Why do you stay off site?

[Jim Chandler]

Well it looks like this thread has been revived so I am jumping back in. Today I ran the numbers for our upcoming Orlando 2015 vacation. We are going for 10 days and will be spending 3days/3nights onsite at Disney. At least that is the plan so far. Yes, I prefer off-site but I ran the numbers and here is what I got:

On-Site: 7/29-8/01
All Star Movies resort, 3day tickets w/hopper(2adult 1child), and Disney Dining Plan (1QS, 1TS 1snack) total price per Disney website $1916.59.

Off-Site:
3day ticket w/hopper (undercover tourist) $1030.30, Parking @ 15/day, 3nites @ Radisson hotel $300 ($240+ $20/day resort fee), 3 Table Service meals(Dinner) $450($60(2)=$120 +$30(1)=$150/day) 3 Quick Service (Lunch)$105($35/day). I didn't include the cost of breakfast because it isn't factored into dining plan either. So cost to stay off-site $1930.30. (****** $13.71 more than Disney*******)

So it will cost $13.71 more to stay off-site in a basic hotel room vs. onsite at Disney value resort. So I think its a fair comparison. We will have a rental car so we will have free parking for staying onsite. And this time I plan to use the rental car and NOT Disney buses. For the other 7 days we are in Orlando we will stay at a timeshare property to enjoy the surrounding area. As I have stated previously, we go to Orlando for more than just Disney so the savings of $13.71 is irrelevant. It just gives my DD9 3 full days and nights to be immersed in Disney magic, and then 7 days and nights enjoying other things in Orlando. The dates are NOT definite yet, but it is a good start to compare. We can only travel in July/August so I don't expect Disney or other properties to have a significant price jump or drop to cause me to change my mind but we will see. I will do my 3 days at Disney and will still have 7 days of Orlando/Kissimmee, and Lake Buena Vista to look forward to after we are done with Disney. Last year we went to Clearwater Beach for the first time so I am hoping to return there for a day again. There is so much to do in Florida that I cannot justify giving Disney more than 3 or 4 of my 10 vacation days....but as I always say, that's what works for me and my family. We need MORE than just Disney.

Don't forget the parking at Disney when you use your rental car is $15 per day last I knew.
I also hope you already have everything set up as this is the busiest time of the year except for Christmas.

Almost forgot try renting a home in the area I have heard it works even better than a hotel since most have pools. They are much more private as well.

 

[Figgy1]

Don't forget the parking at Disney when you use your rental car is $15 per day last I knew.
I also hope you already have everything set up as this is the busiest time of the year except for Christmas.

Almost forgot try renting a home in the area I have heard it works even better than a hotel since most have pools. They are much more private as well.

Parking is currently 20 a day

 

[TamaraQT]

I wish I could get WBC for $500 for 7 nights. If that were the case I wouldn't even have to think twice of the benefits of staying off-site. I prefer off-site, but the way the numbers worked out for us on-site made more sense. But after reading your post, I decided to run the numbers again for 7 nights off-site, 3 days of park tickets, 3 table service dinners(important for DD9) and 3 QS meals. The cheapest I can get WBC for a week in July so far is $1200. So even if I factored in WBC @$175/day, Disney on-site at value resort is $141. Doesn't feel like a fair comparison when you consider space and amenities such as a Washer/Dryer and kitchen. So now you have me thinking again

Wow...I wrote this in Jan 2015, and guess what......I did get WBC 2 bedroom for 7nites for $650 !!! Rented from an owner.....this year I found another owner at WBC and got a 7 night stay for $600 !!!! Going August 20 - 27 for 7 nites in 2 bedroom. No Disney at all this year....well there are reservations for Ohana but that's it. Looking forward to another week at WBC. I cant believe it !!!!

 

[TamaraQT]

Don't forget the parking at Disney when you use your rental car is $15 per day last I knew.
I also hope you already have everything set up as this is the busiest time of the year except for Christmas.

Almost forgot try renting a home in the area I have heard it works even better than a hotel since most have pools. They are much more private as well.

This post was from last year (Jan 2015) but we ended up staying off-site at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I rented a 2 bedroom from an owner for $650 !!!! So even with parking at $20 a day it didn't matter. We didnt do much Disney at all...hardly any. My daughter wanted to spend more time at WBC !!! She won the dance contest at the pool and just had a ball. We are going back again 8/12 - 8/27 with no plans for Disney except dinner at Ohana's as a belated Birthday gift for DH. Other than that we are spending 1 nite at Red Lion Hotel...7 nights at Orange Lake...then 7 nites at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Our Orlando vacation is going to be AWESOME this year!!!!

 

[Variable]

This post was from last year (Jan 2015) but we ended up staying off-site at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I rented a 2 bedroom from an owner for $650 !!!! So even with parking at $20 a day it didn't matter. We didnt do much Disney at all...hardly any. My daughter wanted to spend more time at WBC !!! She won the dance contest at the pool and just had a ball. We are going back again 8/12 - 8/27 with no plans for Disney except dinner at Ohana's as a belated Birthday gift for DH. Other than that we are spending 1 nite at Red Lion Hotel...7 nights at Orange Lake...then 7 nites at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Our Orlando vacation is going to be AWESOME this year!!!!

We've stayed there. We tried the Sheraton Vistana as well and like it a bit better (it's further away, but only by a few minutes), but they are interchangeable and we'd stay at either.

 

[TamaraQT]

We've stayed there. We tried the Sheraton Vistana as well and like it a bit better (it's further away, but only by a few minutes), but they are interchangeable and we'd stay at either.

I've heard good things about Sheraton Vistana !!! It's on my list of resorts where I'd like to visit for a week. We will see what happens next year....maybe I will be able to try it in the summer of 2017...we will see.

 

[TamaraQT]

Don't forget the parking at Disney when you use your rental car is $15 per day last I knew.
I also hope you already have everything set up as this is the busiest time of the year except for Christmas.

Almost forgot try renting a home in the area I have heard it works even better than a hotel since most have pools. They are much more private as well.

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to clarify the parking fee. We stayed on-site with a rental car and there was no parking fee. They gave us a parking pass that covered us for our entire on-site stay. Again, this is an old thread so not sure if on-site stays still include parking or not, but back when we stayed onsite it was included.

 

[John park hopper]

After March 21 "free parking" is a thing of the past for on site resorts. Free parking was never free it was included in the high room rates the guest never saw it----probably never though about it. Clarify you pay to park at the resort but not at the parks

 

[Nemo14]

The new parking fees are just for parking at the resorts, not the parks. Resort guests still get free parking at the parks, saving the $22 parking fee there.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

I don't anymore - but used to (with my parents) all the time "back in the day." Why? Price, price, price. We even drove back/forth from NY.

 

[Skibum1970]

I may try staying offsite in a couple weeks. Two big reasons: Price and availability. Doing a short notice trip to WDW is getting difficult if you want to stay onsite. The only concerns are that we won't have Magical Express and my wife will be extremely skeptical of non-Disney resorts. I want to try WBC with a two bedroom. I snore like a fiend and that way we would both be able to sleep. Plus, staying at WBC with a rental car means that I should be able to get to the Disney parks fairly quickly.

 

[TamaraQT]

I may try staying offsite in a couple weeks. Two big reasons: Price and availability. Doing a short notice trip to WDW is getting difficult if you want to stay onsite. The only concerns are that we won't have Magical Express and my wife will be extremely skeptical of non-Disney resorts. I want to try WBC with a two bedroom. I snore like a fiend and that way we would both be able to sleep. Plus, staying at WBC with a rental car means that I should be able to get to the Disney parks fairly quickly.

Is she skeptical because she has never been outside of the Disney bubble? Do you only go to visit Disney? Maybe use this opportunity to try some off-site restaurants and other off-site activities. Maybe if she does something outside of Disney she won't be skeptical. It's common to be fearful of the unknown. But I think WBC would be a good start. You are still inside the Disney gates so it's familiar territory. There are many who felt the same way as she does until they tried off-site. I agree that off-site isn't for everyone, but I think its worth a try to see if it is for you or not. Good luck and have fun whatever you decide.

 

[Skibum1970]

Is she skeptical because she has never been outside of the Disney bubble? Do you only go to visit Disney? Maybe use this opportunity to try some off-site restaurants and other off-site activities. Maybe if she does something outside of Disney she won't be skeptical. It's common to be fearful of the unknown. But I think WBC would be a good start. You are still inside the Disney gates so it's familiar territory. There are many who felt the same way as she does until they tried off-site. I agree that off-site isn't for everyone, but I think its worth a try to see if it is for you or not. Good luck and have fun whatever you decide.

Well, she is leery for a few reasons. 1) We stayed at an offsite where the room had mold and gave her severe allergies. 2) She likes taking the Magical Express instead of the Skibum Dash. 3) She does enjoy being in the bubble where she doesn't worry about cars, parking, etc. Finally, she is a little worried about bedbugs. I really enjoy staying onsite as well but am trying to save money on a short trip. Since many of the resorts I would typically use are booked, I am trying to find alternatives via VRBO. WBC is one that I keep looking at. Plus, I figure that bedbugs are a problem even at Disney although, just like most reputable hotels, they do everything they can to mitigate it.

 

[Gillyanne]

Old thread, didn't read all, but we stay off property b/c we got our timeshare back in 86 before DVC was a thing. It's deeded so we still own it, though the current resort owners are questionable (it seems to be the only resort in the area closed for "hurricane damage" so we pay our maintenance fees, but can't use it, and they want MORE money to trade it b/c it's closed, and the last 2 times we've been down since then nothing has been done). We've added 1 other time share in the area (both on 192) to the mix, and another closer to home but easy to trade to FL if wanted Given the timing of our original TS, I'm curious if we would've gone DVC had it been an option at the time...

We also usually drive down, and now as AP holders, park parking costs isn't an issue

 

[jaques21]

with the new Disney springs approved hotels for me it made sense was way cheaper!

 

[WDWMPrincess]

1. I'm not going to travel all the way to Orlando and only do Disney World. I don't want to have to move hotels half way through my vacation.

2. I have points from work travel that will more than cover our stay at most hotels in Orlando but won't quite cover a stay in the Disney resorts. I could probably wait to save up the remainder, but then I'd still have to move half way through the week.

3. Even if I could stay in the Disney resort for the entire stay and it cost the same amount of points, I would still have to pay for parking, breakfasts, and transport to the other things I intend to do. My off site hotel has a shuttle to all those places, free parking, and hot breakfasts included.

4. My off site hotel will also have a full kitchen, three bathrooms, and an actual bed for every person in our large family group so no one has to sleep on the sofa bed for less points than a room at Disney where half our party has to sleep on pull outs, we won't even have a mini fridge, and we'll have to share 2 bathrooms.

 

[dieboy]

My folks live in windermere, its essentially like a bed and breakfast .. so .. why spend the money at the resorts .

 

[HwdStudio]

Is she skeptical because she has never been outside of the Disney bubble? Do you only go to visit Disney? Maybe use this opportunity to try some off-site restaurants and other off-site activities. Maybe if she does something outside of Disney she won't be skeptical. It's common to be fearful of the unknown. But I think WBC would be a good start. You are still inside the Disney gates so it's familiar territory. There are many who felt the same way as she does until they tried off-site. I agree that off-site isn't for everyone, but I think its worth a try to see if it is for you or not. Good luck and have fun whatever you decide.

What do you do when you stay at WBC and don’t do Disney?

 

[TamaraQT]

What do you do when you stay at WBC and don’t do Disney?

We always rent a car so we really can get around the Orlando area. Participate in the poolside activities at Bonnet Creek. My DD12 loves poolside activities. We spend a day Outlet shopping. That in itself is an adventure. My DD12 loves Justice and she finds all kind of stuff that is more affordable so she gets much more. We go to restaurants in the area. Ride the trolley up and down International drive. Drive down to Tampa and go to the beach. Go to Wonderworks, FunSpot, and little visits like that. When we were in Disney when DD was like 8 or 9 I have a picture of her sitting on the curb in Magic Kingdom eating a Mickey bar while waiting for the parade. I have to find it and post the picture. She was NOT happy about being there at all. The night we were watching fireworks, there was a poolside movie at the resort we were staying at. She would have rather been in the pool watching a movie rather than be at Disney watching "Wishes". She just doesn't have an appreciation for Disney like most kids do. So we love the area, but we find things to do off-site. One year my DH and DS19 took a helicopter ride over Orlando. They still talk about it to this day. We like Disney but aren't in-love with it. There is so much more to do an see in Orlando. Universal Studios, Seaworld(on our list this year), Aquatica(on our list this year). We go to Orlando every year and never get to do everything yet. Next year DD will be 13 and we plan to go back to Disney for Pandora and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. That's all she is interested in doing. While there we will go to Ohana for dinner and Chef Mickeys. After 2 or 3 days of Disney she has had enough and wants to go back to the timeshare resort. We stay at Bonnet Creek, Westgate TownCenter/VacationVillas,, The Fountains, and Orange Lake Resort. We mix it up so each vacation gets to be unique. We are there for 14 to 15 days and never step foot in Disney unless we go to Disney Springs which is rare. Sure we could go other places like cruises, and islands and many other places. But we have not grown tired of Orlando yet. We just don't need a Disney vacation.

***EDIT TO ADD**** If you have never stayed at Bonnet Creek or a timeshare resort, you should take a look at the activity schedules they have for the kids and adults. Bonnet Creek has FUN pool games like other resorts. Westgate is well known for the line-dancing instruction and pool parties. Orange Lake has 4 villages and 3 of them have AWESOME entertainment and activities. Each resort ALWAYS has something going on. You will be surprised in hearing some kids pleading with their parents to skip Disney so they can participate in some of the resort activities. I think its because they meet other kids at the pools and they want to do stuff with other kids rather than trek thru lines and heat at the parks.

 

[BigRedDad]

I will chime in because I am doing it in 3 days.

1. Far cheaper. 7-nights in a 3BR/3BA Deluxe room at Reunion resort ($550) vs Pop Century for the same dates was $1,500.
2. 3x the bedrooms, 3x the baths, full kitchen
3. Better than Disney accommodations
4. Better than Disney amenities
5. Activities all day long for adults and kids
6. At the places we have stayed, much better pools (WBC, Orange Lake, and Reunion)
7. Ability to cook your own meals for better quality, lower price, and better tasting. My 1Lb ribeye on the grill for $12 is better than $75 for a Disney cheap flank steak.
8. There are only 2 things Disney resort guests can do that non-resort guests can do: enter a room and use the pool. The second is loosely monitored.
9. Reliable transportation. My 7-night stay at OKW in December 17 amounted to 16 hours of sitting at the bus stops waiting for Disney transportation. Yes, 16 total hours and I did time it. This doesn't even take into account the travel time. This is getting to the stop and stating the timer as we got there. Add in the time for room to stop or park exit to stop, it is another 1-2 hours. To put it in perspective, driving over my 2-week Summer stay last year we had a total of 8-hours of commute time for 14-days. That is room exit to park entrance, park exit to room entrance.
10. Staff is equivalent to Disney staff and most bend over backwards for you within reason.
11. No $25-$5,000 per day to park your car
12. No nickel and diming of fees.