Why do you stay off site?

TinkandCrew

Active Member
We rent a house or condo, everybody gets their own bedroom and bathroom for less than a value. That and being able to eat a quick breakfast there. How do you think I can go for almost 2 weeks with 2 boys that eat like an army! LOL

I made this same statement on another thread and got responses from people saying they don't believe the amount of money I stated that I save. I don't know why they wouldn't believe it. We were quoted a price of roughly $340 per night for a family suite at the value resorts where we would have been smooshed into a room with 1 bedroom and a living room that had three pieces of furniture turn into a bed. We can get a villa off site for $830 for the entire week where we have our own private pool, hot tub, we all have our own private bedroom and there is a bathroom in each bedroom. Even if I tack on the cost to park and get a rental car....it still doesn't add up to the cost of the value resort for us.

I echo the fact that we can branch out and go wherever we please. Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach, Universal, you name it. It's our hearts desire. We can eat our house when we want and we have a private pool....nobody else but us!
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
The two biggies have to be being closer to non WDW attractions and money. We stayed off site once, I hope we never have to again, I so enjoy being on site. It's a key factor to the trip for us :)

I certainly understand those who do not stay on site though.
 

Nitrokoff

Member
We've stayed both on and off-site. There's nothing quite like staying in a WDW Resort. However... we do go up to WDW quite a lot and the main factor in staying off-site is money. Through different sites you can stay in 2-3 star hotel/motels for as little as $19/night. If it comes down to a favorite... the Maingate Lakeside is nice. Walking distance to a drug store and a Wendy's. Also right next to a mini-golf and CiCi's Pizza and BK. Most I've payed to stay there has been $26/night. Staying on-site though is where it's at if you only plan on visiting once a year.
 
I made this same statement on another thread and got responses from people saying they don't believe the amount of money I stated that I save. I don't know why they wouldn't believe it. We were quoted a price of roughly $340 per night for a family suite at the value resorts where we would have been smooshed into a room with 1 bedroom and a living room that had three pieces of furniture turn into a bed. We can get a villa off site for $830 for the entire week where we have our own private pool, hot tub, we all have our own private bedroom and there is a bathroom in each bedroom. Even if I tack on the cost to park and get a rental car....it still doesn't add up to the cost of the value resort for us.

I echo the fact that we can branch out and go wherever we please. Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach, Universal, you name it. It's our hearts desire. We can eat our house when we want and we have a private pool....nobody else but us!
 
Wow...this always seems to be a topic of debate. One way is NOT BETTER than the other. It's just a matter of convenience and personal preference. For me and my family we choose to stay off-site because we call our vacation an Orlando Vacation and NOT a Disney Vacation. Some people go for DISNEY ONLY and for those, they usually stay onsite if its an option available to them. Our Orlando vacation is 10 days long. Disney only gets 3 to 5 days of our vacation time. The other days are spent enjoying the sights, sounds, dining and entertainment in Orlando and surrounding area. I don't think my way of spending time offsite is better than those that prefer onsite. I think it's what works best for my family.
So true. Have you been to the Disney "outlet" stores? these sell the left over merchandise. We always find a lot of really great,neat souvenirs cheap. I believe that it is a requirement that if you're going to Orlando you must drive down International Drive at night once.
 

MMDVC

Active Member
Just returned form first ever off property trip. For the first night I stayed at the new Hilton Bonnet Creek and have to say the new lazy river pool is incredible on their property. Then moved to Downtown Disney Hilton because this location is the only non-Disney site that includes the extra magic hours. The rate was $79 , less than half of the Value Resorts during Easter week... I also liked the location to be able to walk across the street to Downtown Disney if I felt like using the Disney bus system. I have mixed feelings about staying off property. I guess I will learn to like it a lot if Disney continues to increase their hotel rates and fees and taxes. I did not miss not having a magic band this trip.
 

joannecasey

Active Member
We've stayed both on site and off site and for my family it's off site all the way. $90-$110 a night for a 4 bedroom house, gated community. We save hundreds on food by eating 2 meals a day at the house. And laundry ! Oh how I love having a washer and dryer so close by. It allows us to pack so much lighter as our trips are usually 2+ weeks long. Also, I so enjoy the privacy. Everyone has their own rooms which is great because I am unfortunately a huge snorer ! Every night in a hotel room is a vicious cycle of me snoring and waking up my oldest son, and then he throws a pillow at me to wake me up ... then I get cranky and he gets cranky ... and repeat several times a night ! I do enjoy the atmosphere of being on site but it's just not for our family.

oh .. and our rental home is only 6 minutes (3 traffic lights) away from the turn off to the Magic Kingdom !
 

Mouse_Trap

Well-Known Member
I made this same statement on another thread and got responses from people saying they don't believe the amount of money I stated that I save. I don't know why they wouldn't believe it. We were quoted a price of roughly $340 per night for a family suite at the value resorts where we would have been smooshed into a room with 1 bedroom and a living room that had three pieces of furniture turn into a bed. We can get a villa off site for $830 for the entire week where we have our own private pool, hot tub, we all have our own private bedroom and there is a bathroom in each bedroom. Even if I tack on the cost to park and get a rental car....it still doesn't add up to the cost of the value resort for us.

I echo the fact that we can branch out and go wherever we please. Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach, Universal, you name it. It's our hearts desire. We can eat our house when we want and we have a private pool....nobody else but us!

I guess they must have still be deep in the magic pixie dust........I can think of plenty of decent places you can get a room for less than $40 a night (certainly outside peak season anyway), probably around the standard of a Value room and that have the bonus of having some nice restaurants in walking distance.
 
I stay off-site because I like to walk about international drive and................I really really really love Pizza hut breadsticks! In the UK we don't get them. Always gain pounds of breadsticks lol. X
 

MDactor1980

Well-Known Member
I've also learned with staying off-site, that taking a taxi or car service can get you into a park faster than waiting for Disney shuttle service. (Unless you are staying at one of the lagoon resorts and have monorail access, but this only works for MK.)
 

Let'sGoAgain2015

New Member
For us I have a completely different main reason for renting an off site villa.
We definitely get more for our money with an off site stay. 7 bedrooms, large private pool, game rooms, privacy and plenty of space for all the kids to spread out. A complete full size kitchen and 4 bathrooms for about 1,000 to 1,500 dollars a week. With 8 children that is all necessary stuff for a successful vacation.
But all of that is kind of a no brainer...right? I mean with 8 kids it isn't a far stretch to understand why you would rent a villa.

But my real reason is... I can't even imagine having to eat out every single meal or try to keep "snack" foods around in a hotel room. We like to cook, and our options can be so much healthier and amazing when we are cooking. We get a villa with a huge grill on the patio with the pool right there. We put steaks on the grill, with some grilled pineapple and veggies while the kids swim and relax and then we sit pool side and eat like kings for around 80.00 instead of 280.00. And we aren't forced to eat burgers, fries and chicken fingers every night and day for fear or breaking the bank. We still eat out...LOVE, love, love Be Our Guest! But we spend our eating out money where we REALLY want to go and then really enjoy fantastic fast amazing meals at the rental house.

Plus, by evening time our kids are SO done and the idea of sitting in a restaurant and asking them to hold it together is just too much for them and is no fun for anyone. This just makes the next day harder too. We can get amazing chicken off the grill sliced up over a fantastic pile of healthy salad fixings and we know they have eaten well, have really rested and had fun. And we bring our Soda Stream and make super special yummy drinks. We buy extra easy treats for dessert like ice cream, pies and cakes.

Truth be told our best meals have been the ones we cooked ourselves and relaxed by the pool eating. The night we went to T-Rex cafe we spent 250.00 and the food was SO sub par and the best part was dessert at which point our two boys (age 5 and 7) had fallen asleep on the booths. And it was so loud we couldn't even talk or relax. The atmosphere is super fun, but I would go next time for just dessert and enjoy the atmosphere.

All that being said, I have stayed on site and it is such a blast to completely submerged yourself in the complete Disney experience. Perhaps we will do it with the Grandkids, but as long as we have a large group the Villa is the way to go and cook for the family. Simple, Better and easier...and so much yummier!
 

sbkline

Well-Known Member
One question.... How much cheaper is it to stay off site in comparison to the value resorts? And is it not more beneficial to stay on site for means of transportation and other "perks"?

It depends, of course, on where you stay, as there are hundreds of options, from cheap motels to quality hotels, to rental houses and condos.

We have baby #3 coming in another 6 weeks or sooner, and in order to save money and accomodate a family of 5, I reluctantly decided for off property on our next trip in May 2015. We are checking in Sunday May 24, staying for 10 nights. Official prices for 2015 are not yet out, but the estimate, based on this year's prices, for 10 nights at POR, is around $2100 or so. Take off the normal 25% discount that they usually offer for Disney Visa holders, or the General Public discount, and we're now around $1600. I found a condo for about $60 a night before fees. After fees, taxes, etc, my grand total for the 10 night stay is around $870, or about $87 a night. So saving around $800. Of course, we will have to pay for parking now, so of that $800 savings, I need to subtract out $17 a day for parking, probably having to park on 7 different days.

Regarding the transportation perk for staying onsite, yes, that is a perk, but on the other hand, it's questionable how much time it really saves you. While I enjoy the convenience of just walking out of my room and going to the bus stop and enjoying the ride (the whole bus experience is part of the "fun" for me), by the time we waste time waiting for the bus, I imagine we could probably drive in from offsite just as fast, if not faster.

Once in a while, we may come out to the bus stop and find our bus already there waiting for us to board. But more likely, we get to the bus stop and then wait a few minutes for a bus to our park, say, Magic Kingdom. After a few minutes go by, here comes a bus, but it is for Epcot. A minute or two later, here comes a DTD bus. Then a HollyWood Studios Bus. Finally, here comes a Magic Kingdom bus. We load up, but then have to stop at the remaining bus stops at our hotel and sometimes we even have to swing by another resort. If there is someone in an electric wheelchair, now we have to wait for them to open the other door and for the ramp to VERY SLOWLY descend down, for them to get the ECV onto the bus and then secure it in before the rest of us can finally get on. Long story short, even without an ECV, I have waited at a bus stop for 15-25 minutes on different occassions, and I'm sure that in that amount of time, we could probably just get in our van from our condo and drive on in and get there quicker.

Then, there is the issue of leaving the park, especially if it is around closing time and everyone else is leaving too. You get to your bus stop and there is a huge line for your resort. You wait and wait for a bus, and when it finally comes, you can't board because it fills up and you're still in line. Here comes the next bus, and it still fills up and you're still in line. So you wait until the 3rd bus, and finally you can board, and just hope there is no ECVs at your bus stop. In the amount of time you just wasted waiting on that bus, you could have been in your car and back at your offsite lodging already.
 

Nemo14

Well-Known Member
For us I have a completely different main reason for renting an off site villa.
We definitely get more for our money with an off site stay. 7 bedrooms, large private pool, game rooms, privacy and plenty of space for all the kids to spread out. A complete full size kitchen and 4 bathrooms for about 1,000 to 1,500 dollars a week. With 8 children that is all necessary stuff for a successful vacation.
But all of that is kind of a no brainer...right? I mean with 8 kids it isn't a far stretch to understand why you would rent a villa.

But my real reason is... I can't even imagine having to eat out every single meal or try to keep "snack" foods around in a hotel room. We like to cook, and our options can be so much healthier and amazing when we are cooking. We get a villa with a huge grill on the patio with the pool right there. We put steaks on the grill, with some grilled pineapple and veggies while the kids swim and relax and then we sit pool side and eat like kings for around 80.00 instead of 280.00. And we aren't forced to eat burgers, fries and chicken fingers every night and day for fear or breaking the bank. We still eat out...LOVE, love, love Be Our Guest! But we spend our eating out money where we REALLY want to go and then really enjoy fantastic fast amazing meals at the rental house.

Plus, by evening time our kids are SO done and the idea of sitting in a restaurant and asking them to hold it together is just too much for them and is no fun for anyone. This just makes the next day harder too. We can get amazing chicken off the grill sliced up over a fantastic pile of healthy salad fixings and we know they have eaten well, have really rested and had fun. And we bring our Soda Stream and make super special yummy drinks. We buy extra easy treats for dessert like ice cream, pies and cakes.

Truth be told our best meals have been the ones we cooked ourselves and relaxed by the pool eating. The night we went to T-Rex cafe we spent 250.00 and the food was SO sub par and the best part was dessert at which point our two boys (age 5 and 7) had fallen asleep on the booths. And it was so loud we couldn't even talk or relax. The atmosphere is super fun, but I would go next time for just dessert and enjoy the atmosphere.

All that being said, I have stayed on site and it is such a blast to completely submerged yourself in the complete Disney experience. Perhaps we will do it with the Grandkids, but as long as we have a large group the Villa is the way to go and cook for the family. Simple, Better and easier...and so much yummier!

I totally agree - what you can save on beakfast alone makes up for parking fees. And the convenience of having your washer and dryer right there means you can get by with far fewer clothes, so less luggage to contend with.
 

sbkline

Well-Known Member
By the way, just a disclaimer to my latest post a couple posts back...by no means was I trying to diss those in ECVs. I understand that some people are in poor health and need to use them, and I am thankful that I don't have to use one. So I was not trying to complain about those folks or be negative towards them other than to point out the simple fact that it does add on alot of time to your wait time to get on the bus, and this needs to be factored in when considering just how much time, if any, you actually save by using the WDW bus system. Does it save you money vs paying parking fees and using your own gas? Absolutely. Is it convenient to just be able to get on the bus and relax and let them do the driving? Perhaps, if you don't mind cramped quarters, or having to lug your stroller and kids down a narrow aisle. Does it save time? That is very debatable as I described above, and that was my main point.
 

SAV

Well-Known Member
Having just gotten back from a split stay of half on-property at Coronado Springs and half off-site at a Sheraton Villa, I have a very good comparison to go off of. We did have a rental car for the entire trip and we always have one for our trips.

Both resorts had their good points on different things. Since Sheraton was trying to get us to their resort to try and entice us to buy a timeshare, I got a ridiculously good rate of $270 for 4 nights stay in a 1 bedroom villa. This is not the norm, so obviously for this last trip Price was a big advantage to off-site. But even under "normal" circumstances, price off-site will be cheaper for more roomy accommodations.

The actual room advantage went to Sheraton. It was a much larger room, with a kitchen, a separate bedroom, 2 TV's and was overall a better accommodation. We did get moved to an even larger and premium room after the first night(details later), which tipped the scales even more to Sheraton on the actual room.

Both resorts were beautiful with wonderful grounds and pools. The Sheraton seemed more high end/deluxe than Coronado. But there wasn't a theme to Sheraton. It was just a very, very nice resort. We loved the immersion at Coronado Springs. Walking at night was beautiful. We liked being in Disney without being in the parks. So, this is sort of even, but kinda toward on-site.

Regarding transportation. As I mentioned, we always have a rental car. But there was one day where I needed to get my DS to DHS right at rope drop to sign up for the Jedi Training Academy. We were ready, but DW and DD weren't. It was awesome that I had the option to just take him and let the DD and DW take the bus to the parks and meet us. Now, DW's review of the bus was not favorable. She said they got very lucky that the DHS bus was loading as they got to the stop. So there wasn't a wait involved. If there was, that would have been a negative. She said the bus was full before it got around to all of the stops at the resort, so there were some upset people that were being left behind. If that was her, I would have heard about it. She said it was cramped and not something she wanted to do again. While in the on-site portion of the stay, I did like the option of having the bus available. There were times when I thought about staying at MK until the 1am closing, but everyone else was pretty tired out. When on-site, we could have split up, but off-site it wasn't an option. Obviously a 5 minute drive to each park is far better than a 15 minute drive at minimum from Sheraton.

Now check-in and staff advantage goes to Disney. Check-in was a breeze and we were in the parks very quickly after arrival. Sheraton check-in didn't go quite as well. There was quite a lot of confusion at the front desk and I had a now cranky 9 year old. I guess the Vacation Club check-in is different than the regular check-in areas. We were in Epcot the day we switched resorts, so I made it a point to call Sheraton in late afternoon to confirm things and let them know that we were in town and at a park, so it would be a late arrival. It didn't do any good since the message wasn't passed on. So after about 30 minutes of back and forth, we got assigned our room. We make the drive across the resort, park and go up to the room. Key's aren't working. The wife hears something in the room. We knock and someone was already in the room. So we make the trek back to check-in to get things sorted out. We were given the wrong room number. It was sorted out, but very inconvenient. Due to all of this trouble, they upgraded us to a much larger premium room. The initial check-in staff at Sheraton seemed unprofessional and a little scattered. Disney was awesome.

Food prices at both were similarly expensive. So no advantage either way.

So with all that being said, it really depends on what you value as to which is better.
 

nharned

New Member
I stay off site because we own a timeshare that is 5 minutes from Disney. It is like a home. The amenities are great and cheap. We do not hear our neighbors and get to use the movie theater on a day we aren't at the parks all day.
 

RobUK

Active Member
Just out of interest, and for those who have stayed offsite, how good are the shuttle buses at these places? We're from the UK and neither myself or my wife fancy driving, and I was wondering what the transportation from external hotels tend to be like. I.e. how often do they run? Are they reliable? Do they run late into the night, etc?
 

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