What will push you offsite?

[Uncle Coaster]

For me personally it would be a combination of cost and disappointment in the transportation system. I’m not really close to switching yet.

In fact, my solo trip this past November started as a non-Disney trip. The primary goals were Sea World Sunday and a wrestling show Wednesday. The in between was going to be a day trip to Tampa and a day doing touristy stuff in Orlando.

After discovering how pricey the hotels in the area that met my needs and the car rental were I looked into Disney and discovered that staying onsite at a Value and using Uber to Sea World and wrestling was cheaper than the other stuff I was planning even with a three day hopper pass.

 

[Disneylover99]

I’m not sure what or if any one thing would push me offsite. But I do admit to looking at other hotels in the vicinity and considering an offsite hotel these days. A couple of years ago, an offsite hotel wouldn’t even be on my radar.

 

[hereforthechurros]

I figured we would always be on-site only people but we are doing our first off-site stay in two weeks since we are down for a working trip over our son’s spring break. The spring break prices really made the decision for us. We also needed a car this trip which makes staying off-site easier. Interested to see how it goes.

We have two more on-site stays in 2019 so really not sweating it!

 

[NJlauren]

I’m not sure what or if any one thing would push me offsite. But I do admit to looking at other hotels in the vicinity and considering an offsite hotel these days. A couple of years ago, an offsite hotel wouldn’t even be on my radar.

This is exactly how I feel! It’s on the table for the first time!

 

[Micca]

As a DVC member, the only thing that would push me off-site would be if the exchange rate was so lop-sided that I could rent out my points
to stay at a superior resort (4 Seasons?)

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Nothing.

We bought DVC because we love Disney resorts. Not because of EMH, advance FP booking or other perks that have popped up over the years. Because we love Disney resorts, plain and simple. That’s why we also love visiting Aulani and Vero Beach (and every time we visit family in Hilton Head, we swing by the resort there for a Dole Whip, quick browse of the Mercantile and a nice chat with cast members.)

We love the Disney resort experience and it is a huge part of our Disney parks vacations. The cast members, service, ambience, attention to detail, theming, music, etc. That’s what we love. We continue to receive top notch service and have memorable experiences every time we visit.

I love driving under the Walt Disney World sign and not leaving until we are headed home. I don’t like seeing the “real world” off property. Other attractions in Orlando do nothing for me (I did the CP and used to live there.) When I’m at WDW for a trip, that’s the only place I want to be.

If we were not DVC and paid cash for every visit, we would reduce the frequency of our trips and make financial sacrifices elsewhere to stay on site.

 

[ellbell]

For me it would take a lot. I don't drive and I already stay value. It would need to be them losing transportation options and uber's being cheaper from off site.

I think I'd be priced out before I stay off site because there aren't a lot of hotels close to Disney that are less than a value resort if you add transportation costs that aren't a car rental.

 

[Searc]

Yes they can. AoA has suites if you have a big family. But anyone can stay at a value. That doesn’t make sense. Music also.

AoA is not a value price-wise, regardless of the designation Disney has put on it.

 

[Justplainchy]

For me it would be the loss of transportation. We love the Disney Bubble and understand we are paying a premium for it--not necessarily the accomodations. We usually stay at moderates, and I am aware we could be staying at a moderate hotel in the DS area for about 100 less a night which adds up quickly. I can eat a lot of churros for $100. But we love flying in and not renting a car. We've done offsite with Uber and Lyft and it worked fine; I just really like the Disney Buses (gets me right into the Disney mood, right down to the smell! I know, I know!) and taking the Magical Express from the airport. Access to boats to the parks and/or the monorail if we ever end up in resorts that offer it is also nice. If those things were eliminated or became a paid option, I would definitely move off site because I could no longer justify the cost to be in the "bubble" when you can get resorts that are just as nice (or nicer!) for a fraction of the cost.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We love being onsite, and while we drive to WDW, my younger DD in particular would rather take a bus than drive to the parks.

That said, I'm a little irritated about the parking fee at the resorts. I know Universal has it, but Universal's onsite perks are way better than Disney's. So my choice is either pay for parking at the resorts or pay for it at the parks - kind of a wash between onsite and offsite.

With the addition of the 60 day FP+ booking at good neighbor hotels, I'm concerned for the first time that I won't get the FP I want, even though I booked onsite almost a year ago. If I can't get the FP I want, there is little to keep me onsite compared to a much cheaper DTD hotel. And it frees up money in the budget for Disney's paid events so I can ride the headliners.

We are staying in a 2 BR villa, so we have a full kitchen and laundry, but I'm sure it is much more than it would be to stay offsite

 

[aebeauregard]

I have always stayed onsite. I’m finding myself wanting to pay the upcharge prices to enjoy things like Early Morning Magic and Afterhours. It’s making me consider offsite more. I can afford way more of these if we stayed offsite and the loss of the 60 day FP booking isn’t a big deal at all if we do some special events that will get us on the headliners anyways.

 

[NJlauren]

I have always stayed onsite. I’m finding myself wanting to pay the upcharge prices to enjoy things like Early Morning Magic and Afterhours. It’s making me consider offsite more. I can afford way more of these if we stayed offsite and the loss of the 60 day FP booking isn’t a big deal at all if we do some special events that will get us on the headliners anyways.

This is one of my factors, I have EMM booked and I’m wondering if it’s worth moving to offsite to offset some of the cost. Plus it will pay for a bunch of meals.

However I can’t seem to pull the trigger, at least for this trip.

 

[Searc]

We love being onsite, and while we drive to WDW, my younger DD in particular would rather take a bus than drive to the parks.

That said, I'm a little irritated about the parking fee at the resorts. I know Universal has it, but Universal's onsite perks are way better than Disney's. So my choice is either pay for parking at the resorts or pay for it at the parks - kind of a wash between onsite and offsite.

With the addition of the 60 day FP+ booking at good neighbor hotels, I'm concerned for the first time that I won't get the FP I want, even though I booked onsite almost a year ago. If I can't get the FP I want, there is little to keep me onsite compared to a much cheaper DTD hotel. And it frees up money in the budget for Disney's paid events so I can ride the headliners.

We are staying in a 2 BR villa, so we have a full kitchen and laundry, but I'm sure it is much more than it would be to stay offsite

The more offsite hotels they give onsite benefits, the less to go around for actual onsite guests who have paid for the privileges. That move has seriously irritated me.

 

[FSU Girl]

The more offsite hotels they give onsite benefits, the less to go around for actual onsite guests who have paid for the privileges. That move has seriously irritated me.

When they started doing that it made so little sense to me. At Universal if you stay at their three deluxe resorts you get A LOT of perks staying there. The unlimited Express pass is great. I feel like there aren't many perks to staying onsite besides location and I suppose the buses, but I don't like riding them.

 

[Rach3975]

The transportation makes it hard for us to do anything but on-site. We're a family of 5, and most days we split up with some of the group coming back to the room earlier than others. Staying in a family suite at AoA or ASMu with Disney buses makes that very do-able. We're not going to rent 2 cars and pay 2 parking fees! The biggest perk I'm concerned about losing is the 60-day FP. I'm worried they'll take that away or go to a model where headliners are only available for an extra fee. But unless the transportation situation changes, we'll probably still say on site and will just go less often.

We only do a "big" vacation like WDW every 2 years. Our last 2 have been to Disney, and as much as we love it, we don't want the kids to grow up experiencing nothing else. So in 2020 when we do our next big trip, it won't be to Disney. After that, who knows. I'd like to do Disney again in 2022. But if the trend of bigger crowds and more experiences only available for an extra fee continues, we might not go back or might make it an every 6-year trip. At some point things will change again because some of the kids will be grown and not coming, but we've got another decade of the 2 younger kids traveling with us.

 

[Searc]

When they started doing that it made so little sense to me. At Universal if you stay at their three deluxe resorts you get A LOT of perks staying there. The unlimited Express pass is great. I feel like there aren't many perks to staying onsite besides location and I suppose the buses, but I don't like riding them.

The only onsite benefits left are DME, the DDP and being able to charge to your room. For me, only one out of the three is any kind of benefit. Anyone can use the Disney transportation, so I don't consider that an onsite benefit.

 

[FSU Girl]

The only onsite benefits left are DME, the DDP and being able to charge to your room. For me, only one out of the three is any kind of benefit. Anyone can use the Disney transportation, so I don't consider that an onsite benefit.

LOL if those are the only three benefits I have none that work for me. I live 3 hours away so have never flown and taken DME. We never charge back to the room and the dining plan hasn't really interested us since it's so much food and unless you really plan it out you end up spending more money. I like the themeing of the hotels and love staying at ones where I can walk to a park, but they are just getting so expensive.

 

[PSUGuy]

I'm retiring in 15 days (but who's counting?), wifey packed it in last week so we may do spur of the moment trips in the future and we'd go off site if nothing on site appealed to us. We've got a house with private pool 20 mins from WDW rented for the month of Feb., 2020 so technically we'll be off site for our Disney visits then.

Bill From PA

 

[Anchored]

I am already pushed out for the most part. Moderates are glorified motels, with outside doors. Values are plagued with noise and crowds. Deluxe is not in our budget.
We LOOOOVE staying at the Swan/Dolphin (my sister works for them so we get a really good discount), Embassy Suites (the free happy hour and free delicious breakfast, including mickey waffles, are a huge cost savings when you figure in our family of 6. Plus my kids love the pools, basketball courts, fishing, foosball, etc.) and the Gaylord (their waterpark is great, and its super quick to get back in the bubble) or Bonnet Creek. I very rarely see the value in a Disney resort since we live 1.25 hours away and drive there anyway (don't need buses or DME or magic bands or far out windows for dining or FP+)

 

[shh]

We've stayed onsite every year for two decades. They lost us permanently last year with the new parking fees, which really annoyed me, given the rate hikes. I've stayed offsite ever since and so glad.

Didn't miss it nearly as much as I thought I would. But we always have our car, so never used the transportation system anyway and have zero interest in their dining plan.