Anyone else feel that there's an enormous difference in quality

[OneinThree]

Depends on:

1- Peoples' budget
2- length of stay
3- been before or not.

At the end of the day, Disney resorts are all overpriced for what they are. If someone has never been or rarely goes, or stays for a shorter period, it doesn't make a lot of sense NOT to spend as much time in the parks as possible. Everything else can be had elsewhere for less money and better quality.

 

[Farro]

We won't stay off-site. That's us.

Others do, that's them.

It all works.

 

[mileshuff]

We rarely go back to the room during the day. We do take breaks from the park to go outside for lunch at one of the resorts. We've left the park to go to down town Disney for a bit, take a nice relaxing boat ride to Riverside for lunch then bus back to a park. One day of our stay we'll go back to our resort to make tie dye tshirts if they're doing that and then head back.

 

[mileshuff]

Our vacation style has shifted a little over the years. Our first trip was off site with rental car. We were on a tight budget, ate counter service lunches and mostly offsite dinners. Lately we've stayed onsite every time. With high ticket and resort cost increases, parking fees etc. I may start thinking about offsite again for future trips.

 

[ChanduTail]

I don't think I would go if I couldn't stay on-site. It's just not for me. I don't care if I get my "money's worth" - I want to really enjoy my vacation, and for me, the second trip you described is not enjoyable.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to tell people that they don't know what they're missing, though. I'm sure there are people who love everything I would hate about being off-site.

 

[Antaniasmom]

If we made a lot more money or won the lottery I would do #1. I would loooove to do it that way ,however, our budget does not permit us to do it that way. We have only stayed offsite and either had a bus or drove to the parks and shut em down every day. But that's how we vacation, we play hard, we don't relax unless there's a downpour/washout or our tickets are done and we still have another day before we leave. So we can't justify spending a lot on a hotel that we are using to shower and sleep. We may have a few hours of pool time but that's about it. We still have managed to stay in nice places via Hotwire but I don't forsee us ever staying on property. And I have eaten my fair share of fast food on one of those trips...it's still fine cuz after all....you're in WDW!!!!

 

[verleniahall]

We do "comando style" and stay on property at POP Century - we aren't a "take a break at the resort" kind of family - we've done both on site and off, and like a PP said - the perks of on property are really going away, and now that we own a timeshare, we can stay there for super cheap and then have more moeny to do things with

 

[Jennasis]

It isn't an either or. Those are not the only two types of WDW vacations by any stretch of the imagination.

You do you. Let others do things their way.

 

[happymommy]

My oldest has food allergies. The counter service has as much help as table service, with the exception of some countries in Epcot (which SUCK). Most have been amazing!

 

[bigbabyblues]

I always said we wouldn't stay offsite, but I guess I was wrong.

People have different reasons for staying offsite (or onsite), and it isn't just solely based on cost. We are staying offsite for the first time later this month, and I'm really not expecting our trip to be that different from the 10 previous onsite stays.

The perks of staying onsite really aren't there for us anymore. We drive to WDW, so DME doesn't mean anything. We have never used EMH, so that isn't a factor either way. There is the 60 day/30 day window for booking FP, but at 30 days I was able to get everything we wanted except FoP, and it became available when the park hours were updated last week. We have grown tired of the buses and driven ourselves to the parks the last several trips, so that won't change. We have always gone back to our room for a break in the middle of the day, and we are planning to do that most days this trip. We usually eat mostly CS meals with 2-3 TS meals thrown in, and we are doing the same thing this time--we can afford TS meals, but we would rather eat fast and spend more time having fun. We will have breakfast at our condo in the mornings, but we have always brought breakfast foods with us to have in the hotel room, so not really a change there. Yes, the condo we rented is far cheaper than staying onsite, but that isn't the only reason we booked it.

Why in the world do you think that just because someone stays offsite, they automatically can't afford to eat in the parks or are unable to return to their resort during the day? Do you honestly think that the two extremes you listed are the only two ways it can be done?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

People have different reasons for staying offsite (or onsite), and it isn't just solely based on cost.

Why in the world do you think that just because someone stays offsite, they automatically can't afford to eat in the parks or are unable to return to their resort during the day?

This. When my kids were little we stayed offsite and it had nothing to do with cost. As babies they were light sleepers and went to bed early, and I refused to be cooped up in a hotel room while they slept. Offsite gave DH and I the option to put the babies to bed and enjoy the hot tub, a glass of wine, and adult conversation. We never packed food, ate whatever we wanted in the parks, and took breaks as needed.

 

[Antaniasmom]

To add...I don't think I'm "missing out" on anything...we were extremely fortunate to have my SIL with us on last trip who treated us to BOG twice, Sci Fi, Via Napoli, breakfast at CRT and Tommorowland Terrace HEA dessert party and we ate at some CS as well.. All this while staying offsite...what did we miss??? Absolutely nothing!!! The experience is what you make of it...doesn't matter if you stay at a resort (fancy or not) or stay offsite..doesn't matter what you eat either...we have had fantastic times all 3 trips and made awesome memories...isn't that what matters???

 

[DisneyWishes14]

People vacation in different ways. We've tried both. After staying onsite many times, mostly at deluxe resorts, we tried both the Ritz (too far from Disney!) and the Waldorf (nice, but felt like a convention hotel). I tend to price out the Four Seasons for most of our trips and, though, that would be my resort brand of choice anywhere else in the world, it feels completely inconvenient to me. I like your option #1! Anytime I can take any form of transportation out of the equation at WDW, it makes our trips so much more relaxing and enjoyable. That's why we, usually, pick EP resorts for most of our stays.

 

[Sue M]

Our first trip we stayed offsite at Marriott property and did commando touring because we relied on hotel shuttle. After that trip we decided onsite and afternoon breaks are more our style

 

[hereforthechurros]

Truth be told we will only go if we can do a #1 style trip. Otherwise we find it exhausting and start lacking patience and energy. We travel elsewhere as much as we can but use WDW to vaca so we need it to be relaxing.

Nothing wrong with the other proposed style of Touring, different strokes. However it does kill me to see parents dragging their bright red, burned out children all over the parks when they obviously need a nap and could benefit from some down time. Money isn’t worth it anymore if youre risking your sanity!

 

[DisLiss]

I think it boils down to what people can afford and what they like. Either way, you may find folks think it's a bit rude to be told they don't know what they're missing. Because if they can't afford option #1, then they can't afford it, but thanks for letting them know it's a suckier version of a WDW trip, kwim? And if they love the rush of go, go, going all day long, with minimal stops for long, leisurely meals, then who's to say that's not the better trip for them? My husband, who loves to cook, loves to try new foods, does not love to devote major amounts of time to eating while we're at WDW. He just doesn't. We typically have one table service meal per day...tops! And some days we never have one. He wants to be out in the park. Now, he's curl up in a ball and cry if I ever tried to make him stay off-property, but once we get on property he's not fussy about what level of resort we choose. I care more about that than he does. Because he really only wants to be at the room long enough to sleep. (Mind you, we do tend to go back to the room once per day to cool off, clean up, calm down a bit, and typically then switch to a different park for the rest of the day.)

 

[chalee94]

It isn't an either or. Those are not the only two types of WDW vacations by any stretch of the imagination

Exactly.

I own a small DVC contract and enjoy staying onsite in studios. It's nice to have access to EMH, early FP+ and a few other onsite perks (the DDP has never worked for my situation).

I also have another timeshare that I can easily trade for offsite timeshares near Disney. In Dec 2017, I spent a week in a 2BR/2BA villa at Marriott Grande Vista with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen...and the cost was about $40 per night plus tax. My group usually ate breakfast at the resort then headed out for the parks, trying a lot of different dining options (Biergarten, SciFi Dine-in Theater, Flying Fish, Boma, BOG, GF Café, several of the Epcot Holiday kiosks and others).

When I'm spending $300 to $600 total for offsite lodging for a 7 night stay (roughly the price of 1 night in a Disney deluxe), then multiple trips per year become more affordable. There's more money for eating out.

It doesn't hurt that Disney has offered pretty good deals on APs for DVC owners lately, so parking at the parks is free, dining is usually discounted and my cost per day for the parks for this Annual Pass will likely work out to less than $30 per day. Commando isn't typically my thing since I go on a regular basis (although if I'm bringing guests that want to hit the parks all day, I'll usually accommodate them - but it's more common to sleep in a bit, then hit a park and do the fastpasses and grab a bite to eat and head back the resort for a break for a few hours and then get back in the car for dinner and/or a little more time in the parks.)

I've enjoyed my DVC stays at Beach Club, Boardwalk, Bay Lake Tower and VGF - it's great to be able to walk to a park (or boat/monorail from VGF). Even at OKW and SSR, it's nice to leave the car parked and use the Disney transportation. But cash stays onsite have gotten pricey enough that I'd rather have more nights offsite even allowing for some of the limitations (FP+ for FOP won't be happening any time soon, sure. I rode FOP twice during 2017 - it was fun but not something that makes or breaks a vacation.)

Then after getting 4-5 weeks on this Annual Pass, I'll probably take a break from WDW next year and maybe hit some national parks, possibly Kauai or Vancouver for a change of pace. Then if the Star Wars stuff is as good as I expect, I'm sure Disney will suck me back in for more trips the year after that...

 

[Jadyreen1282]

My brothers family stays offsite exclusively High end. They consider POR a motel. They just don't get the Disney bubble. Off site friends mostly don't. It' So hard to explain to them.

 

[bumbershoot]

On-site stay (prefarably at deluxe or at least moderate level). Parks from RD to about 1 pm-ish. Resort/pool from about 1 pm-sh to about 5 pm-ish. Dining is mostly table service (and preferably at the signature level for most dinners).

Our onsite trips don’t resemble this at all.

Going back to the resort for 4 hours to exhaust ourselves swimming? NO thank you. We’d never make it back.

We dont eat signature and don’t want to. Not much value for vegetarians anyway. And only I drink.

But we have a table service midday usually every day.

Your two scenarios aren’t absolute for everyone and make no sense to many of us.

The OP's post is very limiting and comes from a point of imprinting what they have experienced and assuming that others vacation that way. There are so many other ways that people vacation onsite or offsite.

Yep.

I want to really enjoy my vacation, and for me, the second trip you described is not enjoyable.

But the OP is assuming that that’s the only way to visit if you’re onsite or offsite. And it isn’t.

We can have all we want from a trip.

My brothers family stays offsite exclusively High end. They consider POR a motel. They just don't get the Disney bubble. Off site friends mostly don't. It' So hard to explain to them.

If it’s that hard to explain, maybe that’s because it’s not totally true?

POR *is* a motel. That’s what it is, but you don’t even get the benefit of pulling your “motor” up to your “hotel” room.

And I like POR! Doesn’t change the fact that it’s a motel.

The Disney bubble, meh. Couldn’t care less about it. The perks of being onsite are nothing to me. I don’t even care about it at Disneyland.

We do own, for now, Dvc. I like those stays. But I’d like it more if Universal built a timeshare with the same actual perks of being onsite there.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Neither vacation is wrong. Most people I know stay offsite, do a mostly Orlando based vacation and do Disney for one day. Usually MK which they decide about the morning of and buy their ticket at the window. And you know what....they have a fabulous time!!

I did offsite twice and have now been onsite 3 times with #4 coming up (just DD12 and myself). I always said after my first onsite stay that I would *never* stay offsite. I thought our days of family Disney trips were over but DS18 says he wants to go back in a few years. Well now with two kids in the adult/teen range sharing a room with them for a week is NOT a vacation. Renting points for a two bedroom is still very costly and something I doubt I'm willing to pay. Even renting two studios is costly. I've never wanted to stay value although two rooms there is an option. Offsite looks mighty good.

Or we could just do Universal.