groceries and/or dining) and shopping - always at list one visit to the Premium Outlets for clothes, even Disney souvenirs.