Off-site vs On-site

[bankr63]

We are in DVC and stay onsite. We have a last minute trip and could not get a villa so booked Pop for four nights. I can stay offsite at a good property we have stayed at many times when visiting Sea World for $40-50 less per night and it has breakfast included. The thing is, we are bringing grandson who sometimes naps. Do you all drive back to offsite hotels for midday break? It seems so much easier to take bus back to Disney resort.

Sure. The bus might be marginally easier, but for many of the closer in resorts, drive time is less than bus time so it certainly takes no more time. I use OnStar to start the car when I hit the tram so the car is nice and cool when we get there. It 12 minutes or less back to our resort depending on the park. We have always made a habit of a mid-afternoon cool-down swim, early easy dinner, then back to park for the evening entertainments.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

I discussed with DD the idea of being offsite and showed her a house I was looking at with a private pool for $75 per night. I told her we could stay two weeks there for less than what I was going to pay for POP PPV room. She was surprisingly easy to convince. She asked if we could visit the beach if we went offsite and I said YES. I even ran across a $59 a night hotel very close to Disney and that would be even cheaper. Both options are more than enough savings to add in a rental car and include other non-Disney attractions.

I even checked out Kevin and John's condos. As nice as those would be, with way more room than we need, they were already booked for part of my trip. Oh well, maybe next time.

 

[Monykalyn]

Also, from room to park, does it take longer to use the Disney bus system or to use your rental car? I really have no idea what kind of hassle it is to get into the parking lot and make your way up to the park entrance. We really want to rope drop in the mornings, but we already lose an hour just coming from the midwest. I don't want to get up at 5 am when it feels like 4 am to our bodies, just to leave extra time for driving.

Only MK requires extra travel time. And yet-there is still something magical seeing the castle and Space Mountain come into view across the lagoon...the way Walt Disney intended.

Rent a car and do offsite first, and then move to a property hotel.

I understand your reasoning but we tend to do opposite-onsite first - 60 day fast pass advantage, we tend to be more go-go-go first part of vacation, then move offsite to have the more relaxing part, plus more space, no sharing of beds, extra bathrooms, tend to be sick of Disney food by then etc. BUT we are a family of 5 so that does change the equation vs just 2 people.

Are you making offsite worse than it is? Absolutely! There are many of us who much prefer an offsite stay for the value and space it provides. BUT if it is stressing you out, I would suggest staying onsite, you won't save that much offsite for two people over a value resort onsite. It's good that you are questioning the value of staying at the House of the Mouse. Eventually you may venture away and discover all the amazing things that Central Florida offers outside of the bubble.

As usual excellent persepective.

That would certainly be a great time to stay offsite for the whole trip.

house I was looking at with a private pool for $75 per night.

Go with the house. With 2 weeks you won't feel the urge to do everything, all day every day.
And you may find that offsite resorts/houses are way more fun when you don't have to also fight a crowd at the pool or food court when you just want to relax. We stayed offsite over Thanksgiving, and there were days we found it hard to actually go to the parks. And when we came back to our offsite resort-the pools are open later, hot tubs empty, pool practically to ourselves. How many onsite resorts can say that over an extremely busy week?

Ironically-as the kids have gotten older I see the value of onsite a bit more-it is much easier for us to let kids go ride the coaster while adults sit in a lounge with a frosty drink, knowing we don't have to drive. But even then-5 days is max what we can tolerate onsite before we long for the peace, quiet and space of our offsite timeshare condo. It is why we are doing more split stays, which also allows for longer stays. Win-win!

Have a great trip no matter what you choose!

 

[AdamEfimoff]

It really depends on what off site property you are staying at

 

[spiceycat]

It really depends on what off site property you are staying at

definitely true - some are great - others not so much.

I stay in timeshares mostly both on site (DVC member) and off site (RCI) - they can generally be pretty wonderfully. You definitely have more space offsite - but then again being able to walk to the MK can't be beat (my opinion).

driving around WDW property can be more of a hassle than offsite. now offsite can have more traffic - but right now this year WDW is improving their roads - so you probably know what that means - some roads are gone - others go different places - it is a hassle - and you can't trust the GPS - because it seems like it takes them months to fix or even notice the problems.

so when driving at WDW TAKE YOUR TIME - there will be people going 55 mph in a 40 mph - but until you know your way around - don't go fast.

so right now if you are uncomfortable driving in a strange area would stay onsite just for the buses.

 

[robinb]

I discussed with DD the idea of being offsite and showed her a house I was looking at with a private pool for $75 per night. I told her we could stay two weeks there for less than what I was going to pay for POP PPV room. She was surprisingly easy to convince. She asked if we could visit the beach if we went offsite and I said YES. I even ran across a $59 a night hotel very close to Disney and that would be even cheaper. Both options are more than enough savings to add in a rental car and include other non-Disney attractions.

I even checked out Kevin and John's condos. As nice as those would be, with way more room than we need, they were already booked for part of my trip. Oh well, maybe next time.

Make sure that you read reviews over at TripAdvisor for any hotel you're thinking about renting. Many of them are horrible.

Another option is SkyAuction which rents out Timeshares. Make sure you understand EVERYTHING before you purchase. There is a lot of fine print. But ... I stayed in a beautiful 1-bedroom condo 15 minutes from WDW for $222 for a week all-in. This was a last minute reservation and I had a cancelable reservation at another hotel. Here is a link to my experience: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...ion-bidding-extensions.3520051/#post-56060923

Ironically-as the kids have gotten older I see the value of onsite a bit more-it is much easier for us to let kids go ride the coaster while adults sit in a lounge with a frosty drink, knowing we don't have to drive. But even then-5 days is max what we can tolerate onsite before we long for the peace, quiet and space of our offsite timeshare condo. It is why we are doing more split stays, which also allows for longer stays. Win-win!

For older teens/young adults there is also Uber/Lyft to get them home if you leave early . It's about $10 one way.

 

[mshanson3121]

Is it difficult to get around the highways in Florida?

Not at all. Disney is so well marked, I think anyone and/or their dog, could navigate the area. We come from an extremely rural village (population 300), and the worst "traffic" we get is during planting and harvesting season, when the tractors clog the road. My husband despises city driving, and yet we had absolutely no problem driving to/from the parks.

Also, from room to park, does it take longer to use the Disney bus system or to use your rental car? I really have no idea what kind of hassle it is to get into the parking lot and make your way up to the park entrance.

Depending on where you stay, it will actually be quicker to have your own car. Possibly significantly so. Depending on your resort, and which stop you are, you can easily have 30-45 minutes transfer time on the Disney bus system (longer during the really busy times). If you stay at Windsor Hills resort for example, you can be at most of the parks within 5-10 minutes (MK is the further, and takes the longest due to having to take the monorail or boat from the TTC). We stayed at Glenbrook Resort, which was about 7-8 miles away, and even driving during morning rush hour, never took us longer than 20 minutes to get to the TTC. We were able to be at AK and HS within 15 minutes.

Am I making offsite seem worse than it is? Should I just stay onsite and not stress myself out?

No one can answer that for you, but you. Are you making it seem worse than it is? Definitely I definitely prefer off-site. We stayed in a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, with a private 24' pool and games room for only $100 a night during the busy summer season. Compare that to $150 per night for a Value room, that is no more special than your typical Super 8. We rope dropped with ease (we typically left at 7:45 in the morning and had 0 problems), took afternoon breaks swimming in the pool, had tonnes of room to stretch out, relax. The kids went to bed, and we stayed up and watched tv, went swimming under the stars, played pool etc... It made it far more relaxing for us, than had we been stuck in a hotel room, having to be hush hush because the kids were sleeping, unable to come/go/do anything.

And that's just the "room" element. Factor in how nice it was to have a full kitchen. Instead of having to rush around getting up, dressed, showered etc... then going downstairs to a crowded, noisy, busy cafeteria, we were able to lounge around, eating our breakfast in peace and quiet by the pool. Some mornings the kids woke up and took a swim before we went anywhere. We packed snacks for the parks, which certainly saved money. We liked not having to eat out every single meal. We saved a tonne of money by not doing so, and it was nice to eat "regular" food. There's nothing like homemade BBQ by the pool in Florida Because we saved so much money on food, it allowed us to splurge on "extra" things such as doing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and enjoying some meals at Disney (including CRT).

Personally, I would never choose to stay onsite if I was staying more than a few nights.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

So what would you all think of a condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek? There is a studio for $116 a night. That sounds like the best of both worlds to me. Any feedback?
Edit - Oops. For my dates it would be $139 per night. Still seems like a deal, though, right?

 

[Monykalyn]

So what would you all think of a condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek? There is a studio for $116 a night. That sounds like the best of both worlds to me. Any feedback?

I've not stayed there but people who have seem to love it! there is a whole thread on on Bonnet Creek as well. Plus it is "on" Disney property. Less hassle for traffic.

For older teens/young adults there is also Uber/Lyft to get them home if you leave early . It's about $10 one way

And an option I have a feeling we may be using a bit in the future! Actually we did once over Thanksgiving-so so easy and pick up and drop off right at door.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

So, I've been researching off-site hotels, condos, etc. If I commit to off-site, I will need to cancel my POP reservation. I will need to do that at 45 days out, since that is when the package should be paid in full, right? I'm seriously considering the Wyndham Bonnet Creek and many poster on The We Looooove Bonnet Creek thread suggested the best deals are gotten at the 60 day mark, that timing should work out okay.

When I do that, will I also lose any ADR's I have made? If so, when can I begin to make new ones? Can I still make them through My Disney Experience?

Also, I cannot make Fast Pass reservations until 30 days prior (instead of 60), correct?

How and where do I purchase park tickets? I am considering purchasing Annual Passes.

Anything else I should be aware of that is different for off-site than for on-site? I want to have all my bases covered.

 

[HopperFan]

So, I've been researching off-site hotels, condos, etc. If I commit to off-site, I will need to cancel my POP reservation. I will need to do that at 45 days out, since that is when the package should be paid in full, right? I'm seriously considering the Wyndham Bonnet Creek and many poster on The We Looooove Bonnet Creek thread suggested the best deals are gotten at the 60 day mark, that timing should work out okay.

When I do that, will I also lose any ADR's I have made? If so, when can I begin to make new ones? Can I still make them through My Disney Experience?

Also, I cannot make Fast Pass reservations until 30 days prior (instead of 60), correct?

How and where do I purchase park tickets? I am considering purchasing Annual Passes.

Anything else I should be aware of that is different for off-site than for on-site? I want to have all my bases covered.

We love Wyndham Bonnet Creek, stayed several times in 1 and 2 bedroom units. Location is awesome, amenities so nice, love the washer/dryer and having a kitchen. Balconies are large and some have firework views.

All your ADRs are fine, they are not tied to your reservation.

FP+ will be at 30 days but never been a big problem for us.

You can buy tickets from a third party or just do it on MDE from Disney. Unless I found a great discount I would just get from Disney. If you buy from third party like Undercover Tourist, AAA or Tickets at Work, they will come with numbers you can just link them to your MDE.

If you get APs note you can only book FP+ for 7 days (unless that has changed) and then as you use them book more. We were just there and didn't book some until the morning of and we did just fine - actually could get everything in Epcot, even FEA.

If you get the AP then you won't have to pay for parking and that could save you lots, get 20% off merchandise (remember to buy cokes and water from cooler in stores and you get the discount) and some dining discounts.

Honestly, I find the perks minimal anymore.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Hello! Do you have a trip report? I would love to hear about your planning especially FP availability, did you take breaks during the day?

Thank you!

Hi ,
I didn’t do a trip report. No breaks during the day. We did good with fastpass. The Seven Dwarf Mine train was not available but that was ok as we have done it before.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I'm still a fan of onsite. I've been offsite more than on and we stay at nicer off site resorts, but I still like onsite better.

I stay onsite most al trips. I just wanted to say from the perspective of someone that stays onsite that my off-site trip was really good too.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I keep doing onsite for perceived convenience. I fly, so I don't need a rental car and we use Disney transportation. This year, my POP PPV room rate is about $185 per night (11 nights May 29 - June 9). That is what has me thinking about offsite, but the total savings and cost of adding a rental car would have to make it worth that hassle and having to drive ourselves to the park each day. It's just me and DD.

Is it difficult to get around the highways in Florida? I don't want to be stressed out by fighting traffic and getting directions wrong on my vacation. I hate getting lost. I'm not terrible with directions, but It's certainly not my superpower.

Also, from room to park, does it take longer to use the Disney bus system or to use your rental car? I really have no idea what kind of hassle it is to get into the parking lot and make your way up to the park entrance. We really want to rope drop in the mornings, but we already lose an hour just coming from the midwest. I don't want to get up at 5 am when it feels like 4 am to our bodies, just to leave extra time for driving.

Am I making offsite seem worse than it is? Should I just stay onsite and not stress myself out?

Don’t stress. Stay onsite. When I travel with my elderly parents it’s onsite. They don’t drive in Florida and they have independence with the Disney transportation.