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

[jgenie]

Transportation to the resorts from the airport used to be included. Now you can book through Mears or take an Uber. Disney World was the first trip I did solo with my kids because the transportation piece was so easy. We rented a car the second time we went because we wanted to spend a day at Legoland. It was easy peasy. I picked up the car a 10 minute walk from a Downtown Disney and returned it to the same location. It was so easy we did the car rental two different days as my kids wanted a second day at Legoland. I would join DisBoards. I booked our first trip at a crazy insane rate based on a tip from DisBoards. Basically cost us an extra $9 per person per day for the dining plan and it wasn’t free dining. I think that was 2 meals and a snack each day.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Transportation to the resorts from the airport used to be included. Now you can book through Mears or take an Uber. Disney World was the first trip I did solo with my kids because the transportation piece was so easy. We rented a car the second time we went because we wanted to spend a day at Legoland. It was easy peasy. I picked up the car a 10 minute walk from a Downtown Disney and returned it to the same location. It was so easy we did the car rental two different days as my kids wanted a second day at Legoland. I would join DisBoards. I booked our first trip at a crazy insane rate based on a tip from DisBoards. Basically cost us an extra $9 per person per day for the dining plan and it wasn’t free dining. I think that was 2 meals and a snack each day.

Sadly the dining plan ended. They are doing some promo this summer for dining credit based on the level of on-site hotel you stay at.


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[Liziz]

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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Huh, I thought that everyone who purchased could start at 7am. If that's not the case, and you plan to buy Genie+, then yes, that's another reason to consider on-site. I would definitely consider Genie+ to be *much* less valuable if you're not booking it starting at 7a. (I also think Genie+ is ridiculous period, but that's not relevant here...)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Huh, I thought that everyone who purchased could start at 7am. If that's not the case, and you plan to buy Genie+, then yes, that's another reason to consider on-site. I would definitely consider Genie+ to be *much* less valuable if you're not booking it starting at 7a. (I also think Genie+ is ridiculous period, but that's not relevant here...)

"For individual Lightning Lane purchases, guests of a Disney Resort hotel and other select hotels* may make their first purchase starting at 7:00 am on the day of their visit. All other Guests can make their first purchase during normal park opening hours."

offsite guests can book those extra charge paid Individual Lightning Lanes at 7am though.

[AnnieW625]

We have never been rope drop people. Dh and DD2 are not morning people at all (if they don’t have to be up for work or school). They need to sleep until at least 7 am, but 8 am is better and they need breakfast and dh needs coffee and I am happy if we can make it somewhere on vacation by 9 am; most of the times it is closer to 10. I do not want a cranky Dh on vacation; he is just not enjoyable and not a planner. He doesn’t want his day 100% planned, he will use a park wait time app. to determine what to do, but that is about it. He will most likely consider paying for LL or Genie+ for the Star Wars related rides and that is about it. Maybe something Guardians related, and maybe Avatar but Dd1 said there was really no long waits for this or anything else at AK the day she was there. What is new now may not be so new in 10 months. I can’t stress over that kind of “what ifs” now.

Fwiw we are also not parade/show people so we will not give up precious ride time. It was a tactic my parents used at DL years ago when we were growing up (because we only went about once every 2-3 years) so parade/show time is ride time.

We may or may not hang out a lot with Dd1. It will all depend on her schedule. Last time they had morning practices and on their park days (they had 3 days) didn’t end up at the parks until around 10-11 am. She will have practice and then at least one if not two separate competitions but hopefully four (if they make finals in two events). Dd1 said her friends whose families went didn’t spend a ton of time together. I am expecting the same but I am sure we will go on some rides together. She will stay in the same resort as her friends (last year they stayed at Coronado Springs and everyone liked it so they will probably stay there again). The last evening they were there Epcot or Hollywood Studios was closed in the evening just for the dancers and their families.

Also I looked on DisBoards and it is still an overwhelming site to try to navigate. Probably like Reddit I probably will never do a Reddit search for WDW there are just too many opinions. It will make my head spin.

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.

Can you tell me more about this experience or at least send me a PM about your prior stays. I need more information like this. Thanks!

Huh, I thought that everyone who purchased could start at 7am. If that's not the case, and you plan to buy Genie+, then yes, that's another reason to consider on-site. I would definitely consider Genie+ to be *much* less valuable if you're not booking it starting at 7a. (I also think Genie+ is ridiculous period, but that's not relevant here...)

I agree I wish they would just get rid of these types of things. While I initially didn’t care for the Fast Pass system I think it worked fine, but I think it made the lines worse. I don’t know why they had to change it.

Why you think Genie+ is ridiculous is what I want to know.

"For individual Lightning Lane purchases, guests of a Disney Resort hotel and other select hotels* may make their first purchase starting at 7:00 am on the day of their visit. All other Guests can make their first purchase during normal park opening hours."

offsite guests can book those extra charge paid Individual Lightning Lanes at 7am though.

If we stay off site I am highly leaning towards one of the Disney Springs or Bonnet Creek partner hotels (probably one of the Hiltons or Marriott branded hotels) to get the extra benefits or if on site then Coronado Springs, Dolphin or Swan resorts.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

99% sure the Disney Springs, Good Neighbor...hotels do not qualify for the early Genie+ booking.

Disney isn't a vacation. Time is money. You pay a small fortune to go so we are all in on eeking out that visit. I just think everything about a Disney trip is different than any other time of trip we go on. We aren't morning people either but 1. it's cooler in the morning, 2. storms roll in mid-day a lot of the year, 3. crowds are smaller in the AM- those are why we wake up and grab food in the park.

On school trips, the kids have never spent time with us other than a quick hello and picture. Other friends did have a sit down meal with their kids but had to have it cleared with the chaperones (they like the groups to stay together vs some kids splintering off to be with their families). Obviously every trip is different.

[jgenie]

We have never been rope drop people. Dh and DD2 are not morning people at all (if they don’t have to be up for work or school). They need to sleep until at least 7 am, but 8 am is better and they need breakfast and dh needs coffee and I am happy if we can make it somewhere on vacation by 9 am; most of the times it is closer to 10. I do not want a cranky Dh on vacation; he is just not enjoyable and not a planner. He doesn’t want his day 100% planned, he will use a park wait time app. to determine what to do, but that is about it. He will most likely consider paying for LL or Genie+ for the Star Wars related rides and that is about it. Maybe something Guardians related, and maybe Avatar but Dd1 said there was really no long waits for this or anything else at AK the day she was there. What is new now may not be so new in 10 months. I can’t stress over that kind of “what ifs” now.

Fwiw we are also not parade/show people so we will not give up precious ride time. It was a tactic my parents used at DL years ago when we were growing up (because we only went about once every 2-3 years) so parade/show time is ride time.

We may or may not hang out a lot with Dd1. It will all depend on her schedule. Last time they had morning practices and on their park days (they had 3 days) didn’t end up at the parks until around 10-11 am. She will have practice and then at least one if not two separate competitions but hopefully four (if they make finals in two events). Dd1 said her friends whose families went didn’t spend a ton of time together. I am expecting the same but I am sure we will go on some rides together. She will stay in the same resort as her friends (last year they stayed at Coronado Springs and everyone liked it so they will probably stay there again). The last evening they were there Epcot or Hollywood Studios was closed in the evening just for the dancers and their families.

Also I looked on DisBoards and it is still an overwhelming site to try to navigate. Probably like Reddit I probably will never do a Reddit search for WDW there are just too many opinions. It will make my head spin.



Can you tell me more about this experience or at least send me a PM about your prior stays. I need more information like this. Thanks!



I agree I wish they would just get rid of these types of things. While I initially didn’t care for the Fast Pass system I think it worked fine, but I think it made the lines worse. I don’t know why they had to change it.

Why you think Genie+ is ridiculous is what I want to know.



If we stay off site I am highly leaning towards one of the Disney Springs or Bonnet Creek partner hotels (probably one of the Hiltons or Marriott branded hotels) to get the extra benefits or if on site then Coronado Springs, Dolphin or Swan resorts.


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My DH sounds like your DH! Hats off to you for going with the flow! We leave my DH home when we visit amusement parks. We’re all so much happier that way! He much prefers the international trips so we default to his preferences on those trips.

[georgiegirl]

We have never been rope drop people. Dh and DD2 are not morning people at all (if they don’t have to be up for work or school). They need to sleep until at least 7 am, but 8 am is better and they need breakfast and dh needs coffee and I am happy if we can make it somewhere on vacation by 9 am; most of the times it is closer to 10. I do not want a cranky Dh on vacation; he is just not enjoyable and not a planner. He doesn’t want his day 100% planned, he will use a park wait time app. to determine what to do, but that is about it. He will most likely consider paying for LL or Genie+ for the Star Wars related rides and that is about it. Maybe something Guardians related, and maybe Avatar but Dd1 said there was really no long waits for this or anything else at AK the day she was there. What is new now may not be so new in 10 months. I can’t stress over that kind of “what ifs” now.

Fwiw we are also not parade/show people so we will not give up precious ride time. It was a tactic my parents used at DL years ago when we were growing up (because we only went about once every 2-3 years) so parade/show time is ride time.

We may or may not hang out a lot with Dd1. It will all depend on her schedule. Last time they had morning practices and on their park days (they had 3 days) didn’t end up at the parks until around 10-11 am. She will have practice and then at least one if not two separate competitions but hopefully four (if they make finals in two events). Dd1 said her friends whose families went didn’t spend a ton of time together. I am expecting the same but I am sure we will go on some rides together. She will stay in the same resort as her friends (last year they stayed at Coronado Springs and everyone liked it so they will probably stay there again). The last evening they were there Epcot or Hollywood Studios was closed in the evening just for the dancers and their families.

Also I looked on DisBoards and it is still an overwhelming site to try to navigate. Probably like Reddit I probably will never do a Reddit search for WDW there are just too many opinions. It will make my head spin.



Can you tell me more about this experience or at least send me a PM about your prior stays. I need more information like this. Thanks!



I agree I wish they would just get rid of these types of things. While I initially didn’t care for the Fast Pass system I think it worked fine, but I think it made the lines worse. I don’t know why they had to change it.

Why you think Genie+ is ridiculous is what I want to know.



If we stay off site I am highly leaning towards one of the Disney Springs or Bonnet Creek partner hotels (probably one of the Hiltons or Marriott branded hotels) to get the extra benefits or if on site then Coronado Springs, Dolphin or Swan resorts.


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You need to clear out your mailbox

[candaceb]

I admittedly am not reading all of the responses, but based on my many experiences of Disney trips as an adult, if you stay offsite, rent a car. Absolutely do not rely on off-site transportation. The only exception would be one of the official Disney Springs hotels. I have stayed both in Disney hotels and offsite, though not since covid with Genie+ and the other changes. Our last two trips, we have rented a house at Windsor Palms with a private pool and it has been perfect. You could rent a big house with a few other families. We have not found it difficult to get back to the resort in the afternoon.

[AnnieW625]

You need to clear out your mailbox

Mailbox has been cleared.

99% sure the Disney Springs, Good Neighbor...hotels do not qualify for the early Genie+ booking.

Disney isn't a vacation. Time is money. You pay a small fortune to go so we are all in on eeking out that visit. I just think everything about a Disney trip is different than any other time of trip we go on. We aren't morning people either but 1. it's cooler in the morning, 2. storms roll in mid-day a lot of the year, 3. crowds are smaller in the AM- those are why we wake up and grab food in the park.

On school trips, the kids have never spent time with us other than a quick hello and picture. Other friends did have a sit down meal with their kids but had to have it cleared with the chaperones (they like the groups to stay together vs some kids splintering off to be with their families). Obviously every trip is different.

I am going to argue that any time spent away from home and not at work is a vacation. Going someplace I have never been is a vacation. I want to enjoy where I am at and not get stressed out or the feeling that I am being overbooked. I am also very cautious right now about over spending on a hotel and not getting the full value (I feel like this happened on our trip to Maui. I feel like we paid too much for what we ended up with so I do feel you on the time is money thing).

We have been to DL Magic Kingdom a bunch and Dd1 said except for a few of the newer rides at Magic Kingdom it still feels very similar if not the same to DL Magic Kingdom so tbh I can’t see us spending more than a whole day at MK if there aren’t a ton of rides that aren’t dupes of DL Magic Kingdom if there are four other parks we have never been to.

Excellent points about the weather.

Yes you are correct about the 7 am reservation for genie+ and lightning lanes not being accessible for Disney Springs or Bonnet Creek resorts. There is so much darn information out there that it is easy to get it confused.

My DH sounds like your DH! Hats off to you for going with the flow! We leave my DH home when we visit amusement parks. We’re all so much happier that way! He much prefers the international trips so we default to his preferences on those trips.

Oh once he is there he is fine. He loves roller coasters and has a ton of fun but he is very go with the flow. I am too. Very open minded and flexible which I think has it’s positives for a trip like this; but could be negative as well because it could ruin the mood of the trip if someone doesn’t want to be where they have to be at X time.

I admittedly am not reading all of the responses, but based on my many experiences of Disney trips as an adult, if you stay offsite, rent a car. Absolutely do not rely on off-site transportation. The only exception would be one of the official Disney Springs hotels. I have stayed both in Disney hotels and offsite, though not since covid with Genie+ and the other changes. Our last two trips, we have rented a house at Windsor Palms with a private pool and it has been perfect. You could rent a big house with a few other families. We have not found it difficult to get back to the resort in the afternoon.

Can you PM me your prior trip information if you don’t want to share it here?

If I could get my parents to go as well (I haven’t talked to them about it) I would think of renting of a house.

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