I think with young children who will get tired and cranky without naps, it makes sense to spring a little extra to stay somewhere on-site, no? That makes it so much easier to take a break in the afternoon (which seems to be the peak time in terms of crowds, tantrums, and heat) and then come back after naps to spend a little bit more relaxing time.

Anonymous wrote:The problem with on site is that you have to share a room with your kids or pay a ton for multiple rooms or a suite.

+1

Exactly!

Hilton Bonnet Creek, Wyndham Bonnet Creek, or any of the hotels near Downtown Disney are great locations and inexpensive. Actually, Wyndham Bonnet Creek is closer to the parks than some of the Disney Resorts.

Thanks, pp. We are a family with four kids, too. Hoping to go at the end of October. The last time we went, we only had two kids and stayed at the Boardwalk (so, we've been spoiled). We napped in strollers on the go for the most part, but we liked swinging by the hotel between parks (and liked walking to Epcot for dinner, etc.). I'm leaning to staying on property, but DH is trying to convince me otherwise. We are definitely flying, so we would have to rent a minivan for the week if we stay off property.

Anonymous wrote:Debating between a Disney property and an off site condo/resort. Seems like money will add up quickly for a minivan rental, parking fees, gas, etc. And we'd lose the extra hours and fast pass perks. And schlepping home mid-day would be a PITA. Is it really worth it to stay offsite?

If you need to rent a minivan and schlepp home mid day, then no.

We are a family of 6 (2 adults, 4 kids). We generally drive down, so we don't need to rent a car, we already have ours. We also go during off season, so extra magic hours and fast pass perks aren't as big a deal. Also, even when our kids were very young, we did not go back to the room in the middle of the day. We were never "respect the nap" (I really HATE that term!) types anyway--our kids easily adapted to napping in a sling or stroller. So for us, staying off site was well worth the savings.

Debating between a Disney property and an off site condo/resort. Seems like money will add up quickly for a minivan rental, parking fees, gas, etc. And we'd lose the extra hours and fast pass perks. And schlepping home mid-day would be a PITA. Is it really worth it to stay offsite?

Anonymous wrote:People. Resort fees are not hidden. They are usually right there on the website. Unless you've only stayed at moderate motels your whole life, can we please stop complaining about the fees? If you are at a place with nice gardens, a super swimming pool, a RESORT, there is always the resort fee, and it's usually $25 a day, just include it when you are doing your comparison calculations. Of course we all wish they'd roll it into the room price since it is not optional. But when you say watch out for the resort fee it makes you sound like you've never stayed anyplace nice.

First, resort fees aren't plainly seen on every hotel website. Second, if you stay on WDW, like you know, the resorts there, they do not charge a resort fee. Top it off with motels with one pool in Orlando charge a resort fee for something that is not remotely a resort...

The problem with on site is that you have to share a room with your kids or pay a ton for multiple rooms or a suite.

pp here, also the easiest way to not spend thousands, is to go for two days. It's nearly $400 for a family of four for entrance. Two days is $800.

I'm not sure off-site is such a value in all instances. We spent two days at the parks, and our $130 value hotel on-site also came with free transport to/from airport and to parks.

Staying offsite is a better value but you can't get advance Fastpasses.
Get the Unofficial Guide book and subscribe to web site. Worth the small cost.
There are plenty of inexpensive hotels on site. I think it adds to the experience.
Can also buy unused timeshare points and stay on site. Much cheaper that way. Just did that for our trip to WDW last month and saved a ton (and stayed in a Deluxe 2 bedroom suite)

Food is the biggest place to save money. We stayed on site but in a value hotel with a kitchenette (Art of Animation). I had groceries delivered because I didn't have a car. We ate breakfast in the room each day. I packed snacks, peanut butter sandwiches and bottles of water for the park. I brought along my daughter's lunch bag so I was able to pack apple slices, cheese sticks, etc. I also brought some snacks from home and packed them in my suitcase.

Although I did still buy some food at the parks, it was definitely a lot cheaper. The cost of water alone will kill you. Plus it seemed healthier than eating the food that my kids would have wanted to buy, like chicken tenders.

I did do two character meals so I wasn't that frugal with my food money. I just hated the idea of spending such a large amount on something like that.

We stayed on-site at the Swan, which is not owned by Disney and therefore not as expensive, but still very nice. We could walk or take a boat to Epcot and had a free bus to the other resorts. The magic hours apply to the Swan, though I'm not sure whether the new fast pass system does. (It did when we went last year).

Anonymous wrote:One semi-legit (Disney seems to turn a blind eye) way to save money on Photopass are "shares." Basically, search for "disney photopass share" on FB, join the group, and find yourself a group of new friends going to Disney within the same one-month period. One person buys the all-pictures-included download, others link their Photopass cards to that account and send the leader their share of the cost, then after everyone is back the group leader distributes the pictures. YMMV.

You can find this sort of hook-up on Disboards.