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The Great Resort Debate
Recently, a TheMouseForLess member posted the message below. What ensued was a plethora of opinions on why one might prefer to stay on Disney property or off site. We thought that those trying to make that decision for themselves, might benefit from that discussion.
Thursday, March 7, 2002, Stephanie writes:
Hello everyone,
Im trying to understand why most people think that if you don't stay on Disney property then you wont feel the Disney magic. Someone please help me on this one. Is there some type of magic that happens on Disney property that all of us new comers should know about. My first time going to Disney was in Feb 2001 and I stayed at Downtown Disney and I still felt the magic. " After all I was in Disney World" I was just so happy to be going it really did not matter to me where we stayed. Now I do understand that the transportation system is very convenient, and you have the option of charging your items to your rooms, but other then that I see no difference then some of the other 5 star resorts. There are sooooo many people out there who dream all there life about going to Disney World, and Im pretty sure if they were
given the opportunity to go the last thing on their mind would be "what hotel am I going to be staying at". They are just going to be glad that they are there in the World! Maybe its just me, Maybe I need to shut my mouth up and stay on Disney property and then maybe I will see what you guys are talking about, as for now I just don't UNDERSTAND! I am one of the WDW biggest fans and I do believe fairy tales do come true I read Michelle's story about her wedding and cried, I saw Kim's pictures and was in AWE, I visited lady Margret's website and thought her merchandise was beautiful, and I also see some of the other things you guys do pertaining to Disney and It is all wonderful. I feel the magic every time I read my email from the TheMouseForLess members. I just
don't understand what is so special about Disney property! Can someone help me on this one.
Kathy responds:
I have stayed off and on site. Our off site vacation was not as good but that was not because we stayed off site. It was because the travel agency screwed up. That is when I went back to doing my own travel planning.
I do think that you can have magic off site. Just to be away from home is magic for me. But I do have to admit it seems like a special world when I can stay on site at CBR where the theming makes you feel like you have gone to your own tropical paradise. Then I drive to the park and the magic continues.
If you plan your trip the way you want to then I am sure you will have a magical vacation no matter where you stay. If the money is about the same I still would opt for on site. If you have larger families then I would love to rent a house or condo and split the expenses.
Pam responds:
I guess it is just really one of those intangible things-you almost can't describe it-so excuse my unorganized rambling below :)
The Magic that you feel in the parks really is in the resorts too. Those same special touches that make a Disney Park a Disney Park are the same touches that make a Disney Resort a Disney Resort. The things that separate a Disney park from other amusement parks, are the things that separate a Disney Resort from any other resort.
In the case of my family, we travel a lot-not just to Disney but many places. We can stay in a Westin or a Hilton or Marriott anywhere. We can only stay at the Polynesian, or the Grand Floridian, or the Caribbean Beach Resort in one place-Disney World.
It's not the location or the convenience; the transportation or any other perks that keeps us coming back to the Disney resorts. It's just the feeling that we have when we are there.
I can't tell you how comforting it is to get on Disney property-it's like going home.
When a cast member remembers your name, or shares something special with your child, or goes out of their way to help you make a day extra special, It feels like Disney.
When you walk out of your room to the landscaping that is perfectly manicured, and hear the quiet sounds of themed music as you walk through the resort it feels like Disney.
When you walk into your room and notice all the details, and the way the theming is carried out, It
feels like Disney.
I do think it is an individual thing. Many people stay off-property and have an absolutely wonderful time. I don't think anyone should ever think that you must stay on property to have a wonderful time, but for us staying at a Disney Resort just makes the experience complete.
John responds:
Disney Magic for me isn't about one thing. I can't point to a thing and say, "That's magical." (except for just stepping onto Main Street) For me at least, it's a combination of things. Now, I have been going to WDW for going on 20 years (I'm 31) and we never stayed on-property until
last year. All I could say is "wow" and we were at the All Star Movies. Everywhere you looked were little touches of magic, fresh paint, statues of characters, popcorn box light fixtures, Mickey soap, perfectly manicured landscaping, etc.
I would suggest visiting a few resorts on your next trip. Go have breakfast at Spoodles (it's not what it once was, but still excellent) at the Boardwalk and walk to Epcot and back and around to the Yacht and Beach club. Or, Port Orleans, though I haven't been there in years and my favorite restaurant is gone or Coronado Springs or the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have visited them all and have only stayed at the AS resorts (so far). I even spotted a hidden Mickey at Boma in AKL.
To me hidden Mickey says it all. That's the magic. Because, on top of the MONUMENTAL effort it takes to put a group of parks like this together and run it and still maintain excellent customer service throughout, there are people finding ways to put magic in places you're never meant to see. Maybe it's the engineer in me that gets such a kick out of that. When I "retire" I want to be the imagineer that does that!
Deb in CA responds:
I too cannot describe *exactly* what is the magic. Our first and second trips we stayed off site and we had the most wonderful times! For our second trip I decided that I too wanted to see what all of the fuss was about - after all they are just hotels. We stayed our very last night at Port Orleans just to *see*. WOW was it cool. I was so hooked! It just IS magical if you want to describe it like that. It is also way convenient! Since I am a California girl, I don't *do* public transportation - too icky in my mind. Go figure :-) Anyway I LOVED the bus systems. I loved not leaving WDW unless I wanted to. Not seeing the I Drive tourist stuff unless I wanted to. No traffic unless I wanted to venture out, etc., etc. etc. I could go on and on. THEN I talked my DH into DVC and we stayed at Boardwalk Villas next trip. DOUBLE WOW! Talk about magic - walking to Epcot (and now MGM). Just steps from ESPN and other places. Now that is MAGIC :-)
So basically, I think going and staying off site is better than not going - and it is certainly MAGIC. Staying on site anywhere is a little more MAGICAL. And staying on site in a really special hotel (Monorail, Epcot, whatever) is over the top on MAGIC.Either way you are in WDW - it is just what you prefer! The only thing I can say -from experience - is try it out, then decide for yourself.
Mike Corbo responds:
Part of the magic, is mostly convenience i think. Having at the least a food court right there to get meals, sometimes your choice of restaurants. A store to buy souvenirs and sundries, sometimes more than 1. A choice of pools, usually themed. Transportation to just about anywhere you want to go every 20 minutes. These are things that you usually do not get at the off site hotels. Plus, all the hotels have some sort of theme.
Michael E. responds:
I have only been a DD member for a month or so, but it seems that there is no more contentious issue among members than whether to stay at a WDW property or not.
As for me and my family, we are going in June and we have decided to stay offsite and rent a house with 4 br, 2 bath and screened in swimming pool, indoor Jacuzzi (in the master bath) outdoor hot tub, with many extra features such as three arcade pinball machines, three additional arcade type video games, big screen tv, pool table, Nintendo 64, Sony playstation, etc. and all for about $110 a day. Our house is in Indian Hills south of WDW about three miles from the property lines of WDW. Naturally we will not have the "magic" of staying onsite, but we are saving a LOT of money for the property that we can use for eating in WDW restaurants and buying Disney merchandise, among other things.
From reading guidebooks and postings on this (and other) Disney site, it seems that staying onsite is great if 1) you can afford it, 2) you are flying down rather than driving down so that wherever you stay, you will be at the mercy of the transportation systems in the Orlando area, and 3) you plan to spend most, if not all of your time in the World. However, if you are driving down, and/or wish to save some money (or have limited funds) and/or plan on spending a lot of time outside the World visiting other attractions, then you might be better off looking into lodging outside the World. If you do make that choice, you would be wise not to just look into hotels. Look at condo rentals, house rentals, timeshare rentals, etc. that may provide you much more value than a hotel outside the World. There are literally thousands of privately owned properties available near the World for rent. (One caveat though, ask for references and check them. I looked at several places to rent before finally choosing one and several failed their reference checks.)
Just remember that planning a trip to the World is not a casual exercise. Put some time into research and do your homework. It can be great fun reading about everything available in the World area and the Web has so much information, it is incredible.
Finally, for all you "staying onsite" devotees, my DW and me will be staying onsite in December when we go back just for ourselves. We are going to fly (rather than drive as in June) and do it up right by staying in a suite at the Grand Floridian and we may never even see the inside of the Kingdom or Epcot :-)
Michael R. Boyer responds:
We always stay off-site and love it! Love freedom of having our own car to come and go as we please and to visit off-site attractions and restaurants without dependencies on WDW Bus schedules. Travel to WDW has never been a problem from off-site, usually under 15 minutes(I know all the short-cuts and tricks :-).
Jackie in VA responds:
I have to agree, we have always stayed offsite too.Ok, when I was 10 and we went as a family we did
stay at the Contemporary, but that was over 20 yrs ago. We are a one income family and I can't justify
paying more money to stay on site. Now don't get me wrong, if money was no object I would love to be in
a Disney Hotel. But this is my 11th visit (March 16th,2002) and we are staying at my parents timeshare (HGVC), but if we weren't staying there we would be in a Days INN, Comfort INN Etc... I think Disney Magic is what you make of it. I've experienced Disney Magic just planning my trip, reading everybody's letters on this group, and reading everybody's trip reports. I love all of this. I love having my own car and to come and go as I please. I love being able to go to the cheaper restaurants in town, I know they are much cheaper then eating on the Disney property. I love being able to shop at the Disney outlet places, go up and down to all those fun little Orlando gift shops etc... Since we always do Universal too, its much easier to stay off site. We don't mind driving to the parks, we have done it so many times. We have always had great pools where we stayed and clean rooms, Im not complaining. To each its own. You have to know how to make your own Disney Magic.
Debbie responds:
I have been reading with interest the discussion on staying on property or off property and the costs of lodging. Did you know you can stay on Disney property for approx. $35.00-$65.00 per night. Ft. Wilderness campgrounds is a great place to stay for Disney magic at a low price. I have reservations for 7 nights in October for $212.00 with all taxes. I found my reservation from 3 years ago and the cost for ft. Wilderness then was $216.00 for the same time period for 7 days. Wow something that has actually decreased in price.
Yes you must have a camper or bring a tent but where else can you have breakfast with the bunnies, wake to the peacocks calling and fall asleep to the sound of the armadillos searching for bugs in the bushes. I am able to cook all my own food and even have a charcoal grill at my site. For those who think vacation means no cooking my husband does a lot of it while we are camping so it's a vacation for me.
I am a great lover of this place and am so looking forward to our trip in October. We actually will have 2 days this year where we aren't going to the parks so we can have time to hang out at the campground and enjoy all it offers. Also I feel very safe allowing my sons to go places by themselves in the campground. Granted they are 13 & 14 but this is a great campground that outshines any others we have been to.
Missy Mousketeer responds:
My family has been to Disney World 7 times in the past 20 years. I have stayed one time in a tent and one time in a motor home (at a KOA campground), two times in a hotel (both were within 5 miles of Disney, but took 30 minutes to get there after fighting traffic) and the last two times at a Disney Resort. After the last two visits we swore never to stay off property again.
You're right that Disney is Disney and you will feel the magic no matter where you stay. That is a given. But, at off-site locations "that Disney feeling" will end when you leave that park and will not return until you gain entrance the next day.
I agree with everyone else that it is very difficult to explain the "magic" of Disney World on-site. But, if you get that giddy feeling every time that you go to Disney (even the Disney Store)then
on-site is the place for you. I remember as a child wanting to spend the night at a Disney Park, not at a resort, but at the actual park. I would dream that I would leave my house and the rides were in my back yard. Being at a resort for me is the closest that I can get to my dream. Some of the resorts are in close enough proximity to walk to and others you can take the monorail or Disney busses. You can even take Disney transportation to visit the other resort areas.
Each Disney resort has a different set of perks, but all include restaurants and/or food courts, shopping areas, miles of scenic walkways, bike paths, multiple pool areas, boating options, etc.
These areas are never as crowded as the parks so during your Disney World down times you can enjoy most if not all of these and often times with no one around. In an off-site hotel you may have a restaurant or two, maybe a bar or a gift shop and one very crowded pool. Your scenic walkway may be the sidewalk to the pool and back to the parking lot. AND the worst part is that these hotels often won't hesitate to charge you the same price or more in comparison to the Disney Resorts. WHY? Because they are there to catch the over-spill from the Disney Resort areas and they know that people are desperate to stay as close in proximity as possible.
So don't give up on the resort magic. If you already have your hotel reservations near Downtown Disney and can't change them, then I'm sure that you will still have an absolutely perfect time. But don't disregard the Disney resorts for your next visit, because until you have truly tried it yourself you just won't understand.
Sue responds:
Everything depends on experiences, my worst two vacations in Disney World happen when we stayed on site.
At both these times ,the bus situation was terrible. Matter of fact it was a nightmare. They had people stuck at Pleasure Island for 3 hours and our bus could not pick them up because after we waited and hour we were packed to capacity. These wait times happened everyday ,no matter what time we tried to get the bus. My nerves were so shot that not even a little bit of magic could get in. Now I have had several good experiences with the buses so you never know. I have to admit I do like the value resorts and that is what I can afford but if we need two rooms I would much prefer that large house with intercom in a gaited community with my own private pool for less money. We had magic in both the house and while we were at Disney parks. Because at the house we were able to talk about what we had done that day in the parks and what we were going to do the next day,while sitting at the pool eating our steaks we had picked up from Outbacks.
Kim responds:
We have stayed at Port Orleans FQ, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge.
I think the magic of staying on property is due to a few things.
The cast members are at the hotels continuing to make your stay wonderful. They just go the extra mile and now that I've been there with our son, I'm even more impressed with the kindness, service, etc.
The theming really is spectacular. At each of these resorts I was immersed in the theming. And still delighted by the hidden Mickeys, etc. I just love getting the Disney soaps in our hotel rooms. I love the fast food paper plates with Mickey on them. I love shopping at the resorts and just being
surrounded by Disney merchandise. Now I know this has caused me to come home with a stuffed animal I do not need...but it's fun.
We've been staying on property for over 10 years now. I know we could stay off site and save money but I just truly enjoy having the Disney magic 24 hours a day. I like the Mickey wake up calls too!
Steph in Jersey responds:
I guess I have to add here. We could save a ton of money staying off site, as we are not a rich family
by far, more like a paycheck to paycheck family. But when we went on our first trip, the magic was coming
back to the rooms at night, and finding my kids belongings arranged in the window, and finding a doll playing
cards at the table. It made my kids faces light up at the end of the day. We stayed at the ASM. Walking to the food court in the early morning hours was magical for me and the kids, things larger than life, the kids counting the Dalmatian bones, and wondering if they all came alive at night (like the toys in toy story). It was the thrill on my sons face when he got an Autographed birthday card from all the characters and balloons sent to the room for him. For me, it was watching my hubby's face light up as Minnie hugged him , you'd think he had just gotten his first kiss, lol. I know in my logical mind, that we could probably stay longer if we stayed off site at one of the nice Inns they have, and I am sure my hubby would be soooooo happy about the saving money part. But I don't want to miss the Mickey soap, and the walk in the morning to the food court.
We take our car to the parks too though. I have too much to tote around with all the kids, and it's nicer for us to be able to hop in our car and drive back.
Ron responds:
My feelings is that you can enjoy the Disney magical if you stay on or off site. The most important idea is that you go and enjoy yourself. We have stayed both off and on site during the 22 trips we have made to WDW. I would say that every trip was enjoyable because we did things that made us happy and we did it within our budget.
Some people think that the only way you can enjoy Disney is by staying on-site and for them that would be true because that what makes they happy. But, it not true for everyone. If you have small kids and the only way you can take them is by staying off-site then go and enjoy them before they get too old.
I think I made my point. I can always talk about the first trip to WDW with $300 cash and a gas CC. We had a great time with our kids.
Annette in TX responds:
I think I've written this once before, but it is possible to experience great customer service at
hotels, etc., besides Disney. One time our flight was cancelled at the Los Angeles airport (mechanical problems on the airplane) and Tower Airlines placed everyone on the flight in local hotels for the remainder of the night. We ended up in a local Marriott, and I have to say that, in both the restaurant and at the check-in area, we were treated like royalty. Of course, it was even better that Tower Airlines paid for all of our meals as well. :) I have no idea why the Marriott employees treated us so well, but I was grateful for their kindness.
We are timeshare owners (not DVC) and the staff at the check-in counters, as well as the people in charge of activities/entertainment, have been gracious and helpful. Maybe it's the quality of the resort company we own with, I'm not sure, but they do seem to go out of their way to make our stay a pleasant one.
I have stayed onsite at Disney (once at Shades of Green and once at All Stars) and while I thought the little Disney touches were cute, I'd rather be in a 2-bedroom condo - complete with 2 or more tv's, a full kitchen, jacuzzi or hot tub, a king-sized bed in the master bedroom and just plain privacy and room enough for our 5 family members and any extra relatives who might come along. The DVC club offers those amenities, hence the great love DVC owners have for their resorts.
I do enjoy the Disney Magic while at the theme parks, but sometimes, it is actually a relief to get away from Disney at a local condo or hotel at the end of a long, exhausting day at the theme parks. JMHO.
Jeffery responds:
I agree with Kathy, if the money is the same, I would opt for on-site. However, most of the time the
money is not the same or the offside room has more space. I've stayed onsite a couple of times (Disney
Inn, Treetop Villas) but lately have stayed offsite in timeshares. In 2000, we stayed in a 2bedroom 2 bath at
Vistana. Never took more than 15 minutes to get to any park or back home including when the park closed. Plan to return in 2003 with one week in a timeshare. I'm trading my week in Maui for something in Orlando with current choices being Vistana, Marriott, or DVC. I'll take whatever becomes available first but of course would prefer DVC. Not holding my breath. Second week will probably be split with AKL and Swan. AKL because we want to get Savannah view and look at animals all morning and night and Swan because of teacher's discount and convenience to Boardwalk, EPCOT, and MGM. If AP or any other specials lower price below Swan in MK or EPCOT area, then we will definitely go for that. Family is not that concerned about 24 hours of magic
Kim responds:
As a person who has stayed at both Portifino at Universal and deluxe resorts at WDW, Portifino wins for service and such by far. The
check in was much better they had every station open to serve guests, they were serving champagne at check in (and one of us didn't want
champagne so they went to get a beer for us instead complimentary of course)
The rooms are better than anything that I've seen on Disney property (including AKL concierge) the beds are awesome, and they just pamper you
from the moment you enter the door including turn down service. The atmosphere is just awesome love having those boats in the water.
So if I was going to rate the hotel on face value btw WDW or Portifino I'd choose Portifino....the one drawback to most people on this list
would be the fact that it's not onsite WDW.....
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