Is there an advantage to stay onsite anymore?

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Nothing available with David's DVC for our dates so I booked through Costco for 2 rooms at CBR. Never been to that resort, but the draw of onsite just sucked me back in. One person in our party has never been before too, so it just seems better to give her the bubble experience. I know I could have saved elsewhere but when the party size dropped from 7 to 5, the bubble was too strong and pulled me in.

 

[loves to dive]

I think it's so great that there are so many options out there for every different type of person. None of them are wrong.

Personally, I'm with others in that when I'm on vacation I don't want to cook, I don't want to drive, I don't want to think. We have never hated using Disney transportation. Even on the crowded buses with standing room only, it's a way for us to decompress. I can't tell you how many times my son has fallen asleep on a bus or the monorail, if we stayed off site, he would have to drive as I hate driving, am night blind and very bad at getting around Disney. We were there Oct. a year ago staying at the fort in our RV. Hubby prefers to eat at home and cook so most days we had at least one or two meals in the RV. My son and I hated it, one of our favorite things to do at Disney is eat. I like someone else serving me so I don't even do buffets. This was the one and only time Hubby has been with us and he probably won't get invited again. I even like hotel rooms, I will admit it can be a bit crowded with two adults sharing a room, especially since my son is a slob.

As others have said, the perks to us aren't ME, we drive. Aren't EMH, we rarely use them. Aren't being able to book ADRs in advance, we book them day of. Aren't FPs, we rarely use them. It's all about location and that Disney bubble.

 

[cpc98]

After talking to people about this over the last few years of dwindling perks, and reading through this thread, I think it really comes down to each person/family/group’s personal needs and preferences.

When my family and I visited in January 2010 (Poly) and April 2012 (Contemporary), staying onsite was a no brainer. We heavily focused on MK and Epcot, so having the monorail from those resorts was so convenient. Additionally, Uber wasn’t around at that point. We would have never thought about staying offsite back then!

My Dad and I went to WDW for Christmas 2013, and stayed at All Star Music. We took *full* advantage of the insane EMH - since the crowds were soooo bad during the day, we’d just show up each day around 5 or 6 and relax... and stay til whenever closing was (1 or 2 AM iirc).

However, now that I am often traveling either alone or with my girlfriend - and we are on more of a budget - staying offsite is just the best option for us. We love finding deals for highly rated hotels on Priceline, and just Ubering to the parks. So convenient and, in the case of our upcoming May 3rd-8th trip, is saving us at least $600-$700 on the hotel alone.

There’s something for everyone!

 

[boltjames]

Yes.

While on property distancing and masks are enforced, respected, and you feel safe. Off property you are in Florida and things are very different. We visited my parents an hour north in the middle of our stay last week and couldn’t wait to get back on property.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Yes.

While on property distancing and masks are enforced, respected, and you feel safe. Off property you are in Florida and things are very different. We visited my parents an hour north in the middle of our stay last week and couldn’t wait to get back on property.

Good point! I have no question I will feel safe on WDW property but it will help my husband's anxiety to be in that WDW bubble I'm sure! We are vaccinated, but still!

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I think it shows a certain privilege to say you would never stay offsite or you must stay at Yacht Club. Most normal families can’t afford $600/night!

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I think it shows a certain privilege to say you would never stay offsite or you must stay at Yacht Club. Most normal families can’t afford $600/night!

I'm not sure if your comment was meant for me, the OP, but that isn't at all what I ever said or implied. I have stayed at Yacht Club once years ago when I went for a work conference (at a steeply discounted rate) but I have stayed at all ranges of the onsite hotels, including some trips at the value resorts and I am a rabid bargain shopper looking for deals, going at low times, etc. Staying onsite did offer some value in the past with free parking, EMH that used to be 3 hours after the park closed, etc. and that made the extra cost of the onsite worth something. There is something to enjoy to be in the Disney bubble, but it's a Disney 24/7 feeling and nothing about feeling "rich" or anything and it doesn't have to be something everyone wants.

The whole point of this post was because I haven't been in 3 years and with a larger party this time and the appearance of many of the onsite perks gone, I wanted to see if I was forgetting perks that are still there.

I have no ill-will towards anyone who chooses to stay off-site for whatever reason and I don't feel that I should have to apologize for having stayed on-site in the past or for the upcoming trip. I don't feel your comment is very fair and at all related to what I was asking in this post. I most certainly was not shaming anyone for choosing to stay off-site.

 

[mamaofsix]

im glad this works for you but the idea of driving that far is something I would never consider doing. My personal limit on driving is 5-6 hours- any more than that and I’m flying.

we are a group of 6 (sometimes more if extended family comes along). We either walk, monorail, bus or Uber everywhere and it is just so much more relaxing than having me be in charge of driving people everywhere- it’s part of the vacation


i agree that disney buses can be frustrating sometimes which is why we try to stay at yacht and beach (can walk to our two favorite parks).

Everyone is so different on vacations- that’s why sites like these are so great to get tons of different ideas!

Yes, for sure everyone vacations differently. I wish I had the option and could afford to fly anywhere that was more than 5-6 hours away.

There was a lot of talk on this thread about how much it costs to rent a vehicle and that some could not afford the costs of ubering or renting, how expensive DVC villas were compared to offsite villas. So, I was responding with an option that isn't talked about much - driving yourself to Disney. My family loves a good road trip, so it is fun for us. Even with flight discounts, we are saving thousands by driving. As it is, our Disney vacay costs over 10K and we cannot afford more than this.

In terms of onsite vs. offsite, if we could afford to stay at Yacht club and walk to the parks, it would be a different story, lol.

It would also be a different story if we could afford to eat out for all of our meals. A few have commented "I hate to cook on a vacation, I don't understand why people would do that instead of eating out." I find that comment funny and out of touch. Yes, most of us would not want to cook . . . we just can't afford to eat out for all of our meals, lol!

 

[kanerf]

For many years before I bought DVC, I stayed off-site. There is no problem doing that and there are many nice places to stay. It is often much cheaper to do so. That said, the reason that I bought DVC was in order to stay in the Magic. Yes, the Magic has dimmed a bit, but there is still a spark. The ability to go to the park in the morning, come home for lunch and a nap or a dip in the pool and then return to the park in the late afternoon or evening is fantastic.

 

[Accidental Disney Fan]

We are currently struggling with this consideration - on the one hand I get that Disney had to remove entertainment, reduce restaurant capacity, keep some restaurants closed, take away FPs, reduce hours etc to reduce the spread of COVID.........BUT will they actually bring these things back? 30 minutes early for resort guests is completely ridiculous - isn't this already happening? When we went to WDW in December, we were at the parks 45 minutes to an hour before official park opening and we always went straight into the park and onto a ride so I don't see how this "incentive" is actually a benefit. The greatly reduced onsite experience is "okay" for right now during these uncertain times. But what about next year when they take away the Magical Express?

That said, when we went in December, it was worth onsite because of our perceived/actual safety in the bubble. We love the bubble - with or without the pandemic but we felt safer in the bubble that we do at our local grocery store. We definitely won't return PERIOD, without some sort of FP benefit in the future. But we say that even as we consider renting a DVC for May 2022 (we have only ever rented DVC in the past) . The eleven month mark is coming up in early June. We also are considering Swolphin just so we can stay in the bubble. WE JUST CAN'T DECIDE!!!!!!

I just wish I had more faith that Disney will bring things back. My spidey-senses say that if they can get away with reduced experience and still have people paying insane prices (including us) to go, they will do what they can get away with. They will do whatever the market will bear.

OP, with regards to not cooking, you are talking my hubster's language! In the past we've always had a one bedroom so our young daughter could go to sleep undisturbed in a separate room and as such we had a kitchen so I made 90 % of our meals. Now our daughter is older so next time we will just be in a studio and be eating at restaurants most of the time. DH is very excited about it. It will be strange to not cook but I am excited to try new experiences.

 

[Lilsia]

Yes, for sure everyone vacations differently. I wish I had the option and could afford to fly anywhere that was more than 5-6 hours away.

There was a lot of talk on this thread about how much it costs to rent a vehicle and that some could not afford the costs of ubering or renting, how expensive DVC villas were compared to offsite villas. So, I was responding with an option that isn't talked about much - driving yourself to Disney. My family loves a good road trip, so it is fun for us. Even with flight discounts, we are saving thousands by driving. As it is, our Disney vacay costs over 10K and we cannot afford more than this.

In terms of onsite vs. offsite, if we could afford to stay at Yacht club and walk to the parks, it would be a different story, lol.

It would also be a different story if we could afford to eat out for all of our meals. A few have commented "I hate to cook on a vacation, I don't understand why people would do that instead of eating out." I find that comment funny and out of touch. Yes, most of us would not want to cook . . . we just can't afford to eat out for all of our meals, lol!

Dang, how many people do you have? Our vacations have never cost anywhere near $10,000. We live in the middle of the Country and it would cost more for us to drive for 2 days each way then to fly. Paying for upkeep on the car, gas, 2 extra nights in a hotel on the way there and back, and not to mention having to take 2 extra days off of work alone would cost us more in salary then it would be worth. We always fly SWA. I have their credit card that I use to build up miles and our flights are usually "free". I go every year and get an annual pass. So I plan my vacations to overlap on my AP dates to get more use out of them. As far as cooking on vacation, as the Mom that cooks on a daily basis, I would like for it to be a vacation for me also, so we budget eating out into our trip. I can completely understand if that is the only way to go is to cook a few meals. You do what you have to do. We live a very frugal lifestyle on a daily basis. I don't even have things like knick knacks around the house, no $5 cups of coffee, no smoking, no drinking, not eating out except for special occasions, no purses, bunch of shoes or clothing, I wear $5 t-shirts from Walmart. But I chose to spend my money on vacation so that I can afford to stay longer, in nicer hotels, and not cook. Everyone has different income levels too. Some can easily afford the deluxe hotels and eating out every day. Good for them, I am sure they worked hard for their money. That is why there are different levels of hotels at WDW. I would like to say that I have always loved to travel and kept that in mind while we were having kids. Everything seems to be made for a family of 4 and so we only had 2 kids. It gets exponentially more expensive the more kids you have.

 

[shawthorne44]

I notice that many of the replies on why people think it is worthwhile to stay onsite anymore the reasons apply equally well to any nearby non-Disney hotels. The reasons boil down to "being nearby", "onsite transportation" and "I don't want to cook".

For the "I don't want to cook" crowd, that applies to any standard hotel room. But, even then, it is easy to get free breakfast at offsite hotels. Our last trip to Universal was at Drury Inn which included free hot breakfast, free hot dinner, free soda fountain and free alcoholic drinks. This was post-lockdown. They had more free, self-serve food pre-lockdown. So, not only didn't we have to cook, getting food wasn't a bother. No reservations or extra travel. That level of free food is rare, but many hotels do have club-level with similar. So, off-site would at least be as good as on-site and could easily beat it.

For the "being nearby" and "onsite transportation" there are the offsite hotels in Disney Springs and Bonnet Creek area. Onsite transportation seems like it only beats Uber/Lyft for those that need baby seats or are in wheelchair, etc. Otherwise a private car with driver would beat a bus. Particularly when being onsite costs 2X comparable offsite.

 

[nkereina]

We always stay on-site, but in OP's case, I can definitely see the logic in staying off-site.

For us, one of the reasons we like WDW is because of the immersive experience. The "bubble" we often hear people talk about. That refers to theme, but also refers to the conveniences - DME (for now), transportation from your resort, on-site food options, etc. We can disengage from the "real world" and not have to think about menial everyday tasks like driving, directions, laundry, making the bed, etc. We don't even like using Uber/rideshare because we are the crazy people who enjoy the feeling of being on a Disney bus, seeing those ABC advertisements on the ceiling, hearing the music. It makes it feel like a Disney vacation to us. Even with some of these things diminished in the current environment, we still like the familiarity of the Disney resorts that we've come to know, visited before, and know the "lay of the land" so to speak. We're comfortable there, it feels like vacation to us, so that's what we choose.

But, its just DH and I. With multiple adults and the logistics and costs associated with that, it certainly would make sense to stay off-site.

 

[BostonEd]

im glad this works for you but the idea of driving that far is something I would never consider doing. My personal limit on driving is 5-6 hours- any more than that and I’m flying.

Wow that's somewhat lame. I would absolutely drive if I lived 8 hours away for sure. In fact, I did exactly that when I lived in Atlanta.

Probably would drive up to 10 hours. More than 10, I can definitely see the benefits of flying, but would still probably do it up to 12 hours.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

I think it shows a certain privilege to say you would never stay offsite or you must stay at Yacht Club. Most normal families can’t afford $600/night!

I think it shows a certain privilege to list your travel experiences at DL, WDW, DLR Paris, Carnival, upcoming and planned trips. Most normal families can't afford this number of trips.

Good grief.

 

[gharter]

Wow that's somewhat lame. I would absolutely drive if I lived 8 hours away for sure. In fact, I did exactly that when I lived in Atlanta.

Probably would drive up to 10 hours. More than 10, I can definitely see the benefits of flying, but would still probably do it up to 12 hours.

I think a lot depends on how much vacation time you have. If I have a week for vacation, I would rather not lose 1 day each way driving when I could fly and get at least a half day at the parks on the first and last day.

 

[mamaofsix]

Dang, how many people do you have? Our vacations have never cost anywhere near $10,000. We live in the middle of the Country and it would cost more for us to drive for 2 days each way then to fly. Paying for upkeep on the car, gas, 2 extra nights in a hotel on the way there and back, and not to mention having to take 2 extra days off of work alone would cost us more in salary then it would be worth. We always fly SWA. I have their credit card that I use to build up miles and our flights are usually "free". I go every year and get an annual pass. So I plan my vacations to overlap on my AP dates to get more use out of them. As far as cooking on vacation, as the Mom that cooks on a daily basis, I would like for it to be a vacation for me also, so we budget eating out into our trip. I can completely understand if that is the only way to go is to cook a few meals. You do what you have to do. We live a very frugal lifestyle on a daily basis. I don't even have things like knick knacks around the house, no $5 cups of coffee, no smoking, no drinking, not eating out except for special occasions, no purses, bunch of shoes or clothing, I wear $5 t-shirts from Walmart. But I chose to spend my money on vacation so that I can afford to stay longer, in nicer hotels, and not cook. Everyone has different income levels too. Some can easily afford the deluxe hotels and eating out every day. Good for them, I am sure they worked hard for their money. That is why there are different levels of hotels at WDW. I would like to say that I have always loved to travel and kept that in mind while we were having kids. Everything seems to be made for a family of 4 and so we only had 2 kids. It gets exponentially more expensive the more kids you have.

As you can likely tell from my name, I have 6 kids. All but 1 are over the age of 10, so park tickets alone for our next planned trip will be over 4K. Now add on accommodations for a large family, some meals eating out (you can imagine the restaurant tab with 8 people...) and you can see why it costs 10K. Hence, we can only afford to go every 3 years or so. If we were to stay onsite at Disney in by renting a DVC villa with a kitchen, it would be 20K.

Flights from Canada are much more pricey than for you.

I have an entire YouTube channel devoted to living on less, so you could definitely say I am likely one of the most frugal people you will ever meet, lol.

 

[btk2333]

Wow that's somewhat lame. I would absolutely drive if I lived 8 hours away for sure. In fact, I did exactly that when I lived in Atlanta.

Probably would drive up to 10 hours. More than 10, I can definitely see the benefits of flying, but would still probably do it up to 12 hours.

Lol you’re calling me lame? I live in iowa and often fly to Chicago. It’s just simpler and easier.

but yes I would absolutely not drive from atlanta to Orlando.

i simply can’t afford to lose an entire day of vacation on both sides to driving

I also have four kids 7 and under so a six hour drive is not fun. Kids are much better for us on a three hour flight than a drive. And the airport is less stressful than driving in an unfamiliar city

 

[Viking7641]

I'm with you! I don't want to drive in central Florida either! Unfortunately I live here so I don't have a choice in the matter....

It's literally a major factor along with the weather why I decided not to move there. Otherwise it has everything I want.

 

[nkereina]

Wow that's somewhat lame. I would absolutely drive if I lived 8 hours away for sure. In fact, I did exactly that when I lived in Atlanta.

Probably would drive up to 10 hours. More than 10, I can definitely see the benefits of flying, but would still probably do it up to 12 hours.

If someone lives within 8-10 hours driving distance of WDW, its probably a relatively inexpensive and quick nonstop flight to Orlando. I live 8 hours from NYC and have driven there exactly zero times. Its a 45 minute $75 flight. As mentioned above, if you have limited vacation time, flying allows you to maximize your time and not wear yourself out from the drive.

And just because someone's opinion differs from yours doesn't mean its lame. Its all very subjective and dependent on family make-up and what is important or takes priority. I always am willing to pay more for convenience and preferences, which includes flying. Some people would rather watch their dollar. Neither is right or wrong.