Why would anyone stay onsite at a WDW Resort anymore?

[dreday3]

Man, on our way to Gran Destino we dropped off at the All-Stars. I've never seen in person, just videos. They literally look like roadside motels.

I think I would say without having to see Universal's value resorts in person, they blow Disney's value resorts out of the water! I just watched reviews on the Endless Summer resorts - those hotels are better than most of Disney's moderates!

Disney has absolutely has a lot of audacity to be charging the prices they do for most of their hotels.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Man, on our way to Gran Destino we dropped off at the All-Stars. I've never seen in person, just videos. They literally look like roadside motels.

I think I would say without having to see Universal's value resorts in person, they blow Disney's value resorts out of the water! I just watched reviews on the Endless Summer resorts - those hotels are better than most of Disney's moderates!

Disney has absolutely has a lot of audacity to be charging the prices they do for most of their hotels.

lol, in real estate it's called "location, location, location". I went apartment hunting in Manhattan a few months ago.
a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment in SoHo was going for $6,220/month and according to the rental agency they had 3 other perspective renters. Needless to say I'm still in my current home

 

[ToTBellHop]

I find early entry and the deluxe after hours time much more valuable than you suggest.

We usually stay at a resort where we can walk to at least 1 park. Can’t beat that.

 

[Dreaming of Disney World]

We're staying on site for the park transportation, the ability to book lightning lane passes at 7 am, and because we just enjoy the Disney resorts.

 

[StarshipDisney]

I checked "No...staying in the bubble is still worth it"; but that is not the full story here as I see it.

- I am nothing short of "mad" at Disney right now...not saying that anyone anywhere would care. I am still planning to stay "in the bubble" only because that is apparently the best way to utilize Genie+ to get the best LL (7 am start) and yes I will buy the paid LLs the moment I can get them. Of course they planned it this way.

- But I am fed up with the cuts and price increases to the point that I no longer feel the view from the Contemporary Resort is worth it. I do not like the remake (looks like all child rooms to me) so guess my Contemporary days are over. For next trip I got us into the Grand Destro Tower at about 1/3 the price.

- I am also doing something that was unthinkable to me a few years ago. I am cutting our normal 8-night Disney vacation to 5-nights and moving over to the Universal Portofino Bay Hotel for 3 nights. So I am cutting my time at Disney and spending it at Universal with free Express Pass. I hope Universal builds that 3rd park as I will likely cut a Disney night to include it and thus split our time even between Disney/Universal.

So, yes I will still stay in the bubble, but I also find that my faith, love, and devotion for Disney are waning. I am not as loyal to Disney anymore and will overall spend less there and regular start spending some of our vacation time at Universal.

That is the thinking process that current Disney management policies have changed for me. I still want to love Disney...but I must also face it that Disney is going to crap while Universal is up and coming.

 

[mkt]

Other.
We stopped staying onsite in 2019 as the value proposition offered by the onsite resorts is no longer as good as offsite resorts.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Other: I live 20 minutes from the parks now

 

[Pickles516]

My answer is very easy.

I don't determine my vacations by the all mighty dollar. If I did I wouldn't go to Disney in the first place.

Next there is a reason why they say Location, location location. Why do you think millions of people spend crazy amounts of money to live in NYC. I live in Center city Philadelphia, my property taxes are over 1000 bucks a month. Yes I'm fully aware that if I moved to the suburbs I'd get more house, less taxes but Im a city gal, I want to live in the city.

May I ask a question? why do people here assume that if you stay on site you have no clue about offsite options? I've been going to disney for 20 years now. I am a whiz at google. I am fully capable of researching what is available off site.
I chose to stay onsite because that is where I want to be.
We have done offsite twice, it sucked. we did not like it. So how am I saving money if Im on vacation wishing I was some where else?

I haven’t been to Disney since I was a kid, and I’ve been doing research and joining forums in order to start preparing and budgeting for a trip with my family of 6. It’s super expensive, but traveling with this many kids is just going to be expensive regardless. Moderate Resorts at Disney are the same price as any hotel near me(Nassau county NY) that doesn’t have people smoking crack in the parking lot, so the sticker shock wasn’t that bad. I’m trying to see if I can make a deluxe happen, but I just hope staying on site gives my kids that magical feeling I got when I was a kid!

 

[bubbles1812]

We stayed offsite once, and I hated it. Hated having to deal with a car, hated having to worry about getting a good parking spot, and didn’t like the loss of the immersion. It may be less costly, but the loss of the experience was enough that I wouldn’t likely stay off property again.

(I also won’t do All Stars again, but that is another story… We are moderate resort people, very occasionally deluxe if a shorter trip.)

 

[SingleRider]

Pre-Covid I flew to MCO and stayed onsite. With the removal of most onsite benefits and worries about bus lines being longer in May I drove and stayed offsite. Having an AP that includes parking made this an easier choice as well. It was nice to not have to rely on buses to get to the parks.

 

[dreday3]

We stayed offsite once, and I hated it. Hated having to deal with a car, hated having to worry about getting a good parking spot, and didn’t like the loss of the immersion. It may be less costly, but the loss of the experience was enough that I wouldn’t likely stay off property again.

(I also won’t do All Stars again, but that is another story… We are moderate resort people, very occasionally deluxe if a shorter trip.)

I'm so entrenched in the bubble - we stayed at Gran Destino. Loved the hotel, loved it. Great time. But I didn't feel like I was on a Disney trip! I missed being near a park, hearing the boat sounds, being able to walk to a park or anything other than just a bus.
We'd get to a park and only then would I feel like I was at WDW. Otherwise I felt like we were at a very nice resort in Anytown USA.

So apparently even when I stay on-site, only a few really "count" for me.

Now that's not to say we wouldn't stay at Gran Destino again, we totally would. I was just surprised at how different it felt from the normal trips. I'm sure if that's where I started staying for our trips, it would feel like Disney to me.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Question? Did Disney stop giving discounts. For our last trip we did a split stay. Used points for a week and paid for 4 nights at all. We got a discount that dropped the room price way down. I know rack rates are ridiculous but truthfully I've never known anyone who paid rack rates.
Have the discounts gone away

 

[dreday3]

Question? Did Disney stop giving discounts. For our last trip we did a split stay. Used points for a week and paid for 4 nights at all. We got a discount that dropped the room price way down. I know rack rates are ridiculous but truthfully I've never known anyone who paid rack rates.
Have the discounts gone away

No discounts currently!

I think there is a Florida one and an annual pass one for early next year.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

We just got back from a week at POFQ and I can honestly say it was worth every penny, that said we’re seriously considering staying at Bonnet Creek next trip, I work at a Hilton property so I can get employee rates and it’s a massive price difference.

The price is not the deciding factor though, we could have stayed at Bonnet Creek this trip and saved well over a hundred dollars a night but we happily paid more because we love French Quarter, why the change now then? Magical express! Rather than paying for the Mears service we’ll probably rent a car next trip, that means staying “offsite” is much easier, it also makes Universal and Sea World much easier day trips also.

Of all the changes they’ve made, the end of the Magical Express is the most puzzling to me, I can’t understand why a company would take what was a relatively captive audience and encourage them to rent a car, making it easier to stay offsite and spend time away from the parks. Absolutely idiotic decision IMHO.

 

[dmw]

I'm so entrenched in the bubble - we stayed at Gran Destino. Loved the hotel, loved it. Great time. But I didn't feel like I was on a Disney trip! I missed being near a park, hearing the boat sounds, being able to walk to a park or anything other than just a bus.
We'd get to a park and only then would I feel like I was at WDW. Otherwise I felt like we were at a very nice resort in Anytown USA.

So apparently even when I stay on-site, only a few really "count" for me.

Now that's not to say we wouldn't stay at Gran Destino again, we totally would. I was just surprised at how different it felt from the normal trips. I'm sure if that's where I started staying for our trips, it would feel like Disney to me.

Interesting perspective... we stayed at CSR with a bunch of family and several rooms. Sure felt Disney to me, and in the bubble. We've had the same feeling at AKL, POFQ and Pop, none of which are near parks. But, if you have always stayed at one of the MK monorail resorts, I can understand that perspective. There definitely was a different vibe when we stayed at the Poly, being literally so close to the MK and seeing the park and fireworks.

 

[dreday3]

Interesting perspective... we stayed at CSR with a bunch of family and several rooms. Sure felt Disney to me, and in the bubble. We've had the same feeling at AKL, POFQ and Pop, none of which are near parks. But, if you have always stayed at one of the MK monorail resorts, I can understand that perspective. There definitely was a different vibe when we stayed at the Poly, being literally so close to the MK and seeing the park and fireworks.

That is exactly it. We've been lucky enough that we've been able to stay at either Poly or Yacht/Beach. So this was the first time at a non park resort.

Again, no complaints about resort itself. Style, decor, amenity wise we actually enjoyed it much more than Polynesian. It just felt different.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

We stayed offsite once, and I hated it. Hated having to deal with a car, hated having to worry about getting a good parking spot, and didn’t like the loss of the immersion. It may be less costly, but the loss of the experience was enough that I wouldn’t likely stay off property again.

Annoyances associated with driving is my biggest fear of staying offsite, the Disney busses make for a very stress free trip.

We always stay within walking distance of DL and although we are technically off property it’s still super easy to get back and forth to the parks. We stayed in Garden Grove once and although the hotel was much nicer than the hotels on Harbor/Walnut I hated it, what was normally a 5-10 minute walk turned into an hour of sitting in traffic, then sitting in the parking garage queue, then parking, then waiting for a tram… it drove me crazy.

Time and convenience can be worth more than money.

 

[Magical Maddie]

I have had the opportunity to vacation at WDW 11 times with my parents in my 14 years of life. I feel like being at a WDW Resort is being in the middle of the magic.

 

[Diamond Dot]

It's not a black and white issue. I stay onsite not only to be in the Disney bubble, but because, and I've said this before, it's because of my personal circumstances, which are a UK, non US driving, solo female guest who wishes to feel safe, which I do at a Disney resort. I also love the convenience of the transport, sure, it's not perfect, but, I do take Lynx buses to go down 192 to shop at Joanns and Target and sitting at the TTC watching the offsite resort buses drop off the people visiting MK for the day is a perfect advert for staying onsite.
If I was part of a large party I would actually love to spend my two weeks at a nice villa, it works out far cheaper, but, not on my own.
I'm waiting for the reviews on the new Mears Connect service at MCO, I'm okay paying $32 return, after all I paid $48 to get from LAX to Anaheim for the Disneyland Resort bus (also sadly defunct, a heck of a coincidence, both East and West parks nixed these kinds of transportation at the same time) It's a shame Disney are always going on about helping the environment while taking a way a service that would encourage people not to drive.
Even if I did drive I would hardly use the car and the cost wouldn't make it worthwhile, I'd rent for a day to go shopping and that would be it.
As for the cost, I literally go nowhere at home, I don't care about the cost, I can't take my money with me, so I'm going to enjoy it now. My next trip, while staying at Pop is going to be a big deal, I have the $504 dining credit and a $200 Disney gift card and a shedload of money saved by not going on vacation for 2 and a half years. My pin addiction needs feeding and I can't wait to spend the dining credit on food I never see over here like Pot Roast and Meatloaf, not to mention breakfast at Sanaa, my absolute favourite dining experience.

 

[Diamond Dot]

Annoyances associated with driving is my biggest fear of staying offsite, the Disney busses make for a very stress free trip.

We always stay within walking distance of DL and although we are technically off property it’s still super easy to get back and forth to the parks. We stayed in Garden Grove once and although the hotel was much nicer than the hotels on Harbor/Walnut I hated it, what was normally a 5-10 minute walk turned into an hour of sitting in traffic, then sitting in the parking garage queue, then parking, then waiting for a tram… it drove me crazy.

Time and convenience can be worth more than money.

I stay at Anaheim Inn at DL, it's not posh, but, it's clean and tidy and the staff are fantastic, but, the location is amazing, eating breakfast and being able to see Guardians of the Galaxy one way and the entrance to Disneyland the other can't be beat.