Advantages of Staying On Property

[R. George]

Can you tell me what you think the advantages are of staying on Disney Property are when the hotel we are staying at offers the following?

* Free cooked to order breakfast, not a breakfast buffet like Hampton Inn.
* Ability to take advantage of extra park hours.
* Sign up for FastPasses 60 days out.
* Cost is $250 cheaper over three nights even when I include the Mears Transportation.

George

 

[TOBS2010]

I agree that it is getting tougher and tougher to want to stay on property. Magic bands are included with on property stays. We do find them convenient when in WDW, but they aren't a deal breaker. The access to Disney transportation to and from the hotel and parks is nice---though again some of the hotels off property do offer shuttle services, it just might not be every 20 minutes like WDW promotes. Still with WDW resort prices increasing more and more every time we go---along with park prices and now even parking at the resort, we likely will be looking at off property locations since they have all of the benefits you listed above.

 

[Jarmo]

Location, theme, mandatory security checks. Wait...

 

[R. George]

I was able to get Magic Bands through Disney World.

George

 

[marivigi]

Location and time it takes to get to parks

Free transportation from MCO

Extra Magic Hours

60 day FP window

Being able to send purchases to Resort gift shop

 

[marivigi]

Also magic bands and not having to worry about renting a car with the free transportation within Disneyworld

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

After countless vacations, the biggest perk for us is being able to leave the park and get back to our resort at a normal time.

We stay Beach Club. Is it overpriced? Absolutely. But the fact that we can walk from Epcot to our room in under 15 minutes is a huge perk. I think if we stayed offsite, it'd be a real pain to take afternoon breaks, etc. Everyone travels different and I agree, that's difficult to pass up, but when we go to Disney we don't mind paying extra to be AT Disney.

 

[patster734]

The two I can think of are Disney’s Magical Express and Resort Airline Check-in. Previous benefits (Extra Magic Hours and 60 day FP) have been giving to a few off-property hotels.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

Really, the only thing now that makes staying on site "worth it" is the Magical Express (which isn't always awesome). Staying onsite is becoming an experience for the upper middle class and above willing to pay more for the convenience. of being relatively close to the parks. I'd argue that with a slight bit of effort in planning, you can have an equal amount of enjoyment staying offsite, being budget minded with meals, and being flexible with transportation options.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd also add that some off-site hotels are actually closer to some of the parks than a few of the onsite hotels. However that is ever-changing with gondolas and who knows what else being added. Maybe the monorails will even be replaced someday.

 

[Farro]

I'll just quote myself from another thread, because my answers are still the same.

"My perk is the hotels themselves. I don't want to stay in an ordinary hotel for a Disney vacation. I definitely don't want to stay in a rental house - on any vacation.

At Disney I want TOTAL IMMERSION!

I don't care who else gets EMH, I don't care if other hotels have bigger rooms, I don't care about free breakfasts - none of that matters to me at Disney. We don't go to Disney to see Orlando, we go to see Disney, end of story. And we will save for as long as takes for us to stay on-site. So we don't go but every few years, that's fine, plenty of places to visit in between, each vacation destination is great in itself.

Oh, and walking to/from Epcot is pretty awesome also."

Different reply, same thread

"Actually I love the room renovations! We stayed at Poly last October, room decor was great - kitschy Polynesian and really looking forward to Yacht Club and and the new floors - looks quite nautical.

None of the on-site hotels look ordinary to me. Perhaps maybe the values, but they have their own charms.

And it's not just the decor in the room I'm speaking of when I say total immersion, it's all of it. The lobby, the building itself, the cast members (almost all are wonderful), the restaurants, the shops, the music piped in everywhere, the sounds of the boats, fireworks, the noise from the Boardwalk, looking around and just feeling like "aahh, I'm back" ..all of it.

When you walk from the front doors/drop off for Beach Club and head through the sliding doors, you can walk directly across lobby and out the other sliding doors, see the Boardwalk, look towards Epcot and it's like walking into your vacation!
Same with Polynesian - in from front drive out the other side to the water and the castle in the distance. These are my perks.

I realize I sound like a lunatic - but I do have have a grip on reality -
Again, WDW is the only destination that gets these allowances - going to D.C later this year and got a great deal!!!"

 

[buzznina]

Location and time it takes to get to parks

Free transportation from MCO

Extra Magic Hours

60 day FP window

Being able to send purchases to Resort gift shop

Location: DS hotels are as close as the Mods and value resorts, so the time difference will not be that much. One difference is that WDW transportation is much more frequent then the offsite resort shuttles.
Neighbor hotels now get EMH and the 60 day FP window, so those are no longer an onsite only perk.

OP - the $250 difference, what resort are you comparing it to? I ask because I know when we compared offsite to deluxe we found a very BIG difference in price, much more than $250 over 3 nights.
To us the biggest difference is that you are in the bubble, some people want that and will pay whatever to get it. Also; we know what were getting in regards to our room, in all our trips we have only requested a different room a few times. We have not stayed offsite yet, but we started looking/pricing them. Luckily, our trip in June is for a conference and my company is picking up most of our nights

 

[bigbabyblues]

The two I can think of are Disney’s Magical Express and Resort Airline Check-in. Previous benefits (Extra Magic Hours and 60 day FP) have been giving to a few off-property hotels.

These are only a benefit if you fly. Not everyone does.

 

[Three60guy]

Please be aware of a new policy starting January 8, 2018 which mandates daily access to your room. Do your research. Either housekeeping or security Dept. will access your room every day. Disney will confirm this but won’t tell you about it before you stay unless you count the fine print in terms and conditions as proper disclosure. Some people don't care while others believe it an invasion of privacy. Just a heads up.

 

[Hopefully]

There is a recent 10 page thread here
https://www.disboards.com/threads/what-incentives-are-left-to-stay-on-site.3671246/

 

[HopperFan]

Can you tell me what you think the advantages are of staying on Disney Property are when the hotel we are staying at offers the following?

* Free cooked to order breakfast, not a breakfast buffet like Hampton Inn.
* Ability to take advantage of extra park hours.
* Sign up for FastPasses 60 days out.
* Cost is $250 cheaper over three nights even when I include the Mears Transportation.

George

Bubble and Dining Plan if that is something you want.

Magical Express if you fly and don't want a car, but you have factored that cost in to your savings.

For us the most important perks are Extra Magic Hours and the Designated Disney Bus Driver if need be. Disney Springs & Bonnet Creek Hotels now cover those.

Location and time it takes to get to parks

Free transportation from MCO

Extra Magic Hours

60 day FP window

Being able to send purchases to Resort gift shop

Also magic bands and not having to worry about renting a car with the free transportation within Disneyworld

Well OP has Extra Magic Hours, 60 day FP+ Window, still saving lots even with the transportation from MCO and not sure about their hotel but some non-Disney will take your packages. OP has his MagicBands and he has access to a decent shuttle service and can also use Disney's sometimes.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

Advantages? Really the only advantage to stay on property is proximity to the resorts for the Epcot resorts and MK resorts. For that you will pay a ton of money for a 3 star equivalent room. Absolutely nothing against 3 star rooms, but they should be $80-100/night, not $500/night. For $150/night you can get a suite and breakfast included at Embassy Suites.

Also, if your preference while on vacation is to not have anyone enter your room, that won't be possible at Disney resorts. If you decline housekeeping, someone will be visiting for a "room check." Or if, god forbid you're in your room when housekeeping comes by, you'll get a security visit if housekeeping can't clean your room.

Not going to lie, if I won the lotto and had more money than I could spend, I'd use it to book club level suites on Disney property. Until then, a small amount of vacation planning literally saves my family THOUSANDS of dollars for roughly the same amount of enjoyment. Staying offsite and researching deals allows my family the opportunity to turn what would be 1 week of Disney into 2 weeks of Disney.

 

[DSLRuser]

Disney level of service and cleanliness, specifically at Deluxe resorts.

Disney transportation.

Those are the 2 things i miss when staying off site. I know I can still use Disney transportation, but the extra step of getting to the 1st step is a huge deal. i don't like to drive when on vacation.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

Disney level of service and cleanliness, specifically at Deluxe resorts.

Disney transportation.

Those are the 2 things i miss when staying off site. I know I can still use Disney transportation, but the extra step of getting to the 1st step is a huge deal. i don't like to drive when on vacation.

Our last trip to Yacht Club in February, we had a less than stellar room. Dirty couch (don't know who's greasy head laid on it...but it was a significant stain), and filthy shower with visible grime, dirt and hair. So to me it's just like any other hotel chain: most of the time the hotel gets it right, and sometimes you get bad luck. Therefore it doesn't factor into my calculus. For us it's literally "does $300/night additional, minus what we'd save with rental car/parking, make sense for this vacation." Usually it's no, but we got a deal and extended a conference into a family trip in Feb.

 

[DSLRuser]

Also, if your preference while on vacation is to not have anyone enter your room, that won't be possible at Disney resorts. If you decline housekeeping, someone will be visiting for a "room check." Or if, god forbid you're in your room when housekeeping comes by, you'll get a security visit if housekeeping can't clean your room.

.

LOL...this is the best laugh I have had all day. thanks. I still can't believe this is such a big issue for people.