What incentives are left to stay on-site?

[Pinksy]

I keep reading about the Disney bubble as being a perk of staying onsite. IMO...while I understand it, many many first time visitors will not How can you use that as a reason to justify Disney prices on stays onsite verses offsite prices to those people. You really can't.

When I was younger my parents took us and stayed offsite. I have many magical Disney memories and had the "the bubble" even when I stayed offsite from those trips. In fact, some of my best memories are from those trips. In my opinion..people create their own Disney bubble. Disney doesnt create it. Its our special times and memories that just happen to have occured at Disney.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I compare them to motels (not bad) when describing - all the motels I've ever seen have outside corridors, like the values and moderates. That's all.

I agree. To me the difference between motel and hotel is motels have no indoor corridor and no restaurant. There are good and bad of both motels and hotels. Ive seen some motels nicer than some hotels Ive seen!

 

[Farro]

I keep reading about the Disney bubble as being a perk of staying onsite. IMO...while I understand it, many many first time visitors will not How can you use that as a reason to justify Disney prices on stays onsite verses offsite prices to those people. You really can't.

When I was younger my parents took us and stayed offsite. I have many magical Disney memories and had the "the bubble" even when I stayed offsite from those trips. In fact, some of my best memories are from those trips. In my opinion..people create their own Disney bubble. Disney doesnt create it. Its our special times and memories that just happen to have occured at Disney.

The thing is, I don't need to justify it to anyone, just as no one has to justify staying off-site to me. It's my reason for staying onsite, my perk so to speak, which was the original question of this thread. Fond memories with friends/family have nothing to do with staying onsite or that bubble feeling for us.

As I listed before:

the sounds of the boat horns
walking through beach/yacht club door straight into MAGIC!!!
seeing the fireworks from the beach
seeing the castle from the pool
walking into Epcot
the castmembers
the lobbies and their smell!
hearing the sounds of the parks from the hotels

etc.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I keep reading about the Disney bubble as being a perk of staying onsite. IMO...while I understand it, many many first time visitors will not How can you use that as a reason to justify Disney prices on stays onsite verses offsite prices to those people. You really can't.

IMO, there are many "off site" hotels still within the bubble. All of Hotel Blvd (Disney Springs) and Bonnet Creek are a couple of examples, which also offer many of the onsite perks.

The only Disney operated hotels that their location really makes a difference, IMO, are the deluxes in the MK and EP areas. Not only can you get to the parks quickly, but you also have tons more dining options within walking/ferry/monorail distance. Im not saying the price makes up for the 5 - 10 minutes your saving, but they are truly closer and in the bubble.

Before I would stay at any mod or value, I would definitely stay on Hotel Blvd. The value in incredible. I stayed at POFQ once because my company was paying for it. On my next trip I spent a night at the Best Western on Hotel Blvd. The next morning we left to check into the Poly. I then realized POFQ was less than 1 minute away. Best Western also had a Disney Gift Shop inside, Disney CMs working at the shop and concierge desk. Also a Florida themed gift shop, full restaurant, game room, grab and go food stand, lovely pool etc..etc..etc... I have never paid for than $110 to stay there...often paying about $90 (Off season), for Epcot view room with HUGE balcony to watch the fireworks. We most recently stayed there 4 nights and went to Discovery Cove (AMAZING), Sea World and Aquatica. We had an amazing time at all those parks. We paid $1400 total for the 4 nights at hotel, tickets to all parks I just mentioned, with dine all day pass at SeaWorld (Discovery Cove is also all inclusive for dining and alcohol!), and a few out of park meals. For those 4 extra nights at Disney, it would have cost me $4200..actually probably more because we stayed at Disney 8 nights and if we did another 4, I would pay the extra 2 to make the 10 day pass, then buy another 2 day pass. When I was looking at options I saw adding a 9th night would have been $1050 so Im just multiplying that by 4.

 

[gratefulfred]

IMO, there are many "off site" hotels still within the bubble. All of Hotel Blvd (Disney Springs) and Bonnet Creek are a couple of examples, which also offer many of the onsite perks.

The only Disney operated hotels that their location really makes a difference, IMO, are the deluxes in the MK and EP areas. Not only can you get to the parks quickly, but you also have tons more dining options within walking/ferry/monorail distance. Im not saying the price makes up for the 5 - 10 minutes your saving, but they are truly closer and in the bubble.

Before I would stay at any mod or value, I would definitely stay on Hotel Blvd. The value in incredible. I stayed at POFQ once because my company was paying for it. On my next trip I spent a night at the Best Western on Hotel Blvd. The next morning we left to check into the Poly. I then realized POFQ was less than 1 minute away. Best Western also had a Disney Gift Shop inside, Disney CMs working at the shop and concierge desk. Also a Florida themed gift shop, full restaurant, game room, grab and go food stand, lovely pool etc..etc..etc... I have never paid for than $110 to stay there...often paying about $90 (Off season), for Epcot view room with HUGE balcony to watch the fireworks. We most recently stayed there 4 nights and went to Discovery Cove (AMAZING), Sea World and Aquatica. We had an amazing time at all those parks. We paid $1400 total for the 4 nights at hotel, tickets to all parks I just mentioned, with dine all day pass at SeaWorld (Discovery Cove is also all inclusive for dining and alcohol!), and a few out of park meals. For those 4 extra nights at Disney, it would have cost me $4200..actually probably more because we stayed at Disney 8 nights and if we did another 4, I would pay the extra 2 to make the 10 day pass, then buy another 2 day pass. When I was looking at options I saw adding a 9th night would have been $1050 so Im just multiplying that by 4.

I stayed at that best western in 2012 and had a great experience and cost me about $90 a night it was a really nice hotel, and they didn’t charge for parking then. Makes me wonder when did they start charging since I believe they do now.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I stayed at that best western in 2012 and had a great experience and cost me about $90 a night it was a really nice hotel, and they didn’t charge for parking then. Makes me wonder when did they start charging since I believe they do now.

Somewhere between October 2015 and March 2017! My last stay was the first time I paid, but its $14 for the resort fee and parking combined. It was $8 for resort fee in 2015. But for those large rooms, location, quiet pool area, restaurant, amenities, EMH, and usually around $100/night, Ill pay the $14 with a smile on my face.

 

[Renee Durand]

I would vote transportation - but also the immersive experience.... I have littles, so for us it is staying on the monorail and getting back for a nap from Epcot of MK without a bus or having to pull kiddos out of stollers - and a POSSIBLE return if all is well, or just relax at the pool for dinner. I can't WAIT for the gondolas, and I definitely want to try out the Minnie Vans from the Deluxe resorts.

 

[hsmamato2]

I am trying hard to find a reason to stay onsite in the future,and right now I can't either. None of the above mentioned things are really 'perks' to me, just things that I utilized b/c they were included in the overall price. I truly think I can now piece together a better trip experience for less $ offsite,and this is a big first for someone like me. Magic bands IMHO are the LAST thing I consider a perk....I dislike everything about them.

 

[happymommy]

After my last stay on site, I won't bother again. They took my CONFIRMED two connecting rooms (it's a handicapped room category that many don't know about) and gave it away, putting us into one room. It was an awful week for me due to lack of sleep (I cannot sleep with two others in a room any longer, now that my kids are older).

I can use points and stay at the Swan or Dolphin (and likely get upgraded as DH is lifetime platinum with Starwood and Marriott).

We had a club level room booked at the Boardwalk for our anniversary in May, but I cancelled it. For about the same money, we're going to Mexico to an adult only all inclusive, AND paying for two friends as well (the priest that held our wedding 25 years ago and his best friend). This is a luxury resort (I've been before) with butler service, 24 hour room service, top shelf drinks, amazing food (better than Disney by a long shot). I can't believe I was going to spend so much on Disney.

 

[BarbieGal457]

There are a lot of incentives to me. Location, 180+ ADRs, Magical Express, reliable (in my experience, YMMV) transportation, and generally the Disney Bubble of "escaping" the outside world. I don't drive so while I may not agree with those charges, it doesn't affect me in a way that would deter me from staying. The FPs at 60 days are a wash for me in regards to disliking off-site hotels getting that perk, because I tend to always get the ones I really want, and since I am a flexible vacationer, the times don't matter much to me. MagicBands are also SO nice - I don't have to keep track of six different cards or carry a sizable amount of cash, if I want I can usually charge back to my room (except a few stands), etc.

 

[Kevin355]

Both sides make valid points. I loved staying on property and taking in the sights and sounds of the WDW bubble. I may regret staying off-property now, but I just can no longer justify the increases on everything with no extra perks. 180 day ADRs have never really been that big of a benefit. 60 day+ FPs are not that big of a deal.

I may miss the whole bubble, but we can make it work for us.

I didn't quit WDW, they quit us.

 

[Lorelai]

I keep reading about the Disney bubble as being a perk of staying onsite. IMO...while I understand it, many many first time visitors will not How can you use that as a reason to justify Disney prices on stays onsite verses offsite prices to those people. You really can't.

When I was younger my parents took us and stayed offsite. I have many magical Disney memories and had the "the bubble" even when I stayed offsite from those trips. In fact, some of my best memories are from those trips. In my opinion..people create their own Disney bubble. Disney doesnt create it. Its our special times and memories that just happen to have occured at Disney.

This is a beautiful sentiment. In our early years, we didn't stay onsite either. I fell hard without ever setting foot in a Disney accommodation. And although now we do frequesntly stay onsite, I can still feel all the vibes even when we don't.

 

[SnowWitch]

I have read through the first 5 pages of this thread. I have been a huge disney fan for all of my adult life. I purchased DVC in the 90’s. But I have slowly become disillusioned by the mouses greed. Although my point bank is a nice amount we have historically continued to book cash trips. I sadly am done with cash trips and plan on spacing out our big trips. We generally go 3-6 per year. That ended last year. I just don’t see the value anymore.

When i spend $400 per night for club at Portofino Bay in late May, which allows front of the line access for all rides. That’s value! We are purchasing annual passes for universal this year!

 

[sbd78]

To me, the biggest onsite benefit is the transportation. DH is more of a park renegade than I am, so I can take the younger 2 back to the hotel and he can stay late with our oldest. When staying offsite and driving, we all have to come and go together. Of course, some offsite hotels still have transportation. Swan/Dolphin have actual Disney owned transportation, the DS hotels have their own continuous bus service. (Although not quite as good as Disney transportation, you can get by with it.) I've planned a few last minute trips and still got all the ADRs/FPs I wanted with a little stalking anyway.

 

[danceintherain]

I'm not sure. I'm meeting my parents at Disney in October, because my Dad is attending a convention at the Swan. We'll all be staying at the Swan/Dolphin for the first few nights, then I just booked a Family Suite at All-Star Music for the rest of the week. I was going for inexpensive rooms and the family suite was the only value option with the military discount. The only moderate option was CSR, which we stayed at last time, and it's my least favorite of the places we've stayed.
We will have vehicles, but we may use Disney transportation most of the time, because I hate driving.

If this doesn't go well, then I expect we'll be staying at Shades of Green, more often than not, in the future.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Considering they just made most days this May and June at AK an AM EMH, I guess getting a chance to ride FOP or Navi without a multiple hour wait is a pretty big perk. I would hate to stay offsite and "RD" a park that had AM EMH. And not being able to pick another day since it's every single day.

 

[Three60guy]

I haven't read all of the pages in this thread but......

In my humble opinion the following is a DIS-incentive (no pun intended of course):

Be aware of a new policy starting January 8, 2018 which mandates daily access to your room. Do your research. Either housekeeping or security Dept. will access your room every day. Disney will confirm this but won’t tell you about it before you stay unless you count the fine print in terms and conditions as proper disclosure. Some people don't care while others believe it an invasion of privacy. Just a heads up.

 

[Nakkira]

Just about all the off-site hotels also offer transport to the parks and once you are there you can use any of the Disney transport to get around.

This is true but they can also be very limiting. On my trip 5 years ago we stayed off site for budget reason. We made it work. Our hotel's shuttle though only ran once in the morning and once in the evening. So no flexibility in schedule at all. We got around this by taking public transportation, but even that proved to be a bit of a pain. Also many hotels share a shuttle so you may get on it a 7am but then you spend an hour picking up people from other places before getting to the Ticket and Transportation Center. Then you still have to transfer to you Park choice of the day. It can be quite the hassle every morning/evening.
It was worth it, because we could not have gone otherwise, but I admit, I am am SOOooo looking forward to being "in the bubble" and not having to worry about that at all this September.

 

[Miss Frankie J]

Reading many posts in this thread I agree that many new policies make it a harder choice to justify staying onsite. I am upset about the parking fees and the room checks and it makes me second guess staying onsite. I have stayed offsite a majority of the time I have gone to disney (over 15 years) and felt it was a better value.

That being said I treated myself to a stay at AKL and I honestly fell in love and was blown away by the resort and quality. I always wanted to stay there and it was like a fantastic slice of happiness. I think what makes people stay onsite is how it makes them feel. I think once you have fallen in love with a particular resort it just feels like a second home (Corny I know). I decided to go back this year to AKL because of how wonderful the staff, and resort made my stay magical. it was a one of a kind experience that I couldn't get offsite. Now I'm not saying staying offsite is bad. in fact the resorts I've stayed at are wonderful too, I just was in awe at the size and atmosphere of AKL.

 

[dwheaton]

It's such a tricky question for me. I still love staying on-site, but largely because we're fallen for the Animal Kingdom Lodge on recent trips. It has such a different vibe even than an off-site condo. However, it's a smaller room and a lot more expensive. We've had good luck with the buses and Magical Express on recent trips, so I do consider that a perk. You can make a strong argument either way, and it really is all based on value. I wouldn't do it and stay at an All-Star Resort; I'd rather stay off-site. But if I see a real value in the resort, then we'll do it.