Staying offsite during busy weeks?

[3littlecuties]

We decided to spend spring break next year in Orlando and not do Disney. We planned to spend a lot of time by the pool, go out to dinner, maybe go to a water park, etc. After spending some time researching where to stay, we decided to rent a 2 bedroom condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I'm kind of shocked at how great of a deal that we got!

SOOOO.....

With the money that we saved and the proximity to Disney, I'm now starting to consider doing at least 3-4 Disney days. LOL!

What concerns me though is that we've never stayed offsite for a Disney trip and this will be Easter week so it will be very crowded. We won't be able to get Fast Passes until 30 days out and won't be able to book dining beyond exactly 180 days. We have gone Easter week several times so I know how crowded it is and how fast the Fast Passes go for the big rides. Any tips/tricks for touring when we likely won't be able to get Fast Passes for the major attractions? We already are rope-drop people and we use touringplans to plan our days. Do we just need to accept that we'll be waiting in more lines? Trade off for the cheaper hotel price?

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

We decided to spend spring break next year in Orlando and not do Disney. We planned to spend a lot of time by the pool, go out to dinner, maybe go to a water park, etc. After spending some time researching where to stay, we decided to rent a 2 bedroom condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I'm kind of shocked at how great of a deal that we got!

SOOOO.....

With the money that we saved and the proximity to Disney, I'm now starting to consider doing at least 3-4 Disney days. LOL!

What concerns me though is that we've never stayed offsite for a Disney trip and this will be Easter week so it will be very crowded. We won't be able to get Fast Passes until 30 days out and won't be able to book dining beyond exactly 180 days. We have gone Easter week several times so I know how crowded it is and how fast the Fast Passes go for the big rides. Any tips/tricks for touring when we likely won't be able to get Fast Passes for the major attractions? We already are rope-drop people and we use touringplans to plan our days. Do we just need to accept that we'll be waiting in more lines? Trade off for the cheaper hotel price?

Tips? Rope drop popular attractions or get on them a minute before closing, get FPs for the most popular attractions that haven't been taken yet.

 

[3littlecuties]

Tips? Rope drop popular attractions or get on them a minute before closing, get FPs for the most popular attractions that haven't been taken yet.

We would obviously try to get whatever Fast Passes we can. Based on my prior experience though, I’m not counting on any being available. I guess we’ll just have to pick something to rope drop and then hope for the best after that. My kids never make it to closing.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

We would obviously try to get whatever Fast Passes we can. Based on my prior experience though, I’m not counting on any being available. I guess we’ll just have to pick something to rope drop and then hope for the best after that. My kids never make it to closing.

Eek okay, good luck! Remember to keep refreshing in park.

 

[sponica]

My friend stayed offsite the week before easter in 2018. She said the traffic line getting into the MK parking was LOOOOOOOONG. I'd plan to be there super early to beat that.

 

[3littlecuties]

My friend stayed offsite the week before easter in 2018. She said the traffic line getting into the MK parking was LOOOOOOOONG. I'd plan to be there super early to beat that.

We’re rope drop people and are typically one of the first families to arrive so this is no problem for us!

 

[Mango7100]

We stayed offsite this March during our spring break (March 16-22). We had no problems with MK (we RD), and we went to AK at 2 one afternoon with no issues. We were able to grab a PPO BOG breakfast and a Storybook Dining ADR 1-2 weeks before our trip. We did not get a 7D FP 30 days out, didn’t even look for FOP

 

[Malyficent]

I'm wondering about doing this on a future trip and spending the extra $ we save by staying offsite on extras like EMM or DAH (I realize you said your kids don't make it to the end of the day so DAH is out for you).

 

[Klayfish]

Hopefully I can help. We are dedicated offsite people...for us it is far superior to onsite. In fact, staying onsite would likely be a deal breaker for us. We haven't done Easter, but have done Xmas to New Years week twice. We also aren't rope drop people, ever. We'd rather get a little sleep. We show up at the parks around 10am. Obviously, no EMH either (I think they're a waste anyway).

I can't help much on the dining, as we bring our own food in. But I know that we saw lines in the QS places during peak hours. However, mobile ordering lines were always quite short, as were lines if you went slightly off peak...say 1:30pm for lunch, etc...

As for attractions, you'll be surprised what you can get at 30 days. You'll have a fairly decent selection. From there, learn and use the "refresh" method. You should be able to get all kinds of things, including headliners. One day in MK we literally got Space Mountain back to back. We never had a problem getting on attractions and didn't wait in lines more than 20 minutes or so.

So yes, you can stay offsite and still get plenty done. Have a blast!!!

 

[kimmie316]

We stayed offsite this March during our spring break (March 16-22). We had no problems with MK (we RD), and we went to AK at 2 one afternoon with no issues. We were able to grab a PPO BOG breakfast and a Storybook Dining ADR 1-2 weeks before our trip. We did not get a 7D FP 30 days out, didn’t even look for FOP

We are off site in June. We plan on staying at MK until our ADR at Tusker at 3:40pm. How did you get to AK from MK? What time would you suggest we leave MK? As of right now, our last FP is 2-3pm but I've been slowly moving it up. TIA

 

[kimmie316]

We are staying offsite for our June trip. I didn't have any issues getting FP for what we needed. Granted we are focusing on a 7 year old though. I didn't try to get 7D because my neck or head couldn't handle it. We got Big Thunder, Peter Pan, and Splash. I've been moving those times up since I booked them. The only bad thing about staying offsite is having to only pick one park per day for FP. She really wanted SDD but that isn't our first park. We'll just RD it and pray. LOL

 

[Klayfish]

We are off site in June. We plan on staying at MK until our ADR at Tusker at 3:40pm. How did you get to AK from MK? What time would you suggest we leave MK? As of right now, our last FP is 2-3pm but I've been slowly moving it up. TIA

If you have your car, you can drive. How long it takes obviously depends on where you're measuring your starting point from, as MK is a big place. So for sake of conversation, let's say you start the clock from the train station at the end of Main St, just as you're walking out. If you get lucky and catch the monorail and tram just as they're leaving, you could probably get to AK entrance in about 35 minutes. However, I wouldn't cut it that tight. I'd leave about 50-60 minutes just to make sure you aren't rushing.

 

[Mango7100]

We are off site in June. We plan on staying at MK until our ADR at Tusker at 3:40pm. How did you get to AK from MK? What time would you suggest we leave MK? As of right now, our last FP is 2-3pm but I've been slowly moving it up. TIA

We actually went from our resort to AK at 2 and then drove to MK about 530 to start the Disney After Hours night. We allowed ourselves an hour to drive from AK and to be at MK entrance.

 

[kimmie316]

If you have your car, you can drive. How long it takes obviously depends on where you're measuring your starting point from, as MK is a big place. So for sake of conversation, let's say you start the clock from the train station at the end of Main St, just as you're walking out. If you get lucky and catch the monorail and tram just as they're leaving, you could probably get to AK entrance in about 35 minutes. However, I wouldn't cut it that tight. I'd leave about 50-60 minutes just to make sure you aren't rushing.

Awesome! thank you

 

[Remy is Up]

Best advice, learn to use refresh. We have found in our experience, the busier the parks, the easier it is to use refresh from about 9-3 and the effectiveness diminishes after that each hour that passes. But, the mix in a park on a busier day/holiday is more people on first time trips or people who dont go as often ( AP holders and locals will avoid holiday periods more often than not) and their understanding of FP and how to use it is not as high, so therefore they just get in long stand by lines because they dont know how to use the system. On Christmas day between RD and 4 PM we used 14 FPs and never waited in a stand by line. We managed to pull Space Mountain, BTMRR, 7DMT, Pan, JC, PoC and even pulled a HM as we walked up to it while the crowds were getting in a 2 hour long line. Not having access to the 60 day window is not a detrimental thing. Enjoy the savings, learn to use refresh, and you should be OK.

 

[3littlecuties]

Best advice, learn to use refresh. We have found in our experience, the busier the parks, the easier it is to use refresh from about 9-3 and the effectiveness diminishes after that each hour that passes. But, the mix in a park on a busier day/holiday is more people on first time trips or people who dont go as often ( AP holders and locals will avoid holiday periods more often than not) and their understanding of FP and how to use it is not as high, so therefore they just get in long stand by lines because they dont know how to use the system. On Christmas day between RD and 4 PM we used 14 FPs and never waited in a stand by line. We managed to pull Space Mountain, BTMRR, 7DMT, Pan, JC, PoC and even pulled a HM as we walked up to it while the crowds were getting in a 2 hour long line. Not having access to the 60 day window is not a detrimental thing. Enjoy the savings, learn to use refresh, and you should be OK.

14 in one day is amazing! We have had some luck using refresh but found it didn’t work for certain rides. Plus we’re a family of 5 which makes it harder. I would even try to refresh one at a time and sometimes I would see a big one like FoP or SDD pop up for one person but couldn’t get it for all 5. We’ll definitely keep that in mind though!

 

[Remy is Up]

For a group of 5, split into 3 and 2 and then just overlap. Some rides can be more difficult than others due to number of riders, capacity, etc. And a lot of it is very much based on time of day and park mix. I wish you the best and hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[Anchored]

You will be able to get FP for things like Space/Splash/Big Thunder mountain
RNRC, ToT, Star Tours
Everest, Safari, Dinosaur
Test Track and Soarin
You might not be able to get Pandora, Toy Story, or Star Wars rides but you can rope drop those and get FP for everything else
Spring Break crowds are crazy. Get there early and Rope Drop. Set your fast passes for 10, 11, 12 then jet out of there
Check for ADR's at 30 days prior when people cancel packages and again in the last week heading in as people change plans and cancel. The day before especially. I have never not been able to get an ADR I wanted by checking the week before.

We love WBC! Enjoy!

 

[twinme]

Hi, a different approach when staying off property is to make a dining reservation at a resort, Floridian Cafe for example or Kona, for brkfast, take a boat ride over to MK and incorporate that experience into a different kind of disney vacation...no parking fee w tables card , little special, uses time, and fun. Enjoy, wherever you are.!

 

[twinme]

I stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, it has large condos, but little glitches. Lots of fun in the lazy river. Great bar. Staying on property is great, but we like to go ALOT sooo, we make our trade offs...and we do also stay one or two nights on property. Uber has made it easier but the disney bubble is compelling.....hold that bus!