The shuttles are a problem no matter where you stay offsite. They have strict times for pickup on either direction. In 48 visits I have stayed onsite only once and found them more confining then the shuttles. I always, always rent a car if I don't have my own.
Going onsite daily really is no hassle as long as you find one on 192 close to the original entrance to WDW. Yes, you pay for parking at the parks, but you can get a hotel offsite, rent a car and eat your main meals offsite and pay for parking while saving a massive amount of money. By the time you pay the "discounted rates" and buy your meals on property you will make a much larger dent in the wallet then staying offsite with a car. It also opens up the rest of central Florida for so many other things like Universal, SeaWorld,
Lego Land, Kennedy Space Ctr. and hundreds of roadside things that are really worth seeing. It is all a matter of what you are there for. Are you there to visit the parks or to spend a lot of money just to sleep with a 5 foot mouse roaming the halls. Personal choice, but you need to know that there are other options and they aren't anywhere near as stressful as you might have been led to believe.