How does a family of 5 manage in a hotel room?

[DjdBrit]

I am planning my next trip to WDW and have been pondering this question..... How does a family of 5 manage in 1 hotel room?

I have 3 kids who will be 4, 6 and 9 at the next of our next trip. We have always stayed in a Villa before or condo's when on vacation. This option is going to be out for us which leads me to wonder.... how to you all do it? And I am not talking "dancing bananas" for those of who are in the know Just how do you manage to keep everyone happy for the week

[traceym]

We have been lucky at our past visit and the one coming up in October. A grandparent has wanted to come along, so we get connecting rooms. I don't know how we'd do it on our own either. Actually, we'd probably get a cabin at Fort Wilderness. That way we would have more space than in a regular hotel room.
The average family is no longer a family of 4 (at least it's not around here). I think Disney should take that into consideration if they build anymore value or moderate hotels. JMO.

[DjdBrit]

The last 2 trip to WDW we have stayed in a 2 bed villa and my Dad has come to help out. Now are kids are getting older we felt it would be time of a trip with just us. I am hesitant on how we will manage to deal with being in one room. I don't like the llayout of the family suites (don't want my kids sleeping next to an external door) and the cabins seem to be hard to manage without a car so I am stuck. I was thinking of going deluxe to get a tiny bit more room but am unsure on how to make it work. Without us all going to bed at 8.30!

[llqool]

for our trip in December, it was less expensive to get two standard rooms at POP than to get a room at POFQ (w/trundle) or a room at SOG that has a sleeper sofa. This way, we will have another bathroom/sink, too!

[maxiesmom]

Originally Posted by traceym

We have been lucky at our past visit and the one coming up in October. A grandparent has wanted to come along, so we get connecting rooms. I don't know how we'd do it on our own either. Actually, we'd probably get a cabin at Fort Wilderness. That way we would have more space than in a regular hotel room.
The average family is no longer a family of 4 (at least it's not around here). I think Disney should take that into consideration if they build anymore value or moderate hotels. JMO.

Actually according to the last official census the average family is just 3.14 people. So it wouldn't be in Disney's best interest to build resorts that hold more than the average amount of people. Just wanted to throw that out there.

We have done the legal 6 at POR before, and it was very tight. You have to be exceedingly organized. Almost to the point of having a bathroom schedule for showers and such. Having as little stuff along as possible helps, don't bring anything along if you are not absolutely sure you will need it.

You can do it, it just takes a little planning.

[minniebeth]

I think organization is cruicial! Decide ahead of time how you will organize everything: who sleeps where, rotate if necessary (we do to keep it fair...), how to unpack, etc. When you arrive, establish where everything belongs to keep relative order which will save time in the long run. Spend some time setting the room up. Use the over-door organizer for all your toiletries and small items. With one bathroom, decide on how to do showers, our kids shower at night to get the park ick off and relax and unwind. That way in the morning, the showers are reserved for the adults. Each night after the kids go to sleep, organize for the next day: put out clothes, shoes, repack bags with all the items you will need. In the morning, after getting dressed, you will be ready to go. We find it is when our kids are waiting is when they find time to bicker, etc. This way it eliminates much of that. Also, plan what you will be doing ahead of time.
When everything runs like clockwork, it seems to keep everyone happier.
Yes, it's vacation, but WDW is a lot of work and preparation!

Also, quit while you're ahead and everyone is having fun still, rather than waiting until meltdowns. That way the days are ended on happy memories!
Let the kids hang out in the resort, explore to wind down after the parks, etc. and then showers, hang out time, bed in the room. We sometimes also split up to give kids time away from each other...

Have fun! We have always had positive experiences with our family of 5 in the resorts with just one room.

[bethifoody]

We surprised our 3 boys with a trip 2 years ago. There were 5 of us in our CR room. We managed pretty well. We had an over-the-door organizer in the bathroom, which helped a lot. We split bathing into morning & evening. I had to spend a few minutes each day just organizing our suitcases, but it honestly wasn't more than 10 min., I don't think. That kept dirty clothes, etc. off the floors/beds.

The room was a little cluttered, but it was utterly manageable. Just my $.02!

[DjdBrit]

I am pretty organised and usually unpack straight away puttingthe kids and my own clothes into outfits so its easy to grab and get dressed. I do tubbies at night for the kids, and adult showers in the am. We even split up in the day so that the kids get extra age appropreate stuff. My main concern is space since one person will be sleeping on a day bed there won't be a couch or anything to watch TV on etc.... Do you all go mad starring at each other

[marcielm]

I know some mentioned the Cabins, but the Family Suites at ASMu will also sleep up to 6. You get a bedroom with a QS bed, the living area has the couch that makes a full, the chair makes a twin, and the ottoman makes another twin. Each of my 3 oldest sleep in the living room, and the baby was in a pack n play in our bedroom. Plus you have 2 bathrooms, and the kitchenette that gives you a microwave & fridge.

The price is about $20 more than 2 rooms at a value, but I'm not sure how it compares price wise to the cabins (I believe it is cheaper, because I looked for the cheapest route for our March 2010 trip, and we are back in the family suites).

[tami82]

We are a family of 5 and the past few years when we visited other places i always booked a suite with a seperate bedroom or a condo. This was our first visit a few weeks ago and worried so much a bout us being in one room. I have a 5, 7, and 17 year old girls. We stayed at Contemporary and were very happy with the accommodations as the rooms were a bit larger than most and while someone had to use the bathroom you could still take a shower because it was seperate in the one big room. I guess also because we werent in the room too much it didnt bother me as much and i was so tired by the end of the night i just passed out. I slept later than i thought i would and it all worked out. If i got up early i would take a shower and then go get coffee, then wake everyone up for the parks. I also put all of our things away in the cabinets, i had ziplock bags with my two daughters names on them so they could just look for their names and get their outfits the next day without my help. I guess most of all i was so happy to be at Disney i didnt care about the sleeping arrangements for the 6 nights. Our room also had a patio which faced the lake,, that the kids could sit outside the room and get fresh air and we only had to walk around the corner to the pool. The monorail access was great and this was the most important thing for us this trip with the kids.

[Pinkpony]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well 5 of you can get along in a hotel room. We traveled a lot when we were a family of 5 (three boys) and always got along great. Now that our oldest has left the nest, we still travel with the four of us in one room (2 large 16-yr-olds).

I think the key is to let everyone claim squatter's rights on their own tiny space in the room. That's where they sit, sleep, watch TV from, etc. No one else can invade their little space. Keep an organized system on showers and sink use. We wake them up in 10-minute intervals and do an assembly line. Trade off on who has to get up and do the earliest 10 minutes. Once they're ready, back to their "space" to eat a bagel or pop tart until everyone is ready to leave. Same kind of routine at night.

We always take movies to keep everyone's interest to help with cutting out any time to bicker with each other.

As they get older, they can leave the room and wander the hotel if they get bored. But yours are a few years away from that, it looks like.

You'll not be staring at each other for very long while at WDW. There's always something to do!

You'll be fine! (dancing banana withheld)

[DjdBrit]

Originally Posted by Pinkpony

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well 5 of you can get along in a hotel room. We traveled a lot when we were a family of 5 (three boys) and always got along great. Now that our oldest has left the nest, we still travel with the four of us in one room (2 large 16-yr-olds).

I think the key is to let everyone claim squatter's rights on their own tiny space in the room. That's where they sit, sleep, watch TV from, etc. No one else can invade their little space. Keep an organized system on showers and sink use. We wake them up in 10-minute intervals and do an assembly line. Trade off on who has to get up and do the earliest 10 minutes. Once they're ready, back to their "space" to eat a bagel or pop tart until everyone is ready to leave. Same kind of routine at night.

We always take movies to keep everyone's interest to help with cutting out any time to bicker with each other.

As they get older, they can leave the room and wander the hotel if they get bored. But yours are a few years away from that, it looks like.

You'll not be staring at each other for very long while at WDW. There's always something to do!

You'll be fine! (dancing banana withheld)

Thanks for the advice, think we have decided to go for it and stay at either BC ot YC!!! Yey for me. Love that you got the Dancing Banana... Don't think I will be earning mine any time soon

[LauralF22]

We opted for the family suite at ASMu. My mom will sleep in the living room with my two DDs 4 & 2. I was originally planning for 2 standard adjoining rooms, but decided it wasn't worth the risk that I wouldn't get them adjoining. And I think the benefit of having the kitchenette (micro, fridge, sink & cabinets) will make up for it in the long run. We can have breakfast in the room and get to the parks quicker that way.

[BBG-BLT]

You hit the nail on the head - you all go to bed at 8:30. We've done it a few times - gets old by the 3rd day or so. That's why we usually got at least a 1 BR if we were staying somewhere more than one night. If you have to download a book on tape which can keep you busy when the lights go out so early. Or hang out on the balcony.

[tink_lover]

I remember our first trip - we were in a room at BWI. Kids were in bed and dh and I pulled chairs into the bathroom area to read and have an adult beverage. So far, we have been ok with the space in the deluxe rooms - really hated POR, there just wasn't enough room. I do wonder what we will do as kids get older/bigger. There are privacy issues with dressing if there is someone in the bathroom. Some of the bathroom situations were better than others with the separate toilet/sink areas. My feeling is there should be no reason we can't survive in the room for one (or two ) weeks during the year. You want to go to Disney, this is how it works.