Am I the only one on this board who loves Disney but....

[BonnieA]

I have been going since 1976, Never stayed onsite. I don't feel the need. Everything I want is available offsite. And the drive to the parks is like tradition. Used to stay in a hotel, but then discovered rental homes. Now I stay at timeshares thru skyauction certificates for $250 or less for a week at 2 bedroom timeshares. I know the area like the back of my hand. Why would I want to stay on site? I don't need the so called "magic", I make my own. I'm much more comfortable in my own bedroom and others in their own bedroom. Sleeping is so much better. Eating is so much more economical. But to each his own.

 

[Darthbane2007]

Even though I do not remember, when I was a young lad in 1991, my family stayed at Fort Wilderness. Just this past April 2012, I went back, but this time stayed at Wyndham Orlano Resort...

 

[PeterPanic]

Let me put it this way...I went to WDW every year, sometimes more than once, for 36 years before I stayed on site. I did it once and will never do it again. Too much money for too little return for my taste.

Many years it was because that was all I could afford. I can afford more now, but, have no desire to throw my money away on the concept of Disney 24/7 and the alleged magic. The only magic I have ever seen is my money mystically disappearing from my bank account.

Besides, there is an old saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder". For me, that's how it works. The argument that being immersed in the magic is the only way to keep it active is a lot of wrong, in my opinion. The magic comes from within, if you have it, it doesn't go away because you spend an evening away. If you have it, you could drive in from Jacksonville every day and still feel it. So to answer your question...No, it is not all that unusual.

 

[jkc0325]

I've been to Disney 5 times and have never stayed on site. We are planning an October trip right now and I'm undecided about where to stay. Having never stayed on site, I'd like to see what all this "magic" is really like. However, we are a family of 5 and I can get a condo for much less and we'd have a kitchen. Not that I want to do a ton of cooking on vacation, but I do get sick of restaurant food after a while. To be able to cook a few normal dinners over the course of an 11 day stay sounds appealing. DH and I having our own bedroom also sounds appealing

For me, the worst part about staying offsite is all the people who act like my vacation must not have been that great since weren't on-property 24/7. We LOVE Disney and we have a fantastic time every time we vacation there even though we're in a hotel or condo just down the road. In fact, we can afford to stay longer by booking offsite

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hi, no you're not alone in not having stayed onsite. For me it's mostly financial and the need for space. Having the ability to rent a house with a private pool when you have a large number of people makes it too enticing. That said, I do want to stay on site one day. I've always dreamed of staying at the Contemporary and walking to Magic Kingdom. Maybe someday.

 

[housetomouse]

The only tricky part about staying on-site is paying for it! Although I think the on-site Value hotels can be very competitive price-wise with an off-site hotel. If it's still not in your price range, that's no biggie, Disney is fun either way. We used to go just for the day (6 hours round trip) and not stay overnight at all, had a blast. It's all fun, just different ways of doing it.

 

[Sparkly]

I've only stayed onsite for 1 night, but LOVED it. I definitely want to do it again for longer next time.

 

[Shelton123]

I'm sure you're not the only one! The first time I went, I stayed off site and it was great of course, but every other time I've stayed on site (at WDW, not DLR or TDR) and I've enjoyed that so much. It's like Disney immersion, which is fantastic but expensive so it makes sense why some would not want to stay on site.

 

[Redarrow5150]

You don't eat? Going offsite to eat somewhere else is going to be a hell'va lot cheaper than eating at Disney.

I've done both, but since we live in Michigan, we normally fly down. If we fly, we feel it is a better value to stay onsite.

I never pay rack rate (either wait for a discount code or rent points)

Example: 5/4-5/11

Onsite stay:
Airport transfer- FREE (DME)
Hotel (All Star Music) $735 (with spring discount offer)
Parking- Not needed
Gasoline- Not Needed
Total- $735

Offsite Stay
Car Rental (Budget economy car) $170
Tolls for Toll Road: $5.00
Theme Park Parking ($14/day x 8 days) $112
Gasoline (we always hop and take a mid day break) $70
Offsite hotel (with a corporate discount) $235
Total- $592

So as you can see, it's about $150 more to stay on site for an 8 day trip, but with Extra Magic Hours, we get 11 more park hours than those staying offsite. That's like getting an extra day for FREE! Plus, it's a shorter drive back to our hotel, we don't have to drive at all, and for us, the relaxation is well worth it.