Having doubts about our plans...please help!

[MS_mom_1965]

Our last trip, we stayed off site at a condo. We got there at RD each day, but of course, lines quickly formed. We stayed at the parks until wiped out each day, eating CS at the park for lunch, then just finding somewhere nicer off site for dinner. It was Thanksgiving that trip too.

I had wanted this trip to be a little more relaxed. I have reservations at a DW moderate resort, and the DDP. I have 7 day park hoppers. I had thought we could hit the morning EMH, stay until around lunch (having a CS lunch at the park), then go back to hotel, swim/rest, and have nice sit-down dinner, possibly at a park so we could get in a few more rides/attractions.

Now I've decided I would really like to get a campsite. Would save me almost $900 over the hotel cost, less around $150 extra gas to pull the camper down. However, I could cook breakfast and we wouldn't have to eat pop-tarts, ets. Then, I joined a planning site, and I see I should avoid EMH both morning and evening for all parks. Hmmm...

I'm wondering now if I should stay at a hotel off-site, pay for our our meals instead of the DDP, and save a lot of money. Or would we be more likely to go back and rest if we stayed on site? Are the morning EMH really that bad during Thanksgiving week? I feel like I'm paying for an "extra" I won't be using.

I hate wondering if I should just start all over with my planning.

Please help!

[LauraF]

The only problem I've ever had with offsite hotels is the transportation options. Not all offer shuttles, and the ones that do don't always have very regular/frequent schedules. So if you are looking at going back in the afternoon for a siesta, that might be a bit hard to do.

I don't how EMH are during Thanksgiving as I avoid that week. Somebody should be along shortly to elaborate.

[CleveRocks]

I can't imagine that any WDW veteran with more than 2 brain cells to rub together would advise you to avoid morning EMH!

If you make it to that park at the beginning of that EMH hour, you'll have a great time bouncing to 2 or 3 top-shelf attractions in that hour.

Maybe the advice was to stay away from a morning EMH park if you are not taking advantage of the EMH???

[TINKERBELL_82]

I can't imagine that any WDW veteran with more than 2 brain cells to rub together would advise you to avoid morning EMH!

I concur, and would say the same for evening EMH's! Those are the best times to be in the parks!! There may look to be a lot of people around, but the lines always seem to be pretty short!

[fig's disney]

Thanksgiving crowds are bearable, especially compared to summer time crowds....and as for EMH mornings are always great.....and if you have a park hopper go to a no EMH park in the morning, rest at your hotel, and then hit the EMH park that night.

I would recommend the camping seeing how it would be comforatable temps...and for the DDP think of your family....how much food do you really want....and if you're camping you'll be more than capable to provide yourself food...

So if you end up camping and scratching the DDP you'll have alot of saving.....i'm not recommending spending it all...(you can start saving for another trip)......but you could still have a nice dinner every night....

BTW.....see the Osbourne Lights Turn on in the evening.....it's the most amazing thing i've ever seen

[Red Randal]

I'd never suggest staying off site. Morning EMH is great. I rarely do it because I like to sleep in...and guess what, tons of other people are like me and lines are nice and short in the morning. By the end of the night during a PM EMH, thngs quiet down considerably (probably a little less so, however, during the off season when the parks close earlier...more people likely to be willing to stay out till 10 in November than mindnight in July.)

If you don't mind cooking for yourself, it might not be the worst idea to scrap the dining plan. I find that I usually don't like to eat a big meal and then romp around a theme park, so my Disney meals are usually quick stuff throughout the day. If, however, you do enjoy eating a big meal at the parks, DDP can't be beat. You can order A LOT of food if you want to and really get your money's worth (want steak every night, lobster, the biggest appetizer and dessert on the menu, go right ahead, it's the same as soup and a salad on the DDP.)

Hopefully this rambling post helped. If not, feel free to PM me for clarification. Others will be along to assist, too, I'm sure.

[garymacd]

We stayed off-site once. ONCE. I will never make that mistake again! By the time we left the park, I was so tired I didn't want to drive anywhere.

If you are taking really little ones or teenagers, don't try to go to EMH every morning. Let them sleep, especially if you stayed for EMH the night before. Get some rest yourself. Nothing worse than a crabby 3 y.o. or an even crabbier 15 y.o. The worst, of course, is a crabby 35 y.o.

If you consider camping, ask yourself, would you really be comfortable there and going to the public showers, etc? It wouldn't be bad for me, I grew up with it (we couldn't afford anything else), but I know my beloved wife would HATE it!

[DDuck66]

I would say to definatley stay onsite. I am making my first offsite visit this year and am having doubts already. Secondly, we used all of the EMH (morning) when we were at WDW during last Christmas. We were able to do almost all of the major rides in the morning before the parks got filled. We then spent the afternoon taking in the shows and people watching. EMH is GREAT!!!!

[Ms.Disney]

I would not stayoff site! The Orlando/lake buena vista area is VERY busy around that time of year. Especially Lake Buena Vista, the restaurants over there can be crazy! We wanted to eat at UNO's one night (its across the street from DTD) anyway there was NOT EVEN A PLACE TO PARK! People were everywhere and there was a line out the door, we went to every other restaurant within a 2-3 mile radius and it was all the same thing! There were lines of people out the door and half way down the side walk. We ended up at a Drive thru window, and still had to wait 20 minutes becuase of all the people there. I understand that camping onsite would save money but are you sure you want to camp on your vacation? Why dont stay onsite at a value resort? It would still save money over the MOD and you would not have to take public showers What-ever you decide have a great trip!

[jedigrrrl]

We stayed off-site once. ONCE. I will never make that mistake again! By the time we left the park, I was so tired I didn't want to drive anywhere.

If you are taking really little ones or teenagers, don't try to go to EMH every morning. Let them sleep, especially if you stayed for EMH the night before. Get some rest yourself. Nothing worse than a crabby 3 y.o. or an even crabbier 15 y.o. The worst, of course, is a crabby 35 y.o.

If you consider camping, ask yourself, would you really be comfortable there and going to the public showers, etc? It wouldn't be bad for me, I grew up with it (we couldn't afford anything else), but I know my beloved wife would HATE it!

The Comfort Stations in Ft Wilderness are super clean and, well, COMFORTABLE! I used to camp there as a teenager and was really impressed with the showers, etc, they offered. As an adult, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there and use their bathrooms again.

I like your camping itinerary. You'd save a lot of money on food, you might not need the DDP, and you could relax back at your "hotel" whenever you felt like it without having to drive a long distance. If you think you'll be eating a Counter Meal EVERY DAY and you'd still want a Table meal EVERY DAY, then do the DDP. I hate staying off-site and will ALWAYS spend the extra money to say on-site(We do Values).

Also, if you get to the morning EMH right when it starts, you should be able to ride 2 or 3 rides that would be packed the rest of the day. I'd recommend you hit the evening EMH toward the last hour and a half, when it empties out. The first hour or so of evening EMH tends to be CRAZY!!!!

Good Luck!

[January-2007]

I would stay at Fort Wilderness and not get the Dining Plan. You will be surrounded by Disney magic by being onsite and not paying out the ear for stuff you don't necessarily need. Plus there's free parking if you stay onsite. The thing with the Extra Magic Hours is just that the times right after the morning EMH and right before the evening EMH are more crowded than normal, during the actual EMH I've always found crowds to be less than during normal operating hours, it just depends on how much you like to park hop. If your plans are for this year I would get on the phone ASAP to try to reserve a site at Fort Wilderness, as it is very popular that time of year. Have a wonderful vacation and happy planning!

[andreallybadeggs]

I'll start by saying we stay on site whenever we can but then buck the trend and tell you that staying off site is not bad at all depending on your surroundings.
We've done timeshare exchanges a few times because it meant we could take along some friends/family who would otherwise not be able to afford a WDW trip. Every time, it's been a good experience and there is something to be said for having a kitchen + washer/dryer at a reasonable price. If I were just in a motel room off site I'm sure I would not feel the same but
we kind of liked the feeling of "coming home" at night.
When we stay off site we always:
*bring or rent a car--would not want to rely on
off property shuttles
*Avoid the parks with EMH
*Arrive at the parks early (before opening)
*Take a mid day break of some sort-- usually do not return to the condo but if it's not too far away we might. Also will resort hop-- love to just sit in the GF lobby and listen to the music or treat ourselves to a nice table service meal somewhere to recharge the batteries.
1) If saving some $ is a high priority than I would not rule out either the camping or off site but make sure you consider all the factors. For example, when you're doing your comparisons, don't forget the $10 per day parking fee for off property guests.
2) If you can spend the $ you've already planned without remorse then stay with what you've got and take full advantage of all that Magic!
Have a great trip!

[SBETigg]

If you've never stayed on-site, I think you owe it to yourself to try. The advantages are more than EMH (and if you take advantage of the EMH, they are well worth it- get there early for mornings and stay late for nights). It's just magical and much less hassle to be in WDW and not in and out of traffic heading to WDW. I think you'll really feel the difference and love it.

Furthermore, if you can swing it comfortably, I don't think you should scrap the moderate resort plan in favor of camping. You should allow yourself the luxury of enjoying a WDW resort at least once and the mods are lovely, relaxing, wonderful places to stay. Well worth the extra $900. Sometimes, you have to let go and indulge (as long as it's safely in the budget). I would be concerned that I wouldn't relax as much by camping and doing my own cooking but if that's what you enjoy, go for it.

[c&d]

I would definitely recommend staying on site. You just get so much more of the magic when you stay on site. If you're concerned about spending the money in a moderate, why not try a value hotel. You'll save a little money and you won't have to cook. The best part of being on vacation for me is not having to cook.

As I said earlier I recommend staying on site no matter where you stay.

[Tygger7]

If you've never stayed on-site, I think you owe it to yourself to try. The advantages are more than EMH (and if you take advantage of the EMH, they are well worth it- get there early for mornings and stay late for nights). It's just magical and much less hassle to be in WDW and not in and out of traffic heading to WDW. I think you'll really feel the difference and love it.

Furthermore, if you can swing it comfortably, I don't think you should scrap the moderate resort plan in favor of camping. You should allow yourself the luxury of enjoying a WDW resort at least once and the mods are lovely, relaxing, wonderful places to stay. Well worth the extra $900. Sometimes, you have to let go and indulge (as long as it's safely in the budget). I would be concerned that I wouldn't relax as much by camping and doing my own cooking but if that's what you enjoy, go for it.

Ditto...couldn't have said it any better. I mean, after all, how often do you go to WDW? Five years from now, you're not going to look back and say, "Gee, that vacation was nice, but darn I wish I wouldn't have saved more money." Vacations are all about memories, and when you spread out the costs of vacations over your kid(s) lifetimes, $900 is a drop in the bucket. Go with what you will provide the best vacation experience...after it's all said and done, that's what you will remember.

[Dicecatt262]

When we stayed offsite, we swore we'd never do it again....and I LOVE staying onsite.

I'm going to throw a different opinion about EMH out there..

Mornings are good...if you get there for EMH. If you have hoppers, leave and go to a different park.

Evening EMH...in my experience, not worth it...Take January last year. My sister and I went to an evening EMH at MK...at 12:30 (closing at 1 AM) lines for Space was 30 minutes...I won't wait that long during the day, why would I do it at night? If you do evening EMH, unless it is a really late one, just be realistic...realize that some rides will still have large lines, and just enjoy the atmosphere. I never get park hoppers and I never do EMH, because I find that if I go on a non emh day early in the morning, I get a ton more rides in and the park in general is less crowded all day long. Just my opinion...I know some people are die hard EMH fans, but I can assure you, I have lots of brains in my head, and I do not do EMH. Mornings are better for touring, and if you stay up late the night before, your next morning is shot.

Oh, and the planning site? If it is the one I think it is, it is RIGHT ON.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Our first trip we stayed offsite and thought it was great, until.. we stayed on site the next trip and discovered how much we had missed. Its hard to express, but its more than the EMH and the magic. Its also the time you save not going back and forth to offsite hotels, its the ease of onsite food, its all more relaxed.

The Disney Dining Plan is something you could drop to save some money. If you don't do a lot of TS it may not be worth it to you.

Have a great trip! You'll be glad you stayed on site. Its worth it.

[MS_mom_1965]

Thanks to you all for the good advice and helpful comments. I guess I wasn't clear about the camping, we have our own camper - so no public showers!

DH and I discussed the pros and cons of all our options, and we decided we definitely want to stay on-site. We just could NOT make a decision about whether to bring the camper, or stay in the hotel. So I presented all the facts to the kids and let them decide!

They voted hotel, so hotel it is.

[Melanie]

Mornings are good...if you get there for EMH. If you have hoppers, leave and go to a different park.

Evening EMH...in my experience, not worth it...Take January last year. My sister and I went to an evening EMH at MK...at 12:30 (closing at 1 AM) lines for Space was 30 minutes...I won't wait that long during the day, why would I do it at night? If you do evening EMH, unless it is a really late one, just be realistic...realize that some rides will still have large lines, and just enjoy the atmosphere. I never get park hoppers and I never do EMH, because I find that if I go on a non emh day early in the morning, I get a ton more rides in and the park in general is less crowded all day long. Just my opinion...I know some people are die hard EMH fans, but I can assure you, I have lots of brains in my head, and I do not do EMH. Mornings are better for touring, and if you stay up late the night before, your next morning is shot.

And I'm going to say RIGHT ON with your statements here. I feel exactly this way about EMH.
In my experience, the evening just isn't worth it. If the park is crowded that day, evening EMH will be just as bad.

[SBETigg]

DH and I discussed the pros and cons of all our options, and we decided we definitely want to stay on-site. We just could NOT make a decision about whether to bring the camper, or stay in the hotel. So I presented all the facts to the kids and let them decide!

They voted hotel, so hotel it is.

Congratulations! I think you're going to have an absolutely amazing time and no regrets. Best wishes for a magical vacation!