Please tell me the benefits of staying off site

[LeahA]

I have been to Walt Disney World 5 times and have always stayed offsite. I really would like to stay onsite, but, for me the $cost is always the reason I stay offsite. Sometimes the cost has been so significant my family and I are able to take a 2nd mini vacation in the year. Everytime I say that this time will be the time I stay onsite, I always find a good deal I can't resist.

As far as the magic, after spending 1 day at MK, 1 day at AK, 1 day at MGM, 1 day at Epcot, and a few nights at Downtown Disney, I'm ready for a quiet hotel with nothing more than a Mickey Mouse postcard in the lobby gift shop.

Just my 2 cents worth on the subject!

 

[TinkerPixie]

We always stay off site. There are several reasons for this. The first being money.....I refuse to pay 200 dollars a night for a bathroom and a place to lay my head. There are wonderful options available other than Disney. Options that enable us to extend our vacation and be in the parks more days. Reason two is space. We always pick places that give us plenty of room to move around. We have gone to the Allstars and looked around.....those places remind me of anthills. Very little space and too many people. Not for us!
We dont feel the need to stay at Disney to experience Disney..We go strictly to be in the parks during the day, a nice resort off property is fine when we drag our old bodies in late in the evening to sleep. I have used the Disney bus system before, during a trip to SOG,years back,it was crowded, loud and slow. By staying off property and driving we have learned which roads in Orlando get us to the parks quickly and easily. We stayed at Tropical Palms Resort last Christmas and we were so close to Downtown Disney that we only needed about 10 minutes to get to any park. Yes we paid daily parking,but add that 6 bucks to a 35 dollar a night room and you still come out cheaper than any Disney hotel. DH has a good job and so do I, no kids so we have the money to spend on an expensive room, but we wont do it.
My personal opinion is that no room is worth 200 dollars or more wherever it is or whatever it looks like.

 

[deena]

By authentic/real world Fla. I was referring to all of the locale, natural surroundings and general environmental habitat that exist outside of and totally independent of the WDW parks (which is considered FL). Not a specific place or entity, sorry about the confusion.

 

[Mouser]

Well said Tinker Pixie..I could not agree more...

 

[emmagata]

We've been to WDW 3 times in the last 4 years and stayed off site each time. We are going this Dec. and staying off site again.

The 1st two times we rented a house because there were more people than just my wife and I. It was wonderful. The traffic wasn't that bad. We wnet in April and late Sep. early Oct.

The last time we stayed at the HI Family Suites off International Drive. The room was small but nice. However, we could hear people out on the balcony stomping around. Breakfast was free and the food was good. The drive into WDW was a breeze. NO TRAFFIC!!. It was the 1st week of Dec. though.

I think that made a difference.


This time we are staying at a house.


The main reasons for us to stay off site:

1) a LOT more room.
2) our own pool
3) quiet neighborhood
4) costs a LOT less than moderate on site accomdations.
5) cheap breakfast and maybe dinner (we usually ate dinner out).


A co-worker took his family of 4 to WDW a year or two ago and stayed on site. They stayed at Port Orleans if I remember right.

They had a great time but I had to ask him "tell me again why you spent about $1000-1500 more than we did just to stay in the park?"

He had a number of reasons.

1)Early entry ( this is a not all it's cracked up to be. By the 3rd or 4th day, you tend to sleep later and later!!)
2)easy access to the room for clothes changes,naps or food.
3)???

I think that was it.

Not worth $1000-1500 the way I look at it.

We can almost get a second trip for $1500 (less expenses).

If you do stay off site and drive into the park, DON'T take the monorail to the MK. Take the ferry. It's a LOT faster. Trust me.



John and Donna

 

[LisaRex]

Had I not gotten a 1 bdrom villa at OKW for $215 a night (with a Mousesavers code) I would have definitely booked off site. In fact, I had already booked what looked like a marvelous 2 bedroom villa at a Marriott Vacation Club property called Sabal Palms. The rate was $165/night. You got your own kitchen, 2 bedrooms so you didn't have to tippy toe around while the kids slept, and a nice pool. I considered, and quickly dismissed, staying in a regular hotel room because of the lack of space and because of our family's personality. I like amusement parks as much as the next person but after awhile I get information overload. I want peace and quiet, too! A vacation for me always includes just sitting by the pool reading a book or playing with the kids.

OKW offered me the benefits of staying on-property (early admission being the principal one) with the advantage of an off-site villa (separate sleeping quarters, laundry facilities, and a kitchen). Had I had to pay $330 for the 1 bedroom I would have stayed off-site.

Put it this way. For the $800 I would have saved by staying off-site (vs. on) at the rack rate, I could have taken the whole family for a day at Discovery Cove. And while my daughter might never remember what her hotel room looked like, she will always remember kissing a dolphin.

Good luck!

Lisa

 

[SimonV]

I would definitely stay offsite IF:

1) saving money is a main priority

2) you want to see a lot more than just Disney

3) you don't mind driving a lot

4) you want more choice of what and where to eat

5) you need more accommodation space - i.e. a holiday home.

Basically, it is about saving money and spreading your interests around the whole of central Florida. I regularly stay both on and off-site and enjoy both immensely. Just being in the area is a real buzz


PS: channel1tv - the real Florida locally is all around you! Try Forever Florida (an eco-tourist conservation site in St Cloud), Wekiva River State Park (in Seminole County), West Orange Trail (biking and blading), Winter Park scenic boat tour, Boggy Creek Airboats at East Lake Fish Camp, Mead Gardens and Kraft Azalea Gardens (again in Winter Park), lakefront St Cloud, downtown Kissimmee's historic district, St John's River tours (on Rivership Romance or pontoon boat rides), Black Hammock fish camp on Lake Jesup, Thornton Park by Lake Eola, any early-morning balloon ride, Southport Park on Lake Toho, Disney's Wilderness Preserve in Poinciana, the Kissimmee Rodeo, the Mennello Folk Museum, Rollins College, and, for the full historical picture, the new Orange County History Center in downtown. I could go on......

 

[chloesmommi]

Having stayed on- and off-site, I can tell you some of the Disney properties are futher away from the parks than some off-site motels. Also, the WDW transportation system is not what it's cracked up to be. Even if we stay on-site, we always rent a car and use it to go back and forth to the parks. Our last two trips, we stayed off site and went back to our hotel for naptime for my 3-year old without any problems. If you are staying at a monorail resort and only plan on going to MK and Epcot, transportation is fine, but if you have to rely on the WDW bus system, taking your car is much faster.

 

[eeyore0062]

The only reason that I would stay off site, is if I didn't intend on going to the Disney parks! If I were going to Universal, IOA, or Seaworld, I would definitely stay closer to those attractions. If I were going to Busch Gardens, I would stay closer to Tampa.

 

[minijeanie]

I vote for doing both. Stay off site for the majority of your trip and stay onsite for the last 2 days. I have done this before and it works fine. I would vote to stay in a resort close to the MK. I think this is the hardest to get to by car. By the time you park, take the tram to the front, then either get on the monorail or boat it is a good 30 minutes. I

When we stay offsite, I usually opt for renting a timeshare. I prefer the Marriott but there are several in the area that are just as good. Having a full size kitchen, W/D is just the best

Just my 2 cents.

Whatever you decide, there is nothing better than being in or around WDW(and Universal)

 

[Robinrs]

I've done and will continue to do both.

I do enjoy the space of offsite and convenience of onsite, and really cannot say which I prefer. It really depends on how many people I'm with, and lately it's just been me and Michael, and how I intend to use my vacation.

As for Universal, I will ALWAYS stay onsite because of the convenience. There is no Disney hotel as close as USF is to HRH. That five minute walk is worth the price of any hotel, not to mention the FOTL!

My last stay at Disney was in a suite at the Dolphin. A mixture of the space of offsite and the convenience of onsite. Of course the rate was out of site for the average person, and I'm BELOW average , but I was blessed to get a great deal at the time. WITHOUT the deal, though, it would have been light years out of my range. But it CAN spoil you... ...

My son is 8 and we go to the parks when they open and leave when they close. We hardly ever take breaks. Once we're back at the hotel, it's over. There is no way I'm going back. So the midday breaks that most people need have no effect on me. Neither does EE, which I don't use, E-night which I did once and my son doesn't stay up late enough for us to enjoy, package delivery (what package???) or charging with the card key (I did that once and they had the WRONG charge card on my key!!). As for Magic, just being in Orlando is magical for us. Don't need anythng else!

Both have their ups and down, pluses and drawbacks. I think it's an individual choice and whether or not you think it's worth it. My criteria changes per trip!

 

[LisaRex]

Update: Got back from Disney this past Tuesday. Stayed at Old Key West after wrestling for months whether to pay the bucks to stay on-site. For those wondering whether on-site is worth it, let me assure you that if I went back I would definitely stay off-site and save the money. My kids didn't want to get up early in the morning which ruined the Surprise Morning feature of staying on-site. We rented a car and drove to all the parks so the bus system was irrelevant to us. We drove around Orlando each day and had no problems driving to Seaworld, Discovery Cove, and off-site restaurants.

I really liked the one bedroom villa at OKW and definitely did NOT regret choosing a villa over a regular hotel room. My kids are 9 and 7 and we each had our own t.v. and bedroom. I could do laundry (note to self: cut the clothes you pack by half next time), which was great. We had a huge jacuzzi tub. Room was great. But the fact that it was on-site was really not important. I could have booked a two-bedroom villa at the Marriott vacation club for $164 a night and could kick myself for not saving the money.

Sooo, to those who think you'll miss the "magic," let me assure you that YOU make your vacation magical -- by being together as a family, by getting away from the routine, by spending time sipping pina coladas poolside while your kids have the big time in the pool. Being on-site is NOT a must.

Happy Travels!

 

[nhrenee]

Lisa,

Thanks for letting us know how things went. It sounds like you had fun!

 

[baileybrad]

When are you going? It is obviously usually cheaper in dollars to stay off-site. You do loose time. The US Today had an ad for $59 a night at the All-star Music and Sports for rooms booked before 9/30/01 in the 8/24/01 edition.

 

[apagano]

In my case, DW and I knew in advance that we were going to rent a car. We're heading down 9/28-10/7. We'll do Disney four days, one day at USF, one day at KSC and three days visiting with relatives in the Fort Lauderdale area. Since we knew we were going to spend at least $200 on car rental, we decided to get ourselves a better value and stay offsite. After all, we're going to be paying for the car anyway, so we might as well use it. If we weren't planning on driving as much, we would have skipped the car rental and spent the extra cash to stay onsite and use Disney transportation.