Staying outside Disney? What Are We Losing?

[NCRedskins]

My wife and I were all set with reservations in Pop Century in November 2015, and then my father reached out to tell me he has a billion timeshare points he never uses. We are now looking at being able to stay in the Sheraton Vistana, Cypress Pointe or other resorts nearby Disney at a lower cost.

That said - how much of the Disney magic are we sacrificing here? I've heard you can still purchase magic bands, which is cool, and we weren't sure about whether we would use a dining plan anyway, but I'm just curious from all of you seasoned Disney vets what we're losing here.

 

[danlb_2000]

My wife and I were all set with reservations in Pop Century in November 2015, and then my father reached out to tell me he has a billion timeshare points he never uses. We are now looking at being able to stay in the Sheraton Vistana, Cypress Pointe or other resorts nearby Disney at a lower cost.

That said - how much of the Disney magic are we sacrificing here? I've heard you can still purchase magic bands, which is cool, and we weren't sure about whether we would use a dining plan anyway, but I'm just curious from all of you seasoned Disney vets what we're losing here.

If you are staying offsite, you can still get the magic bands and use my magic+ but you can only book fastpasses 30 days out instead of 60, and I don't think you can use the touch-to-pay capability of the bands. You also can't use the dinning plan, do not get Disney bus transportation or Magic Express from the airport.

 

[abeachchick]

No Extra Magic Hours

 

[BigRedDad]

You will also save about $1000-$2000 depending on the length of stay. You can also get Annual Passes that will allow you to take multiple trips. If cards play out right, I plan on staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in December for a week. That will give me an idea of how it is. Just avoid the parks with EMH and you will be fine.

 

[Chef Mickey]

No Dining Plan either which is a pretty big savings. I don't feel as immersed in the Disney experience even at Swan/Dolphin.

I want to try the 4 Seasons, but they don't have as frequent of bus transportation, no Dining Plan, and I don't think they have bus service to all the parks.

 

[yensid67]

NCRedskins...
It really depends on if you just want your hotel to be just for sleeping and showering or if you plan/want to be at the park earlier as a resort guest. I ALWAYS stay off property just for the fact that I have other things I want to do other than the parks and usually stay on International Drive which puts us in the middle of everything we want to do. We are staying at The Rosen Pointe Orlando for 7 days with breakfast for $543.38 for 2. For us the costs of staying on property is not justified because we just need a place to sleep and take a bath and then be gone from the room for the rest of the day! If you plan to soak up the resort atmosphere more, then you might want to consider staying on property, but in the end its all comes down to what you plan to do. Hope this helps!?

 

[Magical Dreamer]

We all have the choice to stay offsite and save some cash.... but at the end of the day....NO WAY!!..... fully immersed is the BEST way to feel the Magic.

 

[DisneyGirl3820]

The thing I miss the most when we stay off-site is the monorail. I love the convenience and the time we save. I feel when we stay off-site, we're always tryng to figure out bus schedules, etc. Last trip we wasted so much time that we could have spent enjoying the parks. However, it's so much cheaper to stay off-site. The money we save, we can take two Disney trips a year and my husband will actually open his wallet and buy the kids stuff As far as the dining plan, even when we stayed on-site, we never got it because it was a waste. We would spend our whole trip timing our park visits around our dining reservations. Yes, magic bands are the same (although you need to purchase them after you enter the park) and you can only reserve at the 30 day mark (which has really made me crazy this time trying to get 7DMT).

...and as far as the "magic," once you're in MK and you catch a glimpse of that beautiful castle, it really doesn't matter where you lay your head at night. Have fun!

 

[LAKid53]

Nice father....

As other posters said, you will save money on your room by staying off property. However, that means you will have to (1) purchase a magic band if you want one, (2) pay for parking at the parks you visit (which sometimes may be better than Disney transportation) unless the place you are staying at has a shuttle bus, (3) no Extra Magic Hours, and (4) you won't be able to make FP+ selections until 30 days out. You won't be able to purchase the dining plan either but maybe the timeshare has a kitchenette. And no free Magic Express from the airport to the hotel if you are flying in.

We always stay on property for the immersion and convenience.

 

[NCRedskins]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. We are driving so the airport thing isn't an issue, nor is dining.

My biggest concern I would say is losing the 60 days on the FP+ selections, and the magic hours. How clutch are these two benefits? Is it within the realm of worldly possibility that I could get, say, Meeting Anna and Elsa via FP+ (by far the biggest interest for my daughters) 60 days out?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

My biggest concern I would say is losing the 60 days on the FP+ selections,

Believe it or not, Disney once operated WITHOUT FP !!! Everybody used to stand in line and wait their turn to experience the attractions. OK, enough sarcasm.
Those attractions that you want to do and can't get FP+ for, just get to the parks early and join the stand by line

 

[LAKid53]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. We are driving so the airport thing isn't an issue, nor is dining.

My biggest concern I would say is losing the 60 days on the FP+ selections, and the magic hours. How clutch are these two benefits? Is it within the realm of worldly possibility that I could get, say, Meeting Anna and Elsa via FP+ (by far the biggest interest for my daughters) 60 days out?

If you get up at the crack of dawn on the day your 60 day window opens up....and if you stay off property, the same for the 30 day window. EMH are great in the morning for the MK, since you can get to Anna & Elsa one hour before the rest of the hoard arrives. But so can everyone else staying on property.

I just made FP+ selections for our trip at the end of November - yes, we are doing Thanksgiving at Disney this year, call me crazy. And did them one day BEFORE my 60 day window was to open, according to the magnet Disney sent me. However, I couldn't get 7DMT on the day we plan on being in the park - I'm not changing our ADR for that day or any day that week - so we are doing the ride the morning we depart.

But people change their FP+ selections as their trip plans change, so you can check frequently if you didn't get a FP+ for Anna & Elsa the first attempt.

 

[epcot2004]

Staying offsite is starting to not be too big of a drawback for us. We do miss the theming, location (we love staying in the Boardwalk/Beach Club area) and the full Disney immersion but it is simply becoming too expensive compare to rooms on the outside. On a recent trip we drove in to the parks for the first time and were very surprised at the time savings (vs. waiting for a bus) and lower stress especially at park close. EMH is not a concern as we stay away from those parks if we stay off site due to larger crowds as the day goes on. The $17 for parking is still a savings over staying on site. The biggest issue that we see is the ability for the FP+ reservations 60 days out. I do believe that that is going to become an increasing factor for staying on or off site as time goes on. We stayed offsite in March and were able to make FP+ on the first day it was available to offsite guests, I think we were more fortunate than this will be the norm. The parks were not too busy at that time. Bottom line: at less busy times of year we will probably stay off site until or unless FP+ reservations become an issue.

 

[LAKid53]

Believe it or not, Disney once operated WITHOUT FP !!! Everybody used to stand in line and wait their turn to experience the attractions. OK, enough sarcasm.
Those attractions that you want to do and can't get FP+ for, just get to the parks early and join the stand by line

I did that, in August, for Space Mountain. Back when MK let people staying on property in 1 hour early on Thursdays and we got there about 8:45. After nearly dying in the heat standing without shade for 45 minutes, I froze once inside since I was soaked in sweat. Never again.

 

[NCRedskins]

Wow, this isn't easy. It's definitely the cheaper option off-site (and frankly, MUCH more space for the family versus a value room at Pop Century), but I do want to be able to take advantage of the Fastpasses when possible.

 

[LAKid53]

Wow, this isn't easy. It's definitely the cheaper option off-site (and frankly, MUCH more space for the family versus a value room at Pop Century), but I do want to be able to take advantage of the Fastpasses when possible.

You can and will. Just not on the day and time you wanted since all of us who stay on-site will have taken all of them. LOL.

 

[WDWVolFan]

While I know I pay more staying on-site, the Dining Plan allows me to pretty much not sweat about spending money at WDW.
Everything is paid up front, other than tips. We don't shop much so all I need to budget for are Tips, Gas for the drive, Breakfast Food (we buy groceries and eat in the room) and maybe a souvenir here and there. That's it.

I get stressed out easy and having to keep up with receipts and checking the budget daily, is a major plus for me!
Also, I couldn't care less if my WDW hotel is not fancy...the All Star hotels have a pool, nice amenities and comfortable room. I don't need the theming of the Poly or the Contemporary. Would it be nice to stay there? Sure, but I wouldn't break bank to do that.

 

[epcot2004]

I get stressed out easy and having to keep up with receipts and checking the budget daily, is a major plus for me!

I have never been more stressed out when planning a vacation then waiting for midnight for FP+ selection. We got everything we wanted but if we would not have I would have been severely irritated wondering if we would have time to wait for what we did not get. It is still a concern but no much different than that paper system. A big part of me says bring back the pre-fastpass days. Life was simpler then.

 

[WDWVolFan]

Eh I don't sweat over that...I'll be up and do it, no worries. It's the money that gets to me. LOL

 

[UnhealthilyObsessed]

I made my FP+ selections at midnight at the 60 day mark.

I have no interest in Anna & Elsa, but I did notice that there were ZERO FastPasses available for it. The entire week of my stay. 60 DAYS OUT AT 12:02AM. It's like Beyonce tickets or something.

Staying on-site is the actual best, but it doesn't guarantee you won't have to wait standby for those controversial l'il princesses...