One of the first decisions we face when planning our trips is where to stay. Many people begin by asking whether or not to choose Disney-owned properties. So we asked the Parenting Panel: On-site or off-site hotels? What do you prefer for taking the kids and why?
Chris, also known as GusMan, is always planning his next family trip to the Walt Disney World Resort and loves to help others plan their trips, as well sharing his experiences. Chris writes:
When planning our first Walt Disney World Resort vacation as a family, I focused on cost. I wanted to spend the least amount of money possible mainly because I did not know what I was getting myself into. Little did I know that when my wife got a discount on a Walt Disney World Resort, it would later result in me not wanting to stay anywhere else other than on Disney property itself.
When talking about our vacations with friends, it’s easy to tell that my family’s preference is to stay on site. In fact, we have made it a point over the years to try to stay at as many of the different resorts as possible. Not only does this provide different experiences during our trips, but it also allowed us to experience the resorts first hand so that we can help others decide on which resort is best for them. The nice part is that regardless of resort, we love being surrounded by Disney and pretty much sheltered from the “real world” during our time away. And while that may not seem totally possible, I have found myself returning home after a week at Disney totally out of synch with the world around me. In my minds eye, that is a positive accomplishment.
We do on occasion stay off-site for a night so that we can extend our vacation either at the beginning or the end of our trip. However, even though most of these stays are free, thanks for different hotel reward programs, they never seem to have that same feel or hospitality as the Disney resorts. Don’t get me wrong—they have been top-notch stays, and I tend to be a return guest, especially at the off-site hotels in the Downtown Disney area. It’s just that I always seem to long for being on property and I am constantly comparing my off-site choice with recent stays on-site. The funny part is that even my kids find themselves comparing the resorts.
There is something to be said for being on-property. Disney, being a brand on its own, sets high expectations for itself. I know I am going to get a quality product. While there might have been small issues with rooms on a rare occasion, those issues were taken care of promptly and without disruption to my vacation. At the same time, the quality goes beyond the room. The decor of the different resorts seem to transport you to different places, even though you never left central Florida. While it may be something experienced only in my mind, I consistently feel all the stress in the world leaving my shoulders when I walk into my resort of choice, ready to enjoy vacation time with my family. To me, it is my cue to say to myself “I have arrived.”
From my kids' perspective, they might not pay attention to the room as much as they enjoy the different activities around the resort. In fact, we talked about trying to go on a Disney vacation that did not include going to one of the theme parks. We thought about the idea of just enjoying all the resort has to offer. While that may seem like an odd vacation idea, during a recent trip that was extraordinarily stormy, we got to do just that. We were staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and got to see some of the beautiful African artifacts throughout the grand lobby. Cast members set up games and crafts throughout the hotel for the kids. There were storytellers that shared folklore from their home country. It was never a dull moment. Most of all, it was both fun and insightful. It was that attention to detail—to take a rainy day and do something to put smiles and everyone’s faces—that really sets Disney apart.
Overall, I think it’s hard to say that we prefer to stay on-site for any one single reason: I see how we are treated as guests and that is a large influence on my family. I want to be in the middle of the action—and the magic—and feel that even when I leave the parks for the evening, I don’t have to deal with anything related to the outside world. Anything less just doesn’t seem magical.
Parenting in the Parks columnist Adrienne Krock’s three boys are now 13, 10, and 7. They’ve been visiting Disneyland since they were each just weeks old and Annual Passholders since their 3rd birthdays. Adrienne writes:
For our family, the decision to stay on-site or not starts with: Which parks are we visiting? If the answer is the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, we stay off-site. In Orlando, we prefer staying on-site.
In Anaheim, we have so many more convenient and well-priced options right across the street from the Parks. In fact, many of the off-property hotels in Anaheim are closer to the main gates of the parks than several of the onsite rooms.
MousePlanet Staff member Alex Stroup once posted on the MousePad Discussion Board, a detailed list of distances from local hotels to the Disneyland Main Gate and while the list does not include every off-property hotel, it is interesting to note that one of the farthest hotels on Harbor Boulevard, the Fairfield Inn, is closer to the Disneyland Main Gate than the Disneyland Hotel! (From the Fairfield Lobby to the Disneyland Main Gate is 2342 feet, while the distance to the large Sorcerer’s Hat, one of the closest landmarks at the Disneyland Hotel, to the Main Gate, is 2390 feet!) In short: Harbor Boulevard provides very convenient locations for off-site lodging.
In addition, these properties often provide a variety of options. Several have various sized and appointed suites from simple two-room suites with one bathroom to suites with multiple bedrooms and full kitchens. My family’s favorite properties are the Howard Johnson and Fairfield Inn. The Howard Johnson has extremely comfortable beds, clean, updated rooms and furnishings, and charming theming. The Pirate-themed water play area offers a fun place for the kids to play. “HoJo's” also offers Annual Passholder and Entertainment Rate discounts. We recently had to book our first visit to the Fairfield because the HoJo's was completely booked. Our boys preferred it over my beloved HoJo's for one simple reason: Each room has a chair which converts to a bed. That’s right, a third bed for my third child to avoid having to sleep on the floor. I’m a bit disappointed because I do love the HoJo's so much, but I’m glad to have a back-up option. I know that among my friends who travel to Disneyland regularly, many of us have different preferred locations for different reasons. We do have a lot of great options in Anaheim.
For the price, location and amenities, I just do not care to book on-property at the Disneyland Resort. I know that many others will disagree, but that’s my opinion… which completely flies out the window when I consider traveling to Orlando!
At the Walt Disney World Resort, I cannot imagine staying off-property. The size of the Lake Buena Vista Resort dwarfs Anaheim. I know some have heard this story before, but not being able to walk from the Magic Kingdom parking lot to the Main Gate shocked me.
As a California native, we prefer avoiding the bus system all together and opt for a rental car at the Walt Disney World Resort, but staying on-property meant access to free parking everywhere we went. Our magical Key to the World Card served as our room key, our park admissions, our dining plan credits and our on-property credit card: Could anything be easier than that? Unlike my experiences in Anaheim, the conveniences afforded by the Walt Disney World Resorts, and the various price-points available, made choosing an on-site property much more logical for our family, with one slight challenge: I dared to have three children.
While the situation seems to be getting better, be forewarned as you plan your Walt Disney World adventures: The Walt Disney World resorts seem to favor families with one or two children over three or more. When we visited, we stayed in a family suite at Disney's All-Star Music hotel in order to find a room large enough to accommodate our family of five. Some of the newer properties are now being built with larger families in mind. Our budget might have allowed us to consider a fancier resort had we been able to find an on-property room that could accommodate our larger family. That said, again, the benefits of staying on-property at Walt Disney World made that family suite a really great choice for us.
Anaheim and Orlando: Two coasts, two opposing opinions. But either way, we have a great time!
MousePlanet columnist Chris Barry his wife Diane, 11-year-old Samantha, and twin 8-year-olds, Casey and Alex, live on Long Island and are all major Disney and Walt Disney World fans. Chris writes:
There’s never been any discussion to the whole on-site or off-site at the Walt Disney World Resort question in this house. We’ve always stayed on-site. We’ll always stay on-site. We won’t even entertain the notion of staying off-site. If we’re going to the Walt Disney World Resort and buying into the whole concept of escaping to the vacation kingdom, then we’re escaping to the vacation kingdom…not to a chain hotel that we might be able to find anywhere else.
I’m not saying that there aren’t unique choices in the Lake Buena Vista area off Disney property. There are. I’m just not staying at any of them when I’m going to Disney. When we spent four days at Universal Orlando, we stayed at one of their hotels, The Royal Pacific. We loved it. It was a wonderful hotel. Very unique. Great treatment. Fantastic pool. Super convenient to the two parks. When it was time to spend the next four days over at Disney…we packed up and went to Disney's Polynesian Resort, which, as I’ve attested to many times here on MousePlanet, is my favorite Walt Disney World resort. We could’ve stayed somewhere centrally located between each of the two places…but why? We wanted the full experience of each and that’s what we got.
When I cross under those gates onto Walt Disney World property…that’s it…I turn off the outside world. I don’t want to see anything that might resemble home or “the real world” whatsoever. No gas stations. No malls. No fast food restaurants. I buy into it completely. I only want to see purple street signs and I only want to get around on Disney transportation. Staying on-site allows me that total immersion and total escape that I yearn for.
Not to mention that the Disney resorts are amazing. They are wonderfully themed and designed. They are impeccably cared for. They offer more amenities than we frequently can even take advantage of and all for what I’ve always considered a reasonable price. Notice, I didn’t say cheap. If you want a cheaper hotel, then yes, stay off-site. But the Disney hotels offer things that you just can’t get anywhere else, and to me, that’s the whole point of even going there and it’s worth every penny.
My kids have known the joy of being immersed in the magic of several Disney resorts. They’ve thrilled themselves in the Polynesian Resort’s volcano pool. They’ve chased lizards around the grounds of Alligator Bayou at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside. As parents, there is no better feeling than catching that monorail back to the Poly with three tired kids in tow, and knowing you’ll be home real soon or taking the short walk back to a room off of Disney's Boardwalk after Illuminations at Epcot.
It's your turn—keep the discussion flowing!
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