will we regret not staying onsite?

[kimmar067]

we have been offered a condo to stay at for free for our trip...it's about 10-15 minutes' drive from Disney and is a very nice place to stay. but, i'm worried we'll regret not having the whole "experience" by staying on-site. is it worth the savings? i'm sure we'll do Disney again, but it could be a couple years before we can afford it a second time. Thoughts?

...in my book, 'free' is ALWAYS good! We are in the 'same boat' as you - we will be visiting the WDW area in less than 2 weeks and we will be staying with friends at their timeshare....of course, we'd prefer to stay on-site (we always have, ever since our first on-site experience), but, since we haven't been to WDW in 2-1/2 years, this sure beats not going at all! I sure will miss the EE feature and Disney's transportation system, but, it's better than staying home in the middle of a terrific HEAT WAVE with no pool!

 

[MarilIncredible]

Unpopular opinion ahead:

Sometimes, it is nice to get away from the all-Disney-All-the-time insanity of staying onsite.

I don't think a few giant fiberglass statues deposited in strategic locations around the grounds will be missed, especailly considering the additional room you will have in a condo (and the extra money you'll have in your pocket.

I tend to think that people build things up here on the DIS to more than they should be.

 

[Alexander]

We are staying offsite for the FIRST time next month. We rented a 2-bedroom at Bonnet Creek.....and I couldnt be more excited!! ...snip
Enjoy!!

We too are staying at Bonnet Creek in August. This is the first time in close to 50 trips we have not stayed on property! We are DVC members and visit WDW 3-4 times a year, but all of this year's points are tied up in a cruise for next August. We had the option of staying at a value resort for under $350 for 7 nights (AP rate) or at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom for $600. That extra $250 would never have fed 4 of us for the week! The values don't even have a fridge unless you pay for one, so all meals would have been eaten out. The expense of keeping DS happy with his gallon of milk a day would have made up the difference in cost between the two resorts! I am so tired of the lousy Disney food, and look forward to having decent meals in the villa.

 

[pattibehan]

Unpopular opinion ahead:

Sometimes, it is nice to get away from the all-Disney-All-the-time insanity of staying onsite.

I don't think a few giant fiberglass statues deposited in strategic locations around the grounds will be missed, especailly considering the additional room you will have in a condo (and the extra money you'll have in your pocket.

I tend to think that people build things up here on the DIS to more than they should be.

Amen to that! We have stayed both on and off, and prefer off. We get a huge 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen and a great free breakfast..plus a really nice poo lwhenever we want to use it (never crowded, and CLEAN..something I never found on site) With teenagers, we need the room, and when we are on a two week vacation, we DO spend morethan sleep time in our room..also freeWi-Fi..a big plus. We have AP's so free parking is included. I do agree that you need to experience on site at least once and decide which is best for your family!!

 

[kimmar067]

...We have stayed both on and off, and prefer off. We get a huge 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen and a great free breakfast..plus a really nice poo...

...a 'really nice poo' is NEVER nice - unless, of course, you happen to be constipated....

 

[litlpixie]

...a 'really nice poo' is NEVER nice - unless, of course, you happen to be constipated....

oh thank you, now I have to clean up the salad that I just laughed out of my mouth

 

[pattibehan]

OK , people, get your mind out of the toilet!! POOL !!!!! although, some of the things I have seen in resort pools make me wonder

 

[2luvmickey]

Many, many years ago (when 2 DS were little), we stayed offsite at a condo - my brother happened to be the manager. My MIL and parents joined us later in the week.

It was a great week to visit with my brother, see the parks and spend time with family. Sadly, my brother John passed away 9 years ago , but I still have those wonderful memories of the time we spent with him in Florida.

Your experience is what you make of the trip.

Enjoy!

 

[GingerJay]

We stayed in WH for our most recent trip to WDW and we loooved it!
The first time we went as a family we stayed at the Contemporary, and that was really fun, too, though. I don't think its a hit or miss situation, whether you stay onsite or off. They both have their perks and their drawbacks, but either way, you're at Disney Vacation is what you make it!

 

[bcinohio]

Just got back yesterday from WDW. We stayed offsite for the first time, usually stay at the Pop or All Stars. We rented a 4 bedroom 3 bath house in Sunset Lakes and loved it. There was 10 of us and we had a lot of room. Taking the back roads it only took 10 min. max to get to any of the parks. Leaving the parks was easy too. The whole house cost less than 1 room at the Pop for a week. We would have needed 3 rooms. The kids played in the pool and we could watch them from the living room or bedroom. It was very quiet.

I would do it again in a minute. I love staying at Disney but this was great.

 

[mkarizona]

SanFranciscan, I think you will be surprised. Staying at POP is still magical! Pretty much like the Mods except for a few square feet and a pool slide.

We go to WDW for the total immersion. We even think the buses are part of the fun. It is just so peaceful to leave the world behind. We are DL folks and we do stay offsite there. Let's face it, there is not much site to stay on, and hotel prices are high. We can go to DL for the price of gas and tickets since we usually have reward points for hotels. But it would not be worth the plane tickets to Florida if we didn't have the total immersion experience at WDW.

But, Disney offsite is better than no Disney at all!

 

[Teacher03]

I think staying onsite is special, but you can't beat the money you save by staying offsite. We stayed at Windsor Hills last summer-our condo was beautiful, everyone had their own bedroom, we ate breakfast before we went to the parks, we used the washer and dryer several times...the biggest perk was getting to the parks faster than using the bus system. We followed the shortcut we found here on the dis, and it was so easy.

 

[kdunkle904]

I really think that its a matter of opinion. If you have never stayed on site then no you wont regret it because you dont really know what you are missing. For my family, we would REALLY miss it because we've grown accustomed to the hotels at Disney being part of our trip. For us, a vacation is supposed to be a splurge and we want to be in the middle of disneys magic

 

[leebee]

I don't really get the whole "magic" thing at a value resort. We have stayed at POP and are going back in August (28 days!) but only because right now it's the most financially feasible thing for us. We started going to Disney 12 years ago, often traveled with another family (or 2) and were more than thrilled with the financial savings of offsite. Eventually DSis and BIL became Marriott timeshare owners, and the cost of sharing a villa with them is amazingly cheap! We ALWAYS stayed offsite, with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, TV, and our own pool, <20 mins to any Disney park, no long wait in line to stand on a bus to get to the resort at night. What's not to love?

Four years ago, DD and I decided to try visiting the parks ourselves, rather than with large group/extended family. Onsite became more affordable; free dining for 2, DME/bus system mean no rental car necessary, POP is more than big enough for 2 of us. We are OK staying onsite, but I miss having a rental car and getting out of the parks quickly, am not thrilled with waiting for busses and paying for refrigerators. Still, this is what's most affordable for us right now, so it's what we do. We have also stayed at POFQ, CS, and OKW (rented DVC points) and didn't get "the magic" from those places, either, so it's not just from staying at a value.

SO... either works for us, and each is a different type of vacation. We will be at POP in 28 days and are thrilled!! DIsney, here we come!!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

First of all, you can't beat free!

I have stayed both offsite and onsite. At this stage in our life, I prefer renting a condo/townhouse/villa offsite. I have two small children and right now convenience trumps magic. We stayed at Windsor Hills our last trip and I too was worried, but it was really nice!

Pros:
-Super easy check in/check out. Just walk right in!
-We could get to and from the parks faster than we ever did using Disney busses. We were door-to-gates from AK, Epcot and DHS within 15 minutes. MK was about 20-25. The drive is really easy.
-Having seperate bedrooms. DH and I didn't have to sit silently in a dark hotel room while the kids napped. We could stay up and watch TV or talk about the day after they went to bed.
-Having seperate bathrooms made mornings much easier.
-Having the full kitchen was great. I never cooked a full meal, but little kids need milk, snacks, clean sippy cups, etc. and that is a pain in a hotel room. Also meant we could have breakfast there and get to the parks quicker.
-Having the washer/dryer was awesome! We washed clothes mid week and the night before we left so we went home with all clean clothes.
-Not having to stand in a loooong bus line at the end of the day with two sleepy kids, then stand on a crowded bus full of sweaty people.
-Loved having the free WiFi!

Cons:
-No daily maid service. We weren't there enough to make a big mess, but if I wanted the beds made I had to do it myself.
-No quick runs to the food court
-Did not get the beautiful grounds/scenery that Disney resorts offer.
-No bell services to pick up/drop off luggage.

Cons for some (but not us):
-No ME (but with the money we save we can rent a car and still come out way ahead)
-No Dining Plan (but since the price went up and tips are not included it's no longer cost effective for us anyway)
-No EMH (but we never get up in time for AM and our kids can't stay up for PM)

To me the magic really is in the parks. We scheduled meals at some of our favorite resorts so we could experience their beauty and scenery. The room is a place to sleep. That said, when it's just DH and I, or when our kids are older and more self sufficient, we will stay onsite again. I also would not stay offsite just at a regular hotel. I might as well get the Disney perks if I am going to cram myself into a tiny room, LOL.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

And maybe I'm a dork, but I actually liked leaving at night and driving through the gates everyday. We only used the shortcut to go home at night (there are no official gates when you use the shortcut). The kids would cheer each morning when we drove through the gates and would say hello to Mickey and Minne. Instead of doing that just once a trip, we did it 7 times.

 

[disney009]

I highly regretted not staying on property because it just didnt feel like the full experience, I also had to wait another few years. Just remeber you may never get to go again!

 

[Lex33]

What can beat free?!! We have also stayed on-site and off. Let me tell you waiting for a bus at night with tired toddlers is no fun. Kids are older now, but you can certainly get more bang for your buck off-site. We are using all of our accumulated rewards $ for a trip in August. Figured it may be the last trip all together-oldest is reaching that age.

 

[Debbie-TN]

Wow! I wish someone would give me a place to stay for free. We have stayed on-site and off-site and love both. Sometimes I think it feels more like your on vacation if you stay off-site and have a car. Than you can go other places and eat at different restaurants. I actually get tired of staying on-site, but my cousin rents an ECV and it's pretty difficult for us to put it in the trunk of a car, so we stay on-site so we can take the ECV on the bus. After writing this, I realize how much I miss Kissimmee.

 

[mdsd8700]

It is all a matter of personal preference and what every family is looking for and what is important to them while on vacation. Since you have never stayed on site you really don't have a comparison for what works best for your family. We have always stayed on site in a Deluxe, always rent a car so we have access to anywhere and have only been on a Disney bus just once since 1997 (do ride the monorail when at a monrail resort). However if someone offered me a "free" place to stay during my Disney trip, although for us it wouldn't be as magical (and again that is how our family would see it) I don't think I could turn such an offer down. In the end you are still at Disney and will have a wonderful time. Free is always good. Enjoy your trip!!