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!
Staying on-site has always been an important part of a WDW vacation for my family and I. I personally enjoy that Disney “bubble” and it is nice to have the theming and customer service that Disney provides at our resort too. “Convenient” is the name of the game on a WDW trip. It’s nice to know Disney will pick us up form the airport, shuttle us all over the World, and drop us off back at the airport. Absolutely no driving required! For me this makes the whole process much easier/simple and makes for a more relaxing and enjoyable vacation.
And let’s not forget… no one wants to drive back to their hotel after “Drinking around the world.” 😉
Sooo much easier to “Drink Around the World” if you’re staying on-site. Especially at an Epcot-area resort!
My family stayed at the Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa which was very nice. It is a 20 minutes drive from Walt Disney World and 30 minutes from the two Universal parks (thankfully my Brother was happy to do all the driving).
We did also visit Busch Gardens, Cocoa Beach and go on an airboat ride.
What surprised me during our vacation was the amount of paying toll roads we passed through, as we have very few here in the UK. Also, you never knew if they would be manned or unmanned. So we learnt very quickly to have a supply of US coins to hand.
We drove onto an unmanned toll road on the way from the Airport to our Apartment Complex and had no US coins to pay!
Just something else to bear in mind if you hire a vehicle.
On a separate note I could not believe that all the theme parks charge you to park your vehicle when you have already paid hundreds of dollars for the actual tickets!
We always stay on-Site. In Disneyland, the Grand Californian Hotel with it’s dedicated entry point made it convenient for us to take the kids back to the room for a nap as they were growing up. Now, we LOVE the Disneyland Hotel after the remodel.
In WDW, there are just sooooo many fun Hotel choices to stay at, that we’d like to ideally stay at them all at least once. We don’t go to WDW as much being west coasters, so so far we’ve only stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Port Orleans Riverside, and All Star Sports. Needless to say, we have a long way to go.
Thank you all so much for the specific off-site hotel recommendations. Since we have no experience in this area, it helps us with future planning AND gives this article a bit more substance for those using it to plan upcoming trips! 🙂
I normally stay offsite due to the price tag. Here is a great tip. You know someone who owns a timeshare. They can often buy bonus vacation weeks for guest for $300. This means you can get a two bedroom condo for $42 a night. No tours have to be taken.
We have done this when traveling with others and pay $150 each for a week in Orlando.
I have done this as well. We stayed at the Wyndam Palms once and Fantasy world once. Wyndam was wonderful! Fantasy world was run of the mill. Both are very near Disney. The last time we were about 30 minutes out at a time share. It was kind of nice to get that decompression time. I don’t think I will stay that far away again, though. (I didn’t pick it and beggars can’t be choosers my mom always says!)
I forgot to add the biggest cost savings of timeshare! Being able to cook in your room. We always have a full kitchen and eat a big breakfast. We sometimes pack a lunch and about every other day eat a late dinner at the room. I get tired of restaurant food so this is nice. If you are driving, bringing a crockpot is helpful because you set it on low in the morning and dinner is ready when you get back for a late lunch/early dinner before evening festivities.
Hey Rusty,
Which timeshare was that? It might be a real option for us. When you stayed how close to the park were you?
We always prefer to stay in a DVC resort when we go to Orlando, however if we are out of points, we often choose the Marriott Vacation Club resorts. There are several in the area. Marriott Vacation Clubs are much larger than the DVC resorts too. They can be a bit pricey sometimes though. We are a big family so we need the multiple bedrooms. We have also found some great villa resorts on Vacation Rentals by Owner(VRBO). I like them because you often deal directly with the owner and you can find great deals per night if they are looking to rent the villa out.
We are a family of 6 including 4 kids between the ages of 8 and 13. We always stay on site. Before we had kids we never did. Now my wife insists on having “Disney in her face” from the time we get there until we leave. Going from July 2 to July 13 ( 4 nights at an Embassy Suites and 7 nights at Boardwalk 2 bedroom.) so we will get to experience both.
Oh, the “Disney Bubble.” It just doesn’t feel like a Disney vacation to me unless I’m in the bubble 🙂
We are renting a 6 bedroom house for a large family vacation. My parents and both if my siblings are coming along with all of our own families. Although I would spend every second of my time at WDW, not everyone is as Disney crazy as we are, so we had to look elsewhere. Staying in a house with a private pool is going to cost each of us $400 a night. Since we hardly get to see each other all together (my brother lives in AZ and we live in OH) everyone’s top request was to stay close together. A vacation house fit the bill. I have a Harry Potter but and I promised that this trip she is going to get to go, so we are also going to do Universal Orlando and my sister wants to do Sea World. I have had to reside myself to the fact that were are only going to get 4 – 5 days at my beloved WDW…. **sigh** At least my husband is looking to plan the next Disney trip after this one, so my addiction must be spreading!
We rent our 4 bedroom out (sleeps 10) for only like $997 plus tax for the whole week (7 nights)! We are 4 miles from Disney. Not 6 bedroom though. There are great deals out there off site. Have fun!!!
Thanks! Does the one you rent have a private pool too? That was a must on the list for our family and everyone having a bathroom for their own family. And I meant $400 a week per family, not per night. 🙂
I’m glad its $400 for the week and not per night!! 🙂
Our place does have a private pool in a screen enclosed patio. It’s a decent sized pool too (and heated). And there are 3 full baths for the 4 bedrooms, which always works out fine (and full washer dryer!). I don’t want to advertise on here(I hate when people do that!), I am a true Disney fan and love this blog, but if you wanted to check out the resort online it’s Encantada. I do not work for the resort, lol, we are private owners 🙂 I am going down in 18 days to our place and I am sooooo excited!!!! It will be my 3rd time this year already!! 🙂
Hi- read about your place on a Disney blog. Wondering if you are still renting it out and if so, if you have pictures. We are looking for a place for June.
If you still rent out your townhome please contact me. [email protected] We are looking at the month of May this year.
My husband and I always stay at Buena Vista Palace by Downtown Disney or Hilton at Bonnet Creek. BVP is right across the street from Downtown Disney and Saratoga Springs and has beautiful grounds and amenities for a good price (just booked this weekend for $72/night for a 4-star hotel). Hilton Bonnet Creek is right in the middle of Disney and has a lazy river for a pool! We drive from about 2.5 hours away so we already have our car and the quality of the hotels make it worth it for us to drive to the parks (both hotels have busses but are not ideal). That being said, we stayed at Contemporary for my birthday and the immersion in Disney was amazing!
Downtown Disney area hotels and Bonnet Creek hotels are the best compromise of off-site/on-site, best of both worlds
I am really big on theming, so staying on-site is usually a priority for me. To save money, I rent DVC points…I am staying at Animal Kingdom Villas in September for ~$110 a night, which is a huge savings. However, I think the Disney transportation can be a mixed bag, and I rent a car each time I go. That doesn’t mean I drive to every location, but this gives me a lot more flexibility in booking dinner at another resort without spending 30+ minutes trying to figure out the logistics of bus and monorail transfers. I like the idea of the free airport shuttle, but after reading your review I’m not in love with the waiting times…when I am on vacation I want to spend my time at the theme parks or the resorts, and it is worth $15 a day for me to not spend 45 minutes to an hour either on buses or waiting for one.
Another good tip to reduce on-site hotel pricing is to book through a consolidator like Travelocity or Expedia. Most of them have free cancellation these days, and you can often find combinations of coupons + rebates + cashback sites to take a large haircut off the price. For example, Amex is running a special where you can get $50 back for a reservation over $200 on Travelocity hotels…stack that with a 15% off coupon and a cashback site (5-10%) and you can realize a big savings that also stacks with promo rates Disney Resorts may be running.
I’d love more information about how you use sites like Travelocity or Expedia. I’ve never seen prices on their website any cheaper than what Disney is offering directly. What am I missing? And what cashback site allows you to book hotel reservations? I use ebates and it doesn’t look like hotel reservations are eligible for cash back.
Hi Chad,
I’m very interested in the “renting DVC points” statement you made. Are you saying that you are not a DVC member but somehow purchase the perks? More information would be awesome! I have a family of 5 and would love to make Disney an annual trip if it were more reasonable.
Thanks!
Add me to one who has stayed onsite at WDW–(and at DL Paris. At Tokyo DL, we stayed at the Sheraton Tokyo Bay–concierge level, and loved it! LOVED the monorail loop!). At Disneyland our home park, we stay on site and off site, depending on the deals (and I have kids who live nearby.
BUT–on our next trip to WDW in November, as a family of 5 adults, we just cannot afford the Disney property this time. We are Wyndham owners and are going to use our Wyndham points at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I hear amazing things about the place…and I hear it beats most all –if not all—the places at Disney (not that I have stayed at all…but have stayed at quite a few).
I am skeptical…being the big Disney fan I am. But—for a trip to WDW…I’ll stay off property to get to the World. 🙂
We bought a 4 bedroom townhouse at a great resort only 3-4 miles outside Disney about 5 years ago and we love it!!! It’s close enough to go home at lunch time or for a late afternoon swim but we also have time to relax at our private pool away from other people’s kids, etc. I stayed on propery last year when I went down with a friend because we had already rented out our house that week, and while it was cool being on property (when I was a child/teen my family always stayed on property), now that we have our own place, I actually prefer being off site and having my own car down there and the freedom to drive where I want and escape a little. Of course I am an annual passholder and go down 4 times a year so that is a little different from a family going once every 5 years or so. But a townhouse off site is a great idea for families who would need more than 1 room at disney which gets pricey because its a great bargain!
p.s. love your blog!!!!
I really think if you are looking to only do WDW then it makes total sense to stay on site. I agree with pretty much everything you posted here! When we went 2 summers ago, half of our traveling party were not Diz-Crazy and so we stayed off site at a Marriott time share (a fam member had some points that were expiring). We were very close to Sea World right on I-Drive. It made it east to get to any location we wanted with our rental car.
Tom, as a different recommendation, if you have not done so yet, and if you don’t mind giving up and entire morning/afternoon (can still go to WDW in the evening) the two of you should check our Discovery Cove. It’s Sea World’s “swim with the Dolphin’s” resort, and though the price may seem steep at first, it is an amazing experience and all-inclusive for your meals and refreshments (including alcohol if over 21!) all day. Have fun!
Tom great article. I live in Sarasota, Fl about 2 hours from WDW so I take frequent weekend trips. If money is no problem I prefer to stay on-site at either the Poly or Beach/Yacht club. Recently though I have been staying off site more often. I would highly recommend the Waldorf Astoria on Disney property. I have always paid less than 200 dollars a night and I feel the accommodations are much nicer than even the best that Disney can offer. I am also in my 20’s with no children, so I like that this resort does not feel as overrun with kids as some of the Disney resorts can be. They have a very nice quiet pool and you are allowed to walk next door to the Hilton Bonnet Creek and use their pool which has a lazy river and a more fun atmosphere. Food is also very good with the best steak house on Disney property (IMOP) the Bull and Bear, and La Luce Italian next door at the Hilton. My other favorite off-site hotels are the Hyatt Grand Cypress (best pool in Orlando) and the Marriott/Ritz Carlton Grand lakes.
I have to admit to ALWAYS being an on-site family. BUT…with the rising ticket costs, rising cost of dining plans, off-site is becoming more of an option unfortunately…
Like you we prefer to stay onsite. I grew up going one day at a time because my father lives in Ocala which is approx 1 hour north of WDW. So when I got married and had my own family I knew I wanted to stay in the magic. It started with short trips staying in value resorts then to moderates. We last stayed a week in PORS in the royal rooms and we had an awesome time. It was also the first time we were totally dependent on Disney transportation and it was still enjoyable! Actually our last visit was in a tent for 2 nights in fort wilderness and we brought our bikes. That was a load of fun except the tent part:-) went to universal islands of adventure for a day as well and my family felt ripped of but that’s just us. We are Disney freaks all the way but I understand the draw of other parks as well.
As a former cast member, I always felt that the perks of staying on site usually out weighed staying off property. However since my family has grown to 6, for our trip this fall we have booked off property, but less than a mile away. This is the first time in 15 years that I will not be right on WDW property. I have to admit, it scares me a bit, lol.
The best option that I have found is the Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We were able to find a 2 bedroom suite for $100/night. DVC style accomodations with an entrance located on Disney property. You lose EMH and parking, but the price is amazing for the room. Disney charges $500+ per night for equivalent space. I still felt like I was saying onsite due to the locaton. Great for a family of 6 like mine.
Thanks for the specific suggestion on this. In the very near future, we’re going to have our first off-site stay as we really want to experience the new offerings at Universal Orlando. At that point, it simply won’t make economic OR “bubble” sense to stay on-site.
If others have specific off-site hotel recommendations, we’d love to hear them!
I’m a local (and Cast Member) and if you’re looking for off-property recommendations, I would suggest Doubletree by SeaWorld (10100 International Drive). It is the exact midpoint between WDW and Universal, and only a ten-minute drive to either. My brother, his wife, and twin boys recently came down and stayed there and they absolutely loved it.
There are many other big name hotels on “iDrive” (Peabody, Rosen Inn, Hilton, Embassy, etc) but I wouldn’t recommend those. They are very nice hotels, but the atmosphere is way too formal, I think. They mostly cater to people traveling down here on business and attending events at the convention center.
If you’re planning to visit the Universal Orlando parks, you should most definitely consider staying at least one night on Universal property.
Early entry to WWOHP is a huge benefit, if you’re fans of the books/movies since that area fills up quickly. But another, lesser-known benefit, is that when staying on-site, your tickets automatically include unlimited Express Pass. You can buy an Express Pass add-on to your tickets if you’re staying off-site BUT that Express Pass can only be used once per attraction.
For us, having the use of unlimited Express Pass was WELL worth it. And Loew’s Royal Pacific is a very nice (if not quite as expertly themed as a Disney property) hotel.
Additionally, your Express Pass and early entry is valid for every day you stay, including check-in and check-out days. So, even if you’re only staying one night, you have access to those benefits for 2 days.
I also stay at the Doubletree Hilton at SeaWorld. It’s really awesome. I got a $54 a night room for 5 days. Can’t beat that and I’m a DVC member!
Yes, we ventured “off-site” on our last WDW trip, leaving the Animal Kingdom Lodge and stayed at the Royal Pacific Universal. We were very impressed with this hotel. Nice pool for the kids, early access perk, and it was lush and tropical. This makes my wife happy, since she always prefers going to Hawaii or the Bahamas rather than another theme park vacation.
When we last went to Disney World, we started out with 2 days at Universal and then headed over to Disney (so only took advantage of DME on the way back to the airport). We were arriving in the evening and were going to spend the next two days in the park. We are Hyatt Platinum members too, so we stayed that first night at the Hyatt Place across from Universal (don’t spend rewards points there, the rate is too cheap, but it’s a good place to earn points), then the next morning we took a cab for about $7 across the street to the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal, dropped off our bags and made it to the park before opening. They let you use the Express pass you’re eligible for as hotel guests as soon as you “check in.” But this way we only had to spend 1 night at the Loews resort (which was running around $200/night during our stay) but got the on-site benefits for two days.
There are definitely cheaper options in that area, but it’s worth it to spend a bit more on the Hyatt to earn points.
We’ve also stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and it was really enjoyable! Growing up, our family always stayed on site. Bonnet Creek I’d the first place we’ve stayed off site that felt like a home away from home the way Disney always does!
I also stay at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. For next October – we are going with five adults (1 couple, and three friends) and two kids so we are getting a 4-br/4-ba condo – since we need at least four beds to cover the adults plus somewhere for the kids.
I stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek on our most recent trip. It was very, very nice. We had several pool options, a few bars, and a lazy river. It was close to a 2000 dollar difference in price. We actually drove to Disney so the transportation was not really an issue for us. The Disney buses do come through, but you have to pay for a ticket to ride. It is very close to all of the parks however so that is a plus. I would suggest anyone that is okay with not staying on-site look into this place. You will not be sorry!
do you remeber how much the bus was? was there an airport shutttle? im from canada and have always dreamed of going to disney am trying to find the most afforable way to go
I am also planning on staying at the same resort and coming from Canada. I am deciding if we should rent a car or do they provide an airport shuttle to the hotel and do you know how much the Disney shuttle bus costs to Disney? I also would like to know since we are on site technically, do we get extra magic hours and get complimentary parking at the parks?
Thank you
Joanne
I’ve been to DisneyWorld twice, many many times to Disneyland Paris and once to the Disneyland resort Anaheim.
Disneyworld ; I’d always stay onsite, I really just don’t want to leave the magic every day I leave the parks, the convenience of not having to worry about a car is great, and I find if you take your time in booking in advance there are very good deals to make it affordable. My personal favorite would be Port Orleans French Quarter.. though if I could afford it I’d be in the Grand floridian.
Disneyland Paris ; I almost booked a hotel off site this year for the first time, but there suddenly was a limited time 50% discount on Disneyhotels so.. here we go again! This time to the now renovated Santa Fe hotel now with a Car’s theme, but my favourite here is the Sequia lodge resort.
Disneyland Anaheim ; As much as I’d love to stay in a Disneyhotel there.. it’s just way too expensive and there are wonderfull hotels around the corner.. like the Howard and Johnson hotel.
Totally agree with your analysis of the different parks and resorts worldwide, with the possible exception of Hotel Santa Fe, but I haven’t seen it post-refurbishment. You’ll have to report back on that one.
I’ll add Tokyo Disney Resort to your list. On the one hand, off-site hotels aren’t really off-site as they are ON property and ON the monorail loop(!!!). On the other hand, the MiraCosta and Disneyland Hotel are easily the two most beautiful Disney hotels in the world. We hope to spend a night or two at each of those on our next trip, and do the rest in cheaper accommodations at the (still incredibly nice) Hilton Tokyo Bay.
Where did ypu found that property. I googled it comes up to 250 per night.