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?

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Having stayed both on-property, and off, it has always been cheaper for us to be off. It has always been more hassle too. We prefer on-property and we save/plan to make it happen. But we would stay off-property if that was the only way we could visit.

We have two (2) change collection containers in the house with WDW pictures taped to the sides to remind us of what we are saving for.

Your family sounds exactly like mine. We have always stayed off-property because that is how we could afford to go. But we are treating ourselves this time to our first on-property stay. It won't happen until 2014 but it gives us plenty of time to save.

Like you, we have a large container we have been throwing all of our change in. Ours also has WDW pics taped to the side. It is amazing how fast it is accumulating with everyone contributing.

We are setting aside a portion of our income tax for our Disney fund.

I have the option at my job to not take my actual vacation time, and just get paid for the hours, so I am taking that money to put towards our trip. We are also taking any bonus $ we get from our jobs and putting that in the Disney fund.

I think the hardest part is putting away a specific dollar amount from every paycheck. We are doing it, but it is difficult.

Some folks might think it's crazy to juggle all of that for "just a trip" but it means so much to us to be able to do this for our kids and for us as well. I'll do whatever it takes to get there again.

In all honesty, though, if the ONLY way I could go again was to stay off-property, I certainly would do it. It may not be the most magical experience, but it's still Disney time.

 

[Patrick_Ears]

Yep it all goes by what you can afford. Last few times we went we stayed on property, but if i stayed off before, it would not stop us from having fun.

 

[Epcot Dave]

We've only paid rack rate...because we waited too long to book...once since 10/01. If it wasn't a room discount, it was free dining. Ever trip since 2006 has been free dining.

I commute every day to work in the Chicago area. I'm a hardcore car guy, but I hate commuting in Chicago. The LAST thing I'm going to do is rent a car and stay off site. For a party of 2, 3, or 4 (depending what year it was), it really wasn't an issue to us. The Wife stayed off property several times when she was young and neither of us want to do that.

We stay at PORS and are OK with what we pay...of course paying less would be better, and I reminice about paying $99-$109 per night post-9/11. If that means I have to trim some of my consumption elsewhere in my life to afford not having to drive for 8-10 days on average, that's what I do.

Man, the last thing I really want to deal with is car traffic leaving the parks at night...(shudders).

To each their own...if you can save enough staying off property, by driving, or both, go for it. Neither are for me.

-Dave

 

[UPbeekeeper]

I commute every day to work in the Chicago area. I'm a hardcore car guy, but I hate commuting in Chicago.

Ugh...Chicago traffic has got to be the worst driving experience ever for me. My hat is off to you for doing it on a daily basis. You DESERVE a Disney vacation for going through that every day.

 

[mnagel55]

Interesting topic.

I guess it comes down to the number in your party and the number of nights you are in Orlando.

I hadn't considered that you could rent a place THAT cheap! For me, PORS is a nice quiet location that isn't much (if any more) than what I would expect to pay at a regular hotel, but most of our visits are focused on the parks.

As "The Driver" for our family of 4, staying on property means I don't have to worry about traffic, parking etc. If someone is tired at any time of the day, we hop on the shuttle and head back to the room for a rest....the same when its time to get back to the parks. I can even catch a cat-nap on the way over

As much as a trip to Disney can be a lot of "work" I want it to be a vacation for me too.

I can see what the OP is getting at though, with parties >6 it would start to get prohibitive.

 

[Joshua&CalebDad]

Renting a DVC rental is a great way to save $ on a Deluxe resort. We initially booked a Budget level All Starts Resort Stay directly through Disney. Then I found out about the DVC rentals. I booked a DVC rental for Kidani Village for the exact same price and I had paid for the All Star Movies directly through Disney.


We were even able to add the dining plan to our room.


For 7 nights we paid $1160 for a studio, that's $165 per night. That's awesome considering that the room usually goes for $400-450 directly from Disney.

:ROFLOL:

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.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

Poor college student = can only stay on property if at an All Stars Resort, nothing wrong with that though, some day I'll have my honeymoon at the Polynesian

 

[MichWolv]

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?

For a single or couple, staying on site is fairly easy to justify, particularly if you are willing to stay at a value. At that point, the cost differential is small, and the on-site benefits of EMH, transport, not having to drive and park a car in the lot every day, etc., make up for it.

For a family, it really depends more on what you are looking for. My wife and I do not like to vacation in a single hotel room with our two young kids. We like to be able to put them to bed or down for a nap. That means that staying on site would require two rooms or a suite. Even with the cheapest way of getting that, it's still about 3 times the cost of a similar suite at a nice place off-site. For that reason, we usually stay off-site. We use the savings to splurge on activities or meals or two take an extra vacation now and then.

Sounds like what's important to my family is the same as what's important to you. But for some people, the benefits of staying on site warrant putting four people in a single room to reduce the cost differential. And for others, the benefits of staying on site warrant paying the additional money to get what they want on site. Nothing wrong with that -- just different priorities.

 

[hiptwinmama]

Buy into DVC.... My wife purchased 200 DVC points at the Beach Club Villas back in 2002 prior to having children. Now we have 3 boys and have been able to stay atleast once a year if not twice since then.

Purchasing a DVC is a nice option, however don't forget about annual maintenance fees . They can be pricey, when you add them to the payment you are making on the time share purchase. For us, only going for 1 week every year, it is much more cost effective just to rent a DVC. We looked in to buying and found that for 1 week a year it is better to rent than to buy.

 

[hiptwinmama]

@ Joshua&CalebDad's


I found the rental through MouseOwners.com. She has been wonderful to work with. I did my due dilligance by checking Orange County, FL records online to confirm she was the owner. In addition, I paid with paypal so that my payments would be safe and secure. I would NOT rent a DVC though Ebay or Craigs list. There are also 3rd party brokers you can rent through. One is DVCrentalstore.com.

As for the dining plan, you can add it to a DVC rental. However, it is not discounted. It is the same price that you would pay if you booked through disney.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Poor college student = can only stay on property if at an All Stars Resort, nothing wrong with that though, some day I'll have my honeymoon at the Polynesian

Keep dreaming those dreams and they will come true. The continuing tough economy is making us wonder about our 2012 plans. But we will continue to scrimp and save and see how close we come to fulfilling our dreams for a next trip. Got to have some enjoyment to life. And ours is Disney.

 

[ddbowdoin]

coming from someone who never stayed on property before (as a child or adult) until my LAST trip I will tell you this... it is certainly difficult to compare apples to apples in this situation, especially if you do so from the simplicity of number of beds.

Now given your party size, it certainly poses more issues and difficulty in saving money.

But, there is no way I can compare on site too off site. If enjoying your vacation is the most important thing, off site just doesn't stack up. Again, I used to never stay onsite until my last trip. I use to scoff at the notion of the "magic" until I experienced it for myself. Now, luckily my first experience was the Beach Club and this is an amazing resort. A super efficient bus system to MK / AK and a an uber fast walk to Epcot (and a little bit of a longer walk to DHS). The fact that I didn't have to drive anywhere for a week was downright amazing.

Now, we picked up AP's for our honeymoon this summer and when we return the 2nd time (once FLE is up and running and 100% open) we will likely stay offsite to save money. But, the way I see it is the 2nd trip is a pure luxury stay.

 

[Flip83]

Because some people prefer to stay on sit and have the money to do so. Is this a serious question? Come on. People decide what's worth it to them.

Amen. Perfectly said

 

[vjgraham]

Discounts. I wouldn't pay rack rate.

Like others have said, it's what works for your family and what you want out of your vacation. We used to stay at Pop and hit the parks as much as possible. Those days our whole 7-9 day vacation for our family of 4 would run a couple thousand dollars or so if that. Over the years we've evolved in what we enjoy and now we find time spent at our resort is just as much fun if not moreso than the parks. If we stayed off-site we'd eat waaaay too much time getting to the car & driving back & forth. Obviously staying in deluxes now we're spending a good bit more than we used to. We save and work towards our vacations throughout the year. It's what works for each family and what they can or are willing to spend.

Well said, We always stay onsite but last year we split out vacation to 8 days onsite and 3 days offsite. (had family come down who didn't wanna stay onsite)
The extra travel time, parking, and getting to the front gates of theme parks after parking your car was more trouble than the cost savings. I will never stay offsite again.

 

[dixiegirl]

Well said, We always stay onsite but last year we split out vacation to 8 days onsite and 3 days offsite. (had family come down who didn't wanna stay onsite)
The extra travel time, parking, and getting to the front gates of theme parks after parking your car was more trouble than the cost savings. I will never stay offsite again.

Oh yes we've been there!! The year my mother in law thought it would be cheaper to get a big house and all of us go to Disney...Yeah not so much fun, a house full of inlaws(that was interesting), renting cars, (the whole driving, thing I love have Disney bus system ,if someone gets tired or had enough of the park for the day who ever was in that car had to leave too....It was just overall a pain in the A-- and we swore to never do it again...And that was the last time we did..Yrs later when my mother inlaw came with us and stayed onsite , so different better experience....Yeah she said it herself she had no clue between the price of the resort, having not to worry about if she got tired she could go back to the resort, ..All in all needless to says she too had a great time and vowed herself never to stay offsite again!

 

[ddbowdoin]

Well said, We always stay onsite but last year we split out vacation to 8 days onsite and 3 days offsite. (had family come down who didn't wanna stay onsite)
The extra travel time, parking, and getting to the front gates of theme parks after parking your car was more trouble than the cost savings. I will never stay offsite again.

Oh yes we've been there!! The year my mother in law thought it would be cheaper to get a big house and all of us go to Disney...Yeah not so much fun, a house full of inlaws(that was interesting), renting cars, (the whole driving, thing I love have Disney bus system ,if someone gets tired or had enough of the park for the day who ever was in that car had to leave too....It was just overall a pain in the A-- and we swore to never do it again...And that was the last time we did..Yrs later when my mother inlaw came with us and stayed onsite , so different better experience....Yeah she said it herself she had no clue between the price of the resort, having not to worry about if she got tired she could go back to the resort, ..All in all needless to says she too had a great time and vowed herself never to stay offsite again!

When we went in 2010 and stayed off site, we picked up a free AAA Diamond Parking Pass. This pass placed us one row behind handicap parking in every park. Luckily, we never had to take a single tram. But in 2011 we stayed on site (first time for me) and I'm never going off again.

 

[FLORIDA_PHIL]

Hi I stay off site as i don't mind driving and like the fact of a villa with pool etc just to chill out after a long day . it is what you want from your holiday !! personal preference. I am going with my wife for our 20th wedding anniversary in sept / oct for 3 weeks staying off site in a 4 bed villa just the 2 of us as its cheaper than a hotel room !!! no brainer for me my own facilities NICE

 

[dixiegirl]

When we went in 2010 and stayed off site, we picked up a free AAA Diamond Parking Pass. This pass placed us one row behind handicap parking in every park. Luckily, we never had to take a single tram. But in 2011 we stayed on site (first time for me) and I'm never going off again.

You kinda get spoiled staying onsite!!!

 

[FLORIDA_PHIL]

Amen. Perfectly said

I am staying in a 4 bed villa this sept / oct for 3 weeks for my 20 th wedding anniversary only 2 of us as the price was cheaper than a hotel on site . It is just a personal choice you go with what you want . Me , i like the idea of my own pool etc after a long day around the parks and i don't mind driving as i have sorted AAA diamond pass so parking/exiting is a breeze

 

[Rolyataylor2]

Plane tickets (2) = $800 from the West coast
Disney PC resort, 2ppl, 9 days, 6 day ticket (WPAM, no hopper), dining plan in September = $2415

total = $3215 :shrug:

if free dining is offered
total = $2400 (around) :sohappy:

Staying on site is so worth it if you can get a deal. I would say I get more out of my Disney stay then the overpriced airline tickets. If i wanted to stay off site i would go to Disneyland.

I love the second I touch down in Florida being immersed in Disney :king:, the shuttle plays the videos, the hotel takes my bags, and the food, OMG the FOOD! :slurp: