Why do you stay off site?

[Deadmanwalking]

Have you ever stayed at a deluxe?
What amenities are missing?
A news paper?
Free cup of coffee?

I would have to agree... on the most recent stay at the Contemporary in a tower room several things were missing that I would expect at other hotels at even a fraction of the price.
News paper was only delivered 50% of the time.
Not once did they refurnish the in room coffee stuff, the coffe in the room was gone in the first two days and never refilled (yes I could have called room service but I was curious as to whether they would do it on their own).
No microwave which made it a pain in the a*& to warm up our daughter formula (the hotels solution was to invite us to take the bottle down to the cafe and warm it up there).
Parking that was quite a distance from the hotel.
A front desk that would allow dominos to use their phone instead of having to have them call me on my cell phone when the pizza arrived. Most other hotels would have let them deliver it to my door instead of having to go down to the lobby (punishment for not buying the hotels over priced and nasty tasting pizza I guess)

Now for the price I would have received turndown service at a non-disney resort.

So I would have to say, yes people have to come up with reason to justify disney's higher end resorts. I can only do it with the monorail service and cannot to this day understand how it can be justified at the other high end hotels like AK and Wilderness lodge.

 

[barnum42]

...and cannot to this day understand how it can be justified at the other high end hotels like AK and Wilderness lodge.

I'd love to stay at AK - but can't justify spending the same amount of cash to spend two nights there as I spent last time for two weeks off-site.

However I was able to visit and dine at AK on many occasions before heading to my bed on 192

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Disney IS expensive - I've paid the "extra" and stayed on property before. But, for reasons mentioned above, because of teenage daughters wanting privacy then the practicalities of a house with seperate bedrooms with a kitchen and private pool make more sense

 

[pintraderpayee]

LOL
We take students to WDW every Easter break. We stay off-site at Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista on Palm Parkway because that is where our tour company books us. The tour company arranges our Disney Youth Education Series classes, park tickets, and makes sure that my rooms are one right next to another. Can't have students scattered all over a hotel! The rooms have mini-fridges and microwaves. This is extremely helpful for a high school student on a tight budget. It is a clean, simple place to stay that is minutes from WDW. It is also fun to ride our "yellow limo" (school bus) onto WDW property and wave at everyone on the way. We are usually the only school bus and definitely the only one with the word Parish on the side. It's a Louisiana thang!!:lol:

4 weeks 1 day until the "yellow limo" is ºoºrlando bound (school bus 27 teens:sohappy: )

I will add to my own post from last year We also stay off-site because we do not want our students, comprised of boys and girls, to have the ability to take Disney's transportation to the hotel without our knowledge..... Don't need those kinds of souvenirs popping up 9 months post trip We don't tell them that our off-site hotel has transportation to and from WDW.....we let them believe that our school bus is the only way back and forth

44 days until we are ºoºrlando bound with 21 teens on a school bus for 930 miles of smiles:hammer: :sohappy:

 

[Deadmanwalking]

I will add to my own post from last year We also stay off-site because we do not want our students, comprised of boys and girls, to have the ability to take Disney's transportation to the hotel without our knowledge..... Don't need those kinds of souvenirs popping up 9 months post trip We don't tell them that our off-site hotel has transportation to and from WDW.....we let them believe that our school bus is the only way back and forth

44 days until we are ºoºrlando bound with 21 teens on a school bus for 930 miles of smiles:hammer: :sohappy:

Sorry to break the bad news to you but if junior and junette are determined to create a 9 month suprise they will do it weather they get back to the hotel or not. I recall high school trips where couples hooked up on the bus while it was transporting us at night... I guess modesty isn't an issue when teenage hormones are high.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

I'd love to stay at AK - but can't justify spending the same amount of cash to spend two nights there as I spent last time for two weeks off-site.

However I was able to visit and dine at AK on many occasions before heading to my bed on 192

You were wise... We stayed at AK for three days once because we thought it would be cool to be around the animals... Ooops, they don't mention in the advertisments for AK that the animals are basically hiding during most of the day to stay cool. Wish we had stayed on 192 those days we could have bought a kangaroo with the savings/

 

[pintraderpayee]

Sorry to break the bad news to you but if junior and junette are determined to create a 9 month suprise they will do it weather they get back to the hotel or not. I recall high school trips where couples hooked up on the bus while it was transporting us at night... I guess modesty isn't an issue when teenage hormones are high.

Yeah, I know. Where there's a will..........For the most part these are poor country kids who may only have this one visit to WDW in their life, so it's all about the 4 days of Disney and 1 day of Universal and the fact that we KNOW WHERE THEY LIVE:drevil: DH (6'4" 280lbs) is our driver and most of the kids former junior high math teacher, so no binomials creating polynomials on his bus

 

[talfonso]

Off-site? I live an hour from WDW, but if I were vacationing around it, I have a timeshare 5 min. from the magic, with nary a turismo (that's your Brazilian tour group or Argentinean youth herd) in sight... :animwink:

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

If I am going to pay 79$ a night for Pop Century, for a smaller room, no indoor corridors, and no free breakfast, why don't I just got to a Hilton and get all that for the same price, if not lower? :lol:

 

[Hrudey3032]

I stay offsite for free that is why. Allows me to spend more at the parks!

 

[Cane27]

Just booked Marriott Residence INN sea World for 79.20 per night for Jan 29 and 30. Big clean rooms and an awesome breakfast buffet included. Saves you $30.00 on breakfast that you would have to spend at any Disney resort.

 

[trixie21]

Staying Offsite

No matter how i price it - it is still cheaper offsite. I wish Disney had a plan where they had full kitchens and laundry for a reasonable price.
We are staying in a 2 bed/bath at a resort in the area for $500/wk. We would only be able to afford Value and there's no kirchen/laundry and i think you have to pay to rent a fridge.
As far as convenience Disney is the way to go - we just can't afford that convenience this tiem around

 

[Olijimcha]

Just booked Marriott Residence INN sea World for 79.20 per night for Jan 29 and 30. Big clean rooms and an awesome breakfast buffet included. Saves you $30.00 on breakfast that you would have to spend at any Disney resort.

Nice place, we stayed there at the start of our last visit & wished we had stayed there for the whole of our holiday. Great staff, nice room, ample breakfast buffet and at a great price - about $95 pre paid for us if I remember correctly. Giving serious thought to staying there next time round.

Back on track, money is a issue staying on property (unless you tie in with a special deal) but on the back of that generally comes better facilities for us, we rented a villa for 2 weeks with 4 bedrooms - 2 en-suite, another bathroom, breakfast and dining area, lounge & pool for around $1100 for 2 weeks. There are 5 of us (2 adults, 3 kids) and squeezing into 1 room for 2 weeks isn't my idea of fun. Also I like a little quiet time on holiday and staying off site enables me to get that.
Apart from all that the money we save staying offsite allows us to splurge on plenty more goodies - I had to stop in at wallmart & buy 2 extra suitcases to bring everything home last time!

 

[WDWfamilyfanuk]

Being from the UK and not comfortable with driving in US we have always stayed onsite - Port Orleans, Fort Wilderness Cabins, Beach Club, Boardwalk since our first visit 1995. Now DD has just left her teenage years and the driving issue has improved we stay at Bahama Bay Resort - just off the 192 and 10 mins from the Western Way entrance! Fabulous resort - peaceful with great accommodation. But to get our Disney "fix" we book a 2 night stay in one of the Epcot hotels - whichever has an offer on :animwink:. This does the trick. We get Disney magic plus the peace and quiet of Bahama Bay - accommodations are 2/3 bed, 2 bath, full kitchen, washer/dryer, patios and from the clubhouse you can watch MK fireworks!!! There is entertainment on at the Clubhouse - karaoke most nights I think - but from where we stay that isn't a problem. Check out the website - I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Happy vacation wherever you choose. www.bahamabay.com

 

[Susan Savia]

We always stay offsite. The past 3 years we've been at the Ramada Gateway Kissimmee, one mile from the parks. We stay offsite because of many reasons...We hate the idea of waiting on busses, we don't need fancy/frilly decorations in our room when we are only there basically to sleep, my son likes having the free internet service in our room, the fridge in our room is free, we are not paying for a '3rd' person in our room, we stay 8 nights for $400, the room is clean, comfortable and fair sized. we park at our door and there is security. The motel offers many daily activities. After figuring out the taxes, and having a 3rd person the values can turn out to be $100 a night. With the exception of a couple meals we tend to eat offsite mostly. That alone is a huge savings.

Its not that we can't afford one of the Disney Resorts, its more of a matter of what works best for us and what makes the most sense.

 

[fireworkz]

Money of course is THE factor, but I have a different reason why it's a consideration for me. Being from Newfoundland Canada, Central Florida offers me a lot of different things we don't have here. So while some want only Disney, I want Disney, plus a dose of Florida. There are places and things that I have seen before and want to revisit besides WDW, and I don't necessarily mean the other theme parks. This keeps me offsite because I find it's easier fit these places in to my day. Most of them are on or near the Bronson Highway. So I can leave WDW, maybe go to one or two places, and my hotel isn't much further away. I don't have to drive all the way back into WDW. Plus the difference in the cost of a Disney Resort vs. a quality offsite location basically covers the cost of the car rental, WDW parking fees and even some or all of the gas.

 

[Patrick_Ears]

Yeah i agree with everyone else, saving money is a huge thing. I think a lot of off site Hotels and Resorts make deals so that they can stay in the game with everyone else. Plus if you stay off grounds some hotels don't have any transportaion back and forth and if you have to pay it's what i think $14.00 a day just for a car or van. Times that times 5 and see what you get. But i like to stay off grounds you can get some great deals!!! Nothing against Disney but hey we all love deals when it comes to money.... Plus if you don't stay on grounds, you don't get the meal plan or extra magic hours but when you have little ones haha i don't think some can handle the very long hours.

 

[Millie.T.Cook]

What a great question...

Great questions and thanks for asking. I would like to know the answer as well.


Millie

 

[OklaHoops]

Offsite vs onsite

We have stayed onsite and offsite. There are advantages to both. We finally split the difference and stay at the Swan and Dolphin. We get great hotel service (better than any moderate and almost equal to a deluxe disney resort) a good price, and best of all a simple walk or boat ride to Epcot or DHS!:sohappy:

 

[CP_alum08]

I think the biggest difference is in the type of vacation you want to have. If you are going for the sole purpose of a 'Disney Vacation' nothing beats staying on-site. It really lets you escape reality (which is the whole point!) Personally, if you are going on vacation you shouldn't have to deal with things like groceries, laundry, etc. , unless you are staying for a LONG time I guess. If you are really planning on cooking and doing laundry on vacation doesn't that defeat the point?
If you are going on a Florida/Orlando vacation then I think staying of-site makes more sense. If you are going to be doing things like Universal, Sea World, I Drive, then you are going to want a more centrally located hotel, not to mention one that will provide transportation to all of those. I still wouldn't be concerned with cooking and laundry though.