all star vacation home or art of animation? About This Page:

[knschamber]

We have a group of 13 going in June 2013. Thinking of either a vacation home or art of animation. I'm worried about parking lots filling up and the time it would take us to drive to the parks each day. Is it worth it to stay offsite? Are my concerns valid?

[JanetCatherineB]

Originally Posted by knschamber

We have a group of 13 going in June 2013. Thinking of either a vacation home or art of animation. I'm worried about parking lots filling up and the time it would take us to drive to the parks each day. Is it worth it to stay offsite? Are my concerns valid?

We are going to AoA in August of this year with a group of 14. We have stayed in the past with a LARGE group at Shades of Green and the AM resort. We bussed it and LOVED it. The transportation was great. We rented a car the last time we went and found that the busses were way easier then driving to the parks, finding parking and then still ending up at the transportation station.

I say if you can afford it then stay ON property and use the busses.

[HiddenMickey]

Don't worry about parking lots filling up. They have more thsn enough parking at all the parks.

I've done both offsite and on and if it's less expensive (include $14 parking fee per car) it can actually make a lot of sense. Large groups do well in a house where they have gathering spaces.

What you should take into consideration is, how many vehicles your group will
have, will anyone want to arrive and leave at different times? It's a lot easier to move people around if you are onsite using buses.

[HollyH]

Originally Posted by HiddenMickey

What you should take into consideration is, how many vehicles your group will
have, will anyone want to arrive and leave at different times? It's a lot easier to move people around if you are onsite using buses.

This would be the key consideration for me. I think having a vacation home (with it's own pool, living space, etc) would be ideal for a large group but the transportation to/from the parks would be my biggest concern.

[Mary_Maas]

I have been staying off site at a vacation home for years with many members of my family. We all get a long very well - so if you are looking for the "extended family" experience - staying at a home will offer you that. The down time in your own pool is something you can not get on property. Having the pool right outside your door and someone in it anytime there were people home, was infectuous. We all met up there everyday - could hardly avoid it. The downside was paying for parking every day and trying to minimize the cost by cramming the cars full.

We've also stayed on property with 4 rooms of family. All our rooms were right next to each other, but we never knew where anyone was. When I was at the pool with my kid, my sister and her kid was nowhere to be found (I'm sure she was having "me" time in the gift shop!)

Staying on property is my choice, but only if I'm with my close immediate family.

[kurtholley]

I would stay on property and use the buses. Then it is also easier if people want to do their own thing then meet up somewhere later.

plus if you are flying in you won't need rental cars and pay for parking We have never had a problem with pools being to busy at any resort we have stayed at

[benjiboo25]

Does the group mostly want a "Florida" vacation with a couple of days at WDW? Or are you doing a "Disney" vacation? This is the question I have posed to friends debating on or off site and it seems to help clarify things.

If you want a "Disney" vacation--then go for AofA for all of the reasons posted above. If the parks are not the main point...the home may be a better choice for the group...

Enjoy!

[EddieCVS]

I'd say AoA because of the disney transportation and EMH. There are just more benefits staying on-site.

[weavers17]

We did an All Star Vacaction home stay last year with a group of 10. It was a great trip (we loved our house) but with that being said, it was not a "Disney" vacation. Because we were off-site, we took advantage of visiting SeaWorld and both Universal parks, in addition to Disney. It also depends on the age ranges in your group. Will the children all be running on the same schedule or will little ones need to take a break during the day? This can be a challenge when staying off-site if you don't have enough rental cars.
Next year, we are going with a group of 13 and will be staying on-site.
Best of luck planning!

[Huntermom]

Having stayed both on site and off, I would not base my stay on the Disney amenities like bus transportation and EMH. I would base it on space and the type of space. My two boys always preferred to stay off site. They liked to be able to spread out and have a full kitchen (on site villas were beyond our budget). We all liked to be able to take advantage of having privacy which a hotel room doesn't afford.

We did a couple of split stays, which worked out well but I would do Disney first and then move to a house or villa. It's hard to go from multiple rooms to one or two.

I am sure you'll have a great time either way.