STarting to feel Discouraged

[poohraedopey]

Is it really THAT bad to stay offsite? We have no kids with us travelling and we do have a rental car to get around. We havent been planning this trip for long it came up out of the blue so we have 3 months to save and pay for everything on our tight budget. We are going PResidents week so PEAK season even the all stars onsite would be 109 a night. Deffinitly not in the budget.

How bad will it really be getting in and out of the parks and such if we have 5 day park hopper plus tix and stay off site?

 

[tednvon]

My gosh.....we have been to Disney 25 plus times in the last 30 years and NEVER stayed on site.....We have stayed in 25 plus different places and most all have been fun and totally adequate.......We drive to the parks and drive home at night, usually about 10 to 15 minutes tops.....I know this is an onging debate, but I still contend that I will be in my condo or hotel faster than people leaving the parks and using the bus system to get back to a non monorail hotel.......So, get on priceline, have some fun...bid about 40 dollars a night for a 3 star hotel in the immediate Disney area and have a ball.......or go hotelkingdom.com and get a specific hotel if you are not ready for the Priceline adventure.......ABSOLUTELY no question in my mind you canhave a wonderful time at Disney and stay off site.......have fun!....Ted

 

[PCgal]

I agree with the above post, I also have never stayed onsite, I myself enjoy having many places to eat around etc. I have taken the bus to the parks that the hotels provide and i have never had any problems with that , but this year i plan to drive my car , try price line or kississimee.com ( i think that is spelled right ) priceline.com there are also orlando hotel coupons you can print at travelwise.com . also go to web sites and look at the rooms and call the 1 800 numbers and ask them any questions you might have about teh hotels, i have done this alot of times and they always tell me what i wanted to know.
hope this helped a bit

 

[poohraedopey]

Thank you! Glad to hear your experiences have been good off site! Feeling much better. I got a rate of 41 and change per night at the hOJO MAINGATE EAST for FEB 17-24th during peak seaon.

 

[Lisa P.]

We have not stayed at that hotel but we have stayed both onsite and offsite, multiple times each. We switch back and forth, sometimes adding a couple nights onsite to the end of our trip. On those days, we usually just stay at the resort to use the theme resort amenities. When we stay offsite, we have a wonderful time too! And we stay within our family's budget. Especially for a first visit, when you are likely to spend all your time at the parks, don't trouble yourself over staying offsite. Just enjoy!!!

 

[jdm]

I would follow the advice of the above poster who encouraged you to give Priceline a try. If there are only 2 people in your party (needing 1 bed) and you're not concerned about having to cancel... there are people getting fantastic rates bidding on 3*** properties. I'm sure the HO JO isn't bad, but if you can get a twice as nice place for les $$$..... why not give it a try?
Jenn

 

[Kay1]

I too think you should try Priceline even though it may be a bit early to bid. You could certainly try, though. I've stayed at that HoJo and am fairly certain you could do a lot better. The only risk I can think of is that if you needed to cancel, you couldn't get your money back, another reason to wait until it's closer to your trip. I've stayed on and offsite countless times and I like both. I think you'll have a great time.

 

[Robinrs]

I've stayed both on and off and like both. It really depends on what you want out of your vacation.

Personally, I prefer leaving Disney AT Disney when I leave the park. I like space and unless you give up your life savings you don't get that onsite. I also like Orlando, and when you're onsite you don't get a chance to see the rest of the city.

My suggestion is to try both and see which one fits your needs. Priceline is also a great suggestion, I've used them 5 times and have yet to be disappointed with them. It's the best way to get top notch accommodations on a budget.

Have a great trip!

 

[deena]

and my family and I have been enjoying WDW along with other surrounding attractions for years now that we wouldn't have it any other way especially with all the great properties that are available out there .....whether condo, villa, hotel room, suite, rental home.

I can't explain how much better we feel by having a larger room or suite for everyone to spread out at the end of a long tiring day of touring parks with all the extra added amenities to go along with it (microwave, fridge, jacuzzi, etc.) at half the cost of an onsite room while still having much left over to eat in restaurants, shopping, and miscellaneous.

I can't speak for others, but we have found just as magical of a time offsite if not more by being able to get a little added break from Disney and getting a change of scenery on the outside whether visiting some other Orlando theme parks as well as nearby places to shop for instance allows a chance for mixing it up.

In addition, the going back to hotel offsite gives us a chance to unwind more within a relaxed and leisure pace which is in contrast to walking around the busy hustle-bustle atmosphere of WDW.

We had always driven down in the past but last year flew down however still rented a car from the airport so for years now the family has been driving right up the street to WDW (5 min.) from location on U.S. 192 where we happen to be in great company alongside many other vactioning families along with across the way at Sea World, Universal Studios, different restaurants, etc. without any headache causing commuting hassles.

Also, its' neat to be nearby great grocery stores (Publix is awesome), drug stores, and wal-mart to pick up some things.

All of our stays have always been comfortable and exceptional offsite and we will continue to stay outside of Disney in many years to come whenever we are in Orlando visiting because the overall experience along with value can't be beat; hope this helps out some and you have a wonderful vacation!

 

[CarolynNC]

I don't think anyone should beat themselves up for saving money and staying off site. We've had great trips off & on site. Each has it's pros & cons.

I'm hooked on using Priceline for my Orlando area trips. Try this web site:http://pub4.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding

You'll find lots of info for hotel bidding in the Orlando area. I too think you can do better for the same amount of money but like the others I think you need to hold off until later to bid unless your plans are set in stone.

Have a great trip. Half the battle is attitude!

Carolyn

 

[poohraedopey]

I read over the entire site for bidding at priceline and will go that route I will hold my other reservation for now but havent even made a deposit on there so cancelling is no hassle. I iwll probably start bidding soon. Our plans are deffinitly set in stone there ios no turning back! Cant wait thanks for all the great feedback and advice!

 

[Planogirl]

We've stayed both offsite and onsite too over the years and we've always enjoyed both. The Orlando area has a lot to offer and it's wonderful to explore the area and see the attractions. It's also nice to save money on meals and to shop. The Orlando area has great outlet malls.

I've used Priceline and it was great but I would be cautious with the locations I bid for. Just make sure that you know your areas well and bid for a fairly high * resort. After all, why not aim high to begin with? And if you save even more money, that's all the better. I don't recall the limit on bidding if there is one but you probably already saw all of those rules.

At any rate, good luck!

 

[tonilea]

We stayed off site and had a fabulous time. It was our best vacation EVER! I saved a small fortune by reading these boards and using Priceline.

On our next trip 11/30 to 12/8, we are staying at the Wyndham Orlando on I-Drive for $27 per night for eight nights. We were going to stay on-site w/ a very good rate of $49 per night, but since they canceled EE, we decided to go off-site and save $200 bucks. I would have considered staying on-site a day or two (just to see what it was like) then changing hotels, but DH absoulutely REFUSES to "move". Men!

I did not feel like we were "cheated" when we stayed off-site. We saved alot of money.... Enough that we extended our five day trip to eight days.

Have a wonderful time!

Toni

 

[KProuty]

I've stayed onsite and offsite. If I had only known then what I know now... I would have saved all that money and bought the Marriott timeshare years ago! Nothing beats having two bedrooms, a kitchen, washer and dryer in the room... We used to buy two hotels on Disney property -- or stay in the home away from home for obscene prices -- not anymore! What is great is that we can change where we stay now that Disney is cutting things. We will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg next April to give the kids more history. If you can afford to stay at an Epcot resort or a monorail resort, I can see some justification if you have small kids. But the other resorts... it beats me why people would pay a premium for them!

Katherine

 

[poohraedopey]

Again many thanks

If we ever start do anual trips I would look into the timeshare option. But for now we will definitly use priceline looks like we may get a much better hotel for the same rate!