What incentives are left to stay on-site?

[Princess_Lisa]

2. Dinning Plans. While many argue it doesn’t save money, it does for us and we get the DxDP. We book Signature Dining and DH and I always tend to go for the most expensive dishes. I’ve done the cost comparison and it works - for us. Though if paying out of pocket I highly doubt we would book signature, add appetizers or desserts and we would probably be more cost conscious in our choices of entrees. Having the DxDP purchased and paid for in advance gives us the freedom to eat what we want (on vacation of course). And we love the convenience of it all being pre paid and not even having to think about the cost while on vacation because we’ve already gone through the sticker shock.

Are you really saving if you wouldn't have ate there or had that without the DDP? That's like when you go to the store intending to buy a $50 item and the store is running a sale for 30% off the nicer $100 version. Did you save $30 or did you spend an extra $20? Many would say you saved $30 because you got an item that would normally have cost $100. Personally, I think the latter. If not for the sale, you would have paid $50, so you spent $20 more than you intended. Now, if you have your heart set on something and can't afford it, but for the sale, then I would agree you saved.

 

[Miffy]

The perks for us are--and maybe I even listed these in order!:

(1) Transportation. We don't drive to WDW, and since we're city dwellers and use public transit all the time at home, we find the bus system at WDW to be quite good most of the time and easy to work around the rest of the time.

(2) Resort theming and ambience. A big part of the WDW experience. I'm not fond of hotels that feel like you could be Anywhere, USA. I like the different themes and decors at WDW. Especially AKL and WL.

(3) Total immersion. Love it. Love the Disney bubble. Happy to admit it! Part of the whole fantasy experience, which is why I love Disney to begin with.

(4) I love how beautiful and well kept everything is (for the most part)--rooms, lobbies, landscaping, etc. Nobody does lighting fixtures better than Disney. If they opened a lighting fixture store, I'd be their first customer!

(5) 60-day FP+, although I realize this isn't just at WDW resorts anymore.

(6) Disney service. Despite people's complaints that it's declined, I find that it's largely as good as ever. If something's wrong and they can fix it, they do. Call for an extra blanket and they show up 10 minutes later with 5 extra blankets. Call that the dresser drawer is broken and 5 minutes later maintenance shows up. You get back to your room later in the day and the drawer's been replaced. You check in and would like a different room location? They will go out of their way to, if possible, find another room for you.

(7) Mickey waffles.

(8) I used to like charging on my MB, but after a trip where all my charges went to my sister's cc instead of mine, despite having set it up correctly, I'm not so hot on this benefit right now.

We never use the dining plan, so that's not a perk for us and wouldn't be anyway, since the numbers don't add up for us.

I think there are more things, but these are the ones that came immediately to mind. Until we're priced out of staying onsite, which I hope will never happen, that's where we'll be staying.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Everyone must have had a much better housekeeper than we did on our last trip. Our room was barely touched and we could tell by the spilled hot chocolate that remained on our table the entire week. We left it there to see how long it would take for her to wipe the table off. Turns out forever. Our room at POR was also in pretty shabby shape with stains on the bathroom divider curtain and chips in the flooring. We paid about $250 a night and we could have had a much nicer room offsite for that kind of money.

The parks are great and we love them but the hotels are really not worth the money they charge for what you are receiving.

 

[zillayen]

The only perks left for us are location (walk to park from Epcot resorts/Contemporary) and the fact that the Disney bus drops you off at the bus stop at MK instead of the TTC. But, if I stay at the Swolphin I could still walk to Epcot/DHS so that's not a deal breaker. And if the Disney Springs hotel shuttles could also drop of at the MK bus stop then . . . for us there wouldn't really be a reason to stay onsite anymore.

We had our whole family in a YC room (2 queens + daybed) on our last trip and my husband vowed that we would never all sleep in the same room again. So to stay onsite we'd be looking at a villa (with a door separating the bedroom from the kids' sleeping area), which puts us at about $700+ for a room at the dates I'm looking at. The bubble is not important to us but I do hate to drive to the TTC. But to save $500/night I'd be willing to deal with it!

Edit: I just priced it - $722/night for a 1BR villa at BLT for 4 nights or $130/night for a 1BR suite at the Double Tree for the same dates. Wow. I could get a 2BR at the Double Tree for $265. Sorry WDW, I don't think we're coming back to stay!

 

[Roxyfire]

Everyone must have had a much better housekeeper than we did on our last trip. Our room was barely touched and we could tell by the spilled hot chocolate that remained on our table the entire week. We left it there to see how long it would take for her to wipe the table off. Turns out forever. Our room at POR was also in pretty shabby shape with stains on the bathroom divider curtain and chips in the flooring. We paid about $250 a night and we could have had a much nicer room offsite for that kind of money.

The parks are great and we love them but the hotels are really not worth the money they charge for what you are receiving.

I don't really understand the logic of this, I'm sorry. If I spill something myself, I clean it right away. The other stuff, that's something to be concerned about but seriously, leaving spilled drink like that can attract bugs, gets sticky, very gross.

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

DME, Dining Plans, MB, location and the magic to be immersive at Disney all the time.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I don't really understand the logic of this, I'm sorry. If I spill something myself, I clean it right away. The other stuff, that's something to be concerned about but seriously, leaving spilled drink like that can attract bugs, gets sticky, very gross.

We didn't notice it right away and it wasn't wiped up that day. Then we decided to see how long it would take to get cleaned up as our bathroom area wasn't cleaned very well. It says something about their staff that they don't do a very thorough job when that is what they are paid to do. If I am paying to stay in a pricey hotel that provides cleaning then that cleaning better be done well.

 

[supitscarrie]

I gotta echo a lot of other people here on the perks:
DME: we only ever fly into Orlando (we live in MD, and while driving is an option, I don't have the wherewithal to be in a car for that long when I'm supposed to be on vacation). Being able to step off the plane and directly into the 'Disney bubble' is a huge perk. Love not having to worry about getting to/from the airport.
FP+ 60+10 days: It's a 30-day advantage over those staying offsite. I'm a big-time planner so I love having the peace of mind of having the advantage on fastpasses.
ADRs 180+10 days: Same thing. It's a huge boon to planning out the days to have the ADRs taken care of that far in advance.
On-site transportation: Yes, once you've driven onto Disney property you can use the on-site transportation, but if you're staying offsite you can't exactly roll out of bed, walk down to the bus stop, and hop on a bus to the parks.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

We made our latest trip reservation less than 180 days from arriving. I was able to get all the ADR's we wanted including dinner at BOG. No incentive there.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

We made our latest trip reservation less than 180 days from arriving. I was able to get all the ADR's we wanted including dinner at BOG. No incentive there.

This really depends on when you are traveling and how many in your party. My last trip (offsite) I made reservations for 9 people and couldn't get either BOG or CRT at 180 days. I'm certain I could have gotten both at 180 + 10.

 

[Roxyfire]

We didn't notice it right away and it wasn't wiped up that day. Then we decided to see how long it would take to get cleaned up as our bathroom area wasn't cleaned very well. It says something about their staff that they don't do a very thorough job when that is what they are paid to do. If I am paying to stay in a pricey hotel that provides cleaning then that cleaning better be done well.

Ah ok, you left out the bathroom part. Honestly I think housekeeping (at any hotel chain) is part luck of the draw, part expectations. I've always had great luck with Disney housekeeping, but I guess I was just happy to see a tidy room and the beds made every once in a while. I didn't take housekeeping every day before I was DVC, and now I'm kinda glad it'll be trash and towel only. I hate the feeling of tidying up for the maids!

 

[supitscarrie]

Ultimately there are still built-in benefits to staying on site (DME, transportation, dining plan, FP+, ADRs, etc) - and everyone's going to value those benefits differently depending on their individual situation. I don't think it's fair to suggest that just because they're now charging for hotel parking (which I think we can all agree is not great) that there's somehow no longer any benefit to staying on-site.

 

[zillayen]

Ultimately there are still built-in benefits to staying on site (DME, transportation, dining plan, FP+, ADRs, etc) - and everyone's going to value those benefits differently depending on their individual situation. I don't think it's fair to suggest that just because they're now charging for hotel parking (which I think we can all agree is not great) that there's somehow no longer any benefit to staying on-site.

True, but it's also fair for people to feel like the "perks" aren't really ones they would use. We don't use EMH, we don't do ADRs, we don't use DME or the dining plan. So for US PERSONALLY staying onsite doesn't offer much benefit anymore. Of course, other people value those "perks" more than us, and to them it's worth it. It's really interesting to hear everyone's opinions on this. I hadn't thought about the buses being a big benefit if you have a scooter or limited mobility. That makes sense to "value" that more if you need it versus for us, it only matters where the bus drops off. To each his own!

 

[Lexx1214]

Are you really saving if you wouldn't have ate there or had that without the DDP? That's like when you go to the store intending to buy a $50 item and the store is running a sale for 30% off the nicer $100 version. Did you save $30 or did you spend an extra $20? Many would say you saved $30 because you got an item that would normally have cost $100. Personally, I think the latter. If not for the sale, you would have paid $50, so you spent $20 more than you intended. Now, if you have your heart set on something and can't afford it, but for the sale, then I would agree you saved.

By getting the DxDP we have no qualms ordering whatever we wish. Because it’s already prepaid it frees us from our more frugal natures and we can indulge to our hearts content. Without the DxDP we would make more cost efficient choices, but with it we indulge and are happy knowing the DxDP means we are saving money on those indulgences. Does that make more sense?

 

[mousefan73]

Forgot about that, that's a perk for me too. So convenient.

Yes a perk, but are you willing to put a price tag on that perk? is it worth( hypothetically) 20 dollars a day to do that?

 

[mousefan73]

Biggest benefit for us is location. We stay at BC and this year also the Poly. BC as we can walk to EP and we love Stormalong bay... Poly we are staying for the two night for theming.. We are paying a lot , but got super deal. We like being on disney property.. we like the bubble. BUT with this new parking fee for Deluxes, we will most likely go down to Values... we looove the BC but when we see the savings and then the parking difference make everything add up.

This new announcement made me livid.... and is making me look seriously at options.

 

[BeachPrincess]

Yes a perk, but are you willing to put a price tag on that perk? is it worth( hypothetically) 20 dollars a day to do that?

Absolutely not!

 

[trvlgirlmq]

We also didn't have a great experience with the bus last summer. Long waits and the ever changing arrival time on the bus stop boards were an issue. Also, overcrowding and not being able to sit especially for my mom. We hadn't been to WDW in years and last years trip just opened my eyes to a lot of issues that really irked me for what we paid.

We had not planned to go back for some time but my sister passed away last November and my mom really needed something to focus on that makes her happy and she saw the commercials and said she wanted to go. I'm making that happen even though we couldn't get away any sooner than summer due to kids school stuff.

 

[Karebear]

We tried that last summer. Booked POR and requested AB section. We did not receive it so again he had to share a bed. The family suites cost just as much as a deluxe and there is only 1 real bed which is not ok as I travel with my mom and we are not a couple who wants to share! It was bad enough sharing with my niece but I can manage that.

If you book a preferred room at PoR you will get an AB room since all preferred rooms are in that section...hope this helps!

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

We haven’t been yet, but when we first started planning this trip, my sister-in-law and I had several long conversations on on-site vs off-site. I eventually “won” and we are staying on-site. The biggest reasons for me to stay onsite were: a) Being nearer, so less travel time; and b) Free transport and me not needing to drive, as I’m the only driver in our group and I don’t like driving in the US. The big draw for my SIL was free dining - it may not actually be free but it is included in the package price which makes it easier to budget.

I would pay a high premium not to have to drive. Convenience is very important to me. The other perks of staying onsite are fine but not important to me, but being able to quickly get back to our hotel (by taxi if necessary) is worth the extra money to me.