Dare I say it ...not stay in the bubble

I haven't stayed off site, so can't help with all your questions but I do know that you can only book FP's at 30 days out. You could still use any magic bands you have, but to buy new ones, I think the basic ones are around $13 - $15. I'm pretty sure anyone can book ADR's at 180 days, but you could only book a day at a time.

Good luck!

We have not stayed off property since 2002. At that time a two bedroom condo was around $750 for 6 nights. We did pay fees but I can not remember what or how much. We had our car so I do not know how well shuttles worked. If you have a car, you will have to pay to park each day at the parks. You can still buy multi day tickets ahead and will need to in order to use fast pass. Off property you will not be able to make fast pass selections till 30 days out. Dining is 180 for everyone, but you will have to make your reservations daily, one day at a time. Magic bands start around $14 and go up to around $30 depending on what you want. I do think you could save a little money but I really doubt is would be a big savings unless you just stay at a budget hotel.

Yup, like Jan said, you can book ADRs at 180 days out but, unlike if you are staying on property, you can't book ADRs for your entire trip at 180 days out from your first day. You have to book at 180 days out for each individual day. Same goes for FastPass+. You can only book at 30 days out and you have to book 30 days out from each individual day of your trip.

For transportation you have to look at each individual hotel and maybe contact them on their transportation options. Some hotels will offer transportation to and from the parks but the shuttles usually run a lot less frequently then Magical Express. Again with resort fees, parking fees, etc you have to check with the hotel. Every hotel is different and there is not one general answer for all off site hotels.

Standard parking at Disney parks is $20 per day (unless you have an annual pass) and $35 per day for preferred parking.

Don't forget Orlando traffic. Depending on where you stay, it could add lots of travel time to and feom the parks.

While waiting on the resort bus at Epcot, I noticed the charter buses from off property sites. They stop way out in the lot and there is no cover from the elements.

When he says "with all those kids" is he thinking that is all there is at values? When we stay at values, there never seems to be more kids than at other resorts. We've even had poolside rooms and never had a problem.

Just lay out all the facts with pros and cons for him.

Good luck!

Is Lake Buena Vista resort on Hotel Plaza Boulevard? If yes, then I think it is a great location as you can walk to Disney Springs and Crossroads. They have a theme park shuttle too. You will miss out on Disney theming, EMH, resort refillable mugs etc. but will still be in the mix. Many, many years ago (like 25!!!) we stayed at Doubletrees (it was guest quarter suites back then) because all the Disney hotels were fully booked! It was a good location and we had a great vacation.
Have you checked the Swan/Dolphin? Sometimes you can get really good deals for longer stays (we stayed in a deluxe standard room for a price less than a Disney moderate in 2009) but I'm not sure what the comparable prices are now.
I would avoid staying further afield as you will spend time and money travelling in to Disney every day which I personally find frustrating. We have access to a luxury villa in Kissimmee but we still choose to stay on Disney property as we love to have a glass of wine or cocktail and therefore don't want to drive. We worked out that taxis every day would cost more than staying in a value resort!!!

Ugh that's horrible. Sorry you had such an awful experience there. I would have a hard time returning too.

Oh no! That sounds awful! I hope you can find a hotel that you are all happy with. Let us know what you decide.

Wow that's a great deal! And off-site Disney is better then no Disney! I'm sure you guys will still have a great time. I have not stayed off property but can still help with some of these questions.

1. When I just went on DisneyStore.com it looks like 5-7 business standards is standard shipping on most bands. I would order AT LEAST a couple of weeks prior to your trip to allow for any delays. To link it to MDE click on "My Disney Experience" in the top right corner of the DisneyWorld.com website, then click "MagicBands and Cards". Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click "Link" and then select the Magic Band option. You will then have to enter the ID number off the band.

2. If you make your reservations on MDE then yes they will link automatically. If you make them over the phone then you will need to take the confirmation number they give you and link it to your account by clicking "My Disney Experience" then "My Reservations & Tickets" then scroll down to "Dining Reservations" and click "Link Dining Reservations".

3. Yes, you make the FastPass+ reservations at 30 days out on MDE.

Hope that helps!

I'm sorry I'm a little late to the party. It's probably too late to consider, but in your original post you said the $3800 included the dining plan. Can you get the dining plan when you stay off-site? If not, did you add paying out-of-pocket for meals into your budget?

I agree with Allie, though. Off-property Disney is better than no Disney.

Sorry I'm late too. One thing to remember with the shuttle is that they normally drop off and pick up from Epcot and have set times for transport. Think you have a fab price and having done offsite it isn't that bad it's not Disney but you have flexibility to do more