Favorite off site but close to DisneyWorld resorts…. Pros/Cons….

[DualvansMommy]

We had fridge and microwave in our rooms at yacht club and polysisan resort; both worked great for reheating food.

Imo, full kitchen is bit overkill for us because we were out at the parks for dinner reservations. It was breakfast we would eat in our room with cereal, milk, fruit granola bars, yogurt, all those can be ordered istna cart like your DH suggested. That worked really well for us. Lunch we usually used quick service or back at hotel by pool service.

We loved yacht club resort cuz of their amazing pool, walkable proximity to Epcot and downtown Disney by boat. We also had best views from beach at resort to watch illuminated water show and fireworks.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Indeed, your money goes farther in a room offsite but a Disney trip isn't a trip about your hotel room. It's about ease of visiting Disney, imo.

The AoA rooms and public spaces are super tacky. But, the rooms are functional and, again, a Disney stay isn't about the hotel room. FYI the Skyliner only goes to Epcot and HS but that's 2 less buses you have to deal with- and that's a win.

If Swan or Dolphin are in your budget, book them. Swan Reserve is a bit too far to be convenient, imo, so I would skip it. Both Swan and Dolphin are under the Marriott umbrella so see if you have any discounts. They qualify as deluxe hotels per Disney and that means bonus hours some nights in the parks. They are usually several hundred less than the neighboring properties.

If you. rent DVC points, be sure and get travel insurance since most of those are non-refundable.

[jgenie]

Thanks!

We are not staying at All Star Resort! That is where the bulk of the dancers stay and the coaches who are both in their mid to late 20s didn’t want to stay there last year because of the chaos (one coach attended in 2014 or 2015 so not that long ago and said it was enough). That is why they upgraded and stayed at Coronado Springs. Transportation was included to and from the airport.

I could look at renting some DVC places as well. I do know some people who have DVC memberships but they use their points yearly so I doubt they would be willing to sell them.

Yes you cannot book with Disney past 12/31/23 (I looked it up earlier).

Food wise will probably do an instacart order. Dd1 said one of the moms did that for water, fruit, and breakfast food for their room so they didn’t have to eat out at every meal, especially breakfast. Dd1 was not a huge overall fan of the food at WDW; but they mainly did quick service.

I did read about the Flamingo Springs area and people here raved about Wyndham Bonnet Creek as well. Any other Bonnet Creek resorts have good reviews?



What did you like and dislike about these resorts? What made one better than the other?



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Polynesian was great for quick transportation between parks and hotel. If I remember correctly, there were both boat and maybe monorail options. The pool was great and they have Dole Whips at the resort!

We had a family suite when we stayed at A of A. The room was spacious so we could spread out and carve out individual space. Our Polynesian room was a standard room. It was fine but I much preferred the space at A of A. The food options at A of A were much more varied than Polynesian. When we stayed at A of A the busses went directly to the resort from the parks. Some of the other hotels had multiple stops. At the end of the night we NEEDED easy transportation back to the hotel.


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[georgiegirl]

We stayed at Bonnet Creek once. It was great. We’ve been to Disney world maybe 8 times or so and we’ve NEVER stayed on site. We need extra space and it’s insanely expensive to get two rooms on site. We always rent a car also.

[jgenie]

I just thought for ease of cooking and what not for food storage but if the provided in room fridge and microwave works well then that is fine. I also feel like you get a better deal with slightly more space than you do with a regular room. AoA has family suites. Yes I thought we could at least explore potentially get a better deal off site. So while Swan and Dolphin aren’t owned by Disney they are onsite so they still get the special Disney perks of being a Disney owned hotel. I saw that one is a Westin, and one is a Sheraton.

Also are the AoA resort rooms truly obnoxious? They look obnoxious on the websites (as do most of the value resort rooms tbh). I don’t need a Disney themed room down to the last detail, but I do like the idea of the hotel being reachable by a gondola system.


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All the Disney properties are themed out the wazoo! If you’re looking for peaceful, on-site might not be for you. We stayed at Beach Club prior to having kids and I don’t think that hotel was over the top but it’s been 20+ years so theming may have changed significantly. I can’t remember where it fell cost wise.

I too would not be attempting to cook meals. We did dry cereal, shelf stable milk and fruit on the go to get us to the parks as early as possible. I do not want to think about cooking on vacation.


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[jgenie]

We stayed at Bonnet Creek once. It was great. We’ve been to Disney world maybe 8 times or so and we’ve NEVER stayed on site. We need extra space and it’s insanely expensive to get two rooms on site. We always rent a car also.

Have you been since the new reservation system started? Were you able to do the headliners? Did you feel like you got to ride quite a few rides? My friends who have stayed offsite complained that they weren’t able to do the headliners and spent the whole day in lines.
The friends who had private guides felt the savings in room cost more than covered the private guide cost. It’s great to hear a difference experience!

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[Liziz]

We just stayed at AoA a few months ago. Yes, it's totally obnoxiously in-your-face Disney, everywhere. But for us, we were there *for* Disney, so it just kind of added to the fun. The family suites were great for us -- we loved having a bedroom w/ a door that closed, *2* full bathrooms, and a bed for each of our kids (they can share, but sleep better if they don't have to). The "kitchenette" there is just that -- small microwave, dorm-style fridge (no freezer!), and a single-cup at a time coffee maker. We drove, and I pre-made almost all our meals and we used the microwave to heat them up. It was adequate for what I wanted to do, it would have been perfect if we were eating more meals out. I *loved* the Skyliner access - it was one of my favorite parts about the place. I don't know if we'll ever go back, but if we do I would likely stay there again.

*If* you truly believe your family will be up in time to early-access rope drop (that usually means leaving your room at least 90 minutes before early hours start), then I agree with everyone else saying that staying onsite is the way to go. I don't know how we would have done all the headliners we wanted to without it. But, if you don't think your family is the type to actually be going that early, then I don't know that staying onsite is worth the money. You can get *so* much more bang for your buck in terms of staying offsite, and I really feel like that extra 30 minute head start is really the only perk that was worth the money. Yes, it was amazing to not have to deal with a parking lot and driving at the end of a long day, but I wouldn't pay Disney prices just for that. However, I feel like without the extra time in the mornings we would not have been able to do all the rides we wanted to do, so that is what made it worth it for me.

[georgiegirl]

Have you been since the new reservation system started? Were you able to do the headliners? Did you feel like you got to ride quite a few rides? My friends who have stayed offsite complained that they weren’t able to do the headliners and spent the whole day in lines.
The friends who had private guides felt the savings in room cost more than covered the private guide cost. It’s great to hear a difference experience!

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We haven’t been since before Covid, so I have no experience with the new system.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

We just stayed at AoA a few months ago. Yes, it's totally obnoxiously in-your-face Disney, everywhere. But for us, we were there *for* Disney, so it just kind of added to the fun. The family suites were great for us -- we loved having a bedroom w/ a door that closed, *2* full bathrooms, and a bed for each of our kids (they can share, but sleep better if they don't have to). The "kitchenette" there is just that -- small microwave, dorm-style fridge (no freezer!), and a single-cup at a time coffee maker. We drove, and I pre-made almost all our meals and we used the microwave to heat them up. It was adequate for what I wanted to do, it would have been perfect if we were eating more meals out. I *loved* the Skyliner access - it was one of my favorite parts about the place. I don't know if we'll ever go back, but if we do I would likely stay there again.

*If* you truly believe your family will be up in time to early-access rope drop (that usually means leaving your room at least 90 minutes before early hours start), then I agree with everyone else saying that staying onsite is the way to go. I don't know how we would have done all the headliners we wanted to without it. But, if you don't think your family is the type to actually be going that early, then I don't know that staying onsite is worth the money. You can get *so* much more bang for your buck in terms of staying offsite, and I really feel like that extra 30 minute head start is really the only perk that was worth the money. Yes, it was amazing to not have to deal with a parking lot and driving at the end of a long day, but I wouldn't pay Disney prices just for that. However, I feel like without the extra time in the mornings we would not have been able to do all the rides we wanted to do, so that is what made it worth it for me.

But, like pp said, now that you have to book stuff on Genie+, if you get that, then you also get a jump on booking stuff. Offsite guests have to wait quite a while and stuff sells out before you get a chance.


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[DualvansMommy]

As you see you’re getting quite few varied thoughts. It all will boil down to your bottom line and what do you want as a family from Disney?

You said it’ll be your DD1 trip as a senior in HS, that weighs a lot for me as a mom to make a very memorable family trip before she goes off to college. I would price things out on site vs off site like bonnet creek, car rental factored in, decisions as whether early AM start at parks is a priority. For me with kids that wake up at 6am, getting that head start was so so helpful for us, cuz it meant we can take a decent midday break at hotel pool with lunch and rest. We’re also not the go go go at parks from 7am till late at night, so there is that.

Transport from airport to Disney if you’re no renting is easy so I wouldn’t let decision of needing a car be major point for that. Uber, marginal bus, taxi are your easy options for transport to/from airport.
Also, food, depends on your style as a family but I am not cooking nor have any desire to cook during vacations. I cook every day as it is at home so having a meal plan at parks is a priority for me.


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