Stay "off-proprerty" as Disney world?
 

I see how much less expensive it is to stay outside of Disneyworld. I have a 5 year old boy and a 6.5 year old girl - is saving the money worth the hassle or getting less of a genuine Disney "experience?"

Yes...the All Star resorts are fine as far as accomodations go, economy but fine.Definitely stay on site.Just my opinion but I think you lose some of the experience.

I used to firmly believe that staying inside Disney was the only way, but frankly with having to take shuttles between the parks anyway, any nearby hotel that also offers shuttles is just as good.
The one advantage I always found, though, was being able to return to your hotel mid day or even twice for a rest.

Couple of ways to save on food:
FRUIT
Each park has at least one fruit stand...
Magic Kingdom...Main Street, Liberty Square,Mickey's
ToonTown Fair
MGM...Anaheim Produce on Sunset Blvd
Epcot...Lower level Land of the Future World;Outpost
between China and Germany in World
Showcase
Animal Kingdom....Harambe Market, Africa,just
outside Kilaminjaro Safaris.
COUNTER SERVICE
Order A La Carte....most meals are listed on menus as
complete meals...If you don't want the "side" dish, tell your waitron.They'll leave it off and lower the cost of the meal.Portions tend to be large at most counter service food establishments.
If a meal, child's or otherwise, comes with a plastic "Souvenir Box", have them the deduct the cost of the box...do you really want another souvenir?? Most kids end up throwing it in the trash within 25 yards of the restaurant anyway!!

Check mousesavers.com for discount codes for the WDW value resorts.

You really need to "compare apples to apples".

Does your off-property hotel charge for the shuttles to WDW? Is the charge per day, per person, per room? We stayed at a Hampton Inn that was lovely but the last shuttle of the day was at Park closing which meant not staying for Fantasmic (MGM Studios) or Illuminations (Epcot). We ended up paying for a cab those nights, negating some of our supposed savings.

Also, Disney now offers "Disney's Magical Express" to & from the Orlando Airport, when you are booked in a Disney hotel. So you have to consider what you would've paid for a shuttle or taxi there too.

If you're renting a car, you have to figure that cost + parking into what you are paying also. You can easily do Disney without a car when staying on property. It is a little harder when you are staying off site.

We brought an electric kettle for instant oatmeal and cup-o-noodles in the room.

If you check my postings, you'll see that I recommend this to everyone but one of my favorite Disney experiences for kids can be absolutely free. It is a great thing to do on the day you arrive, if you get there early enough and aren't going into the parks. It's also a good choice for after Animal Kingdom, which closes earlier.

Go to the WDW Fort Wilderness campground for the petting zoo (free, closes around 3PM) and the campfire sing-along with Chip & Dale (free)- around 7PM. Afterwards, they show a Disney movie on the outdoor amphitheather type screen. You can see the monthly movie schedule on one of the top "sticky" posts on the disboards.com camping forum. You don't have to be a guest at the campground to enjoy this.

If you want to, there are pony rides available for under $5 each. There is also a hay ride for about $6 per adult & $4 per child. Generally at 7pm & 9:30 pm. S'mores kits are available at the Campfire snack bar for about $6. This has two sticks, graham crackers, chocolate, & marshmallows so you'll only need one kit for your two kids.

There is a nice buffet at the Campground called the Trails End Buffeteria (see www.allearsnet.com for menu & prices). You can go early enough to do the petting zoo & pony rides, then stay for a nice early dinner followed by the Sing-Along & movie.

Getting there: You can take the Fort Wilderness Campground bus from any Disney theme or water park or from Downtown Disney. Once there, the campgrounds have their own internal bus system. Catch the bus to "Pioneer Hall" for the petting zoo, pony rides, Hay rides and Trails End Buffeteria. It is about a 15 minute walk - or you can catch a Fort Wilderness bus - to the "Meadowlands Trading Post" area, which is where you'll find the Sing-Along & Movie.

They also rent Kayaks and boats at the campground marina, if you're interested in that.

It is so worth it to stay on site versus staying off site at Disney especially when kids are young like yours.

Little kids wear out. You can go back to the pool or the room and nap and head back to the parks easily.

Bring a cooler and do simple breakfast in your room.

www.Mousesavers.com has tremendous room savings. We can usually find the All Stars or Pop Century for $49 per night. I don't think off property is too much cheaper.

What I liked about staying at the Allstars when my kids were little is the break times, as others have mentioned, and the frequent bus shuttles. never had to wait ever for a bus!

I used to be one of the people who always said save money by staying off-site. However, I think Disney realized the price issue and has opened several lower-priced on-site hotels in past years.

Only advantage, which remains, to staying off-site is if you need a break from the Mouse. While I have been to WDW many times, after a few days I could strangle a Disney character - just too much. When that happens, we take a day off and sit by the pool or do something else - or sometimes it just means I need a nap and a decent meal.

Same applies for a family - don't try to do 16 hours/day in various Parks - sometimes kids need a pool afternoon, too (or a nap and a meal where the vegetable is not checken nuggets)

A lot of it depends on whether you'll have a car. I've stayed both on & off property and have been with & without a car. Personally, I prefer to drive to the parks instead of taking the shuttle, boat or monorail. I think it's quicker to get to where you want to go. However, don't forget to factor in the cost of parking - $7-8 a day (one pass is good for all parks if you go to more than one in a day). Plus, the other advantage is that you can leave things like a raincoat, umbrella, or cooler in your car. Although, you could also leave these things in a park locker too, except the cooler - no coolers allowed in the parks. It's very easy to find your way around Disney Property too, and most parking lots have a shuttle to all areas of the parking lots so you don't have to walk too far to get to your car.

Using the Disney transportation system also has it's advantages too. You don't have to pay for parking or remember where you left your car. Plus you get dropped off right in front of the parks and hotels. What I didn't like though was all the waiting, and stopping at other hotels along the way.

If you do stay off property and don't have a car, most places nearby now offer shuttle service to the parks so be sure to check on that.

As for staying on or off property, I think it all depends on your budget. I've found great places off property with kitchens in them (good way to save $$) for less money than the value resorts. However, I can honestly say I have always had wonderful experiences on property - Disney certainly knows how to do it right. But it costs more! I think your kids will get plenty of the Disney experience just by being in the area and going to the parks.

The Disney web site has a great tool for comparing the resorts. Another site to check out is http://www.downtowndisneyhotels.com/default.html All of these hotels are off property but within walking distance to Downtown Disney, and most have free transportation also.

I would stay either on-site or near Downtown Disney both for YOUR sake and for the children's.

The kids will NEVER get tired of those Disney characters and I agree that when they, and you, need a break, it is a lot more convenient to retreat to the on-site hotel given the dense Disney travel network options which come as part of the package.

You may find yourself wanting to go back to the close-in hotel for a while and then return for the later-at-night activities which is a LOT easier to do if you are close in.

Stay on Disney property. It's worth the extra money for the convenience and the Disney "magic".

The only disney properties that I have found a bonus to staying on property are the ones on the monorail. They are also very expensive. We stayed at the Polynesian one year and it was very convenient because we had the grandparents with us. If you want to save money, downtown disney is very close. We always rented a car so I am not sure how good the shuttles are from anywhere. i wouldn't stay too far off the property. We liked the Hilton.

With little kids I would try to stay on the property if at all possible. If they tire during the day it's much easier to get them back for a rest - and return later in the day - than if you're staying off property. Also - on property you may not need a car - so factor the cost of the rental into your thinking.

When my kids were that age, we stayed in the park - the ease of the monorail to get back to our hotel quickly, for a nap, rest, pool/beach was worth not having them get overloaded or have to wait for one more shuttle. We could go early, take an afternoon break, and go back for night time activities easier.

Once, when with another family, we did stay outside the park. It just meant more concise planning - so you aren't leaving the park with them dragging and still having to deal with one or two modes of transport to get back to your room. But, if your budget means you will have more disposable income for enjoying the park, meals, etc, then you can do it but need to plan for it.

When they were older, they liked staying outside the park, but we also had other destinations on the itinerary and they were capable of a long day and/or a long day and still into early evening for night time festivities.

Sometimes being in the park is Disney overload - for us as adults, but not for most kids - don't know your kids, but my girlfriend stayed in the park with her little ones and never did it again - she had too much trouble settling her kids down b/c 'they were still in Disney atmosphere' and found when she had them outside the park it defined the " we were there, now we're not, now we do something else"

I stayed off property 3 plus years ago with my then 12 yr. old. We stayed at an aging Clarion in Kissemee, when others in my group (a Karate covention) stayed at All Stars. They paid not quite double. But for just four nights, and what I paid in taxi fees (free shuttle was not very frequent!), I would stay on Disney property next time. The only exception I think, would be if we rented a car and got a good deal on a condo or home off Disney property.

Even if you're "onsite", it's not that easy to head for the room for a quick nap. It may involve a long wait and a long walk as well as a shuttle ride.
Many of the guidebooks recommend that you rent a car even if staying on site! Just to get from your hotel to the shuttle stops!

If you're staying several days the savings may well be worth it, but find a hotel with good free shuttles.

I gently disagree with tracy. Renting a car means paying for parking, and that is very high! As I stated before, the All Star resorts have LOTS of shuttles and we never waited. She is right about other properties- smaller the hotel, less frequent the shuttles. But staying off the property means that shuttles may be infrequent and not always reliable. There are hotels in Kissimmee which have shuttles, and you can use the excellent bus system to go to restaurants, etc, but given the age of your children, I would choose the All Star hotels.

"Many of the guidebooks recommend that you rent a car even if staying on site! Just to get from your hotel to the shuttle stops"

Does that mean you think it will be easy to find parking adjacent to your hotel room and also adjacent to the shuttle stops? Surely you're kidding here. The walk from a hotel room to the hotel's shuttle will certainly be far less effort than walking to your car somewhere out in a huge parking lot, driving to a shuttle stop (usually next to the hotel and certainly closer than your car was parked, and then finding parking again and walking to the shuttle. I'm assuming you were joking with us, tracy?

Don't forget that there are the new "Pop Century" value resorts at WDW. They have the most designated buses of any of the resorts.