posted 03-29-2005 10:14               

so, the big question is: is staying in the park worth the extra $1600 (or $800 and dealing with the 1 bedroom unit).

What are the benefits of being in-the-park. a few that we've already thought of are is convenience (no need for car; if children need naps or are sick, we can just hop on the shuttlebus and get there, no need for parking lot tram and driving; splitting up doesn’t mean being without car), early/late access to the parks, WDW extras like breakfast with disney characters.

anything else? thanks for the input.

posted 03-29-2005 12:36               

I love the Marriott's too and have stayed there plenty of times. If you are doing Sea World or Universal they may be your better option.

posted 03-29-2005 12:53               

However staying inside once is an experience everyone should have. Even if it costs a little more it's a trip you'll never forget. Personally my family decided after staying on site once we never needed (or wanted) to again but I'm glad we did it if only so we know we're not missing a thing, and saving money, offsite. Some get hooked and end up wanting nothing less than the full Disney experience each stay. You'll never know which you are until you try it once.

posted 03-30-2005 10:40               

Staying off grounds is not that bad of a thing. It opens you up to more of the non-Disney Orland/Kissemmee stuff. Believe me, there is more than the Mouse which attracts people to Orlando. The Mouse is the major one though.

As was mentioned before, one does need a car to fully take in the Orlando area and there are many nice luxurious resorts in and around Orlando. For a 1st timer the Disney attraction certainly would lead one to stay on-grounds. Disney has a lot to offer but it is EXPENSIVE. Disney does not give much away but they do treat you well.

You are not me and I am not you. What I would do may very well be different than what you would do. Ask your family what THEY would like to do. Have them share in the decison making. Get them involved in the research of what there is to do and take it from there. I know when I bought my Orlando timeshare weeks I involved my family in the decision making process. Had I listened to people here on Tug I would not have in most likelyhood bought where I bought and my family and I along with many invited friends/guests would have missed out on some fantastic FL/Orlando experiences.

In summary, it is a matter of personal preference not necessarily a decision based solely on $$$. Have fun deciding especially if you do it as a family and everyone takes ownership of a part of this memorable experience.

JMHO of course

frenchieinme

------------------
Visit our webpage at http://userpages.prexar.com/rhoude

posted 03-30-2005 11:20               

When we invited her & our son & their little boy for a week with us at our non-Disney Orlando timeshare resort (just up the street from the Downtown Disney main gate), we did a little something to add a bit of Disney ambiance.

Before they got there, we removed all the regular resort soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc., & replaced them with equivalent Disney products that we brought with us. (We bought them just for that purpose off eBay.)

Granted, a few bars of Mickey Mouse soap & some bottles of Mickey Mouse shampoo, conditioner, & lotion don't add up to The Disney Experience.

But the gesture was much appreciated by our daugher-in-law, who is truly a gem. And everybody had a wonderful time at our extremely nice non-Disney Orlando timeshare resort.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

------------------
Through the sycamores the Cadillacs are gleaming, and the bankers on the Wabash shout Hooray! -BRC.

posted 03-30-2005 12:55               

One night I went pin trading at one of the Disney resorts. Taking the bus back to the Boardwalk that night was miserable. I waited 10 minutes for a bus, then the bus went to Pleasure Island (where a million drunk people got on) and then ultimately ended up at the Boardwalk. It took about an hour and a half to get "home". No fun!!

posted 03-31-2005 08:33            

Also, onsite guests get to utilize the free transportation from the airport to the resort and back. This service begins in May and should be free for year to year and half. We plan to try this in May and then use wegoshop.com to buy our groceries. It is about $20 fee for the grocery shopping.

My friend did stay at the Fairfield (not the Bonnett Creek one). She was about 20 minutes away by car. She said that it took them about hour to get from their resort to the park. Which isn't too bad but she also felt like they couldn't ever leave the park to take a break. They went from 10 am until closing (this is during President's week) and she said that it was very crowded. She would have loved to have taken advantage of the EMH.

GL with your decision...

------------------
You can see my timeshare photos here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/ciscogizmo

posted 03-31-2005 09:56               

We now usually stay off-site... why? because it works for us..

There are so many variables that this is a very very personal decision..

For us the main advantages of on-site were the extra hours in the park, the easy access to midday trips back to the room (pool/nap) and knowing that we can get back into the parks later in the day even if parks fill up (when the parks fill up, they can shutdown the parking and only allow on-sites guests back in).

Of course, we learned that when the parks are that crowded, we didn't want to be in the parks, so we stopped using that advantage. Then we realized the extra hour was not as important during slower seasons (which we liked better) so that advantage went away. And we also found in the offseason,with a car, we could leave the park and get to our off-site resort faster than we had been able to get to our on-site room using Disney Transportation, so that was the last advantage gone...

So we found that during busy seasons, the advantages of on-site were more pronounced,, and during slower seasons, the advantages were not much of an advantage... if any..

Of course, the cost savings don't really save us money either but off-site we usually go for two weeks rather than one week onsite, and a 2brd villa to spread out in was much nicer than even a deluxe room at a Disney premium resort.

It all depends on your own goals... and they can even change over the years for each person... we used to plan our trips around getting as much done as possible, now we take it a bit slower and really enjoy relaxing in the parks. It could be we are getting older, but it could be we don't have to cram everything into just one week...

After reading all the opinions... try it both ways and find what is right for you..

posted 03-31-2005 11:55               

so, discussed it further with my wife and came to two conclusions, thanks to all your input.

first, we will probably need a car even if we're in the resort, so that increases the difference in cost between exchange-outside vs. rental-inside (we were subtracting car rental cost from the stay-inside price.)

second, staying inside has advantages we want to use, but the cost is prohibitive, so...

we'll spacebank our 2005 week to II, and request a 1 or 2 bedroom week at any of the DVC resorts for summer '06. while it's a tough exchange, we have a good trader and lots of time. let the request go until about this time next year, maybe a bit longer. if it gets a hit, yay! if not, at that time, trade into a good outside-the-park resort, like marriott.

thanks for all your help!

posted 04-08-2005 20:24            

As a DVC member and Marriot Cyphress Harbour owner I think either is a good choice. If you stay off site you can park at the ticket transportation center and it will provide easy access to all the parks.

In my humble opinion staying on property is very convenient notwithstanding the season.

All of the above are very good suggestions.

posted 04-09-2005 23:09            

Hope this helps and have a wonderful time!

posted 04-10-2005 21:32            

Mike, since you're considering staying offsite (our family's preference anyway, having done it at least a half dozen times each way), you should know that there are tips for making the most of your time there with young kids.

For starters, offsite guests ARE permitted to reserve meals with the Disney characters. So do! We used to take a day off from the theme parks in the middle of the trip, when everyone was getting tired from long park days. We'd start the morning with a brunch with characters at a Disney hotel then spend the afternoon at a water park using the free "plus" feature on our park passes. After dinner, we got to bed early for another exciting theme park day the next day. And we avoided exhaustion on our trip by taking this midweek break. If you have a character meal in a theme park restaurant, you use up a lot of park time that could be spent on rides.

Next, familiarize yourself with which park offers early/late access to onsite guests on which day(s) of the week. Avoid that designated park each day! Perhaps visit it on the following day. This strategy will separate you from the biggest crowds all week long, with tens of thousands of onsite guests flocking to the early entry park each day. Most people do not park-hop so that park stays crowded all day long.

There are only two reasons we would ever enter an early entry park: First, MK does offer some real value in that early hour for fantasyland. The others, not so much, IMHO, not worth dealing with crowds afterward. Secondly, we've gone to the MK late among the crowds if those were the ONLY evenings during our stay that offered the nighttime light parade. Otherwise, we stay AWAY from the early entry park regardless of whether we are onsite or offsite.

Third, pick up a Disney stuffed toy, t-shirt, Mickey Mouse ears, light-up princess wand and/or sword ahead of time at a Disney store, outlet or even KMart. Glow necklaces and bracelets are also cheap and easy to find at dollar stores - handy to pull out of a knapsack before nighttime parades and fireworks. Bringing out a Disney item on your first morning in the resort adds a little excitement for the kids. The Disney soaps are fun too and include some bubble bath if you will have a nice inroom whirlpool tub (a capful will do). Stock a box or two of Mickey Bars (ice cream) in your freezer when you visit the grocer so the kids can have one by the pool.

Fourth, when you shop in the parks, utilize the package-pick-up area located next to the exit turnstiles in each park. As long as you won't be leaving for 2 hours, they will send your purchases to this area for free so you don't need to carry them. If you stayed onsite, they don't deliver purchases to the resorts until much later and this may mean, not until the following day. Most of the Disney resorts (including most DVC resorts) no longer deliver to rooms, just to the resort gift shop anyway. So in-park package-pick-up may be most convenient.

Fifth, we never let the offsite drive keep us from taking a midday break with young children in our group. This is especially true if the parks will be open late. But remember that when everyone stays up too late, they tend to be irritable the next day and there are only so many days in a row that this can go without regrets. You may also find that your kids love the Disney boats and monorail which we've used MORE often while staying at an OFFsite resort. Unless you stay at a monorail hotel (no DVC on monorail), you can easily stay onsite at a Disney resort and never ride the monorail even once, or any of the boats for that matter, only buses all week long.

Our experience with the onsite transportation was VERY mixed, from quick hops to ridiculously long waits for buses and boats, usually while standing on tired feet, sometimes in the hot sun or in the rain. With our car, it was much more predictable and comfortable and included seatbelts for everyone. For us, we've ended up driving almost exclusively (except for MK) from both onsite and offsite and we've found that most nearby offsite resorts are just as short of a drive - truly. If you drive a car, you have to walk further at the park - between the car and the tram. If you ride Disney transport, you have to walk further at the resort - between the bus stop and your room.

Sixth, nothing is worth pushing on past breaking point while at the parks if any of the group is tired. This can come faster than you'd think in the heat of summer with young ones. The whole family will enjoy the trip the most if you just enjoy what you do see and don't worry about the rest. For an awful lot of kids, the very best part of their Disney vacation is the resort pool - no kidding - and that doesn't cost an admission ticket! So consider a quiet day midtrip, perhaps another on your last day there so you're all a bit rested when heading home.

Lastly, make sure you leave a small, collapsible cooler in the car each day, with cold drinks and maybe a snack or picnic lunch food. Bring along a Disney music cassette or CD for the rental car and/or timeshare to get everyone in the mood while you drive to/from the parks or eat lunch in your condo. We found that our kids liked to listen to Disney music and have a cool drink or light lunch in the car while we park-hopped or headed for the resort pool/nap in the early afternoon.

HTH! Enjoy your trip!