Family of 6 which resort?

[always_learning]

Okay I have read thru some threads regarding the POR w/ trundles and that might be a tight squeeze. I am having issues online browsing what resorts accommodate large families. Can someone give suggestions if you have been in this position before? We will be staying for approx 6 nights. Thank you!!!! Also our family of 6 will include an infant so we will use a pack n play.

 

[AJKMOM]

The cabins at Fort Wilderness hold 6, so do the All-Stars Family Suites. We recommend the FW Cabins, they are roomy and have a door separating where the parents can sleep in the pull down Murphy bed. The Family Suites look nice, but we have never stayed there, we bought DVC a few years ago.

If you wanted to rent points from a DVC member, you could fit into a 2BR at any DVC resort.

 

[PrejeanPrincess]

I believe that most of the deluxes (except WL and AKL) sleep 5 plus one in a pack-n-play. We have stayed in a 2 bdrm villa and loved the conveniences (washer/dryer, kitchen, etc.), but we prefered 2 rooms at WL. This year we are trying 2 rooms at AKL. You can also do 2 rooms at a value (or any of the resorts), one room with a king and the other with doubles. Since the kids out number the adults they will guarentee connecting rooms. Also, WL has jr. suites that accomodate 6, but I am not sure how pricey they are, and the one draw back I see is there is only 1 bathroom. Good luck.

 

[Mom24Princesses]

We did POR with the trundles in 2001 with one in the pack-in-play.

DDs were 10, 7, 3.75, 14 months.

NEVER AGAIN--too many people in a tight space. No one slept well. Lucky for us we'd only gone for 6 nights that time .

From then on we go connecting rooms:
ASMu 03
POP 04
CSR (had APs and got a great rate) 04
Next Month ASMo 07

Connecting cabins on DCL too!

 

[always_learning]

Thank you very much!!

Is it just me or does it bother anyone else w/ connecting rooms and leaving the kiddos on the other side? For example at the ASMovie where they have a door also.

Also could you point me into the direction of learning how to rent DVC points?

 

[jajsmom]

I asked this same question the other day. I just booked two rooms at the W.L. and are hoping they will give us connecting room we asked for.

 

[always_learning]

I asked this same question the other day. I just booked two rooms at the W.L. and are hoping they will give us connecting room we asked for.

Oops I missed your post then...lol~ Hopefully if you are outnumbering the kiddos they will guarantee connecting rooms also. When are you going?

 

[AJKMOM]

If you scroll down the DIS, there is a Disney Vacation Club section, and one of the forums explains how to rent points. It is a leap of faith on both sides, but can be very cost effective, especially when you consider rack rates.

Also, with kids the ages of yours, I wouldn't have trouble letting the kids in one room, and the adults in the other as long as the connecting door couldn't be totally shut. That makes me nervous. Short story: we went to Las Vegas and got connecting rooms, but the kids were teenagers. Unfortunately, youngest son who is autistic, was driving his sister crazy, so she told him to go in the bathroom and not come out. Then, she shut the door between the rooms, leaving him alone in one room with no way for us to get back in. We had to hope he eventually came out of the bathroom and opened the door, which he did, but I was ready to kill her, and have hated those 2 sided connecting rooms ever since.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You don't really rent points. You rent a reservation that a DVC member made with their points at a DVC resort. The member fully controls the reservation until the moment you check into the resort. They will usually mail you a copy of the confirmation sheet. You will not be able to contact Member Services to confirm the reservation or to modify the reservation. The member will need to do all that, such as add Magical Express or the Dining Plan.

The member sets the payment rules and you either follow them or find another member that suits your needs better.

Most members make their reservations 11 months out at their home resorts. They can use their points to make reservations at non-home resorts at 7 months out. If you wait too long, you won't get a reservation.

The member also sets the cancellation policy and may not allow any changes or modifications to the reservation so that they don't lose their points. They might not refund any money you have already paid to them if you have to cancel or change the reservation and it can't be done.

With a family of six, you'll need at least a two bedroom villa. There is a king sized bed in the master bedroom and either two queen sized beds or a queen sized bed and a double sleeper sofa in the second bedroom. The living room has a queen sized sleeper sofa. You'll have a full sized kitchen and a washer and dryer in your villa.

You'll get all the same perks any WDW guest will get such as entrance to EMH, Disney transportation, charging to your room, etc. But you will not be entitled to DVC member perks and benefits.

If you are interested in renting a reservation, read this post first:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1442533

Then on the Rent/Trade Board read the FAQs at the top of the page.

Points are going for $11-13 per point now.

 

[minnie61650]

The Family Suites at All Star Music sleep up to 6 plus a child under 3.

Here is some info on the Family Suites:

*** They are 520 square feet.

*** The Family suites are located in the Jazz and Calypso buildings at All Star Music.(these are the closet buildings to the food court and the bus stop.

*** They cost less than a standard room at AKL or WL.

***1-6 adults may stay in a suite for the same set price.
(There is an additional fee of $10 per night for a 3rd or 4th additional adult in a standard value room.)

*** They have a QUEEN size bed (the other values and even the mods do not have a queen bed.

***The fridge is included (if you booked 2 connecting value rooms you would need to pay $10 extra for a night for a fridge if you wanted one.

*** They come with a microwave and coffeepot (If you booked 2 connecting value rooms you would not even be be able to rent a microwave and coffeepot.

***They have 2 TV's (if you book POR or a Deluxe room which sleeps 5 you will have 1 TV)

***They have 2 bathrooms (if you book POR or a Deluxe room which sleeps 5 you will have 1 Bathroom.)



For more info and photos please see the FAQ thread and feel free to PM me with any questions.

Here is the FAQ thread:*Note you can also find it on the resort sticky


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072409

----------------------------------------------

Here is some info about the Family Suites:


The Family Suites are located in the Calypso and Jazz Inn Buildings.
Calypso Building 1 has 32 suites
Calypso Building 10 has 54 suites
Jazz Inn Building 2 has 52 suites
Jazz Inn Building 9 has 54 suites

The suites are located on all three floors, and are near each other, but none offer connecting suites. There is no price difference between the buildings.

Check here for the 2007 rates:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/disney-rates-2007.htm#VALUE


For comparison, the price of a Family Suite is $9-11 more then 2 Standard Rooms, or $13-15 less the 2 Preferred Rooms, depending on season.

------------------------



The new family suites offer an affordable and convenient option for larger families with the amenities of a studio apartment.

Families can be together in the suite while enjoying separate sleeping areas with added privacy. Having two bathrooms will not only save time, but makes getting ready easier for the whole family. Plus, extra amenities like a microwave enable guests to prepare warm snacks and meals. With the extra room, guests can relax and recount the memories of the day before falling off to a goodnight’s sleep.

They:

-Sleep up to 6 (plus one child under age 3 in a Pak-n-Play crib)
-Studio amenities and separate sleeping areas giving more privacy than a standard room.
-Queen bed, full-size pullout sofa, convertible ottoman & chair sleepers (4 separate sleepers)
-Private master bedroom and family room have 27” flat CRT TV and high speed internet access.
-Kitchenette with microwave, small refrigerator (4.3 cu. ft) and coffee pot
-Two-full bathrooms
Here is the layout:

See this thread for photos:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392866

For more info please see the FAQ thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072409

Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[Baghdad Bob]

We are staying at CBR in June. We decided on 2 rooms with DW and 2 girls in 1 room and me and 2 boys in next room. Should be o.k., takes me and the boys 5 min. to get ready so we should beable to get an extra hour of sleep every morning

 

[ssjerauld]

I'd vote for the cabins at Fort Wilderness. The bedroom has buck beds plus a full size bed, so the kids get their own room. The murphy bed in the living room is very comfortable to sleep on. You have kitchen facilities, daily maid service, a beautiful, quiet setting, and MUCH more privacy than at any of the hotels. We'll be back in August!!

 

[Baghdad Bob]

To me cabins is for camping, when I go on vacation I want things to be better then something I can do on a weekend getaway. After all this is Disney

 

[jajsmom]

Oops I missed your post then...lol~ Hopefully if you are outnumbering the kiddos they will guarantee connecting rooms also. When are you going?

We are going May 24-29th. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, it was tough finding rooms. I decided it may be easier getting two rooms. We will stay in FWL rather than the cabin. My kids are 3,6,8,9.

 

[minnie61650]

Oops I missed your post then...lol~ Hopefully if you are outnumbering the kiddos they will guarantee connecting rooms also. When are you going?

Sorry, if 2 adults are present Disney will not guarantee connecting rooms.


As a mother of 4 (All grown now. My oldest is in her 30's and my youngest is 22) I often wished Disney had more options for larger families.
When the children were younger and we would go to Disney they did not have DVC or the family suites. In fact Disney did not have a Moderate until CBR opened in the late 1980's so if we wanted to stay onsite we either rented 2 rooms at a deluxe or stayed in the cabins.

I wrote to Disney many times over the years asking for more options for families so when I heard they were building the New Family Suites at All Star Music it just made me so happy!

In the late 80's I booked 2 connecting rooms at CBR for my family.
When we checked in there were no connecting rooms left but we were able to get rooms next to each other on the second floor.
Our two oldest were teens so I put them in one room and the 2 little ones who were 5 and 7 stayed with us. It worked for us because our older children were able to stay in a room without us but if they were younger DH and I would have had to split up.

Disney may say they guarantee connecting rooms but in reality Disney does not guarantee connecting rooms.

If there are 2 adults Disney can split the adults and children into two rooms that are not connecting. They try hard not to do this but it can and does happen sometimes. If however it is one adult with 5 children Disney should try harder to find connecting rooms since some of the children cannot be left in a room without an adult. But if you look at the threads posted below you will see that sometimes even Disney mixes up.


It does happen. Far too often IMHO.

From this thread;

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1145289

Just wanted to re-iterate what others have said:

We requesting connecting rooms at CBR in January--not really a busy time & we were early for check-in. They did not have us in connecting rooms. They said they could accommodate us, but it would be smoking rooms--which was our #1 request non-smoking.

We were side-by-side, so we just went outside to go next door, so it wasn't a huge deal for us. But if you definitely want to be together--I would go with a suite. You could also look into renting DVC points for a villa.

Here are a couple more threads about guests not getting connecting rooms:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1095679

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=785797&page=1&pp=15

From this thread:

http://disboards.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=13528958

One of the threads that Linda posted a link to was my experience last March. I had many conversations with the higher-ups at Guest Services and was told that even if it says "guaranteed" it is not truly "guaranteed." It just has higher priority over the "requests." Because on a given day, there might only be 25 connecting room sets opening up, but 27 "guaranteed connecting rooms for families" ressies checking in. 2 of those families are not going to get their "guarantee."

I know, I was shocked that we had to fight so hard to get put in rooms that had just been fumigated for lice (they were taken out of the inventory, but re-opened because we insisted we needed rooms.) I sort of assumed that if they didn't have the rooms for us, they'd find rooms elsewhere on Disney property. For that stay, we were sometimes 2 adults and sometimes only 1. Now we will book offsite if we need to do that again. If there are 2 of us adults, we book connecting and hope for the best. Otherwise, we'll split the kids.

My point is to make backup plans if you are depending on connecting rooms.

That is one of the main reasons if my family were young I would choose a Suite over 2 connecting rooms or I would be prepared that I may need to split the family up and sleep in a different room than DH.

Please do not not shoot the messenger.

I am just trying to keep others from becoming as disspointed as we were if they do not get connecting rooms.

 

[mommyseven]

Is it just me or does it bother anyone else w/ connecting rooms and leaving the kiddos on the other side? For example at the ASMovie where they have a door also.

It's really no different than them having them at home in another bedroom in the house. You can leave the doors open so they are actually right there and go back and forth. Just keep their exterior door locked. When you all leave for the day just go out the door of your room. They won't mess with their door. Plus one parent can sleep in each room if necessary. I have young children and teens so it balances out when we get two rooms.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

We just got back last night from the Ft. Wilderness cabins, and I can assure you they are not 'camping'. I don't camp. It was very nice. The bedroom is separate and has a double and bunk beds and room for a pack and play. The living room has a murphy bed that is just as comfortable as the bed in the bedroom. The kitchen was wonderful for meals. We had several meals in the room. The table easily sat 6, plus a little table and two chairs for little people.

It was all very nice and very-well themed. We loved it and will definitely go back.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We are going May 24-29th. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, it was tough finding rooms. I decided it may be easier getting two rooms. We will stay in FWL rather than the cabin. My kids are 3,6,8,9.

Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge are two different locations. Make sure you are aware of that.

 

[Mom24Princesses]

Thank you very much!!

Is it just me or does it bother anyone else w/ connecting rooms and leaving the kiddos on the other side? For example at the ASMovie where they have a door also.
/QUOTE]

It's really no different than them having them at home in another bedroom in the house. You can leave the doors open so they are actually right there and go back and forth. Just keep their exterior door locked. When you all leave for the day just go out the door of your room. They won't mess with their door. Plus one parent can sleep in each room if necessary. I have young children and teens so it balances out when we get two rooms.

We usually locked the door in their room with the deadbolt and "chain/bar lock" and left them all week. We just used the door in "our room".

We voted no to the family suites because we liked having 4 double beds to spread out on. AND using the dining plan this time we would not need the kitchen space.

We also have voted no to the Wilderness Cabins because of the location/transportation/lack of Disney Feel AND to be honest, I don't like the sleeping arrangments--bed choices. DH has a bad back and getting two rooms, he can have a bed to himself if he needs it.

Last year we took just the older two DDs to Savannah for a long weekend and got two rooms there too. WE ARE SPOILED and can not go backwards!

 

[ssjerauld]

I have to agree with Cindrella Dreamer on this one. My family and I camp in the Adirondacks, Maine--virtually any national park that makes it available--and the Fort Wilderness Cabins are NOT camping. Air conditioning, a full kitchen, bed linens, towels I don't have to HOPE dry, daily maid service, a full bathroom with hot running water, two televisions, electricity, furniture, a pleasing Adirondack-style decor...Last time I checked, our tents had none of the above!!