Staying on Property vs off Property

[MichelleVW]

But a 3 bedroom townhouse is like going down the street from home to stay instead of a WDW trip. There will always be cheaper places to stay but $ isn't everything for getting away from it all.
I only get to go once a year normally and I want the Magic of the Mouse 24/7 Nothing worse than going home from a park to something that reminds me of home.That's the LAST thing I want

Lol...it's not about the price...I stayed off site because we like space. I don't like to sleep in the same room as my kids and they don't want to sleep in the same room as me.

Plus we have 4 dogs and 4 cats and the townhouses we have rented don't have those things lol so it's nothing like home! I can wake up in the morning and take care of ME first...not the zoo.

To me, it's not all about $$$, its more about comfort and convenience. I have found that besides being cheaper, 90% of the rentals I have stayed at were nicer than almost every rental room on Disney Property.

Yep, we've stayed in some really nice places and felt PLENTY of magic!

 

[nugov2]

But a 3 bedroom townhouse is like going down the street from home to stay instead of a WDW trip. There will always be cheaper places to stay but $ isn't everything for getting away from it all.
I only get to go once a year normally and I want the Magic of the Mouse 24/7 Nothing worse than going home from a park to something that reminds me of home.That's the LAST thing I want

Why is staying in a large spacious 6 bedroom home on vacation like being at your real home? Besides the fact that it has multiple bedrooms and tons of sq. footage like my real home the similarities end there. I don't cook, I don't clean(I mean anymore than I would anywhere...we do pick up after ourselves) and we are on vacation. We wake up everyday doing things we would never be doing at home. I don't know what "magic of the mouse 24/7" is to you, but I felt that we had it while spreading out in our Disney themed vacation home just like you did in your hotel room. But again beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no right or wrong answer. I need just as nice if not better than what I have at home for it to be an enjoyable vacation. Like I said we do not understand the concept of comfortable and several hundred sq. feet in the same sentence(even in a deluxe villa you are only getting 1,000 sq feet) just as you don't understand the concept of off site and still being a true Disney vacation.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

To me, it's not all about $$$, its more about comfort and convenience. I have found that besides being cheaper, 90% of the rentals I have stayed at were nicer than almost every rental room on Disney Property.

Well they must be pretty special because almost every room on WDW property IS spectacular. And WDW property is more convenient than any off property rental. Frankly every off property lover always says how much cheaper it is so it IS about the money with offsiters.
A Disney vacation is all about the feel of being at WDW not at some house down the street.
That being said we all have our own ideas of vacation .

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Why is staying in a large spacious 6 bedroom home on vacation like being at your real home? Besides the fact that it has multiple bedrooms and tons of sq. footage like my real home the similarities end there. I don't cook, I don't clean(I mean anymore than I would anywhere...we do pick up after ourselves) and we are on vacation. We wake up everyday doing things we would never be doing at home. I don't know what "magic of the mouse 24/7" is to you, but I felt that we had it while spreading out in our Disney themed vacation home just like you did in your hotel room. But again beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no right or wrong answer. I need just as nice if not better than what I have at home for it to be an enjoyable vacation. Like I said we do not understand the concept of comfortable and several hundred sq. feet in the same sentence(even in a deluxe villa you are only getting 1,000 sq feet) just as you don't understand the concept of off site and still being a true Disney vacation.

OKW 2br is over 1300 sq ft. That's my home resort with DVC. ON property short bus ride to parks or relaxing boat ride to DTD.
Disney "themed" house/condo not comparable at all. (I have lots of Disney stuff in my house) Not the same as being there!!
My family likes EMH which we plan things around , Disney restaurants, The Campground, boat rentals, hotel touring, shopping, YEP 24/7

 

[nugov2]

OKW 2br is over 1300 sq ft. That's my home resort with DVC. ON property short bus ride to parks or relaxing boat ride to DTD.
Disney "themed" house/condo not comparable at all. (I have lots of Disney stuff in my house) Not the same as being there!!
My family likes EMH which we plan things around , Disney restaurants, The Campground, boat rentals, hotel touring, shopping, YEP 24/7

Staying somewhere 1/3 of the size of my house where my 3 children(1 girl and 2 boys) have to share a room or having to sleep in a common room on a pull out couch or chair is not my families idea of a vacation. We had the campground(chip and dale campfire, pony rides), we could have rented a boat and bikes we toured and visited many of the hotels...ate at them daily and my kids enjoyed many of the activities(pirate cruise, arcades and much more) and shopping...well I choose to plead the 5th on that so yep 24/7 here too

 

[kathy884]

I'm an off property advocate. In 35 trips since 1970 only seven have been onsite. The Orlando area is just soooo overbuilt and I love the great deals offsite (great value for your dollar). My favorite type of accommodation for a week or longer is an offsite condo that I usually rent from a timeshare owner. Except for Fort Wilderness (three times), my other four onsite stays were when DH had to attend a seminar at the Contemporary (nice to stay Disney Deluxe when someone else is paying, but too much for this value conscious consumer, though, when I'm footing the bill). One time too we were in overflow at Port Orleans -- now that was a real pain to stay there and need to get to the Contemporary daily as even for conference participants they would only give you a three hour parking pass, so you take a bus to the MK and walk in your suit in the hot humidity of Florida over to your conference -- Is that insane or what. And then you walk back to the MK in your suit to get the bus back to Port Orleans What that meant is that for several of the days I dropped off and picked up DH from his conference which I could have just as easily done offsite. // My nephew is in the Disney college program and could get me 50 or 60% off retail price on accommodations for a mini stay I'm doing in October. Even with that discount, though, a Disney moderate was the same price as the Renaissance hotel across from SeaWorld with a deal I got there (We are doing SeaWorld one day and Epcot the other), and DS and I while either would be just fine, opted for the four star hotel rather than the Disney moderate.

 

[MichelleVW]

Well they must be pretty special because almost every room on WDW property IS spectacular. And WDW property is more convenient than any off property rental. Frankly every off property lover always says how much cheaper it is so it IS about the money with offsiters.
A Disney vacation is all about the feel of being at WDW not at some house down the street.
That being said we all have our own ideas of vacation .

Lol....it IS cheaper but we always stayed off site for space. I've never once felt like I was at a house down the street.

 

[disney-akj]

I am so happy to go, on-site or off-site. I will never pass an opportunity up to visit WDW. If I could ever say I'd rather not go, then I I've lost the magic.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

A Disney vacation is all about the feel of being at WDW not at some house down the street.
That being said we all have our own ideas of vacation .

Yes, we all have our own idea. We barely turned the lights on in our cabin. Up bright and early, breakfast, rope drop, close park, sleep, repeat. Being stuck in a small room with my kids inches away doesn't make that more "magical". Trust me

 

[MonorailCentral]

I enjoy both, but tend to stay off property more often than not. I get hotel employee discounts, so I will be staying off property at a nice hotel for the same price as one night at a WDW Deluxe. Bigger room, nice amenities, perfectly safe. I enjoy the "magic" of staying on property, but tend to do it for shorter trips. As a former Cast Member, I know the roads well, and it's very easy for me to get in and out.

The home rentals can be great. Some really nice homes/condos, more space...you're only cooking or doing laundry if that's something you want to do (much as you would in a hotel). Never have felt like it was just another night at home.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Staying somewhere 1/3 of the size of my house where my 3 children(1 girl and 2 boys) have to share a room or having to sleep in a common room on a pull out couch or chair is not my families idea of a vacation. We had the campground(chip and dale campfire, pony rides), we could have rented a boat and bikes we toured and visited many of the hotels...ate at them daily and my kids enjoyed many of the activities(pirate cruise, arcades and much more) and shopping...well I choose to plead the 5th on that so yep 24/7 here too

Off site ? Sorry 24/7 impossible

Yes, we all have our own idea. We barely turned the lights on in our cabin. Up bright and early, breakfast, rope drop, close park, sleep, repeat. Being stuck in a small room with my kids inches away doesn't make that more "magical". Trust me

I had small kids. Took them to WDW starting at 6 months. They are now 22&20 and until this last trip at OKW 2br they always stayed in same room as us at Disney. Never once in 15 trips with them did we ever feel we were "stuck"
and it WAS magical each and every trip.

 

[scuba]

I've done both, off and on property but Disney got us 2 days at the Art of Animation for 120 dollars per night, the hotels off property we were looking at were 100 dollars per night therefore to get the Disney atmosphere for a very short visit, the on site property was a no brainer for us.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

A discussion of resorts really does not belong on the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies board. Since the OP is advocating staying in off-property resorts, I've moved this thread to the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board.

 

[aubriee]

I stay on property and rent a car, so best of both worlds. I don't ride busses and get a parking pass for every park.

I don't even find staying on property all that expensive at the values. Granted i go in the offseason, but my last trip was $109 a night at ASMo. Where can you get a decent (safe) hotel room for that anymore?

If you go through a third party a one bedroom condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek is cheaper than a Moderate or even a Value room at WDW. For our trip this past May we paid $89.50/night, for my trip in three weeks I am paying $74.34/night, and for our trip in Dec we are paying just $60.00/night for one bedroom condos. Wyndham Bonnet Creek is a Deluxe resort inside the WDW gates, so closer to the parks than alot of the WDW owned resorts. My Sept trip is solo so I thought about staying at a Value, but when I ran the prices, a one bedroom at Bonnet Creek was cheaper than a tiny room at Pop (even with the AP discount) and a whole lot cheaper than one of the Moderate resorts that I actually prefer. So I am paying less to stay in a one bedroom with a fully equipped kitchen, living room, two TVs, washer/dryer, a jacuzzi tub, walk in shower, king size bed in a seperate bedroom at a Deluxe resort with six pools, pool slides, several hot tubs, two lazy rivers, free mini golf course, really nice game rooms, arcade, activity center, craft room with planned activities for kids, several onsite eateries (including three restaurants right next door at the Wyndham Grand that's an easy few minutes walk from any of the towers) etc than I would pay for a a tiny room Value resort. Since they've decreased them I have no interest in extra magic hours, never used pkg delivery anyway, with my AP I get free parking at the parks, would rent a car anyway since I hate the WDW transportation (it just seemed to get worse and worse each trip), and again Bonnet Creek is inside the WDW gates, so is closer to the parks than alot of the expensive WDW resorts. I have an AP so can pretty much always get pretty good discounts for a WDW owned resort. I am also a RN, so can get the nurses' discount at Swan/Dolphin. However, Bonnet Creek is a nicer resort and is cheaper than even a Value resort. Even for a solo trip, why the heck would I pay more to stay at Disney Value?

 

[aubriee]

Well they must be pretty special because almost every room on WDW property IS spectacular. And WDW property is more convenient than any off property rental. Frankly every off property lover always says how much cheaper it is so it IS about the money with offsiters.

A Value room is 260 square feet. A one bedroom condo at Bonnet Creek is 902 square feet, while a two bedroom condo at Bonnet Creek is 1580 square feet. The tiny room at WDW is just two beds, a tiny bathroom, and a tiny table with two hard chairs. The one bedroom has a fully equipped kitchen (even if I don't want to use it), washer/dryer, separate living area with fold out couch and two chairs, a dining area with four chairs, a nice balcony over a beautiful lake that sometimes has a view of Downtown Disney, Spaceship Earth or the nighttime fireworks at Epcot or MK (depending on which direction your condo faces), a separate bedroom with a king size bed, a jacuzzi tub, a sink, and a separate bathroom area with another sink, commode, and walk in shower. The two bedroom has the same amenities plus another bathroom and bedroom with two more beds. Plus you are at a Deluxe resort with all the amenities I mentioned in my previous post. Plus Wyndham Bonnet Creek is within the WDW gates and is closer to the parks and DTD than alot of the WDW resorts. I would pay more to stay at Bonnet Creek simply because I prefer the resort, so no the cheaper price is not really a factor. But at the same time, why the heck would I choose to pay more for less amenities? Let me see the other poster said that with discounts he can get a Value room (260 square feet) for $109.00 per night. I can get a 902 square foot condo at a Deluxe resort for $60.00 per night that is closer (more convenient) to the parks than his Value. Hmm, seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Nixie]

and you don't have to eat in a restaurant for every meal. lotso money saved there!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, we cancelled about half of the TS we had booked. We are still doing some, but I don't feel like I HAVE to book TS now to use my credits which is nice. Our plan is to get some groceries for the villa the first day we get into Orlando. We will either cook really quick, simple meals in the villa or if we don't feel like doing that, eat offsite TS for the same price that we would probably pay for CS inside Disney.

 

[MichelleVW]

Off site ? Sorry 24/7 impossible



I had small kids. Took them to WDW starting at 6 months. They are now 22&20 and until this last trip at OKW 2br they always stayed in same room as us at Disney. Never once in 15 trips with them did we ever feel we were "stuck"
and it WAS magical each and every trip.

Lol...I'm going to have to call my girls today (who are the same age as yours) and tell them our trips haven't been magical since we sometimes stayed in a condo. My 22 year old talks every night in her sleep....there is absolutely nothing magical about sleeping in the same room with the sleep talker and walker.

Magical was a house with 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and my extended family of 11 all in one building with our private pool for $600 a week per family and everyone having their own space.

I'm glad you like your onsite vacations but to tell people that their vacations were less magical than yours because they stayed off site is a little much don't you think?

And never once have I felt like I was at a house down the street.

 

[Nixie]

I wanna know what is so "magical" about staying onsite? I don't se anything magical about overly packed food courts in the morning or trying to cram two adults onto a full sized bed. I don't find it magical to pay 2x to 3x times as much for a room with half the amenities as off site. The villas we will be staying at have 7 pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, fishing lakes, bike rental, a small grocery onsite, two resturants onsite, etc. Almost exactly all the same amenities as a moderate resort.

 

[badiggio]

Other than the "MAGIC" at the parks,what's "MAGICAL" to me is saving over $3000 renting a 4 bedroom Presidential at WBC instead of a 2 bedroom at Saratoga, even more at AK or Wilderness.Everyone has a bed and 4 bathrooms.The down time at night when I want to watch a little tv,I have an actual choice of channels.When we need ice,i go to the refrigerator as needed and not to the end of the hall with a bucket and hoping for some ice. I've stayed at Kidani in a 2 bedroom villa,both Savannah and standard as well as at the villas at Wilderness lodge and I enjoyed my time there,but in all honesty they don't compare to the Presidential units at WBC in any way.Though I can afford to stay in those places why would I throw away thousands of dollars for a smaller space and not as nice unit?

 

[eliza61]

Well they must be pretty special because almost every room on WDW property IS spectacular. And WDW property is more convenient than any off property rental. Frankly every off property lover always says how much cheaper it is so it IS about the money with offsiters.
A Disney vacation is all about the feel of being at WDW not at some house down the street.
That being said we all have our own ideas of vacation .

You must not go any where else because no where else on the planet would you pay 500 bucks a night for the level of service and quality you get at disney deluxes. anybody who has travelled will tell you they are Marriott hotels with pretty paint.

We me it's about value. Value is more than just the price paid. it's more of was the product you give me worth the price that was paid, and in the deluxe department Disney simply is NOT a good value. Now sure all vacations are about the "experience" that is why one travels but the "experience" of getting less for more money is not an enjoyable one for me. I'm glad you have unlimited funds where you can seperate the cost of a vacation from every thing else. I do not. I try to get the best value for the budget I have.
Whether it's at meals, on clothes, or on vacation.