Blown away by offsite stay

[ScubaCat]

Good point on that...forgot to mention that the Disney Springs (Hotel Plaza blvd) and Bonnet Creek resorts have regular loop buses to the parks that are pretty decent. Just about anywhere else, I'd definitely recommend getting a car.

I edited my post above to mention that even still it's good to have a car because you're otherwise locked into the few hotel restaurants around you or possibly walking to disney springs, using the shuttle to a theme park and transferring from there, or uber/lyft. And, those buses will only get you to the TTC, so you have to remember that it'll still take longer to get to MK.

 

[buzznina]

I don’t think there’s a real clear cut answer for on vs offsite. People have to do the math and see what makes the most sense for themselves and their families and the way they do Disney. The Vistana was a lovely resort and we had great accommodations especially traveling with a teenager like we were at the time, having a kitchenette was wonderful. But my trips are usually just adult only, and the truth is that trip just reinforced why I like to stay onsite. Not being able to quickly dip from a park back to my room when I felt overstimulated or ill was misery inducing. Staying offsite makes midday breaks eat up so much more time, especially from MK. And the difference between walking over to a resort launch or monorail at the end of the night, and doing the monorail/ferry to tram to car shuffle then fighting with traffic was the whole opposite of magical.

Then again I never pay rack rate to stay at a Deluxe (I use agency exclusive discounts through a TA) and the most “offsite” I like to get is the Swan or Dolphin. I feel like those are the best of both worlds because you get the cheaper prices and better accommodation but still have Disney transportation and a fantastic location.

Correct, there is no right or wrong, midday breaks etc. factor into it and I probably would not think of staying offsite if we did not have a vehicle, but we drive to WDW, so we always have a car. I found that either way (driving or WDW transportation) can cause headaches, yes you might deal with traffic but on the other end you may be standing waiting for transportation a long time, or like us, get stuck on the monorail for 4 hours It's great if you can afford the monorail resorts but they, by far, cost the most and midday breaks only saves time if the park you are at is near it. Also, this is where you save a LOT of $$, because of the big cost of the deluxes vs offsite resorts. Like you we have never paid rack, and we also use the same agency exclusive deals as you, but the last couple of years their discounts have dropped a lot and only have a few months that you can get really good rates. I got a quote from them for the trip my DW is on now and the best deluxe they had was $345 at YC and even their value quote was more than what I paid offsite. Your statement of "better accommodations" is just totally false, my original post mentioned the accommodations where my DW and DD are staying at and it by far beats out the deluxe resorts. The funny thing is, years ago I would be posting like you, saying offsite cannot compare etc. but "the times they are a-changin"

 

[AngiTN]

Background, we have been going to WDW for years and over 35+ trips and have ALWAYS been an onsite "in the bubble" believer.
My DW and DD's are down there now for the National dance competition at the ESPN complex this weekend. So in January we had to make reservations. So naturally, we first looked at Disney resorts but we wanted to try and keep the cost down, and the cheapest we found was a Mod at $275 before taxes. So I decided to look offsite and found a deal at a resort for under $100 total per night and we crossed our fingers, well DW did, I had to stay home for work Well she has been totally blown away by her stay there, the suites are giant over 500 sq ft, it comes with a microwave, spa tub, full size fridge and freezer, screened in balcony and tons of storage space. On property they have 13 pools and hot tubs, 3 restaurants, plenty of snack areas, a Hershey ice cream shop, starbucks and a LOT of activities free and for a cost. She said she is just 10-15 minutes from the parks and the drives have not been bad at all. Last night when we were facetiming she said with WDW constantly raising rates, cutting back stuff like EMH's etc. and services not being what they use to, that we seriously need to start looking offsite for our future stays. Something we thought we would never contemplate.
BTW; they were still able to take care of my DD Mickey head waffle fix. Just went to MK, jumped on the rail to one of the 3 resorts and had breakfast there.

I'm down with it as soon as they develop that transport machine like they have on Startrek. It's not the bubble I'm after, it's the absolutely no driving part that is non-negotiable. But I've seen traffic outside of property when going to Universal and I'm not driving in it back and forth every day. That is the deal breaker, not the bubble itself. But teleport me, and I'm down.

 

[ScubaCat]

I'm down with it as soon as they develop that transport machine like they have on Startrek. It's not the bubble I'm after, it's the absolutely no driving part that is non-negotiable. But I've seen traffic outside of property when going to Universal and I'm not driving in it back and forth every day. That is the deal breaker, not the bubble itself. But teleport me, and I'm down.

And, the disney buses take service roads that offsite buses can't, so you're virtually never in traffic when you stay on property. Sure, you may wait 10-15 minutes for a crowded bus, but you'll get where you want to go. We'll see if the skyliner takes some of that pressure off, too.

 

[kylenne]

Definitely. If there were, this topic wouldn't come up and there wouldn't be both options.

Is SAB the best pool complex ever? Hardly! We stayed at Hilton Orlando (the one on I-drive by the convention center) and even that hotel had a massively better lazy river. But it's a lot farther to the epcot world showcase, so ..

It's all a matter of what people want along with what they can afford (or choose to spend).

Definitely! For us, we’re happy with any kind of pool so SAB isn’t make or break the way it is for others. At our Poly stay we hung out by the quiet pool anyway. It’s that proximity that can’t be beat and why we do it. On my family trips as a kid, we always stayed at the Dolphin through Costco. In those days they had a tram that went straight to the IG! Nowadays it’s just me and my gf and we don’t have kids, so we can splurge a bit more.

 

[snappy]

It’s great there are so many options! We like on and off, have had great success renting cars many times, willing to do busses too, and also like to take the boats and walk. It’s nice to mix it up. My ideal trip is part on and part off site as we focus on different activities. I have a owner at Wyndham Bonnet Creek that I was fortunate to connect with 11 years ago. So easy to work with and a genuinely kind individual. All easy to do with an AP. Seems like 2 vacations!

 

[Captainkidd76]

Yea the unlimited express pass included in Universal resort stays are hard to match, seems you can get more done in less time and in the parks and spend more quality time in the pools! Commando park touring not required!

You just gave away the Universal secret. You can spend a week there and have a fun, relaxing, no stress, spontaneous vacation.

 

[snappy]

You just gave away the Universal secret. You can spend a week there and have a fun, relaxing, no stress, spontaneous vacation.

spontaneous? No craziness constantly refreshing for FP’s? No MDE breakdowns? May be worth giving up the pixie dust.

 

[Disney Ron]

spontaneous? No craziness constantly refreshing for FP’s? No MDE breakdowns? May be worth giving up the pixie dust.

snappy, my family loves Universal, we stay in one of the resorts that have the free Express Pass, no planning FP+'s 2 months before we arrive and no ADR's required for dinner, eat when you want. We are booked for WDW this year, but my kids and wife is pushing for UO instead.

 

[kylenne]

Correct, there is no right or wrong, midday breaks etc. factor into it and I probably would not think of staying offsite if we did not have a vehicle, but we drive to WDW, so we always have a car. I found that either way (driving or WDW transportation) can cause headaches, yes you might deal with traffic but on the other end you may be standing waiting for transportation a long time, or like us, get stuck on the monorail for 4 hours It's great if you can afford the monorail resorts but they, by far, cost the most and midday breaks only saves time if the park you are at is near it. Also, this is where you save a LOT of $$, because of the big cost of the deluxes vs offsite resorts. Like you we have never paid rack, and we also use the same agency exclusive deals as you, but the last couple of years their discounts have dropped a lot and only have a few months that you can get really good rates. I got a quote from them for the trip my DW is on now and the best deluxe they had was $345 at YC and even their value quote was more than what I paid offsite. Your statement of "better accommodations" is just totally false, my original post mentioned the accommodations where my DW and DD are staying at and it by far beats out the deluxe resorts. The funny thing is, years ago I would be posting like you, saying offsite cannot compare etc. but "the times they are a-changin"

You misunderstood—I mean Swan and Dolphin have the better accommodations like true offsites, but still have the location of Disney deluxes. Trust me, I know how much better you can get for cheaper elsewhere lol. This year we’re skipping the Star Wars madness and heading to Montreal, staying at an actual high end boutique hotel downtown near Vieux for a fraction of what we paid even at agency exclusive rates at the Poly last fall. The wild thing when I was pricing out hotels in Quebec City, it was actually cheaper to stay at the real Chateau Frontenac than stay at BC/YC and see the fake one in Epcot!

What Disney calls “deluxe” is purely a function of location and theming, for sure. For the money, you can get legitimate luxe accommodations elsewhere, at hotels where the concierge can actually get you that coveted restaurant reservation for instance. It is what it is though. For folks who don’t give a flip about the bubble or being right at a park, it’s a no brainer imo.

 

[Captainkidd76]

snappy, my family loves Universal, we stay in one of the resorts that have the free Express Pass, no planning FP+'s 2 months before we arrive and no ADR's required for dinner, eat when you want. We are booked for WDW this year, but my kids and wife is pushing for UO instead.

I certainly don't want to turn this into a Disney vs. Universal thing as I love both. Both have their pluses and minuses. Nothing beats the theme and magic of Disney, but Universal has mastered the art of taking care of their onsite guests and giving them a relaxing theme park vacation.

 

[meggiebeth]

We’ve done offsite/ onsite split stays a couple of times, and I have to say they’re both very different. That said, I will always choose to stay onsite if there’s the option. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs so the space wasn’t that much less than an offsite condo. When we factored in free dining though, it really was a decent price. We also love “disconnecting” with money using the dining plan - no need to carry it or have to spend it - just tap your magic band and the credits are taken!

 

[buzznina]

We really like taking the buses, that's why we rarely use our car when we are there. I think they do a great job and I have always said their not as bad as a lot of people posts. But lets be a little more accurate with the information, only part of the buses route is on service roads, the rest are the same roads everyone else takes and they do get stuck in traffic like everyone else. And as far as waiting times, we have waited as little as 0 minutes and as long as an hour (not common but does happen). Now with them adding bus times to MDE (which is great), you will have a good idea when the bus comes and cut down on the wait times at the resorts. But from the parks it still depends on the lines and the dreaded dispatcher, you know the one that sends 3 buses in a row to the same resort while you watch them drive by your resort line.

 

[pattyw]

You just gave away the Universal secret. You can spend a week there and have a fun, relaxing, no stress, spontaneous vacation.

spontaneous? No craziness constantly refreshing for FP’s? No MDE breakdowns? May be worth giving up the pixie dust.

YES!! A Universal vacation IS a vacation!! Still love to visit Disney parks, but now we love to spend more time at Universal- enjoy the parks , the resorts, AND RELAX!!!

 

[Mome Rath]

It's all subjective and that's a good thing. If I want an "offsite" vacation, it won't be a Disney one, or a Florida one actually, it'll be a roadtrip hither, tither, and yon. And, as for Universal, no thanks... but that's the beauty that is Orlando.

 

[firefly_ris]

What would someone consider a good price for a 2 bedroom villa on-site? I keep seeing that mentioned, but whenever I look, on point rental sites or otherwise, it's between like $500 and $800 per night depending on the property and travel dates. I am just trying to figure out if people are privvy to some kind of smokin' deals that I'm not.

 

[snappy]

Through Disney as a room, you pay in that range for onsite 2 bedroom villa. Also those units can be rented through DVC owners or from someone like David’s rentals. Still pricey but less but you lose the ability to cancel or easily change dates. Also you need to plan way ahead when you stay on points since DVC units book up fast.

 

[msb578]

.

 

[angelmav]

Best vacation we have ever taken was renting a home in Kissimmee. The drive was super easy, parking was no hassle, and we had 3 bedrooms, our own amenities, and a covered pool for like $80 a night. Now, we were driving anyway, and had a large group, so that made the most sense. Also, it was off season, back when that really meant something. I did not miss having to take crowded transportation. But some people will never be convinced there is any other way to do it than to stay in a disney hotel, and that's fine. It is their time and money.

 

[snappy]

When we were renting homes pre-MDE all guests had a shot at getting FP’s, whether on site, Disney springs hotel, or offsite. I used to go ahead and pick up the paper FP’s. It was less crowded and we got them for many rides each day.