Our Experience Staying Off Property at Disney
Would we do it again?
On our last Disney World trip, we had the opportunity to stay off property in nearby Reunion, FL. Reunion is a luxury rental area that’s about 15-20 minutes from all of the Disney parks. The area boasts several beautiful golf courses, restaurants and pools – allowing for a little break from the Disney bubble.
This was our first time staying off property, and I honestly wasn’t sure how I would feel about it. We LOVE staying on property (we’re Disney Vacation Club Members, so we must love it!). I always tell my clients how great it is to stay in the Disney bubble because you feel the magic every step of the way on your trip.
That being said, I was pleasantly surprised about our off property experience. We were in a two-bedroom condo in the Reunion Grand, which is the large tower (and the only tower) in the area. All around the tower are luxury homes and condos, so this had more of a hotel feel upon entering. We went straight up to our condo on the third floor, facing out onto a beautiful golf course and best of all, facing the DISNEY PARKS! It was easy to spot a few popular landmarks on the horizon: Spaceship Earth at Epcot, Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios, Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, and the hot air balloon at Disney Springs. If the fireworks were running, we would have been able to see ALL of them from our balcony. Pretty magical if you ask me!
Check out the Incredible Vacation Home’s Be Our Guest Tower HERE (where we stayed!)
My two biggest concerns were 1) missing the Disney magic and 2) driving to the parks. Re: missing the magic, it was different, but given the parks close so early right now, it was nice to have somewhere spacious that felt more “homey” to come back to in the evening. My second concern, driving to the parks, was pretty nonexistent! I think part of it being so easy was due to the low crowds, but driving took the same amount of time as Disney transportation. It was nice having our own car (a little extra mask-free time!) and we definitely took advantage of having one – we went to the grocery store to get some more basics for the condo and explored a little more outside the Disney bubble (we visited Celebration!).
I love a good pro/con list, so I came up with our top 3 in each category that we felt would be best for clients (they don’t necessarily apply to us!)…
Pros
- The value! It’s a fraction of what you’d pay to stay on property – especially for large groups.
- Extra amenities! Who doesn’t want their own private pool, Star Wars movie theater, Cars Land arcade or Frozen bunk beds?!
- Safety and health during COVID! If you’re uncomfortable with taking Disney transportation or staying on property, this is a great way to maintain your social distance. Having your own vehicles and space is a huge perk.
Cons
- Extra costs for rental car & parking at the parks. It’s $25/day to park for non Annual Passholders and DVC Members (we had free rental car days to use and are Annual Passholders, so we were very lucky with this!)
- Having to drive everywhere yourself. There is something to be said for the convenience of Disney transportation, and I feel like we have a love/hate relationship with it – we love being able to walk to Epcot from the Beach Club but hate waiting for the bus home after the Magic Kingdom fireworks! On the flip side, with the low capacity and shortened park hours, it was easy and convenient driving everywhere.
- Different feel from staying on property in the Disney magic. All of the little things that make up your Disney experience (i.e. for me it’s the Must Do Disney show with Stacey and for Ben it’s the Disney shampoos…lol) feel like they’re missing if you stay on property frequently. BUT, there are different magical touches to the rentals with the themed rooms and movie theaters 🙂
One other Con *IF* FastPasses come back. If you stay off property, you are able to book them 30 days out instead of 60 days (if you were to stay on property). If you have an expert planner helping you though, this isn’t a problem!
So the million dollar question: would we stay off property again?
The answer is YES. We are lucky enough to travel down to Disney frequently, but we would definitely mix up our stays with some off property rentals (or when we run out of DVC points!).
Is off property the right option for your vacation?
Send us a message and we’d love to help figure out the best option for YOUR family and YOUR vacation!
