will we regret not staying onsite?

[thatduffgirl]

We just came back from our first off-site trip, and overall it was great, especially considering the price, and that we were able to bring our dog along and skip having to kennel her. The few things I did miss were:

- evening EMH. We are NOT early risers!

- the short distance back to our room at night. We stayed out near Universal for about half of what rack rate at a value would be, so it was about a 20 minute drive. We could've paid slightly more to be closer and still been offsite though.

- not having to carry "real money" (cash or credit cards) in the parks thanks to room charging.

- the intangible "escape from the real world" feeling. Yeah, it's still vacation and still an escape from work and the daily grind, but driving past outlet malls and Walmarts every day never quite lets you forget that the real world is lurking just around the corner...

I would agree with all these points. We stayed offsite for free (with a barter deal my husband did) and we didn't like having to drive everywhere.

Mostly, for me, the things I missed were the intangibles. Feeling like a "guest" at an onsite resort, as opposed to being a "tourist".

But hey, you can't beat free, right?

 

[KelleyGirl]

As long as you are okay with driving, I don't think you'll regret it!

We were stricly on-site people at one time. I couldn't imagine offsite, but my husband kept trying. One year I agreed and I loved it! I didn't miss the "theming" of onsite resorts as much as I thought I would, and offsite offered many other pluses! You'll have a kitchen, you'll save money overall off the hotel and you'll save money on off property food choices!

You're in Disney - you will still have fun!! Enjoy!

 

[allshookup]

I didn't truly LOVE going to WDW till we stayed on-site. There are many reasons we fell in love with WDW, but it's not about the parks for us, it's all about the whole resort. At WDW you can take in a show, choose from many restaurants, there's a movies theater, rent a boat, parasail, etc. & of course the parks all within a short walk, boat ride, monorail or bus ride (like a PP we actually like the buses). They have great resort pools & large beautiful areas in which to stroll. Even the values, are fun to walk around and see all the different Disney touches! Maybe the big icons aren't for everyone, but my kids always thought they were fun & I never get why they say they are like Motel 6s. They do NOT compare! Yes they are small, but very nice & comfortable with a fun pool & great food court!

The magic? Well for us it's just like a PP mentioned...you enter the gates of WDW is the real world is left behind for however long you are there. Most CMs are among the friendliest staff we've ever dealt with and they just add to the magic in many ways. Sometimes the CMs at the resort have given Mickey stickers to my kids, offered to trade pins with them, given them little gifts, etc. The little touches like as soon as you turn on the TV it's annoying Stacey shouting about all the excitement to come! Yes she can be grating, but I have to say she does get us excited! Hidden Mickey's, Disney soaps, character wake up calls, occasional towel animal, even a signed character birthday card left on the bed for DD! We don't have to jump in the car, deal w/ traffic & frankly if I want to eat at TGIFRidays or Olive Garden...I can do that at home anytime, but we do NOT have a California Grill overlooking the MK that we can sit enjoy a few drinks at & not worry about driving somewhere.

If you want a 1, 2 or 3 BR suite with full kitchen & laundry, well they have them too. However, if I had an extended family & needed lots of rooms I would look for a deal on an off-site house w/ pool, which is what my brother does & he tends to stay at Windsor Hills. And of course if it was being offered for FREE then I guess off-site WOULD be a no-brainer. Good thing we don't have to worry about that!

 

[nancyjane]

We stayed at a Disney property for our first trip and it was not as convenient as it seems. The rooms were small, and we always had to wait for buses. We requested a refrigerator in advance, but we still had to wait two days before they brought it. We ended up spending way too much time and money on restaurant meals.
One night we waited over two hours on line for a bus to leave Epcot. We got home long after midnight and there was no way we could get the kids up early enough to take advantage of the early hours.
For our second trip, we stayed at an offsite resort, in a 2 bedroom suite that comfortably slept 6 people. It was much cheaper than two tiny rooms at Disney. We had a jacuzzi and a nice kitchen. We saved a lot of money making simple meals at the hotel and we could drive wherever we wanted. We were close to Seaworld and not too far from Universal.

 

[Raising Disney Princesses]

If you were going at peak time then I would say that you should try to do what you can to stay on property, Going any other time, you will not lose any of the Disney experience by staying off of property. THere are lots of nice places off property and we have stayed in many of them!

 

[crostorfer]

At opening and closing time when you are trying to fight a crowd in and out, and remember where you parked, yes.

 

[Teacher03]

At opening and closing time when you are trying to fight a crowd in and out, and remember where you parked, yes.

I think this is worse staying onsite. We have waited over an hour for a bus or the monorail or a boat....it was much easier just walking to our car and driving out. Driving in was the same. The only place it was longer was the Magic Kingdom because we still had to wait for the monorail or a boat.

Before staying offsite, I was afraid to drive, worried I would get lost, etc. But no worries, it was not a problem. Paying to park was not fun, but we saved so much staying offsite, it didn't matter.

 

[bcinohio]

We rented a house off site for the first time in July and it was great. The drive was very easy in and out. We went before rope drop, left in the afternoon, and went back until closing. Very easy to get around. We stayed at Sunset Lakes and took the Sherbeth Rd shortcut.

Having so much more room for a lot less money was great.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Free is free. I prefer onsite too, but given a free option - I'll take free. We've had some nice offsite stays.

In my limited experience with condos specifically over resort rooms - they have kitchens. At first this seems great, but the kitchen and the tv are the things that suck you in. If you are at an offsite hotel, well - you have to get out of the room to eat. With a condo, it's easy to get sucked intothe room - especially if you have a large group. Otherwise lots of folks like the extra space, laundry, liek being ableto have a fridge and foods they enjoy. The jacuzzi was nice.

If free, yeah I'd deal with a condo, but mentally - I would prep myself mentally that we won't keep up our normal WDW pace. It's much harder offsite to be in the parks very close to rope drop, and it's harder to take afternoon breaks. Though again, it kind of dpednds how far the drive is, and how well you can motivate everyone. RD is not essential to a great trip; I just dislike spending time in the room doing nothing.

If you go to WDW regualarly, and have seen all the onsite places - seeing a beautiful offsite thing has many charms. Offsite dining for one can be quite a bit less expensive and quite a bit better for the $. Most places are fun to explore, and there are some really nice places in Orlando to explore. Many offsite pools are extraordinary! And as others have said, you can do lots of great thigns with the money you saved that will help make the trip magical - like fine dining.

 

[reservations4five]

Personally- I would pick offsite over on-hands down. Disney is Disney to me no matter where I lay my head at night- we drive where ever we stay. I like having a kitchen and extra bathrooms. I love having a hot tub to relax in at night too!!

 

[crusoe2]

First off I should tell you that I LOVE the Disney resorts. That would always be my first choice of a place to stay just because I love the theming and being right in the middle of everything. That said, we found a townhouse at Windsor Hills for our trip next June that is so much cheaper than the room we had booked onsite (at POR) that we're saving enough to cover our park tickets, the gas for the trip (about a 7-8 hour drive) and the cost of parking at the parks. Sorry, but onsite is not THAT much better. I agree that we tend to get a little lazy about getting up and out to the parks when we've got such comfortable accommodations. But our first time staying at Windsor Hills was also one of the most relaxing and enjoyable trips we've ever had - anywhere. The only park that was time-consuming to get in and out of was Magic Kingdom and that was really only an issue if we left right at closing time like the rest of humanity. We learned to grab a cold drink and park ourselves somewhere comfy until the crowds thinned out. We enjoyed the view across Seven Seas Lagoon and the breeze off the water and each other's company. It was great. Did the same thing once or twice at Epcot even tho we could have walked to the car. It was just nice to sit there looking up at Spaceship Earth and watching the palm trees swaying in the breeze. Where else are you gonna see that combo? My point is - your trip will be what you make it. If you know deep down that you are going to be miserable if you're not at a Disney resort, then maybe it's worth the money. But if you can generate some enthusiasm for offsite and saving all that money, I'd say give it a try.

 

[kmsimone]

You must stay on site. I know some people disagree, but if I am spending to go on vacation I will spend a little bit more for the whole experience. I have gone the route of cutting corners and have always been disappointed.

 

[mysumi]

I'm a fan of the total immersion myself because it allows me to destress a little easier and absorb that magic. That said though, if you don't go frequently you may be just fine staying in a condo. We have friends that do it all the time and they're fine with it as well. Saving that money now might be a good thing and you could use it to splurge on an extra special meal or a tour possibly. You might also be able to see some of the other resorts in person and decide where you'd really like to stay if you do go on site for the next trip! I love seeing the resorts in person, the feel of it right there and the ambience is different sometimes than the photos others may have. I may find a quiet spot that's special to me that no one has really taken notice of before, things like that. But saving money in this economy is a wonderful thing no matter how you look at it!

 

[enyaj40]

I like onsite.

I have considered off-site for a bit of financial consideration BUT I would still be eating out. I'm not cooking on my vacation.

 

[lsulindy]

I've never stayed on-site, so I can't make an active comparison. But, I did a lot of research, and we really enjoyed our off-site stay. I just can't imagine that on-site would have been better. No regrets at all. We stayed off-site last time with an almost 3 year old and a 15 month old. And, will stay off-site again this time with a 5 year old, a 4 year old and a 4 month old. My neighbor just stayed off-site with her two kids after staying on-site last time. She said they'll be staying off-site again in the future. Hubby's best friend stayed on-site last time, and will stay off-site for his upcoming trip. He said if he ever stayed on-site again, he'd take his own car rather than Disney transportation to the parks. (These are all people with small children.)

Reasons:
Transportation - heard a lot of stories of long wait times for on-site transportation. When we wanted to go to the park or leave the park, we could get in the car and go. Most nights the kids fell asleep in the car on the way back in their carseats and not in our arms standing on a bus. I also heard an awful story from hubby's best friend about a kid throwing up in the aisle of a crowded bus. It was bad! We stayed very close to the parks (Buena Vista Suites) and from what I've heard the travel time wasn't much different than staying on property (of course this depends where you stay on and off). The travel time was quicker than I'd thought and we didn't pass by any outlet malls or Wal-Marts. We were pretty much the first thing you came to off property.

Cost & Space - It was cheaper than a Value and much, much larger. We had a one bedroom suite, so there was a bedroom plus a separate living room with sofa, chair, table, fridge (very important for me with the kids) and microwave. Even with a pack n play, we still had lots of room in the bedroom, plus the full living room. And if the kids (or one kid) were sleeping in one room, we could be up in the other room.

Food - The Buena Vista Suites had a free full breakfast. We'd fill up on breakfast, and then get either a snack for lunch then an early dinner. Or eat a late lunch and then just snack for dinner. Spent way less on food than I expected, for us, the dining plan would have been a waste unless we could have gotten it for free.

This time we're staying at a 3 bedroom condo with full kitchen at the Windsor Palms. The bonus is that it's Disney decorated. We won't have the free breakfast, but can fix one ourselves before we leave in the morning. I don't plan to do any real cooking though. We won't be in the room enough for that.

It really depends on your priorities, your situation, how much you have to spend (we were on more of a budget), and how you like to travel, but for us, off-site just makes more sense.

 

[sls_ontario]

I did not read all the answers, but ...

We just stayed on site at Pop Century for two nights ... then off site in a 2 Bedroom condo for 6 nights.

Being on site was fun ... but NOT NECESSARY!!! We were happy to get to our spacious condo off site with kitchen and laundry. The kids had their own bedroom and so did we .... the two nights on site were hard in one little room. We liked NOT being dependent on Disney food.

We used our car when we were on site for max flexiblity.

It took us only 10 minutes longer to get to the parks when we were OFF site than when we were on site. And probably we would have spent those 10 minutes waiting for a bus anyway.

 

[yrdlyprincess]

cant wait to read all of this....what happens if you stay off site (like in a condo) and there is a problem...like critters in the bed or something?

 

[shalom]

what happens if you stay off site (like in a condo) and there is a problem...like critters in the bed or something?

It depends on where you're staying. Most condos, you'd call the front desk, just as you would at Disney. Some houses, you'd call the agency you rented through.

I've wondered that myself in terms of renting a house from an individual. In a condo or through an agency, if there's a problem, they've likely got somewhere to move you. The only time they wouldn't is if you rented points but the person had canceled the reservation or something (although DVC has some renting rules that make some things more of a pain for the renter than the places I've stayed, so it may be other companies do, too). Dunno what they can do if you're renting a house from an individual and you get there to discover a leak or something.

 

[tidefan]

I've never stayed on-site, so I can't make an active comparison. But, I did a lot of research, and we really enjoyed our off-site stay. I just can't imagine that on-site would have been better.

We are DVC members, but if we go for additional times over what our points take us, we look for the best deal. For instance, we went to the Alabama-Mich. State game over New Years and stayed off-site b/c we had used up our DVC points with a stay at a Treehouse in March 2010 over spring break. My FIL gave us a timeshare to trade and we ended up at Orange Lake - West Village and it gave a good perspective of what we liked on-site vs. what we didn't like, and like everything, it has its pros and cons, with the Pro mainly being price (since we usually do DVC, the space thing we are used to...)

Reasons:
Transportation - heard a lot of stories of long wait times for on-site transportation. When we wanted to go to the park or leave the park, we could get in the car and go. Most nights the kids fell asleep in the car on the way back in their carseats and not in our arms standing on a bus. I also heard an awful story from hubby's best friend about a kid throwing up in the aisle of a crowded bus. It was bad! We stayed very close to the parks (Buena Vista Suites) and from what I've heard the travel time wasn't much different than staying on property (of course this depends where you stay on and off). The travel time was quicker than I'd thought and we didn't pass by any outlet malls or Wal-Marts. We were pretty much the first thing you came to off property.

We have done both. Personally, I prefer the buses as I don't have to drive when I am very tired. Usually, it took about 30 minutes to get back to the room, but driving while tired does wear on you. Now, NYE, it took us 3 hours to get back, but that is definitely not the norm...

I think that one thing to consider is that if you stay offsite and drive, yes it is generally not too bad, but one thing we found that we liked about on-site is that if we have another family with us (we usually invite friends with us and stay in a 2-bdrm DVC), they don't feel like they have to stay until we leave. They can come and go as they please using Disney Transport. Same goes with families with teens and college aged kids.

Cost & Space - It was cheaper than a Value and much, much larger. We had a one bedroom suite, so there was a bedroom plus a separate living room with sofa, chair, table, fridge (very important for me with the kids) and microwave. Even with a pack n play, we still had lots of room in the bedroom, plus the full living room. And if the kids (or one kid) were sleeping in one room, we could be up in the other room.

Agreed here on cost. Disney accommodations are definitely more expensive than comparable off-site options. However, I don't think that they are that much more at first look (at least for values and moderates). We are going for a couple of nights before our cruise in a few weeks and most everything offsite that is name brand (Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Starwood, etc.) is going for over $100/night. Hilton Bonnet Creek wanted $299/night (For that money, I'd rather stay at AKL) I do agree that if you VRBO, Redweek, Priceline, etc., that you can get a deal, but you have to work at it. (FWIW, we ended up getting Rosen Shingle Creek for about $60/night via Priceline after a few failures...).

On size, DVC villas offer 1 and 2 bedroom units, most are slightly smaller than offsite (though Old Key West is probably larger than most offsite units), but offer all of the same condo space and feel, with all of the onsite benefits.

Food - The Buena Vista Suites had a free full breakfast. We'd fill up on breakfast, and then get either a snack for lunch then an early dinner. Or eat a late lunch and then just snack for dinner. Spent way less on food than I expected, for us, the dining plan would have been a waste unless we could have gotten it for free.

This is where I found the biggest surprise. I thought that I'd like eating offsite. I was tiring of some of the Disney restaurants and looking forward to just going and getting some Olive Garden or Red Lobster or something. The problem with eating off-site was two-fold. First, we found that we lost a lot of time by leaving the park, getting to the car, heading out to 192 or wherever and coming back. Just getting to the restaurant and back usually cost at least an hour if not more. Second, and more frustrating (though maybe it had to do with the time of year) was that we'd walk into restaurant after restaurant and each one would have an over 1-hour wait, so you spend extra time just trying to find a restaurant to eat at where you can get in.

I really missed just having a reservation somewhere in Disney where I could plan to be, pretty much walk in at my reservation time, eat, and then be right back out in the park, or at least, close to a park. Likewise, if on a budget, we could just forgo the "sitdown" meal and eat at a counter service place.

Now, that being said, the prices Disney charges for many of its restaurants is ridiculous. There are one or two that are reasonable (for Disney - Turf Club and the Plaza come to mind), but for the most part, the table service food is way overpriced.

It really depends on your priorities, your situation, how much you have to spend (we were on more of a budget), and how you like to travel, but for us, off-site just makes more sense.

Agreed, but there are advantages to being onsite in terms of convenience. One must weigh the convenience vs. cost and judge for themselves. I will say, that after being in DVC (and I think this can be generalized for most anyone that has stayed in condos) it is hard to go back to a normal hotel room. If I were not a DVC member (or, when I am out of points), and I was looking for an accommodation, I'd go condo/timeshare/house all the way...

 

[Dave1234]

Some of the gated communities are so close you cant really go wrong staying off-site.