Articles | Disneyland | Walt Disney World
Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Staying Offsite - Any Experience/Tips to Share?

  1. #1
    Headless Chicken
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Our Happy Home

    Staying Offsite - Any Experience/Tips to Share?

    So, we're staying offsite the nearby Marriott Residence Inn in Lake Buena Vista next year (we'll have a full kitchen there), and renting a car. For those who have stayed offsite, is there any hassle with traffic, parking, etc? Do you find it takes the same amount of time as waiting for WDW transportation to/from onsite hotels? We'll have Premier APs, so won't have parking fees, so that's not a worry. And, how convenient was it to leave for a couple hours during the day for some hotel time?

    First 5K - Neverland - January 19th, 2013
    First Half Marathon - TinkerBell - January 19th, 2014

    It's amazing what is possible in just one year.

  2. # ADS

    Join Date
    Location
    Posts
     

  3. #2
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Chicago Area
    Blog Entries
    17

    Well, I think you have the big ones covered when staying offside.
    -Rental car a must
    -Park parking fees, which in this case is covered by your PAP.

    Ive done some tests on my own regarding the whole bus vs. car thing. In most of the cases there was not more than a 10-15 min difference either way between taking a resort bus and driving to/from the parks. As for you being off site, its really going to depend on which park you are at, where you are parked, and traffic getting back to your resort hotel. (Traffic part varies depending on when you leave.) The times where I think the car had the advantage is when we stayed at resorts that shared buses with other resorts. (BC/YC/Swolfin is a great example.)

    When are you going? I think taking a break in the middle of the day during the hotter months is not a bad idea. At the same time, for a quick break, consider just visiting one of the closest resort hotels. Grab a snack, shop a bit, and head back. Its a nice break in the action without using up transportation time.

    I will say that if you take a break and go back to a park in the evening, you very well could get a good spot closer to the entrance than you would if you went first thing in the morning... so dont be afraid to look up in the first rows.

    Since you wont have access to morning or evening EMH, I would get to the parks at rope drop if at all possible. (20 mins prior, if at all possible.) But do try to work it out so you avoid parks that are doing morning EMH as by the time you get there, lines will have already started to form.

    Hope that helps.

    Disney-Inspired Author and Blogger
    CoHost of the Behind The Ears Podcast... Check it out on iTunes
    Admin of The WDW Community Facebook page.

    The search function is like the Force. It may take practice, but the more you use it, the more control you will have over it!

  4. #3

    We live in nearby Daytona Beach and have been going to the parks since 2007 when the kids were pre-teens. They've grown-up Disney. Since they are older now they only want to go with their friends, not their parents. We have one annual and three seasonal passes so we don't have to pay for parking. Over the years, on the occasions when we stayed for the weekend in the Disney area, we've stayed off site all but one time. I even kept a spreadsheet of the places we've stayed with comments and prices.

    Every family has their own preferences and needs. For us, staying off-site is WAY better. We stay at Hotels/Resorts within walking distance (or a short drive) to great and reasonably priced restaurants like Carrabba's , Outback, Olive Garden and so on. We could spend a morning and afternoon at one park, go have a great dinner for the right price without a reservation, and go back to a different park for the evening. Or we could leave the park and let the kids spend time at the hotel/resort pool. We could have the free breakfast before we went to the parks the next day, buy subs or something from Subway or Publix or Winn-Dixie on the way (also within walking distance for those late night cravings), and leave them in our cooler or park locker. Then have lunch in the park or out on a blanket by the water watching boats. Traffic was never an issue unless you're leaving when the park closes. It was always faster to walk to the car than wait for a Disney bus or boat or tram. We were back to our hotel in short time every time. If you stay till the park closes, sit and relax and let people run for the exit. Enjoy the beauty and quietness of an empty Disney park.

    As GusMan suggested, with a look at the park hours and the parks with the Extra Magic Hours, and a little planning, you could miss the major crowds. Use the FastPass+ system a month or so early to reserve the popular rides for later. Get there early for the less popular rides and there will be little if any wait. You could even ride the popular rides early, then ride them again later with your FastPass. Or skip FastPass and enjoy the freedom of not having a plan at all.

    The only advantages we saw to staying on property were....
    #1, We could use Extra Magic Hours, which tended to make the day a little longer than we could stand anyway.(Keep in mind we went there often. It was no issue to leave after only part of the day. We didn't feel the need to cram every second of the day into being at the park, we live here, we'll be back. We also avoided the parks with Extra Magic Hour morning when staying off property)
    #2, I could leave my truck parked and use free Disney Transportation, which always took longer.

    The cost benefit to staying off site outweighed those advantages. The on-site resort rooms were absolutely no better than the off-site rooms. In fact we got bigger beds off-site.

    I think you'll be thankful you rented a car and chose to stay off-site in your resort with a kitchen.


  5. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    London, Canada

    I agree with the general idea that staying off-site is reasonably efficient with a car. Getting to the Magic Kingdom is one exception, as the Disney buses will bring you directly to the park entrance. Parking at the main lot, taking a tram, then monorail or boat, eats up a fair bit of time. Having a kitchen is great-- as Disney Vacation Club members, we have stayed most often at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs, where a kitchen is included with the larger rooms. As much as we love the Disney Resorts, I bet you'll be saving a fair bit of money by staying at Residence Inn!


  6. #5

    The point brought up about the MK uniqueness of not being near a parking lot is a point to remember. I recall my first time staying until close of MK and didn't properly account for the time needed to wait for multiple monorails with every other guest who stayed until the close. I was used to thinking like I was at DLR where you just walk to your car in Mickey and Friends rather than wait in the tram lines. Can't walk across the lagoon between MK and TTC!!

    Other than that, I'd add to bring some singles and quarters for tolls. I don't know the exact amounts based on your location (but I suspect there might be at least one). There is a toll at one exit where there are no personnel, you either dump exact change in a bin, or take an envelope to mail in the toll later.

    Also, regarding rental cars and tolls, make sure you find out if there is a Sun-Pass (EZ Pass for FL) in your vehicle and if so, you probably want to make sure it's swiveled so it's not active. Unless you enjoy paying 3.95 per day for the length of your rental (whether you actually go through tolls on a given day makes no difference, once it's used once, they charge you for each day).

    -Dave

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by BrerFrog View Post
    Getting to the Magic Kingdom is one exception, as the Disney buses will bring you directly to the park entrance. Parking at the main lot, taking a tram, then monorail or boat, eats up a fair bit of time.
    It's kinda funny, but what you list as a negative is actually a big positive for me. I don't like taking the bus right to the front gate - I feel like I'm missing all the buildup of the parking lot tram and then a monorail or boat. Especially the boat - something about making that slow approach across the water just makes arriving at the MK that much more special!
    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave1313 View Post
    Other than that, I'd add to bring some singles and quarters for tolls. I don't know the exact amounts based on your location (but I suspect there might be at least one). There is a toll at one exit where there are no personnel, you either dump exact change in a bin, or take an envelope to mail in the toll later.
    Having just stayed less than a mile from the Residence Inn in question, I will say I was mistaken about the need for toll money. (Though it may be a factor if you get back on I-4, I did not do so for the 3 days I visited WDW parks). While it's a construction zone (though traffic didn't necessarily seem worse for it), the intersection of 535 and Hotel Plaza Blvd takes you past DTD and then there are the standard Disney signs to follow to find whichever park you wish to go to. (form Residence Inn, make left onto Palm Pkwy, Left at intersection with 535, then Right at Hotel Plaza Blvd (Mickey and Minnie markers on each side of street, right across from McDonalds/Crossroads shopping center)
    -Dave

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •