Best Resort for family of 5

[Princesspunkin]

I have not posted in a while and this may have already been posted. My husband and I usually go to disney every year. We were married there. Next year will be our Fifth anniversary and we would like to go again. But we have a new situation. This year we were unable to go to Disney do to the addition of four teenagers to our family. One went off to college this fall and do not care to go to Disney. He just interested in doing college stuff. That is fine but the other three want to go to Disney.

Which resort will be comfortable for my husband and I with three teenagers? There ages are 16,15, and 13. We are new to this parenting stuff but we will like to have nice time for us and for the kids. I prefer a on property Disney resort but will consider other resorts. Thanks for all your help.

Dawn

 

[blessedby3]

I have not posted in a while and this may have already been posted. My husband and I usually go to disney every year. We were married there. Next year will be our Fifth anniversary and we would like to go again. But we have a new situation. This year we were unable to go to Disney do to the addition of four teenagers to our family. One went off to college this fall and do not care to go to Disney. He just interested in doing college stuff. That is fine but the other three want to go to Disney.

Which resort will be comfortable for my husband and I with three teenagers? There ages are 16,15, and 13. We are new to this parenting stuff but we will like to have nice time for us and for the kids. I prefer a on property Disney resort but will consider other resorts. Thanks for all your help.

Dawn

Not sure what your budget is, but as far as on property I would suggest 2 rooms at either a value or mod, or a suite at All Stars Music or the new Art of Animation. That way you will have 2 bathrooms and separate sleeping areas from the teens.
Off property I would suggest Bonnet Creek. They have 1-4 BR condos and are on WDW property (near CB, I think). We had friends who stayed there a few years back and loved it. We are trying it ourselves in 10 days. My DH is looking forward to having some space to move around in! We are staying in a 2BR Deluxe (which has 2 baths) for $837 for the week. We rented through vacation strategy.

 

[iluveeyore]

Old Key West and Animal Kingdom Kidani Villas one bedrooms sleep 5 - there is a sleeper sofa and sleeper chair (twin size) in the living room, and then there's a separate master suite with a king bed - Kidani might be better as the one bedroom has an extra full bathroom for the teens, while you get your own with a huge shower and jacuzzi tub.

 

[NaLisa]

With three teens, I agree that a second bathroom would be a priority, so two rooms at one of the AS or a suite at AoA sound like your best option. If you're not planning to spend a lot of time at the hotel, consider POR, which can can sleep 5 and would be less expensive.

 

[laceemouse]

We have been taking our 4 kids to WDW for years. Two bathrooms is a must once they get to the age of needing privacy!
This next trip our oldest and her hubby are not coming with us, so the kids going will be 19, 17, and 15. We will be staying in a Lion King suite (their choice) at Art of Animation. We can't wait!

 

[ghtx]

Get a deluxe villa (i.e. DVC) room, and if you rent points it will be a lot cheaper.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Get a deluxe villa (i.e. DVC) room, and if you rent points it will be a lot cheaper.

If I had three teenage boys, I'd think this would be the best option. Maybe the only option! LOL. I'd probably spring for a two bedroom, too, so that each boy had his own bed to sleep on. I guess unless your sons (?) are OK with sharing a bed with each other? I think any other option mentioned is going to have two of the boys sharing a bed. Granted, my experience with teenage boys is lacking (not having ever been a teenage boy, and not having one myself), so maybe they're OK sharing a bed?

 

[laceemouse]

If I had three teenage boys, I'd think this would be the best option. Maybe the only option! LOL. I'd probably spring for a two bedroom, too, so that each boy had his own bed to sleep on. I guess unless your sons (?) are OK with sharing a bed with each other? I think any other option mentioned is going to have two of the boys sharing a bed. Granted, my experience with teenage boys is lacking (not having ever been a teenage boy, and not having one myself), so maybe they're OK sharing a bed?

Nope, generally boys past a certain age do not want to share beds. Girls will no matter how old they are. When we don't have enough beds for the boys we take an air mattress. The DVC villas are awesome, but honestly you could get each person their OWN value resort room for less money, even with renting points.

 

[iluveeyore]

Nope, generally boys past a certain age do not want to share beds. Girls will no matter how old they are. When we don't have enough beds for the boys we take an air mattress. The DVC villas are awesome, but honestly you could get each person their OWN value resort room for less money, even with renting points.

The bonus with the DVC villas for a large family is the full kitchen - we save a bunch of money by eating in our villa, so it's more than worth it!! The comfort of a living room and a deck to relax on makes our vacations more enjoyable too instead of sitting in a small value room on a bed all the time. But everyone has a different budget and a different way to vacation, so I'm just saying how the villas add to our enjoyment

 

[danceintherain]

Nope, generally boys past a certain age do not want to share beds. Girls will no matter how old they are. When we don't have enough beds for the boys we take an air mattress. The DVC villas are awesome, but honestly you could get each person their OWN value resort room for less money, even with renting points.

Yeah, my brothers started refusing to share beds at around 12. They'd rather sleep on the floor, than share a bed with another dude/sibling.

With that group, I'd say you need at least 2 rooms somewhere. Where will depend on your taste and budget. I'd be opposed to 2 rooms at the value resorts, unless someone will share or sleep on the floor, because I wouldn't want to share a double bed with my husband. The same could be said for Caribbean Beach resort (3 rooms would might work).

 

[Ashlander]

What about a cabin at Wilderness campground? They sleep 6. We were going to do that one trip, but we added another person to our group going and we needed to switch resorts.

 

[laceemouse]

What about a cabin at Wilderness campground? They sleep 6. We were going to do that one trip, but we added another person to our group going and we needed to switch resorts.

It depends on the make-up of your group. The cabins are quiet and having a full kitchen in nice. You do not get a washer/dryer in your cabin though.

The cons for the cabins for us were:
Only one bathroom (we have mostly girls so this was hard!)
No private master bedroom. The only bedroom has a queen bed and a bunk bed in it. The other bed is a murphy pull down in the living room (dh and I prefer a private room with a locking door)
Some people complain about the transportation at the campground, it takes 2 buses to get out of there, but we did not have a problem with that. It was January and the place was almost desserted anyway.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Nope, generally boys past a certain age do not want to share beds. Girls will no matter how old they are. When we don't have enough beds for the boys we take an air mattress. The DVC villas are awesome, but honestly you could get each person their OWN value resort room for less money, even with renting points.

The biggest problem with my boys is not that they aren't willing to share - but the way they sleep. DS17 is 6'3" tall and moves around constantly. He has a queen sized bed at home and uses it all. Sleeping with him would be dangerous for someone.

And, DS13 wraps himself up like a burrito and then moves around constantly. Even at 13 it would not be unusual to find him on the floor in the middle of the night or his feet in your face.

DH, DD and I are interchangeable when it come to sharing beds - but those boys. Yikes!

 

[powellrj]

We are a family of 5 and I suggest off-site pool house. That is how we travel now and it works out well for us. Everyone has their own room, their own space, lots of bathroom and a kitchen so the kids can eat at all hours of the night and a laundry room so we don't have to pack so much when they want to change clothes 3 times a day!

 

[Missy13d69]

We are a family of 5 and I suggest off-site pool house. That is how we travel now and it works out well for us. Everyone has their own room, their own space, lots of bathroom and a kitchen so the kids can eat at all hours of the night and a laundry room so we don't have to pack so much when they want to change clothes 3 times a day!

You will need your own vehicle staying off-site, but with a large family the space and the price can't be beat. We're paying 1/3 the price of on-site, for 7X the space.

 

[iuelliott]

We travel with 3 teens as well. We are not really in the rooms except late at night and then again off to the parks. We love POR and the onsite transportation. My husband much prefers the park transportation as it is more relaxing for the driver.
For our family, we prefer spending our $ on dining. If you can get it, go with the free dining and be sure to go to a moderate hotel at least to qualify for the disney dining table service. All of our teens enjoy selecting their favorite Table Service while at Disney. It's actually the highlight for them besides their fav. coasters! The dining also gives the whole family a break & a place to relax for about an hour.
Their favorite restaurants: Ohana's, Cinderella's castle - yes even the boys love this place; LeCellier; Mama Melrose; 50s Prime Time (best PB & J shakes)
The kids think that the best thing about the dining plan is that they can order anything they want and also get dessert every meal!

 

[Princesspunkin]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. My husband prefers onsite because of the dining plan and the deluxe resorts. But with the additions we know some things will have to change. I thought about the air mattress because we have 3 boys and one girl. I will talk to my husband about your suggestions to see if he is willing to downgrade to a moderate or value resort.

 

[dmdelight]

dawn,

just wondered if you made a decision?

we have stayed onsite and offsite-both with kitchens and laundry facilities-could not imagine being in a hotel room(even if it's at disney!) for our whole vacation though.

stayed in 2 bedroom villas at okw and ssr-both really nice-with the disney benefits of free dining,free parking and emh-to name but a few!

stayed in 3,4,and 5 bedroomed townhouses and villas-close by to wdw
-so locations never a problem-main pluses-
space(lots of it!),bathrooms,bedrooms,tvs.

i think it's each to their own and whatever works best for your own (newly extended) family