Originally Posted By dllovinrn Hello again..I almost hate to put this out there where all my fellow disneyphiles can read it....I've been thinking about our WDW trip, hopefully for Dec., and are thinking about staying off-property. (Gasp!) We were considering staying @ one of the Port Orleans resorts. Then, I checked Hotwire & looked @ rooms for our time frame. What a difference! We were also waffling about buying the Dining Plan. My questions for you all are; 1) Have you stayed off-property, and if so, pro's, cons, would you do it again? 2) Is the trade off in cheaper room prices worth it, as far as the Disney "perks" go, or are the perks so fabulous (transportation, room theming, dining plan) at WDW that we would regret not staying with them? 3) Do most Hotels in the Celebration/Main Gate are have shuttles, or do I need to rent a car? Considering we are the types who really just want a clean room, decent bed & a hot shower, I just don't know if the WDW Resorts are woth it for us. I can't see us fishing, or renting watercraft...barely even swimming, with so much to do & see. Any & all advice, help, tips, etc. are welcome & really appreciated. Thank you!!!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Having done both...I can truthfully say that, in my opinion, there is nothing on-site that makes it worth the extra cost. To qualify that, I must say that I have only stayed at the economy resorts, but I found the rooms to be smaller then outside the property, the food courts to be marginal, yet expensive and having my own vehicle was far and away more convenient then taking Disney transportation. There are many fine places to stay just outside the gates and they are a whole lot less expensive then Disney resorts. I like the freedom of eating whatever I want without having to have made reservations months in advance and always, always at a better price. If you dine off site there is no need for the Dining plan and if you do use it the only way it becomes worthwhile is if you are hungry, not over tired and feel like eating an expensive meal. Otherwise it is just as cheap to go without it. That's just my opinion, of course, and many will tell you that "you don't get the magic" if you stay outside. Sorry, but I haven't gone 22 times from Vermont without feeling the magic. 21 of those were off-site. In fact, the feeling of being ripped off took a lot of the magic away for me. Either way, it can be an enjoyable experience if you go into it with the correct attitude. Whatever you decide, have a great time.
Originally Posted By -em Its a different experiance, not good or bad just different. The main difference is transportation and time. Most seem to have shuttles but the main difference is their shuttles run on their time (usually have 3-4 drop off times and 3-4 pick up times) where if you miss it you are out of luck and its an expensive cab ride back. So it takes more planning (and often missing out experiences) to make your shuttle. Some do drop offs for all 4 others drop at the TTC and you have to disney bus to the park you want. Disney transportation runs from before the parks open to until the parks are clear so you tour on your time and a bus will be there. IMO if you stay off site you need a car. The time you'd save dealing with the shuttles would be worth it, but again it costs more and you have parking fees at the park (yet some cost would be off set by cheaper food options available) -em
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost And almost completely offset by cheaper room rates. For example...comparing it to let's say Pop Century. At Pop at it's best discounted rate it would be $70.00 per night for lodging and transportation. Off-Site like at Masters Inn (comparable accommodations) it's $35.00 per night. Add $12.00 for parking at WDW and your up to $47.00 per night. The remaining balance will pay for most of the car rental and we haven't even talked about food pricing. Now that's magic to me. Granted it doesn't have giant bowling pins, yo-yo's or cell phones, but still. I know, I know...turn in my ears and banish me from the Kingdom.
Originally Posted By brerroadrunner You might like to try one of the Downtown Disney Resort Area Hotels. Their shuttles are pretty good, and you can alwasys walk over to DTD and catch a bus anywhere. Some are actually Disney owned and offer extra magic hours. You can choose from several nice and reasonabley priced hotels. Mousesavers.com has more inforamton on this. You can still get that Disney feel, be close to eveerything, but for a little less $$$.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I hear the traffic getting to the parks from the I-4 corridor can be bad, so I would recommend an 192 hotel if you don't stay near DTD. You might also want to look into renting a week at one of those condo-share places (look online). They often have kitchens and small laundy in the room. That could off-set the extra cost of car rental and parking. We just stayed on property earlier this month and in 6 months we'll be staying off property in Kissimmee (renting a car both times). I realized I will actually be doing MUCH less walking while staying off property than I did on property. The Value Resorts are HUGE and walking to and from our room and the parking lot and to and from the food court got to be a chore on sore feet. Off property, I'll be parking right outside the room and really only adding about 15 minutes in driving at the beginning and ending of our Disney day, no waiting for busses. This is all comparing a Value to staying off property, a Moderate or Deluxe may add more magic and be less walking. I'm thinking of trying a Mod in early 2010 (got an AP this last trip) and can compare magic vs money at a Modrate at that time.
Originally Posted By dllovinrn Thanks for all the wonderful info everyone! I knew you all would come through again! Sounds like we are going to seriously think about staying off-property...the one time we stayed "on-property" @ DL, we were very disappointed. I just couldn't believe the difference in rates at the non-WDW properties. Thanks again for all your help-- you all are terrific!!!
Originally Posted By bigthunderranch I have gone to WDW about 13 times(we are now planning # 14!) and my take on this is that staying on-site enhances the vacation experience. I love that feeling of arriving at the airport and having the shuttle pick me up at no cost. Then, once inside the resort, we can utilize Disney transportation to get to where we want. No driving for me for the entire vacation. Also, the convenience factor is not to be overlooked here. I can visit the parks or meet my family members whenever I want, without worrying about who will drive and when I need to go. All of WDW feels like my resort. From the moment you arrive in Orlando until departure, there is a minimal intrusion of the "outside" world.
Originally Posted By seafairy1622 I agree with bigthunderranch and FenwayGirl. We stayed at The Fairfield last June for part of our vacation because we went to Universal Studios and Aquatica for a couple days. It was okay. The hotel was clean, free breakfast, friendly staff and pool was nice. But then we stayed at All star Music for 3 nights. I really enjoyed the themeing, pools, activities for my son, food courts and the gift shop. I really like the disney feeling.
Originally Posted By smedley The only real thing I had to add was that I would definitely go for a car if you're staying off site, although the Buena Vista hotels by DTD you may not need one so much, we always stay somewhere on the West end of the 192, with a car, and although we may miss some of the magic, the cheaper costs have meant that we've been able to go a lot more often. There is also a 'back way' in past AK from that end of the 192 that saves some time
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun We have done both. When my boys were littler staying off was the only way we could have afforded to go. I have now been spoiled and don't even want to stay at a value. I love the relaxed atmosphere of the resorts. I could spend a day or 2 just at CBR (our favorite). I could never say that about the Comfort Inn. We also always have a car either because we drove (19 hours of driving) or fly. We do go off prop to get food and drinks for the room. We have also crunched the numbers for the DDP and we don't spend nearly what that costs on food. The only advantage for us would be to be able to try some othe "higher end" restaurants. But I give that up so I can afford a moderate resort. Hope that helps!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I'm happy to go either way, because when it's all said and done, I always come away with a good trip. It's just comes down to whether or not you think the extra features (theming, transportation from the airport, extra hours in the park) are worth the money.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I strongly prefer staying on-site, having done so for 20 of our 21 trips. I think it makes sense on a cost basis, but that involves assigning a value to things like extra magic hours. For some that would be worth a lot; for some it would be worth nothing. So in the end I don't even try to justify it on a cost basis. What makes it worth it for me is staying off-site I feel like I've gone on vacation in Florida and visited DisneyWorld. On-site I feel like I've gone on vacation in DisneyWorld. One thing I will say that I don't think anyone will disagree with... the difference between the on-site and off-site experience at WDW is MUCH GREATER than it is at Disneyland.
Originally Posted By sjdimon You mentioned that you were disappointed the last time you stayed on-site at DL. Now **that's** a whole different ball-game than WDW. At DL, you can stay off-site and be closer than any of the Disney Hotels. Since you are in the middle of a Southern California City, the Disney Hotels lack some of that emmersive "magic" that you get when staying at a WDW Resort. Now, if you are strictly talking $$$, then yes, you will do much better staying offsite than you will anywhere on-site, with the possible exception of a 1/2 price deal at one of the Value Resorts (e.g. All-Star). For us - we like to be right in the middle of the Disney Magic - so we save up and stay at the Contemporary or the Polynesian Resorts. Since these are both Monorail Resorts, getting to/from the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT is a simple matter of boarding a Monorail. Getting to the other parks, is on Disney Bus Transportation (which as a few others have pointed out is quite frequent, and very convenient). Now I realize there is nothing really magical about taking a bus - but then there is nothing magical about driving through traffic to get to-from the parks before or after a long day. It's also a lot more convenient to get back to the Hotel during the day, if you like to take a break from the afternoon heat (or to take advantage of the facilities at your resort. So - bottom line - at the DL Resort in CA - IMO you can save a lot of $$$ by staying at non-Disney accomodations. In WDW though - there are a lot of intangibles that (at least for us) make it a slam-dunk to stay on-site.
Originally Posted By danyoung I used to strongly favor staying off-site, until my first on-site visit. There's that big intangible thing that usually gets referred to as "magic". It's so cool to be totally within the borders of Disney World, and not venture out into the real world for your entire stay. That said, if the price is really a huge difference, you won't find that off-site rooms are any less comfortable than on-site rooms. But if staying off-site, most definitely rent your own car. Many of the hotels that advertise Disney shuttle service will only do very limited runs - like maybe 3 in the morning and 3 at the end of the day. It's very rare to find a hotel shuttle with any kind of frequency. You'll have to pay the $12 a day for parking, but you only have to pay this fee once a day even if you park hop or go back to your hotel and come back later. And the added convenience of having your own transportation is very much worth the expense. And you can usually find cars at Orlando's airport for very low rates, much lower than most places in the country.
Originally Posted By jkayjs We have stayed off-site many times esp in the early years when there was only deluxe then mods. With 3 kids off was the answer for us. We've done several of the DtD's, all of the values & mods, & several of the deluxe resorts. We have enjoyed most of the off & all of the on-site visits. If I'm only doing Disney I prefer on esp if all I'm doing is sleeping & showering in the room. The only difference that makes is which level I pick(we go for a value). I understand what you mean about your DL experience. We have gone many times & only stayed @ DL Hotel once. We stayed @ PP when it was the Pan Pacific before DL bought it, but most of the time we stay on Harbor for much cheaper. That being said as you know you can just walk to anything @ DL from any of the surrounding hotels with little effort or time lost. Not so @ WDW. If I'm only doing WDW my choice it on-site mostly for ease & access. Once I check-in @ the airport I don't have to deal with my luggage again untill I unpack in the room. We don't mind the bus system because we are on vacation & not in a hurry to get anywhere. We take DME from & to the airport & Disney transportation on property, even when we rent a car all parking is free if staying on-site. We take advantage of DMH which can significantly extend your park time. It also allows us to return to our resort if tired or want a swim during the day. It also gives us the option of jumping on a bus/boat & heading to DtD or one of the other resorts for evening entertainment. No argument that food isn't cheap but there are ways to be smart about your meal money. The dining plan which we don't use is something our friends that still have kids @ home won't go without. We find it isn't for us but many like it. Let's face it you aren't going to leave the park to go eat off-site so some of that off-site savings isn't helping during the day. You know the true bottom line is what you think will make you happy & cause the least amount of stress. Have a wonderful time whatever you decide.
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun One time we stayed for 12 days and to save a little $$ we stayed 4 nights off and for 3 days we spent just about every waking minute in the parks (didn't pay for parking because we had annual passes knowing we were going again in Feb). After that we mived to CBR for 7 nights and slowed down. By then we had seen everyhting we "had to get to" inthe parks so we relaxed and enjoyed the resort - goign banck to the parks for a few hours at a time to re do our favorites.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Once upon a time, I would have said on site is much better. But my last visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge compared to my times at Marriott properties for a lesser cost, I personally now prefer to stay off site. I think the Poly could be a nice stay, as it is on the monorail, but I refuse to ever rely on Disney buses again. The wait times and conditions on the bus far outweigh any benefits of EMH IMHO. For others though, I understand the appeal. I think the difference is we have been to the different resorts around the globe many times and stayed in numerous 4 and 5 star hotels at other places. I think Disney is no longer what it was. If however you do not have a rental car, and Disney is 100% of your focus (though I think Kennedy Space Centre is a must, and Universal's Islands of Adventure is worth checking out), then staying on site has it's appeal. My fav on sites are Riverside, Wilderness Lodge, and the Poly. Fav off site (and cheaper) are Gaylord Palms, Ritz Carlton and Marriott Grand Vista. However, remember WDW is huge - 43 sq miles. MK is bigger than DL, Epcot is 2x the size of the MK and 3 miles away. The Studios is the size of DL. And DAK is 5 times the size of the MK. Nowhere is convenient per say in WDW. Poly is the closest to convenience one gets. Good luck in your decision.
Originally Posted By danyoung >The wait times and conditions on the bus far outweigh any benefits of EMH IMHO.< While I agree with you on the busses, it's fair to point out that EMH doesn't in any way depend on bus transportation - you can drive to and from EMH just like anywhere else.
