[KiKi]

Opinions please ...

I think we've scratched our plans for Cocoa beach. I just don't have a good feeling about it. We've discovered that we can use our airmiles to purchase our park tickets, so .... , it looks like WDW might be in the cards for us this year.

Now we're trying to pick a hotel, on a budget. We could stay at POP or Vistana Resort for approximately the same price. I've never stayed at either but have stayed at ASM, so I have a feeling for what the values are all about. Vistana looks very nice and I seem to remember reading good things about it on here.

Which would you choose?

[jk8]

I would choose on-site over off any time. That is more important to me than the room or ammeneties somewhere else. We do spend most of our time in the parks and we love the WDW transportation.

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by jk8

I would choose on-site over off any time. That is more important to me than the room or ammeneties somewhere else. We do spend most of our time in the parks and we love the WDW transportation.

I agree, I would take a smaller room to be on site.

[Daisee]

If at all possible I would always choose to stay onsite. There are just so many perks to staying on property.

[jimbo]

stay on site every time if you can.
what do you want from your vacation?

We love:-
magic hours
transport.
dinning plan.
getting things delivered back to the resort.

stay on site.

[DisneyTeacher]

Don't forget you don't have to rent a car or hire a car service--Magical Express if free and seems to be working very well. We've used it three times and it's never taken more than 75 minutes to get to our resort (from when we stepped off the plane).

[KiKi]

Originally Posted by jimbo

stay on site every time if you can.
what do you want from your vacation?

We love:-
magic hours
transport.
dinning plan.
getting things delivered back to the resort.

stay on site.

I love staying on site also, but I also like staying at a nice hotel. This year we have to do it on the budget side, we'll be on the 7 night cruise before the parks (the parks are a last minute add-on that weren't even supposed to happen -- but how can I possibly be so close and not go? ).

Magic hours - This is probably one of my biggest reasons for staying on-site. However, I always have good intentions of getting to the park for EMH but I don't think we've ever actually made it, and the parks are open late enough for our kids (6 & 9).

Transport - We always rent a car, I don't like waiting for the busses.

Dinning plan - My big disappointment this year, because we are not buying our tickets through Disney we cannot do the dining plan. After having enjoyed it so much last year, I will really miss it this time around.

Having things delivered back to resort - Always nice.

Our kids love swimming and I like staying somewhere with a nice pool. I would choose POR, but it's $400 more than POP for just 4 nights. Vistana is only slightly higher than POP.

Decisions, decisions ...

[jenbarnwell]

I definitely would rather stay on site than off. And I like the POP too. It is a very nice resort.

[DereksMom713]

I have stayed at Sheraton Vistana and have never stayed on-site before. And even though I couldn't begin to say one bad word about Vistana, I'd stay at the Pop Century if I had the option.

However, if you have specific reasons why you need to stay off-site, I highly recommend the Sheraton Vistana as it is an excellent hotel located a convenient distance from Disney property.

[KiKi]

Looks like it's a unanimous vote!

There is definately alot to be said for the "magic" of staying on-site. We've stayed off-site once and I just remembered one of the things I didn't like about it -- you have to go back into the real world every night when you leave Disney property. Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me when you stay on-site that magic feeling follows you everywhere.

Maybe a different way to pose the question would have been to ask if there are any off-site hotels that you would choose over POP? Vistana just happens to be one that I have heard of, but there are soooooo many hotels to chose from.

[nitaworm]

I guess I am against the grain. Well you could stay @ Bonnet Creek, or Orange Lake, but Vistana is really a good resort. I've stayed there and at the others, as well as onsite and they are all good. Vistana has large rooms, room service, and you can order your groceries via their website before you arrive and they will be in your room. Also, having a kitchen will save you money. I loved being on Disney @ Ft. Wilderness and POP (was just ok in my opinion), but I love my space and the convenience of having resort activities walking distance away. I just don't like being cramped in a room, heating up everything in a microwave for 4 kids and my DH and I, just to say we are onsite at Disney. I am a Disney fanatic, but I like my creature comforts too....

[emamasa]

if the prices were the same (or super close) - i'd choose pop. we enjoyed it last year.

we are doing a timeshare next trip, mainly because after doing the math, it is WAY cheaper for us. and now our friends get to come with us, and will stay with us in the condo - so it just works out great! if they weren't going, and price was similiar, we'd do pop again with no hesitation.

[dznygrl]

I have stayed at (and really like) the Tropical Palms Fun Resort off-site in Kissimmee...they have nice little villas for very affordable prices.

HOWEVER, I would choose on-site any time. It adds so much more to the experience IMO, and I think being able to use Disney transportation is invaluable.

Good luck choosing!

[MissDisney]

KiKi,
We have stayed at Vistana many times. It is really lovely, and the villas are really spacious. You get a lot of excellent pools, pizza service, a grocery store, Haagen Dazs, and it's only a few minutes form the park entrance. We really love to spread out at night, so it has worked for us many times!

But --

You do not get the cool on-site perks, like bus service, theming, Mickey-shaped everything, etc. Also, no EMHs or towel critters, etc. There is a special feeling you get from being in a WDW resort.

You have to decide whether the extra space is important, or the extra perks.

[jk8]

How long will you be staying after the cruise? If it is a short time then it ups my vote for POP. You will have already had lots of relaxing and luxuries on the cruise. If you want to add on to your trip to do WDW then I say go for it.

If you have another whole week after the trip I could see where you might want to stay at Vistana or wherever to get your resort time in.