Family of Five - where should we stay?

[elequin]

Most of the value-priced resorts have a maximum occupancy of four. We have two adults and three kiddos. Any suggestions? We considered getting adjoining rooms, or possibly upgrading to a more expensive joint.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Please feel free to email me directly at elequin@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

[WebmasterBarry]

You might want to consider renting a home. Homes usually cost around $99/night. That's about the same price as two value hotel rooms. I think you have to stay for several nights. You might also want to check on a suite. Suites can run from $50-$100/night mimimum.

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Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards

Joey Ramone is gone but he's not forgotten

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[OrlandoInfo]

Vacation homes are a good option if you need a lot of space. I personally however would refrain from one - stay in a nice hotel is part of the vacation experience, whereas staying in a vacation home would feel as I never left home, and I am not sure if that is what I would want.

There are numerous "suite hotels" that can comfortably accommodate upto 5 persons. Examples are Hawthorn Suites, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites, etc. Most of these hotels offer a deluxe breakfast, evening cocktail reception, cookies and milk at night, free rides to disney and numerous other upgrades.

Enjoy, and let us know what you decided.

[hercamore]

How about the Disney Institute? They have bungalow, lbedrooms, 2bedroom townhouses. People have been getting good rates and especially good rates with an AP. They are near DT disney.

[vernon]

I would suggest either a Suite hotel or a vacation home, both have their good points and should be a similar cost to each other ( from $100-$150 a night) . Disney's only offerings are the DVC resorts ( at about $400-500 a night) or the Disney Institute Villas (at I think about $280-350 a night)

A suite would have more "hotel" like features ( communal pools, restaurants,bars etc) a vacation home gives you more room, you can choose one with a private pool and it gives you option to save money by having a quiet beer/glass of wine out by your pool ( at supermarket prices not at bar prices) and some meals from your own kitchen( I generally just have cereal/toast breakfasts and maybe a frozen Pizza in should one of the kids be just TOO tired to go out to eat but everyone else wants something). I find eating out EVERY MEAL (particularly breakfast) can be expensive and not good for my waistline LOL :O .

I don't find a vacation home in Florida is "not like being on holiday" because I don't have access to my own pool where I live, if I lived in Windemere Fl, I can understand that point of view. I really enjoy being able to get home after a day in the parks, pack the kids off to their own bedroom and relax with my partner's company in our own living room. I find hotel bars usually noisy, smokey and not condusive to relaxing before bed.

I have a vacation home that is managed by Premier Vacation Homes who advertise on this site, if you want to check out what a "real" home managed by them looks like ( as opposed to an advertising spread) click on http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/vernon . You can find information on Premier at the top of the page under " Orlando Hotel Discounts" . Please feel free to email me if you have any further questions on the subject.

[pats]

Dont know when you plan on going, but we got a 4 bedroom home from VRBO.com in august for $550 a week. There are 2 bathrooms and a screened in pool off the master bedroom. There are lots of homes listed, you just email the owners. I made sure i got the name of the mangagement company that upkeeps the house and called them though. They were very nice.

[Jane E.]

We enjoyed staying in a Kidsuite at HIFS. However, we only have two sons - at that time aged 15 and 12. My 12 year old stayed in the curtained room with the bunk beds. He brought Nintendo 64 games from home which worked on the player in the kid's room. My older son slept in the pullout couch in the livingroom and watched TV. By the way, when the couch is pulled out there is NO room in the livingroom. Dh and I also had a TV in the master bedroom. It was nice walking down to a free hot breakfast buffet and then going to the parks.

[pepsibar]

a bullitin board listing others successes moderated by "Travel Sheryl" is:
http://pub4.************/fpricelineandexpediabiddingorlandowaltdisneyworld

There are even 3+4*'s under $40 there!

Prior: Caribe Royale, Embassy Suites- offsite, Dixie Landings-onsite
Easter 2001: Marriott Orlando World Center, Hyatt

[Littleteapot2]

We stayed on site at Dixie Landings. It is great for our family of five. All the advantages of the parks and DIsney. An extra trundle bed pulled out for an 8 yr old and he loved it. Two sinks outside the bathroom and a great buffet restaurant. Beautiful.

THis year we stayed at Sheraton Vistana Villages which was sheer luxury. EVERYTHING you could need or want except a buffet. We had a rental car and it was darn easy to get to WDW and UNiversal from there (also Daytona Beach). Two bedrooms, screened porch, every appliance (wash/dryer, oven/stove, fridge, microwave, blender all dishes). Two full Bathrooms. king master room with whirlpool tub.
3 TVs and VCRs ...stereo..
We ate breakfast and supper in suite and had a great lunch in the parks. Lovely! No big deal with making a meal as dishwasher was a nice touch.
Have fun!

[pstepka]

If your kids are younger, I highly recommend HIFS...it's very nice and kid friendly. We were there in September and loved it!
www.hifamilysuites.com (http://www.hifamilysuites.com)
Do a search on these boards for HIFS and you'll find tons of information.