5 PEOPLE...3 adults...where to stay?

[luvmyfam444]

what's available on property? We stayed @ one of the allstar suites a few years back & it was waaaaay too small for us.

THEN I want to compare it to something off property...but where?

I've seen the mention of subdivisions, but I am not quite brave enough for some random house, after reading not so great reviews...

I'm stuck!

 

[janischa]

I think i saw on the uk site that they're giving fab promotions atm for staying in a deluxe villa, which would be old key west or saratoga springs. I think both huge discounts and free dining. We had a similar deal years ago and okw is just fab!
Alternatively you could rent points from a dvc member and rent a studio at for example bay lake tower (next to contemporary) or at boardwalk or at beachclub. Prices would be around 220 bucks or so per night.

 

[camdensmom]

Bonnet Creek is a good option of you have a car. Also, have you priced out 2 rooms? My family of 5 is staying at the Bc, but when I did the math there wasn't much difference between that and getting connecting rooms at a moderate.

 

[lsenquiz]

If you want to stay on site and you felt that the All Star suites was too small then I think your only option is a 2bedroom villa. You will find the most reasonable prices for those are OKW or SSR. The rest of the two bedroom villas have a higher price tag and require a good amount of notice to book.

If you can rent points you will get a better deal than paying cash.

I think most people's go to for off site is Bonnet Creek.

I will say that I have rented houses in florida many many times(not for our Disney trips because we only stay on site for those but for our not Disney vacations) and I have never had any trouble or been disappointed. We usually rent in Windsor Hills which is a resort community. We love having a private pool right outside our back door.

 

[luvmyfam444]

tks for the info...I'll will ck all these out....

I know nothing about renting points...I'll jump over & see if there is a good explanation on their board on how to do that.

I really don't want to spend $200+ a night....

 

[luvmyfam444]

I'm not smart enough to know how renting points works. Will someone send me a link to a thread spelling it out or explain it to me?
I scanned the primer thread but that didn't help.

 

[lsenquiz]

I am not sure renting points is something you would be interested in because a 2 bedroom villa is going to run 200+ a night even with points. We pay about $350 a night for our two bedroom villa through boardwalk by renting points and I think I get a really good deal.

 

[stargazertechie]

what's available on property? We stayed @ one of the allstar suites a few years back & it was waaaaay too small for us.

THEN I want to compare it to something off property...but where?

I've seen the mention of subdivisions, but I am not quite brave enough for some random house, after reading not so great reviews...

I'm stuck!

Could you do two rooms at one of the value resorts? If not, I agree that your best option would be a 2br villa

 

[stargazertechie]

I'm not smart enough to know how renting points works. Will someone send me a link to a thread spelling it out or explain it to me?
I scanned the primer thread but that didn't help.

It's pretty simple. You can go through a broker (such as David's) or through an individual owner.

Each night costs a certain number of points (set by Disney- see the chart here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/dvcpoints.shtml)

Each renter (or broker) sets a cost per point. You will pay them the money up front, and generally there are no cancellations. I'm not sure how your holiday insurance plays into that (If I recall correctly, folks in the UK automatically get holiday insurance, but I'm not sure how that plays into something like this)

When you check in, it will be just like any other Disney stay except you will not get daily housekeeping. You will get Trash and Towel service on day 4, and a full clean on Day 8- you can pay more though if you want daily housekeeping.

 

[Sue M]

You could get 2 connecting rooms at one of the value resorts. That would give you 4 double beds and 2 bathrooms. 2 rooms at a moderate will run over $200 a night.
I'm not sure what the relations are with the 3 adults, for sharing a 1 bedroom suite? We came in a day early so stayed 1 night at the DTD (downtown Disney) Hilton Doubletree. This was a very spacious 1 bdrm suite. The bedroom had 2 beds, can't remember if they were queen or double. And the living room had pullout sofa bed, also a round dining table, counter with sink, fridge, microwave and coffee maker. Thru bedroom was a dressing area and spacious bathroom.
This may be a good option for you, and you don't need a car. The DTD hotels have their own bus system that runs every 30 min. Continuous.
We got a good discount that included a continental breakfast thru Mousesavers.com. IMO, if you can't stay on site this is the next best thing.

I forgot to add, it was under $100/night. But that depends on time of year. We stayed in August.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm not smart enough to know how renting points works. Will someone send me a link to a thread spelling it out or explain it to me?
I scanned the primer thread but that didn't help.

"Renting points" is what we call it around here, but it's really kind of a misnomer.

DVC is Disney's version of a timeshare. Owners buy a share in one of the Disney Vacation Club resorts. At WDW, those are SSR, OKW, VWL, BWV, BCV, BLT, AKV. Disney's reservation site calls those the 'deluxe villa resorts'. Depending on how big a share they buy in the resort, they get a certain number of points every year. These points are then used as "payment" for their reservations at the DVC resorts.

Each room type at a DVC resort costs a certain number of points per night to book. For instance, a studio at OKW might cost 8 points per night. The point costs vary with the time of year, just like cash reservations do. As you'd expect, then, it costs more points to book a villa at Christmas time, than it would in September.

OK, so where does renting points come in? As an owner, if I can't use my points this year, say, because I'm going somewhere else on vacation, or I can't get the time off work, I'm going to want to recoup my costs instead of just letting the points expire. I can make a reservation for someone else, and they can pay me for the reservation.

In a nutshell, that's what renting points is. You make arrangements with a DVC owner for them to make a reservation for you. You then pay them for the reservation. In a way, it's kind of like renting someone's beach house down at the shore. It's a private transaction between you and the owner, Disney's not involved.

As a renter, you would pay by the point. With 5 people, you'd want either a one bedroom villa at BLT, AKV, or OKW, or a two bedroom villa at any of the other resorts. As an example, a standard view 1-bedroom villa at AKV in Dream Season would be 200 points for a week, and the going rate is $13 /point these days, so figure you'd need to pay the owner $2600 for the week.

Here's a link to the point charts, so you can see for yourself what the costs might be:

DVC Point Charts

That's a real general overview, and you'll definitely want to do more reading if you decide to go this route. Take another look at the stickies on the DVC Rent/Trade board after reading this, hopefully it'll make a bit more sense.

 

[luvmyfam444]

thanks for the explanation. I understand the idea now.

the 3rd adult is my mil....so she could share a bed with a grandkid....

Guess I was just hoping for some really great deal out there (on property) that just isn't there...

think it's time to go look off property again....

 

[~Tonga Wingo~]

You didn't mention which Allstar Suite you stayed in. However, I stayed in Music this summer with 5 and felt it was pretty comfortable. I was skeptical before we went, but it turned out fine and I'd stay again there. I'm thinking Music is the only ones with suites so it is probably where you stayed.

The suite had a little kitchenette, two bathrooms, a separate bedroom, living room area and 4 total beds. The bedroom had a queen bed which two people shared. The ottoman turned into a twin bed which we moved into the bedroom by the window which slept one. Then the chair turned into a twin/full bed which one person took and the couch folded into a bed which slept one but could have easily slept two.

The cabins would be roomy too, but I think those would exceed $200 per night.

You may want to consider two rooms as others have said.

 

[ElizabethB]

If the All-Star Suite was two small then two connected value rooms will be the same size and also too small.

Since you want a good amount of space for a low price, off-site is likely your best option.

The cabins might also be an option for you as the PP suggests.

 

[luvmyfam444]

You didn't mention which Allstar Suite you stayed in. However, I stayed in Music this summer with 5 and felt it was pretty comfortable. I was skeptical before we went, but it turned out fine and I'd stay again there. I'm thinking Music is the only ones with suites so it is probably where you stayed.

The suite had a little kitchenette, two bathrooms, a separate bedroom, living room area and 4 total beds. The bedroom had a queen bed which two people shared. The ottoman turned into a twin bed which we moved into the bedroom by the window which slept one. Then the chair turned into a twin/full bed which one person took and the couch folded into a bed which slept one but could have easily slept two.

The cabins would be roomy too, but I think those would exceed $200 per night.

You may want to consider two rooms as others have said.

that is where we stayed - couldn't remember which one had the suites.
yes....the ottomon just didn't cut it for the adult (my mil) she's POOH sized & wasn't comfortable...the kids shared the couch.
There was just no room to move.

and for the price it would have been way better to have gotten 2 rooms that way everyone would at least have been in a real bed.

 

[maxiesmom]

When we venture off-site we stay at the Staybridge Suites, LBV. You get 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a full kitchen. I don't think we have ever paid over $200 a night either. And they have a free continental breakfast, so that would save you a little money too.

 

[toonaspie]

Are the other two people in your party of 5 kids?

POR Alligator Bayou rooms can fit up to five people (2 in each bed plus 1 in murphybed).

Your next best bet above that are the Fort Wilderness Cabins and the AoA suites or the All Star Music Suites. Most Deluxe Resort rooms have space for 5.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Are the other two people in your party of 5 kids?

POR Alligator Bayou rooms can fit up to five people (2 in each bed plus 1 in murphybed).

Your next best bet above that are the Fort Wilderness Cabins and the AoA suites or the All Star Music Suites. Most Deluxe Resort rooms have space for 5.

yes they are kids

 

[MommaBerd]

We have 6 in our family, and my MIL usually drives over from Daytona Beach and stays with us for a couple of nights. We just *can't* afford to stay on property. So, I have booked off-site properties twice and have had good experiences both times. I also have to say that I'm not looking for "resort" type communities with water slides, etc. We usually get tix for all the Disney attractions, so if we want water parks, we go to the Disney ones.

We really like the Sunset Lakes community. It is *very* close to Disney property and very close to shopping, restaurants, etc. Also, these villas do usually have small private pools. I recommend searching on vrbo.com and vacationrentals.com. On vrbo, you can actually type in "Sunset Lakes, Kissimmee, FL" and retrieve properties specific to that community. Take time to read the reviews and communicate with the owners. It takes a little more effort and you don't get Mousekeeping, but for a "large" family, I think it's definitely worth it.

Regardless, I do wish you the best in finding accommodations perfect for your family!

 

[Lovin Mickey]

No one else mentioned it but the new Art of Animation resorts has three separate beds and two bathrooms. Our family of five is planning on staying in the Nemo Suites the next time we go. They seem like they would be bigger then the All Star suites but still run in the value/moderate price range. Good luck with your planning.