What do I lose if I stay off site?

[alm99]

The last two times we have gone to Disney World we stayed at POR, my kids were much smaller then 7,9,11 vs 13,15, and 17 now. It was easy for us to fit into a room with the two queen beds and a kids size murphy bed. I am having difficulty finding a reasonable resort that would accommodate essentially three adult bodies. We also went with the dining plan but that is not offered right now...

Which leads me Bonnet Creek. The only reason I am looking at this is because he some trial points we stupidly bought at a presentation, a one time purchase for 400k points valid for 2 years. Those points expire in July 2021.

My concern is what do I lose by staying off site aside from the transportation to/from the resort?

 

[starry_solo]

Right now, not too much since there aren't EMH. Depending on how the park reservation lands next year, you might lose the ability to do more than 7 days of park reservations by staying on property?

 

[Tom_E_D]

Your park passes will come out of a different "bucket." However, that shouldn't matter much as long as you book them far enough ahead of your arrival. You won't be able to charge in-park purchases to your resort room or to have them delivered to your room. You'll have to pay to park at the theme parks if you drive there (as opposed to paying to park at your Disney resort if onsite). You won't be staying "at Disney." (Whether that's good or bad is a matter of taste.) All in all, you won't lose much by staying at a Bonnet Creek resort. FWIW, if Extra Magic Hours and/or Fastpasses (and making reservations 60 days ahead) do return by the time of your trip, I believe the Bonnet Creek hotels qualify for those perks. They're not truly offsite, they're more onsite non-Disney-owned hotels.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Your park passes will come out of a different "bucket." However, that shouldn't matter much as long as you book them far enough ahead of your arrival. You won't be able to charge in-park purchases to your resort room or to have them delivered to your room. You'll have to pay to park at the theme parks if you drive there (as opposed to paying to park at your Disney resort if onsite). You won't be staying "at Disney." (Whether that's good or bad is a matter of taste.) All in all, you won't lose much by staying at a Bonnet Creek resort. FWIW, if Extra Magic Hours and/or Fastpasses (and making reservations 60 days ahead) do return by the time of your trip, I believe the Bonnet Creek hotels qualify for those perks. They're not truly offsite, they're more onsite non-Disney-owned hotels.

Since the OP mentioned purchasing points, I'm assuming the resort is Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and no it doesn't qualify for any of the perks like EMH, 60 day FP reservations, etc.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

If my points were going to expire next summer and it meant more comfortable accommodations, I would absolutely stay offsite. I don’t know there’s too much of a benefit to staying onsite unless you’re at a hotel within walking distance of a park.

Enjoy!

Deb

 

[wdw&sonny]

Especially for WBC. It is our only choice if staying off-site. We have stayed there numerous times. It is awesome. You can get a deluxe 3BR for less than you'd pay at a value resort. Check out the We Love Bonnet Creek thread.

 

[alm99]

Yep, Bonnet Creek is the one I am referring to. I guess then my only real concern with staying off site, since perks are virtually non-existent, is having to purchase park tickets and possible trip cancellation because of COVID when the time comes and not being refunded but allowed to use at another time.

 

[Shellyred8]

You also don't get to use DME from the airport, if that is something you were planning on. Not a huge deal-breaker in my opinion, just something to be aware of and plan accordingly for.

 

[brockash]

The last two times we have gone to Disney World we stayed at POR, my kids were much smaller then 7,9,11 vs 13,15, and 17 now. It was easy for us to fit into a room with the two queen beds and a kids size murphy bed. I am having difficulty finding a reasonable resort that would accommodate essentially three adult bodies. We also went with the dining plan but that is not offered right now...

Which leads me Bonnet Creek. The only reason I am looking at this is because he some trial points we stupidly bought at a presentation, a one time purchase for 400k points valid for 2 years. Those points expire in July 2021.

My concern is what do I lose by staying off site aside from the transportation to/from the resort?

Lol...nothing these days. You "lose out" on being "in the bubble," but some find that an advantage.

If you're flying, there's no free ride to the resort.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I usually love "being in the bubble" with the park transportation, DME, and just simply not having a car to worry about (and pay for). With COVID the buses are not so magical right now, EMH is not a thing, and you can get around a lot easier if you have the car. I guess, to answer your question, the cost of the rental car and DME - end list. For now...

 

[wilbret]

Concur with the above. I don't think you will miss much right now, mainly the ride to the parks. I don't really like most shuttles offered by hotels, as they make too many stops, are too rigidly scheduled, etc... so we would just drive or leave from Disney Springs. We only stay onsite if we can use DVC points or if we find a great deal. A great deal to me is a room that will fit 5 people for under $200/night. It happens, but it is R-A-R-E. That being said, I am okay with pretty much any hotel around the area, and the kids are excited no matter where we stay.

We were there this past weekend, and had planned on going back this weekend... on a lark, I checked room rates, and just chuckled. $700+ per night for a room with basically the same amenities as a $79/night Holiday Inn Suites. I'm sorry, it's true. And I'm a giant Disney-sunshine-pumper. I don't see how people do it without DVC.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

OK, my family owns way too many Wyndham points, and we use the heck out of them. In the last 9 years, we've stayed at Bonnet Creek to visit the parks 5x, and we have reservations to stay there again in mid December 2020 and late January 2021. The first time we took our kids, they were 8 & 10; for our December visit, I am bringing an 18, 19, and 21 year old, plus 2 fifty-ish peeps.

You will LOVE this resort. It's my favorite of all the Wyndham resorts. It's just minutes from the parks by car and easy to get around. When the kids were little, they loved the lazy rivers and pirate themed pools. Now they appreciate being able to be in separate rooms. I can't imagine cramming 4 adults into a single hotel room, and you can generally book a 2 BR, 2 BA condo with a full kitchen, LR, and washer/dryer for less than the cost of 2 hotel rooms if you are not an owner. Being able to go to sleep before the kids do is amazing. Morning and evening walks around the lagoon are awesome. 5 pools, 2 lazy rivers, sand volleyball, loads of other amenities make a non-park day relaxing and fun. We can also eat dinners outside the park bubble for half the cost, and do breakfast in the condo for a pittance. We did a girls' trip in a Presidential level 3 BR a little over a year ago, and it was seriously amazing.

The cons: no EMH, paying for parking at the parks, 30 day window for FP, not easy to take a mid day break. The only thing I hate is the 30 day window for FP. I would like 60 days, but we have generally been able to get FP for the rides we want.

One day, when it's just me and DH, I'd love to stay in the bubble one time. But truthfully, it's not very likely to happen. We did Jan 2020 just the 2 of us, and will do Jan 2021 just the two of us, in the condo, enjoying being away from the now-adultish kids and the hubbub of being in a crowded hotel.

 

[Ronaldo17]

No DME from MCO if you're flying and I think you have to pay for the hotel resort shuttle every time you use it, also you're stuck with the rigid shuttle times to and from the parks.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

You won't be able to charge in-park purchases to your resort room or to have them delivered to your room.

I was told in the parks they aren’t delivering park purchases to your room/hotel right now either.

 

[Moliphino]

I was told in the parks they aren’t delivering park purchases to your room/hotel right now either.

That's correct. It was annoying having to carry stuff around. We'd usually try to come back later if we wanted something, but the lines for shops were also always worse at the end of the day.

 

[_19disnA]

We have stayed both onsite and offsite when at Disney over the years and enjoyed both. It mostly is a matter of personal preference, budget, how you plan to spend your time and what 'value' you attach to being onsite. Offsite tends to be less expensive for a given type of accommodation.

 

[rdaky]

Aside from transportation, nothing really. We have stayed both on and off property and there are pros and cons to both. Our most recent trip was off site, and to be honest I preferred sitting in our own air conditioned car at the end of a hot day instead of dealing with the bus. We have stayed at all tiers of onsite hotels and for the amount that you pay for an onsite room you're almost always going to get a more spacious and nicer place for a better price when you don't stay onsite, especially with fewer and fewer onsite perks being offered.

 

[goofyernmost]

In my humble opinion, you lose nothing and gain a whole lot of cash that you didn't spend on Disney brain molding.
I have been going there regularly for 37 years now (49 trips). I have stayed onsite exactly ONCE. And I couldn't wait to leave. My attention span may be shorter then most, but I can easily get to much of a good thing. I need variety. I need to be doing something different, see new things and not feel like every penny is being sucked out of me. I have never felt that I missed anything that I cared about at all and probably was able to go more often because I didn't spend every nickel on one trip.

 

[alm99]

Thanks all for your replies and insight. Going off to book Bonnet Creek right now.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Have fun
and keep us updated please!