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....

 

[mousebymarriage]

O.K. we have stayed both on and off the property many, many times and I personally prefer to stay at a Disney resort. I have never had trouble with the buses, plus , your on vacation if you miss the bus another one is usually a few minutes behind it.

Also, if traveling with little ones, you have to put them in the rental car, drive there, park, wait for the tram, then finaally get on line at the entrance.
Oh, and did I mention , if you take your own stroller ( we did when kids were infants,due to comfort factor=WDW strollers don't recline and are hard plastic and kind of grubby), anyway getting on and off the tram with a stroller in tow is a pain in the butt!
Plus, where is the Disney Magic off property!

 

[wdwishes2005]

i have never had any REAL prolems with the disney transportation, and all in all the worst we ever had was better than a rental car.

 

[hcswingfield]

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!

Count me as a member of your minority, Erika. I hate driving in traffic, and looking for parking places, and getting in and out of a hot car. The main thing I get a "vacation" from at WDW is driving! I love the idea of parking my car and not getting in it again for a week.

 

[lawyergirl77]

I have never had any real problems getting to any of the parks using Disney Transport. However, DTD is another story alltogether - it once took me 90 minutes to get there from the MK, since I had no idea that they had stopped having a bus to DTD at the TTC.

However, having used a car on my last two-day trip to the MK, my friend who was driving found the roads really confusing and got really frustrated with driving throughout Disney property. She vows never to do so again... Meanwhile, every time I told her that I thought we should turn one way to get somewhere, I was usually right (especially when she went in the opposite direction). I tried to keep in the "I told you so" and I was largely successful, given the fact that it would likely have earned me one heckuva punch at the time!!!

So my final two cents votes for on property: the transportation is remarkably good, given how many people WDW shuttles around on a daily basis, and there is something unbelievable about being in the middle of the Magic at all times!

 

[noname70]

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.
i enjoyed my time there.

If you walk or park at DTD, are there Disney busses that take you directly to the parks or do they only go to the resorts? (yes I realize these busses are for resort guests )

 

[lawyergirl77]

If you walk or park at DTD, are there Disney busses that take you directly to the parks or do they only go to the resorts? (yes I realize these busses are for resort guests )

IIRC, when I was there in Feb/March, there were no longer any buses that went from DTD to the parks - they only went from the resorts to DTD. That would be a massive pain if you were trying to get into the Disney Transport LOOP that way... Which is probably why they did it.

 

[col]

If you walk or park at DTD, are there Disney busses that take you directly to the parks or do they only go to the resorts? (yes I realize these busses are for resort guests )

the buses at downtown disney take you to the resorts but i got the bus from my resort -all star sports- to downtown disney then the bus from there to the boardwalk and from the boardwalk you can walk to epcot or MGM.
its a good idea to get a bus from downtown disney to a resort coz you can walk around that resort and see what its like.
when i went to the boardwalk i got the swan/dolphin bus.

i just relax and see where it takes me.

 

[limedelsol]

How do I get good deals at on-site WDW resort?

Are there any secrets to getting a good deal during the middle of January at any of the on-site resorts? Me and my husband drive 13 hours to get there and do not want to drive everywhere during our "vacation". We were considering one of the moderate resorts but the prices seem a little high for us.

Just want to know if there are any little secrets to help our money spread a little farther.

Thanks
Ashley

 

[noname70]

Are there any secrets to getting a good deal during the middle of January at any of the on-site resorts? Me and my husband drive 13 hours to get there and do not want to drive everywhere during our "vacation". We were considering one of the moderate resorts but the prices seem a little high for us.

Thanks
Ashley

I used to rely on post card codes but haven't heard anyhting about them this year. Are post card/email/pin codes finished?

 

[Craig & Lisa]

My wife and I have one wish, that when we arrive we don't want to have to worry about how we're getting where, me personably when I go just get me there and take me where I want to go, that's it, and being on property allows just that, no worries, get there early and you won't be late ( the bus stop that is ) not having to worry about where you parked, back for a nap and back to another park, easy.

 

[PamelaNiebergal]

I honestly don't see how a rental car can be better than disney transportation. We have hardly ever had to wait for a bus more than a few minutes. The longest waits are at the end of the day when the park closes and by that time you're no longer in a hurry - plus the waits aren't usually that bad anyways. With a car you have to drive, navigate, pay, park, wait for a tram and so on. It just seems like a much bigger hastle. I haven't done the rental car thing since I was 12 (with my parents) so I may not have a fair perspective but I'll take Disney transportation and Disney magic over a rental car and off-site property any day.

 

[barnum42]

I honestly don't see how a rental car can be better than disney transportation. We have hardly ever had to wait for a bus more than a few minutes. The longest waits are at the end of the day when the park closes and by that time you're no longer in a hurry - plus the waits aren't usually that bad anyways. With a car you have to drive, navigate, pay, park, wait for a tram and so on. It just seems like a much bigger hastle. I haven't done the rental car thing since I was 12 (with my parents) so I may not have a fair perspective but I'll take Disney transportation and Disney magic over a rental car and off-site property any day.

If it works for you and you have the money to stay on site I'd not try to persuade you otherwise :wave:

Personally I like the flexibility the car offers. Navigation is not a problem - just follow the signs. Resort hopping is easy. Being British I also visit a number of shops outside of Disney to stock up on products that we get ripped off on over here.

Compared to the resorts that share buses a car is apparently quicker.

As for waiting for a tram - I'm usually there at the start of the day and so towards the front of the parking lot and will walk to the gates. But at that time of day the trams are pretty much pulling out as the the next one is getting set to load up with more guests.

 

[bhickman]

Since this is an opinion thing I might as well through my 2 cents in... (sorry, no groaning please....)

I have to look at this as two separate questions:
1.) On-site vs Off-site

Having done both I no longer see this as a $$$ question, for my DW & I a WDW vacation must have the "full immersion" treatment. We need to wake to a shower with Disney character wake-up calls, Mickey Mouse bars of soap and Disney sites/sounds all around. The off-site experience just seems to us like we're just at another hotel somewhere.
So weekend or week I gotta spend the money for an on-site stay.. now that said that's why we have gone DVC so our decision got easier a few years ago​

2.) DT vs Rental

I just have this thing of going when I want to go.... Can't stand waiting, all be it for just a few minutes, for mass transportation. We stay almost exclusively at the Boardwalk now (like I said DVC) and I will walk to Epcot, boat to MGM but absolutely drive everywhere else. The only exception is "Party Nights".. no DUI for me. I’ll grab a cab!!!! In any case this gives us more flexibility to make resort dining plans and optimize our time. I will admit the vehicle will remain parked for a good portion of our stay, this is obviously not a great return on investment but oh well...
We rent a car from an "in airport terminal" car rental location, there's only 2 in the terminal I believe (we usually use Dollar). Tried one of the "at airport, but not in terminal" places and wasted a good bit of time with pick-up and return, wont make that mistake again.​

I suppose I/We are just spoiled... we'll never really get rich this way but heck it's all about choices and compromises and either way you go you are still going to the Happiest Place on Earth!!

Also - If you want to dine off-site or, God forbid (no one yell at me please), want to visit a non-Disney attraction the rental car would certainly ease this pain.

              Ant that.. is why I only had 2 cents to throw in.... :hammer:

 

[Master Yoda]

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!

You have company in the minority. I love Disney transportation as well. I drive to WDW and when we stay on property we don't touch my car until we leave. When you really compare apples to apples (exiting your room until you reach a turnstile) the travel times are nearly identical with two exceptions. Traveling to MK from any of the non-monorail resorts or WL is quicker by bus. The trip from the resorts to DTD is quicker by car, but usually when I'm going to DTD a trip to the Adventures Club in in the works and I'm definitely not driving after a few Kongalooshes.

 

[slowbee]

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....

Unless we are on the Monorail line, we will rent a car. We just got back from our trip and actually checked out after one night at the Courtyard Marriott and checked into the Port Orleans - French Quarter. There is nothing like being on Disney Property. We've been going to WDW for years and this was our first experiment off site. Never again. As for the Rental Car, we love park hopping and going to Downtown Disney, etc. Saves us a couple of hours a day going back and forth on the bus.

Hope this helps.

 

[Woody13]

We're flexible. We enjoy staying at different resorts on our trips and sometimes we stay on property and sometimes off property. We normally use the transportation provided by the resort. However, if we're staying at AKL or one of the values, we prefer to drive to DTD because we always buy a bunch of "stuff" and I prefer just to throw it in the trunk rather than tote it on a bus or have it delivered to our resort.

We also sometimes need to go off property to buy snacks, lottery tickets, adult beverages and other necessities.

 

[barnum42]

..but heck it's all about choices and compromises and either way you go you are still going to the Happiest Place on Earth!!

And that's the most important thing

 

[Dwarful]

Ok i decided to toss my two cents into the chaos as well~ We have stayed onsite and off. After one trip offsite I don't think we'd do that again. But this past Christmas our grand gathering split up. My brother and his wife wanted to stay in Hilton/Sheraton type hotel, my sister and her gang and my husband and our gang stayed at AS Sports. One day my sister decided to drive to MK instead of dealing with the buses. We all left at the same time. we rode the bus and arrived at least an hour earlier in the MK than my brother or sister and their families. They missed the first boat by just a few people, then they had to wait for the next boat to fill so that ate a big chunk of their time. I was glad we had cell phones as we went ahead grabbed some fast passes and rode one ride before meeting them back on mainstreet. For us its all about the not driving. Especially if we did the 18 hour drive down to get there! My husband drives in St.Louis all day everyday as part of his job the last thing he wants to do on vacation is drive some more, park, catch a tram, catch a boat/monorail and then be at MK. But hey its all a matter of choice.

 

[jordanyosh]

I would stay on-site for a short stay. Disney 24/7 seems like the way to go. If you want a little more flexibility, rent a car as well.

I personally don't mind the bus transportation either and I've waited 45 minutes for a bus before. I commute to work, sometimes up to 2 hours, and I don't want to even think about driving during my vacation--even if it means waiting and standing next to some sweaty stinky person.

 

[dixiegirl]

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

lol...sorry that just made me laugh!!!!!