Staying Off Site for First Family Trip?

[Monykalyn]

oes the Disney "magic" extend to kids napping who otherwise wouldn't?

For us-it is more about the break from the lines/people/heat/crowds couple with natural slow down in afternoon than actual "sleep". Meals are a break of some sorts absolutely, but my family also wants an actual break from all things, including option to close eyes if desired.

That sound like it won't work as well for you-and with a longer trip you do have option of starting later some days, earlier and leave earlier on others-the beauty of longer trips!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

How much are you saving if you stay offsite (assuming the same amount for food)?

Not entirely sure, since I don't know what room rates are going to look like. If I compare rack rates on a room versus car rental, condo, and daily theme park parking, it could be as much as $900 before I factor in food. Realistically, they usually offer a room deal in February, so more like $500-600. If we're off site, I don't know what my food budget starts to look like, how many character meals, or even if we'll pack a bunch more snacks so we eat less on property. I do know that all of that snack/meal packing is suddenly on me instead of just getting food there, another convenience difference.

I am, by nature, a cheap person. When we go out around here, we always pack meals/snacks, keep a tight budget, etc. That price difference feels huge, and like a no-brainer that I should stay off-site. But, then I start thinking about my own experience, not wanting to have to be in charge of making a big snack bag every morning or feeling guilty about the cup of coffee that costs way too much, and I go back to staying on-site because it's worth the convenience factor. If I'm always nickle-and-diming myself in my day to day life, should I splurge on vacation so that I'm not trying to pack a giant cooler with apple slices and PBJ every morning? Is it really worth that much to not have to deal with a rental car, or am I just being silly?

As to the snack packing, I know a lot of people will say, "Just buy what you want in the parks, don't think about the cost, since you're saving so much on the room." If we were to keep our current ADR plans without the DxDP, then it completely eliminates the savings. In addition to dealing with the car rental, we'll also have to cut back somewhere on meals/snacks to have the cost savings. Admittedly, the current plan is pretty extravagant, and we have room to trim, but it would still be cutting into the experience versus just going all out with their dining plan.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

It sounds like you have a nice long trip planned, nice for not having to rush.
I can imagine LOL!


What time of year are you planning on going? We will do a meal to take a break, but we typically head out of parks during afternoon-hottest, most crowded time of day.
Sometimes we grab a QS lunch and head out for a bit more touring or if offsite we head out and grab something back at condo. It is really really nice to refresh with a swim break/shower/change of clothes for evening touring-especially after an afternoon siesta. It might be "easier" logistic wise to just stay in parks, but energy/crankiness wise...
Sometimes we do the sleep in, late breakfast/lunch thing, clean up and head out for a sit down dinner meal before evening touring.
My kids are older and they still look forward to pool/resort breaks-especially if warm/hot out. Actually-the spouse needs his afternoon nap breaks too .

We're looking at late February into March. It could be 85 and pool weather, or it could be 60 and decidedly NOT pool weather. Either way, it should only be hot, not my-shirt-has-adhered-itself-to-my-body ungodly hot.

 

[Klayfish]

So, if we were paying OOP, I can't imagine we'd do nearly as many character meals. But, with two rooms booked and putting only one of them on the DxDP, we end up paying $200 a night for the 9 days, 8 nights and that would cover all of our meals, snacks, drinks at the park including a character dine every day. Our total food budget would be $1600 plus tips and a small grocery delivery for fruits and dairy in the hotel room. We are planning on staying at the park each day, not leaving and coming back later, so we have to eat something and the character meals would afford us a longer rest before we strike out for the afternoon. While I know they take up quite a bit of time, that would kind of be the point for us, since they're in lieu of a trip back to the resort/condo. Also, my girls are obsessed with characters right now, so we would likely be doing the character meals PLUS the meeting in the parks. I think the value proposition for us is higher than others because of how much my kids like characters and the price point the dining plan ends up being for us by splitting the rooms. If we stayed off site, we'd still be buying a lot of food in the parks, so I don't think we'd be that far off from the $1600 mark but it would be a lot more quick service.

I really like the idea of having my own car, mostly. However, if we leave after fireworks with everyone else, I think I'd rather be waiting in a bus line than sitting in a giant line of traffic to get out of a parking lot. How bad are parking lot exits at that time of night? In my head, it's like leaving a major sporting event, where everyone's trying to push into the lines and barely inching ahead.

While I agree car seats "should" take 10 minutes, that's not always the reality. The same seat will fit well in some cars and have to be fought with in others, depending on the slant of the seats, location of the tethers, etc. I know it could be easy, but it could also end up being quite an event to get all three snugly installed. Then, there's the question of space for luggage and the double stroller. I believe most places rent Chrysler Pacificas as the minivan, which would be ideal for us. We could do two in the back, one in the middle, stow the extra captain, and have plenty of room for our stuff. But, if it's another style of van, we could end up fighting to fit our luggage after we do get the seats in. It could be easy, or it could be a nightmare, and I'd rather not start my trip with a nightmare. It's a risk I'm theoretically willing to take, if the reward is worth it, which is how I ended up here to begin with.

You definitely don't have to sell me on how much better a condo would be than hotel rooms. That's really why I started second guessing myself at all!

As to luggage in the airport, I'm not familiar with how the luggage carts work. I've only ever flown when it's with adults who are fully capable of dealing with their own luggage, so I never paid attention. We could get a cart from baggage claim to the airport shuttle, right? But, getting off the shuttle, do they have lots of carts at the rental desks, too? What's the situation like from getting off of the airport shuttle to actually getting to your car?

I totally understand the character obsession. When my kids, especially the twins, were younger, they were obsessed too. Mostly my daughter. We have several autograph books full, all from various locations around the parks. I understand the idea of using the character meals as a "break" and that's a pretty smart idea. I'm just very budget minded, so for me the cost would completely rule it out...especially when I can get the autographs free elsewhere.

I can assure you leaving the parks at night isn't anything like trying to leave a major sporting event. It's actually incredibly easy. The exits are big, wide open areas designed specifically to get people in and out fast. You will zoom right out. It's hard to describe if you've never been there, but the parking lots are massive...I think MK and Epcot are among the top 2 or 3 largest lots in the entire country. People come and go all the time from different areas of the lot, so it's not a concentration of people all in the same spot. You'll be shocked how easy it is.

Only you can decide on the car seats in the van. We've got 3 kids and did the car seat in rental van thing several times and it was never really a challenge. Took a few minutes, a bit of creative luggage packaging and we were on our way.

We drive to Disney now because we live in GA, but when we used to live in PA and fly to WDW the luggage carts were easy. At MCO, the rental car place is part of the terminal, no shuttle required. You'd get a cart right at baggage claim and you can take it all the way to the rental car counter. From there, the car is a very short walk, and they will be happy to help you.

We are not rope drop people either, nor are we mid-day break people. We hit the parks from maybe 9:30am to 3:30pm and we're done. Sometimes we'll go back at night, but it's spur of the moment. We do planned nights in the parks, but on those days we don't get to the parks until 4pm or later.

We're very cheap by nature too. Part of the reason we stay offsite. We pack and bring almost all of our food into WDW instead of restaurants. To the best I can calculate, our food costs about $6-$7 per person per day. That's a tiny fraction of what a lot of people spend when they eat in the parks. Plus, our lodging is super cheap.

 

[Monykalyn]

We're looking at late February into March. It could be 85 and pool weather, or it could be 60 and decidedly NOT pool weather. Either way, it should only be hot, not my-shirt-has-adhered-itself-to-my-body ungodly hot.

And the parks typically close a bit earlier so your plan of meals as breaks will work much much better. It is the heat that typically gets one worn down.
Remember-it is your vacation too, and if the convenience of having snacks/meals paid for with DxDP is going to make life a bit easier for you, then go for it. Enjoy the mickey bar and coffee! We typically have CC rewards and I collect discount Disney gift cards in months leading to trips so we can do the same-get what we want without worrying about the cost. I am the one who budgets and plans too, then dear hubs decides he is on vacation, and he lets loose and there goes the budget LOL! (Actually I plan for that too, he just doesn't know it )

Just getting onto that ME bus without worrying about luggage is quite nice too!

 

[MonorailNate]

I feel like I'm missing something fundamental here. It seems like the vast majority of the travelers love the midday resort break. I am not one to go against the grain but I just can't picture this working for us. My kids haven't napped since they were 3. Really, they started not napping well at 2.5 and I fought tooth and nail to keep my midday break, trying to force naps, until I gave up the ghost at age 3. If they are napping, it's because they're feverish. Seriously, if any of my kids lays down midday, I pull out a thermometer. Even when we cruised, and they were waking up way early because we couldn't block the sun well, they couldn't nap but they could fall asleep early. Is that my disconnect? Do I just have weirdo kids?

If we rope drop, I feel like my kids will turn into pumpkins by 7pm latest. If we go in late, then I can stretch things out to the fireworks as long as the evening involves mostly shows or other sitting activities leading up to the night entertainment. We were only going to try that once per park with a 9 day trip.

With the resort break, you're looking at an hour to get out of the park, to the bus, and to the resort. If they swim at the resort, that'll just tire them out more and there's NO WAY we make it back to the park. Or, we lay in beds with them chatting to each other and me whispering, "It's rest time, not talking time" until I get frustrated and give up. Then, it's another hour to get back into the park for an evening and, if they didn't rest, they still turn into pumpkins at 7pm, but I lost 3ish hours in transit and non-rest. If I do sit down meals at lunch, then I'm losing 90 minutes to 2 hours at a character meal instead.

Does the Disney "magic" extend to kids napping who otherwise wouldn't?

My son gave up naps before the age of 2. So I feel your pain. However, he always napped during our midday break. 2 minutes of quiet in a darkened room and everyone is out! If you go when it’s hot, everyone will be what we call “Disney” tired midday. The parks have always been open late when we are there so it gives us more time in the evenings. When mine were young, they looked forward to the midday break and swim. If you are there when crowds are “light” and temperatures are manageable, an afternoon break wouldn’t be necessary. My sister has a 4 and 8 year old and they don’t do breaks but end their days very early and never return to a park in the evenings. I think it would be a shame not to experience the parks at night. It’s such a different vibe. Everyone’s kids are different and with triplets, I’m sure naptime could take a little more effort!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I totally understand the character obsession. When my kids, especially the twins, were younger, they were obsessed too. Mostly my daughter. We have several autograph books full, all from various locations around the parks. I understand the idea of using the character meals as a "break" and that's a pretty smart idea. I'm just very budget minded, so for me the cost would completely rule it out...especially when I can get the autographs free elsewhere.

I can assure you leaving the parks at night isn't anything like trying to leave a major sporting event. It's actually incredibly easy. The exits are big, wide open areas designed specifically to get people in and out fast. You will zoom right out. It's hard to describe if you've never been there, but the parking lots are massive...I think MK and Epcot are among the top 2 or 3 largest lots in the entire country. People come and go all the time from different areas of the lot, so it's not a concentration of people all in the same spot. You'll be shocked how easy it is.

Only you can decide on the car seats in the van. We've got 3 kids and did the car seat in rental van thing several times and it was never really a challenge. Took a few minutes, a bit of creative luggage packaging and we were on our way.

We drive to Disney now because we live in GA, but when we used to live in PA and fly to WDW the luggage carts were easy. At MCO, the rental car place is part of the terminal, no shuttle required. You'd get a cart right at baggage claim and you can take it all the way to the rental car counter. From there, the car is a very short walk, and they will be happy to help you.

So, I feel like you're the voice of reason in all of this, but I'm trying to decide if I should be reasonable. We are always very budget minded, live well within our means, rarely splurge, etc. There's a big part of both myself and my husband that would absolutely do it this route, hands down. But, it's Disney! And, the point of saving is to spend it on something big later, right? So, is this the big spend for us, the on-site stay with way too many character meals and not having to drive a car for 8 glorious days? I guess I'm really struggling with the value of it all. Is the additional cost worth the perks to us? 99% of the time, my general answer to that question is "no" because we're not the type to spend for the perks. We get what we need to get by without buying into the upgrades or extras. Is the rental car going to be that bad? No, but it will be more annoying than just hopping on ME and having my bags at the room at the end of the day. Do we really need to have that many character meals? No, but the girls will adore every minute of it if we do.

If not this splurge, then what is the other "thing" I'm saving for that's worth more than having the upgraded vacation experience? Ugh, sometimes I hate being the adult that has to make the decisions!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

My son gave up naps before the age of 2. So I feel your pain. However, he always napped during our midday break. 2 minutes of quiet in a darkened room and everyone is out! If you go when it’s hot, everyone will be what we call “Disney” tired midday. The parks have always been open late when we are there so it gives us more time in the evenings. When mine were young, they looked forward to the midday break and swim. If you are there when crowds are “light” and temperatures are manageable, an afternoon break wouldn’t be necessary. My sister has a 4 and 8 year old and they don’t do breaks but end their days very early and never return to a park in the evenings. I think it would be a shame not to experience the parks at night. It’s such a different vibe. Everyone’s kids are different and with triplets, I’m sure naptime could take a little more effort!

We're looking at late Feb into March, so shorter hours, cooler days, and (hopefully) lower crowds. We're going to try for one night in each park on a day where we go in late. I think it's going to be a stretch, but we should be able to hack it, especially since "late" isn't all that late in February.

Naptime was quite a debacle before I gave up trying. I used to joke that a disco ball must descend in the nursery the second I shut the door, for all of the singing that went on in there. I'm not sure how tired they would really have to be in order to get a midday nap out of them.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Honestly, a difference of $500-600 isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. It sounds like you're leaning toward staying onsite, so that's what I would do. It's your first trip, your girls are the perfect age to be immersed in the Disney bubble. There is something magical about pulling up to the resort via Magical Express. They are also the perfect age to enjoy the character meals you have planned. You can always save money by staying offsite on future trips.

 

[lanejudy]

We don't do mid-day breaks. It just doesn't work for us. By the time we get back to the resort, rest (or more likely, swim), then change again, we just don't feel like heading back into the parks. Mid-day breaks at the resort are not necessary to have a good time.

But what I will recommend is varying your days -- do some early rope-drop mornings and head out by dinner time, then do some days with later starts and stay at the park into the evening. Don't try to do rope-drop-to-close every single day. We'll vary our meals somewhat too, sometimes a late brunch, others an early dinner. Off-hours for meals can be easier and less hectic as well. And just because you are doing TS meals doesn't mean they ALL have to be character meals -- most restaurants are themed even if not characters, so try picking a couple without characters to give yourselves a more peaceful meal.

There is no "right" way to do Disney -- or maybe I should say there isn't a "wrong" way to do Disney. Whatever works best for your family. If that's staying onsite and using the DxDP, go for it and don't second-guess yourself. If best for you is staying offsite with a rental and saving money with meals at a condo, that's a great option as well.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Klayfish]

So, I feel like you're the voice of reason in all of this, but I'm trying to decide if I should be reasonable. We are always very budget minded, live well within our means, rarely splurge, etc. There's a big part of both myself and my husband that would absolutely do it this route, hands down. But, it's Disney! And, the point of saving is to spend it on something big later, right? So, is this the big spend for us, the on-site stay with way too many character meals and not having to drive a car for 8 glorious days? I guess I'm really struggling with the value of it all. Is the additional cost worth the perks to us? 99% of the time, my general answer to that question is "no" because we're not the type to spend for the perks. We get what we need to get by without buying into the upgrades or extras. Is the rental car going to be that bad? No, but it will be more annoying than just hopping on ME and having my bags at the room at the end of the day. Do we really need to have that many character meals? No, but the girls will adore every minute of it if we do.

If not this splurge, then what is the other "thing" I'm saving for that's worth more than having the upgraded vacation experience? Ugh, sometimes I hate being the adult that has to make the decisions!

Yes, all of those things you bring up are very valid points and I'm with you on that. We go through the same debates. You are absolutely right, it's Disney, you saved for it, you should enjoy. But how you disperse those funds is totally up to you. And what's important to you and your family? For us, even money aside, we want to drive, we want to stay offsite. If we hit the lottery, I can promise you we'd still stay off property. Just in a super fancy house and we'd have a $70k conversion van to ride around in. We have no desire to ride on WDW buses, no desire to stay in a hotel room and we truly love having our WDW bubble extend outside of their actual property.

We're nutrition nuts ourselves, so that's part of the reason we pack. But yes, it's vacation, so we let loose some. But even putting that aside, we just had to make a choice. We could do a dining plan, eat at nice restaurants, do $100/person experiences and stuff. But we'd blow through the money quick. Instead, we choose to forgo those things and make our trips longer. We use the "extra" money we save on dining, experiences, etc... and stay for 17 days. If we splurged and went nuts on all the things we could buy in WDW, we'd only be able to afford to stay for a week or less. For us, the extra time being on vacation, away from the insanity of everyday life (I can't imagine triplets, our twins plus one older one is nuts enough). And we spend the money in smaller chunks. I'll give you some examples...

Most days, on our way back from the parks we pass several of the mega-gas station/convenience stores. We'll stop and let the kids pick up a giant fountain soda (caffeine free diet...Coke freestyle machines are awesome). We'll go to Menchie's frozen yogurt for dessert, go to Dunkin' Donuts, go to a gift shop and buy WDW pins, in the park we'll spur of the moment buy them popcorn or a Mickey ice cream bar, we'll rent a surrey bike at the Boardwalk, stuff like that. Some of our best memories are sitting at Menchies enjoying frozen yogurt and talking about our day in the park.

But again, that's just what we chose. We simply didn't see the "value" in character meals or the experiences they offer (dessert parties). We'd rather use that money to stay longer. But that doesn't mean it's the right way. If you want to splurge, then by all means do it!!!

 

[robinb]

Not entirely sure, since I don't know what room rates are going to look like. If I compare rack rates on a room versus car rental, condo, and daily theme park parking, it could be as much as $900 before I factor in food. Realistically, they usually offer a room deal in February, so more like $500-600. If we're off site, I don't know what my food budget starts to look like, how many character meals, or even if we'll pack a bunch more snacks so we eat less on property. I do know that all of that snack/meal packing is suddenly on me instead of just getting food there, another convenience difference.

I am, by nature, a cheap person. When we go out around here, we always pack meals/snacks, keep a tight budget, etc. That price difference feels huge, and like a no-brainer that I should stay off-site. But, then I start thinking about my own experience, not wanting to have to be in charge of making a big snack bag every morning or feeling guilty about the cup of coffee that costs way too much, and I go back to staying on-site because it's worth the convenience factor. If I'm always nickle-and-diming myself in my day to day life, should I splurge on vacation so that I'm not trying to pack a giant cooler with apple slices and PBJ every morning? Is it really worth that much to not have to deal with a rental car, or am I just being silly?

As to the snack packing, I know a lot of people will say, "Just buy what you want in the parks, don't think about the cost, since you're saving so much on the room." If we were to keep our current ADR plans without the DxDP, then it completely eliminates the savings. In addition to dealing with the car rental, we'll also have to cut back somewhere on meals/snacks to have the cost savings. Admittedly, the current plan is pretty extravagant, and we have room to trim, but it would still be cutting into the experience versus just going all out with their dining plan.

It's a tough decision. I've stayed at Pop and at WH and I liked them both. I too am "cheap" and don't like to spend a lot of money on my Disney vacations.

Here is a list of the current rack rates at Pop:
https://www.mousesavers.com/2018-pop-century-room-rates-season-dates/

Here is a historical list of discounts:
https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#year2018

I would recommend that you stick with 2 rooms at Pop with the DxDDP. You're in the "sweet spot" for the DDP with 3 Disney Kids and lots of Character meals. You WILL save money with the DDP. For me, it would be worth $75 per day to (1) not have to deal with 3 car seats and (2) feel that I was having a more all-inclusive vacation. I was going to tell you to consider renting DVC points but I don't think it will save you any money and you will have to buy the regular DDP which will cost you the same as your current plan and a DVC studio is smaller than 2 Pop rooms. If you want to at least look into it, Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas are both 136-140-145 points for 8 nights (depending on when you check in) and points rent for $15-$17 per point.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

But what I will recommend is varying your days -- do some early rope-drop mornings and head out by dinner time, then do some days with later starts and stay at the park into the evening. Don't try to do rope-drop-to-close every single day. We'll vary our meals somewhat too, sometimes a late brunch, others an early dinner. Off-hours for meals can be easier and less hectic as well. And just because you are doing TS meals doesn't mean they ALL have to be character meals -- most restaurants are themed even if not characters, so try picking a couple without characters to give yourselves a more peaceful meal.

We are only planning on doing RD or evening, not both, most days. My only exception is AK because we're only doing one day there.

I have 7 character meals planned out of 10 TS, with a mix of QS and snacks for the rest. Every time I try to nix one, I say, "But the girls love so-and-so." We're looking at:

H&V with F! seating
Tusker with RoL seating
CRT
Akershus
Garden Grill (people can't tell my kids apart, so they'll get a kick out of Chip and Dale)
Crystal Palace
Bon Voyage breakfast at Trattoria (walking from HS on our full day there)

I would probably nix H&V, but I want the guaranteed F! seating and, since it'll be arrival day, they'll be thrilled to have it as our first meal in Disney. Ditto to possibly nixing Tusker, but I want RoL seats, too. They're just SO into characters right now that I feel like I should lean in and make it a character-heavy trip.

 

[robinb]

We are only planning on doing RD or evening, not both, most days. My only exception is AK because we're only doing one day there.

I have 7 character meals planned out of 10 TS, with a mix of QS and snacks for the rest. Every time I try to nix one, I say, "But the girls love so-and-so." We're looking at:

H&V with F! seating
Tusker with RoL seating
CRT
Akershus
Garden Grill (people can't tell my kids apart, so they'll get a kick out of Chip and Dale)
Crystal Palace
Bon Voyage breakfast at Trattoria (walking from HS on our full day there)

I would probably nix H&V, but I want the guaranteed F! seating and, since it'll be arrival day, they'll be thrilled to have it as our first meal in Disney. Ditto to possibly nixing Tusker, but I want RoL seats, too. They're just SO into characters right now that I feel like I should lean in and make it a character-heavy trip.

Keep Tusker House! It has the best food of all of them IMO.

 

[mom25kiddos]

If the airport is your main concern, I would not hesitate to consider off-site then. Yes, the airport is a pain, but it is short lived. We don't have triplets, but have five kids, and three are packed tight together. By 5.5 they are definitely old enough to follow directions and stick with you, so the airport navigation is just 'stuff'. We use boosters now (our youngest is 5.5, then 6, then 7 for our 'littles), but when they were three in car seats, we had the big heavy seats, and go wheels that snapped on them (we also had them in their seats on the plane for containment). the kids stayed in the car seats and we pulled them through the airport. Wasn't a big deal at all. Although we did get asked once if we were on a reality tv show

We love off site-love it. We have stayed in two rooms at the GF and pick off-site instead. The space, the kitchen, the food, it just works so much better for us. We do not rope drop, we don't go and nap and come back, so it works. But on-site people are adamant about their bubble. So to each their own!

 

[rlk]

My children stopped napping at an early age, even at Disney. We went from taking mid-day breaks during our first couple of trips to spending all day in the parks with a sit-down meal as a break. We also did 3/4 days. We'd rope drop a park, tour until our late lunch reservation; usually around 3:00. After our meal, we would leave and spend the rest of the day at our resort.

 

[QueenIsabella]

It sounds like your room/dining plans will work for you. And if that's the set-up that makes you happy, by all means, go for it! I would keep off-site suggestions in the back of your head, for when your kids are old enough to be Disney adults--at that point, off-site might look much ore attractive to you.

We were always ones to take a mid-day break. Even if the kids were too old to nap, they would just have enough of the parks at some point, and we'd head back. Sometimes we returned for the evening, other times we wouldn't. Another factor is, not one of my 4 kids would nap in a stroller--ever! I used to envy parents who could push a sleeping toddler through the parks! But, whether or not it works for your kids is kind of a personal thing--if they're used to walking a lot in the heat, they might be fine without one, or you might have to call it a night early on, or you might find that they really use and benefit from a daily break. Of course, if your luck is like mine, you won't go three-for-three on the napping, leaving you with 2 refreshed kids and one Miss Crankypants or something. I suggest you try taking a break one day, and see how it goes. With three young kids, I'm sure you're used to changing plans on a dime due to unforseen circumstances.

 

[sponica]

There's no wrong way to do Disney. We all have our own preferred ways. Right now I'm onsite only (with just the one kid). Yes I'm paying a premium to not have to think. I've done offsite stays before, they're not awful but I'm just happier onsite right now. The transportation piece doesn't bug me, I hate the fact that my only mode of transit at home is my car. At Disney I don't need one. Now maybe that's a holdover from all my years riding the NYC subway, mass transportation is what I prefer so if I can go somewhere I don't need a car, that's my plan.

I don't do midday breaks and I'm not really planning it with my toddler. I know her, the minute we'd get on a bus BACK to the hotel, she'd sleep and then be miserable because it would be a bus catnap. I have a better shot at her napping in the stroller.

It's your money and you're the best person to decide how to spend it. I'm in the camp of trying the onsite stay (if it's a price point you can afford, even if it's not a value you can swallow) even if just to decide you don't want to do it ever again.

 

[MaggieBags]

I'm with you on the airport/car rental madness. Three big car seats + baggage + managing 3 kids would be a lot! One of the main reasons we stay onsite. Once our kids are older and no longer need car seats and can tolerate longer days at the park, we will stay offsite for the increased space. But while they are little we will stay onsite. Plus we tend to stay at Fort Wilderness and we love the cabin, the beach, the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom, the campfire, etc. Its as much a part of the draw of WDW as the parks.

We also love character meals for the reasons you described. The cool break plus knocking out character meets at the same time. In future years you won't need to do these so enjoy while you can

GL with your decision!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I think I'm going to keep moving forward based on my original plan for this trip. The next time we go down to FL, the girls will likely be in backless boosters, we'll be splitting our trip between the mouse and Harry Potter, and characters won't be such a draw, so we'll undoubtedly be off site. If plans change and the DxDP goes up too much, or room discounts don't come in for our dates, then maybe I'll get back on an offsite kick for this trip, too. It seems like, if there ever were a time to do the onsite thing, it would be now.