Staying Offsite vs Onsite Guide

I know visiting other pools is against Disney policy. However, it is done and it is done more often than you think. If Disney wanted to fix it, they could do it easily. The simple fact that they don't shut it down means they are OK with people bending the rules. Everyone, I mean everyone, bends the rules at some point. If someone says the don't, then they are OK with their little white lies. The fact is people do use resort pools while not being a resort guest. I was never condoning it, just pointing out that it does happen frequently.

I will stay onsite when the price warrants it or I am willing to splurge a bit in the cheapest seasons. However, I will never get onsite accommodations similar to offsite without paying over $1,000. DVC even closed the loophole more for RCI renters. They raised the fee from $95 - $190. This is on top of the ~$200 RCI charge for getting a DVC 1BR. Yes, it is against RCI policy for people to rent out the room, but it still happens all the time. There won't be as many RCI renters going after DVC any longer. On the lowest season, it cost $1,200 for a 1BR this route plus the $95 fee. Now, it will cost closer to $1,500 for the same reservation + $190 resort fee. This is almost $1,700 for a 1BR. I can get at least a 1BR for about $300 in the Value season and a 2BR for about $400. If I figure out how many hours I have to work to save that difference (~$1,200), it is about 600 hours of work. That is a lot of my work time spent to have at best equivalent accommodations.

Yes, onsite is magical. For 1st timers, I recommend it highly to stay onsite. For a family without a car, I highly recommend staying onsite. For those that have done it already, enjoy it, and want to try something new with a car, do a split stay. Spend 4 nights at your studio room at WDW. Then, get a 2BR condo or timeshare offsite the other 3 nights. See which you like better.

I almost want to get this deleted because it will give too many people the idea to start staying offsite. I would rather keep it a secret.
 
A Pro on site would be admittance to the theme parks during busy times, especially during Christmas and New Years Day. Magic Kingdom experiences closures a couple times a year due to capacity and you cannot get in if offsite depending on level of closure.

For us, we were off site people until we traded into DVC and then eventually bought there. My kids were teenagers and loved being on site due to transportation. If they wanted to take a break and leave the theme park, they could. We had a party of 20, with three different generations and my parents would leave and come back to the park at their leisure.

My feeling for anyone going during the busiest time of year paying the highest premium, let them have it. If the park is at capacity, I would rather be in a wood chipper.
 
I'm not the original poster but I think you missed the idea of the post. They weren't saying one was better than another, they were offering a comparison between the two so people could decide. If they were favoring one over the other, I would say it was off site over on site. While I don't agree with some of of the original posters points (the visiting pools is against WDW policy) I don't think they meant for the thread to turn into any kind of bashing or name calling in either way.
Okay, officially confused. You are telling the OP (@BigredNole) what he thinks? :tongue:
 
I know visiting other pools is against Disney policy. However, it is done and it is done more often than you think. If Disney wanted to fix it, they could do it easily. The simple fact that they don't shut it down means they are OK with people bending the rules.
Uh ... nope. Disney is NOT okay with offsite guests using onsite pools. That is why they have always checked room keys at SAB and at other deluxe resorts. I have personally seen CMs ask people to leave the Boardwalk pool. I'm not sure how much more you expect Disney to do to "shut down" pool hopping from offsite guests. Every pool is now surrounded by fences (by law) but as far as I know, only a valid MB will open the outside gate.
 


Okay, officially confused. You are telling the OP (@BigredNole) what he thinks? :tongue:

Sorry I didn't realize it was OP since the first post said "I figured I would post some things that may help people decide staying onsite vs offsite" which indicated to me they weren't saying one was better than another just doing a comparison. They did also say they would never stay on site again but the later post sounded like a different voice. I should paid more attention to the poster name.
 
I would stay onsite again if I can get equivalent accommodations for a similar price. I would pay $100-$200 more to stay in a 1BR DVC unit, but I know I will never see that price again. The main reason is Disney closed that opportunity with the increase in fees for RCI exchanges. Then it comes down to staying in a DVC studio for $900 during the cheapest season vs staying in a 2BR Deluxe at WBC for $500. The decision is easy.
 
It all depends on where you live and what type of passes you have IMO. I live 2 hrs away from WDW with AP so my decisions are different than others. I can go whenever I want and having the AP allows me to try different lodging options. If I lived out of the state and couldn't go as much, I'd recommend onsite, just to be in the "bubble". I've stayed at virtually every WDW resort and until I can find something similar to a 4 bedroom presidential suite at WBC for $150-$200 a night, I'll continue to stay offsite. But I feel with shorter trips, I'd prefer onsite, but if I'm going to stay at least 4 nights, I'll stay at WBC.
 


It all depends on where you live and what type of passes you have IMO. I live 2 hrs away from WDW with AP so my decisions are different than others. I can go whenever I want and having the AP allows me to try different lodging options. If I lived out of the state and couldn't go as much, I'd recommend onsite, just to be in the "bubble". I've stayed at virtually every WDW resort and until I can find something similar to a 4 bedroom presidential suite at WBC for $150-$200 a night, I'll continue to stay offsite. But I feel with shorter trips, I'd prefer onsite, but if I'm going to stay at least 4 nights, I'll stay at WBC.
I dunno about that. I live 24 hours away (driving time) and prefer offsite. With the money I save staying offsite, I am able to visit more often and ultimately experience a lot more magic than if I stayed onsite and visited less often. Over the years we've also learned that Central Florida is a great destination outside of Disney as well. Staying onsite, we may never have discovered all the treasures of the area; we still do 3-4 days out of 8 at Disney, but now take the time to have fun in other ways and to relax as well.
 
I dunno about that. I live 24 hours away (driving time) and prefer offsite. With the money I save staying offsite, I am able to visit more often and ultimately experience a lot more magic than if I stayed onsite and visited less often. Over the years we've also learned that Central Florida is a great destination outside of Disney as well. Staying onsite, we may never have discovered all the treasures of the area; we still do 3-4 days out of 8 at Disney, but now take the time to have fun in other ways and to relax as well.

I agree with you and wish others would try OFFSITE at least once. Sometimes I feel like I am an advocate for offsite DISNEY vacations. If I were going to Disney for less than a week, then I understand doing onsite only because there isn't much time to do anything else besides Disney. We started out going for 7 days.....then moved that up to 10 days. Now we stay for a full 2 weeks (14-15 days). No matter how long we stay, we still only spend 3 to 4 days in Disney anyway. Our first visit to Disney we stayed OFFSITE at a timeshare resort. We did that for a couple of years. Then one year we decided to go for 10 days and stay onsite for 3 days and offsite for 7. Well, I have to say, when we stayed ONSITE we were NOT impressed at all. There was NO MAGIC in waiting for a bus. We had become used to getting around in a rental car. There was NO MAGIC in a room with 2 beds and 1 bathroom. We were used to having our own separate sleeping quarters. Also there was NO MAGIC in having to share 1 TV in the room. We were used to having 3 TV's. One in the livingroom, and one in each bedroom. There was NO MAGIC in having to go to a laundry room. We were used to having a fullsize Washer/Dryer in our unit. Go to the parks by day and throw your clothes in the washer at night. Dry them in the morning while showering. EMH?? What are they and why do I need them?? After a long day in the parks, I'd rather relax in a Jacuzzi with a glass of wine. And I get it.....Disney doesnt want you spending the early morning or late evening in your room. They want you to be in the park spending time and money. I promise you, that souvenir you are shopping for at 11pm will still be on the shelf at 11AM. Onsite/Offsite argument will always be an argument. It just depends on what works for people and what their idea of vacation is. I have done both and at the end of the day, I can NOT justify ONSITE the way I can justify OFFSITE. I have officially become an OFFSITE fan. I love having a full livingroom, diningroom, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, jacuzzi, poolside activities, shopping outlets, restaurants (Steak N Shake, ShakeShack, Flippers, Golden Corral, etc..), adult time, my own vehicle, SuperWalmarts, SuperTarget, Publix, Dollar Tree. Besides, many times the kids don't want to leave the poolside activities to go to Disney all the time. They ENJOY being in Florida too. And I am not just talking about MY FAMILY. I have witnessed kids showing their disappointment in having to leave a resort to go back to Disney. Finally, my point is this.....TRY OFFSITE AT LEAST ONCE !!!! Let your kids experience other things that Orlando has to offer. Just TRY IT!!!!! Get a rental car and drive around a little. We also go to Clearwater Beach for a day while we are in Florida. Florida has SO MUCH TO OFFER. You can still do DISNEY but there are other things your family may enjoy too. Don't be afraid to venture out of the bubble. Sometimes I think people are AFRAID they WILL like it so they really don't want to have anything to compare it to. They are afraid of discovering a DIFFERENT KIND OF MAGIC !!!!!
 
My feeling for anyone going during the busiest time of year paying the highest premium, let them have it. If the park is at capacity, I would rather be in a wood chipper.

me too - why I brought the weekday seasonal pass - it is good Mon - Friday - but not for some holidays - those holidays during peak times - still own DVC but since Disney is now only an hour away - don't really need it.

for me have the best - spends a few hours in WDW then go home to bed!

my last trip was spend offsite at the Silver Lake - it was fun and got to see the fireworks from my room - but missed my cats.... the good with the bad.

that say going in March (for my birthday) staying at my home resort of BLT - still staying not selling (or giving away) it. Gave away both BWV and VWL to my nephew - they have money and it was to their advantage.
 
@spiceycat

Were you a SkyAuction fan? I think you might have walked me through my first auction many moons ago. If so, thanks! :)
 
have done a little on skyauction - but i can get them cheaper (sometimes) thru RCI. You have to own a timeshare that trades thru RCI to join it but once you are in the system if you kept paying your fees - you do get some great deals.
 
Every time i consider staying onsite, I just can't do it. I look at those rooms and the bathrooms and I just can't do it. Give me a three bedroom house or villa with three bathrooms, a full kitchen and our own laundry room. Throw in a game room and our own pool/spa and we're perfectly happy.

Of course we don't mind driving and making easy meals either and when I say easy, I mean easy.
 
Staying at Silver Lake for the first time this May. I got a 2 bedroom for a week from a friend of my mom's for $400 all in. We are a family of mom, dad, and twin 21 year old boys. We can't do double beds. I was going to try the cabins at Fort Wilderness this year but then found out the twin bunks were not standard size but only 66" long. So when I was offered the deal at Silver Lake I decided to take it. Ft Wilderness cabin was going to be $15XX.XX for 5 days.

We already have a rental car because we at moving to Ft Myers to visit my mom after the Disney portion of our trip. Lots a restaurants close other than Disney so I think I will save some money there although I do have ADRs planned for each night of our stay currently. I am keeping 2, may cancel 2. We do not miss the Disney theming. We like a more laid back, relaxing resort.

Pros: Space and extra bedrooms, kitchen, laundry in room, proximity to non Disney restaurants, saving over $1000 at least plus more if we eat non Disney
Cons: No Disney buses (we usually drive anyway), no EMH (we never do them either), $20 for parking at parks

Every time I think I may be making a mistake I remember how much money I am saving and I feel better.
 
I agree with you and wish others would try OFFSITE at least once. Sometimes I feel like I am an advocate for offsite DISNEY vacations. If I were going to Disney for less than a week, then I understand doing onsite only because there isn't much time to do anything else besides Disney. We started out going for 7 days.....then moved that up to 10 days. Now we stay for a full 2 weeks (14-15 days). No matter how long we stay, we still only spend 3 to 4 days in Disney anyway. Our first visit to Disney we stayed OFFSITE at a timeshare resort. We did that for a couple of years. Then one year we decided to go for 10 days and stay onsite for 3 days and offsite for 7. Well, I have to say, when we stayed ONSITE we were NOT impressed at all. There was NO MAGIC in waiting for a bus. We had become used to getting around in a rental car. There was NO MAGIC in a room with 2 beds and 1 bathroom. We were used to having our own separate sleeping quarters. Also there was NO MAGIC in having to share 1 TV in the room. We were used to having 3 TV's. One in the livingroom, and one in each bedroom. There was NO MAGIC in having to go to a laundry room. We were used to having a fullsize Washer/Dryer in our unit. Go to the parks by day and throw your clothes in the washer at night. Dry them in the morning while showering. EMH?? What are they and why do I need them?? After a long day in the parks, I'd rather relax in a Jacuzzi with a glass of wine. And I get it.....Disney doesnt want you spending the early morning or late evening in your room. They want you to be in the park spending time and money. I promise you, that souvenir you are shopping for at 11pm will still be on the shelf at 11AM. Onsite/Offsite argument will always be an argument. It just depends on what works for people and what their idea of vacation is. I have done both and at the end of the day, I can NOT justify ONSITE the way I can justify OFFSITE. I have officially become an OFFSITE fan. I love having a full livingroom, diningroom, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, jacuzzi, poolside activities, shopping outlets, restaurants (Steak N Shake, ShakeShack, Flippers, Golden Corral, etc..), adult time, my own vehicle, SuperWalmarts, SuperTarget, Publix, Dollar Tree. Besides, many times the kids don't want to leave the poolside activities to go to Disney all the time. They ENJOY being in Florida too. And I am not just talking about MY FAMILY. I have witnessed kids showing their disappointment in having to leave a resort to go back to Disney. Finally, my point is this.....TRY OFFSITE AT LEAST ONCE !!!! Let your kids experience other things that Orlando has to offer. Just TRY IT!!!!! Get a rental car and drive around a little. We also go to Clearwater Beach for a day while we are in Florida. Florida has SO MUCH TO OFFER. You can still do DISNEY but there are other things your family may enjoy too. Don't be afraid to venture out of the bubble. Sometimes I think people are AFRAID they WILL like it so they really don't want to have anything to compare it to. They are afraid of discovering a DIFFERENT KIND OF MAGIC !!!!!
I read about what you like about OFFSITE, and realize that it is the same thing I love about ONSITE.

I don't have a washer/dryer calling my name to throw in a load. I am on vacation. I don't want to wash clothes every day.
No full kitchen, to make me feel guilty about eating out. If I want something simple I can make it in my studio villa.
No having to find my car, after riding the tram, to wait in traffic to get to the main road to drive to my condo. Instead, I can leave, walk to the monorail and catch a ride to my resort. (Of course that only works at Epcot and MK) The others require a bus. But I would bet I am back to my resort before most of the drivers leaving the parking lot. (Unless you leave early.)
I never use extra magic hours to buy things. I don't know that anyone would waste that sweet time in a store. Nope, I ride rides. Sometimes multiple times with no lines. Extra Magic hours in the morning are great. Especially if you don't head to the headliners.
I do agree about the poolside activities, Disney has them too. Some of them are "don't miss." So are the campfires and movies under the stars.

And for the record, we have stayed off site. Twice. And both times, we hated it. Yep, we are crazy, we like the Disney bubble. And we drive down, so we have a car. Which means we can leave whenever we want. We just don't want to.

When we have come down to Florida for a non-Disney vacation, we have explored other options. And we keep coming back to Disney, it is what we enjoy and what we love.
 
Well, one thing we can probably agree on is that it's wonderful that we have so many choices. I think it's absolutely fabulous that WDW allows guests to bring in food and drinks, most amusement parks don't. So for those of us staying off site who don't want to eat there, we have options. There are also endless choices of where to stay, both off site and on.

The rest of it is all personal preference and priority. You may or may not be able to get back to your on property resort faster than I can get to my condo. Depends on what resort, how long you have to wait for the bus, etc... Honestly, traffic outside the WDW bubble isn't really that bad. There are cars on the road, but it's not utter gridlock like a major city rush hour.

For us, our Disney "bubble" extends beyond the WDW grounds. It's all vacation to us, so it's all part of our vacation bubble. The local gift shops we go to, ice cream places, etc... It all still feels like vacation.
 
Yep, we are crazy, we like the Disney bubble.

This is what many people like. I use to be that way too. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. However for me, I like keeping as much of my money as possible. WDW does not care one bit about me keeping my money. For some, paying $2,000+ for a room for 6 nights is perfectly fine. For others like me, getting 2-3x the space for 25% of that is far better for me that I can deal with a minor inconvenience. For MK, monorail resorts will be faster. For all other parks, driving is much faster than the buses.

In all honesty, if I had an unlimited budget, I would be more than willing to pay $700+ a night for a 2BR villa at a DVC resort. Unfortunately, I have a mortgage and retirement to plan for. When I can get a 2BR better than Disney for the price of 1 night at a Disney resort, I am going with the offsite choice. When I do a cost break down, I cannot justify it. This is how it breaks down to me...

$80/night vs $300-$500/per night: Costs me 10 minutes each way to MK from a monorail resort. I get to EP, AK, and DHS much faster than a bus from a MK resort. When it comes down to it, is the convenience of getting to MK 10 minutes faster worth $220 - $420 per day? After I pay taxes, my regular bills, and everything else, I get about $4/hour to save for vacations. Is it worth 1-3 weeks of vacation savings for a 20 minute savings to get to MK for 1 day? My answer to that is no.
 
We almost always stay offsite if going for more than 6 nights.

I just cannot eat out three meals every day. Also I work out hard every morning and need a healthy breakfast first. Being able to have access to a full kitchen and outdoor grills is wonderful. Also a laundry room in our unit makes packing a breeze. Love love love all the space

And the resort we use offers fitness classes like yoga and aqua HiiT.

Having our own car and using Uber beats Disney busses hands down.
 
We almost always stay offsite if going for more than 6 nights.

I just cannot eat out three meals every day. Also I work out hard every morning and need a healthy breakfast first. Being able to have access to a full kitchen and outdoor grills is wonderful. Also a laundry room in our unit makes packing a breeze. Love love love all the space

And the resort we use offers fitness classes like yoga and aqua HiiT.

Having our own car and using Uber beats Disney busses hands down.

This is one of the biggest factors for us too. My wife and I are both into health and fitness...especially DW...she's not far from being bodybuilding competition ready. So we have no desire to eat out one meal a day, let alone three. I think we'd both get physically ill if we had to. Sure, when we're on vacation, we'll eat out once or maybe twice, but for her 98% of what she eats is things we'd have to pack. I still eat my clean base diet, but just add a few fries here, a few chips there, etc... Plus we have access to they community fitness room. It's not really equipped with the weights we need, but it's good enough...or sometimes we'll do some basic things in the condo. No room to do that in a hotel room.
 

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