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.
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.