I’m looking for offsite locations that can be a back up in case we can’t afford onsite accommodations. Because we need at least a 1 bedroom. So if onsite, we are looking at a cabin at Fort Wilderness. The only thought I have for offsite is Magic Yard Villas because MouseSavers is running a promotion for it. But running a search hasn’t brought up any stats from Liners and I don’t trust anyone like I trust y’all! I’m looking for a recommendation for someone I “know” who can vouch for the place. We stayed offsite on our last visit and it was thoroughly unmagical. Idk if there’s a way to avoid that offsite, but I figured if there was, y’all would know about it
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I’ve heard lots of good things about Wyndham Bonnet Creek.
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Thank you! I will look into it
Thank you, Figment! I actually realized my error and made use of the good ol “search” feature and found some great info from Ryan! I think he uses a lot of airbnbs which we don’t need just yet. But I’m sure we will when our children are bigger.
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When we stay off site, we generally use VRBO to rent a house. Which we love because we can spread out more, have a private pool and hot tub, access to laundry and a kitchen, etc. If you do a little searching, you can also find houses that some folks have gone to great effort to theme to Disney, or Marvel, or Harry Potter, etc. It is generally much cheaper than anything you can get on-property.
Obviously, the downside is having to drive to the parks, so you have to figure in the cost of a vehicle (if you need to rent one) and paying to park at the parks.
We have also stayed at a few condos as well, including Floridays. The condos are sometimes closer, but you actually could end up paying more than you could for a larger house.
When I use VRBO, I’ll usually filter on total price, number of bedrooms, number of baths, and having private pool and hot tub. Then I go through the listings and heart the ones I would consider. Once i have about a dozen, I’ll ask my wife and any kids which they like or prefer. I can do this a few times until I settle on the house that is most ideal.
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Admittedly, if you are used to staying on-site, then going to off-site can definitely seem less magical. It really depends on the type of vibe you are looking to achieve. When we did a trip in May 2021 I think it was, we rented a house…but it was us, plus 5 others. We were doing UOR, so we weren’t spending all day in the parks…so we were back to the house before dinner and could play games together, swim, use the pool table, etc. It was relaxing in a way you actually can’t get on property easily.
ETA: Here is Floridays. It has been a minute since we stayed there…but we liked it. 2 Bedroom Suites In Orlando | Floridays Resort Orlando
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Thank you so much!! I will look into Florida’s for sure
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Sorry I misread!
Here’s an idea— on you tube PCDev made a good video a few months back- “top 5 budget friendly hotels…” he gave a good over view of off property hotels near Disney and universal. Might be worth a watch!
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I’ll back this up - we stayed there with our four young adult kids a few years ago and loved it. The resort is beautiful, rooms were very spacious, pools were nice, and it’s super close. You will want your own car in this situation though, while they have bus service to the parks it’s infrequent and often doesn’t go as late or as early as one might like.
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You have ME right HERE and you didn’t reach out to me???
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my lanta! I’m a mess!! 
Honestly, I’ve been panicking at the thought of a “sudden” trip with less than 4 months to plan! Clearly, I’ve done a poor job at organizing my resources
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