Why do you stay offsite?

[Tirapapas]

this will burn yer britched. me and the wife booked two separate, simultaneous vacations under the 4/3 for june in january. there are 6 of us total, and since we had two reservations, we just asked for connecting rooms. they are guaranteed. each ressie was about 1050. we got a code for van rental totaling 248 for the week.
its been my understanding that when the number of children exceed the number of adults on a multi room ressie, that the resort is obligated to give connecting rooms...

Just to understand: Each room was 1,050 (totalling 2,100)?

Polineedyan. No need to answer my previous question. I browsed your posting history to understand a little more about your deal (I really didn't knew how the 4/3 worked). I still have some doubts regarding your price (if it includes taxes or not) and the ages of the children in your party, as it affects the situation of the ticket pricing that are included on your 4/3 deal.

Let me start by saying that I originally stated that I started my planning late so that might have affected the availability in the value resorts. Let me also state that I don't have a problem (I think) of admitting when I am wrong.

To make things a little bit stranger, your trip and my trip are in the exact same dates. Maybe we will share a waiting line or so.

For the comparison I will take into account your deal assuming taxes are included. As for the issue of the ages of the children in your party, I will asume two 10+ and two 3-9. This would mean your party has one more 10+ year old than mine.

Your Deal: Two standard rooms in All-Star Music for seven days in June for six including taxes and 7-day tickets for all of your party, being regular tickets without passhopper or any other features, all for 2,100 USD.

Our Deal: One two-bedroom suite in Nickelodeon Family Suites for seven days in June for five including taxes and resort fee for 918.00 USD. I would have to buy the tickets. I was in fact going to purchase the 7-day tickets without passhopper or water parks. For my party of five, it will add up for 1,140 USD. Adding up both expenses, we are talking about 2,058 USD. I have to take into account the ticket of the extra children in your party, being a 10+ (243.00 USD) so the comparison has to be done with a figure of 2,301 USD.

So there we have the difference: 201 USD in your favor. Obviously you have two bathrooms; also 520 sq.ft. of room compared with the 485 sq.ft. of the Nick Family Suite (we might call it a tie).

Let's make something clear: you feel you had a very good deal with the 4/3 and I happened to find a very good deal in the Nick Hotel.

Kid age assumptions: if one of the children in your party happens to be less than three years old, one of your tickets would be free for the parks, so the 200 USD difference will be erased.

Tax assumptions: all my pricing includes taxes and I am not sure yours does. If it doesn't, the 200 USD difference will reduce substantially.

For my closing arguments I will go back to assume that I will end up paying 200 USD more thay your deal (as if it were equivalent). I will start writing about subjective things now.

For me, this trip is all about my kids. I have stayed before on the All-Star Movies Resort when my older ones were 5 and 3 (my most recent trip). There's something about "Movies" that I don't find in "Music, Sports or Pop". It has to do with the characters. When I looked into booking on-site, I looked at Movies. Then I found about Nick Hotel. I have really never been there, but I think that I expect to have at least the same inroom situation of the value resorts, never less. My kids now are older and they are not into Disney's characters as they were the last time. They watch more Nick, and they are past "Dora" and more into the "Spongebob" and "Fairly Godparents" thing. I really feel that Nick Hotel will give our kids a better experience that Movies does.

One important thing for us was the swimming pool. We decided not to do any water parks this time, and the Nick Hotel swimming pool seems to be a perfect fit for us. We plan to visit parks every day with afternoon breaks. The pool seems very to be very interesting, though we expect them to be crowded. The hotel is very close to Disney (about the same distance from Epcot than ASM; closer to DTD, but farthest from AK and DHS).

Back to the 200 USD. I won't tell you that I will end up getting it back via dining savings, because you will have a car too and might go dining anywhere you want just as we will. We have refrigerator and microwave, so we might end up saving some breakfasts and prepare better for our snacks in the parks.

What I can tell you is this: If right now I asked me to trade deals with yours and save 200 USD, I don't think I would do it. Probably you wouldn't do it either, so we are back to the original question of the post, and many of the answers already given: the situation for each family is different depending on there preferences, ages, expectations, etc. as I tried to say on my now removed post regarding relativity and Einstein. I feel that there isn't a right or wrong, better or worse answer. It all depends.

PS. I wouldn't change my 2004 trip to ASMovies for Nick (if it would have existed) due to our situation of that time.

 

[trnorbrn]

We have eight children ages 1-28. The older three do not usually travel with us but we still have five ages 1-16 that do come with us for the majority of family trips. We have been renting vacation homes for about fifteen years now, not just in FL but all over the world.

We like being a part of the local scene and culture, shopping and eating like we live there. We like to blend and get a real feel for what it would be like to live somewhere else.

We love Disney resorts but after several hours in the heat it is wonderful to go home and relax. We like the quiet and privacy.

For kids it is just fantastic since they have things to do similar to what they enjoy at home. They can each have their own bedroom or at least their own bed. I don't like to put kids in a bed to share because they kick and toss and turn all night. I really don't like anyone sleeping on the floor. If my kids sleep well then there is a better chance they will behave well during the day.

I really need my own bedroom and bath or it is not a vacation for me.

We rarely eat at resturants. I don't do a lot of cooking but we stock the fridge with lots of goodies and easy to prepare meals. We BBQ in the evenings. We pack our lunch and drinks in a cooler or backpacks for the day when we go out.

We do laundry everyday. I like to clean so I do not have a need for maid service.

I can usually manage a week at Disney all inclusive for about $2000 including rental home, food, gas and shopping. We usually buy annual passes and bring our own vehicle.

 

[Lisa P.]

For kids it is just fantastic since they have things to do similar to what they enjoy at home. They can each have their own bedroom or at least their own bed.

This matters to us too. Some people love variety and change like my DD and me - we LOVE to stay in new places and explore. We also sleep easily anywhere. But some people don't do as well with change, especially when staying in hotels or unfamiliar places, and they may not relax or sleep as well the first few nights. My grown sons and DH are definitely like this. Having more familiarity, a home-like setting, is better for them. It may be why some folks (like our family) are more drawn to a particular brand of hotel or timeshare on vacations. We relax quickly whenever we arrive at a Wyndham timeshare resort anywhere in the country because while there are several kinds of resort room layouts and the decor details are different, we generally know what to expect in amenities and general room comforts and we enjoy it every time. There are some folks that feel that way about their favorite DVC resort(s) too. Vacation homes may provide for this as well. And offsite timeshares and vacation homes can provide this at a much lower cost than onsite at Disney.

Further, preteen/teen boys and men generally do not want to share beds with siblings or friends. Small boys/girls/women rarely object to sharing a full size bed with a sibling or friend on vacation. But we usually travel with more males than females. Having more beds is necessary for us - and more readily available at a reasonable price offsite.

 

[Brian Noble]

That may or may not be true in general, but by daughter is no big fan of sharing a bed, either....unless it's with a hugemongous pile of stuffed animals.

 

[davinakb]

We usually stay offsite and the #1 reason: Value and Space. It is hard to split the two. The quality, amenities and space of an offsite condo make it a great value vs. staying on property. For the comparable cost of a Value we get our own beds and/or bedrooms, kitchen, laundry, Internet, sometimes a pool. Extra bathrooms, TVs, cooking a leisurely breakfast, elbow room, all just make for a much more relaxing stay, esp. for a long trip.

The Car issue: always the deal breaker for some folks, and ITA with Brian Noble, others that if you won't have a car, you pretty much need to be on property. We always have a car, always drive around WDW, and would probably rent one if we were on property. The car is about added convenience, speed getting around property, to resorts for dinner, and leaving property for better shopping & dining options. So we really do not figure in the cost of the car in the on/off site debate. FWIW.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I don't get why people feel the need to voice the "other side" when the question is "Why do you stay offsite?" not "Why don't you stay offsite?"

Anyways, we are staying offsite this next trip because we need more space. MIL is coming with us, and I don't want to be cramped in a room with her plus the kids. In addition to that, the kids nap and go to bed early, and giving them their own room means that we don't have to sit in the dark and whisper while they are sleeping.

Now, we could stay onsite and get two rooms. However, the cost just is not worth it to us. We don't like the theming of the values, so we would be getting a moderate or deluxe. Since we're going at a holiday week, that would run us at least $2400 for two rooms for the week. Our 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo at Windor Hills is costing us $700 for the week. We were planning to drive down anyway, so we'll have a car (which, I agree, is a must for offsite).

Will we stay onsite again? Sure, when it meets our needs. I love staying onsite. But for this trip, I it not the best decision and I'm looking forward to a new experience.

 

[TnTWalter]

I love ONSITE. I am OFFSITE right now [Windsor Hills]. $450 for 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills...10 minutes to Studios, less to AK, farther to EPCOT and MK [haven't been yet].

I LOVE onsite.

I now LOVE offsite. Space to roam, dining options, eating at condo, great savings.

My opinion: onsite if shorter stay and no ca, with dining plan. offsite if longer stay and car.

Trish

p.s. writing this on laptop with glass of wine watching show with hubby while kids are asleep in bedrooms....happy girl!

 

[Planogirl]

I have stayed several times both onsite and offsite. The first three times we visited WDW we stayed in the Polynesian Resort. I would love to stay there again but I won't pay what they charge. It's not worth it to me but of course others might disagree.

I will stay onsite in certain resorts if I can get a good deal. I love AKL where we stayed just a few years ago and would love to try WL. I also like Port Orleans. I would not stay at a Budget resort again - too small and too lacking in amenities for us. Again, I would stay onsite if the price was right.

However, I love having space and a kitchen and clothes washing facilities and all the rest. We've had wonderful vacations at some of the offsite resorts and these are what I key on now. However I will also stay in a lower cost offsite place if the money is a little tight. Going to the parks, both Disney and Universal are what is important to us, not the resort.

We did once stay in a great hotel (since sold to another chain) in Kissimmee just outside the WDW gates. Transportation was decent but I drove just because I like having a car handy. It took about 10 minutes to get to AKL and 15 to get to Epcot. Great location.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Dallas_Lady : I don't get why people feel the need to voice the "other side" when the question is "Why do you stay offsite?" not "Why don't you stay offsite?"

I guess I have to admit I made a big error in interpretation. I read the second line of the OP's post and thought they were interested in the pros AND cons...honestly, that is the ONLY reason I was giving both sides as I have myself experienced over a 15 year period. But looks like only the "pros" are sought after in this thread. I will never make that error again. Sorry to all...........I did delete all my posts so as to not upset anyone---but some have quoted me so I can't edit that. I do stay both on and offsite every year since 1994 so thought I had a decent handle on both sides. Guess not. Just disregard everything I said please. I was pretty much put in my place on this subject so hope some of you can just let it go. I won't bother anyone with any of my thoughts or experiences to a thread like this again. I get it now.

As stated by OP : Looking to weigh the pros and cons of an offsite hotel when booking our disney trip.

Maria

 

[*disgal*]

I don't get why people feel the need to voice the "other side" when the question is "Why do you stay offsite?" not "Why don't you stay offsite?"

DallasLady, I know what you are saying. But the op did say pros and cons. I do think they were more interested in the pros but they did open it up.

Maria, you didn't have to do that. I like hearing both sides, doesn't bother me. Helps me and others make an informed decision.

You know, it's funny, like I said before, I have gone to both extremes in my own mind on this subject. Onsite only, yep! Nope, offsite was so great and what a deal....yep, it's only offsite for us. Wait, I love Disney theming......ok, once in a while we'll be onsite. I feel like have a multi-personality disorder!

What I have come to realize is that I can use offsite/onsite to my advantage and do what's best for my family AT the time. Sometimes that means more space and a great deal at a resort offsite. Sometimes that means we stay onsite, enjoy all Disney has to offer and just be a little cramped. Whatever.

And you know what? I think we are on our 10th or 11th trip and NOT ONCE have we come back from a WDW vacation and regretted our decision on where we stayed. We weighed our options, discussed it as a family, looked at our budget and made an informed decision.

I am not blinded by Disney hotels or offsite hotels/resorts. Shall I put it this way? .....I'm over it!!

 

[ntsammy5]

FWIW I think this thread gives some very good information for both sides - people are very different with different ways of looking at things that's why there are 86 gazillion places to stay in Orlando.

 

[angiepangie]

We used to stay offsite when DH and I were first married - finances were a big issue then. Once we could afford to, we always chose to stay onsite. Perks such as EMH and the Disney magic (Mickey wake up calls, resort activities) kept us always coming back, even if it was more expensive.

Last year my MIL decided to go with us and we felt we needed to have a seperate bedroom for her. We stayed offsite at the Bahama Bay Resort and Spa in Davenport. It was further from Disney then we wanted to be but the resort was gorgeous, felt secluded and had all the amenities we could want (except an elevator to the 3rd floor). Luckily we were upgraded to a 3 bedroom deluxe villa at no charge. DH and I had driven down early while MIL and the kids flew. Being that far out, we learned that having a car was a neccessity. Having a full kitchen allowed us to save money on dining out and having a washer and dryer allowed us to pack less clothes and allow more room in the car for the ride home.

However, after MIL flew home, we decided to stay for 3 more days. The resort had no openings (it was 4th of July weekend) and we called ASM and was able to get a room. Packing and then unpacking was definitely a hassel and going from a 3 BR villa to one small room at ASM was a bit of a downer. But when we returned from the resort that evening and were relaxing in the room, everyone agreed that it hadn't really felt like a Disney trip until we were onsite. There is just something about the magic of a Disney resort, and the friendliness of the CMs that always make our trip that much more special.

I'm not opposed to offsite and will probably stay offsite again when finances, or space requires it. But if I had my druthers, I would definitely stay onsite.

 

[Lisa P.]

What I have come to realize is that I can use offsite/onsite to my advantage and do what's best for my family AT the time.... I think we are on our 10th or 11th trip and NOT ONCE have we come back from a WDW vacation and regretted our decision on where we stayed.

After a couple dozen trips, most of them combining a few nights onsite with a week offsite, I totally agree with this!!! We've only said we would NOT ever want to return to a particular accommodation three times (which is a very small percentage of all our stays):

Westgate Vacation Villas - terrible check-in/out staff, several problems during the stay, pushy salespeople poolside - NOT worth it with so much excellent competition in the region.

Travelodge on Rte 192 - poorly maintained and terrible staff, a long time ago but we WON'T book low-end motels in the area ever since.

Disney's Fort Wilderness Homes - poorly maintained (updated later), very overpriced, multiple problems with our key card passes and a rude manager, some rooms not within walking distance to a pool, no pool slide (has been added), AWFUL transport to parks (different system now, may be better).

I stayed at the All Stars Music on a solo trip with no car and while it was perfectly fine for that, I would not go back to a Value as a couple (no ambiance, no hot tub, pool too crowded, too many young children and school groups around for a couples-trip) nor would I return with a family (rooms too cramped with poor bathroom set-up for dressing, only full size beds, no queens in double rooms, no pool slide).

We've enjoyed other onsites, from deluxe and DVC to the moderates and the campground and they've all been enjoyable, just expensive for renters. Our other offsite timeshare stays have been enjoyable too and really exceptional when considering the value offered for the price. We'll continue to pick-and-choose for each trip, depending on our travel party, having a car and plans to focus on Disney parks vs. other activities.

 

[MamaLema]

We are a family of 6. We pay less than $100 for 6 of us, and that includes a deluxe breakfast. Our 4 boys are big breakfast eaters and it would could about $30 or more a day to go out for breakfast.

It only takes us 10 min to drive to the parks. We have never stayed onsite, but I think sometimes the Disney buses are not going to get you there in 10 min, I could be wrong.

We stay from open to close in the parks, and only use our hotel room to shower and sleep, so paying onsite for 6 people is not worth it to us.

 

[SereneOne]

We are a family of 6. We pay less than $100 for 6 of us, and that includes a deluxe breakfast. Our 4 boys are big breakfast eaters and it would could about $30 or more a day to go out for breakfast.

It only takes us 10 min to drive to the parks. We have never stayed onsite, but I think sometimes the Disney buses are not going to get you there in 10 min, I could be wrong.

We stay from open to close in the parks, and only use our hotel room to shower and sleep, so paying onsite for 6 people is not worth it to us.

Where did you stay and for how many days?

We are staying at the Hilton DTD this time. I want room service and ppv movies and cable, etc. and not pay the outrageous prices onsite to do so. The Hilton is right next to DTD just like POR where we stayed last time and it has the magic hours and costs the same as a value! I feel we are getting the best of both.

 

[Kay7979]

Most trips, our object in coming to Orlando is not soley Disney World. So, since we're only going to spend a day or two in the parks, it's not necessary to stay onsite. Actually, as two adults, we enjoy Disney resorts as entertainment destinations as much as the parks, maybe moreso. On non-park days we often have a meal at one of the resorts, then browse their gift shop and walk around the grounds to enjoy the theming. This gives us a dose of Disney for the day, and we can do this almost as easily from offsite as from on property.

With the exception of the MK, which necessitates taking a ferry or monorail, we can get to the parks by car as fast or faster than waiting for Disney busses. It's nice just hopping on a bus, but the benefit of bus transportation loses its appeal when the busses are late (waited an hour once to get from ASMu to DTD) or when busses are crowded and standing room only.

We really enjoy both onsite and offsite stays. We gear our onsite stays to be more Disney-intensive, and those trips are special and a lot of fun. The off-site stays are more geared to visiting other attractions outside Disney, including Universal or Sea World, outlet stores, dinner theatres, flea markets, and quaint neighboring towns like Celebration etc. Those trips are great, too. There is SO much to see and do outside of Disney World itself.

I can totally understand the people who want to be absorbed 24/7 by the make-believe fantasy world of WDW. For other people, who are less fanatical about their vacation being "all Disney all the time," staying offsite allows you the opportunity to try a whole range of extra dining options and activities if you want to, and there is no doubt that you can enjoy much more spacious and private accomodations for far less money. For the price of a Value Resort we always get a one or two bedroom condo with king size bed, two baths, two or three TVs, laundry equip., and a kitchen for fast meals and bedtime snacks. The accomodations are much more upscale than a value resort, with tons of activities like mini-golf, volley ball, basket ball, paddle boats, bikes, and multiple pools.

My favorite thing to do is stay off-site for a week, then tack on an extra two or three nights on-site. That way we can enjoy the best of both worlds. The only problem with this plan is that my "cheap side" always argues that staying at a moderate for three nights, or a deluxe for a night or two, costs as much as our whole week off-site!!! It's seems like such a waste of money. My "splurge side" points out that we can well afford to blow a little money since we SAVED so much by not spending a week onsite with a price tag of three or four times the off-site condo!

This year we are doing a wild and crazy splurge and spending Labor Day weekend at the Poly, Club Level. My cheap side would never let me spend a week there unless we got a phenominal discount. Even with the AAA discount, it's $420/night. At that rate, it would be $2940 for a week! DH and I went to the REAL Hawaii in March and spent less than that to rent a convertible and stay at nice resorts for 17 days!

 

[angelmav]

Well, we are about to cross over to the darkside of offsite accomodtions as well!

Heres how it breaks down for us. We are a family of 7 and are coming in Sep (twins b-day). Originally we thought we couldn't beat free dining for this trip, plus we would be using the military ticket special. Heres the thing though, with that trip, two value rooms, buying 1 day park tix that aren't needed, we get tickets, accomodations and meals for 7 nights for around $2900. Not bad, really a pretty decent deal even if shoehorned into two value rooms, but, and this is a big but, those un-needed tickets kept coming back as an expense that we didn't need to incur. While the military tickets would still give us a savings over just getting the regular tix through disney, it was diminished greatly in order to qualify for the free dining.

So I started looking offsite and finally at vacation homes. What we settled on was a 4 bedroom vacation home 3 miles from the main gate with it's own pool. With deposit and tax we got it for a week for less than $500. Now we don't need the 1 day disney tickets and we have tickets and accomodations for less than $1200. That leaves a whopping $1700 to cover a week's worth of meals if all we wanted to do was break even. We got better accomodations, were driving anyway, will certainly save a substantial amount over what is about the best deal you can get on property and have more control over the trip.

The only minuses I see is the incurred cost of parking and the loss of EMH. The onsite transportation is negated because we would have driven to many of the parks from the resort rather than take the busses. Since we follow TGM's advice and EMH parks are pretty much warned to avoid at all costs, this doesn't seem to be a problem, and by just having breakfast by our own pool instead of a crazed pop century food court will not only be a much better way to start the day for us, but will make the parking costs a wash in all likelihood.

 

[danceintherain]

I'm sure others have expressed my reasons, but here's another example for your thinking.

My family has always stayed offsite. We've gone on two family trips to Disney and are planning another one. My parents' reasoning has always been money.

The first trip was in 2001, and my parents had just joined some vacation club that got us a 2 bedroom condo for $250 for a week (or something like that).

When we went for New Year's a few years ago we utilized my Aunt's time share, and she only made us pay for the weekly rate (I have no idea how much that was)

For us to have stayed on property for both those trips, and pay for Disney tickets it would have been vastly more than what we ended up paying.

For both trips we ate breakfast in our condo's kitchen, and took sack lunches to the park. Possibly ate Counter Service for dinner, and maybe ate one TS meal the entire trip.

For our trip in a couple weeks right now we have the DTD Doubletree Guest Suites books for $89/night on a Mousesavers rate. The suite sleeps 6, and any on property options would have been at least twice as much for 6 people. (Now I think we're staying at my sister's in-laws for free)
I was looking forward to staying at the Doubletree, because it's in DTD and they have buses to the parks every 30 mins. My parents were not planning on getting a rental car if we stayed there, but I found a discounted rate of around $350 for the week. We got some plane tickets for $149 rt and some with my Dad's frequent flyer miles.

Basically, often it is cheaper to stay off property with large groups, but the benefits to staying on-property might outweigh the costs for small groups.

 

[Frothy]

Great discussion and we've done both.

For us, we simply outgrew Disney as a family. We still love visiting but we just found we didn't want to stay in a fantasy world every time we visited. On our first visit we stayed in the Swan and Dolphin and we had a great time. After that we tried out the Contemporary and then Wilderness Lodge and while both vacations were enjoyable we just became a little irritated with the Disney corporate theme. Small things annoyed us and we became annoyed when we couldn't get the dining reservations we wanted or we'd arrive back at our hotel room and the bed wasn't made.

It wasn't anything major but we decided on a change of pace and rented a home on Sunset Lakes to try that out. For us as a family, it was simply the best. We had a lot of reservations about the accommodation, the fact we had togo out to a restauarant and that there wasn't maid service unless we paid extra. We took the plunge and it's been the best thing we have done.

Every year since we have visited Disney and we didn't do that previously. Staying off site gives us much more choice and while we still enjoy a Disney day we don't have it rammed down our throats every second of every day. For us that makes a huge difference and to be able to pick and choose what we want to do when we want to do it makes it much easier for all members of the family. If DH wants to play golf, off he goes. If I want to go shopping then I do it.

The other thing we have really loved is the fact we can now experiment with our dining. We love fine dining and have now visited many other areas of Orlando we wouldn't have seen. It gives us a much better idea of what is available and what we can do. For instance, we have often spent half a day exploring parts of I-Drive or driving to places like Bok Tower in Polk County. A half day in Winter Park is great and we just enjoy taking in new experiences rather than being stuck at Disney.

I think it has also given us a far greater appreciation of our days at Disney as well. When you stay there it blurs into one and while that's great for some people, it bores us after a while.

 

[MamaLema]

Basically, often it is cheaper to stay off property with large groups, but the benefits to staying on-property might outweigh the costs for small groups.

I agree with this. If we were a family of 4, we would stay onsite. The jump in price for staying onsite for a family of 4 to staying onsite and being a family of 6 is