If you had to choose

Aurora_25

Aurora_25

Well-Known Member
Are you renting a car at all?? I know that when we stay on-site we don't rent a car and that saves us at least $150 or more depending on how long we stay. Just wondering about that.
I am a firm believe in staying on-site, but not so much for the "magic" of it, but the convenience for my family. It's nice to just hop on a bus and then be at the park- plus you get the extra morning hour that is really good. However, if that means that you only get 2 days rather than a week- I would go with off site.
 
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martinthesparta

Member
Well, I think the concensus here is rather clear. But lets look at it from a different perspective. It really depends if you guys are major park phreaks and spend your whole day in the parks or if you would be spending a lot of time at the hotel. Because if you are only gonna sleep at your hotel, there is really little point in cutting your vacation short for it. But lets say you only want to stay at the park until five each night, then if you stayed at the poly for example you could enjoy a nice dinner, watch their night time entertainment ect, and just relax in an unique environment. But if you are doing it just to stay on site then i say why bother if it's gonna cost you park time.

Last august we stayed at the howard johnson across the street from universal property and it turned out wonderfully. We only went to IOA once, but it was nice being right there and still not far frome wdw (easy tram access) and it was just a really nice hotel for 45 a night including the tax, although that could have been the hurricane special. You locals can confirm if this is normal, but i still suggest the place regardless and whether you're into universal or not.
 
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momto3grr8tkids

New Member
Original Poster
Yeah I think we will be spending the majority of our time in the parks. We have 3 young kids so that is kind of a given I think.


I was just curious because my bestfriend and her family are going as well her kids are the same age as mine but she is willing to cut their trip short just to stay in the resort and I just didn't get the logic of it, especially with young kids who are going to want to be in the parks more than the resort. This is her families first trip also, so I didn't really think it made sense but I thought maybe I was missing something.

As far as the rental car, no we won't be renting a car. We actually live in the west end of the panhandle so we will be driving the 7 hours down. Plus the hotel we are staying at does offer a free shuttle service to the parks if we choose to use it.

I just thought that maybe there was something above and beyond about the resorts that would make her willing to cut their trip short. We've never stayed at one so I just didn't know but I just don't think we are willing to sacrifice the days. I can't wait it will be a great time.
 
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lucyanna girl

New Member
Safety

I too would choose to stay as long as possible. Do be careful to stay at a safe place. The last couple of times DD and I stayed off-site we had really nice rooms at good prices but due to room location, parking avalibility, outside and upstairs corridors, etc. and the lack of security we did not feel safe. On-site I always feel secure.
 
barnum42

barnum42

New Member
A good site to give you an idea of hotel locations is:

http://www.kissimmee-us192.com/map/ushwy192mapindex.htm

To help you locate properties, 192 has marker posts running it's length. The last couple of trips I stayed just past marker 9 (map 4 from the above link) and was a ten minute drive from the parks.

If you have found found a hotel you are interested in, find out what 192 marker it is by then check it out on the map, if you feel it's too far away then seek something closer.
 
barnum42

barnum42

New Member
Aurora_25 said:
Are you renting a car at all?? I know that when we stay on-site we don't rent a car and that saves us at least $150 or more depending on how long we stay. Just wondering about that.
Click to expand...
I have looked at that, but by the time I took away the cost of alternative transport to and from the airport the "cost" of the car went down. Last trip, tax included I paid the equivalent of $25 per night. Value resort with AP discount would have been around $60 per night plus tax. A rental car and lots of grub in the parks can be paid for with that sort of price difference :D
 
MusicMaker

MusicMaker

New Member
I've stayed onsite as well as used a timeshare and hotels. When I last went with my family as a whole, we stayed 2 days at the All Star Resort and then stayed the rest of the time at our timeshare for over a week. One of the advantages of staying onsite is being able to use the Extra Magic Hours. We planned this by using the EMH for the early Animal Kingdom admission (great to see the Safari animals when it's still cool in the morning) and we used the EMH for an extended evening at the Magic Kingdom. We're the type (with our 6 year old) that will spend every minute in the parks and only use the hotel/timeshare to sleep and store our stuff! Our timeshare is near Universal Studios and took us 20-30min. to drive to any of the parks, so it wasn't too bad. We also used the AAA booking so that we got the AAA prefered Diamond parking.
I don't know if being able to take advantage of EMH is worth it to you by sacrificing a few DAYS in the parks.
Now, if money weren't an issue... get me the presidential suites onsite!!!:sohappy:
 
Raven66

Raven66

Well-Known Member
momto3grr8tkids said:
This is her families first trip
.
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Maybe this is why she thinks she has to stay on site. It's a way to get all the magic. But personally if I had to choose, I would stay off site to get the extra time.

Have fun!! :wave:
 
Pixiedust1393

Pixiedust1393

Member
You could rent a house. My family and I have done that before and loved it. They have usually 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, washer/dryer, 2 living rooms, usually tv's in every livingroom/bedroom, own private pool, sometimes hot tub, kitchen... Pretty much like a regular house!... Nice houses run about $75.00 a night..
 
tracyandalex

tracyandalex

Well-Known Member
hey,

we alsways stay onsite becasue i prefer it, so we just don't go as often. in your case i would definately stay off site though. good luck and of course have a great trip

tracy
 
Magic Maker

Magic Maker

New Member
I loved staying on site. It is an UNBELIEVABLE experience like no other, unless you stay at the Value resorts. Those are neat, but nothing as cool as the moderate or Delux. Anyway, you made the right choice. But maybe while you are there, spend some time at one or two of the Disney resort, ya know get a bite to eat or a nice drink.
 
CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member
We've stayed on and off property and to be honest, now I've done both, I would always stay off site on future trips. (Off site we done a hotel and private houses / villas - the villas win everytime)
With the $ you save staying off site you can afford to stay longer
 

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