On property stY or off....torn

[Tink0102]

We have our vacation booked for Oct 4th-11th staying at POR, park Hopper, dining plan. My sister in law just called and offered us their time share in Orlando for that same week for just $100.00. Of course would save us a lot of money. Or would it? I will have to figure the prices of the character meals we had hoped to get ADR's for, look at car rental and park parking and park tickets. Of course the Disney site is down right now.
This will be our second trip to Disney. We stayed on property last time. I would appreciate any thoughts/opinions on staying on property vs staying off.

 

[lunchbox1175]

I can't imagine that parking and car rental would come out to be the same as the savings you would have by staying at the time share. Having said that, the biggest down side to not staying in the parks to me is losing out on time. You would not get to take advantage of extra magic hours, you would have to consider the amount of time that you would have to spend driving back and forth. You also would be committed to going to the park for the entire day, which would be a long day for MNSSHP, you can't just run back to the room for a nap or to the pool if you wanted to. I am not sure if you purchased the dining plan or got free dining as part of your package, but you would potentially lose that i believe. There are lots of things to consider, for us, the extra magic hours and convenience of being on property out way the costs, we are fortunate that we do not worry about budget as much as others do, because if we can't go the way we want to, we simply don't go. I realize that is not the case for most families, and i am sure whatever you decide will be the right choice for you and yours. Good luck, and i hope you have a great time.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Some random thoughts:

Car rentals can be obtained for under $30/day. Parking is another $15/day. Plus you'll be able to eat some meals offsite, another savings.

The Disney Dining Plan (DDP) is up 20% in 2013. Even with Disney's inflated Table Service price, those who use DDP today have a hard time spending that amount. No matter how you do it, eating at WDW is expensive.

WDW has been offering "Free Dining" and "Room Only Discounts" throughout the year, including in October. See here for historical discounts:

http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

Even with discounts, staying offsite for $100 will be much cheaper but if you wait for one of these discounts, it will close the gap.

Beyond the money, there are other considerations.

I assume your sister-in-law's timeshare is presumably much bigger than a room at Port Orleans Riverside (POR). If space is important, that's another consideration.

There's the magic of staying inside the WDW bubble; no real world interfering with your vacation.

POR is a lovely resort with a fun pool and good food court.

By the time you go in October 2014, FastPass+ should be fully rolled out at all 4 WDW theme parks. Right now, it's looking like onsite guests will get first access to FastPass+ selections. If you want to have FastPass+ for high-demand/low-capacity attractions such as Toy Story Mania or Soarin', you might have to stay onsite. Certainly it will improve your chances.

I wish I could give you a definitive answer. I think it all comes down to how badly you want to stay onsite.

 

[luv]

Some places are so close that it makes no difference and may even be closer to certain parks than Disney hotels. It depends on where the place is.

The real reason to stay in Disney hotels is because you like the name and/or the bubble. I know people who would be very ticked if I didn't warn them how bad the Grand Floridian was. I know other people who would think they died and went to heaven if they stayed there. If you aren't too picky about room size and service, Disney hotels are great.

You will always get more for less offsite, though.

It just depends on what you want and what you're willing to pay.

 

[Tink0102]

We are going to keep our reservation as is and pass on the time share offer. We really enjoyed staying in the bubble last time. Yes, it is a great money saver, but there are just too many conveniences of staying on property. I don't think we would be able to be as carefree and relaxed off property.
Thank you all for your input and helping me to think it through.

 

[mr_braver23]

We are going to keep our reservation as is and pass on the time share offer. We really enjoyed staying in the bubble last time. Yes, it is a great money saver, but there are just too many conveniences of staying on property. I don't think we would be able to be as carefree and relaxed off property.
Thank you all for your input and helping me to think it through.

With you on this, I know I know, money is alway an issue but the Disney experience is worth the extra.

 

[Preston Chatsworth]

Since this is only your 2nd trip to the World and your children are young, probably a good call to stay on-site because the "magic" is still there.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Unless you were getting "free" dining, you're not likely to spend a great deal more without the dining plan. Don't even let it figure into your equation (unless you want to sit down and crunch the numbers yourself).

You'll save a ton of money by staying offsite. You'll lose EMH (if you were planning to use them) and the ability to make FP+ 60 days out (and with the tiered system at 2 parks, you don't get much value from them anyway.) For me, it would be a no-brainer: stay at the timeshare. Bank the money you save, or use it on other "extras" for your vacation -- spa time, souvenirs, special meals, non-DDP beverages of the adult kind, etc.

 

[Lisalyn]

I always stayed onsite until this past Thanksgiving. My daughter wanted to do Disney and Universal so we stayed offsite to help out cost-wise. Even tho we saved a bundle from a monetary perspective, it wasn't the same. No where near the same. We depended on downtown Disney transportation which wasn't bad but wasn't fantastic either. We also weren't in the bubble. The magic wasn't there. Even tho I know I vacationed at WDW I don't feel like I did. That may not make sense to some people but I know it makes a heck of a lot of sense to others! I don't care how much it costs. I'll never stay off property again. I'm thankful I'm going back Halloween week 2014 and staying ONSITE! lol

 

[jlsHouston]

I can't even imagine doing WDW and not staying onsite....but I know if costs were an issue to the point where the kids might not get to go, of course I would stay offsite. Otherwise I am a resort person and I love the WDW resorts for the theming and ambiance and the convenience of going in and out of the parks multiple times during the day. We take advantage of EMH alot and we would miss that staying offsite. My boyfriend's daughters went last April and one stayed onsite (she has been to WDW multiple times) and the other stayed in a timeshare off property with her inlaws. They met up each day at the park with the kiddos. The one who stayed offsite had longer travel times, and the kids ( 7&5 )had some issues with meltdowns at night waiting on the fireworks. However the sister that stayed off site loved the timeshare they were at and thought it was a great vacation...didn't feel cheated out of the "magic" feeling or anything like that.
My brother just got back from a week at PORS right before Christmas. Every visit prior has been offsite at a timeshare. He absolutely loved staying onsite. First time they were able to go back and forth with ease to the parks during the day. Loved PORS, loved the little marina there and the restaurants and the lobby and the grounds...He definitely got sold on the bubble versus offsite...but he did keep mentioning $$$!

 

[rt06]

The value of the bubble is incalculable, but the DDP is. And in 2014 I come up with $60/pp/day. Gratuity not included. All to often, our stuffed bodies would linger around for dessert when under normal circumstances, we would just ask for the check. When those desserts go unfinished, it's just a waste. When that quick serve combo includes your choice of fruit cup or cookie , it's just a waste. When you realize that you have 10 snack credits and one day left... waste.

Of course, there are those that can maximize their dining value through careful planning. People have their set ways, know exactly what they want, and when they want it. I'm not there yet. My itinerary has two things: Arrive. Depart.

 

[SMS55]

How may are you on the trip? If it's 3 people, or maybe a couple and 2 small kids, you can get a budget car. Parking is $15 a day. You'll probably save a bunch of money which make it asker to pay for the ADRs and other stuff.

 

[TamaraQT]

Although my family prefers offsite, our decision to stay onsite was actually due to Dining Plan that is not available to offsite guests. I am planning a brief onsite stay for July 2014 although DH has asked me to make plans for offsite. When I add up the costs of tickets and dining, onsite is more convenient but not necessarily cheaper.

 

[SuprDav]

I wrestled with on vs. off for quite a while. In the end we booked on site. The price difference wasn't worth the unknown with bus schedules and hidden fees.