Onsite vs. Offsite? And why?

[TheNewMrsB]

Much like the title of the thread suggests...

Do you prefer staying onsite or offsite? And why do you feel this way?

 

[Wild4Walt]

I definately prefer staying onsite.

Why?

Theme - each resort is so uniquely themed. It really takes you to a different place.

Customer Service - it really is a cut above. Even at the Value resorts they do the very best to make sure your trip meets your expectations.

Security/Peace of Mind - I feel less 'at sea' with Disney. I know if there is a concern it will be addressed.

Yes, I might be able to find a Holiday Inn on Irlo Bronson for less money but some of the magic is lost. I'll spend a little more to stay at Disney.

 

[Kristina4109]

At WDW, ALWAYS on site. Distance from theme parks is the most important thing in my book. Free, frequent transportation is also important to us. And the theming of Disney resorts is simply unmatched. I also love the level of customer service.

At DL, we stay onsite when we can afford it, but it's not a deal breaker. If we can't afford to stay on, we'll stay off. There are some offsite hotels that are actually CLOSER to the theme parks in Anaheim than the 3 onsite DL Hotels.

But at WDW, if we can't afford to stay onsite, we don't go. We save our money and go when we can stay onsite.

 

[leeholmes1]

Onsite always!
1. Magic... I don't like leaving the resort and sitting in Orlando traffic, it cheapens the experience.

2. Add $30 a night to any offsite hotel $15 resort fee and $15 parking fee

3. Close to the parks... Especially Beach Club you can walk to Epcot

4. Customer service

 

[francie57]

Definitely onsite. We just got back from Disney and actually experienced both. We spent a week at the BW but spent the first night of our trip at one of the Downtown Disney hotels. The hotel was nice enough but I would not want to spend my entire trip there or at any off site hotel. There was nothing special about the room and just thinking about having to get to the parks each day from there was something I wouldn't want to do. I would do the same as a pp stated, if I couldn't afford to stay onsite then I would not go until I saved enough to stay onsite.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

If it was just my family and me we would always stay on-site. We love the theming, the CM, no car rental; we use ME to and from the resort and transportation throughout the park, love to walk outside in the early morning (before most are up) or sitting on the verandah with a cup of coffee while waiting for DW and DS to get up and get ready. We take a break or two during the day to go back to the resort and relax a bit; so it is a lot easier to just hop on the Disney bus rather than going to the car all the time.

We are planning a trip with two other families for next year and we will break with tradition, because we will all be staying in the same timeshare one of the couples has near WDW.

 

[North of Mouse]

Always on site - love the total immersion in everything Disney, and like to stay in 'my little bubble' until vacation is over - don't even want to leave to eat or shop!!

 

[Upatnoon]

Much like the title of the thread suggests...

Do you prefer staying onsite or offsite? And why do you feel this way?

Disney resorts are great, but they are also very expensive especially if you need space.

For example, this summer we spent 3 nights in a 2 bedroom presidential at Wyndham Bonnet Creek for $400. The same 3 nights at Saratoga Springs would of cost $1,806 if I rented the DVC points.

I guess I could of saved up for another 3 years and gone to Saratoga Springs, but for me it was very much worth it to stay offsite.

 

[threelilbears]

On-site! It keeps the magic going. We greatly enjoy the theming at the resorts. We love the pools and the slides and all the other fun toys at the resort. We also heavily use the EMH.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

On site.

We don't rent a car so Dis transport to the parks is a MUST. I love having door to door transport after a night of drinking around the world

We also ALWAYS get the dining plan, and that isn't available to off site guests.

Booking FP+ early, Extra Magic Hours, Magical Express, and all of the other perks are well worth it to us. If we are taking a budget trip we'll stay value before paying less to stay off site.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Onsite! I love being immersed in everything Disney has to offer and their resorts are superb. I love the added benefits they provide and couldn't ever imagine staying anywhere else.

When helping two people plan a vacation this year, they both had themselves staying offsite since it was "cheaper". I looked over their vacation plans and showed them it was actually going to be less expensive to stay on property plus they will get the added benefits. They never even priced staying on property since they just assumed it would be too expensive. I'm certainly not saying this is always the case but in these scenarios it was.

 

[csarenz]

I will start by saying I have no issues staying offsite, some of the offsite resorts and hotels are fabulous.

We just love staying onsite because we like to be immersed in Disney. We will pay extra for that feeling, especially when are kids are big enough to enjoy all of the amenities.

Plus DME and the bus transportation are great for when you don't want to rent a car.

 

[TheNewMrsB]

Security/Peace of Mind - I feel less 'at sea' with Disney. I know if there is a concern it will be addressed.

Yes, I might be able to find a Holiday Inn on Irlo Bronson for less money but some of the magic is lost. I'll spend a little more to stay at Disney.

So interesting - you reminded me just now of the fact that yes, I do feel as though my concerns will be addressed in a timely, courteous fashion. Like on our last stay, our fridge made a constant loud humming noise, so we called down and they had it fixed right away. On an earlier stay my husband wasn't happy with where we were placed - we paid for garden view but there was a massive tree right in front of our balcony, blocking all sunlight and making for no view at all. I didn't want to complain but he did - only because they'd told us that they were putting us in this room because it was already clean and ready for us, as opposed to the room we were supposed to be in, which wasn't ready yet. So he called down to ask if we could wait for our original room instead and explained why. And you know what? They upgraded us to theme park view for no extra charge (and the room we spent our honeymoon in, for that matter)! Just to apologize for the inconvenience, which we agreed was really no inconvenience at all. Now where else would you find that sort of magic??

But at WDW, if we can't afford to stay onsite, we don't go. We save our money and go when we can stay onsite.

That's the philosophy my father-in-law instilled as well. He believed that if you can't do it "right", wait til next year.

Onsite always!
1. Magic... I don't like leaving the resort and sitting in Orlando traffic, it cheapens the experience.

2. Add $30 a night to any offsite hotel $15 resort fee and $15 parking fee

3. Close to the parks... Especially Beach Club you can walk to Epcot

1. Agreed!
2. I didn't know that! Well that certainly changes things a little, doesn't it?
3. Totally! We had dinner one night at Yachtsman and walked to Epcot...we needed the walk after that meal!...DH prefers to stay in one of the MK resorts (as you can probably tell from my signature!) but at least once I want to stay at either YC or BC for the proximity to Epcot and DHS.

Definitely onsite. We just got back from Disney and actually experienced both. We spent a week at the BW but spent the first night of our trip at one of the Downtown Disney hotels. The hotel was nice enough but I would not want to spend my entire trip there or at any off site hotel. There was nothing special about the room and just thinking about having to get to the parks each day from there was something I wouldn't want to do. I would do the same as a pp stated, if I couldn't afford to stay onsite then I would not go until I saved enough to stay onsite.

Yeah - I mean, you can stay in some random un-special hotel any time. But Disney's something special. And I can't imagine making the hike every day. I mean when I was very young we went for a couple days and stayed pretty far offsite, and I was too young to really care either way (I didn't know any better!) but I do remember being in the car. A lot. Oh, and the ride through the parking lot to our car? The last thing you want to do at the end of a long day!

We take a break or two during the day to go back to the resort and relax a bit; so it is a lot easier to just hop on the Disney bus rather than going to the car all the time.

Same here! We always split our day up, getting an early start and then heading back usually around 1:00 to go swimming and relax, then back out for dinner and evening fun. And I can't imagine not being able to do that!

Always on site - love the total immersion in everything Disney, and like to stay in 'my little bubble' until vacation is over - don't even want to leave to eat or shop!!

DH loves the "bubble", too! He always says he refuses to drive or do any real-world activities while we're in WDW.

Disney resorts are great, but they are also very expensive especially if you need space.

For example, this summer we spent 3 nights in a 2 bedroom presidential at Wyndham Bonnet Creek for $400. The same 3 nights at Saratoga Springs would of cost $1,806 if I rented the DVC points.

I guess I could of saved up for another 3 years and gone to Saratoga Springs, but for me it was very much worth it to stay offsite.

Makes total sense! It's all fine and good for us, it's just the two of us (well three, since last time we took DH's dad, who we take care of) and we can get away with one room. And even then it's way more expensive than what you just quoted!

We also heavily use the EMH.

I'm usually too worn out to use the evening EMH to their fullest, but we usually take advantage of the morning hours. My younger sibs went with my parents a few years back and apparently were in the MK til the very end of EMH and I just marveled that they had the stamina!

On site.

We don't rent a car so Dis transport to the parks is a MUST. I love having door to door transport after a night of drinking around the world

We also ALWAYS get the dining plan, and that isn't available to off site guests.

I swear, one day I will drink around the world! Or at least...partway around the world! And we always get the dining plan, too - we really look forward to our dinners.

When helping two people plan a vacation this year, they both had themselves staying offsite since it was "cheaper". I looked over their vacation plans and showed them it was actually going to be less expensive to stay on property plus they will get the added benefits. They never even priced staying on property since they just assumed it would be too expensive. I'm certainly not saying this is always the case but in these scenarios it was.

TOO funny - I actually did the same thing for my family three years ago. My dad didn't realize that there are military discounts to be taken advantage of. So I called the number and scheduled the whole trip for them (which reeeeeeally had me eating my heart out!!!) And I'm so glad I did because that was his last vacation - he passed away a few months later, quite suddenly. So I'm glad I got to help.

We just love staying onsite because we like to be immersed in Disney. We will pay extra for that feeling, especially when are kids are big enough to enjoy all of the amenities.

Preach! Yes, being immersed is definitely wonderful.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We love staying onsite because as we see it, we are going to visit Walt Disney World, not the rest of Florida. The way we do it, it is more like an all inclusive resort, and since we never leave the "bubble" of Disney we enjoy the great service and theming the entire time, whether we are in a park, at our resort, or exploring other resorts.

Not having to deal with everyday issues like traffic and parking the car works well for us too, and staying onsite we do just fine relying entirely on Disney transportation.

As others mentioned, you pay a premium for the luxury of Disney immersion, especially if you need lots of space, but for us that immersion is what makes a WDW vacation special.

 

[v.t.]

We love the transportation. We like being able to split up. DH and DS3 want to sleep in, no problem, the rest of us go early and they join us when they want to. Nana needs a nap, we will meet you back at the hotel. Some of us are commando, some not so we love the Disney buses. And the dining plan, this is the only trip where I do not have to cook.

 

[epsmith921]

Without kids, I don't mind staying offsite, though offsite to me is swan since we love the price and proximity. It's wonderfully relaxing.

With kids, I loved staying on site! No car rental = no car seat installation hassle, no driving around, etc. I was also loving the magical express this last trip, our first with a child. Resort checkin with the bags was particularly awesome when we got to the airport and saw the line to check bags!

My husband doesn't want to drive and we live where we can walk to a ton, so we don't like to lose that on vacation.

And we pay for deluxe and now will pay for club level since we really loved it with a toddler. Next time we will probably have another toddler or infant so we will do club level again.

 

[Daisygirl28]

We prefer to stay onsite. The cost is a bit more, but the perks are worth it to us. Last time we stayed at Kidani and had some issues with the magic bands, so we ended up at the Concierge 3 nights in a row to fix it. They gave everyone in the party 3 extra fast passes each for every remaining day of the trip . I feel like it would be hard to get that kind of service offsite. I'm sure there are wonderful hotels offsite and are probably good for people who would like a Disney break during the trip, but we like to be totally immersed when we go to Disney.

 

[thelobstershanty]

Bottom line is....it is NOT the same vacation experience when you stay off site. You are always the visitor, driving to and from the parks on roads that immediately lose any magic as soon as they are no longer Disney roads! On site you really feel like a guest at an amazingly big and inclusive vacation resort. Everything one could desire to do on vacation is basically available at WDW and as a resort guest you have it at your fingertips w/o navigating 192 or I4. Priceless!

 

[Upatnoon]

Bottom line is....it is NOT the same vacation experience when you stay off site. You are always the visitor, driving to and from the parks on roads that immediately lose any magic as soon as they are no longer Disney roads! On site you really feel like a guest at an amazingly big and inclusive vacation resort. Everything one could desire to do on vacation is basically available at WDW and as a resort guest you have it at your fingertips w/o navigating 192 or I4. Priceless!

Not all off-site properties require you to leave the gates of Disney. The Hilton Bonnet Creek, Waldorf Astoria, Wyndham Bonnet Creek and the Wyndham Grande are all located next door to the Caribbean Beach resort on a little piece of property Disney doesn't own, but is surrounded by Disney property.

New is the Four Seasons Orlando, located next door to Fort Wilderness.

 

[tabbibus]

Not all off-site properties require you to leave the gates of Disney. The Hilton Bonnet Creek, Waldorf Astoria, Wyndham Bonnet Creek and the Wyndham Grande are all located next door to the Caribbean Beach resort on a little piece of property Disney doesn't own, but is surrounded by Disney property.

New is the Four Seasons Orlando, located next door to Fort Wilderness.

I've never stayed onsite. This December will be our first resort stay ever at the WL. That being said, I have stayed at the Wy Bonnet Creek. It is a really nice resort, that is for sure. And it is really close. Also much cheaper, with bigger rooms. But guess what, I'm staying at the WL because I really disliked having to get in the car, drive, park and then WALK from the parking lot to the entrance. Yeah, I walked, because our BOB double stroller was too big for the tram.