On-site or Off-site: A Philosophical Debate

I do have to say as a 10 year old when EPCOT opened there was no place more magical to me - even more than MK. It was filled with so much WOW and WONDER. As an adult - I wanted to travel so much - but things kept getting in the way. Now we are making time and making it a priority.

The way we travel to DW has def evolved over the years. Living in PA before, I loved staying on property. I was nervous about driving in unfamiliar areas, so ME was a bonus. I figured that it saved time to use the buses, and I loved being in there bubble. Fast forward to this year…with a move to FL imminent…I decided for the first time to get some more use out of our AP’s and flew down and rented a car and booked offsite accommodations(a rental home). Navigating was very easy. Got a fantastic deal on rental car. No parking fees because we rented a house and have AP’s so parking at park was free. The breakdown in price per night of our rental home was comperable to a value room in Disney. We ended up being upgraded to a 5/4 home with a private pool and hot tub. We were 6 minutes from driveway to AK gate. If I wanted to drink, I could’ve easily used uber or Lyft. We had a kitchen and a washer and dryer. The peace and quiet was magnificent after a long day in the parks. Getting home each night was easy peasy and I’d go for time against Disney transport any day. After THAT trip? I haven’t been back on property again I could probably put a down payment on a home for what that house would have cost me on property. All of my reasons for NOT staying off property had been laid to rest except for EMH, and with a good TP, it’s almost a moot point. I did a few more trips since then in various hotels, and now I live a couple hours away. It would have to be some heck of an occasion before I’d hand me money over again.

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My first trip to DW we stayed on site after that family moved all over Orlando. So we could not stay on site without insulting someone. My wife’s grandfather retired and got a job at AK so it was free entry for us for a few years, but no visit ever compared to the magic of my first trip on site. My little girl is now a Jr in high school next year so goes off to college. So insult or not we are staying on site, for her first time and my wife’s. I just hope there is still some magic left. That is what it come down to that MAGIC.

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