Help me decide onsite or off.

[nuts4wdw]

Hi, help me decide please. It will be me, dh, ds (2.5 yrs), ds (11 mo.), and dm (with a ECV). Should we rent a car and stay off site or stay on site at the all star sports without a car. (Remeber the double stroller) Or I can do maybe a stay at the courtyard at DD without a car. Help me pick. Has anyone traveled with a similar group and stayed sane?
Thanks

 

[Baloo]

Hi there! I've traveled in the past with my Mom who uses an EVC when we're in the parks and my son when he was young.I've stayed off site and on site and in my opinion on site would be easiest to handle your party.It's so nice just jumping on a Disney bus or monrail or boat and... like Pumba and Timon say...Hakuna Matta...no worries!!! If your Mom or you're little ones need a break during the day y'all can just hop on a bus not worrying about driving all the way to your hotel then back in the evening. I find the bus ride a good way to wind down and see the Disney area.If WDW is the only thing you plan on doing while in Florida you really have no need for a car.

I hope this helped!

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

Contemplating the same thing myself lately. I'm wanting to go to WDW this fall/winter. We've got 3: one will have turns 3yo in Oct, one will be 14 months, and one will be 2 months.

Right now, I'm leaning towards off-site, unless by some miracle we can come up with the $$$ for the Polynesian (monorail service and I'm not a fan of the Contemporary). To stay at a non-monorail Disney hotel and have to take a bus, with 3 kids and a heavy double stroller, would be just crazy IMO. I imagine you're thinking the same thing (with a double stroller and ECV).

Of course, off-site is no picnic either. You'd be utilizing several modes of transportation to get to your destination (car to WDW, then a shuttle from their parking lot to the entrance). Maybe there's more than that yet -- I can't remember, not having been there in 9 years. Somehow I have it in my mind that off-site would be easier (than using on-site bus service) because you can kind of move at your own pace.

I guess that (for us) the trouble factor is equal. And when that's the case, I go with cheapest. While one of the All-Star resorts might be just as cheap as something off-site, the food off-site is definitely cheaper than at Disney.

I wish I could be more help! Consider the costs of food/hotel/car offsite vs. the costs of food/hotel/airport shuttle onsite, consider daily transportation to/from the parks, consider if you're going to other non-Disney parks (Sea World?), consider if being onsite would "Disney-you-out" vs. make your experience magical, consider if you want the freedom that having a rental car provides.

 

[Planogirl]

A hotel at Downtown Disney might be a good compromise. You get the bus service and many on-site amenities. You know what's best for your family but you could be a bit crowded in a room at the Allstars. Good luck with your choice!

 

[BevS97]

Personally, I would opt for the car. If your mum is using an ECV you should be able to get a disabled parking badge, so you will be parking nice and close, no need to deal with the tram, just walk from the car to the park with the buggy and the ECV.
We find the convenience of the car is brilliant, and when we are on-site we still use ours a lot (although for MK the bus is slightly faster, but there is no real benefit at the other parks).

If you are travelling with your mum as well, you might want to look at somewhere like the Buena Vista Suites where you get a seperate bedroom, and Kitchen facilites. We would never prepare dinner in the hotel room, but it's nice to be able to have an easy breakfast in the room, and the fridge and freezer are brilliant extras. We liked being able to freeze our drink bottles the night before so they stayed nice and cold in the parks.

Whatever you decide, you'll have a great trip!

Bev

 

[Sharby]

BevS97 and I are pretty much on same wavelength.

I am a big fan of staying onsite - but in groups such as yours - a real argument can be made for offsite.

Whatever you decide to do - a mid-day break is a must, IMO. So make sure you factor that in and have a wonderful vacation.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

If there is anyway that you could swing it in the budget, I would go for plan "D" all stars with a car. We love staying on site and find the all stars just fine for our needs. We also love the WDW transportation, but with your situation I would not want to be without a car just in case. I think being on site is great for you because you will be assured with WDW that your room is assible for your mom and the little ones would enjoy the resort. I also think that you might very much like the buses. The driver will help with the ECV leaving both you and DH to help with the children.It would make me nervious however to be without a car in case this plan does not work out.With a car you could have both kids in their car seats until Mom was set in the ECV. I would not consider DD without a car. That is not WDW transportatin and would be much harder to heal with. Perhaps you would get some tips on the bus service with a ECV over on the disability board.

Jordan's mom

 

[dandelion]

I have a different plan D to suggest - see if you can rent some DVC points from a member over on their board, and stay onsite at one of the 1 bedroom units at their resorts.

I think you might feel too cramped at ASSp, especially once you get the ECV and double stroller in the room. We stayed there once, me and dh, ds 6 mos. and dd3. DD still complains that the room was too small. She's since been spoiled by some stays at the Swan or Dolphin.

Also, when DD was just 6 mos., we spent 4 nights in a CBR room, which adjoined a room with my MIL, FIL, SIL and 3YO nephew. It was ok, but with the little ones some kitchen facilities would have saved us $$ and more spread out room would have been nice. We finished that trip with 7 nights at a rental home - now THAT was wonderful. We did all have to travel on the same schedule, but the extra room, pool, laundry facilities etc. made it seem so nice we're renting a home for our upcoming stay.

Good luck with the decision.

 

[megnsamsgrace]

We will be going with 7. It will be DH and I and 4 kids (6, 4, 2 and 3m) and my dad. We went last year and it was so last minute *3 weeks* and did priceline for the car and hotel and were about 15 minutes away. I found that we spent more money by eating out then we did at the park. We will be going in October, looking at the first two weeks. I was wondering onsite or off. If we stayed off, I was looking at the Holiday Inn family suites thing. With a discount, I am looking at $73 a nite split in half. It says it sleeps 7. Or I was looking at www.jackscondo.com, $700 for 2 weeks. Thinking it might be nice since we just did Disney less than a year go to just relax. Arent most of the cheaper Disney Resorts going to be too small for us? I was also thinking about going up a step and using Priceline again... Steph due with #4