What do you consider to be the greatest onsite perk?

[Bostonbeans99]

I remember being a kid in the 70's and driving into Magic Kingdom parking lot and having to remember if we parked in Pluto, or Donald, or Goofy etc.
Then riding the Tram....
So I love being at the resort .....parking the car and never driving again until it's time to go home.
Parents/Adults then get to enjoy the vacation as much as the kids.

 

[Texans_loyal]

I hear you, and I do place value on that. But, real-life scenario I’m facing next year: $888 for a week at Bonnet Creek, or $4913 for a week at Kidani DVC. Both 2 BR. I have to go Bonnet Creek.

YIKES! That is a huge chunk of change!

 

[msb578]

YIKES! That is a huge chunk of change!

In fairness to DVC and the bubble, there’s absolutely no plausible explanation for the week before Easter being low/value season at Bonnet Creek. But, it is. So prices are great. Meanwhile, DVC is at price category 4 out of 5 (I’m not too familiar with the names of the DVC seasons). So those rental prices are near their maximum.

We’re unusual here in upstate NY- that’s when our school spring break is. It’s really the only time of year that works for us.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Another vote for transportation. I love avoiding the hassle of driving and parking as well as the freedom to enjoy some adult beverages (in moderation, of course). I also really appreciate it for "group" trips where it is so easy to split up, do your own thing, and meet back up later without worrying about who needs the car etc. As local-ish, I pretty much "have" to bring my car even though I have no intention of using it during the trip to venture off property and I'd be lying if I said the $25 per day parking fee at deluxe resorts doesn't irk me.

I also love "the bubble" and general Disney feeling -- as well as using my magic band for purchases ... it's like it's not even real $... that is, until the last day and your see a multi-page receipt.

I will say, however, that rates are getting to a point where it's becoming difficult to justify in my head, no matter how much I love and adore it. I recently stayed at the Swan (granted they are a hybrid of sorts given their location and offering of some perks like bus service, ability to send packages back to resort) because it was such a significant savings over the Beach Club or Boardwalk -- and with a larger room-- and I didn't feel like I was "missing out" at all as I had feared I might.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Another vote for transportation. I love avoiding the hassle of driving and parking as well as the freedom to enjoy some adult beverages (in moderation, of course). I also really appreciate it for "group" trips where it is so easy to split up, do your own thing, and meet back up later without worrying about who needs the car etc. As local-ish, I pretty much "have" to bring my car even though I have no intention of using it during the trip to venture off property and I'd be lying if I said the $25 per day parking fee at deluxe resorts doesn't irk me.

I also love "the bubble" and general Disney feeling -- as well as using my magic band for purchases ... it's like it's not even real $... that is, until the last day and your see a multi-page receipt.

I will say, however, that rates are getting to a point where it's becoming difficult to justify in my head, no matter how much I love and adore it. I recently stayed at the Swan (granted they are a hybrid of sorts given their location and offering of some perks like bus service, ability to send packages back to resort) because it was such a significant savings over the Beach Club or Boardwalk -- and with a larger room-- and I didn't feel like I was "missing out" at all as I had feared I might.

It is transportation for me too.

But I have to say, I see Swalphin as part of the bubble. (Although, I'm not personally interested in staying there.)

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Yehaa Bob at POR gets my vote. It would be nice if EMH got better.

 

[mcurran]

I only book when there is a “free” dining promo which shifts economics significantly for my fam of 5 (ymmv).
After that, transportation is a nice perk:
- dme no car rental ($)
- no luggage hassle (time and stress)
- no parking fees ($)
- no tram/walk/monorail magic kingdom (time)

FP at 60 is nice too for those popular attractions
Emh is nice as well
I find dining at 180+ is not that big of a deal. People cancel reservations ALL THE TIME
Magic bands are nice too

I’m not oblivious to the fact that Disney transportation locks you to Disney property but I’m ok with that. There isn’t a place on earth I would rather be trapped at.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I love the free dining. But that's not really so much as a perk but a promo.
We drive so we don't use Magical Express.
Can't really count transportation as a perk because everyone can use it.
The 180 thing was rather nice. But I don't have a big demand for things that book up on day 1 any more.
We don't hop, so I avoid emh parks.
The package delivery is a very nice perk. Now I don't have to remember to go back to this shop or that shop at the end of the day or be stuck carrying something around.

I like the whimsical theming of the values. So that's where I stay. And once the new system is in at Pop, even more so.

 

[Pmlocke]

I think the one perk, and I am assuming you want us to give our number one perk, would be the fact that when I wake up in the morning I am at WDW. I'm not across the street, I am there. I don't know, maybe I'm being a little weird but I really get excited when I open my eyes in the morning, open the curtain and I can see the pool with the disney characters in the middle (ASMu). I need no time or coffee to wake up fully, get bathed and dressed to get going again. That's a pretty good feat seeing I'm in my 60's and it usually takes awhile for me to get going in the AM.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Location, location, Magical Express.

 

[Nancyg56]

Disney's Magical Express. I love checking my bags at my home airport and not nhaving to drag them to the room. And I love it all over again when I check them at RAC and never think about them again until I am off the flight. This may seem silly, but this one perk makes my vacation really begin the second I arrive at the airport.

 

[3agoria]

Be prepared...Magical Express has up to 3 hours to deliver your luggage to your resort..sometimes longer....like in my case last week .

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I'd say location. I have to agree with Cannot Wait 4 Disney, a lot of the perks people have shared are the same perks off site guest get too.

Being on site is a big plus for us as I don't want to have to drive to WDW. It's what me and my DH enjoy, not having to every worry about those little things is what makes Disney feel like a vacation to us. Sort of like staying at an all inclusive resort. The other big bonus is paying with your MB.

EMH are nice but summer time last year they stunk! When we were there this past March, the MK EMH were great and allowed us to get on all the rides we couldn't FP+. The 60 day FP+ window includes some offsite property so that's a bummer and now with the whole CL FP+ experiment, I suspect that it will be even harder to nab hard to get FP+. All in, I'd say we just like being in the disney themed hotels, it's more magical. We've stayed offsite and it's not the same, it's not bad since any trip to disney is a welcomed fun fest anytime BUT it's just not the same.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I'd say location. I have to agree with Cannot Wait 4 Disney, a lot of the perks people have shared are the same perks off site guest get too.

Being on site is a big plus for us as I don't want to have to drive to WDW. It's what me and my DH enjoy, not having to every worry about those little things is what makes Disney feel like a vacation to us. Sort of like staying at an all inclusive resort. The other big bonus is paying with your MB.

EMH are nice but summer time last year they stunk! When we were there this past March, the MK EMH were great and allowed us to get on all the rides we couldn't FP+. The 60 day FP+ window includes some offsite property so that's a bummer and now with the whole CL FP+ experiment, I suspect that it will be even harder to nab hard to get FP+. All in, I'd say we just like being in the disney themed hotels, it's more magical. We've stayed offsite and it's not the same, it's not bad since any trip to disney is a welcomed fun fest anytime BUT it's just not the same.

EMH is not a universal good. It can be good on occasions. Bad on others. The choice on whether to do emh depends upon what kind of tickets you have, how busy a time you're going, whether you're going to rest mid day anyway, etc etc.

 

[Rockette]

To me, it's not worth it.

Off site, you can get a suite or 1 bedroom apartment, with equal or better building quality as a deluxe, just a short driving distance from Disney, for less than the price of a value.

Our most recent trip was on-site, subsidized by my wife's employer. We stayed at Yacht club. I will not lie, it was AMAZING being able to walk to a couple of Disney parks, and minimize the use of bus/car transportation. We paid very little for what amounted to an awesome lagoon view and a week long stay.

What made it bad? The room was TINY! And it only had a lackluster fridge (barely kept cold) and coffeemaker. We like to make our own breakfasts, because $10 dry scrambled eggs and mickey waffles aren't worth it to us. We like to keep a couple frozen foods for economical late night snacks after a long day at the parks. Without a freezer, oven, or microwave, we couldn't do any of that.

We like in-room laundry. The ability to do a couple loads of laundry allows us to end the trip with minimal dirty clothes, making the return from vacation less stressful.

We don't mind driving. Bus transportation is horrible in the sense that it doesn't save me any time, which is at a premium in the parks. Sure, as I admitted before, it was nice not having to drive. But is that worth $300/night more? Absolutely not.

You can argue that i'm not fighting fair since I'm only considering deluxe, and that we can easily stay in a value or get a deal on a moderate on site. But, that's the thing, the whole draw of staying on site, in my opinion, is making your trip...easier. Depending on bus transportation does not make it easier, in the sense that it guarantees more time in the parks or anything.

As a previous poster stated, it's really hard, when comparing apples to apples, to justify Disney prices, provided you're willing to spend a little bit of effort with planning, and don't consider driving a chore (I don't).

I can understand this entirely - and I face this dilemma myself. I'm an owner in Marriott's Vacation Club and the 2 bedroom condos they have for me have an amortized cost of less than 900 a week to me. Add car rental and I'm still spending less.

I see it this way - If I'm going to be spending all that money for a Disney Resort it has to be one of their resorts that I cannot stay at the equivalent of outside of the parks. Plus I like spending my points on tropical beach vacations, which my timeshare excels at.

 

[raddisneyfan]

I can only speak of the mods and deluxe hotels, but to me #1 would be theming followed closely by Magical Express and the fact that I don't have to do any driving--the bane of my regular day existence--at all for a whole week.

 

[dansdad]

Be prepared...Magical Express has up to 3 hours to deliver your luggage to your resort..sometimes longer....like in my case last week .

3 hours from the time you arrive at your resort, not 3 hours from landing.

 

[juuuliebeth]

Magical Express is a favorite of mine. There's nothing like watching that video, followed by cartoons, as you're making your way to your resort. It's like I'm being welcomed home again, and my regular life is the stressful, overbooked vacation. I don't mind the length, as I consider it a part of the vacation and not just any old bus.

Then there's the "Bubble." I love the bubble. I don't turn on the TV except for the Disney park channels. I don't really read the news while I'm there. I'll check in with family in the outside world, but that's really it. It can normally bit a bit of a shock going back to the real world at the end of the trip. A Disney Hangover if you please. For a couple of days I'm in a daze. But it's so worth it.

Free magic bands and merchandise delivery are also great perks. I also love ADRs at 180 days. Helps lay the blueprint for the whole trip.