onsite v offsite - a couple of questions.

[Sinead]

Hoping to return in August 2018 but not sure what's going to be affordable just yet.
Last year was our honeymoon trip of a lifetime and we stayed onsite at The Boardwalk Inn for a week, then 4 nights Disney Dream concierge and then 3 nights at Bay Lake Tower. we all had a wonderful time but the kids (and us!) are itching to get back.
I had thought about waiting for free dining and going onsite in a moderate resort (or OKW/SSR if the price was right). But villa prices seem cheaper than onsite even when factoring in theme park tickets.

However, Do you find you spend more in a villa? we really enjoyed using our dining plan for character dining that would have cost a lot of money otherwise.
What about fast passes? we got ours 60 days in advance so got everything we wanted whereas friends of ours who stayed offsite at a similar time couldn't get the frozen ride.

I know it's all about personal opinions and things like having your own space vs being in the centre of the magic all the time are often spoken about. But our main worries are spending money for food and fast passes. Anyone who has done both have a comparison on these things? or anyone who has stayed in a villa can sway me towards thinking the savings are worth it?

[Guest]

we have done both, first trip was off-site, it was nice enough, then we stayed on-site and that was that, on-site all the time

last year ( oct ) we did both, 1 week at Kidani Village AKV ( using out DVC points ) then onto the Marriotts Cypress harbour ( a Marriott vacation resort )

we were unsure of the off-site bit, but 4 or 5 years ago, i purchased 1 week of Marriott vactaion club, but we had never used it, why would we, we love staying on-site and love the free dining ( we also own DVC ) but of course, we needed to use our DVC and thought we would try the Marriott ( with the idea if we didnt like it, then it wasnt a bad time to sell )

On-site once again was great, but the Marriott units were " WOW " the floor space was bigger than our home, 1 master bedroom was huge, the 2nd bedroom was big enough for 2 doubles and was great, then the lounge / kitchen was MASSIVE, but then again, how much time do you spend in your room ? ? ? we just sleep in it, the resort was very nice, on-par with disney in every way

I must admit it was nice to not have dining, we decided on 7 of our favs ( on-site ) meals, 3 of which were breakfasts , nad of course these were pricey, but the rest of the time we tried other places, Sweet tomatos, CiCi's, millar ale house, Olive garden, a Veggie Indian place, iHop, that was also very nice, infact we returned to Sweet tom's and CiCi's

when we left, we said staying on-site was very nice, but we would be more than happy to stay in the Marriott again, infact, next time, the plan is for a few days in NY, 6 days in our DVC, then 2 weeks in the Marriott ( in the summers hols )

If you are going to still eat the Character Buffets ( and why wouldnt you, they are great ) then staying off-site will not work out much cheaper, as you will be paying for the food, if you are happy to pick a few on-site places and mix them with off-site then of course it will be cheaper

[Danielle24]

What about a split stay? Do 5 nights at Disney and the rest in a condo or villa? I love my children but 7 nights would be the maximum that I could be stuck in one room for. You would still get free dining for the 5 nights and fastpasses at 60 days then space for the remainder of the holiday.

[Sinead]

Originally Posted by Danielle24

What about a split stay? Do 5 nights at Disney and the rest in a condo or villa? I love my children but 7 nights would be the maximum that I could be stuck in one room for. You would still get free dining for the 5 nights and fastpasses at 60 days then space for the remainder of the holiday.

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That's a really good idea , so all the things we REALLY wanted to do , could be done in those first 5 days. As we get closer I will probably price up the difference between 2 weeks onsite, 2 weeks offsite and 5 nights on and 9 nights off lol . (confusing!)

[Sinead]

Originally Posted by matt987106

we have done both, first trip was off-site, it was nice enough, then we stayed on-site and that was that, on-site all the time

last year ( oct ) we did both, 1 week at Kidani Village AKV ( using out DVC points ) then onto the Marriotts Cypress harbour ( a Marriott vacation resort )

we were unsure of the off-site bit, but 4 or 5 years ago, i purchased 1 week of Marriott vactaion club, but we had never used it, why would we, we love staying on-site and love the free dining ( we also own DVC ) but of course, we needed to use our DVC and thought we would try the Marriott ( with the idea if we didnt like it, then it wasnt a bad time to sell )

On-site once again was great, but the Marriott units were " WOW " the floor space was bigger than our home, 1 master bedroom was huge, the 2nd bedroom was big enough for 2 doubles and was great, then the lounge / kitchen was MASSIVE, but then again, how much time do you spend in your room ? ? ? we just sleep in it, the resort was very nice, on-par with disney in every way

I must admit it was nice to not have dining, we decided on 7 of our favs ( on-site ) meals, 3 of which were breakfasts , nad of course these were pricey, but the rest of the time we tried other places, Sweet tomatos, CiCi's, millar ale house, Olive garden, a Veggie Indian place, iHop, that was also very nice, infact we returned to Sweet tom's and CiCi's

when we left, we said staying on-site was very nice, but we would be more than happy to stay in the Marriott again, infact, next time, the plan is for a few days in NY, 6 days in our DVC, then 2 weeks in the Marriott ( in the summers hols )

If you are going to still eat the Character Buffets ( and why wouldnt you, they are great ) then staying off-site will not work out much cheaper, as you will be paying for the food, if you are happy to pick a few on-site places and mix them with off-site then of course it will be cheaper

See more...

It would be good to try some offsite restaurants and venture out of disney , we only went out of the bubble once and that was to walmart.

[Danielle24]

Originally Posted by Sinead

That's a really good idea , so all the things we REALLY wanted to do , could be done in those first 5 days. As we get closer I will probably price up the difference between 2 weeks onsite, 2 weeks offsite and 5 nights on and 9 nights off lol . (confusing!)

See more...

There are lots of cheap places to eat offsite. I don't think it works out a lot cheaper but certainly no more expensive. We averaged $190 a day for 5 of us mix of park and offsite eating. That included a good bit of alcohol some days too.