Just back - resort advice needed!

[dreajoy]

So we just got back from a lovely split stay at CSR and YC — I absolutely love staying on property and always have...BUT.. I’m noticing the “perks” of staying on site are being watered down... buses aren’t great, exta magic hours not really that worth it... but I love the Disney magic of staying on property.

However we have 3 small kids and staying in one room is just too much. We generally go for 2 weeks at a time, so getting a suite is just too expensive.

All that to say, I found a really good deal for a 2 bedroom villa at Sheraton Vistana resort villas — any insight? Think I will be disappointed in not being in the Disney bubble? Or will the extra space be worth it?

Any thoughts appreciated!!

 

[kagmypts]

We stay offsite in a 2 bedroom condo almost every time we visit, and we love it. We stay onsite occasionally, and I always miss being off site. The amenities and accommodations are much better than being onsite, and honestly I find it more convenient being offsite. I say go for it! It's likely you will never look back

As an FYI, I cannot speak directly to the Sheraton Vistana since my comments are directed toward our specific accommodations, which are extremely similar to the Sheraton Vistana.

 

[DisneyArkie]

Some people don’t mind. We do. I’ve done it before and we did not care for it. You will never know if you don’t try it though.

 

[georgina]

So we just got back from a lovely split stay at CSR and YC — I absolutely love staying on property and always have...BUT.. I’m noticing the “perks” of staying on site are being watered down... buses aren’t great, exta magic hours not really that worth it... but I love the Disney magic of staying on property.

However we have 3 small kids and staying in one room is just too much. We generally go for 2 weeks at a time, so getting a suite is just too expensive.

All that to say, I found a really good deal for a 2 bedroom villa at Sheraton Vistana resort villas — any insight? Think I will be disappointed in not being in the Disney bubble? Or will the extra space be worth it?

Any thoughts appreciated!!

We stayed there 2 nights in October and enjoyed our stay. After numerous on site stays I am planning to stay offsite from now on. Check out this thread -

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-sheraton-vistana-resort-thread.3148502/

Going for 2 weeks, my digestive system would not like eating out all the time, so having a full kitchen for a few simple meals is a big plus for me.

 

[izzylovesmickey]

We stayed there in December. Suite was in good condition overall. We liked the space (had my brother's family stay one night before they could check into their resort) and it didn't feel crowded. It was quiet. Was relatively quick to get to the parks maybe 10-20 minutes depending on traffic. Was nice to have the laundry right there and being able to fix some meals. We would probably stay there again. That said we did miss being able to walk into the parks or take a bus to the front of the park. If it were a choice of not going or staying off site then we'd stay off site!

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

So we just got back from a lovely split stay at CSR and YC — I absolutely love staying on property and always have...BUT.. I’m noticing the “perks” of staying on site are being watered down... buses aren’t great, exta magic hours not really that worth it... but I love the Disney magic of staying on property.

However we have 3 small kids and staying in one room is just too much. We generally go for 2 weeks at a time, so getting a suite is just too expensive.

All that to say, I found a really good deal for a 2 bedroom villa at Sheraton Vistana resort villas — any insight? Think I will be disappointed in not being in the Disney bubble? Or will the extra space be worth it?

Any thoughts appreciated!!

Growing up, that is where we always stayed! My parents had time-share there so every summer for about 10 years we would spend 10-14 days there and we absolutely LOVED it. The only reason we don’t stay there anymore is because my parents sold it when we got older and explored other vacation destinations. Although, I do have to say that I had never stayed on property before staying there so I never knew what I was missing...

 

[dreajoy]

Okay! So what do you think you are missing by staying there vs on site??? I feel like this is such a tough decision!

 

[SA mom]

Try the Swan or Dolphin. They are on property with EMH and Disney transportation ( but no Magical Express). But you can book on points through Starwood Preferred Guest AmEx. They have these family suites (used to call them Deluxe Alcove rooms) that allow 5 and their beds are amazing. They also share a fantastic pool complex. The location is great, between Epcot and DHS, and you could walk to either. We've had rooms where we could see fireworks from both Parks.

With the addition of EMH for the Disney Springs area hotels, we will be checking out those for the next visit, too. We have hotelnpoints we can use at several of those properties.

On a side note, we never stay in accomodations with a kitchen. I'm a stay at home mom and this represents work for me. It's not a vacation if I'm still washing dishing and running the microwave. It's my husband's gift to me.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Okay! So what do you think you are missing by staying there vs on site??? I feel like this is such a tough decision!

I personally don’t like to drive so having Disney transportation on site is a big plus for me. I also always do the dining plan, as it works out very well for my family. If you don’t mind driving and you don’t mind not being on the dining plan, then I say go for it! Vistana is very nice and close to the parks. Their pools are great and their suites are very clean and well kept.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We just received an offer from Sheraton Vistana and seriously considered it. We currently are at AKL in September and I'm always looking for a good deal. We're driving this time ( vs. flying ) so we'll have a car. And now that Disney is charging for parking at the resort... well, we're considering it.

 

[mickeymom22]

One of the worst things about staying off site for me is having to park my own car and take the tram to the TTC and then wait for the ferry or monorail to get to Magic Kingdom. We had the absolute worst time one year when we stayed off site and tried to get to MK before rope drop. The people were so rude waiting on the tram and then once it came they acted like their life depended on getting on that tram! I am definitely spoiled to staying on site and riding the bus to a park, listening to the soundtrack, and being dropped off right at the entrance. All that being said, I am seriously thinking of staying off site next time. I can't believe they are going to charge for parking. My family of five would love an entire house to spread out instead of all being in one room for the same price. This makes me sad because I love being in that Disney bubble.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

We just stayed in a two bedroom suite at the Sheraton Vistana a couple weeks ago and LOVED it. We only have one child now and I'm currently pregnant, but the extra space was incredible, and it was extremely clean. We also ended up using the washer and dryer a few times, which was nice to have. It was also nice to have TVs in other rooms while my son napped or went to bed early, and there were three separate sink areas for us to spread out all of our toiletries.

Driving wasn't bad at all, and I'm pretty sure we would have gotten to some of the parks faster than staying on site and waiting for a bus. It's only a couple minutes until you are driving under the Disney sign, which my son loved to do every day. It's also nice to have a guaranteed seat, and my son considers the monorail, boat and tram some of his favorite Disney rides. Yes, getting to Magic Kingdom can be a bit time consuming, but getting into all of the other parks was easy.

 

[KenHutch]

It used to be the perks Disney gave out vastly outweighed the cost. No eh and I expect the greed to keep growing. We have stayed onsite 4 times and if I had not promised the girls the animals they requested I would have changed our AKL reservation in June. But I made a promise so we will be going there however I am already planning our 2021 trip and I at least am looking closely at Swan/Dolphin. They have almost all of the perks for being onsite and as for the few things we are losing (like package delivery which I honestly think will be the next thing on the chopping block) or dining package I can live without. In fact I took the advice of a lot of the posters here and built a spreadsheet of what the meal plans cost me versus what we ate and we broke even twice and I lost money twice so OOP it is.

 

[WDWOswald]

Get a 2 bedroom from wyndham bonnet creek! You can find reputable sales of just about any dates you could want on eBay for around $120 a night. These are gorgeous 1,200 square foot villas right on disney property. Best deal on earth!!

 

[Scifidiner]

It used to be the perks Disney gave out vastly outweighed the cost. No eh and I expect the greed to keep growing. We have stayed onsite 4 times and if I had not promised the girls the animals they requested I would have changed our AKL reservation in June. But I made a promise so we will be going there however I am already planning our 2021 trip and I at least am looking closely at Swan/Dolphin. They have almost all of the perks for being onsite and as for the few things we are losing (like package delivery which I honestly think will be the next thing on the chopping block) or dining package I can live without. In fact I took the advice of a lot of the posters here and built a spreadsheet of what the meal plans cost me versus what we ate and we broke even twice and I lost money twice so OOP it is.

For the last 30 years we have always stayed on WDW property, the only exceptions being if we are going to US or a dog show in Orlando. We probably will go back in '20 or '21, for the first time we're seriously considering the Dolphin.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Some people don’t mind. We do. I’ve done it before and we did not care for it. You will never know if you don’t try it though.

Exactly.

We've stayed offsite. And we hated it. But there are only 3 of us, and only 2 if our son doesn't come. And I have a scooter, which can make transportation an adventure.

 

[nkereina]

We stay onsite because we don't drive and don't want to have a car, so Magical Express and Disney park transportation is imperative to us. And even though its a small thing, we like being able to charge to the Magic Bands and send our in-park purchases back to our resort. We like making our trip as "all inclusive" and easy as possible, so booking a Disney resort and keeping everything on-site within Disney works well for us. I do see the value in going off-site for people on tight budgets or that require more space, but neither of those are a concern for us.

 

[Hoodie]

We stayed there twice now. We did the same thing - had booked a split stay onsite and then received the offer from Sheraton for the Vistiana. We were hesitant - we hadn't been offsite ever as a family/couple and I hadn't been offsite for 20+ years.

We took it because we realized the amount of money we'd save for having half the trip there meant we could return later in the year for a couple of days. A warning - they are a timeshare rental and the "special offers" have a hard sell attached. You are not required to go to any presentation but they bug you CONSTANTLY. They do offer a lot of incentives to attend, but we had notes, phones messages, calls every day - multiple times. We just kept saying "no" but it was a lot. The second time we went, we booked directly and not a special offer. It was a bit more, but the sell was just a pitch at the beginning and not the constant phone calls.

My kids actually preferred it to the AoA suites. It was quieter, the pool was great, they loved having their own room and really liked the full kitchen (and the washer dryer was great too. It's tiny, but we could wash stuff at night and went home with clean clothes.)

I believe they do offer a shuttle to the parks for a fee, but we rented a car. After seeing the decline in Disney transportation the past couple of years, it was a dream being able to leave and not have to fight for seats, or wait 30+ minutes for a bus to arrive, or wait 2-3 stops before you can get off.

 

[zobow02]

We used to stay off property all the time but one bad experience changed our mind (at a certain condo).

Although it was convenient for our family of 5, (and since we drive) some of us wanted to stay in the parks longer than others and since we only had one car, we only had one option in the end. We also had to pay for parking in the parks. I prefer on-site, because it does save money, although you have to pay for parking at the resorts, you save gas money, and still have emh, and you have more time to plan for fp and dining planing.

 

[DaniMoon]

One of my husband's favorite things about our trips to Disney is never getting behind the wheel. For years we stayed offsite at some nice resorts. One year while driving to dinner, a car ran a stop sign and we were in a nasty accident. Ruined the rest of the trip for us. He likes parking at the airport in Phil or NJ and spending 2 weeks being driven wherever we want to go. I love being in the bubble, we do stay at POP, but don't mind the close quarters. We don't live in a big house, so I don't think it's that big of a deal. BUT, if finances were tight and it was a choice of offsite or no trip, I would do offsite.