[hburnett]

Does anyone have any feedback about staying offsite? We are renting a local "villa" and it seems like a great idea as far as space and the budget, but will we regret not staying at the resorts?

We have had a great time at The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian and The Contemporary in the past.

[bali]

From my (albeit, limited) experience, there are pros and cons to staying both on and offsite. Like you said, space and budget concerns can definitely point to an offsite condo or villa, simply because offsite dining is so much cheaper, and the villa will probably have a kitchen. If you have a large family, a villa with room to spread out and rest might also be your best bet. The benefits of staying onsite are the extra magic hours (early entry), disney transportation, and that nebulous "24-hour disney magic."

I'm sure you'll have a great time in the villa, and since you've already stayed at the WDW resort "big boys," it'll probably be fun to have a change of scenery! Plus, this way it's that much easier to check out the rest that Orlando has to offer (Discovery Cove, anyone??) :whistle:

Have fun!! :D

[mickaholic4077]

I have also stayed off and on-site,and there are pros and cons to both. I love staying on-site,but i seldom take advantage of early entry.

[phayes93]

We have stayed on-site, off-site and at WDW Hotel Plaza (across from Downtown Disney). As far as we're concerned, on-site is by far the best. At which villas are you staying? Some are quite nice and as long as you have your own car, getting to and from the parks shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure if you will have to pay for parking each time. If you stay at an on-site resort, parking at all parks is free for the duration of your stay. The Disney Plaza hotels are nice (we have stayed at the Grosvner and the Lake Buena Vista Resort), but you still don't quite get that full taste of Disney Magic that you get on site.
In any case, have fun. You'll enjoy it, no matter where you stay.
:)

[WDWNutCase]

I vowed NEVER to do it again, (as you'll see below in my signature). I suppose it all depends on how far away your villa is. First of all, the traffic in Orlando was insane and what should have been a 15 - 20 minute drive in the morning ended up being an hour, (at least).

Also give this story a thought - My husband, niece, sister in law and myself had made PS arrangements for the Crystal Palace at 5:00. That morning we went to Animal Kingdom and the first thing we did was head straight to Kali River Rapids. We were SOAKED, (yes we knew we were going to get wet), and still had not dried out completely by the time our PS rolled around. My hair was a mess, my husband's jean shorts were still soggy and my sis in law had developed an unpleasant odor. :dazed

It was very very inconvenient not to be able to hop on a monorail or bus back to our resort to get changed and freshened up for dinner. Actually I found it to be inconvenient all around not being able to go back to the resort on whim in case something was forgotten or in case we were feeling a little tired - especially having a six year old with us.

[WVWISEGUY]

My DW and I just returned from our trip a week ago. During the trip, we spent 3 nights off site and 6 nights at the Poly. We were never so relieved as when we checke din at the Poly. That is when we felt like the magic began. Also, it is son convenient to be able to go back in forth to room when needed. We even split and one would take one DS back to resort, while other would take other son to parks.

The only way we would stay off site is if we were doing things not at WDW.

[DisneyAnne]

hburnett...

I have never stayed onsite and I am sure the folks here get tired of me defending, but I have never felt I was missing out on anything by being off site. Each Disney trip is only as magical as you make it. I am always just happy that I have another opportunity to spend time at WDW.

In May, we stayed at the Clarion Maingate. My mother was with us on this trip. She tired very easily and asked to be dropped off at some point each day at the hotel for a break. It was never a problem getting to that area and back again.

I don't know what traffic others encounter, but we have never been tied up in any kind of jam other than the one in DTD parking lots. :laugh

Good luck on your planning. I am sure your trip will be great no matter where you stay! :)

[dismum]

I'm with Disneyanne here.I have never stayed onsite and have not felt to have missed out on anything the "magic" is in your hands and as I have read time and time again where does it matter where you lay your head.All I know is that I would rather lay mine in a spacious and well equipped home -some of which have themed rooms just like the hotels than in a second rate hotel room .Your vacation is what you make it the magic can be found wherever you want to look for it the $7 you pay for parking still allows you to hop from park to park and you can still be in the parks by opening time -whats wrong with missing an hour of early entry?You may need to be a little organised if you stay off site but there are lockers to use for spare clothes etc and you could always return to your home with 30mins from the parks as any homeowner will give you a shortcut to the parks.I enjoyed staying in a home so much when my children were small that I actually bought one and now they are 15 &21 they really enjoy the space and privacy a home gives them.
I have been at all different times of year and have never really encountered any trouble with traffic except when they were improving the 192 and then not too much as my home is west of disney on the 27.

However I understand that there are people who would feel that they are missing out if not on site so its each to their own and I am sure we all enjoy our vacations wherever we stay because they are what we make them

[jbtoursejg]

I go each year and we have for 12 or 13 years. About 1/2 the time on site- 1/2 off site. Off site in a home near Splendid China off Route 192 is a short ride. Quicker than many times we waited for the Disney Transportation. I can see the idea of not driving on vacation, but even when we stay on site we often drive to avoid the wait for the busses and the standing on them. And it seems for dinner or hotel hopping you "can't get there from here!"
The plusses for off site is really the kitchen for breakfast while getting dressed, the pool right out the back door, and the price for the amount space- you can really spread out.
Like someone else said- the Disney Magic is what you make of it!!

[LRTJS]

Don't worry about offsite. This Oct. will be my first on site and I am very excited about it but staying offsite has enabled us to go many many times when finances would not have allowed it onsite. Last year we took DS and girlfriend, DD, DGD, DH and myself. We stayed at an older condo off of 192. It was clean and offered what we needed. It took us about 20 min. to get to Disney in Aug. I have stayed in the Kissimmee area 10 times and always had a wonderful time!

[JOANN]

Staying off property is ok, but it seems you get soooooo spoiled when you have had that taste of staying right on Disney property!! We have stayed off property when we first started going to Disney, but had some bad experiences. Especially when we stayed on Hotel Row. The bus system was just awful..:( That is why now, we always stay at the AKL or CSR.
I understand , if you can save a few bucks, sometimes it might just be worth it!! :nervous It's all what you like and of course can afford!! Good luck!!! JOANN:)

[phayes93]

To each his (or her) own...

As for me and mine, we occasionally have to spend a nite offsite here or there, but we've done both and as far as we're concerned, there's no comparison - ON SITE is the way to go for us. But if everybody thought the same way, it'd be a pretty boring world.

Good luck and have fun!

:) :)