I 100% agree. I am looking at a whole host of new resorts for the future b/c MDE is no longer being offered. TimTracker just stayed at Hilton Bonnet Creek and the room was GIANT for around $550/night. A year ago I would never have considered staying offsite, but I don’t feel valued as a guest on Disney property anymore.
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We will see soon how many feel that way to the extent that it changes their plans. I’m unhappy about the changes, but will still stay on-site. My friend who has a trip scheduled for October feels the same way as me and still plans to stay on-site. Disney can always change back if it turns out to be a net financial loss for them.
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Len said on the Disney Dish podcast this week that they ran the numbers and discovered that with 30 minutes of early entry, an onsite guest will spend 1 hour less in line for a day at MK than an offsite guest. (I assume he ran it assuming both groups rode the same set of rides.) That’s a pretty big incentive!
But I get what you mean. The austerity is not appreciated.
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DD20’s college is quite close to Joshua Tree, so we’ve been able to go a few times. Hopefully, next year we’ll go again.
@janamelia Probably the biggest surprise for me was Death Valley. We went two years ago in January and for me it was basically checking a box. Completely blown away by how much I enjoyed it. Definitely go in January, but go if you haven’t already!
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We’ve been to Death Valley - as you say checking a box. And yes. So memorable. In so many ways. We were there in June! 
Only ones in the campground. Except for the scruffy coyote drifting thru . . .
Also, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Excellent place. I understand you can’t get near the HUGE campground in January. We were there in June. Wonderful, amazing variety of flora.
Lassen Volcanic National Park also in June, playing in the snow. Missed Crater that trip - road closed.
Yellowstone, another trip, again June, temperature 38 degrees in the mornings. Fewer people, more animals.
Shutting up now. 
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We were going to go to Lassen on our way down to California in August but then DD20’s school went fully remote for fall. This last June we visited Crater Lake and it was snowing on June 28. So cold! That was a whirlwind tour of Crater Lake, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier. Have to go back to Glacier for sure as most of it was closed.
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Staying off site and having my own vehicle makes our trips Trips to Florida, not just Trips to Disney. There is so much else to do and see outside the bubble.
I do wonder if they will up the prices of everything and monetize everything and then say only on-site people can enjoy WDW (like Great Wolf Lodges) and -voila- we hit the boutique experience thing many have predicted and then the WILL be generating enough money to only have on-site guests.
But then they will get greedy again? And welcome off site people? But by then the higher prices for any experiences will be du jour and we will be back to where we are now?
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One hour per day for how many more dollars per day?
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They calculated that and they said it was like $25 / person (or maybe it was $25 total per day?)? Depends of course on what type of room and all that.
I’d rather stay off site in wonderful accommodations and pay for a Magic Morning thingy (should those come back). That alone doesn’t seem like enough of an incentive. With so much else taken away, it’s hardly strong enough to justify.
I wonder what their endgame is here. It’s so weird how much they’ve taken away…
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My oldest was 10 when my 5th was born, and 13 when number 6 came. It was busy, to say the least. But my youngest was only a few days old when I called my TA to book our DCL cruise for 15 months out. I love to count down to vacations and it stinks to not have anything on the books right now. These days I have a vague goal of “moving in the spring” to latch on to. But it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it .
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I am still convinced that there is a bigger plan in play. Just as DL said they are using this time to revision the AP program, I see this as sort of the same opportunity to rip the band-aid off and start new.
Once vaccinations are more common than the exception, WDW still has it’s 50th to think about along with all the foreign/domestic people who had to reschedule their plans. I don’t think they are worried so much as they are planning to make pay to play a more serious option.
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Assuming it is similar at the other parks (it may not be), a 5 day on-site trip would save 300 minutes in line. That has a lot of value to some people.
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Oooh! We did these three on a spring break trip a couple years ago. We’re on the same NP mission. It’ll be a while. I think we’re less than 10 right now. Those three were fun to do! We definitely didn’t have enough time at the Everglades, though. It’s so big!!
If all things go well, we’ll get to do our 2020 Glacier NP trip this summer. My MIL is SO excited to do that trip with us. She doesn’t usually travel much. 
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We loved Glacier. We camped on the east side. We did a Red Bus tour for a couple of reasons. One is that they’re so historical. Two is I get vertigo on mountain roads; a driver meant that DH and I could both watch scenery all the time. The reality was so much better than I had anticipated, making an already amazing stay more memorable.
Highly recommend a Red Bus Tour.
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We added three new parks to our total this summer. I’ve personally been to 18 parks. My DD20 has been to 18 as well, but they’re not all the same as mine. DD18 is a little behind but doesn’t care as much. LOL Still a loooong way to go!
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It’s the journey that matters . . . 
eta: and the memories.
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Is this theoretical guest a liner? Because just being that cuts my time in line a heck of a lot
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I’m sure it varies, but my understanding is that they just plugged the attractions into the software and optimized. So you might be able to eke out a bit more. But arriving 30 minutes after hotel guests is sure to cause a small wrench in most plans, unless you skip a headliner.
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I will probably always stay on-site. To me a resort vacation does not involve driving. (Road trips are another matter.) So we always stay where I won’t have to drive for the time we are at a Disney resort.
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