First timer accommodation for 6 help pease

[MousetersInc]

...I have looked into renting a condo off property and I’m open to suggestions it seems to workout cheaper but then we would need to hire a car so that adds to the cost which is why I’m leaning towards staying on property...

With the services we now have available - grocery delivery service and Uber/Lyft, I wonder what the cost difference would be in NOT renting a car and paying for parking vs. using ride share services? Especially if you stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek? Just thinking “out loud”...

I'm planning to lean heavily on rideshare even though I'm staying onsite. My calculations all assume staying at Wilderness Lodge, but Wyndham Bonnet Creek is in fact a mile closer when driving to Animal Kingdom. My calculation was that even if I Ubered to my heart's content, ca. 8-11 times in the course of our 6-day stay, it would cost $64-$130 USD. A small car could be rented for ca. $125, buuut since Disney has started charging $25 per day for parking, that adds $250 (way more for a 14 day stay). Rideshare wins handily.

As to On- vs Offsite, one thing to note is the effect on the FastPass booking window. People staying in a Disney property get to book their FastPasses 60 days in advance (more, if they pony up for Club Level). If you stay 14 days in a Disney property, you can start booking for your entire trip at Vacation Day One Minus 60--meaning that you can grab FPs for that 14th day a week earlier than someone with a 7-day stay starting halfway through yours. The hotly contested FPs indeed go fast--I wanted Flight of Passage FPs for my very first and second days, and did in fact get them, but at non-optimal times, and by minutes later all were gone. Meanwhile, the poor plebes staying "offsite" can't book FP until 30 days out—as you can imagine, your odds of getting a hot ticket are slim by then (and if Galaxy's Edge is open for your trip... I can just imagine there will be some hot, hot FPs).
Now, the important footnote: there are a handful of non-Disney hotels in the Disney Springs area that Disney has extended the 60-day window to (and access to "Extra Magic Hours"). These are quite close—technically on Disney-owned property, and closer than some Disney hotels—and are pricey enough because of location, but still significantly cheaper than a Disney resort, especially per sq foot. The Doubletree Suites, in particular, has, well, suites. You can get a space with a living area and two bedrooms, with honest-to-goodness walls and doors in between, for (when I checked, for the dates I was checking) ca. $400/night, roughly the cost of a standard room at a Disney deluxe resort.
I also have to second the suggestion of the split stay. You could, for instance, spend a handful of nights in a Disney villa for the magic, then expand into an offsite suite for the breathing space. With a 14-day stay, you even have enough margin to stay the second week in a space that doesn't have the 60-day FP window—book the must-ride FPs in that first week and then fill in the second with what falls your way.

 

[Our Aussie six]

I'm planning to lean heavily on rideshare even though I'm staying onsite. My calculations all assume staying at Wilderness Lodge, but Wyndham Bonnet Creek is in fact a mile closer when driving to Animal Kingdom. My calculation was that even if I Ubered to my heart's content, ca. 8-11 times in the course of our 6-day stay, it would cost $64-$130 USD. A small car could be rented for ca. $125, buuut since Disney has started charging $25 per day for parking, that adds $250 (way more for a 14 day stay). Rideshare wins handily.

As to On- vs Offsite, one thing to note is the effect on the FastPass booking window. People staying in a Disney property get to book their FastPasses 60 days in advance (more, if they pony up for Club Level). If you stay 14 days in a Disney property, you can start booking for your entire trip at Vacation Day One Minus 60--meaning that you can grab FPs for that 14th day a week earlier than someone with a 7-day stay starting halfway through yours. The hotly contested FPs indeed go fast--I wanted Flight of Passage FPs for my very first and second days, and did in fact get them, but at non-optimal times, and by minutes later all were gone. Meanwhile, the poor plebes staying "offsite" can't book FP until 30 days out—as you can imagine, your odds of getting a hot ticket are slim by then (and if Galaxy's Edge is open for your trip... I can just imagine there will be some hot, hot FPs).
Now, the important footnote: there are a handful of non-Disney hotels in the Disney Springs area that Disney has extended the 60-day window to (and access to "Extra Magic Hours"). These are quite close—technically on Disney-owned property, and closer than some Disney hotels—and are pricey enough because of location, but still significantly cheaper than a Disney resort, especially per sq foot. The Doubletree Suites, in particular, has, well, suites. You can get a space with a living area and two bedrooms, with honest-to-goodness walls and doors in between, for (when I checked, for the dates I was checking) ca. $400/night, roughly the cost of a standard room at a Disney deluxe resort.
I also have to second the suggestion of the split stay. You could, for instance, spend a handful of nights in a Disney villa for the magic, then expand into an offsite suite for the breathing space. With a 14-day stay, you even have enough margin to stay the second week in a space that doesn't have the 60-day FP window—book the must-ride FPs in that first week and then fill in the second with what falls your way.

Thanks for all the fantastic information this really is a huge help. Your point about hiring a car plus parking is definitely going to add up especially for us as we would need to hire a 7 seater, last time we were in the US we hired a Dodge caravan so obviously that will add to the cost.
I’m definitely leaning towards getting 2 value rooms for the 14 days after all we are coming all this way and there just seem to be so many advantages thanks so much