Off site no way anyone else with a story Resorts & Accomodations Discuss Off site no way anyone else with a story in the Vacation Planning forums; staying on site has always made our trip more like a Disney one. stayed off once never again took the hotel bus to the parks what a mess broken seats ...

[J&J]

staying on site has always made our trip more like a Disney one.

stayed off once never again took the hotel bus to the parks what a mess broken seats so crowded long wait. times for pick up not a large choice,

the 1st hotel was large and old, noisy, room looked like it was out of the 1950's. parking horrible had to leave. because of that hotel's policy had to stay at their hotels or pay a three day penalty.
Next one they sent us to was one in town after a ride in heavy rain this room again was horrible. Broken dirty sink, noise all night from teens in thier pool, train ran all night outside. left this one and went to another one of their hotel nearer Disney. At least this one was clean and they went nice to us. So we stay here but their bus too many problems going to and from ther hotel. Food at the hotel was too costly and horrible remember this was a big name hotel chain.
Many of Disney have stayed at these hotels and loved them. For us it horrible we had always stayed on site so different and didn't save. So never again.
Anyone else who feels the same?

[GIOny]

Yes, I feel the same way, off site hotels do not do it for me. Last one I stayed at was creepy, but we still payed way to much for it.
I will always stay onsite when possible but sometimes we bring our dog, so it is not always possible

[MJMcb]

If I would stay off site, I would think a rental car would be a must

[J&J]

off site too far to travel didn't want to rent a car. Disney everything is there and ina disney hotel you know you are there.

a friend did put her dog in the disney kennels loved them. would like to take our dog but afraid that of the long trip she would be ok me too long of a ride. then would worry someone would take her she is so sweet. if ever did it would be disney kennel during the day.

[ginnyfavers]

We like being off site in a rental house, with our own pool and kitchen, and of course we have a car. Actually, we have two cars, so our party can split up if we need to.

We'd be in a cabin at Ft. Wilderness or a DVC one bedroom instead, if we could, but the price is usually too high for us to afford that for a long stay.

The reports I read from people staying at offsite locations without a rental car are universally bad or mediocre experiences.

If I wasn't going to have a rental car, I'd never think about going off property.

[DHI]

the Sheraton Vistana is a very nice resort and I have stayed there 2 times when we can't get a Disney resort

[thegoz85]

We rent a car when we stay off site, and we've never had a bad experience. I know you don't get the Disney theming (which I like), but for some people that may be a good thing. If you stay in the right hotel, you can still have a good experience staying off property.

[zima-cheryl]

Usually the purpose of our trip drives the hotel choice. If we are doing WDW we stay on site. Otherwise we do stay off property. Believe it or not, Orlando & the area has a lot else to offer, so every few years we do a "Florida" trip. Maybe 1 day at Epcot or MK, but the rest of the week is the space center, beach, Sea World, etc.

As someone else observed - off property & a rental is a must.
We've used vacation homes & had so-so luck. We've also done basic hotels (Hampton Inn) and they've been fine. I'd avoid anything too cheap. As they say, you get what you pay for. And if it has an hourly rate... no way...

[thegoz85]

Yea, definitely. If you go with some of the reputable hotel companies, I think you'll end up with a good stay. But definitely rent a car. Disney's bus service for off property guests is not the greatest (or so I've heard).

[Park Hopper Dad]

Originally Posted by thegoz85

Yea, definitely. If you go with some of the reputable hotel companies, I think you'll end up with a good stay. But definitely rent a car. Disney's bus service for off property guests is not the greatest (or so I've heard).

That's the whole point of staying off property.Stay at a reputable hotel or resort.We stayed at the Peabody on International Drive once,which was great,twice at Howard Johnson Park Square Inn in the Lake Buena Vista area,and once at Hampton Inn in Kissimmee,but,these other fly by night motels just don't work anymore.Although,in 1999,we stayed in Kissimmee,at a Wynfield Inn.For us at the time it worked perfectly.My girls were 5 and 8,and that was plenty for us at the time.In 2000 however,we attempted to stay at another Kissimmee motel,called Magic Castle(NEVER STAY THERE).I had prepaid for one night to hold the room,and was supposed to pay for the rest at check-in.Now check this out:As we were on 192 heading towards the Magic Castle,just as we began going through the main junction that adjoins to the Disney property,where you loop around to enter the property,I began to hear something in my mind saying,go check the rates,go check the rates,go check the rates.I really heard this several times in my mind,and it was quite strong.Now remember I am still driving.Well,I got past the big junction,and I told my wife,and I said I can't shake this,so I turned around and began heading back to enter the Disney property to go to the All Star Resorts to check the rates.
When we found the resorts,I told the guard that I wanted to check for availability,he said sure go ahead.I checked with the front desk,no one else was behind me and I was allowed to take as much time as I needed to compare my off property rates to their rates and compare the difference.It was astounding!Yes,it was some more than the Magic Castle,but not too bad.So since I had paid for one night at the MC(yuck),we had to stay there the first night.But while at the AllStar Music I reserved a room for the remainder of our trip and that began our staying on property at WDW,and we have stayed on property up until 2007,which was our last trip to WDW.I lost my job in '08 and we can't afford to go now.
But one more thing I'd like to say:That little voice I heard in my mind,was none other than the Almighty God that spoke to me.The Bible says that all good things come from heaven;and thoughts are "things",so the impression came from the Lord and we were blessed to begin our many years of staying on Disney property.Publicly,to God be the glory!!!!!!!!!!

[flipdisney]

Stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. It's one of the nicest off-site resorts in the Wyndham chain. They are building two more structures one for the resort and a hotel. The ameninties are great bbq pit, lazy river, pool and other things for childeren and adults to do. What I also liked about this off site resort was that its on Disneygrounds. So we were in between Downtown Disney and Epcot. A Car Rental is a must especially with a park hopper so you can rest during the early afternoon back at the resort, highly recommended.

Sorry to hear about the bad stays at hotels with only shuttle service.

Flip

[RandBmom]

We stayed onsite until we bought into Marriott timeshare in 2005, now it's offsite but in a 2BR2Bath unit. Always with a rental car. Every day as we drive onto Disney property we do the countdown as we enter and get "in the magic" as we pass under the flags. One trip in 1994 we stayed offsite as I was in Orlando at a conference, and the room was fine but we didn't try their transportation offered as you bravely did.
As stated above, we'd NEVER stay offsite without a rental car, but we'd had fantastic deals on Priceline for $11/day for the last several years.

[DHI]

On site is still the place to be.... Regardless of if you have a timeshare or not