disney property vs. offproperty - really worth it?

[eeyore0062]

Yes, it would be more than worth it, especially since you have kids that ages of yours, to be able to get back to the room for that much needed break. The transportation and the EE mornings,(esp at the MK) make it worth it for us. I would recommend either connecting rooms at one of the AS resorts, or renting DVC points for a villa.. that way you and your DH can have some privacy.

The only offsite places I would stay, if I had kids along are in the Disney Village, which can also take advantage of EE mornings, and E ticket nights. These really are very important to us, as is convenience.

 

[TreeOfLife]

The number one reason I stay onsite is when I get there I won't have worry about getting lost on the way back from the hotel. Trust me I don't care how well label those signs are I still get lost and end up at the wrong hotl

And don't ever say "It could never happen to me, I'm too smart"

I ended up in another county after 1:00 AM one night we stayed at the MK until closing. Then all the cars were leaving at the same time.
Tired (or should I say beat after a day at the park that started at opening time), sleepy and groggy, I arrived at the right hotel at 2:30 AM

 

[ZachnElli]

Well, we've stayed offsite 4 times and never gotten lost. Of course, my dh is great at getting around no matter where we go (we go other places than Disney, too!). And staying at Holiday Inn Family Suites, only 1 mile from Disney, very easy to go back to for an afternoon break with our 2 young children, we did it everyday! I know some of you will never stay offsite, but it certainly doesn't mean it can't work for other people.

 

[IowaGirl]

Offsite all the way!
I am too cheap to spend Disney prices for rooms that are like a motel six.

My job has sent me there twice and I stayed at an All Stars, which was just small and yucky.
The next trip was CBR. Slightly bigger, just as yucky.

I would rent a car regardless because my rental car rate was just double what I would have spent on transportation to and from the airport. Which allowed a car at my disposal for my entire trip. I could eat where I wanted, go to a store, etc,
I paid 42 dollars per night for my room at Country Inn and Suites Calypso Cay Way and it took me less than 10 minutes to drive to the parks (fast than a Disney bus). It was new, had fridge&micro.
I get my Disney fix at the parks. I think the hotels are sub-par.

I stay onsite at Universal though. Hotels are NICE for the price, they honor the entertainment card, and Front of the Line is divine!

 

[MAC3]

DH & I were talked into staying onsite by my dm in 1996. Since then we haven't left. WE started staying at ASMu and now are DVC members.

To each their own! But I won't go back!

 

[MELSMICE]

We've done both. I think there are advantages & disadvantages to both, but I definitely prefer on-site.

At peak times you will pay extremely high rates, but if you can go at off-peak times you can get great rates. Check mousesavers.com.

For us we just love the magic. The convenience of staying on-site is great also. Honestly, you really have to do both to make your own informed decision.

I can understand wanting the extra room for your 2 young children. For on-site I would suggest the FW cabins or renting DVC points from a DVC owner - check out the Rent/Trade Board. Off-site I would suggest the Holiday Inn Family Suites. They are close & you get 2 separate bedrooms in their suites (although they are quite small for suites).

Have fun no matter what you decide.

 

[eeyore0062]

I think the hotels are sub-par

To each his own, but I have stayed in the CBR since the renovation and it is quite lovely, and quite worth the money, in my opinion!

I guess it all depends on whether you want to immerse yourself in the magic, or just live on the fringe.

 

[freediverdude]

Just in my opinion, there are certain places just outside the Disney gates that are worth staying at, and other places that aren't. For instance, because of the traffic and general "tourist hell" feel, I definitely won't stay at any hotel on International Drive or the section of 192 (Irlo Bronson) east of Disney. Both of these places frequently become traffic jams, and it's just not worth it. However, there are some places where the traffic is way better and you feel much closer to Disney, such as the Lake Buena Vista area (area just outside of the downtown disney area, like the hotels on Palm Parkway), the World Center drive area outside of Disney, and the Osceola Parkway area outside of Disney. These places seem much less crowded and have a nicer feel, and are within a couple minutes drive to the Disney gates, without that feeling of "congestion". While these places don't have the theming and other things exclusive to the Disney resorts (although some have their own theming which rivals any Disney resort), they do still have the feeling of being pretty close to the theme parks. But again, the choice of where you stay is often dependent on many things, like whether you want to visit any non-Disney theme parks or not, whether you have a car with you or not, what kind of places you like to eat, whether you want to visit other things such as the outlet malls, etc etc etc. Like so many things, staying onsite vs. offsite just DEPENDS LOL.

 

[kaabost]

My main reason for staying onsite is that I simply don't want to leave! Parks closing at the end of the day is no longer depressing, I don't have to see that tear jerking goodbye sign as I leave the park, and I don't have to look at normally colored road signs. Instead, I get to stay in a Disney hotel full of Disney atmosphere, which is run by CM's. On our last trip, every night DH would wearily plop down on the bed and watch TV. During this time, I usually took a walk to the food court to refill the ole refillable mug but also to just soak up that wonderful Disney Hotel atmosphere.

I can't describe this atmosphere completely. It is just as good yet different from what you experience in the parks. I guess it hold all of the same happiness and excitement but with a relaxed, more comfortable, almost snuggly feel to it.

Alright, there is my attempt at descriptive writing for the evening.

 

[The Sybah Shelstah]

I paid 42 dollars per night for my room at Country Inn

Again, what someone else said makes sense. If the only reason to stay offsite is the cost- then you might try onsite in the value season. My room at ASMu each night for my upcoming trip (value season ofcourse) is only $49 a night. To me the extra $7 a night wouldn't be enough to make me stay offsite again. Maybe I'll change my mind on that after trying both ways... but I'm looking forward to the Disney "magic" staying with me instead of leaving every night.

 

[susy]

Country Inn has a fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, iron/board/hairdryer, etc and a breakfast included. They also have a nice "water park style" pool with a slide and pool bar. Disney can't compete with this-price wise. You can get this in March for less than $100-that's pretty good. In value season you can get it for $49-$64 (depening on if you have a room or suite). I believe that even just therooms have all the above amenities, as well.

I would still prefer the AS, unless it is peak season. If I can't get a good code rate for onsite, I would definitely look offsite. Then again, being three hours away, we don't have to rent a car.

 

[peachgirl]

It's nothing but onsite for us. The main reason is because when we're onsite, we never leave DisneyWorld during our entire vacation. We tried staying offsite for just the last night of our stay one time. It was like cutting our vacation short by a day!

During our last stay, every morning when we rode by the main entrance and saw the mile long line of cars waiting to get into the park, I realized how much better onsite is. By the time any of those folks fought through the traffic, got their car parked and made it through the gates, I was probably ready to go back to our resort for a morning break! At night, the site of the huge crowds fighting to get on an open tram in the pouring rain to be taken to their cars at park closing proved to me I'd never stay offsite.

An yet another great perk to staying onsite is the ability to let our group split up whenever we want to. There are times when I just want to go back to the resort and lay around, when others want to do something else. I can just hop Disney transportation and head back to the resort. That would be impossible to do if we were offsite.

If I couldn't stay onsite, I wouldn't go. That's just me, others think onsite is a ridiculous waste of money. To each their own!

 

[TDC Nala]

Agreed, staying offsite is a great price deal. Suites are great if you're going to spend time in the room, or if you want to save even more cash by preparing meals rather than eating in restaurants. The price differential between WDW onsite and offsite can be such that it will make up for rental car expenses.

For me, there's no way I'm going to stay offsite unless I am planning to spend a couple of days at Universal. As a single person, car rental expenses are prohibitive for me, and I don't have to spend enormous amounts on food, so onsite doesn't break the bank. I usually end up at PI and it's great to have the bus to ride back to the resort from there.

 

[MELSMICE]

kabost - Well said - my sentiments exactly.

You can't describe the feeling - it's just something magical.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Boy did the original poster get an earful! LOL.

I'm very curious to hear what he/she has decided to do. Please tell!

 

[DisneyFan79]

This past May I had the brillant idea of staying offsite to save some money and one of the members of our group didn't have a lot of cash. I will never do that again. Yes we got a room for about 40.00 per night and yes it was only a mile or so from World Dr., but the hotel accomodations left a LOT to be desired. Luckily we did have a car and could drive onsite every morning, but we only went to Disney World. We didn't go anywhere as far as Orlando was concerned. Also we would take a nap in the afternoon and if we would have been onsite it would have been a lot easier getting back to the parks. Rush hour traffic on 192 will make you want to pull your hair out. So we are back to staying onsite and I think that is the best choice. Price is high, but it's Disney. Make is special. I am sure you are already spending a lot of money just to go. Why not go all out and do it right. haha Hope this helps!!

 

[lyncruiser]

We've stayed on-site numerous times (in a one-bedroom villa at BWV, at POR, at WL, in a cabin at FW and concierge at AKL). All except the cabin were great. We found transportation difficult at FW and renting a golf cart added another $40+ a day.

We have also stayed off-site. Most recently at the Holiday Inn Family Suites. We really enjoyed HIFS. They have a room for kids with video games, separate room for Mom & Dad with king size bed, mini-kitchen and (as I recall) three TV's. Grandma & Grandpa went along and stayed in one of the suites with large, projection TV. The pools are fun, the theming is cute and there is a fairly decent hot breakfast every morning, which is included in the price. While not the equivalent of a deluxe Disney stay, it was fun, the price was right and we liked it better than FW. It was no more inconvenient than FW in terms of its distance from the parks and easier to get around since we didn't have to fiddle with the golf cart and pay what seems like an outrageous price to rent one (we pay less per day to rent a car!).

 

[jwill]

The farthest offsite I would consider staying would be one of the Downtown Disney Hotels and they are consided on-property. I am really spoiled to the fact that I dont have to think about driving the whole time I am there. That one fact alone is enough to keep me on property.

 

[niks81]

On site of course