Is there an advantage to stay onsite anymore?

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I have always been a total staying onsite supporter. I couldn't imagine not staying onsite. We are not an early-open-the park-family, but we love to close it down and we love, love, loved the evening EMH. We also used to love coming back to the resorts and swimming late.

I turn 50 in October so I'd like to plan a trip to celebrate my 50th with WDW! Now my kids are older (21, 19, & 16). We will be bringing a girlfriend (20) and a boyfriend (19). So with a large group like this and 6 out of the 7 adults. The room prices are pricey even at the values. I love the theming and the nostalgia of staying on-site, but with no EMH, have to pay for parking, no FP to get to schedule earlier, pools closing early, etc at the resorts... I am really struggling to see why staying onsite would be better than booking an Airbnb with a private pool with tons of space close to the property at a fraction of the cost?

What am I missing? Would I be really missing out by not staying onsite this October? The idea of it seems almost disloyal! LOL!

 

[Shughart]

Pretty sure we're loyal offsiters for life now. We come 'home' to a 3 bedroom townhome and sectional after the parks. If you like theming, PLENTY of rentals have that. They're not stupid, they know why people are staying in the area.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Well, the theming is nice, not the sole reason. The sole reason was the perks, but I am failing to see many, if any, perks of staying onsite at this time.

 

[2minny]

I know many have their own opinion on this topic, I've seen this topic on here before, but I do NOT think there are any perks to stay onsite at this time. And they're about to get rid of Magical Express. I've always been a big on-site gal, I just love being in the middle of the bubble. BUT, with the high pricing for the room you get, and no perks, I believe we will be off-site next trip. You can get such a nice place, with so much room, your own pool and a rental car, for more than half the price of a value resort room. Especially since we travel with 8-10 people to get rooms for....a condo will just make more sense than on-site pricing and no perks to justify the cost. Sad to say.....

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Yeah, I am finding a beautiful house super close, with a private pool/hot tub, rooms for everyone, 5 bathrooms for 7 people... for less than one value room at Pop. Seriously, I mean let me stay at MK until 3 AM and I'll pay the Pop or even Poly prices, but kick me out at 6 PM, and really?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

One possible downside to a large group staying off site, is that the group has to be rounded up and set off and leave together. Whereas, staying on site, individuals can come and go as they please.

 

[Heather07438]

Really the best thing left is proximity. It’s nice to have especially if your group might split up here and there. Think afternoon breaks or a few want to sleep in, etc. Then onsite is very convenient because it’s so easy to use buses and Skyliner. You don’t all need to come and go at exactly the same times.
But the difference onsite to offsite for 7ppl is big $. With most of the perks going or gone it’s harder to justify.
I’d price out staying at Pop vs a nice offsite rental. Think about what that extra $1000 or so could buy instead. Is it worth to switch? That should make it easier to choose. Have fun either way

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We really don't split up and we don't take afternoon breaks and go back to the hotel. That's not our style. We just start later and go for the day. With the parks closing so early now, no way will we be taking breaks.

I'd be saying over $2K getting a house I'm looking at vs. 3 rooms at Pop, even more, if I only got 2. I'm just trying to see if I am missing an on-site perk that I forgot about.

 

[StuckInKS]

It is pricey and the only perks left are the "Disney bubble" and transportation. We had a big group like you (2 adults, 3 teens and 10 & 9 yr olds) and we paid $2,200 for 2 rooms for 8 nights at POP through Hotwire earlier this month, and that was about half of what Disney wanted for the rooms. Unfortunately, after many offsite stays, I am now a sucker for the Disney bubble, so that will probably keep us onsite.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I haven't checked any bargain sites, only WDW and Costco (Costco has the best deal right now). There are no deals yet for the fall so that may change.

 

[Heather07438]

One other consideration is the replacement for EMH. Disney said at some point they’ll have 30 minute early entry for onsite.

No word on when that starts and it doesn’t sound like your group would be too interested anyway. Most teens don’t love the idea of waking 6am on vacation to go rope drop lol.

 

[auntlynne]

We are now doing timeshare condos.

With adult-sized people, it’s nice not sleeping in those little beds and rooms at Pop. And you get walls made of Sheetrock, not concrete block. Living room space is nice, too. Well, basically, space. And a kitchen.

Disney has just priced itself out of my comfort zone. Last September, I spent one night at AKL and did nothing off property.

 

[cel_disney]

We are onsite peeps most of the time and even own DVC. In 2018 - we had APs and were out of points by our November trip so we got a room at the Sheraton Vistana Resort instead.

My biggest issue ended up being transportation. When my DH was suddenly tired - we all had to leave...or when they announced Meghan Trainer was going to be doing the holiday taping at midnight - the drive there and back alone was not something I wanted to do. I would advise that you purposefully plan in some of your savings for an uber budget. We don’t usually want to split up but our trip would have been more enjoyable if I had planned for that contingency (in cost and just mentally letting myself know it was okay!).

also - with the anniversary coming up in October - I am SURE that hours will be extended. I’m traveling in mid April and we just got nights at MK added!.

the last important thing is that park capacity limits (should they be using the old system ever again!) had tiers for onsite guests. With Park Reservations this should not be a real problem but just trying to be inclusive in your list!!

 

[sandlsmom]

For us, its just the transportation now. I figure with 3 adults, 2 teens and a toddler, the cost for an Uber back and forth everyday would outweigh the savings of staying offsite. I should probably look into how much an SUV rental would be plus parking.

 

[100AcreWood]

We have stayed offsite for 11 years and we're staying onsite this summer. We wanted the convenience of transportation.

 

[2minny]

We have done onsite and offsite. Onsite is more exciting, but offsite is much much more economical and practical.....so much room to spread out. Our group doesn't split up, ever lol. We travel in a pack of 8 and go all day, but we are all adults. The only issue we had, was last trip my husband got sick and had to miss a day at the park, but when he was feeling better he uber'd to the park to meet us that afternoon. Still saved us money to be off site, even with the cost of an uber a day lol. We love Disney!!!! No matter how many perks, we still love it and I know Disney will bring so much back, when they are running at 100% again! Until then, we have a trip onsite and then our next will be offsite until there are a few more reasons to be onsite!

 

[subtchr]

We are now doing timeshare condos.

With adult-sized people, it’s nice not sleeping in those little beds and rooms at Pop. And you get walls made of Sheetrock, not concrete block. Living room space is nice, too. Well, basically, space. And a kitchen.

Disney has just priced itself out of my comfort zone. Last September, I spent one night at AKL and did nothing off property.

I agree with everything except the beds — Pop beds are queens now, and super comfortable!

For the OP, it sounds as if you have made the right decision for your family!

Since it sounds as if you start the day well after rope drop, the upcoming 30-minute early entry for resort guests every park, every day would not be a factor. 30 minutes doesn’t sound like much (it isn’t), but the main effect will be on offsite guests who want to arrive at the start of the park day. They will encounter potentially long waits at headliners as soon as they can enter the park. Since you aren’t arriving until later, this isn’t a factor for you.

The other big one that you mention will not affect you is being able to easily split up during the day, arrive and depart different times, etc. It’s not just not taking a break in the middle of the day, it’s whether you want to dine different places, visit different parks, etc. That’s a big group to hang out together for an entire trip. Of course, if a couple wants to go off and have a nice dinner somewhere else, they can always Uber back to the house.

We have a multi-generational trip coming up in June. Ages 1-67. We are splurging on Copper Creek (with a military discount, but still a splurge!). I am positive we will be together some of the time, but if the littlest needs a nap, it will be so easy for Gigi (me!) to bring him back to the resort. The kids’ parents want to go out to dinner? Easy for us to take the kids back to the resort. So the convenience of onsite transportation is much more important to us than it is to you.

But each family definitely needs to look at their budget, their touring style, and their preferences to make the right choice for them. We are fortunate to be at a point in life where we can splurge a bit if it is for an experience we value. Others (even those who could easily afford it!) value different elements differently, so they wouldn’t even consider paying so much more to stay onsite.

It’s great that there are options for everyone!

 

[NashvilleMama]

as most have said, transportation is really the only big benefit - especially at a Skyliner resort (which I'm obsessed with.) That said, we're staying offsite in late June because we just couldn't justify the insane cost difference for the week, as hard as I've tried to justify it.

 

[Marthasor]

If you don't mind driving back and forth, renting a house is probably the way to go. Especially with so many adults. You will have so much more space, a full kitchen, a pool, etc. I hate driving on vacation and driving in the WDW area makes me a nervous Nelly, so I will most likely always pay the premium to stay onsite.

 

[WhitneyMB]

For us, one of the perks is the restaurants that are onsite at Disney, which hasn’t been mentioned yet. We hate cooking on vacation! When we travel elsewhere we will sometimes rent an AirBnB, but we love the convenience of having access to the parks, food, restaurants, stores, (etc) all without having to drive anywhere or make anything. That said, we do usually stay at Disney resorts with good sit down restaurants because this is so important to us.