We stay and eat on property (at least at WDW) and don't stay in the parks all day (go back to the resort in the afternoon to swim, followed by a nice, sit down dinner in a Disney resort restaurant).

It helps that we only have two kids and, therefore, don't need to rent two rooms or a suite.

We find this to be a very fun (and relatively relaxing) way to do Disney, with our without kids (although we've always taken our kids - without kids, there are places that are better bang for the buck).

Most of our LDS friends/relatives think we're insane. In their minds:

Staying on property = rip off
Eating on property = rip off
Buying expensive park tickets and only being in the parks for part of the day = rip off

But we find their way to be exhausting. To each their own, I say.