DON'T STAY AT DISNEY!!! Money Saving Tips and AirBnB - VRBO Guide to the Orlando Theme Park Area 

I live in Vancouver BC and have done a dozen trips to Disneyworld but I haven't been for 7 years now due to the unbelievable increases in the costs. Every trip that I did we stayed in a Value resort (very small) and used the magical express to get to and from the Orlando airport and then used the buses to move around the Disney property. We used to book the deluxe dinning plan and my wife son and I could book a trip for under $3000.00 for a week including flights. I just looked and right now just the flights to Orlando are almost $1500.00 and to stay at Pop Century for a week, park passes and deluxe dining the cost is $5642.00 plus the magical express is gone so you have to pay to get to and from the airport. This means that a 1 week Disneyworld trip for 7 nights for 3 people will be around $7500.00 before any extra expenses and souvenirs. This is why we have started going on more cruises and trying to schedule back to back cruises to help offset the huge increase in the flight costs.

I stopped staying on property around 2015. But there so many other amazing options that are way bigger, more budget friendly, and offer non-Disney fun! I don’t know that we’ll ever stay on property again. We even stayed at a Hilton across the street from Disney Springs. Walking distance, access to all the resort and park buses, and way less kids. Now I have kids, but there were way less of them at the Hilton!

I live in Orlando just north of the airport. If there's no traffic, I could get to Disney in about 30 minutes or so. Point is there are PLENTY of places in the Orlando or Kissimmee areas that people could stay in. Near the I Drive area might be a sweet spot. Close access to the Disney parks, Universal, downtown, etc.

We’ve gone the other way. We used to stay off property but now almost always stay at Disney. So many vacation rentals have been a disappointment and there’s no recourse if you aren’t happy. I also don’t like rushing to do a bunch of housework at checkout on top of ridiculous cleaning fees.

We stayed in a great off-site condo last trip and the shared amenities were so awesome I booked a huge house on the same property for the next trip. Movie theater, game room, private pool, etc. I cannot decide if hanging out with the kiddos or getting to this house is more exciting!

If that works for you, awesome. For us, the Disney resorts themselves are the highlight of our trip. Over and above going to the parks.

Morgan, great information! This is a great informative video. Well done!

Hello Morgan, love your videos. I would say that your circumstances also dictate. If you have a large family, of course staying off property would be more cost-effective. If you have a smaller family or if you had family members with disability staying on property would be much better. With Disney properties if a family member needs to head back to their room, they can do so. If somebody off property needed to do so they would have to go back to their car get in the car, drive back to their home. If someone was on property, they could be back in their room and in bed within 30 minutes or less. The entire group would not need to head back. As to getting groceries, depending on the room type, you may have a small kitchenette and groceries can be delivered.

Wow that View of the sun going down. Stunning 😍 . Can imagine staying in a house compared to the Disney hotels Saves money 😜. Great video 🥰

My family is like yours, diehard Disney fans that ALWAYS stayed on property, then one year we didn’t, and wow! The cost savings and extra space when you have a big group is a big plus. We still love Disney resorts, and often take a day to visit several, especially if visiting during the holidays. We also sometimes break up the trip with a couple nights on property and the rest of the trip in a less expensive rental. We like the Windsor Palms area. Only 10 minutes from the entrance to Animal Kingdom! Lots of rental options that look out at the surrounding conservation area for privacy by the pool, too!

I didn’t even think about sunset views. That’s a great tip to consider. I stayed at the Poly on my last WDW visit and the park access was excellent. With the lessening of perks lately, I would consider saving money and staying offsite. I’d have to factor in the cost of a vehicle and parking fees (I’m assuming Disney lots aren’t free parking). Great video!

“Not talking about Mickey and Minnie”. I guffawed!!

Really good information and well done!! Thanks!!

Thanks for great information.

Great video with all kinds of great information

Lots of great tips in this one!

Solo travelers do not stay off property. Watch for those 20-30% room discounts. Large groups do not stay on property. Those transport costs & cleaning fees add up quickly if not split with a group. Read the fine print.

I get the appeal of an off property rental for more space, but for me I just like to maximize my time in the parks so I'd rather stay at an All Star or Pop Century for around the same price, the park tickets are so expensive I don't end up spending much time in the room anyway, plus if I stay off property I would be spending a lot on Ubers to the parks which would add up.

Oh My Goodness, I Agree. Also, I don’t actually have a vacation home that I’m looking at, I’m only starting for a few days surrounding my upcoming cruise this summer, but I really appreciate you offering to help us (your subbies 😊) find the best ones for us and our needs. 😁

Now they have released the free dining plan agian it's worth staying on site again.

Great video Morgan. Even with our DVC points, there are times we stay off property. Actually , our first stay as a family at Disney was a home rental that lasted a month. There is a happy medium where you could split visits between accommodations. That's what we end up doing. We can't afford to stay on property every time so these less expensive stays, help us get to the parks more.

We are going to WDW this summer and have reserved an Airbnb. We have 5 people in our family so any Disney room(s) would have been $$$$. We got a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with a pool for almost a week for just over $1,000. It says it is 4 miles from Disney (not sure which park). We are super excited. Your original video about staying in an Airbnb was what made me check it out. Thank you!!!

When we travel we always do a vrbo or airbnb......we all love having the space for the kids to run around and private bathrooms when we can......

Another point with having your own car vs. using a bus is that time seems to go by faster when you're doing something instead of just waiting around. Even if the bus is a little bit faster, those ten minutes you spend waiting for the bus to arrive feel longer than the entire drive.

Thank you so much for doing this video. I was very helpful. I am in the early stages of planning a Disney vacation for my multigenerational family. I looked at Disney resorts and the price for multiple rooms for 5 nights at a resort vs a week at house with room for us to spread out. There is no contest . The resort option would bust the budget. The house looks to be option I would be able to afford the entire family to go Orlando and have the magical experience the grandkids will remember.

Saving money is good and all the space to spread out while not in the park is a good thing.

We did Hopper last November for our family. The condo/house was as you said adequate. I made the mistake of not checking for stairs as 2 of the 5 of us can't navigate stairs. I could barely make it upstairs but since that was my room I clung to the banister and rested half way up. The pool was private but like yours the heater was broken. It took them 4 of our 5 days to get it fixed. We did get refunded that pool heat money. I wish there had been a hot tub. The drawers on the dressers were off the tracks in every room so if you pulled too hard it would come out and land on your foot. The banisters were loose and there were no safety grips in the showers. There was also a hefty cleaning fee and we were required to strip the beds and load the dishwasher. A few too many rules for my taste. Having said all that, since there were 5 of us we would have had to get at least 2 hotel rooms. Disney now charges to park at their hotels. I think it was close to $20 a day. That's why everyone uses the buses when they stay on property. It costs $35 to park at Magic Kingdom. Better to save the hotel parking fee. We used the kitchen daily but mostly for cereal and milk. We still ate out just about every night. Even with the broken heater the grandkids were in the pool morning noon and night. It was so worth it.

As always thanks for an enjoyable, common sense video laying out some really helpful hints both clearly and concisely. Your comparison of travel times (by car from beyond the theme park hotels vs on site accommodations with provided transit) re-raised a question I've been pondering for ages. I have never had a driver's license (nor any abiding reason to get one in the past 70 years), and I'm used to the reaction of most people, when my inability to produce that I.D. makes them slowly back away... avoiding eye contact or making any sudden moves, as if I am some unpredictable or dangerous wild beast. In the most vague and general of stats, how many of your non-cruise vacation destinations or experiences would you reckon might be adequately enjoyed by a non-driver on a modest (no Ubers & Taxis all the time) budget? I'm not a fan of theme parks, special art or sport camps, or wilderness experiences ... just average stuff like galleries, museums, and eateries in and around cities, or alternatively, pure lounge-chair potato R & R breaks by a beach somewhere. All inclusive resorts have proven ideal for relax and veg vacations, but more active itineraries can be problematic once wandering beyond the public transit of a homebase city. I hoped with your much greater level of world travel experience, you might have some thoughts on this.

morgan, in America-What you call a "RailRoad" Bathroom is Called a "Jack and Jill" Bathroom

when you stay in a house off property, is it like a hotel, show up, leave and no chores? or like all the work of home? I"m asking because I went with 14 other people to a vacation rental house in south Carolina and then a few years later in Tennessee and both places had a list of chores for us to do on the day we left. Stripping the beds and putting the towels on a pile and taking the trash out wasn't a big deal but seeing vacuuming the floors, mopping the floors, cleaning tubs/showers and toilets, just wasn't what I wanted to spend my last day of vacation doing especially with 6 kids under foot and such a huge house. so I'd get a house again in order to keep the extended family together but if I only need a hotel room or 2, I haven't been looking at rental homes.

the part i hate the most about staying off property is the parking process and then getting back to a scalding hot car at the end of the day. but the last time we went, we stayed on property and (i should preface it was during covid) the monorail wasn't working so even though we were at the grand floridian, it took forever to get to magic kingdom. the better restaurants at the hotel were closed, no characters. we'd wait in long lines for the bus to disney springs to try to get a decent meal. a fist fight even broke out on the bus at one point. and what if we were sick of disney springs? ( we were!) we had no car. it was miserable and sooo expensive. while our experience isn't the norm, we won't do it again.

I've never stayed on Disney property they love to tack on hidden fees during your stay. Last time I went to Disney I stayed at the Sheraton hotel and got so many more amenities for a fraction of the cost ❤💲

As always thanks for an informative video as always. You aren't doing something the rest of us can't see? How disappointing! 🤣 Just kidding I knew you wouldn't be! Take care!

Disney World prices are going up again thus summer

I don't disagree that staying off property can certainly net you some more space and save you some money.. but for me.. theres only one mouse im willing to tolerate on vacation and its Mickey. I can tell you staying on property id be talking to someone if there was mice in my room and we'd be changing rooms.. you don't really get that same flexibility with renting a house from someone. Plus the whole having to sift through reviews and find a good house.. its work. Then there's renting a car, dealing with driving in flordia traffic (something i dont enjoy), paying for parking. And if you're a group of people maybe you want to go different places or do different things, now you're talking maybe multiple cars. Don't forget about Carseats, etc if there's kids involved. Yes Disney is more money. Yes some locations can still take a while with buses and other modes of transportation but others are short boat/walk/monorail ride away depending where you are. Not to mention the Disney staff, hospitaltiy, the option for conceriege service in some cases. And personally we've always found ways to save money from discount deals, renting DVC points to eventually buying our own DVC contract. While I 100% agree with your reasons, for us the bubble works🙂 Now off to watch your Disney perspective video😄

Forgive my ignorance in this regard, but why is there a cage over the pool? You said it as if it were a matter of course, but I didn't know why. If you happen to see this comment, please let me know. Thanks!!

I would rather go to Europe!

All you say is true, but....l dont want to spend the money for a rental car so its not for me. I did that last time. I paid 500 for a rental car and it was US $$. Im Canadian. So it saves no money and is not more convenient for me. They even forgot to change the vehicle message system back to English! I cannot read Spanish so it was really stressing me out!

Disney is getting way over priced with all their products now. It is less to rent a condo and have tons more room thanks Morgan.