Are Disney onsite hotels worth the extra money?

[Lajel]

We are looking at going to Port Orleans for 2 weeks next April. I just had a quick look at some hotels in InternationalDrive area and they are so much cheaper! We would get the free dining if went on the dates planned. We have 3 children aged 4-10. Does staying onsite make it a more magical experience? We have never been before and probably won’t go again for a while. All this planning is very overwhelming!

[loves2plan]

Staying onsite certainly makes things a lot easier, especially with children. Free dining is great too as your food, snacks and drinks are covered and you can say yes to those $6 ice creams without worrying about the cost all of the time.

We've always stayed onsite and just use the Disney buses so don't hire a car. If staying offsite, you really want to look at hiring a car so you can get to and from the parks really easily. Some hotels do shuttle buses, but they are limited times, drop off and pick up locations. Whereas the Disney buses run all day straight from your resort to the park.

So, when comparing costs with offsite you need to factor in:
Offsite hotel cost
Food, drinks and snacks for 5 people for 2 week
Car hire
Petrol
Parking at the Disney parks each day (I believe this has recently gone up to $27 per day)
Then there's the intangible cost of ease and convenience.

When we've priced it up, there isn't usually much in it - you're just paying more upfront rather than saving money to spend when you're there on food, travel, parking etc.

One thing to note about April though is that there are free dining black out dates, so you need to check in by 29th March 2020 or from 19th April 2020 onward. If you check-in 30th March - 18th April, then you won't qualify for free dining.

With 5 of you, you're looking at either Caribbean Beach Resort or Port Orleans Riverside. CBR is usually cheaper. Both are lovely resorts (we've stayed at both). I think the poool at CBR is better with younger children though as it's zero entry. There are also lovely little beach areas throughout the resort. There is a glitch with booking CBR for 5 at the moment, but Disney are working on sorting it out.

[MrsBC]

Check how much you would spend on food and drink for all of you for 2 weeks, and factor in travelling time to and from the parks - and the cost of car hire or shuttles, uber etc. Staying onsite does make it much easier to spend 'down' time during the day if you get tired etc or want to split days up. You are also able to make FP over a month before offsite guests. There are pros and cons but we prefer onsite.

[jim jehosofat]

If you get free dining, just plan on going to the Disney theme parks and use Disney transportation instead of hiring a car, then it makes sense. Also don't forget that there's also the Magical Express to and from Orlando airport that is also included in the price of the hotel stay, saving you paying out for a taxi/uber/coach transfer.

[3disneykids]

I have done both onsite and offsite (used lynx buses) without a car.
I enjoyed both.
The offsite stay was worse as we spent longer travelling and mad packed lunches to keep costs down.
Saying yes to pretty much everything was the best thing about onsite and free dining,
It definitely works out good value if you have 5 in 1 room.
Hopefully we will have our third trip in 2020 and the free dining means an onsite stay for us

[AhoyShipmates]

I loved staying onsite last year. We got a reasonably priced package with Virgin and had two weeks at CBR with a car, but no free dining. I would have hated to have been without a car for trips away from the theme parks and eating offsite, but we used the Disney buses for the parks and Disney Springs and with a young child we got great value from the Extra Magic Hours each morning, as well as being able to book FastPasses from 60 days before our visit. Not sure how we’ll get on with staying offsite because of this... next time I’m hoping to have five days onsite to take advantage of waking early when we first get there then move to self-catering accommodation.

[Potterer]

We have only ever stayed onsite but the convenience of jumping on a bus to get back to the hotel when you are tired, having a little afternoon sleep for both adults and children and then jumping back on the bus to go back to the park in the evening is worth it to us. Also no navigating your way back to your hotel in the dark on the roads.

Free dining means the snacks and meals just require the tap of your magic band and a pin.

Magic Kingdom car park is huge (understatement,) parking up, getting a golf buggy train across the giant car park to get you to the TTC then onto another mode of transport, boat or monorail to get to the entrance of Magic Kingdom compared with get a bus from your hotel and get dropped right at the entrance.

Being inside the Disney bubble and staying in a Disney themed hotel is magical.

[act1980]

You’re paying for convenience and I would say that it’s absolutely worth the money. We love being in the Disney bubble, it makes for a completely different holiday.

[jadepansy459]

Another Disney bubble fan here! Having done it, it’s very hard to consider doing anything else. It is truly magical, the cast members are superb and the hotels are right in the middle of it all. We never hire a car and let disney take care of us. Nothing like the Disney bubble!

If you stay offsite it is a totally different ball game but a lot of people much prefer this experience. For example, if you are swaying more towards the Universal parks etc.

Hope you have an amazing trip!

[returnplanning]

It's not essential, but it is magical. If you are only doing Disney it is probably even better.

You could however consider a split stay - 7 days at Disney with the dining plan, and then 7 nights offsite - you would be back to 30 day booking of FP and no more "tap to pay" with your magic band, but the money you save could go towards another experience.