best tips for off site Disney stays

Joyful2018

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
for the offsite first timer what are the best tip you guys have for staying off site? restaurants, driving around, parking etc. things you never needed to think about when you stay onsite. TIA
 
Driving around is very easy. Are you renting a car? MCO has several car rental agencies right in the terminal. I used a code from the transportation thread, got a free gold membership to Hertz, and because I'd joined and input my driver's license info, etc. when joining, I just went to the gold member area, picked out the car I wanted from that section, and left. I know there are other agencies that allow you to skip the counter if you sign up for membership, and I recommend you join whatever loyalty program is associated with your rental (even if you never plan to rent from them again).

AS for the actual driving, I used the GPS on my phone, and never got lost. Depending on how much driving you are going to be doing, you might want to invest in a transponder for tolls. As an out of state resident, it was easy to sign up for e-pass, and they mailed the transponder to me.

If you're parking at Disney, the lots are big. Take a picture of the row where your car is when you arrive, and you'll never have to worry about forgetting where you parked. Parking is $25 and good for all parks, so if you hop, take your receipt and you don't have to pay again at the next park.

When going to MK, you can't park at the park. You will need to park at the TTC, and take the monorail or ferry over. We didn't realize this our first offsite stay, and missed rope drop. I know some people don't like the TTC, but I think there's something magical about seeing MK grow closer as you watch from the ferry. Just make sure to build in a bit of extra time, and you'll be set.

You won't have the 60-day FP window, so chances are good you'll have at least one headliner you're not able to book. Decide on your strategy for getting on the rides you want. I suggest you knock one off at rope drop (this means being there a minimum of 1/2 hour before the park opens). To this end, monitor which parks have morning EMH and avoid them. You can't rope drop if thousands of people entered the park an hour before you did.

On the other hand, you can remain in the parks for evening EMH. You can't ride anything (and CMs scan magic bands before letting people join the queue), but you can hang out, shop, eat, people watch, etc. It's not like AH where CMs actively look for people who don't belong and make them leave. Similarly, jumping in line just before park close is another way to ride a headliner with a shorter wait. As long as you're in the queue a minute before park close, you will get to ride. As soon as the park closes, there are no more FP riders cutting in front of the SB line, and it moves much faster. Since EMH doesn't have FP, this strategy works for EMH nights, too, as long as you're in line before official park close when they start verifying EMH eligibility.

Also, when booking at 30 days, you will only be able to book at exactly 30 days (not 30+ length of ticket). So unlike booking for an onsite stay where you may book your FP all at once on day 60, you will need to log on and book each day separately as it hits the 30-day mark. Although this is a pain for everyone, this is a bit easier if you're on the east coast. The good news is that other than a few headliners, there's almost always availability for everything else.

Having a car is a game changer because it's so easy to do a grocery run and save on meals. Even if you're just staying in a regular hotel room (though renting a condo-type unit is better for meal prep), you can save a ton by buying easy-to-prepare food. In addition to things like breakfast cereal, park snacks, etc., I like to buy ready-to-eat salad bowls at Publix, toss them in my backpack, and have an easy, healthy lunch for the park at a fraction of Disney meal prices.

The farther away from Disney you get, the more "normal" the restaurant prices seem to become. The chain type restaurants are basically the same as anywhere else in the country. If you want something more unique, I recommend using an app like Yelp to see what's good.
 
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Orlando has a lot of traffic. You the wyze traffic app for mapping and road closures. It tends to work better thsn google maps.
A lot of hotels have shuttles to and from the park, we did not use them.... the shuttle picks up at more than one hotel and takes forever to get there. We figured we saved money on the hotel just buy parking.
Our hotel was only 15 mins away from MK so it took about the same time to get to the park as staying onsite with the exception of the extra time in the parking lot. You can drop a pin in google maps where you park.
We dont mind staying off site its really not bad traveling to and from the parks.
 

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