Stayed offsite for the first time

[lauracitawita]

Hi,

I read a bunch of onsite vs offsite threads before our most recent trip November 12-19th, so I thought I would share our experience for anyone interested!

We have done 6 or 7 onsite trips. We have stayed at POFQ, CBR and CSR.

This trip it was me, my husband, 14 year old daughter and her friend. We decided to stay offsite for more space. We rented an Airbnb townhouse in Kissimmee. It had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living/dining room, full kitchen, laundry room and pool. We paid $900 CDN which was about $675 US I think.

I was very nervous about staying offsite. My daughter really didn't like the idea, but understood why we were trying it out. We all ended up loving it.

We saved so much money staying offsite rather than renting 2 rooms at a moderate or being crowded in one room. We rented a car and loved being in control of our transportation. I read a lot of people saying they prefer WDW transportation. That was not us! Almost every time we got in the car to leave, I would say...aren't you happy we are not waiting at a bus stop right now for FOREVER...just to get on a crowded bus...have to stand the entire way back to the resort with the AC on way too high...and then the lights blinding us when we get there?!?!?! LOL We took the tram a couple of times which were constantly coming and going, but we usually were parked so close to the entrance that we just walked.

We went to the Outlets and some offsite restaurants. It was so much fun. I didn't feel like we left the WDW bubble....and I was really worried about that.

I LOVED that the girls had their own space and we had ours. I loved having a living room to hang out in when we got back after a park to wind down instead of getting directly into bed. I also loved making quick breakfasts in the morning instead of bringing stuff to the resort with us or walking over to the quick service restaurants in the mornings.

I don't think we'll stay onsite again.

 

[WEDWDW]

Awesome!

I still think I would miss being in the "bubble" too much.

 

[maxiesmom]

Glad it worked out for you. I have stayed off site a few times, but much prefer on site.

 

[buzznina]

Glad you really enjoyed it, that is why it is a great option for big families or ones that want more room. I know for us, we would definitely miss being onsite for a number of reasons.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I am so glad you all enjoyed it so much!

 

[prprincess]

Glad that you gave it a try and had a great time. We often alternate...sometimes we want to immerse ourselves in Disney and sometimes we want to change it up and explore the Orlando (especially the restaurants) and visit family. Regardless, it's always a great vacation!

 

[karen1987]

There are definite pros and cons. But the perks for staying onsite still draw me in! Next we go to WDW we'll likely still stay onsite but hire a car for the convenienance and flexibility.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Glad you tried it for yourself and that you had a good experience. We've stayed both onsite and offsite for our Disney trips and love both for different reasons and will go with one or the other depending on what our needs and goals are for the trip. We love the vibe of the Disney resorts and the all inclusive aspect of staying onsite; and we love the space, savings, and flexibility of staying offsite. It's awesome that there are a variety of options out there for families to experience a magical Disney vacation .

 

[alex9179]

We were "this close" to staying at WBC in a 2BR next year. In the end, the draw of the resort amenities (that we had been looking forward to), EMH, and FP+ for our time-frame won out. We'll have our vehicle if we don't want to bus it, too. Next time, though! I'd like a W/D and our own room without paying DVC prices for a family of 5.

I can certainly see it's benefits.

 

[nursejackie]

If they ever stop early morning EMH we would go back to staying off site, that is what makes it worthwhile for us. We visit every December, including Christmas, so plenty of EMH to be had. We hire a car so don't use Disney transportation much so that's not a problem.

It would save us a ton of money to stay off site but now we've stayed in the bubble, it would be a wrench to stay elsewhere, I won't lie to you.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

We stayed offsite in Reunion and the place was amazing. We loved it! The resort was beautiful.

However, as much as DH loved it, the kids and I felt too out of the Disney bubble. Driving back at midnight after a long day and getting lost and feeling like I could sleep at the wheel was my final straw, no more for us.

As amazing as the accommodations can be and the fact that we could stay longer does not match a true Disney vacation for my family, we'll most of us.

 

[Beemitchcowski]

Hi,

I read a bunch of onsite vs offsite threads before our most recent trip November 12-19th, so I thought I would share our experience for anyone interested!

We have done 6 or 7 onsite trips. We have stayed at POFQ, CBR and CSR.

This trip it was me, my husband, 14 year old daughter and her friend. We decided to stay offsite for more space. We rented an Airbnb townhouse in Kissimmee. It had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living/dining room, full kitchen, laundry room and pool. We paid $900 CDN which was about $675 US I think.

I was very nervous about staying offsite. My daughter really didn't like the idea, but understood why we were trying it out. We all ended up loving it.

We saved so much money staying offsite rather than renting 2 rooms at a moderate or being crowded in one room. We rented a car and loved being in control of our transportation. I read a lot of people saying they prefer WDW transportation. That was not us! Almost every time we got in the car to leave, I would say...aren't you happy we are not waiting at a bus stop right now for FOREVER...just to get on a crowded bus...have to stand the entire way back to the resort with the AC on way too high...and then the lights blinding us when we get there?!?!?! LOL We took the tram a couple of times which were constantly coming and going, but we usually were parked so close to the entrance that we just walked.

We went to the Outlets and some offsite restaurants. It was so much fun. I didn't feel like we left the WDW bubble....and I was really worried about that.

I LOVED that the girls had their own space and we had ours. I loved having a living room to hang out in when we got back after a park to wind down instead of getting directly into bed. I also loved making quick breakfasts in the morning instead of bringing stuff to the resort with us or walking over to the quick service restaurants in the mornings.

I don't think we'll stay onsite again.

 

[Beemitchcowski]

Yeah! Good for you! We have been to Disney 3 times all have been offsite...the 1st at Windsor Hills...the last 2 at Bonnet Creek. We are a family of 4 and we like the space/affordability.

We also have a son with special needs and the overstimulation of the values wasn't an option. If money wasn't an issue...I would stay at the Cabins at Fort Wildness because of how laid back it appears to be.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We've done both. We've also done split stays.

And never again for either.

We didn't like that we had to drive to the parks. And driving back after a long day, was just too much.

But it works for other families. There are some that just love off site. And some that do a split stay every trip. And that is great. Same with the dining plan. Some love it, some hate it. Each family can make a Disney vacation work for them.

 

[cruisingtwins]

We are off-siters too we like our space and we are not fans of disney food so it works for us.

 

[Cbrtls5]

Thanks for posting this!! We've only stayed onsite before and that June will are planning to stay offsite due to the fact that we are taking a total of 10 people. The cost for that is so high, staying offsite seems much more reasonable plus more space. I'm glad it worked out for you!

 

[gdrj]

Like everything there are pro's and con's. Most importantly its how you vacation and what you do that makes it right for you. Glad to see it worked well for you.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I like both - off site and on site for different reasons - I just plan what I am in the mood for most. Glad you enjoyed your trip! There are so many great places to stay in Orlando!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I have gone back and forth several times about staying on site vs off site. We really really love all the disney dining and we are avid disney diners, lol. We usually eat 3 meals a day (sit down meals)...I know a lot of people say thats a lot but we use that time to get away from the parks and just relax and have family time. My older son is on the spectrum so quick service places at Disney are just way over crowded and the process of ordering food and finding our own table is just way too much for him to handle. Anyways being able to make my ADR reservations at 180+10 is really a draw in for me. If it wasn't for that 1 little detail we would probably stay off site, lol. I mean I guess the way to get around that is book our reservation and make all our ADRs and then cancel our hotel reservations bc the reservations aren't linked to the resort reservations, but then I feel like thats cheating the system a bit and that just feels wrong, lol. I don't even really care that off site people can't make FPs until 30 days out either bc with my son being on the spectrum we usually get a DAS so I would just grab whatever FPs I could at the 30 day mark and then just use the DAS for whatever else we need it for.

Personally I would rather stay off site than on site. Yes we aren't in the Disney bubble, but some of the off site hotels have better rooms and pools areas than some of the deluxe resorts because you get more space. Although on our next trip we are going to see about renting DVC points...that might be cheaper than staying regularly through Disney...Not sure what we are going to end up doing for our trip in 2018. My MIL is coming with us and I would like us all to be able to stay together, but 1 studio room is just not big enough for everyone.

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

We might try offsite sometime. It would be ok when it's just my son and me, but when the whole fam goes, we like having Disney transport because my parents can leave the park when they get tired (which is waaaay earlier than us!)

I will say, we have driven down for a couple of trips, although still onsite, and we loooved having a car. Never drove to MK but it was awesome for the other parks and the water parks.