New to Disney..stay out of Disney resorts to save money?

[CATlovesDIS]

We prefer off-site, at Windsor Hills! We rent thru Vacation Central Florida and have been very happy, great owners, great prices, no problems! We have stayed at Windsor Hills for the past 7 years of our Disney trips, having previously stayed onsite in values, moderates and even DVC. Last year we stayed half our trip onsite renting DVC points and half at Windsor Hills and my teenage daughter related she preferred Windsor Hills because it felt like home! It also saves us money on food since we aren't trapped in the Disney dining bubble. We are not big eaters or into fancy foods so having a Tropical Smoothie, Chick-fil-a and Wendy's nearby is great! Staying off site also opened us up to other Florida adventures we would not have tried when staying onsite. Now we regularly include day trips to Cocoa Beach and Clearwater beach to our trips!

Disney is amazing either way but for us off site just works better!

Cathy
Disney World trips annually 2008-2019!

 

[ClapYourHands]

I think the value of offsite vs on-site varies with your party’s make up and goals.

When we went a few years ago as a family of five, including an infant, staying offsite was a blessing. We were able to spread out, and I could get up with the baby at night without disrupting everyone else’s sleep. The washer/dryer in the unit helped us pack lighter, and we could continue to cloth diaper the baby during our trip.

When I went alone with just my two older kids last fall, I thought I’d stay offsite to save money, but the costs of a rental car and parking pretty much obliterated our savings compared to a Disney value resort. So we stayed onsite.

How many people are in your party? Do you have your own car or will you need to rent/Uber to the parks? How long are you staying? A few days packed in a value room is way different from doing it for two weeks. Are you park warriors who are just looking for a clean place to crash or do you envision yourself spending significant time enjoying the resort?

Take the time to crunch the numbers, including related costs, and think about how you will be using your resort.

 

[wilbret]

I haven't read all the posts, but might I suggest, do both? Look for a deal if there is one, or just find one you like for price/appeal, and try 1-2 nights at a WDW resort, and the rest off site? Then you'll know for yourself. I had no clue until about the Disney Bubble, because I never experienced it as a kid. As a parent, there really is something special about it. Other resorts can try to copy it, but it's never the same.

We are DVC members, so we are spoiled and stay on site for a big trip once per year, we may use points on a short trip another date, but typically we just stay off site. We don't go to WDW every time or every day we are in Orlando. We position ourselves near the park or place we will be.

 

[dakrisve]

There are so many great hotels that are close to Disney. We always stay at Sheraton vistana over near SeaWorld. Also you will see a lot of people get throw away rooms for Disney to get the benefits.

How is that Vistana? We have a timeshare with them and was looking to stay there. Is there a shuttle?

Thank you!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

How is that Vistana? We have a timeshare with them and was looking to stay there. Is there a shuttle?

Thank you!

We love it wouldn't stay anywhere else. the i trolly is the shuttle to all the parks in the area.
there is a great thread on here with lots of new pics. there are two resorts, I prefer vistana resort its a bit newer its on Idrive near seaworld the other is the villages its closer to Disney but not by much. The Vistana is a cross the freeway from Disney Springs
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-sheraton-vistana-resort-thread.3148502/

 

[Bete]

We have done both and it does depend on your goals.

I prefer onsite but we are flexible with our times. So, we can do the free dining promo, for example when it's offered. We won't go without a deal. I like getting the 60 day window for fastpasses. I know Disney Springs offers it, too but we don't know if that will be permanent.

If your party only has one vehicle and you have different ages from infant to elders it can be difficult staying in the park all day together. When your onsite it's easier for part of your party to go back to the resort for a break while the others can stay in the park.

 

[B-Ride]

Our first 9 trips to WDW were onsite. On our last trips I compared the $5,000 for one room at the Contemporary Resort to the $1,700 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with full kitchen at Wyndham Resorts which is onsite and we decided to do the unthinkable and not book Disney. We always rent a car so it was no problem for us and the parking cost at the parks was less than what they now charge at deluxe resorts.

We missed the Disney magic but did appreciate the money we saved. Also having 2 bathrooms was great for getting ready in the morning and the in suite washer and dryer came in handy as well. With all the rain we really appreciated throwing our sneakers in the dryer.

 

[Summer2018]

I highly suggest that you look into all of the Disney on-property options before you book off-site. The value resorts offer reasonable rates and keep you inside the magical bubble. The transportation provided by Disney allows you to be without a car. Unless you are driving down, there’s no reason to rent a car.

We have stayed all levels, value, moderate, and deluxe. We loved every trip. The only time that we didn’t enjoy as much was when we spent part of our vacation off Disney property. As we left, it felt like the magic was over even though we remained in Orlando for another three days.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I have stayed both. Mostly onsite now due to my age. If I were younger, with more energy, I would stay offsite for sure. There are much larger hotel rooms and more amenities offsite at a much better price, and some are closer to the parks than the value onsite Disney hotels.

One thing I have to say about offsite is once I left the park, a bit tired, I was in no mood to go back in the evening. Unless youre young and can handle 12+ hours in the parks every day, you might not see as much as you want on a first visit.

Staying onsite allows me mid day breaks where I can be back at the resort in 10 - 15 minutes and easily get back at night. Onsite also feels more like your at "Disney" with their themes and merchandise around every corner.

As far as safety...its never been an issue and I have traveled alone with my kids on a few occasions, which normally scares me in foreign places, but there are happy tourists every where you go in the Disney area!

 

[Klayfish]

The value resorts offer reasonable rates and keep you inside the magical bubble.

The "magical bubble" is what you make of it. It exists because people want it to exist in their minds. We stay offsite and I'd say our "bubble" (though I don't really think it's a thing) is much larger than just WDW property. We love all the shops, restaurants and such that are all around WDW.

One thing I have to say about offsite is once I left the park, a bit tired, I was in no mood to go back in the evening. Unless youre young and can handle 12+ hours in the parks every day, you might not see as much as you want on a first visit.

Staying onsite allows me mid day breaks where I can be back at the resort in 10 - 15 minutes and easily get back at night. Onsite also feels more like your at "Disney" with their themes and merchandise around every corner.

With some exception, I think this is also a myth. Unless you're talking about getting from MK to one of the monorail resorts (or perhaps Epcot to the Boardwalk/BYC), from all of the posts I've read you're definitely not getting back to your onsite resort in 10-15 minutes. If you have to use a bus, which is the case more often than not, I've heard it's 30-60 minutes. That's no different than offsite. MK is always the most time consuming simply because of the need to use the monorail or ferry (which we thoroughly enjoy), but even that takes us less than an hour door to door. The other parks are closer to 30 minutes.

There's nothing wrong with staying onsite if that's what you want to do. I'm sure it's fun and the resorts are gorgeous. However, if you're open minded to trying offsite, I'd suggest giving it a shot. It's far cheaper, you have all the space and comfort you'd want, and IMO you really don't miss out on anything...in fact you gain a lot.

 

[Fred M]

I think the value of offsite vs on-site varies with your party’s make up and goals.

That's the best advice right there!

When my wife, son, and I go to WDW, we stay onsite. We found that being onsite makes for a better vacation for us. For me, I pretty much want to be in a park each day. My wife is an every other day or every third day park person. And our son is in-between. (Kinda like the Three Bears). On days where I'm at a park by myself but I'm going to meet my wife and son back at the resort for a late lunch and a swim, it's really easy to do on property.

But I think there is no loss of magic by staying off-site. Vacations are vacations! If off-site works for your family, then absolutely do it!

 

[DISNEY1975]

With some exception, I think this is also a myth. Unless you're talking about getting from MK to one of the monorail resorts (or perhaps Epcot to the Boardwalk/BYC), from all of the posts I've read you're definitely not getting back to your onsite resort in 10-15 minutes. If you have to use a bus, which is the case more often than not, I've heard it's 30-60 minutes. That's no different than offsite. MK is always the most time consuming simply because of the need to use the monorail or ferry (which we thoroughly enjoy), but even that takes us less than an hour door to door. The other parks are closer to 30 minutes.

There's nothing wrong with staying onsite if that's what you want to do. I'm sure it's fun and the resorts are gorgeous. However, if you're open minded to trying offsite, I'd suggest giving it a shot. It's far cheaper, you have all the space and comfort you'd want, and IMO you really don't miss out on anything...in fact you gain a lot.

Yes, we typically stay at a deluxe and always rent a car. I dont want to spend my precious vacation time on or waiting for a bus. Car rentals in Orlando are cheap enough its worth the $$ to rent. Staying at the Poly is great for a quick run to Main St bakery for milk and cookies at night! It is a tradition with my kids. Staying at Yacht Club last time we either went to "France" or Boardwalk Bakery. We could get to both in less than ten minutes, walking. AK and DHS are about 10-15 minute drive from the MK area resorts. DHS is just a ferry away form Epcot area resorts. Also the water parks are not more than 15 minutes either. Having a car allows us to park hop and have dinner any place we want without having to plan hours of bus time each day.

 

[MickyLynn]

I've stayed at what is now the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista at Disney Springs, camped at Ft. Wilderness, stayed in a Treehouse at SSR, spent a night in one of the All Stars, and most recently stayed in a garbage resort on 192.

The Wyndham was the most convenient for travel, but it was a girls trip and I was the only park warrior, so the hotel shuttle was fine. We mostly walked to Downtown Disney.
SSR was a family trip and took forever to get to the park, and we were all about the parks, so it was not ideal. We thought we were going to save money by eating in. Didn't happen. We wound up throwing away food on top of buying almost every meal.
Camping was amazing- but I was 8. I do recall transportation being a lengthy process.
The garbage resort was actually decent from a transportation standpoint, because MIL can park for free. We still used Lyft a lot.

All of that said, I loved being able to have in-park purchases sent back to my room, and getting in the parks early, and knowing in advance that I didn't have to worry about what my accommodations would turn out to be. The bubble is real. I love it. That's what I'm there for.

So consider how many Lyfts you'll need, and how often you'll want to leave and return, and what it will cost to park, and will you have to move the car you paid to park, and the value of that time, and do you really even want to cook, vs letting Disney do everything. It often balances at the value resort level, in our experience.

 

[mckennarose]

My son in law is a self-proclaimed Disney snob who believed, up until a few years ago, that staying onsite was the only way to do Disney. Many of his family members own DVC and he grew up visiting WDW and staying onsite his whole life. We've had many discussions over the years on the "far superior experience" of staying on property. (LOL) All this in spite of him NEVER having stayed offsite to even give an informed opinion on the "lack of the Disney bubble".

He and my dd had to stay with us for one night in our offsite condo (Marriott Sabal Palms) before his check in day the following morning. He was expecting to "rough it" for one night and not expecting a good experience, but was blown away by his actual experience. So much so that now he and my dd stay offsite frequently and he doesn't want to buy his own DVC contract, which had been his plan down the road. Now his sister is interested in offsite as well and has asked for information as she's never stayed offsite either. She doesn't want to spend $10,000 on a vacation with a growing family and would rather use the money they save by staying offsite to actually do more in WDW.

My point is that he had an idea that a Disney vacation wouldn't be the same or lacking in some way if he stayed offsite. He does not feel that way anymore after actually seeing what it's like and prefers offsite for many reasons. The only exception *might* be BLT because of it's location, but the rooms are cramped and they usually have to share with other family members. So it's weighing pros and cons and the pros for BLT lately have not matched the other pros of staying offsite. (far more room, cheaper, quieter pools, local restaurants and shops)

I am a firm believer that there is no wrong way to do Disney. You'll get a feel for what you like and dislike and you can choose onsite or offsite. But don't fall into the trap that some believe that you NEED to stay onsite for a good experience. I'm not anti-onsite, just sharing what my son in law has experienced based on his prior opinion of the superiority of staying onsite. He, and several of his family members now, see that an offsite stay can be just as magical.

 

[Summer2018]

People have different needs at different stages of their lives. We stayed at Value onsite resorts when we were all younger. We basically spent the entire day and night in the parks. No afternoon breaks. We easily could have stayed off-site back then.

As we got older, we wanted the convenience of not only being onsite, but being in a deluxe, able to go back and forth to the parks on a whim. We spend a lot more time at the resort now and love seeing the castle from our resort and watching fireworks while swimming in the Polynesian’s pool.

We have tested out an off-site room once. We did a split stay at a value, then a deluxe, and ended our vacation off-site in a very nice hotel in Orlando. You can tell me that the magical bubble doesn’t exist for you, but it does exist for me and my family. I know this because I felt it pop as we left Disney property. I didn’t feel it again until two years later when we checked into the Contemporary Resort.

Do what works for you. I will certainly do what works for me.

 

[Klayfish]

You can tell me that the magical bubble doesn’t exist for you, but it does exist for me and my family. I know this because I felt it pop as we left Disney property.

Do what works for you. I will certainly do what works for me.

Well, sure. There's no arguing how you feel. All I'm pointing out is that "the bubble" is just imaginary and you make of it what you want. There isn't an actual bubble over WDW property. When you left the property, no bubble actually popped. It was just a mental image you had built up in your mind and you felt personally sad/disappointed/etc...because you were no longer on ground owned by WDW. That's personal judgement and nobody can argue how someone feels. At the same time, I can argue that with limited exception the "conveniences" aren't what they're made out to be and that if you're open minded to not being in this imaginary "bubble", there is a lot of potential to being offsite.

 

[Christine]

People have different needs at different stages of their lives. We stayed at Value onsite resorts when we were all younger. We basically spent the entire day and night in the parks. No afternoon breaks. We easily could have stayed off-site back then.

As we got older, we wanted the convenience of not only being onsite, but being in a deluxe, able to go back and forth to the parks on a whim. We spend a lot more time at the resort now and love seeing the castle from our resort and watching fireworks while swimming in the Polynesian’s pool.

We have tested out an off-site room once. We did a split stay at a value, then a deluxe, and ended our vacation off-site in a very nice hotel in Orlando. You can tell me that the magical bubble doesn’t exist for you, but it does exist for me and my family. I know this because I felt it pop as we left Disney property. I didn’t feel it again until two years later when we checked into the Contemporary Resort.

Do what works for you. I will certainly do what works for me.

Just curious...when you ended your last vacation at an off-site property, were you still using the parks for that part of the trip? I did a trip once where I stay offsite and was doing Universal or Sea World (can't remember), I got the "pop" feeling but that was mainly because my actual trip to Disney parks was also over. No parks, no dinners, nothing. I was doing a different part of Orlando at that point and I most definitely felt the vibe change.

Alternatively, I've done whole weeks at an offsite vacation home and I still felt pretty magical!

 

[jlb727]

I’ve stayed onsite and offsite, and I will not do offsite again. We like to come and go from our resort (we aren’t all day park people). The buses can be slow, but we usually have a car, and it’s nice to just pull up for a dining reservation in the evening and not to have to pay to park. The extended magic hours are a nice bonus too. I’ve knocked out some of the most popular rides without a FastPass during that time. Also, the customer service is fantastic. As my daughter walked through the hotel with her princess dress on, everyone from managers to maids to pool boys said, “Hello, princess!” It just totally made her trip.

I don’t believe in the Disney bubble; in fact we almost always go to other parks or the beach and do other things. But the convenience, customer service, and limited perks (EMH) are worth it for us. It just depends on what kind of trip you’re looking for.

 

[Summer2018]

Just curious...when you ended your last vacation at an off-site property, were you still using the parks for that part of the trip? I did a trip once where I stay offsite and was doing Universal or Sea World (can't remember), I got the "pop" feeling but that was mainly because my actual trip to Disney parks was also over. No parks, no dinners, nothing. I was doing a different part of Orlando at that point and I most definitely felt the vibe change.

Alternatively, I've done whole weeks at an offsite vacation home and I still felt pretty magical!

Yes. We did two days at Animal Kingdom.

 

[mckennarose]

I'll preface this with a disclaimer that I'm not personally attacking you or your choices. Again, I'm a firm believer that there is no wrong way to do Disney. If you like onsite, great.! I just want to counter some of your points so that new people (like the OP) understand that they don't have to stay on property to have the best time. A lot of what you like about onsite is regularly promoted by Disney and staunch onsiters to such an extent that people actually believe they will have a "less than" experience if they don't stay onsite. The OP's original question was about saving money, distance, safety and the same experience. All of which can be true for staying offsite.

...... We like to come and go from our resort (we aren’t all day park people).

We aren't all day park people either. It takes us usually less than 10 minutes from leaving a park to our offsite resort; way less time than Disney transportation. It is not difficult to drive out of the parks or drive back to them later in the day.

........The buses can be slow, but we usually have a car, and it’s nice to just pull up for a dining reservation in the evening and not to have to pay to park.

Parking currently is $25 per day and is good for the entire day's parking at any park, you don't have to pay twice if you leave and come back. The parking fee is still minimal compared to the overall Disney resort fees. For example, the full condo (full kitchen, laundry, dining room, bedroom suite with jacuzzi) we had last September was $400 for Sheraton Vistana Resort. We added $100 for parking for 4 park days and still made out $500 cheaper than if we stayed at an All Stars for the week.

...........The extended magic hours are a nice bonus too. I’ve knocked out some of the most popular rides without a FastPass during that time.

Thankfully this bonus has not gone away yet because people really enjoy the extra hours, although Disney has been decreasing them lately. (obviously not for SWGE opening though) Usually it amounts to an hour or two in a designated park. We personally tend to avoid EMH parks because we found them to be more crowded.

.......Also, the customer service is fantastic. As my daughter walked through the hotel with her princess dress on, everyone from managers to maids to pool boys said, “Hello, princess!” It just totally made her trip.

I would argue that Disney customer service while you are physically walking onsite is fantastic whether you are an onsite or offsite guest. They're really good at making people feel the magic.

........But the convenience, customer service, and limited perks (EMH) are worth it for us. It just depends on what kind of trip you’re looking for.

I agree 100%. It's all about what a person is looking for and what's worth it for them. We personally like being able to go to Disney once or twice a year because of the way we save money and stay offsite. Some people prefer to stay onsite because that fits the experience they're looking for, but may only go once every other year or so.

I have helped many people plan their Disney trips and I'm always amazed at how programmed people are to stay onsite, buy the DDP, etc. There are other options out there for people who are looking for them, but they're not as visible. I'm glad boards like this exist so people can research other options that would work for them!