On site is worth it for me in that I can send my teens back to the room on their own on a bus and know everyone will be safe, and much happier for it. If I have to get a job just to support vacations...well, how are the retirement options? We will have 8 on our October trip, and we also fly (for my sanity). We did offsite with a large group, and apparently I picked the wrong place because it just wasn't all that magical to me. I hated driving to the parks, having to make trips because someone forgot something, or was ill. I want that magic bubble.
Yeah, we've stayed at many different local hotels by WDW and DL... you know what they all have in common? Every one of them feels like -- a Sheraton. Nothing special. An adequate room, uninspiring corridors, nothing really themed, plain pool area, and bus service (
Disneyland) that shares a route with 10 other hotels. They aren't bad, per se, they're just nothing particularly different from a hotel I'd stay at for business. They have a workout room, laundry, coffeemaker, etc. Normal hotel perks.
Since we can only vacation once a year due to the logistics of school and work, when we do vacation, we don't go ultra budget conscious. Vacation is one of the times we're willing to splurge. With 2 weeks at our disposal, it's more about making the most of our time than trying to squeeze a few bucks out of the budget by sacrificing atmosphere, activities, and most importantly, convenience. The ability to split up and leave with some people is huge. The walking out of the Luau and strolling back to your room, stopping by Trader Sams for a drink and then sitting on your porch is such a different experience than leaving the Luau, heading to transportation, riding the Monorail the long way 'round (or walking to the TTC), catching a tram out to your car, and then driving 10 min to a hotel, where again you navigate a parking lot, walk 10 min from your car across the asphalt and ride up an elevator to your typical motel-style room. That's an hour getting home, vs that stroll, drink, sand, and porch. It is such a different experience to be there on property.
I'd say we end up splitting up almost every day -- often into 3 groups. Some kids will want to go back, others will want to stay. We can do this onsite... some can leave, go have fun at the hotel, meet up later at another destination, or come back to the park, or just stay home knowing the rest of our party can get home whenever.
Even when the alternative is FREE and we already have our own car we still stay onsite.
Note, we do use offsite hotels on filler days between say one park and another, or for our first night down there when we wouldn't get a full day out of an onsite hotel.