Perks of staying on site are dwindling!

[LeedsDisneyGeek]

My family and I have stayed at various Disney properties over the years (AKL, Beach Club, Poly, Wilderness Lodge) the perks of saying on site used to be make us want to stay onsite if that makes sense! but now it’s hard to justify the price and the perks as they now,

- charge for parking
- offer no free dining
- charge for magic bands
- no magical express
- no extra magic hours, (half an hour extra is essentially one or 2 rides tops.

Can anyone convince me that staying on site is beneficial or even a good deal?

[Moorlandman]

Location, location, location!

[Bellasmummy]

I can’t see us staying on site again for a long time unfortunately.

We’ll switch to universal for a while and will still stay onsite in California as the location is perfect.

Disney is likely off he cards for us know until 2023 when we’ll look to stay in a villa for the first time ever with a few days at HRH or RPR.

Maybe if free dining comes back we might look at onsite again in the future.

The only downside to a villa is parking costs at the parks. I think we’ll save more than that against onsite costs.

[sunseeker]

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

Location, location, location!

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Depends where on property you stay I suppose, staying off site with a car can often be more convenient and take less time from door to door. The loss of the 'perks' wouldn't be a reason for me not to stay on property, it's all about the Disney experience and for that you have to pay.

dave

[duchy]

I think the only on-site hotels I’d consider worth the premium now would be BC/YC/BWI for walkable access to ECPCOT and the Studios , even then it’d depend on what the rates looked like compared with Swan and Dolphin with what is now almost equal benefits. (I’ve stayed at all of these before)
Much as I like Port Orleans without perks it becomes very expensive .

[Pinchy]

Why does there have to be perks to staying on site? Staying in Disney is the perk.

If they were giving away the finest blue crystal meth inside it couldn't be any more addictive to most of the people on here. So you'll just pay whatever they're asking and take whatever "perks" they are offering. Otherwise you're out of the game. Might as well just curl up and die.

[duchy]

Originally Posted by Pinchy

Why does there have to be perks to staying on site? Staying in Disney is the perk.

If they were giving away the finest blue crystal meth inside it couldn't be any more addictive to most of the people on here. So you'll just pay whatever they're asking and take whatever "perks" they are offering. Otherwise you're out of the game. Might as well just curl up and die.

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To you maybe but clearly not to others.
No matter how wonderful any holiday is , to each individual it has a value, partially based on affordability but other factors too.
Disney has always being expensive but there was nothing comparable . As the years have gone by other parks and destinations have caught up quite a bit and Disney isn’t as unique as it used to be. People aren’t as addicted as you believe.

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by duchy

To you maybe but clearly not to others.
No matter how wonderful any holiday is , to each individual it has a value, partially based on affordability but other factors too.
Disney has always being expensive but there was nothing comparable . As the years have gone by other parks and destinations have caught up quite a bit and Disney isn’t as unique as it used to be. People aren’t as addicted as you believe.

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I agree. I only ever thought about staying onsite. But now I’m not going to consider it with out free dining. The expense without doesn’t justify the cost. On the first lockdown in March I spent hours researching offsite locations. I’m actually very excited about it although this current lockdown may delay when we can go again.

[AP1991]

Even with Magical Express going I would still stay on site.

Access to any park you like 30 mins early (enough time to get at least 1 ride in - be it Slinky Dog, Flight of Passage etc...) Appreciate its not exactly the same as EMH but its also only 30 minutes less.

Disney still offering free transport to and from on-site hotels to the parks and Springs. Id rather pay $100 on an uber from the airport to an on-site hotel than have to pay for parking each night at an on site hotel, or pay every day to park at the parks instead, plus the cost of actually hiring a car.

I totally get the incentives are becoming less appealing, but for me, the draw of staying on site is definitely still there. Mainly for convenience.

For my family, staying on-site is still the favourable option - But i can totally see why people would be completely put off it from the announcements.

[LeedsDisneyGeek]

I just think they are starting to take the ≈≈≈≈ a bit, they focus more now on DVC. Usually for British tour operators they give that little bit more in order to sell it, and generally brits stay a minimum of 7nts so the cost is already high. In my opinion the prices are getting higher and perks of staying on site are decreasing.