Offsite Hotel Recommendations

[Atomicmickey]

Hoping to go back to WDW this fall, and have been pricing
staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

I see a lot of chat about how you can save a lot of money by
staying off-site and renting a car.

Anyone had any good experiences with doing such a thing,
and can recommend some places for me to look at?

It would have to be a big saving to make up for no in-world transportation,
extra magic hours, Disney's Magical Express, not to mention the feeling of
being 'in the world' for a week.

But, I still want to look into it, and was hoping I could get some
good insight to help me sort through some options.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and contributions!:wave:

 

[rlaeromech]

*the following tone is inquisitive and not at all arguementative* :wave:

I'm curious how you all save money staying on site with a family?

We always stay at windsor hills resort. We get a condo with 3 bedrooms for around $100 a night. We never go in the summer. I've had kingdom konsultants price up options and I just can't see the savings in staying on-site. Grant it, most of the time we are with family or friends so our group is 5 or more. But twice we stayed in a condo on our own and it was still cheaper even considereing parking?

Of course, we drive there and don't have to rent a car. Is that it? The rental car is what's killing it?

Thanks!

 

[DisneyJoe]

A rental car can definitely be a part of the equation....

If you are doing a strictly penny per penny comparison, the edge does go to off-site - however - what many people don't factor in is that time savings should be factored in, at least IMHO.

2 things make onsite "cheaper" for us:

1 - we are early risers, and the morning Extra Morning Hours for us are a GREAT benefit - we get so much done in that 1 hour that its hard to place a value on it.

2 - I don't drive, and my wife doesn't like to drive in unfamiliar areas. We tried it ONCE, and spent so much time trying to find our way around, we swore the little extra money to stay onsite was worth it to us to have someone else drive us around! Also - you are already on Disney property - I once timed our bus ride from Pop Century to Epcot - 8.5 minutes - and we were leaving the bus and walking to the park entrance. We had similar timing to Studios, but MK and AK were a bit longer, of course. Is that 8.5 minutes door to door even possible from an offsite room?

 

[Atomicmickey]

Time is money.

So, with EMH, it is great to be able to get up, hop on a bus, and be there early. At the end of the night, don't have to drive on a freeway back to the hotel, can just "enjoy the magic".

When I was going last, rent-a-car was about 300 for the week or so. POFQ can be had for 150 a night or less. So if you stay offsite, at 100/night, that's 700 plus 300=1100. Onsite 7 x 150=1050.

That's when I said, yup. Save time and hassle not having to get a car, drop it off, gas it up, etc. Save freeway time. Get EMH. Immerse in the magic.

It would have to be a lot less to make up for that.

I'm feeling like on-site is the way to go.

Maybe in a couple of years, when the kids are older, and they make noises about wanting to go to, well, you know, the other places.

 

[DisneyPrincess']

I really don't like stay off-site. My last two trips I stayed at Pop Century and the Contempory, but next week I'm staying in an off property condo resort. Its a nice place, and not too far from the parks since its in the downtown disney area. But loosing the perks sucks. If we would have stayed on property we'd be dining basically for free...my dad only wants to stay in time share/condo type places and not being a member of DVC it would cost WAY to much on property.

 

[rlaeromech]

A rental car can definitely be a part of the equation....

If you are doing a strictly penny per penny comparison, the edge does go to off-site - however - what many people don't factor in is that time savings should be factored in, at least IMHO.

2 things make onsite "cheaper" for us:

1 - we are early risers, and the morning Extra Morning Hours for us are a GREAT benefit - we get so much done in that 1 hour that its hard to place a value on it.

2 - I don't drive, and my wife doesn't like to drive in unfamiliar areas. We tried it ONCE, and spent so much time trying to find our way around, we swore the little extra money to stay onsite was worth it to us to have someone else drive us around! Also - you are already on Disney property - I once timed our bus ride from Pop Century to Epcot - 8.5 minutes - and we were leaving the bus and walking to the park entrance. We had similar timing to Studios, but MK and AK were a bit longer, of course. Is that 8.5 minutes door to door even possible from an offsite room?

OK that makes sense. We have a 2 year old son and since we have been going, we almost always come back to let him rest or us rest. For us, its so much nicer resting in a condo instead of a hotel. We can put him in his room and then we can do other things in the condo. The last time we stayed on site, we did the open to close days and in those cases, I could see where staying on site is good for that. Don't get me wrong, I am huge fan of being immersed in the magic, but for us, the resort is just an extension of that. When we are at the resort, there are no lines, no crowds, just peace and quiet and that's worth a lot to us.

But in the OP's situation, I could see where staying onsite would benefit.
POR is beautiful, I have stayed there and loved it!! You'll like it alot.

 

[GOT2SAMMIES]

off site questions

Have you looked into the Hilton in Downtown Disney? The Hilton is the only "off-site" hotel I know of that will get you EMH. You can sometimes get special discounts if you book through downtowndisneyhotels.com. I get emails every now and then for discounts. I have stayed at the Regal Sun (when it was the grovsnor or how ever you spell it) and the buses were ok. If there was no bus we simply justed walked a block over to DTD and you get a bus there or even take a boat to port and then get on a bus. A little more of a hassle but bearable.:wave: