Staying on site or off site?

[Greenlawler]

As a general rule we will always stay on site unless we can not get a room for a last minute trip. I do not mind paying a bit more for the better quality and the associated perks with staying on property. However, this April we will be staying at a cabin off site simply because the cost is so much less. Our normal AP rate at PORS hovers around the $100-$125 per night range but we will be getting this cabin at a friends campground for only $250 for the week. At that rate and access to a full kitchen has given us the chance to stay for a full 7 days for roughly the same price as 3 days on property. That will make our April trip the longest WDW trip I have ever taken. I simply could not pass this up.

This is exactly why we stayed off site for the marathon weekend and our subsequant week. There were 8 of us and we were able to get a three bedroom condo just 8 minutes away for the cost of one room at the Value resorts.
That being said I like on site better, the feeling when you leave the parks off-site is kind of a downer each night compared to off-site. We come twice a year and I think we will do one on one off just because we save so much cash off-site.

 

[Hammer1310]

Extra Magic Hours
Store purchases sent to your resort (no lugging bags around the parks)
Free Parking
Park at any resort (for a few hours at least).
Birthday suprises (my girlfriend had a card waiting for her when we got back one night. It was a simple gesture but it made her night)

That Disney magic!

 

[The Raven]

On site all the way!

If you don't want to spend a lot, Pop Century is your best bet. Plus, not worrying about your bags and using Disney's transportation system are great on-site perks.

 

[WL Fan]

We've been fortunate enough to stay at Wilderness Lodge and French Quarter. This year we're trying ASMu for 9 nights! I love driving under the WDW sign and knowing I'm not leaving again until the vacation is over, we've never even considered staying off-site.

 

[UKHelen]

Always,Always,Always stay on-site,there is no excuse since they have the value resorts.If you cant afford that you should not go to Disney in the first place.

I completely and utterly disagree with this post and hope it was meant tongue in cheek . Just because someone cannot afford the Disney (inflated) prices does not mean they should miss out on a magical vacation!

We come in from the UK and stay for a minimum of 14 nights - I would rather stay off property and be able to go yearly than every other year or possibly every third year just so I could stay onsite.

I have stayed off site three times (once in a house and twice in a hotel) and have been lucky enough to stay on site twice (once very recently for our honeymoon). As we are able to go for a longer period than alot of you (although less frequently than some!) and we do not go at peak times, the emh benefits are not used as much as they could be. We also always have a hire car to offer maximum flexibility and maximum access to the cheap (compared to the UK) shopping :lol:

 

[PintoColvig]

I've stayed at all 3 DL resorts. Grand Californian is the most expensive (I paid like $450 a night), Disneyland Hotel is the next expensive, slightly less, although I won the stay so I don't know. We stayed at Paradise Pier in 2002 and got it for $185 with AAA. I never had a problem booking a room during peak times, and I would guess that is because so many visitors are locals.

I have also stayed off property at an Embassy Suites. I worked for Hampton Inn at the time, so I only paid $39 a night. The regular rate for a 2-bedroom suite is like $159 or so, with free breakfast. Their shuttle was a 5-minute ride, and picked up at the hotels (3 hotels shared a parking lot) on the 20 and at DL on the 50. It was an extremely pleasant stay.

Staying onsite at DL is not the same as WDW, because WDW is so large, being secluded in the magic is part of the allure. Plus, sometimes off property can seem really far. Not so at DL. There are hotels within a 5 minute walk to DL (and that's including waiting for a traffic light - literally steps away).

Still, when I return to DL, I will likely stay at the DL Hotel, my favorite of the 3 onsite. You walk through DTD to get to the hotel, and no waiting for buses. I could see the Matterhorn, Splash, and ToT from my room. You can send your packages to the hotel like at WDW...you are literally right in the thick of it. Staying at the DLH, or the GC (I really didn't care for Paradise Pier much) is a very "Disney" experience, and for me, it's worth the splurge because we only go to DL for 3 nights, possibly 4, instead of 7, so we can afford to spend a little more on the room.

Hope that gives you a little insight

When we visited DL, we stayed off-property at Fairfield. It was close and convenient, comfortable and not so expensive. It was an easy walk past three or four properties down to the traffic light on Harbor and the across the street to the Promenade. Stepping out our door, we could see in to DL including the Matterhorn and SM. The room was large and had a mini-fridge. It wasn't worth it to us to spend an extra $70 a night to stay at Paradise Pier. We only paid $125 a night in the busy part of summer. Our ticket package got us an early entry into DL one morning.

As for WDW, we absolutely prefer on-property. The only times recently that we did NOT stay on property were paid for us. We stayed at the Omni Championsgate for a business trip (probably the nicest property in the WDW area) and at Westgate Palace (a very nice timeshare rental that was given to us for free). Both properties were very comfortable and inviting places to stay in. The distance and "leaving the magic" were negatives, though. There is just something about staying on property that does it for us.

 

[MinnieLee]

For us, definitely on-site. Convenience of having packages sent back to the resort, not having to drive when you are tired or have had a couple of drinks, not fighting the traffic, not having to pay for car rental, Magic Express. Disney makes it very easy to get around and all in all with the amount of people they are moving from place to place they do a good job. As far as room rates outside of disney - it's worth it to us to stay on property.

 

[Jenna]

I've never stayed on-site but financially I think it would be far too expensive for my family! We rent a villa and it comes to something like $1500 for 3 weeks rental! There will be 7 of us going this year so it works out really cheap and gives you your own space to retire to in the evenings!

I couldn't imagine staying in a hotel again-on or off site! Too many people in too small a space=murder lol!

 

[DolFan]

Staying on site is the way to go. This week I will be staying off site, against my will. There were no passholder or Florida resident rates available for this weekend.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

On-site unless it's at a value resort with the tour groups. Then, I'd rather stay just about anywhere else.

 

[kimmychad]

Always,Always,Always stay on-site,there is no excuse since they have the value resorts.If you cant afford that you should not go to Disney in the first place.

oh ok, so if i dont want to pay the $135 a night for a value resort when i go next month i should stay home? i dont need an excuse to stay of property, i feel disney takes advantage of me at the food courts and i have gotten really nice rooms off property.

 

[daliseurat]

Always,Always,Always stay on-site,there is no excuse since they have the value resorts.If you cant afford that you should not go to Disney in the first place.

That's a bit rude. Not everyone who dreams of a WDW vacation can afford to take the way some of us do. Everyone deserves a chance to experience it.

 

[MousDad]

On-site is great but . . .

I am a total DW geek. Love the place and go as often as I can (1 to 2x a year.) I honestly would love to stay on property, but I never have. To me, the benefits of staying on property never outweigh the expense.

Having researched all the on-site resorts through sites that show pictures, I think it's safe to say that even the Deluxe Resorts are still just small hotel rooms. I can't stay more than 1 night in the same room with my 2 kids. I'm not interested in purchasing DVC. Renting DVC points gets you bigger rooms for the buck, but it's so difficult to find what you need when you need it.

I always avoid the parks with EMH, so that's not an issue. Car rental and parking are the cons. Parking's not too bad, since you only pay once per day regardless of how many times you park.

When I take a solo trip, I stay in one of the Lake Buena Vista hotels, for about 1/2 to 2/3 the price of a Disney Value. I rent a car and get to the parks in about 1/3 the time it takes to take Disney Transportation (from what I've read).

When our family of 4 goes, we stay in a 2 BR condo 1.5 miles from property. These generally go for 7 nights at the same price as 2 or 3 nights in a Disney Deluxe. However, you get 2 separate bedrooms, living/dining room, kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. Again, only 10-15 minutes door to parking place at any park.

One of these days, I'll break down and stay on site, just to get the full magic. I usually get more than enough magic staying off. I would only do it, however, at one of the monorail resorts, or a DVC.

These are just my opinions. I'm sure staying onsite is great too. :wave:

 

[DivineMadness7]

To us, it has never been a question. While I understand some people stay off property to save money, I think that's only true if you don't need to rent a car. I would rather spend that money to stay on property. We go for the full experience. If given the choice between 2 (or maybe even 3) trips off-site to one on-site (even at a value), I'd choose the one trip, on-site.

I have family members who will never go to disney again based on one bad experience. They stayed off-site. While I don't think that was the whole problem, I think it contributed a lot. Because their main complaints were about parking and the hotel.

 

[MousDad]

While I understand some people stay off property to save money, I think that's only true if you don't need to rent a car.

June 10-16, 2008 (6 nights)

I have booked a 2BR condo 1.5 mile offsite for $535 total.

SUV rental for 7 days, $220. Parking for 7 days, $77.

Cost of a studio at Beach Club Villas - $2499.

Difference of $1667.

Not trying to pick a fight, just crunching numbers. There's 2 sides to every coin. :wave: