Kids don't like thrill rides - worth staying onsite

aladdinmagic

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
My kids are 13 and 15 and we live in England. I'm pricing up our first trip to WDW for next summer and the costs are eye-watering!

The kids are't fans of extreme rides and prefer calmer rides. We've been to Disneyland Paris and they liked Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean etc but did not want to go on Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (though I went on it!) or similar big thrill rides.

My question is, if we don't plan to go on the big rides are we better off staying off site (rather than the Swan or Dolphin which I've been looking at) to save some money as maybe the EMH and FP are not going to be that useful for us? I know there are other benefits like transportation and closeness to the parks but when I compare the costs I'm not sure if we'd be getting the best value. What do you guys think?

We also plan on going to Universal Studios and I have the same question. Is staying at one of the expensive on site resorts worth it if we're not going on the big rides or are we better off staying offsite and getting to the park at the 'normal' entry time? We'll be more interested in the experiences like wandering around Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
 
For Peter Pan you might benefit from having the extended FP available. That being said in my mind it depends on what parks you want to do. If you want to go to Epcot or Hollywood Studios then the Swan and Dolphin are great because they are walkable to both parks. Though Hollywood studios is a longer walk and maybe not truly walkable for everyone. Also you have easy access to the Disney Boardwalk which has good dining options and a piano bar and other entertainment and shopping. And the Swan and Dolphin tend to be more reasonable then other wdw resorts. I’ve stayed off and on property. You can definitely save money being off property. The convenience of easier transportation and sometimes being able to walk between the park and your resort to me is worth it. Of course your mileage may vary.
 
We are in a similar situation and we will only stay offsite. Aside from the incredible cost savings of lodging, we save a ton by preparing several meals ourselves. We prefer to stay at Windsor Hills and get a villa. Everyone gets their own bedroom and bathroom, the house we rent has a large private pool and hot tub, a game room with pool table and video game system for the kids and a full kitchen. There is plenty of down time and we are not on top of each other or fighting over the bathroom. The drive is easy to get to all of the parks and there are tons of restaurants nearby. The kids are free to wander the resort and visit the water park onsite or the shop for snacks. They have met other kids from around the world and made new friends as a result. Overall it's a win-win and everybody enjoys going back because it's a relaxing and stress free vacation.

We rent from owners using www.welcometowindsorhills.com
 
If you stay at a Downtown Spring resort currently they get the Disney perks like 60 advanced fastpass. Their bus shuttles aren't too bad.

Another option is choose a Disney value onsite resort like All Stars Sports to reduce costs.

Other offsite resorts have terrible bus shuttles and some don't even have transportation to the parks. If you do a car rental than this doesn't matter. You will probably get a hot breakfast included which is a nice feature with offsite.
 


Here is a thought Go to The Efteling or Toverland in The Netherlands

Or look up TripAdvisors Top Theme parks in Europe
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. There's a lot of food for thought and ideas I hadn't considered before. I'll need to spend some more time working on my spreadsheet of options and their costs now!
 
How long of a trip are you planning, if you're doing both WDW and Universal?

I wouldn't categorize the majority of rides in WDW as "thrill". Most are pretty tame with the exception of Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, Space Mt., Splash Mt., Mission Space, and Expedition Everest. Universal, on the other hand, is known for their thrill rides and there's a lot!

If you stay offsite you would need to rent a car for your time there, which can be as low as around $100 USD for one week for a small car and you would need to pay for parking at the Disney parks, which is currently $25 per day. But once you pay for the day, you can go to any other park or return to the same one and not be charged again. It's good for the entire day.

There's also the option of ride shares, like Uber or Lyft which are super convenient, but you would need to budget accordingly. A ride to a park could cost from around $10 and up (plus tip) and the ride home from the park can be slightly higher because they raise rates at busier times. But you won't have to pay for parking because you'll be dropped off and picked up.

I would suggest looking at the threads for Sheraton Vistana Resort and Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Both are excellent resorts with full condos (not just a room with 2 beds!) and lots to do onsite. Sheraton Vistana Resort frequently shows up on Skyauction for less than $1,000 USD. Prices do fluctuate during busy times, so keep that in mind.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-sheraton-vistana-resort-thread.3148502/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-we-loooooove-bonnet-creek-thread-part-4.3366139/

FWIW, we LOVE staying offsite and it allows us to visit WDW more often because of the money we save. We were there in May and are heading down again at the end of August and staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort again.

HTH! Good luck! Planning can be stressful, but once you start to figure things out it gets more exciting rather than stressful!
 


My kids are 13 and 15 and we live in England. I'm pricing up our first trip to WDW for next summer and the costs are eye-watering!

The kids are't fans of extreme rides and prefer calmer rides. We've been to Disneyland Paris and they liked Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean etc but did not want to go on Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (though I went on it!) or similar big thrill rides.

My question is, if we don't plan to go on the big rides are we better off staying off site (rather than the Swan or Dolphin which I've been looking at) to save some money as maybe the EMH and FP are not going to be that useful for us? I know there are other benefits like transportation and closeness to the parks but when I compare the costs I'm not sure if we'd be getting the best value. What do you guys think?

We also plan on going to Universal Studios and I have the same question. Is staying at one of the expensive on site resorts worth it if we're not going on the big rides or are we better off staying offsite and getting to the park at the 'normal' entry time? We'll be more interested in the experiences like wandering around Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I would always say the FP benefits are worth it. Until they inevitably begin charging for them at least.
 
Thanks everyone for your answers. It sounds like we're going to have to spend most of our 14 days doing Disney stuff so 14 nights at the Coronado Springs duly booked for next summer.
 
Thanks everyone for your answers. It sounds like we're going to have to spend most of our 14 days doing Disney stuff so 14 nights at the Coronado Springs duly booked for next summer.
The moderates on site are very nice hotels, and if you plan on rope dropping you will get the benefit of EMH. The rooms at Coronado are 314 square feet, and with 14 days, it might be nice to have the w/d in the one bedroom unit off site. We stayed in the one bedroom Presidential at WBC last August and it was 900 square feet and had a nice big balcony. The soaker tub was nice to come home to in the evenings after walking around the parks all day. Of course you would have the car rental expense. We do not usually cook on vacation but we did have eggs,, and were able to store fresh fruits and veggies, all our water, plus we used the pantry for dried goods. Our teen is always hungry so it was convenient. Our kids also tended to eat junk in the parks and having the healthier options in the room was nice. I think you will have a great stay wherever you go, but I know for us having space was really, really nice.
 
Thanks everyone for your answers. It sounds like we're going to have to spend most of our 14 days doing Disney stuff so 14 nights at the Coronado Springs duly booked for next summer.

Coronado is a great resort, but it's not a very big room for 4 people for two full weeks, especially when the kids are teens. Have you all done a long-term stay like this recently?

If you don't want to commit to a fully offsite trip, you might consider doing a split stay with one week at the Cornado and another week offsite. It would allow you to save money on the rental, as well as money on other costs like food. Table service is expensive at WDW, and counter service is repetitive, as well as bit on the expensive side compared with many other restaurants. I also think you will appreciate the space to spread out a bit, do laundry in the unit (you don't really want to pack enough clothes for two full weeks, do you?).

Two weeks is long enough for you to really take your time, and you can probably get any rides you want multiple times. Each park really only has one or two rides that are hard to book FP at 30 days. Over a two-week period, you can easily find a time that works, like rope drop, at the end of the night, etc. to get on standby.
 
Coronado is a great resort, but it's not a very big room for 4 people for two full weeks, especially when the kids are teens. Have you all done a long-term stay like this recently?

If you don't want to commit to a fully offsite trip, you might consider doing a split stay with one week at the Cornado and another week offsite. It would allow you to save money on the rental, as well as money on other costs like food. Table service is expensive at WDW, and counter service is repetitive, as well as bit on the expensive side compared with many other restaurants. I also think you will appreciate the space to spread out a bit, do laundry in the unit (you don't really want to pack enough clothes for two full weeks, do you?).

Two weeks is long enough for you to really take your time, and you can probably get any rides you want multiple times. Each park really only has one or two rides that are hard to book FP at 30 days. Over a two-week period, you can easily find a time that works, like rope drop, at the end of the night, etc. to get on standby.


Yes. That is excellent advice with some great points.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top