What will push you offsite?

[MusicalAstronaut]

Significant changes to Fastpass system for onsite guests would be the final push. I'm willing to pay for a lot, but with park ticket prices skyrocketing I will not pay for the "privilege" of fastpasses.

This for sure. Agree 100000%.

 

[georgina]

I already have gone offsite for most of my Disney visits now (mostly for price reasons). In Feb DH and I used Marriott points to stay at the Flamingo Crossing Springhill Suites. Nice room, free breakfast, free parking, a quick drive to the parks, especially AK. We don't do exclusively Disney trips much anymore, we drove to Universal several days as well. (We do still stay onsite at Universal sometimes, I feel more value in that than a Disney onsite stay.) In October I have a timeshare type place booked through Orbitz for less than $100 a night. I will stay there, rent a car, and split my time between Disney and Universal.

If I'm doing a quick Disney trip for a particular reason I might stay at Pop and use Disney buses but that is becoming more rare. I had an AP last year and went in August for a few days to see Toy Story Land before the AP expired.

 

[SteveH]

If Swan/Dolphin is considered "offsite", we've already been pushed there. We don't use DME and don't need the 180+10 perk as we are done with the harder-to-get ADR's. I'm Marriott silver elite (heading to gold), so the perks of staying at Swan/Dolphin outweigh staying at a WDW resort. It also comes, typically, at a far cheaper price point than WDW deluxes and some great restaurants.

Agreed we've really enjoyed our S/D stays, I am sort of hoping their prices begin to fall for our Feb 2020 trip, but right now they are running high.

 

[CaLuCa]

What made me take a very serious long break from staying on site was the charge for parking. I switched and rearranged several visits once they implemented that.

Also, room size, Being a family of 6 with young kids, you have few choices.

 

[Klayfish]

I'll give you the opposing opinion to most, OP. Give offsite a try and see if you like it.

We're a family of 5, and we feel just as strongly about being offsite as others here do about being onsite. It's the only way to go for us. We wouldn't stay onsite if it were free. Heck, we tried to stay onsite for one night...for free...twice...just to see what it was like and we didn't even make it. We went back to our offsite rental before bed. For us, we'd see having to stay onsite as a deal breaker, it would be awful in so many ways.

Doesn't mean you're going to feel that way, you may not. You may find it 50/50 or anywhere in between. But you won't know until you try.

 

[Disneylvr1971]

Have done both and for us it's onsite. However we are going in May this year and staying offsite with DD. (Free) Was a last minute decision and with 3 trips this year wanted to save money. We do own DVC and without that we wouldn't spend the money on Deluxe. Other trip is at POP. We don't mind sharing a room. Not sure we will ever be pushed offsite, we like being able to hop back to the room for a break and go back in the evening.

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

I'll give you the opposing opinion to most, OP. Give offsite a try and see if you like it.

We're a family of 5, and we feel just as strongly about being offsite as others here do about being onsite. It's the only way to go for us. We wouldn't stay onsite if it were free. Heck, we tried to stay onsite for one night...for free...twice...just to see what it was like and we didn't even make it. We went back to our offsite rental before bed. For us, we'd see having to stay onsite as a deal breaker, it would be awful in so many ways.

Doesn't mean you're going to feel that way, you may not. You may find it 50/50 or anywhere in between. But you won't know until you try.

can i ask why you're so opposed to staying onsite? and where did you stay? i'm just curious as i've never heard that opinion before

 

[QueenElinor]

We'll stay onsite unless we don't go to WDW anymore. So, if the park experience is lacking that will be it for us, but it's not really a question of onsite or offsite, it's more go or no-go.
We're going in May, so we'll see. I've spent a bundle on accommodations, parties and FPs. Now, we'll see if the experience is worth what I spent.

 

[PrincessV]

I'm actually at the opposite end of the question: very few things push me onsite anymore.

Back when I was young and broke, I only ever stayed offsite because that was what I could afford. During the 90s, WDW started offering really good FL resident and AP discounts, which, combined with a higher income, made onsite nights affordable for me. The pendulum's been swinging the other direction in recent years, so it's been back to saying mostly offsite. I don't want or need Disney transportation, as I drive to WDW (I'm local-ish) and would rather drive myself to the parks. I don't use EMHs or refillable mugs, I prefer to have a kitchen, or at least a microwave, in my room to prep food I prefer over what WDW offers, and I've found offsite options that cost less and provide nicer rooms. The only thing getting me onsite anymore is price: there are some rare times when WDW's discounted rate is equal to or better than my preferred offsite options.

 

[Klayfish]

can i ask why you're so opposed to staying onsite? and where did you stay? i'm just curious as i've never heard that opinion before

Do you mean where on site? The Dolphin...or was it the Swan? We did it in 2017 and again in 2018. They're nice hotels, don't get me wrong, very nice. But it's just not for us.

Here's the list of things that for us make offsite so much better. I completely recognize they may be unique to us.

1. Cost. As a family of 5, we'd pay double the cost to stay onsite. At a minimum. We stay offsite for under $100/night all in.

2. Space. Having 3-4 bedrooms is awesome. Everyone gets to have their own personal space. We'd kill each other being stuck in one room for a week or more. I can't stress enough how wonderful having all the amenities of home is. It's so nice to sit in the family room and relax after a nice day in the parks...can't do that in a hotel room.

3. Full kitchen. We bring our own food into the parks for a variety of reasons. We do buy treats/desserts on property and maybe once or twice per week eat out...either at QS or off property. Even with that, we spend maybe $700/week to feed our entire family. We don't slave in the kitchen doing heavy cooking, we're on vacation so we have no interest in that. We do very simple and easy things. Cleaning dishes? That's what the dishwasher is for. It's so easy.

4. On site laundry. Unless you pack heavy, if you're staying for a week or more (our summer trips are over 2 weeks long) you're going to need to do laundry. Having it in our rental is fabulous. Throw a load in while we're eating dinner, toss it in the drier when we head to the pool for a swim. Done.

5. We think the whole bubble thing is silly. For us, our "bubble" is more than just WDW property. We go to a WDW park every day we're there, we don't believe in "resort days". At the same time, we don't commando tour. So we may spend a morning in the parks and hit gift shops or Dunkin' Donuts at night. One Xmas, we went to Gaylord Palms to check out their display. We love doing those things. It just expands our vacation. We'll even take a day and go to Daytona Beach and then maybe Disney Springs at night.

6. We insist on having our own car. I couldn't imagine having to rely on WDW buses. No way. We love being able to go where we want, when we want, in our own car. I love to drive, so I don't consider it a chore at all...rather a pleasure. Depending on where we stay and what park we're going to, we can get to our rental just as fast as people onsite anyway, if not faster. It's anywhere from 25-50 minutes door to door, relatively speaking. I know you can have a car onsite too, but having it offsite is just an added bonus.

Those are the big things. The places we stay at all have nice pool complexes, activities, etc... So for us, it's just the only way to go.

 

[bozley0621]

If the cost and/or reduction in perks drives us off-site, it will be to Shades of Green or no WDW.

We have two years, three months, 20 days until we move back home, which is 79.8 miles from DL. Trips to WDW will be even less then.

 

[JohnV]

In a word - cost and $1500 is a lot of money. I have been going every year with the exception of one since 1994. Always onsite. However, like you said the perks are going south. Can't even park for free at your resort. So, last year I stayed offsite .. but it was only a 3-night trip. It's really gotten a bit crazy if you ask me so to me it's a matter of cost. I'm going this year to the 20 years party and staying on-site .. but unless I can get a good discount - I see a lot of offsite in my future. You can stay close by or even at Disney Springs or Bonnet Creek area. very very close. Just stay away from the Celebration/Old Town area of 192. Think of what you could do with that $1500. Even use it on your trip - think of the things you could do... that's my 2 cents.

Ditto. We used to stay in site all the time. Hotels or Fw. I complained about paying $40 a night for a campsite. Today the date is $135 per night. More at peak season. We are at Magic Lake RV Park a few miles west of the entrance to DW. About $40 a night so it’s a no brained Living an hour away we can hit the parks anytime except for blackout dates Meeting friends here this week so we are spending three days in the camper

 

[FSU Girl]

I think in the future I'll probably do more trips off site than on. Disney is taking away so many perks of staying onsite, I can't really justify the cost. The biggest reason is cost. I stayed in a two bedroom villa at Bay Lake for $1,200 last year. This year same dates its $2,200. It went up by a thousand dollars. So now I can't justify it. I hate the room checks, paying to park overnight. I'm not renewing my annual pass so it might be a while before I go back, but will probably stay offsite when I do.

 

[Tigger's ally]

If I plan a vacation "offsite". I go for the total immersion. The safety. The umbrella. If I plan to go to Orlando or Kissimmee or Universal then I will stay there.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

the cost has always pushed me offsite

 

[Ashley Marie]

Many of the Disney resorts have a certain "je ne sais quoi" to me, and that feeling and resort experience is as important to my vacation as the time in the parks. If I got the same feeling at an off-site hotel, great, but that'd take some trial and error, and with little kids I'm also factoring in the convenience factor of being on property.

 

[Minnie1222]

Nothing will push me offsite. If I can't find a reasonable rate at a Disney resort on the dates I want then I don't go at all.

 

[StageTek]

If you're an onsite person will something push you to move offsite? If so what?

When Disney allowed dogs many, many people said that was it. When Disney charged for resort parking many, many people said that was it. When Disney started daily room checks many, many people said that was it. I know there is no way of knowing but I wonder how many people started staying off-site because of any of those things.

I'm with "Minnesota!" - If they ever stopped or charged for DME that might keep me from staying on site. But not much else.

 

[ClapYourHands]

My breaking point will be if Disney stops providing benefits that make onsite stays valuable to me. The rumors - paid FP, paid DME, elimination of many EMH - make me wonder what the point of being onsite is. I don't really care if there's a picture of Mickey in my hotel room; I want someplace that's nice and clean because I'm mostly just going to be sleeping there or taking a pool break. If I have to pay for FP, and I have to pay for extra hours (through DAH or EMM rather than EMH), and I have to pay for transportation (DME no longer free), then why would I stay onsite?

In the interest of full disclosure, I have never been willing to pay deluxe prices, so proximity to the parks isn't something I get from Values and Moderates. Spending time in transport to the parks is what I'm used to, so driving/ubering from offsite would not be an additional burden. I have stayed at the Swolfin, and would do so again because the walk to Epcot and HS was great, but only with a good deal or on points.

 

[dis escape]

Cost and value have already pushed us offsite. Historically, we preferred staying on-site for convenience and better experience. Sure did like that Disney bubble! But on the last several trips I've been unable to find value rooms, and what Disney is offering me is high-end moderate or deluxe rooms at really high prices. We'd rather have a less expensive trip, enjoy life, and come back again. So we have stayed at various off-site locations (Marriott Village, etc.).

Admittedly, we have unique vacation characteristics that affect this. We are about a 6.5 hour drive from WDW, so we drive our personal car, and are comfortable using it to drive to the parks. We typically go once a year, maybe twice, so we are not panicked to pack everything in. Now, its just me and the spouse. When the kids were with us, there were still only four. Usually have an annual pass to cover parking. So staying offsite works for us, and to be honest, it hasn't detracted from our experience as much as I thought it would. I have to say, though, that missing that 60-day FastPass+ window bums me out.