Convince me we'll enjoy offsite

[Griff_389]

I think we like staying off-site, usually around I-drive, as we do other parks and attractions just as much as we do Disney.
If we stayed at Disney we'd have to travel pretty much the same to get to other places.
We also enjoy just stepping out of the hotel and strolling up I-drive deciding where to eat, or where to stop off and try.

There's only the two of us, and as we go in September the park hours tend to be shorter, so leaving early isn't really necessary for us though.

Other than the value resorts, the Disney hotels have always seemed a fair bit dearer too.

I think it's personal choice, but if you're doing other things as much as you are Disney, then off-site may be an option.

We've certainly never had a problem off-site.

[waiting4disney]

We love off site. We always book a villa but DH is happy driving luckily.
We love the space and peace and quiet.
You do miss out on For at 60 days but all except the new openings we usually get what we want.
I'm the opposite and a little wary of on site - the noise from other guests, not so easy to eat off site etc.
Feel like us onsite/offsite Dibbers need to do a holiday swap. Experience the other side of things 😀

[NewtoOrlando]

We always do a spilt stay. Minimum time in Disney to qualify for free dining, so 5 nights plus tickets and dining, then move on to a villa or condo. Last year we stayed at POFQ and then moved to a villa for the 1st time - and now we wont go back to staying anywhere else - my kids will be 13 and 11 this year - so 12 & 10 last year, they loved the space of their own pool, good wifi, a fridge full of drinks and snacks and the ability to have a bedroom of their own. I'm always sad to leave Disney, but after an hour in the villa, I forget all about it! My kids generally don't talk to other kids around the pools, mainly because we never seen to see the same person twice lol, so it doesn't bother them not to be around other kids. In 2016 we stayed at Bahama Bay for 12 nights and it has communal pools so you could try that if you're worried about them not being sociable. My 2 are happy with eachothers company most of the time.


Food options are vast offsite and in my opinion much better quality and value for money than onsite. We often go into the parks when offsite but probable spend no more than about $30 on drinks and snacks (I take cereal bars/crisps/water in with us) then we get something to eat on the way home. It also enables us to visit universal, seaworld, busch gardens etc.


This year we're doing 3 nights Disney, 1 night St Petes and 8 nights in a villa. I cant wait! At the end of the day, you don't know until you try. I thought I would hate New York when we went as it wasn't somewhere I would usually go, but I loved it and so glad we went!

[Moorlandman]

The biggest difference will be the amount of driving somebody will have to do. We generally stay off site at nearby villas ( like Sunset lakes) but the driving can still get tedious

[jothp]

Originally Posted by duchy

Well you probably felt staying on site the first time you booked was a lot of money and a risk you wouldn't like it too!
Why not hedge your bets and have a week onsite and the second week in a hotel or condo ?

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Thanks, I am thinking about a split stay, but we usually do some time at a Universal hotel too for FOLP. Last year we did end up staying in three different places and I never really felt settled anywhere and said that I didn't want to stay in more than two places again. I am thinking about having the villa for our whole stay and then just taking small amounts of luggage with us for our Disney/Universal stays.

Originally Posted by ChoppyGirl

We have done both and enjoy both but are very different holidays. We tend to find that the villa holidays are a bit more relaxed. Nothing better than lying on a lounger by your own pool (no fight for a lounger) with a glass of something cold in your hand. Nobody’s annoying kids spoiling the moment either. Plus you get the choice to eat out at some amazing off site places and can get your alcohol from th supermarkets cutting costs. When we did the dining plan, the tip was as much as we could have paid for the food off site !

But we also enjoyed our onsite trips being completely immersed in WDW. I am sure you will enjoy offsite.

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I do like the idea of trying a few offsite restaurants. We tend to be on the go all the time so I'm not so sure that the more relaxed bit will suit us but we won't know until we try!

Originally Posted by loldis

I am not a villa fan. I'd consider an offsite hotel if I was doing more than just Disney, but much prefer onsite for the convenience.

Since you already stay at DVC properties, there is the third option of renting points. So you're still onsite, but at considerably cheaper rates than booking through WDTC which will offset not having the dining plan included.

To use Kidani as an example, current WDTC rates for a 1 bed at the end of August this year are £635/night. Renting points through David's on the same dates is £375/night. That leaves you £260 per day for food. If you like the pre-pay aspect, you can purchase any dining plan as part of your DVC rental - $75 (£60) per adult for full DDP. Although work out your costs on this, I would never break even on this as I rarely want the expensive items.

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Thanks I did look into renting points before our last visit but it didn't make financial sense for us when we could get the dining plan free but it is definitely something I hadn't thought about. Do you have experience with using Davids. Do they tend to be able to rent enough points for a fairly long stay?

We will be 5 'adults' on our next trip so the rental plus the cost of dining would be about the same as the cost of the cash booking with free dining. I did work out how much I thought we would pay on food etc to see if it would be worth paying for dining if free dining wasn't offered and looking at where we've eaten before/what snacks we tend to have etc it was about break even so I expect we would pay for it for the convenience of knowing it is pre paid.

Originally Posted by Griff_389

I think we like staying off-site, usually around I-drive, as we do other parks and attractions just as much as we do Disney.
If we stayed at Disney we'd have to travel pretty much the same to get to other places.
We also enjoy just stepping out of the hotel and strolling up I-drive deciding where to eat, or where to stop off and try.

There's only the two of us, and as we go in September the park hours tend to be shorter, so leaving early isn't really necessary for us though.

Other than the value resorts, the Disney hotels have always seemed a fair bit dearer too.

I think it's personal choice, but if you're doing other things as much as you are Disney, then off-site may be an option.

We've certainly never had a problem off-site.

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Thanks for your thoughts. We do like leaving for the afternoon and going back to the parks for the evenings so that is a consideration. Having said that we do also like going to other places and it does seem a bit of a waste paying the higher prices for Disney and then going off to Busch/Kennedy.

Originally Posted by waiting4disney

We love off site. We always book a villa but DH is happy driving luckily.
We love the space and peace and quiet.
You do miss out on For at 60 days but all except the new openings we usually get what we want.
I'm the opposite and a little wary of on site - the noise from other guests, not so easy to eat off site etc.
Feel like us onsite/offsite Dibbers need to do a holiday swap. Experience the other side of things 😀

See more...

We do usually have a car at least for part of the holiday. DH is happy to drive but I wouldn't want to so it does worry me that if we were offsite and DH was not feeling well or wanted a drink with dinner then we'd have to pay for taxis whereas onsite we just use the buses.

We've never had a problem with noise onsite but do fancy trying a few offsite restaurants. I think a holiday swap sounds like a great idea.

[toots82]

We've found we like split stays best. 1 week onsite then the rest in a villa. We love the 1 beds in SSR and OKW too but am nervous about availability for 2020 as you are too. I've decided to book 2 rooms in a mod (there are only 4 of us but the one thing my DH prioritises is space) if no 1 beds available then keep looking and hopefully change over. If not we will upgrade the dining (assuming the dining offers come out and remain the same). The COR rooms are stunning, thats our front runner at the mo. We will call and ask Disney to link the bookings for rooms with an adjoining door but we would cope if that couldn't be offered (I've don a ton of research and seems unlikely if we request as our main priority). Maybe something you would consider if dining comes out and you really do want to stick with onsite for at least part of your trip and maybe move offsite to give that a go?

[JessBlu]

We have a big breakfast in the villa take snacks to the parks then swop at 15:00 ish hitting an off site restaurant during the swop.
Works for us.
We take packed lunches into water parks then head into a park for the evening then take away on the way home.

[Shooby doo]

Prior to 2008 we had never stayed onsite, stayed at CBR & pretty much thought that it was just meh! Not totally enamoured with FD either, we found for 3 weeks it just became a holiday about logistics. We ended up buying into DVC but our family dynamic was changing & we no longer needed any extra space so a room for 2 was more than enough. Kids suites, suites etc all had one thing in common - Space. If we weren't staying onsite we would stay at Staybridge suites every time- free breakfast, full kitchen if needed, washer dryer...…
I know that you have the "fear" about Food costs but bear in mind, apart from Park time, you can eat off-site for a fraction of the costs & in most cases better food. Even with our DVC we very seldom eat onsite.
We were never ones for leaving the parks & going back, if we leave we stay "left"
SD

[loldis]

Originally Posted by jothp

Thanks I did look into renting points before our last visit but it didn't make financial sense for us when we could get the dining plan free but it is definitely something I hadn't thought about. Do you have experience with using Davids. Do they tend to be able to rent enough points for a fairly long stay?

We will be 5 'adults' on our next trip so the rental plus the cost of dining would be about the same as the cost of the cash booking with free dining. I did work out how much I thought we would pay on food etc to see if it would be worth paying for dining if free dining wasn't offered and looking at where we've eaten before/what snacks we tend to have etc it was about break even so I expect we would pay for it for the convenience of knowing it is pre paid.

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OKW/SSR always used to be better on free dining because of the double discount on those two but the higher tier you go, the cheaper it usually is to rent. I also like that you can purchase QSDP instead of being forced up to DDP at a minimum.

I haven't used Davids myself as I haven't had the need to yet, but it's a reputable company so would use it. Alternatively there is the DVC points section here so you can rent directly from Dibbers.

You could piece together a few bookings to make up a longer stay if necessary, or even if you fancied a bit of resort hopping. Since you're not tied into buying tickets to qualify, you don't have to do a single block to make it financially worthwhile like free dining.

[jothp]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

We always do a spilt stay. Minimum time in Disney to qualify for free dining, so 5 nights plus tickets and dining, then move on to a villa or condo. Last year we stayed at POFQ and then moved to a villa for the 1st time - and now we wont go back to staying anywhere else - my kids will be 13 and 11 this year - so 12 & 10 last year, they loved the space of their own pool, good wifi, a fridge full of drinks and snacks and the ability to have a bedroom of their own. I'm always sad to leave Disney, but after an hour in the villa, I forget all about it! My kids generally don't talk to other kids around the pools, mainly because we never seen to see the same person twice lol, so it doesn't bother them not to be around other kids. In 2016 we stayed at Bahama Bay for 12 nights and it has communal pools so you could try that if you're worried about them not being sociable. My 2 are happy with eachothers company most of the time.


Food options are vast offsite and in my opinion much better quality and value for money than onsite. We often go into the parks when offsite but probable spend no more than about $30 on drinks and snacks (I take cereal bars/crisps/water in with us) then we get something to eat on the way home. It also enables us to visit universal, seaworld, busch gardens etc.


This year we're doing 3 nights Disney, 1 night St Petes and 8 nights in a villa. I cant wait! At the end of the day, you don't know until you try. I thought I would hate New York when we went as it wasn't somewhere I would usually go, but I loved it and so glad we went!

See more...

I think we will probably end up with a short stay at Disney followed by offsite. I'll have a look at Bahama Bay thanks. Once we've done it I guess we'll know if we enjoy it or not - we may even find we like it better.

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

The biggest difference will be the amount of driving somebody will have to do. We generally stay off site at nearby villas ( like Sunset lakes) but the driving can still get tedious

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Yes, the driving is a bit of a concern as DH will be the only one driving.

Originally Posted by toots82

We've found we like split stays best. 1 week onsite then the rest in a villa. We love the 1 beds in SSR and OKW too but am nervous about availability for 2020 as you are too. I've decided to book 2 rooms in a mod (there are only 4 of us but the one thing my DH prioritises is space) if no 1 beds available then keep looking and hopefully change over. If not we will upgrade the dining (assuming the dining offers come out and remain the same). The COR rooms are stunning, thats our front runner at the mo. We will call and ask Disney to link the bookings for rooms with an adjoining door but we would cope if that couldn't be offered (I've don a ton of research and seems unlikely if we request as our main priority). Maybe something you would consider if dining comes out and you really do want to stick with onsite for at least part of your trip and maybe move offsite to give that a go?

See more...

Yes we are also considering two rooms as an option. Interconnecting would be ideal but close together would be good enough. Even two moderate rooms is looking to be more expensive than OKW though as we'd want to upgrade the dining. I just want to get planning and at the momet nobody really knows what is/isn't going to be available which is just a bit frustrating.

Originally Posted by JessBlu

We have a big breakfast in the villa take snacks to the parks then swop at 15:00 ish hitting an off site restaurant during the swop.
Works for us.
We take packed lunches into water parks then head into a park for the evening then take away on the way home.

See more...

Yes that would work well for me too and would even have been fine when the girls were younger but now they are teenagers they seem to do nothing but eat! I am very impressed that you make packed lunches - that is one of my real pet hate jobs so I try to avoid doing it on holiday wherever possible.

Originally Posted by Shooby doo

Prior to 2008 we had never stayed onsite, stayed at CBR & pretty much thought that it was just meh! Not totally enamoured with FD either, we found for 3 weeks it just became a holiday about logistics. We ended up buying into DVC but our family dynamic was changing & we no longer needed any extra space so a room for 2 was more than enough. Kids suites, suites etc all had one thing in common - Space. If we weren't staying onsite we would stay at Staybridge suites every time- free breakfast, full kitchen if needed, washer dryer...…
I know that you have the "fear" about Food costs but bear in mind, apart from Park time, you can eat off-site for a fraction of the costs & in most cases better food. Even with our DVC we very seldom eat onsite.
We were never ones for leaving the parks & going back, if we leave we stay "left"
SD

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We quite like to leave and go back but if we're offsite we'll just have to plan our days differently.

It's not so much the cost of food in total that bothers me as I've no doubt that the meals offsite are much better value. It's more that I will actually have to look at how much the starbucks drinks, ice creams, quick service meals etc that we have in the parks cost and will be horrified and begrudge paying for them. We enjoy the dining plan because it is all just covered before you go. We like to have a nice sit down meal to look forward to. Wherever we go on holiday I always like to have an idea of what we'll be doing each day otherwise we end up spending half the day deciding and wasting time.

Originally Posted by loldis

OKW/SSR always used to be better on free dining because of the double discount on those two but the higher tier you go, the cheaper it usually is to rent. I also like that you can purchase QSDP instead of being forced up to DDP at a minimum.

I haven't used Davids myself as I haven't had the need to yet, but it's a reputable company so would use it. Alternatively there is the DVC points section here so you can rent directly from Dibbers.

You could piece together a few bookings to make up a longer stay if necessary, or even if you fancied a bit of resort hopping. Since you're not tied into buying tickets to qualify, you don't have to do a single block to make it financially worthwhile like free dining.

See more...

Thanks for that. When I checked last year it was just about cheaper to have the free dining on our AKV booking but there wasn't a lot in it! Renting certainly does have the advantage of not having to buy the tickets with it but I would rather stay in just the one place. Resort hopping has never really appealed to me. Disney and Universal was fine but last time when we stayed in three hotels I found that too much.