Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
I totally get wanting to experience the bubble. Bonnet Creek and Flamingo Crossings are probably the closest to not technically being "on property" but still feeling like the bubble.
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Why should we stay on property?
- Thread starter Ricky Spanish
- Start date
A lot of hotels have transport to the Parks and from there you can get transport to other parks and resort restaurants. I agree - once upon a time the 'perks' really made a stay in a Disney hotel a great experience. Now these 'perks' have gone and the cost keeps rising. You can stay at the Swan/Dolphin for a fraction of the price and get all the perks of the Disney Hotels. Disney has become 'shabby' and the once famous Disney Service is definitely a thing of the past.
Dad 2 M & M
Well-Known Member
We seem to have very similar thoughts on staying onsite, and agree the perks at this time have dwindled to busing to the Parks. Further, we drive to all Parks, even the challenging MK + the ferry or Monorail.
The last perk that went away when staying on property WAS the guarantee of your choice of Park for the Park Reservation (used to be the only way an AP could get a DHS Park Ressie without doing so well in advance).
With all that said, we’re STILL staying on property for our next trip as we think the onsite “feeling “ still can’t be duplicated, even with its current reduced “Magic”.
We are a bit curious though....you are saving $1,000 for a 10 night stay? What rate are/were you paying for ASM? Was it for multiple rooms? Even with paying for parking, and a sticker price of north of $150, it is quite an accomplishment to save $100 per night.
Don’t misinterpret, just curious of the details...
And have a blast...we need Magic in our crazy times...
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So 10 nights at All Stars for 4 adults with 10 day tix and park hoppers was like $4900, first week of June 2021.
Thats not including parking.
11 nights, new hotel, 2 queens and sleeper sofa, kitchenette, 10 day tix and park hoppers, free breakfast, very close to property, free parking-$3900.
Yes, I’ll still have to pay to park(at the parks ) but it’s really only $10 a day more than parking at the All Stars.
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"El Gran Magnifico"
Mr Flibble is Very Cross.
Hotel Plaza is also close. It's one of those on-property/off-property kinda deals.
Dad 2 M & M
Well-Known Member
Well done
Just ran the number for ASM beginning June 1st, and came up with $4,699 or so.....with the room being $171. First time i ran it it was "only" $141 a night, but I realized it was two people, not four. $15 a night per additional (over two) person.
Anywho, you found a good deal off-site for sub $80 a night....
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alpha0meqa
New Member
Sorry for bumping an old thread. I never really considered hotels when AIRBNB exists. I think we had a family of 5 adults and 1 kiddo at one - think it was 6 nights for 1100$. I'd image something on property that was any kind of "niceness" would be like 3k?
CastAStone
5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
A room for 6 starts at about $400 a night and at that price you get 2 queens and a full size pullout so someone is sharing a bed with the kid.
Cheapest onsite room I’d recommend in that scenario would be a 2 bedroom at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs, which start around $800 a night and go way up from there depending on season. Those also have a kitchen.
Another option would be a suite at the Swan or Dolphin which are more or less on site. Those can be as cheap as your AirBnB if you snag a deal but usually start around $500 a night.
What I’m saying is, $3k is optimistic.
alpha0meqa
New Member
I think I didn't make much sense in my post, sorry. This was for a April 2018 trip I had. But yeah, staying on site seems to be crazy expensive in comparison - and you get some small room/rooms when you could get a house. I think it was a 20min drive to the parks. Which isn't you know right next door, but it's not across the world either. I've never stayed on site before and only been once so I'm sure I'm missing the real reason most people are paying these crazy prices to stay on site
CastAStone
5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
In recent years it got you preferred access to their fast pass system, which meant only people staying on site can get fast passes for the newest rides. I don’t know what it gets you right now. We are staying on site for our next trip, but only because my kids are obsessed with Cars, and so we’re staying in a Cars themed room. Most Disney rooms are unthemed.I think I didn't make much sense in my post, sorry. This was for a April 2018 trip I had. But yeah, staying on site seems to be crazy expensive in comparison - and you get some small room/rooms when you could get a house. I think it was a 20min drive to the parks. Which isn't you know right next door, but it's not across the world either. I've never stayed on site before and only been once so I'm sure I'm missing the real reason most people are paying these crazy prices to stay on site
alpha0meqa
New Member
Yeah, when I went I could still do fastpasses but the second it opened everything that was highly booked was already gone, I think like you said you get like 90days vs 60days or something along those lines for advanced booking. Have you ever done dining plan? I know that's a thing to consider as well. I wish I remembered how much we spent on food. Im sure it was a ton ha!
aliceismad
Well-Known Member
Most Disney rooms aren't over-the-top live-in-a-cartoon theming like the Cars AoA rooms, but I would still consider most of the resorts and rooms themed in that the rooms have finishes and furnishings that tie into the resort.
With the current lack of FP, demise of Magical Express (as we currently know it), increasing prices, and other reasons, many people are looking more to offsite resorts vs. onsite. It's certainly cheaper and makes sense for a lot of people.
However, some resorts still offer intangibles that you can't get elsewhere. Many of the Disney hotels have a certain feel when you walk in the door - the grand lobby at Wilderness Lodge, the lawn by the lake at Grand Floridian, etc. There is no substitute for opening your balcony door and seeing animals on the savannah at Animal Kingdom Lodge. There are no/few offsite hotels where you can view the castle or other park landmark and watch fireworks from your room/the beach/the boardwalk. You can't walk to a park or grab the monorail or Skyliner from any offsite hotels. Different things have different value to different people.
CastAStone
5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Yes, but I was trying to speak specifically about the rooms, and in many of the resorts, the rooms themselves leave something to be desired for me.
Pop, the 3 all stars, Coronado, Caribbean beach, yacht/beach, grand flo, OKW, and contemporary I would consider to be effectively unthemed in the rooms, separated from a Fairfield or a Hilton Garden Inn by - at best - a pretty shower curtain and Disney characters in the wall art. SSR, POFQ, and the mansion side of POR (excluding obviously the royal rooms) I’d consider lightly themed at best, with a few extra touches, but not much.
AKL is an absolute jewel, and would go in the “very themed” category for me, along with the pirate rooms, royal rooms, AoA, and perhaps some other rooms I am unfamiliar with. I agree there are other Reasons to stay on site, and in particular at CR/GF/YC/BC/BW where you can walk to a park or sometimes 2.
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"El Gran Magnifico"
Mr Flibble is Very Cross.
One time, when I looked out my window from my place on I-Drive - I saw a squirrel, what I think was a rat, and 2 vultures.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
you should stay on property because your wife loves it. happy wife, happy life.
you should stay off property to create more availability which will result in Disney offering more discounts for those of us who want to stay on property.
Typical...and don’t hold your breath on discounts. Or maybe you’ll “snag” a $275 room at port Orleans
I agree...though I don’t think any of these resort reductions above much to do with covid.
Nah...that’s just what you tell everyone (off the pre-approved “pro-Disney” list of phrases)
See above
Queen of the WDW Scene
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Why shouldn't I be "pro Disney"?
That's why websites like this exist.
My opinion has always been... If you no longer feel its worth it then don't do it.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Noted
Why do websites exist? Conversation? Information? The occasionally talk of truth?
...I know...too much
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
This is the correct answer. Wyndham Bonnet Creek is the best value accommodations in the area, it's still in the bubble, and they have many diverse room types that are perfect for 1) large parties, 2) normal-sized parties with a large number of adults, or 3) families who need to space out from each other to get a good night's sleep.
I'll also add, people like to mock the "magic" aspect of the highly-themed Disney resorts (which are AKL, WL, Poly, and FW in my opinion), but there's absolutely a sense of "wow, this is incredible" when you walk into the Jambo lobby or drive around Fort Wilderness in a golf cart at night. You will absolutely *not* get that at Wyndham Bonnet Creek.
ilovelabs2021
Well-Known Member
I totally see what you are saying, and I used to feel this way. I know this is personal to me, but with the year my family has had, we need a little magic, even if it is modified!