How can you afford to stay on-site?

[mikeymouse]

I've tried to compare apples to apples, but its just not possible. There are 6 adults in our party plus 1 infant. We pay $120/night for a 3bdr/3bath pool home for 10 days. King/queen/twin beds. All amenities. With park tickets, ground transportation, and food/souveniers, its about $3000 per couple. For us to stay on site, its at least $500/night and we are talking maybe 1 real bed, a murphy bed, and bunkbeds. Seriously? How do you do it?

 

[chwilson88]

Work is such a dirty word now days.

It sure is. Living off the system is now the norm. Hard work = great vacations.

 

[Skibum1970]

Staying on-site is a bit of a luxury but one that we are spoiled in. The first couple of times that we went (just the wife and I), we stayed off-site and it wasn't fun wrestling with traffic, parking, and the room was, uh, just a room. Yeah, I know that I'm just sleeping there but my wife likes to go back to the hotel and rest after being at a park for a few hours (I, on the other hand, prefer the long marathon days with no letup). So, going back to the resort hotel is easy with the WDW buses and the resorts are fun to just hang around at. The grounds are typically clean with nice pools and places to walk. Plus, as someone else mentioned, leaving at the end of the day doesn't mean waiting in long lines of traffic to get out. Just a short bus ride home. With all of that said, we have budgeted a specified amount to go into savings each month that is earmarked for vacation (Disney or not). As the amount grows, my excitement at getting closer to the goal also grows. Then, it's a matter or finding a Disney special offer on hotel rates or dining.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

Wish my husband felt this way, but no..he likes to have a place to unwind at the end of the night....I know being 6'5 and 240 makes it kinda uncomfortable in a double bed, but...oh well...he pays the bills..:ROFLOL:

you have the same prob as me my husband is 6 7 and 320 pounds.. request a king! I tell them my husband is a big guy and we cant both fit and they gladly always give us a king

 

[surfsupdon]

I just MAKE it happen.

When I have to pay for a room (Deluxe but not rack rate) I know I can't spend spend spend in my daily life. I pay the bills, and don't live in excess. Live within my means. I can't buy new sneakers every month and I still don't have an iPhone. Lol.

 

[minnielaw]

I am curious about doing this very thing. I have already booked family suite at All Star Movie Resort for the end of November but would be very interested in changing to an onsite villa if I can get a dining plan at a halfway decent price. Can someone suggest who to contact about renting a DVC rental and then adding a dining plan. Thanks.

I rented DVC points for our upcoming WDW vacation in September. We had planned to stay at CSR (at the request of our boys) and were looking at $4,200.00 for an 8 night stay (4 people) with park hopper and NO dining plan. I know this was a rack rate, but expected that Free Dining would be offered and it is worth more than the discount for our family.

I read about renting DVC points on a fellow WDWMagic member's trip report and looked into it. For $3,100.00 we are staying 7 nights at Boardwalk Villas with 7 day park hoppers AND dining plan. Our room is a studio so it only has one queen bed and a couch bed, but our boys don't mind. The room is the same size as a room at CSR but we have a kitchenette. The location is awesome and we can walk to Epcot and DHS! Can't wait.

I suggest looking into renting DVC points. I used www.dvcrequest.com (David's Disney Vacation Club Rentals) they had excellent feedback and they are accredited by the Better Business Bureau and several other agencies. You can pay using PayPal so you are protected by them as well.

 

[surfsupdon]

Despite always being less expensive, we still prefer staying onsite whether possible. For us, staying onsite is always more fun than staying offsite.

And I hear that and I think that it is so UNFAIR. It should be just as convenient and financially easy for a larger family to stay onsite just as a fmaily of 4. I agree, Disney caters to families of 4, especially with rooms.

The Deluxe suites and Value Suites are still so so expensive.

 

[Disneykidder]

We don't go to WDW too often but for our upcoming trip, we are staying at CSR. We are a family of five and right now 2 of our children are small so one room will be fine. But in a few years we will need 2 rooms in order to be comfortable/have another bathroom. We prefer to stay onsite for the convenience of being so close. We could hop back onto the bus and go take a midafternoon swim, freshen up, etc., We also like the busing. I know some off site hotels have shuttles but at scheduled times. Everyone has a preference.

People save change, use their bday/holiday gifts on their trips in order to save up for it.

 

[pmb0417]

We stayed onsite our first trip (Honeymoon) 12 years ago. We stayed offsite last time (hubby's family went down and got a great deal to stay offsite for $175 per family for the week, not counting food and ticket costs) 4 years ago. This time, it is hubby, our son & myself - it is a special treat. Hubby finished his MBA last year and started on his Phd this year, my son has had 3 1/2 years on the A/B honor roll and started in the gifted program and is still on the A/B honor roll. We are celebrating this and with the knowledge that we most likely not be able to go back until hubby finishes this degree, we decided to spend the extra cost to stay onsite at a decent resort so that our son will get to experience an onsite stay at Disney.

 

[alissafalco]

And I hear that and I think that it is so UNFAIR. It should be just as convenient and financially easy for a larger family to stay onsite just as a fmaily of 4. I agree, Disney caters to families of 4, especially with rooms.

The Deluxe suites and Value Suites are still so so expensive.

Thats not just Disney that does that, thats every where!! Everything is always for a family 4 where ever you look. It's not unfair at all. Why should you pay the same price for a family of four when you have a family of six??? You have more kids you pay more, thats life!

 

[ParentsOf4]

Thats not just Disney that does that, thats every where!! Everything is always for a family 4 where ever you look. It's not unfair at all. Why should you pay the same price for a family of four when you have a family of six??? You have more kids you pay more, thats life!

The cost per person for the "odd size" family is higher. For simplicity, assume a Moderate Resort rate of $200/night. For a family of 4, this works out to $50/person. However, a family of 6 has to get 2 rooms, which works out to $66.67/person.

A family of 5 can fit into 1 room. A family of 7 or 8 has a lower cost per person than a family of 6. Basically, a family of 6 pays the most per person.

 

[surfsupdon]

The cost per person for the "odd size" family is higher. For simplicity, assume a Moderate Resort rate of $200/night. For a family of 4, this works out to $50/person. However, a family of 6 has to get 2 rooms, which works out to $66.67/person.

A family of 5 can fit into 1 room. A family of 7 or 8 has a lower cost per person than a family of 6. Basically, a family of 6 pays the most per person.

Thanks, that's what I meant by unfair. That families of 5, 6, and 7 have to get two rooms but end up paying more per person per night. But a company has got to make money.