Family of 5 - 2 rooms??

[jcmechem]

Please don't flame me for asking this.....just trying to find a cheaper solution. I have a family of five. Two adults, one pre-teen, and two five year olds. My only option at Pop Century is two rooms. Why couldn't I purchase 1 room and tickets for 4 people and buy separate tickets when I get there for the fifth person??

FYI...I currently have two rooms reserved, but the rates make it so difficult for a large family to experience Walt Disney World.

 

[allthingsmickey]

You could all stay at POR Riverside in a Alligator Bayou room for less than the cost of 2 value rooms. Plus you get Queen size beds, a pull down bed for one, a great feature pool with waterside, etc.

ETA: I suppose you could do what you are saying and hope that no one says anything. I don't know what would happen if someone in guest services realized you had 5 people in the room. Someone else may be better able to speak to that.

 

[madonniac]

Another option is to rent DVC points. Most studios sleep 5 and 1 bedrooms sleep 5 as well.

 

[Lynne M]

Because Disney policies, and the fire code, won't allow you do to that. Sorry.

From a practical perspective, it would mean that one member of your family - whoever you leave off the reservation - would not be able to use Disney's Magical Express, or Extra Magic Hours, which are two of the major benefits to staying on property.

From a policy perspective, if Disney gets wind of the fact that you're over the legal occupancy limit for the room once you're there, your choices would be to book a second room (likely at full rack rate), or find another hotel.

Have you looked into POR? One room in the Alligator Bayou section would (legally) fit your entire family, much more comfortably than one room at Pop.

 

[Lynne M]

Another option is to rent DVC points. Most studios sleep 5 and 1 bedrooms sleep 5 as well.

There are no WDW DVC studios that sleep 5, unless one of the guests is under the age of 3.

 

[madonniac]

There are no WDW DVC studios that sleep 5, unless one of the guests is under the age of 3.

My mistake, I somehow talked myself into remembering a pull out chair in some of the studios. Must have been the one bedrooms.

 

[Deb & Bill]

My mistake, I somehow talked myself into remembering a pull out chair in some of the studios. Must have been the one bedrooms.

None of the studios have the twin sized sleeper chair. Only OKW, BLT and AKV (not the value villas) in one, two and three bedroom villas.

 

[mpbs]

BWI and BC have 2 queen beds and couch that pulls out to a single bed sleeps 5 comfortably and you have a larger room.

 

[Snow White 77]

What about the cabins? We are staying there in May. They sleep 6 and you get a kitchen and deck. We love it.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We are a family of 5- kids 15,10 and 5. We stay at POR now. It is cheaper than 2 rooms at POP. We are heading back there on Saturday for 11 nights and we have plenty of room for what we need the room for. We paid about $180/night (approx) with the spring discount.

 

[nkereina]

I don't know how it prices out in comparison but there's also the family suites at AoA and All Star Music.

As PPs have said, POR Alligator Bayou rooms house families of 5. The murphy bed is slightly larger than a crib mattress and would best fit one of your 5 year olds. Your pre-teen could fit if he or she is on the smaller side. But something to keep in mind is you will only have one bathroom and far less storage space than you would in two rooms at Pop. POR AB rooms have virtually no storage space since they lost the armoir in favor of the murphy bed.

 

[moepanz]

Something to consider (we are also a family of 5) we always get 2 rooms at the POP. I know it is a little more expensive, but for us it is worth every cent to have 2 bathrooms, which you will not get in POR. We always have gotten connected rooms (but that is not a guarantee) The extra bathroom just makes things a lot eaiser especially in the mornings when everyone is getting ready.

 

[OklahomaTourist]

I know it is a little more expensive, but for us it is worth every cent to have 2 bathrooms.

Amen to this. While we came up with a slightly different solution, I think we'd have collectively pulled our hair out had my crew of 5 (mom and dad, two teenage kids, and my 76-yr-old-mom) had to fight over one bathroom.

Just as the OP, we had a really tough time working out how to make our group work at WDW when we first went as a group of five several years ago. Mom puts a premium on her privacy, so none of the two-bed-plus-rollout/murphy style solutions with a single bathroom were going to work for us. We originally were going to get two rooms at PORFQ, but we realized that put us in the parks or in a restaurant for *every* meal, which was going to substantially increase our costs. On a lark, I saw the villa resorts and found a 2BR at SSR, and figured they would be insanely expensive W (well, they kinda were), but turned out to be only fractionally more than the combined price of 2 rooms at POR, combined with the fact that we got a washer/dryer and full kitchen. The kitchen gave us the option to eat some meals in the room, which offset the meal expense we knew we'd have with a 2-room solution. Mom loved the idea and didn't object to the increase in cost (she insisted on paying her own way no matter how we did it), and we all love SSR as a result.

Point in all this being that Disney does make it a bit difficult for parties larger than four. There obviously are options, but they're not always obvious.

 

[tiggernpooh]

Unless they have changed their policy, Disney does guarantee connecting rooms for a family - it is stated right on the reservation. A request for connecting to a friends room or grandparents is not guaranteed.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Unless they have changed their policy, Disney does guarantee connecting rooms for a family - it is stated right on the reservation. A request for connecting to a friends room or grandparents is not guaranteed.

I cropped out my confirmation number and credit card info, but this is my reservations detail page from the Disney website and this poster is correct. It is showing guaranteed connecting rooms. Our poly visit shows the same (we are doing a split stay)

And I agree with those who say the two bathrooms are worth the added expense!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DebbieB]

Unless they have changed their policy, Disney does guarantee connecting rooms for a family - it is stated right on the reservation. A request for connecting to a friends room or grandparents is not guaranteed.

There have been cases posted where a guaranteed connecting did not happen. If there are 2 adults, they can be split up despite saying guaranteed.

 

[jimandami]

BWI and BC have 2 queen beds and couch that pulls out to a single bed sleeps 5 comfortably and you have a larger room.

This will certainly cost more than 2 rooms at a value!

 

[LilyWDW]

Unless they have changed their policy, Disney does guarantee connecting rooms for a family - it is stated right on the reservation. A request for connecting to a friends room or grandparents is not guaranteed.

Actually, it is not a guarantee. The fine print on all reservations states that the only thing guaranteed is a room on property. Everything else is subject to change. People in the past had "guaranteed" connecting rooms only to arrive and be told it is not possible.

It is, in my opinion, important to make sure that guests understand the reality of the situation and what can happen.