Please Help w/my On v. Off Property Decision

[noname70]

HELP. Let me preface by saying we've always stayed on-site. I've reached a stalemate on a weekend stay at WDW. Do we stay at a value resort (w/a discounted rate) or off property nearby DTD (Sheraton).

1) Value resort rate/DME/on-site transportation
or
2) Sheraton "free" w/Starwood Points/rental car $/hotel or taxi transportation/near DTD

I like the atomosphere of a Disney Resort but I also like the freedom of a rental car. I've heard good things about the Sheraton and we would save some $. Can't decide....

 

[Woody13]

Stay at the Sheraton Safari Hotel or the Vistana. The amenities that you get at any and all Disney Resorts pale in comparison to most other corporate resorts both on and off property.

 

[Ralph Wiggum]

if you've stayed onsite before, it's time to move off. not relying on disney transportation saves valuable time. I'd rather have the freedom and extra money in my pocket. sure WDW has some cool resorts, but a weekend trip is going to be about the parks, not the room you're sleeping in.

 

[wdwishes2005]

if just for a weekend save your time and go to a diseny hotel.

 

[ImagineAtl23]

I personally have never stayed off property, but that is because my family has DVC, but if your budget does not allow it, I guess stay off, but if you can afford it, stay on, just for the sake of the atmosphere of being in WDW.

 

[MotoDisney]

1) Value resort rate/DME/on-site transportation
or
2) Sheraton "free" w/Starwood Points/rental car $/hotel or taxi transportation/near DTD


Can't go wrong with the old motto "if it's free it's for me"

Get a rental we always do when on or off just quicker to get around.

Moto

 

[PamelaNiebergal]

I've stayed both on site and off and I think you should try to stay on. For me it was really sad leaving WDW to stay at an off-site property. It just isn't the same. With on-site you get the 24 hour magic, as well as EMH. For me it's always worth it to spend more money just for that Disney feeling. (JMHO).

 

[dixiegirl]

to me..and i'm sure to others..once you stay onsite...you get kinda spoiled....we've always stayed onsite but one year...mother in law thought it would be cheaper for all of us to stay at a condo outside the "world'....all i can say is never ever again!!!! well also being a vaction from hell...we had to drive every where...to us we love the convience of not drinving for the whole week.....but really it is so much more magical staying onsite.....being let in the park earlier...staying later....but to me i love staying onsite.....my favorite which is a moderate resort os port orleans riverside!!!!!



long live dixie landings!!!

 

[Matpez]

I dont know if I would ever consider staying on property again without renting a car. The Disney trasportation is such a hassel to wait for. You can eaisly lose 2 or more hours a day waiting for busses, and then get one you have to stand up on for your whole trip. For a quick trip especially, you could save time by having your own car for sure.

 

[barnum42]

This is sounding like a game show -

"Go for the car!" :lol:

Oh - and that's my opinion, go for the free rental. Your own transportation will help you make the most of your time there. And it will make it easy if you fancy hopping to a resort at the end of the day to dine there.

 

[cj2me]

My sister in law and brother in law who always have stayed on property planned to stay off the last time they went (they booked at one of the DTD resorts). After one day they ended up switching to on property, they said they didnt get the same feeling when they were there and having all of the other amenities didnt make up for that---They were at a concierge suite off property and switched to a standard at Coronado Springs (that was all that was available) and like it much much better. They said they would never stay off property again.

 

[ZapperZ]

I much prefer staying on property because:

(i) I get my packages sent to the hotel. This is a big one because..... er...... well, I shop a lot when I'm at WDW! The last thing I want to do is haul the stuff around, or have to haul them back to the car. [I also have them shipped straight to my home, but that's a different story].

(ii) I also tend to stay at the hotels on Hotel Blvd. near Downtown Disney. I like the convenience of walking to Marketplace and Downtown Disney, especially in the evening when the parking lot is generally busy. [This area is also close to the Crossroad shopping area just off Disney property that has a supermarket for us to stock up on things like snacks and bottled water, and has an excellent indian restaurant serving authentic southern indian cuisine].

(iii) I like the extra magical hour previleges.

(iv) With a car, it is so much closer and easier to get to various Disney theme parks from within the property. It takes barely 10 minutes for us to get to Epcot, and maybe another 5 more minutes to get to the transportation center to go to the Magic Kingdom. This makes hopping back and forth between the hotel and theme parks a lot more convenient.

Zz.

 

[blackerbys17]

If it helps, I am staying off property too. Actually, I hate the Disney busses and the only reason I would stay at a Disney hotel, which I have done often, is when there is a very good discount. Like during Xmas, I paid $79 for Port Orleans, good deal so we stayed there. Transportation is not a selling point for me to stay on Disney property unless it is at one of the monorail resorts or the ones that have a boat launch to Magic Kingdom, then we are talking!

Otherwise, I love my car and I won't depend on a Disney bus ever again to get around, too crowded and too much of a hassle. During this year's Halloween trip we are staying at the Cypress Palms Resort in a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo for $100 a night. Can't go wrong with that!

I do have a reservation at the French Quarter but they don't have a discount out yet for us FL. residents. If they post one, then we'll consider staying on property depending on the discount. Otherwise, I'll cancel the reservation (I have until 9 days before I think) and stay at the Cypress. DH LOVES the idea of seperate bedrooms for the kids.

A lot of people stay at Disney, it saves time with the busses. Well, only if you are staying in a resort very close to the park you are staying in or it's a monorail resort, then you save time. Otherwise, by the time you get in your car and follow the maze of Disney roads, you might as well have stayed off property.

I guess in the end it is all about what your priorities are. Budget, location, or theming? I pick the most important one for me on a particular stay and go from there, that is how I pick the place I stay at.

Good luck no matter what and have fun!
Monica

 

[Erika]

I'm in the minority- I love Disney transportation, have never had a problem with the busses, and I HATE having to drive on my vacation! If you like the freedom of a rental car than maybe you should stay off site. I personally would rather come home with less crap to find homes for ("souvenirs") and spend the extra money staying on site- but if you want to drive anyway, might as well stay at the Sheraton!

 

[joel_maxwell]

This is sounding like a game show -

"Go for the car!" :lol:

Oh - and that's my opinion, go for the free rental. Your own transportation will help you make the most of your time there. And it will make it easy if you fancy hopping to a resort at the end of the day to dine there.

too bad Monte cant "Make You a Deal"

I'm in the minority- I love Disney transportation, have never had a problem with the busses, and I HATE having to drive on my vacation!.

me too. i drive enough as it is in everyday life....... i like somebody else to do the work for me every now and then. plus...... the bus ride home or monorail gives you a little quick snooze.

 

[Chris_TX]

I think the ease or hassle of the bus system is dependant on where you are taking the bus to or from. From the AKL, the busses are frequent and speedy. I've never had a problem with waiting for a bus. However, last month we were taking a Friendship boat from Epcot to MGM and a storm came up and they docked at the Swan until the lightning stopped. We got off and had to wait and wait and wait for a bus - any bus, we didn't care where it was going. The Swan guests waiting alongside us said that was normal for the bus service that they had experienced at that resort. We then realized how spoiled we were with the bus service from AKL.

 

[wdwishes2005]

I dont know if I would ever consider staying on property again without renting a car. The Disney trasportation is such a hassel to wait for. You can eaisly lose 2 or more hours a day waiting for busses, and then get one you have to stand up on for your whole trip. For a quick trip especially, you could save time by having your own car for sure.

oh yes, i simply love walking the 20 miles from my rental car to the parks.

 

[Laura]

I ditto what everyone else is saying. I really really dislike using the Disney bus transportation. In fact with that new Southwest discount thing going on now I could FLY my family of 4 to Orlando and back for less than the cost of driving, but we would rather drive 11 hours each way to be able to have our own vehicle than deal with waiting for busses.

I would personally prefer to stay at a nice resort outside of Disney than at a Disney value resort. Last July we did half a week at Pop Century, and the other half of the week at Holiday Inn Family Suites (like a mile up the road). The stay at Holiday Inn was sooooo much nicer, and even better we could park right next to our room!

 

[Ringo8n24]

On property. The benefit of rental car does not appeal to me because part of my WDW vacation is knowing I will not be driving a car for a week. Besides, staying on property the magic never ends. Disney stays all around you. I could never give that up to stay off property for any amount of money.

 

[col]

HELP. Let me preface by saying we've always stayed on-site. I've reached a stalemate on a weekend stay at WDW. Do we stay at a value resort (w/a discounted rate) or off property nearby DTD (Sheraton).

1) Value resort rate/DME/on-site transportation
or
2) Sheraton "free" w/Starwood Points/rental car $/hotel or taxi transportation/near DTD

I like the atomosphere of a Disney Resort but I also like the freedom of a rental car. I've heard good things about the Sheraton and we would save some $. Can't decide....

if you decide to stay off site why not try a place called cypress point, lake beuna vista, its by the sheraton safari. its right by the entrance to downtown disney you know where the hotels start.
directly across the road there is a wall greens and subway and petrol station from cypress point. there are restaurants and all that close by and you can see the lights from downtown disney.
i would just look it up on the web, when me and my family stayed there last year august-september 2004 we where there when it was hurricaine francis and it was one of the best time being there through the hurricaine i enjoyed every minute of it. the building where we where was like a house but without stairs it had everything we wanted kitchen, 4 bathrooms, a varanda, big tv's, loads of beds, locks on the doors, an inside shop, swimming pools.

i enjoyed my time there.