Off-Site vs. On-Site Hotels at Disney World
Whether to stay in an on-site or off-site hotel is a big, important decision when planning your Walt Disney World vacation. This weighs the pros & cons, with an unbiased look at third party accommodations, Universal v. Disney resorts, and other options near the parks around Orlando, Florida. (Updated December 29, 2023.)
We stress the “unbiased” aspect because it seems like there’s a stigma around off-site hotels for many Disney fans. The mental picture of non-Disney hotels is shady dives that are unclean and even unsafe. While there are certainly some sketchy places in Orlando where we’d never consider staying, there are also some exceptional, 5-star hotels. In fact, it’s arguable that the top 5 hotels in Central Florida do not have “Disney” in the name.
To that end, we’ll try to fairly address the benefits and downsides to each option. Walt Disney World resort hotels have a lot of great benefits and are a compelling choice for many guests, but the hundreds of local off-site hotels offer many equally compelling reasons as to why guests should stay off-site. If you already know whether you want to stay on-site or off-site, you should skip this article and go directly to our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews index page to determine which hotel is right for you.
For many people considering where to stay at Walt Disney World, price will be the determining factor, as it can be cheaper to do a Walt Disney World on a tighter budget while staying off-site. However, this isn’t always the case, and there are other factors to consider before booking. Those with small vacation budgets might be surprised to find that, in some circumstances, it’s better to stay on-site, and those with large vacation budgets might be better served by staying off-site.
We’ve stayed at numerous off-site and third party hotels near Walt Disney World, including every single Bonnet Creek, Disney Springs, and Universal Orlando Resorts–among many others. We’ve revised this post several times to reflect how those off-site stays have changed our perspective. In the process, we’ve also added some specific off-site hotel recommendations.
When it comes to this topic, a lot has changed in the last 3 years. The biggest blow to the on-site advantage at Walt Disney World was the retirement the ending Disney’s Magical Express, the airport shuttle service between MCO and Walt Disney World resorts that was an included perk for guests saying on-site. Guests now need to find their own ground transportation from the airport to their hotel–we cover the range of options in our Guide to Airport Transportation for Walt Disney World.
We have used Uber and Lyft on a number of occasions in the last year-plus for getting between Walt Disney World and MCO. These services are our recommendation for anyone who values their time and doesn’t want to break the bank with a private transfer. The other upside is that you can use them to get from MCO to any hotel in Central Florida. For an easy but less efficient option, Mears Connect is the shared shuttle services that is the spiritual successor to Disney’s Magical Express.
The good news is that aside from Disney’s Magical Express, most of the on-site perks are back or will return at some point in 2024 at Walt Disney World…
Benefits of Staying On-Site
Ride Reservation Booking Windows – There has been a lot of outrage about the paid Genie+ line-skipping service, which is Walt Disney World’s paid replacement to free FastPass+. (See our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for everything you need to know.) This is particularly understandable among on-site guests, who no longer have a material advantage when making ride reservations.
Well, that’s about to change–again. In response to guest feedback, advance booking of Lightning Lanes is coming to Walt Disney World in 2024. While the date this will happen is presently unknown, our expectation is that the new system will launch in Spring 2024. Our guess is that the goal is to have this ready for Spring Break, which would mean it debuts no later than early March 2024. So if you’re visiting before then, this is not relevant to you.
Pretty much everything else is also unknown about advance booking of Lightning Lanes, including what advantage will be offered to on-site guests. Previously, it was a 60 day window for on-site and 30 day for off-site. Our expectation is that it’ll be a much shorter timeframe than the old FastPass+ system, but far enough in advance that people with weeklong trips can book Lightning Lanes for the duration of their trips ahead of traveling. If we had to guess, it’d be 14 days vs. 7, or perhaps 30 vs. 14. (It’ll almost certainly be a month or less.)
Regardless of the exact number, this will be a huge advantage for on-site guests. Suffice to say, if you want Slinky Dog Dash, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, and other popular Lightning Lanes…you’ll pretty much need to be staying on-site!
Disney Dining Plan – The Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan (QSDDP) and standard or regular Disney Dining Plan (DDP) are now bookable for 2024 Walt Disney World vacations. For now, the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan (DxDDP) and Disney Dining Plan Plus (DDP+) remain unavailable. See our Ultimate Guide to the 2024 Disney Dining Plan for everything you need to know about the DDP, including whether it’s likely to be worth the money for you.
Although it’s very much a love-it-or-hate-it thing, the Disney Dining Plan is neither inherently good nor bad. It can be a great tool or a terrible waste of money depending upon how it’s used. For some people, the Disney Dining Plan is great. For others, it’s awful. Like so many things at Walt Disney World and in life, it’s not one-size-fits-all.
Regardless, the 2024 Disney Dining Plan is only available if you stay on-site and a lot of guests absolutely love it. Although we’re hardly DDP diehards, we’re glad to see the Disney Dining Plan returning. Our major hope is that this leads to even more normalcy on the food front, as it’s one of the few areas at Walt Disney World that is still far from firing on all cylinders as compared to pre-closure.
Bottom Dollar All-In Price – Value proposition is discussed below as a strength of off-site hotels, and it’s fairly undeniable that if you’re looking at larger or luxury accommodations, you will get way more bang for your buck off-site. At the high-end, Walt Disney World resorts are incredibly expensive, costing far more than almost all of their real world counterparts. (Excepting some of the fancy suites at the Four Seasons.)
That’s not necessarily the case at the lower end, though. Although a lot of longtime fans complain about price increases at the Value Resorts, these are fairly commensurate with Central Florida budget hotels that are safe and modern (important caveat there–if you don’t care about quality, there’s no shortage of sketchy hotels in Orlando!). This is something we cover at length in Are Walt Disney World’s Cheapest Hotels Actually Good?
Our answer is yes. After discounts, you can routinely score rooms at the All Stars for under $125 per night. That’s still more expensive than off-site alternatives, but the big difference is that transportation, parking, Early Entry, etc. are all included. Once you start factoring in the cost or value of all those things, it more than bridges the gap. Obviously, individual circumstances will vary, but we’ve crunched the numbers repeatedly, and it’s rare for us to come out ahead staying off-site in budget accommodations. Totally different ballgame at the higher end of the spectrum, though.
Location & Convenience – The biggest benefit of staying at an on-site Walt Disney World resort hotel is convenience. To one degree or another, just about every “pro” radiates out from here. The hotels are generally closer to the parks, which in some cases can mean it’s as simple as walking or taking a monorail or boat from the hotel to the park.
This short and simple commute can enable parties to split up more easily or go back to the hotel for a midday nap without killing a large chunk of the day. This convenience can make the day more efficient and enable your party to accomplish more. This is primarily a benefit if Walt Disney World is the top or sole priority on vacation–as other non-Disney parks continue to add more compelling attractions, this is becoming less important to many guests.
Park Transportation – Once on property at Walt Disney World, guests can use a provided transportation between hotels, theme parks, and other locations on property. All of this transportation is complimentary (or built into the price of their room).
The efficiency of the transportation provided to Walt Disney World resort hotel guests is hotly disputed, but it is a nice perk. Our perspective is that the included transportation is “good enough” and in the rare cases when there’s a problem, we will simply use Uber or Lyft to supplement Disney transportation.
We seldom rent a car at Walt Disney World, as we find it much more convenient to just hop on a bus, monorail, boat, Skyliner gondola, or even walk from our hotel to the parks than have to hassle with navigating the roads, parking, and trams. We have the “pleasure” of dealing with all of that junk (minus the trams) in our daily lives–it’s nice not to deal with it on vacation.
Transportation is a huge advantage that can tip the scales in favor of staying on-site, as it can obviate the need for a rental car, which means not paying for that or parking at a hotel and at the theme parks. It’s worth doing the math before booking your hotel.
Free Resort Parking – One way Walt Disney World once again differentiates its hotels from real world alternatives in Orlando is by not charging for overnight self-parking. This actually returned recently–complimentary resort parking was an on-site perk until several years ago, until Disney followed the trend of other Orlando hotels and started charging for it.
At the time, the introduction of the parking fee was the most controversial change we had ever seen made by Walt Disney World. Not only did our post garner over 300 angry comments, but Walt Disney World got hit hard by negative reviews on crowdsourced travel sites like TripAdvisor and Google. I had never seen fans so mad–although backlash to the subsequent elimination of free FastPass and Disney’s Magical Express did exceed that response.
Free Parking at Theme Parks – In addition to overnight hotel self-parking, Walt Disney World resort hotel guests also receive complimentary standard parking at Walt Disney World theme parks, which is another plus.
In tandem, these two things take some of the sting out of the elimination of Disney’s Magical Express–at least for the guests who opt to rent a car while staying on-site. (That number will only grow, as Universal Orlando continues to expand and turn itself into an equally-compelling theme park destination.)
60+10 Rule – Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) for Walt Disney World table service restaurants are currently available up to 60 days in advance for everyone. However, on-site guests can make ADRs for the duration of their trip (up to 10 days) up to 60 days prior to their resort check-in date.
This makes it easier to book all of your ADRs all at once rather than day-by-day. More importantly, the head start can be hugely advantageous in booking the most difficult-to-score Advance Dining Reservations, such as Chef Mickey’s, Story Book Dining at Artist Point, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Space 220, Topolino’s Terrace (breakfast), California Grill, and Akershus. By the time the 60 day mark rolls around, many of those will already be gone!
See our Guide to Booking Difficult Advance Dining Reservations at Walt Disney World, for how to best leverage this “60+10” ADR window, which is often misunderstood. (Admittedly, it being the “60+10” rule rather than simply the 70-day booking window is confusing, but there’s a reason for the distinction!) This rule can be a huge head-start for popular table service restaurants or larger parties, especially during busier travel dates. If character dining or highly themed restaurants are important to you, this is essential.
Individual Lightning Lane Priority – While there is no priority booking window for Genie+ Lightning Lane selections, the same is not true for the most popular attraction in each park. Paid line skipping for each of those can be purchased on an a la carte basis via Individual Lightning Lanes. (Confused yet?! If so, consult our Guide to Individual Lightning Lanes, which covers everything you need to know, including how to avoid paying extra for these by beating long lines with alternative strategies.)
When it comes to Individual Lightning Lanes, guests staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel are able to purchase and schedule their ride reservations at 7 am, ahead of off-site guests, who can to do so when each park opens. Both Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance book up fast.
If you’re not staying on-site, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to book either of those. When peak travel weeks–like those around Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Presidents’ Day, Easter–other rides might also sell out fast.
Early Theme Park Entry – This replaces morning Extra Magic Hours, or rather, is a spiritual successor to that on-site guest benefit. Whereas morning Extra Magic Hours were offered on select days and at select parks, Early Entry is offered at all 4 theme parks every single day. That makes it unavoidable for off-site guests who like to rope drop the parks.
The other big difference is that Extra Magic Hours lasted for an hour. By contrast, this is 30-minute access to any Walt Disney World theme park. That may not seem like much of a head start, but it can be huge. (Also, it usually ends up being more than 30 minutes in 2 parks.) As discussed in our Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World, this is usually the top option in each park–with the notable exception of Magic Kingdom.
For strategy & info about how beneficial this perk can be, check out our Guide to Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World.
Extended Evening Hours – This has a smaller pool of eligibility and occurs less frequently than Early Entry. It’s exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club units), or other select hotels (only the Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Green). So Extended Evening Hours is not a “pure” on-site benefit.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours occur two nights per week in total and are usually held at EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours. (Again, those guests are eligible for Early Theme Park Entry.) We’ve had some great no crowds experiences with Extended Evening Hours at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for strategy and other info.
Walt Disney World has confirmed that both Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours will continue throughout 2024.
Resort Fees – Hidden fees have proliferated in recent years at off-site Orlando hotels. We cannot stand these resort fees and recommend you fight back against the incredibly consumer-unfriendly practice. Thankfully, Walt Disney World has not reduced itself to tacking on a resort fee.
Some third-party hotels are known to charge non-optional resort fees for “wellness packages” (their term, not ours) including things like internet, newspaper, and bottled water. It’s important to factor in all fees when comparison shopping hotel pricing, as that “great deal” might not be nearly as good of an option once you tack on all of those non-optional fees.
Vacation Packages – Many guests also find the convenience of booking a vacation package that covers all aspects of their trip preferable, and those packages necessarily include hotel accommodations. (We suggest buying your park tickets from sources other than Disney to save money.) However, there is something to be said for simply calling up Walt Disney World and buying your park tickets, room, dining, and transportation all in one fell swoop.
The biggest and best component of package bookings is the Disney Dining Plan, which is temporarily unavailable (see above). While we often rally against the illusory convenience of the Disney Dining Plan here, many people do find it more convenient than paying a la carte. More importantly, when the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion is offered, the only hotels at which it can be booked are the Disney-owned ones.
Disney Themed Design – Another benefit of staying on-site is that your hotel is an extension of the Walt Disney World theme park experience. It has its own distinct design and may not always scream “Disney” with icons from animated films, but the on-site Walt Disney World resort hotels feel very similar to the parks in terms of thematic yarns.
For the most part, they don’t feel like ordinary hotels any more than the Disney theme parks feel like ordinary amusement parks. They have an additional layer of detail and storytelling to “transport” guests to a different time and place. In simple terms of luxury, Disney hotels don’t always surpass their real world counterparts, but they almost always have better theme.
Along those same lines, one of the biggest benefits for us of staying at an on-site Walt Disney World hotel is being immersed in the “Disney bubble.” This isn’t one you’ll find on an amenities list, and it’s where our otherwise attempt at an objective comparison fails.
For many people traveling to Walt Disney World, being insulated from the real world is appealing. From the moment you cross through those gateways that mark each entrance to Walt Disney World property until ending your trip, exhausted, and heading back to the airport, you’re encapsulated in the Walt Disney World experience.
Of course, there are some intrusions, but for the most part, it’s an escape from reality to a fantasyland of sorts. A lot of people won’t understand this or simply won’t care for it, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you fall in that category, an off-site hotel is more likely to appeal to you. You simply cannot get this experience while staying at an off-site hotel.
Benefits of Staying Off-Site
Value Proposition – The biggest advantage to off-site hotels is bang for buck. This is usually expressed as off-site hotels being “cheaper,” but that’s not all it is. Even if you want luxury accommodations that aren’t going to be cheaper than all on-site hotels, you will find that they offer better value off-site. In other words, you’re not paying Disney’s premium for its name, reputation, and location. There’s more competition among off-site hotels, keeping prices low.
Even if you aren’t necessarily looking for a bargain basement price on a hotel, you’ll typically get more value out of non-Disney hotels. In addition to this, although Disney does many things well, their best hotels simply do not compete with the best real world hotels in terms of luxury.
If you want luxury accommodations, your best bet is to look elsewhere, such as the Four Seasons (which is actually on Walt Disney World property), the Waldorf Astoria, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt Regency, etc. Even the Swan & Dolphin offer superior bedding and other amenities than any Walt Disney World resort hotels, and usually these can be booked for about the price of a Walt Disney World Moderate-tier hotel.
We have a list of the Top 10 Off-Site Hotels Near Walt Disney World, which primarily focuses on the luxurious options. The list also includes a couple of villa/vacation home style resorts that are large enough to accommodate families of 5 or more, and are competitively-priced.
Disney is somewhat insulated from off-site competition. For visitors who want the on-site location, a seamless ‘bubble’ experience from their resort to the theme parks, or rooms with specific Disney themes, off-site is less appealing. Walt Disney World knows they have those advantages, and price their hotels accordingly.
A luxury hotel that might cost over $500+ per night on-site at Walt Disney World may have an analogue off-site for around $250/night. Whether this premium pricing for being in the Disney bubble (“location, location, location!”) is worth it to you is a personal question.
Loyalty Rewards – Due to work or other travel, you might have loyalty to a specific chain of hotels. If you have status or points at one of those chains and want to take advantage of it, you have an obvious advantage in staying at those hotels.
We are Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum members, entitling us to a variety of perks there, so whenever we travel to non-Disney locations, we try to stay at a Hyatt. For a lot of people, the familiarity and known quality of a major chain like this is very appealing, even if they have no points to use.
Other Perks & Amenities – This one is a very broad, but potentially very important catch-all. Many off-site hotels offer free continental breakfast. Some are pet friendly with minimal fees for that. Others have impressive pools that surpass anything at Walt Disney World. The off-site hotel might have an airport shuttle and shuttle service to the parks–and not just the Disney parks.
The specifics obviously vary by hotel, and with thousands of properties in Central Florida, it’s impossible to list them all here. If there’s something you want from a hotel, you can probably find it somewhere within a ~20 minute drive of Walt Disney World.
Tailored Accommodations – Generally speaking, staying off-site affords greater latitude in booking accommodations perfectly-suited to your family size and needs. Outside of Walt Disney World property, vacation homes, suites, and all sorts of varying sized accommodations all can be found at a multitude of price points.
For instance, it’s much easier to rent a vacation home with individual rooms for everyone, a kitchen, activities room, or whatever you might want for your vacation if you stay off-site. These rooms do exist on-property, but most of the time their pricing puts them firmly in the Deluxe tier, making them cost prohibitive for many groups.
Straightforward Design – Although we mention Disney theming as an advantage of staying on-site in that section above, it may be a disadvantage to you.
After a long day in the parks, you might be having sensory overload at the end of the day and just wanting to get away from all things Disney. If you’re not a huge Disney fan, staying off-site might be a nice reprieve during your trip.
Location – Much like on-site hotels, it’s important to remember that not all off-site hotels are created equal. In this article, we are sort of using the terms “off-site” and “non-Disney” interchangeably, but there are many non-Disney hotels that are located on Walt Disney World property.
This is important to know because it undermines some of the location advantages touted by Disney-owned resorts. For example, the Swan & Dolphin are walking distance to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Likewise, the third party hotels at Disney Springs and Bonnet Creek are closer to the parks than some Disney-owned resorts.
Universal Hotel Benefits – We save the best for last, as the biggest off-site perks are those offered by Universal Orlando’s resorts. All Universal hotels offer Early Park Admission one hour before the theme parks open to the general public.
Guests staying at Universal’s Premier Hotels get free Unlimited Express Pass to skip the regular lines at most popular attractions in Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. This is Universal’s equivalent of FastPass/Lightning Lanes, but better–and it normally costs a lot more money.
While it’s beyond the scope of this article, Universal Orlando resorts offer many of the same advantages of Walt Disney World hotels. Universal’s hotels also feature great themed design, transportation to the parks, and a great location–most are within walking distance of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
If you’re debating between resorts at the two main theme park complexes, see our comprehensive breakdown: Universal Orlando v. Walt Disney World Hotels. That should help you determine which is the better option for your vacation–or if a split stay might be best!
Arguably the biggest beneficiary of Walt Disney World eliminating so many on-site guest perks is Universal Orlando. If I were planning on visiting both theme park complexes and had a decent budget for accommodations, I’d have less hesitation that I were “missing out” on something by not staying on-site at Walt Disney World.
While I’d still lean in favor of a split stay, another compelling option would be booking a Premier Hotel at Universal as my home base to take advantage of the unlimited Express Pass that’s included with my stay there. On my Walt Disney World days, I’d commute to those parks using Uber or Lyft. Obviously, that’s not going to make sense or be ideal for everyone, but it’s just one way Universal has gained significant ground on Disney in the last year-plus.
Universal’s hotels offer better value for money and they’ve maintained their benefits, two things that cannot be said for Walt Disney World resorts. Notably, Universal has excellent budget hotels that cost around—or sometimes under—$100 per night. Even Universal’s Premier Hotels with included Unlimited Express Pass are almost always significantly cheaper than Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World.
Consequently, our opinion is that Universal is beating Disney when it comes to the pros & cons of their respective hotels. If you’ll be spending equal (or close to it) time at Universal and Walt Disney World during your Orlando, Florida vacation in 2024, give serious thought to staying at Universal instead of Disney. For insight into the various options at Universal, their pros & cons, and how they compare and contrast with one another, see our Universal Orlando Hotel Rankings & Reviews.
If you’re exclusively visiting Walt Disney World, obviously this advice is irrelevant.
Overall, there’s a lot to consider when determining whether you want to stay off-site or on-site at Walt Disney World, and there’s no one size fits all answer as to which is “better.” As you can see, different families might make very different decisions based upon what matters most to them. There’s really no right or wrong answer, it’s more what you want out of your vacation and how you weigh the pros and cons.
The subjective factors are almost always going to be the overriding ones, and savings that seem to make staying off-site a no-brainer slam dunk for some guests may be insufficient to lure others off-site. Whether the on-site premium is “worth it” to you is largely a matter of personal preference, but hopefully this post presented some objective considerations for you to weigh and make the decision for yourself.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts
Do you generally stay on-site or off-site? Why? What are your key considerations when determining where you stay? Thoughts on Universal Orlando v. Walt Disney World hotels? Are you a fan of renting a vacation home or using Airbnb when booking a Central Florida vacation? Any specific off-site or third party hotel you recommend? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Let me start with LOVE THIS BLOG!!!
I haven’t seen any mention of Disney “good neighbor” hotels. They are hotels that are off site, meet Disney expectations and must provide free park shuttle and are at regular hotel costs. We have a party of 5 and have booked a Disney “Good Neighbor” hotel, less than 2 miles from WDW that includes a free hot breakfast buffet and the free transport to parks for under $900.00 for a full week. Also we have a kitchenette with 2 burner stove, dishwasher and full size fridge, and the beds are in a separate room much like a condo except when we come back the beds are made and the room is clean. (And no, we are not buying or cooking any chicken LOL) We plan to eat breakfast at hotel, and one meal in the parks and pack a sack lunch and snacks. The hotel is great! It’s the second time we have booked it. With the cost savings we are booking our own private transport between hotel and airport and also for each morning to the parks (to get their very early), then take free transport back to hotel in evening (no car needed). Price-wise we still come out ahead. Nice pool, nice hot tub, nice staff. Everything this budget friendly Disney Fanatic needs!
There’s scant mention of them because we haven’t really stayed at them. If you don’t mind me asking, at which hotel are you staying? I’d love (as would other readers, I’m sure) to hear more about some of the quality Good Neighbor Hotels out there!
we will be staying at:
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Orlando,
Lake Buena Vista
its located at 8303 Palm Parkway
I have seen Disney “good neighbor” hotels mentioned in AAA Disney informational books
just another tip: to make it more Disney like, I am getting new Disney pillow cases for the kids to use in the room.
I hope this helps!!
Hi Tom,
Love the blog. One specific thing that I think you touched on but is worth maybe a bit more elaboration — as you say multi-room accommodations / kitchens are available on-site but significantly more expensive. I would have loved to see a “family case study” for this type of accommodation on-site and off-site based on cost, because I think it really speaks to “What’s your vacation style?”.
Others have commented on staying with extended family and wanting to stay off-site in multiple rooms because not everybody likes Disney as much. Even for a single family who all love Disney, I think the out-of-park experience can be really different for similar (or less) money off-site. Here’s my take.
Off-site: My family of 5 can rent a 2 or 3 bedroom condo with a kitchen for around $100-120/night. This means:
— When the kids were small, easy to put little ones still needing a mid-day nap to bed and others were still able to have out-of-park down-time without having to spend it at the pool or in ultimate hush mode.
— Even now that the kids are bigger, everybody doesn’t have to go to bed when the first person goes to bed, or wake up when the first person wakes up.
— Separate rooms allows you to separate overstimulated kids who are getting on each other’s last nerve. Maybe that only happens in my family, but I bet not.
— The cost of the single hotel room does not vary significantly with more people. The cost of the food you are feeding them does. The savings available from having a kitchen and being able to choose how much you are tied to Disney food prices really add up when there are more people in your family.
— Even if you don’t care about food cost, in my very real family I regard eating out 2+ times / day with my kids, even if it is counter service, to be a nightmare experience not conducive to a happy vacation. I admit this is improving as they get older, but they’ve got quite a ways to go.
I agree that to get these items at a similar cost to a single room that your entire family occupies for the week, you have to leave the Disney bubble, and I even agree that the Disney bubble has value. However, I also find a lot of value in the ability to manage family activities without a lot of the constraints imposed by living in a single room and being tied to Disney food.
On-site: Families of five can stay in a single room (leaving out the suites which are a compromise because they are less equivalent in cost)
–Larger families with older kids may get a lot of value from Disney transportation. Even if you have a rental car Disney transportation makes it easier for older kids to split off from a main group. 7 yo getting tired and needs a break but teens not ready to quit yet? Leave them behind and let them find their way back on the bus.
–For families that don’t mind eating out multiple meals, and don’t want to deal with meal planning or daily grocery trips, being on site makes it easier to manage different eating schedules / grazers etc. “We wanna stay in the park some more because the lines are pretty low after the late afternoon rain but we have to go home because if we don’t cook that chicken today it’s gonna spoil” can suck. It’s definitely true that an off-site kitchen can cut into your flexibility.
–And of course, EMH.
I am planning a family trip to WDW in September. We are staying for a couple days, then driving to Siesta Keys for some beach time. I was planning on staying off-site (possibly Mystic Dunes or Westgate Resorts), but in my research I am questioning it. I have twin 5 year olds and I know that they can not last all day at WDW and we would be back at the hotel utilizing the pool. Also, when we travel, we often stock up on food items for breakfast and lunch at a grocery store and seek out dinner at a restaurant. So now I am questioning the need to stay on-site.
Curious what thoughts/recommendations would be?
Thanks!
We are looking to go to Disney World the second full week of May. Hopefully a little less crowds! We have some point from a rewards program we are part of to stay for free at WaterGate Lakes Resort and Spa. Has anyone stayed there before? It looks nice online but anything can. We are SUPER excited for our first trip to Disney anything with our 12 and 5 year old!!
We have done both in the past 4yrs; we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and loved it. We also rented a 3br, 2 bath condo with a view of the nightly MK fireworks and loved it!!! So its a toss-up for us what we like best 🙂
One thing we did not like about staying on-site is having to use Disney Transportation (we didn’t rent a car). Except for taking the boat to MK – we found it took WAY too long to take the buses anywhere. We went in May both times, so we never had to deal with crowds on the buses, it was just all that stopping and waiting. When we stayed off-site it seemed like we got to where we wanted to go so much faster, especially since we were within 3 miles of all of the parks.
The pool at Windsor Hills was hands down better then the Wilderness Lodge. It had a huge slide for the kids, was never crowded and is bigger. Plus it had zero entry, which is fantastic for the little ones 🙂 The nice part of the Wilderness Lodge at night was the boat parade on the lake, the beautiful views and movies/marshmallows on the beach for the kids. You don’t get that at Windsor Hills. Plus waking up in the morning at Wilderness Lodge to the beautiful Lakeview was nice too!!
But the space in the 3br condo – a big plus! And there is less walking when you stay off-site. It was a pretty long walk to the boat dock from our room, but the buses were pretty close.
Definitely lots of “pros” to either way for us! But I agree with the author – it really depends who you are and what you’re looking for on your trip 🙂
Always stay on site. Love the overall escape of being on Disney property and dropping the outside world at the gate. We are from way out of town and find the thought of staying off-site, renting a car, getting lost, expansive parking lots, and other unknown transportation variables daunting. Plus we do like the easy option of an afternoon siesta at our on-site hotel if needed.
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I have visited WDW many times staying on-site at every level accommodation except deluxe. I have also stayed off-site using many travel sites. As a single visitor, I would prefer to stay on-site. However, costs of off-site locations, rental car, and food make it better than on-site. I enjoy being able to visit a park during the morning and being able to leave and rest during heat of the day returning in the evening (parking is only paid for once during the day).
For a family or first-time visitor, I would recommend on-site at least once for the experience. If you like it and can afford it, stay on-site.
For single travelers who are frequent guests to WDW, on-site no longer makes sense.
We have done extended-family trips (once with my side of the family and once with my wife’s) and have had great luck with vacation rental homes within 5 or 6 miles of the Parks. All the young cousins bunked together and all the parents got their own master suite. We had a private pool with hot-tub and large common living areas – with kitchen. All of this came for about $500 per family for a week of accommodations. The price can’t be beat. With that being said, it felt like a FL vacation with a couple of days at Disney. We’re going back next month with just our boys and will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge for our first time on-property. I hope it lives up to the hype of a “Disney” vacation.
Sure if money isn’t an issue. I guess if you have the money…or don’t mind going in debt/or using lots of your savings…. it wouldn’t be a big deal. Or can afford it easily but won’t just because of the point of it/justify the difference. Deals can be found though and more days help. I started planning our trip with the thought of staying on Disney…why not I thought, for a few hundred bucks more. But I can’t justify spending up past 600 bucks more (best deal I could find) for 4 days with my family of 5. That’s a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere there other than on a place to sleep mostly. Decent Off-site hotels offer free shuttles (times not so great though)/breakfast/fridges in the room and within 2 miles. much disappointment during my comparisons/research.
I’m an Australian and have been a travel agent for 20 years. I have been to WDW and have sent numerous clients there. For 95 percent of Australians, they stay off site. This is mostly down to price. With big airfares to pay, the cost of Disney resorts on top is usually too steep. Plus, international visitors always want to do more than just Disney, including Universal, NASA, Miami, cruise etc. I like to use properties in the Buena Vista area close to Downtown Disney. This also gives clients more choice on cheaper places to eat which they want. However, being a Disney fan, If people can afford it I usually recommend staying at a Disney resort for the ambiance and additional services. I’m planning to go back this year, and I will really try to see if we can stay on site. It will all be down to the budget though!
Hi caz I’m from melb and looking at going June next year (around 25th) 19nights (2 adults 2 kids) would be interested in your offsite recs with good shuttles and close to restaurants shopping etc. we’re hoping to go without a car, which sounds difficult from what I’ve read! (New York pre orlando then miami after so on site def not in the budget! We want something with two bedrooms and a kitchen due to the length of time there. Don’t want much do we? 🙂 if anyone else has recs would love to hear) Great blog post dtb) Wyndham bonnet creek sounds good and also looking at floridays.
Look at vrbo.com or homeaway.com and search for Windsor Hills. They are SUPER close to the Disney Property and have lots of affordable options; everything from 2br/2ba condos and GREAT prices, to townhouses and single family homes. We loved it there!!!! You will need a car but when you see the great prices at the resort, the car rental might be back in your budget!! Using Disney transportation to get to the parks can be very SLOW – especially the buses. We found driving/parking to be so much quicker/easier. And the shuttles for the parking lots drop you off really close to your car, which is great. And they come every couple of minutes. GOOD LUCK.
Just wanted to add that its Windsor Hills Resort, Kissimmee FL : sorry!!
thanks Dana, will check it out.
I think you should check out the Homewood Suites by Hilton. This place is a terrific bargain! They have studio, 1, and 2 bedroom suites with full kitchens. Our favorite part is that they offer a free breakfast buffet each morning, and free dinners (including drinks, beer, wine) 4 nights a week, Monday through Thursday…huge money saver! We rent cars on Hotwire for $12.00 a day – cheap!
We ALWAYS stay on site, for many reasons, but the main on being convenience and the proximity to the parks. We have small children and the last thing we want to do is worry about getting from the parks to the car (which I have heard can take a considerable amount of time) and then drive back to the hotel. They also tend to do best with afternoon naps and staying off property to us just doesn’t make sense because it would take a huge chunk out of our day. Plus, we just like being immersed into Disney. We have been lucky enough to get a military discount so a value room has run us as low at $55 a night and a moderate is $113, to us you can’t beat that off site. I know not everyone gets discounts like that, but I will always pick on site versus off-site, but that’s not for everyone! 🙂
Love your informative posts -we are Disney Fans of the highest order – so not disagreeing that Disney Properties are beautiful and wonderful… but you missed the best off property value in this report. We have rented homes, townhomes, and condos within 4 miles of Disney and as far out as 15 miles. All have been great and offered many pluses and perks, depending upon how many members of our large family were with us and their ages. All the grandchildren love having a private pool and lanai to themselves – as do the parents with napping babies. Even on property, a parent (or the grandma) has to stay in the room or condo during that afternoon rest time… give me the pool time! We usually pay around $100 a night for a 3 bedroom – more of course, for the larger homes. It more than balances the cost of a rental car – and if we drive, rather than fly, it’s a non-issue. Also, we’re not fans of leaving our property hotel based on the Magical Express schedule to get to the airport – lots of time lost when we could be soaking up more Florida sunshine or buzzing out to the Orange Groves to have an experience beyond the parks.
As to Lauren said above. Can anyone direct a first timer to a 3-4 bdr, pool, spa,internet, etc … Trustworthy, CLEAN ??? Close by DW… $400-800/wk private family of 5.?
What’s up, just wanted to mention, I loved this post.
It was practical. Keep on posting!
I’m glad that you are considering an off-site stay. Here’s why we usually stay off-site.
First, we drive to Orlando so always have a car. I understand how car rental can make on-site lodgings more appealing. With a car, a world of options opens.
Second, and most important, the savings are huge. We usually stay at Extended Stays. They are nothing special but a clean room for about $70 per night. A room at a value resort often runs twice that. The best rate I’ve found for a value is $100; factor in the cost of parking for off-site guests, and we’re still ahead.
Paying less for lodgings allows us to visit more often. We have prioritized MORE trips over being in the Disney bubble. For us, it is worth the trade off.
Other benefits of staying off-site include more room in the hotel room. We recently tried a 2 night stay at Pop. With all the stuff our one-year-old requires, we had to move furniture to get it all to fit. In Extended Stay’s almost twice as big room, we fit easily. Staying off-site also facilitates eating our before- and after- park meals off-site– further savings, and Perkins is awesome.
Finally, we find benefit in using our own car to get around WDW property. It is much more efficient than Disney busses. The roads are well marked; signage is great; getting around there is no headache. As you are fond of saying, Tom, in theme parks, time is money. We save time by using our own transportation. Beware, though. Disney does not allow GPS services to chart its employee-only areas (which is like half the property) so getting off the beaten path can lead to some behind the scenes adventures.
We usually take into consideration what you get for your money. We have rented a condo at Windsor Palms in Kissimmee about 10 years ago. We liked it so much we recommended it to our friends. One friend went down there two different times and stayed at Windsor Palms.
You can’t beat the convenience for the price – 2 bedroom or more, at least 2 bathrooms, washer, dryer, kitchen, pool, hot tub, game room and movie theatre (if you decide to relax one day). It is only 15 minutes from Disney World. We can stock up the kitchen with items we can eat for breakfast or for a late snack. Plus Highway 192 have a ton of restaurants!
Either way, you don’t miss out.
Oh, I forgot….we liked it so much we are going back to Disney World and have chosen to stay at Windsor Palms again.
We booked a 3 bedroom 2 bath condo at Windsor Hills in February. Great Disney theming – huge wall murals, full kitchen with upgraded amenities. Only $100 a night.
I come from the other side of the spectrum, having only stayed on-site twice out of the six times I’ve been to WDW. The first time I was five and we stayed at All-Star Sports, which even at that age I wasn’t crazy about. And then a few years later we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, which I think I would appreciate a lot more now as *gulp* an adult. Other than that, my family always stayed off-site to save money. And on the last WDW trip I took, in 2010, I went with my boyfriend’s family and there were seven of us, which would have been far too expensive to stay on-site as we would have needed multiple rooms. Instead we stayed at a timeshare just a little ways away from WDW with two bathrooms (a godsend) and plenty of space. This also made it more convenient for the three days we spent at Universal.
And to be honest, a lot of people say their vacation starts with the Magical Express, I get super hyped up driving onto Disney property and going under the big welcome arch. And I really don’t mind riding the parking lot trams lol. Though last time we got preferred parking so we didn’t have to.
I just booke our first ever family vacation to Disneyworld! I have never been there!
My hubby and I have 6 children (ages 4mos-11yrs). I priced an on-site accommodation for us and it was approx $8000 for the week! Not possible! So, I zeroed in on vacation rentals and found the gorgeous resort “Windsor Hills” (2miles from Disney) and rented a 6 bedroom luxury villa with private pool and all resort amenities for $1700/week!!! For a family like ours, there is no question! Can’t wait to go!
I am another HUGE fan of Wyndham’s Bonnet Creek Resort. I have vacationed at WDW 12 times in the last 8 years and have stayed there every time… including my Honeymoon. It is absolutely beautiful and is described as a “Mediterranean inspired retreat” . And for you Tom I know transportation is important and they have many “Disney Shuttles” so there is very minimal wait time. There are five outdoor pools (one with a giant pirate ship), nine hot tubs, 13 cabanas, and a 250ft lazy river. The resort is made up of 8 or 9 “towers” (I cant remember how many) and they are all built around a lake. Depending on which tower you are in you can see Spaceship Earth from your balcony and even see the fireworks for Illuminations. You can also see the water tower at DHS. This resort is a must for our family, I literally wouldn’t stay anywhere else (that is of course unless I could afford the Poly…). I can leave my room and literally be at the Boardwalk in 5 minutes (pull out of Via Encinas Drive and go left and it is less than 1/2 a mile on the right). You can also walk to DHS from the Boardwalk as well. It really is like staying onsite at WBC. The rooms are very spacious and have full kitchens. If you have kids they have a couple putt-putt courses surrounding the pools as well. I would highly recommend this resort to EVERYBODY. If you go through http://www.vacationtimesharerentals.com then you can very easily stay here for 7 days for less than $700 a night (depending on the season, maybe a little more during the summer months). I hope this was informational for everyone!
Oops… $700 for the 7 nights, not $700 per night… wow. Haha.
Awesome info! Lots of fans of the Wyndham, it seems. (I knew what you meant with the $700…per night would be PRICEY! ;))
Hi Tom. I am planning a trip to WDW with my wife adult son and two 7 year old grand kids. I can not walk well and would like to stay inside WDW. I can walk maybe 10 mins but then have to rest. I will rent a handicapped scooter while inside WDW. Where should we stay reasonable. Looking at April vacation 2017.
I have done two trips to WDW. Stayed on site in 2003 at Jamaican resort which back then at least was pretty much a disney themed motel 6. Then in 2008 we stayed at the Wyndham at bonnet creek in two bedroom suite. Both trips cost about the same five years apart for six days. The Wyndham park shuttles are practically the same as on-site ones. Maybe took a few extra minutes. Then we used disney shuttles to go between parks with PH tickets. The only thing I can say I missed about being on-site was having our purchases sent to our room. We are going back this year and it will be at the Wyndham again. However if money was no object I could definitely be enticed to stay on-site.