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

I'm looking forward to reading all of the replies to this thread, as it should be interesting to hear everyone's perspectives.

I've experienced Disney from off-property (as a kid) and on propety at a moderate (CSR both times), and now the flagship deluxe resort (VGF last December). There truly is no comparison. CSR on property was hands down better than being off-property, but the Grand Floridian stay was truly magical. Everything is just so much EASIER from there.

I'll be at Kidani in 37 days (!!!), and I expect to love it and have a nice little trip, but the deposit is already paid for renting DVC points at VGF for 2019, and that balance will be paid in July. Personally, I wouldn't mind trying out the other monorail resorts and/or the Epcot resorts, but I don't anticipate I'd like any of them better than the Grand, and I have a good relationship with the VGF owner (who is fabulous), so I don't see me changing. Vacation has almost become "going to the Grand Floridian" with "oh yeah, and Disney Parks too" LOL.

I remember as I was lounging under the umbrella at the pool that is mere steps from the DVC building, enjoying my lobster sliders, watching the kids play games, and the monorail came gliding over. I said to my mother, "This is it. This is the epitome of a Disney vacation."

A little while later we went upstairs (less than 5 minutes), changed clothes, grabbed Dad, and took the short walk to the main building and up to the monorail station. In a few more minutes we were at the Magic Kingdom, getting to bypass security and going right on in.

It's going to be hard to do it any other way, I can tell you that.
 
We always are onsite (we stay at a different mod or deluxe each time) and are at the parks from open to close. We are a small group of adults that visit every few years and don’t have kids. The others have food allergies so we pretty much eat every meal TS and find the time spent at lunch and dinner is when we relax and recharge.

My oldest has had food allergies since infancy - I learned from years ago that even counter service had amazing help to avoid his allergies! (they were at first milk, egg, sesame and peanut. He outgrew sesame and peanut thankfully - sees the top doc at Hopkins)
 
The chefs have been great at providing excellent vegan choices for my daughter. And made her feel special not different in her culinary tastes. There are good websites too with Menu choices but you gotta love the creative Disney chefs.
 
I would say now, with Disney World cheapening their product in certain ways (your views may vary) and their increase on nickel and diming their guest (paying for parking), I would argue that you can have an even better experience offsite. We do both, on and offsite, and enjoy both equally. Nowadays, with the advent of AirBnB, you can get the genuine home away from home, in an actual house, that is closer to certain parks than some WDW resorts. Its hard to argue Disney restaurants have gone downhill significantly the last few years. Many of the ones that are still unique and tasty (I'm looking at you, Ohana) either rush you through your meal, or you get the uninterested server. To me, Disney properties are still in a class of their own when it comes to their theme parks, there just isn't any comparison. Thats's why we have annual passes, we get to park free, and still enjoy all the amenities resort guest get, maybe minus EMHs, which only morning hours are even worth the hassle. Disney has plenty of money without me staying onsite, that's how they are buying out all their competition.
 


Totally agree with different strokes!!!!

We are off-site people. I'm not ruling out onsite down the line because I would like to experience it someday and completely appreciate that others enjoy a totally different Disney vacation than we do, but the things that are important to me at this time of life (budget, space, meal-prep), make staying off-site more realistic and enjoyable for our family of 7.

I can't imagine staying in 2 cramped hotel rooms with no access to separate bedroom space, a washer/dryer, and a kitchen. These are important to me, and we will never afford DVC so it's not possible onsite. Even if it's 12am when we return from the parks, I need to sit in a separate room from my kids and decompress without them (and preferably with a glass of wine:drinking1) for at least 20 or 30 minutes. It's just how I do it.

We spend a lot of time in the parks, but we do often take breaks mid-day to swim and rest. It's doable with a car, which we always have. These parks are open for many hours each day, so leaving and coming back is possible, even for those of us staying in "Siberia", aka off-site. :)

We don't do table service at the parks at all. We did eat at Tony's a few years ago and spent an hour and 15 minutes waiting for our table. When you calculate the cost of a park ticket and that we spent over an hour sitting in a crowded lobby waiting when we could have been on the rides- no value in that:mad:!! I can do that at the chain restaurant up the street from my house. I don't need to pay for a Disney vacation to wait for a dinner table with all my kids. So, never again for in-park reservations for us. I am not ruling out Resort TS reservations, we have just never done it.

Brown-bagging it may sound horrible to some people, but I would much rather sit in a corner of the park with my kids enjoying their company and not worrying about how they are behaving around the other adults eating in the restaurant. My kids are really good kids and mostly well-behaved, but they are kids and there is a lot of them! I would spend my whole lunch thinking about the middle-aged couple at the table next to us who are also on their special Disney vacation, listening to my 2 year old have a tantrum. I am too mindful of those things, and I would never be able to relax. Not fun. I also can't think of anything less vacation-y than my 2 year old knocking over a full glass on the restaurant table, or my 4 year refusing to eat the $25 meal we bought for her. Meanwhile, my 6, 7 and 9 year old girls probably can't wait to get out of there and back in line for Splash Mountain. No thanks!

We are fine doing quick service (Cosmic Ray's is a favorite), but leftover cold pizza wrapped in tinfoil that my kids will actually eat (and happily enjoy) is very relaxing for me, for now. Or, maybe getting an ice cream at Epcot and skipping the meal until we are back at the condo. It actually IS what we call a vacation, so I am proof that different strokes for different folks clearly exist! In a few years, I am sure this could all change.:)
 
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Totally agree with different strokes!!!!

We are off-site people. I'm not ruling out onsite down the line because I would like to experience it and completely appreciate that others enjoy a totally different Disney vacation than we do, but the things that are important to me at this time of life (budget, space, meal-prep), make staying off-site more realistic and enjoyable for our family of 7.

We spend a lot of time in the parks, but we do often take breaks mid-day to swim and rest. It's doable with a car!

We don't do table service unless off-site. Brown-bagging it may sound horrible to some people, but I would much rather sit in a corner of the park with my kids enjoying their company and not worrying about how they are behaving around the other adults eating in the restaurant. My kids are really good kids and mostly well-behaved, but they are kids and there is a lot of them! I can't think of anything less vacation-y than my 2 year old knocking over my glass of wine on the restaurant table, or my 4 year refusing to eat the $25 meal we bought for her. Meanwhile, my 6, 7 and 9 year old girls can't wait to get out of there and back in line for Splash Mountain. No thanks! Leftover cold pizza wrapped in tinfoil that my kids will actually eat (and happily) is how we do it, for now. In a few years, I am sure that will change.

Loved reading your post! Reminds me of our multiple stays in pool home 2002-2005 when our 3 were young. Some afternoons we couldn’t get them out of the pool. Those were the days!

Now only our youngest visits with us so it’s onsite or close offsite hotels or Wyndham bonnet creek. Better for us now especially with reduced park hours. But we sure had fun at the pool homes. Other result is I am completely comfortable driving the area and feel claustrophobic without a car even onsite. We aren’t urban folks but use the subway and walk in NYC. Don’t love Disney busses so we mostly stay at Epcot resort area.
 
Loved reading your post! Reminds me of our multiple stays in pool home 2002-2005 when our 3 were young. Some afternoons we couldn’t get them out of the pool. Those were the days!

Now only our youngest visits with us so it’s onsite or close offsite hotels or Wyndham bonnet creek. Better for us now especially with reduced park hours. But we sure had fun at the pool homes. Other result is I am completely comfortable driving the area and feel claustrophobic without a car even onsite. We aren’t urban folks but use the subway and walk in NYC. Don’t love Disney busses so we mostly stay at Epcot resort area.

I think as my kids get older and maybe some don't want to travel with us anymore, we could try to do Disney a different way. I think this particular vacation clearly has to evolve for those of us who come back multiple times over the course of many years. My 6 year old's Kindergarten teacher is mid-30's, has no kids and goes to Disney twice a year with either her husband or a group of friends. I absolutely love hearing her stories about sampling all the foods and wine in Epcot during the festival, or park hopping all over the place. It sounds wonderful and fun, and of course it's just so different from our experience. Family logistics play such a huge role in how each person enjoys his/her vacation experience.

We did WBC last year and had fun! The pools were amazing. We are trying Windsor Hills this time around. I think the parking will be better for us! I won't miss navigating the crowded WBC parking lots and long hotel hallways with the stroller and zombie children at 1am. :)
 


Yes WBC is so popular. We mostly stay off season so although the parking lots fills up, my husband drops us off at the building and heads to the parking garage. My thing is the lazy rivers. Good ones at WBC and Hilton Bonnet creek. Although the overall pool complex is better at stormalong bay, I like the lazy river at the main WBC building and the Hilton Bonnet creek much better than the stormalong bay, which is way too deep for me.
 
between the following two types of vacations:

1. 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).

2. Off-site stay. Parks are typically done commando style (RD to closing). Dining is mostly counter service, brown bag, or off-site.

To me, there's just no comparision between these two types of vacations and I continually tell people who have only experienced the second type that they don't know what they're missing.

That being said, I realize that there are two huge caveats here:

1. The first type of vacation tends to be substantially more expensive than the second type (especially, if you don't own or rent DVC and have a large family). Many people just can't justify that expense.

2. Different strokes for different folks. Some people just love the parks and would honestly rather spend the whole day in them (as opposed to going back to a hotel in the afternoon).

I also think that some people err toward commando style because they feel that they need to get their "money's worth" out of those expensive tickets (and, as alluded to above, getting your "money's worth" is subjective).

People also often understandably err toward staying off-site for a number of reasons, particularly more lodging for the buck (and the larger the group size, the more this tends to be true), especially if they're planning to visit more than just Disney on their vacation.

But, having experienced the second type of vacation growing up and having experienced the first type of vacation in recent years, for me, the first type of vacation just blows the second type out of the water. In fact, I'd probably never go to WDW again if limited only to the second type of vacation.


We've been to Disney every year since 1989 and all but two of those visits have been at various on-site properties ranging from moderates to deluxe. The past two visits were through AirBnB due to being with large groups. I was reluctant and went with an open mind, because I never imagined I'd stay off-property. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. We used Uber and went back to the "house" every afternoon to relax and swim in the inground pool, freshened up and Ubered back to the parks in the evenings. Honestly, Ubering was quicker than waiting for packed buses and monorails, and we had actual seats instead of standing in the aisles and listening to whiney, overtired kids and getting our ankles scraped by people's strollers. Staying off-site provided a different type of QUALITY Disney vacation than I thought possible, and we are doing it again in November.
 
Return visitors usually tend to move towards #1........#2 are for the newbies and folks who only go 1x every 5 years or so....so they have to see everything no matter what.

Frequent return visitors just shrug and see what they can, and know they will catch it next time.
 
Return visitors usually tend to move towards #1........#2 are for the newbies and folks who only go 1x every 5 years or so....so they have to see everything no matter what.

Frequent return visitors just shrug and see what they can, and know they will catch it next time.

That's quite the generalization...especially after many people have posted here about multiple trips where they choose to stay on property.
 
Return visitors usually tend to move towards #1........#2 are for the newbies and folks who only go 1x every 5 years or so....so they have to see everything no matter what.

Frequent return visitors just shrug and see what they can, and know they will catch it next time.

We only go every few years, but we stay at least 9 nights, so we still tour like #1. :)
 
That's quite the generalization...especially after many people have posted here about multiple trips where they choose to stay on property.
the entire original post is one HUGE generalization.

You can't write a book with a bazillion details in response to everyone. "aint no one got no time for that"
 
the entire original post is one HUGE generalization.

You can't write a book with a bazillion details in response to everyone. "aint no one got no time for that"

...and most of the posts are pointing out that it is a generalization and the assumptions made are incorrect.

There are not just two extreme ways to enjoy a WDW vacation. It isn't a black or white situation...but gray. A little bit of everything.

I'm actually neither 1 or 2. On property with a more commando style in the parks and rarely choose a signature meal although most are a balance between CS and TS.
 
#2 planner when I was younger & didn't have a lot of money - would only stay 3-4 days. Found travelling back to the offsite hotel to be a hassle and once back there, would seldom go back out again.

Now currently a #1 planner thanks to the DVC (paying for tomorrow's vacation on yesterday's dollars) and wouldn't have it any other way. Especially staying in the Epcot area villas. Park in the morning - back to the villa for rest & swim - do a load of laundry - back out for dinner (usually at Epcot) - then then nightcaps on villa balcony or Boardwalk.

I love, love, love not having to drive anywhere. No responsibilities other than to enjoy, have fun & occasionally relax. :)
 
I feel that the vacation style #1 is suited better for older people, or people with young kids. I'm 23, have no kids, and would feel crazy going back to a resort to SWIM everyday, or take a nap. I don't need a three+ hour break everyday, and honestly, the park tickets are expensive--I'm not going to waste them by going back to bed after 4 hours.

Also, as everyone has said, there is no 1 or 2. There's about a thousand ways to go to WDW.
We go moderate, Rope Drop to park close (somewhat commando), with long Table service "breaks" and occasional jaunts to the resorts along the monorail line. We enjoy ourselves greatly and love packing it all in.

Maybe someday when we're old, or when we have small children, we'll change. I remember a family vacation from when I was about 6 when we did a #2 kind of vacation (offsite, all day, no stopping for real food) and I was miserable. But, as I said, I was 6.
 
I feel that the vacation style #1 is suited better for older people, or people with young kids. I'm 23, have no kids, and would feel crazy going back to a resort to SWIM everyday, or take a nap. I don't need a three+ hour break everyday, and honestly, the park tickets are expensive--I'm not going to waste them by going back to bed after 4 hours.

Also, as everyone has said, there is no 1 or 2. There's about a thousand ways to go to WDW.
We go moderate, Rope Drop to park close (somewhat commando), with long Table service "breaks" and occasional jaunts to the resorts along the monorail line. We enjoy ourselves greatly and love packing it all in.

Maybe someday when we're old, or when we have small children, we'll change. I remember a family vacation from when I was about 6 when we did a #2 kind of vacation (offsite, all day, no stopping for real food) and I was miserable. But, as I said, I was 6.

:rotfl:

I'm not mad, but I giggled when I read this, how you keep saying old.

I suppose 44 seems old to someone who is 26, but we love to hang at the pool with a cocktail in the middle of the day when it's less crowded, nothing to do with being tired or needing a break.

It's funny 40's seemed old in my 20's, now it feels young. 50's seemed old in my 30's, now it seems middle-age. My parents are almost 80 and finally relented to say they "might" be getting older. :)
 
OK so i have been able to stay onsite and mostly deluxe all but 2 times in the 30 years i have been going and we have owned DVC for the past 15. And my wife as child always stayed at the Poly starting back when there were only 2 resorts at WDW.
What a person thinks is better is just not affordable for most.. as the original post states as children we were taken.... Now...
Guess what now may be without kids living in you parents house or in a very affordable 1 bedroom apartment... Most people who go to Disney have Kids and all the expenses that go along with Kids, Housing and much higher bills... for a lot people being able to take their family to Disney period is a strain. As parents get older their income usually improves and they are able to more or go on that dream vacation or maybe take their kids on two vacations or maybe pay for all of most of college for their children.. To say this way of vacating is better is saying that a lot of people have-- 450 a night for a hotel, 80 a day X 4 for park tickets 320, signature meal on the cheap for 4 300, other meal (table service only) 180, and breakfast Cook on vacation no way.. 80 so we are up 1330 a day without plane tickets, snacks and buying things your kids want.... lets call the trip 10K... and lets just say if your lucky 5% of the families in the USA can afford this trip and for a lot of them it is a stretch... I would arguable say closer to 2-3%.... While I am happy to see you enjoyed your trip.... to say this is the way all people should vacation... is just wrong.... I hope that you have thanked your parents for taking you to Disney as children and on your net trip you treat them to the better way of vacation as a thank you. I see no reason to compare and imply how one vacation is better than another, a simple I enjoyed being able to stay this way on my last trip would have been a much more enjoyable post for everyone on these boards.
 

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