Dang ! That Magic Bubble.

real mad hatter

real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
Hmmm. Lets see. Whilst shopping yesterday with the DW,we bumped into a friend of hers who has just returned from 2 weeks in Florida. ( They have been going for the past 8 years ) Now this was their first time off site,staying on I- Drive.They have one boy and one girl,now 14 & 12,but she said it was the biggest mistake of their lives.Yes,the vacation was much cheaper,about £1500 less,and the hotel was great,but getting to the parks in their self drive car was a nightmare. ( not sure if she was referring to the traffic or just the driving in general ) but also having to leave at night to get back to their I- Drive hotel. Anyway she said never again. Hmmm.So lets see. If your vacation was going to save you approx $1000 for a 14 night stay for a family of four.Would you consider staying off site or would you pay the extra to stay inside the bubble.I know this has been discussed in the past,but I'am curious to see how many of you would pay the extra $$$$$$$ for a 14 night vacation.;)
 
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Skibum1970

Skibum1970

Well-Known Member
We stayed offsite two times before changing over. The last time, our room had mold issues, although we thought that my wife just had a major sinus infection come on out of nowhere. As soon as we headed home, she started feeling better. The pure aggravation of having to fight traffic and drive out of the Disney sphere is also unpleasant. I have thought about staying at the Hilton at Bonnet Creek (not sure if I got the name right) but our love of the Disney hotels is too great. After the first time for a conference, we made up our minds that it was on-site only after that. In fact, my wife basically said on-site or I'm not going. Who am I to argue with such sound logic?
 
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lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
I have done both. Frankly, you can get to the parks faster in your own car than waiting an average of 15-20 minutes for a shuttle. Not to mention you aren't packed in a standing-room-only bus in FL heat.

I like staying on property. But staying off site is an equally viable option. If you are the type who stays in the parks all day and only uses the room as a place to sleep, I think staying off site would be the way to go.
 
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PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
On property definitely. We've stayed offsite on two of our trips (our first and a cheaper trip we were doing). The first time was okay, great hotel, but the second time wasn't great. We had to drive through a toll that was literally just outside our hotel every time we went to a park. Then we had to pay for parking. Adding the miscellaneous expenses, it would've been about the same to stay on grounds.
 
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D

Doug1985

Member
We have only gone twice before (third time in 40 days!!!), and all 3 times stay(ing) off site. The first time we stayed at celebration suites, and it was ok. The lot we were at was down a side street off the irlo bronson highway, a bit of a way down, and the area seemed a little shady. The second (and third) we stay at Maingate lakeside resort, and its much better. Much cleaner and the area around the resort is much better. It has a cleaner look, much more pleasing to the eye. As much as we love WDW, its also nice to get out of "the bubble" and see whats around. I absoluley love the drive from the airport to the hotel... it gets me in "Florida mode" with seeing all the palm trees, the clean air smell, all the nice houses. We also go to universal for a day. We will stay in the park one day, but for now staying off site is just as magical and won't ever ruin or lessen a trip to florida for disney. As long as you can find a place that has good ratings and is close enough to the parks, its all good. Maingate lakeside resort is just that, cheap, clean, and within a 10 minute drive to all the parks (animal kingdom is a stone throw away, going through the back way). Just to add to it, I don't understand how or why people say staying with a disney only trip (staying in the park, dining plan etc.) is cheaper. Its WAY more expensive, even when taking parking a car rental into consideration. We have looked at the numbers so many times, and its just way too much!
 
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Aurora1

Aurora1

Well-Known Member
I much prefer onsite, but when my family & I go we stay at our time share offsite. It's extremely close to WDW and since we own there, the cost is next to nothing. Traffic can be HORRIBLE if you don't go extremely early! When we stay offsite, we do a whole day in a park and don't move our car until we leave for the night lol. But, on-site is my favorite- I love not having to worry about my car at all!
 
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