CSR or offsite

Tumbles10

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 27, 2017
Trying to plan for a last minute totally unplanned trip to Disney. We weren’t planning on going back until 2021, but I feel that it’s calling me. Anyhow trying to convince DH to stay at CSR. I’m able to get a package for 4400 (me, DH, DS 11, DD 5, DD 2) with free dining, 6 day hopper pass using Disney visa. I thought it was decent. Well now he wants to stay off site if we go, mind you this wasn’t an option for him last year. Had to talk him down from deluxe to moderate. Looking at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I don’t think that we’ve saving any (room 1600, tix 2000, plus food and transportation). Any suggestions would help.
 
Personally, I would do free dining. Feeding a family in WDW is expensive!
 
I love free dining! Otherwise, I'm always looking at menus and doing the math on how we can get our meal the cheapest instead of getting what we actually want. Also, are you driving or flying? Would you need to rent a car? Oh, and make sure you're taking into account all resort fees.

Basically, I just love to be on property. DH and I love to have a week there without having to drive at all.
 
We would be flying. So figure another $900-1200. Really don’t want to rent a car and using Uber/lyft I know will add up.
I like having the dining plan. This time quick service, but I think that it would work better for my family. No rushing to reservations, worrying about the kids not eating, and so much wasted food.
 


Also, this is your last chance to stay at CSR before your youngest turns 3 and you exceed occupancy. I would love to try that resort but we are a family of 5!
 
To us, staying off property is such a downer. Aside from EMH, transportation, package delivery, Magic Band charging, etc., the BIG difference is BEING THERE 24x7. Leaving the Kingdom and reentering the mortal world every night is downright depressing; I feel like we're missing out.

On property EVERY time.
 
One more idea I'll toss to you...we often do split stays. Sometimes we split our trip somewhat down the middle, but other times we just stay one night offsite.

It costs a little time, but if you pack correctly, it is quite easy- especially when we do the one night splits. For the one night, we don't unpack much of anything. Mostly just toothbrushes, hairbrush, and toiletries- which are already in Ziploc bags. And actually, I put "need every day" toiletries in one bag and "maybe" toiletries in another (like OTC antibiotic lotion).

Though your 2nd room typically isn't ready until 3-4pm, Disney allows you to stow your bags before then. If we do onsite to offsite, we usually just keep ours tuff in the car.

The only downside is that we don't transfer much in the way of perishable food or chocolate.
 


To us, staying off property is such a downer. Aside from EMH, transportation, package delivery, Magic Band charging, etc., the BIG difference is BEING THERE 24x7. Leaving the Kingdom and reentering the mortal world every night is downright depressing; I feel like we're missing out.

On property EVERY time.
While we like the convenience and perks of onsite, we don't mind staying partly offsite one bit. The Orlando area has some really nice options. In some ways, I find the variety of multiple locations more interesting than the sameness of a whole week in one hotel room.

Especially when it = saving $100+. We've also had some very enjoyable offsite meals. I don't even mean very high end places, just non Disney food. I dunno, sometimes we find the onsite dining a bit depressingly overpriced. In the non-WDW world, we don't generally go to AYCE buffets, and while WDW's QS aren't all bad, many are a bit underwhelming.

Over many trips, we have stayed just about every where. On a recent trip, I was super impressed with a Residence Inn over by Universal. The room was just super. The place was super clean, our room was a short walk, we had a real fridge/kitchenette, and the room had awesome details. Like lots of desk space, bathroom counter, and a nightlight.

Sometimes, I confess, I find the lack of amenities at the WDW value hotels slightly depressing. Like the way the super low-flow sink, low lighting, no shave mirror, and scratchy towels. Why do the towels have to be scratchy?

For about the same price ($35more), the Residence Inn studio room is TWICE the size (539sq feet), super clean, attractive lobby, 24 hour hot beverages (convenient located), parking, and that includes a nice quality breakfast. (The All Stars non-suites are 260sq feet, or 520 for a suite that's twice the price: $300+).
 

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