Why do you stay off site?

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

It may just be yet another rip off by the great British Travel agent - but the amount of money they charge for staying on site and the saving that can be made by staying at an equivalent rated hotel is huge. You could almost feed a small country for a week on the difference !!
Personally, I have two "shy" teenage daughters who hate the thought of their dad disturbing them in the bathroom - so we stay in a villa. Two or three bedrooms, two bathrooms - everyone has their own privacy, more space to themselves and our own private pool. Plus, of course, a fully equipped kitchen for a lot less than we would pay staying on site.
It just makes more economical sense.

 

[BRER STITCH]

Yeah....its' funny reading the replies here....

It's almost like many of us have to search for a reason to stay ON site rather than off! :lol:

The biggest reason (depending on your reason for travel) is the EXTREME lack of amenities at any WDW resort if you plan on doing anything but going to their parks! The Contemporary is the only one that even comes close to offering things that are considered "standard" by many of the better-name off-site business hotels.

The best Disney room is still not as good as the worst room at the Westin or Hilton, for example. Nor is the service or other offerings as good in most cases.

So..while you may not necessarily ALWAYS save money by staying off-site, you can certainly get a better VALUE for the money you spend there.

However, if the only thing we will be doing is going to Disney parks while we're there, the choice of staying on-site is infinitely easier!

Just another thing to think about while planning your trip....

:wave:

 

[bgraham34]

Thanks everyone I have enjoyed reading everything.

Now if I may I would like to give my reasons for staying onsite. I was not going to but i just thought some people might want to know.

1. Its the only place i can go on vacation and for a decent price and not have to drive myself anywhere. I drive 2 plus hours everyday so not driving a few days is a vacation.


Ya know what that is really the number 1 reason for me.

 

[ELopez]

I've stayed both on and off-site and can see how people could argue both sides. I must admit that the mighty dollar often makes the decision for us. My husband works for an airline, so we fly for free and get 50% off Disney resort rates. Next month we will be staying at a Fort Wilderness cabin (we are a family of 5), so I think having the kitchen will really save us some money, as well. Now with Magical Express, we don't have to pay for a shuttle or rent a car or pay for parking (something that can add up if you are driving in every day). And we simply enjoy the experience of staying on property. My kids are young and absolutely love all forms of Disney transportation. They get so excited over the bus, we sometimes wonder why we pay so much for park tickets! We like to take at least one day off from the parks and enjoy amenities like the themed pools, playgrounds, etc.

 

[ibadrumhead]

why would you want to stay off site is the real question

other than the ppl who need a condo and such. the real question is why would you stay off site? i mean say you save 20$ avg. a night on a reg. hotel room. you still gotta pay 8$ (i think) to park. so in the end you only saving about 13$ a night. dont get me wrong im not rich or anything near it but come on ppl disney magic 24 a day for the lenth of your trip is well worth 13 more a day!!! right??? just my opinion but...... and say you stay a week ok then even if you are close to disney parks you looking at 10 -15$ a wekk for gas. and say your staying 5 days ok ...... $40 for parking $15 gas ok you saved $100 to stay off site but spent $55 + to stay off site and to me $45 is worth it to stay on site. but like i said my opinion not all ppl see this the same just a little in site!!!!! thanx
also im form bristol, va where is everyone else on here from?

 

[MKCustodial]

Well, definitely money. It is cheaper to stay off-site. And like Tati said, many hotels off-site include breakfast on the rates. Many of them even offer transportation to the various parks.
Also, not only Europeans do this. Us Brazilians do it as well. I don't really know anyone who goes from Brazil to Orlando and don't do all the parks, including Busch Gardens, and maybe even a day-off downtown.

 

[mhead]

I used to stay off-site but ehm stayed on site and that was it. I feel safer and I feel safer and well.... I feel safer. Of course that could be because last time I stayed off site my car was broken into. I also do not want to drive to the parks - I hate that and cannot fathom why anyone would want to - but to each his own.

 

[barnum42]

Looks like everyone, including myself, can't come up with a good reason to stay off site other than it is a better value, cheaper, etc.

It's all about money. I would love to stay for two weeks at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but for the money I would spend for two nights there I can spend two weeks off site. No contest.

 

[SpenceMan01]

Here's a good reason:

My dad foots the bill!

Once I get there on my own, I will be staying on site because I have never done so and I want to be caught up in the magic!

 

[disneylands]

Becuase disney hotels are just too expensive, for 109 a night I can get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa with a kitchen, living room and dining room next to a fancy pool and only a mile away from disney world. As opposed to the 79 to 100 dollar a night disney rooms with the boreing motel status, 2 beds and a bathroom. It just makes more sense to me. I can live without the Disney Perks just as long as I get to go to my favorite place in the world... Disney World!

 

[mikeymouse]

Where is this? Sounds lovely! And you can see Animal Kingdom. Nice!

We normally stay at Vistana Villages. Its really nice and, as another Brit said, is a good location to get all around Orlando, not just Disney. Its also nice having a kitchen etc and with older kids is good not all being in one room!

www.aaadreamhomes.com

there is a $15/night off coupon in the Kissimmee brochure we got. They're right behind Splendid China.

 

[Pagan]

I stay offsite because I have a friend who works in the tourgroup business who gets me the room for $39 a night.

I use the room only for showering and sleeping, so it's not worth spending all that money.

 

[PirateJ]

My reason for staying offsite

Ok my reason (other than getting more bang for my buck) for staying offsite is that i travel with my dog to WDW. He is an 85 pound siberian husky and the disney kennels are just inadequate for guests traveling with pets.

I left my dog there for a 1 day while i was in the parks one time and it was a horrible experience for me. The cages are just too small and my big dog is not going to stay in a crate for a week. They do nothing to make the pets comfortable. They won't feed or walk to pets and there is no large area for them to run or exercise.

By staying in a vacation home that is pet friendly I can more easily take care of my pet and he is much happier with all the space.

I was just in Disney last week and while at Epcot they were taking a survey about the guests traveling with pets. hopefully they will do something about upgrading the facilities, because this is the one area disney is severly lacking.

 

[mikeymouse]

Here's a good reason ... Polynesian Resort, standard room, garden view ... $354/night. Lagoon view ... $445/night. 2 Bedroom suites are like $1500/night.

 

[MotoDisney]

More value staying off site

3 bedroom 3 bath villa with 1800 sq. feet of living space for a lot less than a deluxe resort. Marriot Grand Vista.

 

[Rora]

I'm a total Disney junkie, and I enjoy the resorts. But here are my reasons for prefering to be off site.

1. A 2 bedroom condo instead of being cramped in a tiny room. We're together 24/7 we don't have to be on top of each other as well. That just makes me cranky.
2. Eating some place other than a food court or park food.
3. Doing things that have nothing to do with Disney.
4. Being able to run to a Wal Mart or a grocery store if I need to.
5. I've had a love affair Florida my whole life. And after my trip this summer where I stayed at the resort I left feeling sad because I really didn't get to see any of Florida outside of my "Disney bubble". I went from the airport to the resort back to the airport.

That being said...the friends I normally go with have been bitten by the resort bug and have no desire to stay off site ever again *sigh*.

 

[chernabog_ca]

After my first stay on-site I was hooked. I haven't stayed off-site since and probably won't. There's just something about being immersed in the magic 24/7. I know there's probably more value for the money staying off-site but I'd rather delay my trip a bit to save what ever extra money is needed to stay on-site.

 

[CoffeeJedi]

4. Being able to run to a Wal Mart or a grocery store if I need to.

when i'm at WDW, i don't want to even think that WalMart EXISTS
when i stayed at the Dolphin, i was really upset that there was a newspaper waiting at the door every morning. it was USA-Today, so i carefully pulled out the "purple" section while avoiding the front page (trying to not even look at the headlines in the process)

When i'm there, the outside world simply DOES NOT EXIST! nope nope nope
it just blinks out of existence entirely, then pops back into being on the day that i leave

 

[Rototom]

I love & prefer to stay on site, but to sneak in a second trip in a year I'll stay off site for less money. (or just go more in general)

You do get more room(s) for less off site. Now that I have a daughter that extra is a plus.

I use AllStar Vacation Homes when I've stayed off site. The places are close and very nice.

I do see myself going back to ON site only though. I like being in the magic 24/7 too much.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

My in Laws have a condo in Florida.