Which hotel would be cheapest for our big family trip?

[CJK]

I'm starting to plan a big family trip. On our last big family trip, we stayed at All Star Movies, split up into 3 rooms. For our next trip, we're wondering if we'll have to do it differently. Our party includes a family of 5 (including 3 kids ranging from age 13 down to 5), one couple in their mid 30's and another couple in their 60's.

I plan to research all the options, but does anyone have any suggestions of where to stay? We'll be on a tight budget. Since one family is a family of 5, does that mean they would have to stay in a suite at the All Star Music (if they want to stay at a value resort)? I'm wondering if it would make more sense to stay in a villa somewhere (all together), or if the All Star Music route would be cheaper. I'll definitely do some researching, but I was hoping some of you could give me some insight. TIA!

[Wild4Walt]

Yes, if you choose a value resort the part of 5 would need to stay in a family suite.

You may want to price out the treehouse at Saratoga Springs. It's a delux so it will be higher, but they have 3 bedroom villas.

[danceintherain]

Chances are the Value Resorts will be the least expensive offer. Port Orleans - Riverside has the option of a trundle bed, so they could put 5 in one room, but it would still probably price out about the same as the Family Suites, and you wouldn't get the perk of the extra bathroom. Many of the Deluxe rooms sleep up to 5, but they're more expensive, and it would still be a one room thing.

If you wanted everyone to be really close together, then a Treehouse Villa is an option, but they start at $525 during Value Season, and I'm not sure how much availability they will have during any time of year, because they're new. Also, you have to deal with splitting the cost between the various families, unless someone is planning on paying for the whole thing themselves.

If anyone in your group is military affiliated, then I think they could sponsor you for up to 3 rooms at Shades of Green. I think the standard rooms all sleep 5.

My choice for this situation would be a Family Suite at AS-Music and one additional room, but in this case the large family will most likely end up paying more than anybody else, which might not work out for them.
Another option would be to get 3 regular rooms at a Value resort, and have one of the kids stay in a different room than his/her parents. Every family would end up paying the same amount/room, but of course that could seem less fair to those without kids....
Stuff like this is always complicated.

[DisneyMomx7]

POR would accomodate a family of 5 and is actually a little cheaper than the All Star Family suite. The other families would pay a little more but be able to enjoy the amenities of a moderate over a value.

[cbg1027]

The best option is probably getting 2 All Star Music Family Suites. You could put the family of 5 in one suite and the 2 couples in the other.
That would be cheaper than getting 3 regular rooms at a value.

It would be a bit cheaper to get 2 rooms at a Moderate for everyone, but you'll have more space with the 2 Family Suites.

You could also look in to renting points from a DVC member. Doing that you would probably end up paying 30-40% less than the Disney rack rates for the villas. But even doing that, a 2 or 3 bedroom villa would still be more expensive than the other 2 options.

[williamson_ja]

You could rent points from a DVC member for a treehouse villa or another kind of larger villa to sleep all of you. Besides that, the POR is a very nice option for everyone as the rooms sleep 5 and it's a really nice change from a value.