Best Place to stay for a family of 6

[oghoagie]

DH DW DD12 DS 8 DS6 and DD 2. may have 2 more adults but for now I just want to know where is the best place to stay with 6 people. Or what is the best way to deal with this many. two Rooms?
Thanks in advance
Hoagie

 

[oghoagie]

I miss TGM. would have had 20 answers by now.

 

[maxiesmom]

I miss TGM. would have had 20 answers by now.

Maybe a back-handed insult isn't the best idea when you are looking for people to help? Just a thought....

At any rate, with your family makeup I would go for a family suite. That way you don't have the concern you would have with 2 rooms on if they will be connecting or not. And if the other 2 adults decide to go along they could book their own room and have their own space.

 

[Countryrunner262]

What type or resort are you wanting...value, moderate, or deluxe?

I know Art of Animation has suites, but I have not stayed there. I know you can also request adjoining rooms. When we travel with my parents we usually do this so the kids have access to both our rooms without going outside.

We have stayed at POP, POFQ, VGF, and soon to stay at SSR. POP was our least favorite, but the kids liked it. Value resorts offer the least amount of space.

I would say it depends in how much time you will be in your room or at the resort. We always spend a lot if time at the resort, so we like to be comfortable. That's we we prefer moderate or deluxe.

 

[Countryrunner262]

Maybe a back-handed insult isn't the best idea when you are looking for people to help? Just a thought.... .

Thought the same thing.

 

[jimandami]

Thought the same thing.

And to be honest, this question is asked almost every single day on this board. The search function is a beautiful thing!

 

[robinb]

You have 5 people plus a child under 3 so you can stay at any of Deluxe resorts that sleep 5 people. I would recommend a DVC villa for your family. If you go for a 1BR, I would recommend a resort that has a sleeper chair like at AKV, BLT and OKW. The studios over at VWL now have a small murphy bed so they now also sleep 5. The best way to stay at DVC resorts is to rent points from someone.

 

[MudQueen22]

What type or resort are you wanting...value, moderate, or deluxe? I know Art of Animation has suites, but I have not stayed there. I know you can also request adjoining rooms. When we travel with my parents we usually do this so the kids have access to both our rooms without going outside. We have stayed at POP, POFQ, VGF, and soon to stay at SSR. POP was our least favorite, but the kids liked it. Value resorts offer the least amount of space. I would say it depends in how much time you will be in your room or at the resort. We always spend a lot if time at the resort, so we like to be comfortable. That's we we prefer moderate or deluxe.

I was imagining adjoining rooms were only connected in 2s. Can more be linked up internally? TIA.

 

[Wendybird55]

I would consider renting DVC points - it's probably a less expensive way to have all of you together.

You can get a 2-bedroom which will have plenty of room (usually king size master bedroom - 2nd room with 2 queen beds or 1 queen bed & pull our sofa and living room area with pull our sofa...there is also full kitchen, washer & dryer and 2 bathrooms).

A one-bedroom at Old Key West would also work if your youngest daughter can sleep in a pack n play. One bedrooms at Old Key west include a king-size bed (mom & dad) a pull out sofa bed (2 kids) and a pull out chair bed (one kid) and then your 2yo can sleep in pack n play. It also has the full kitchen and wasjer & dryer. There is only 1 bathroom.

I think some 1 bedrooms in Animal Kingdom Villas may have 2 bathrooms and enough room for all of you to sleep - you need to check on that.

Outside of 2 adjoin rooms, I think a DVC room may be best for you and renting points is a less expensive way to do it. You can check the DVC boards on this site. I've rented points with no problems.

Plus DVC 1 or 2 bedrooms include the kitchen and washer and dryer which can be very helpful.

 

[angielavon]

Myself, DH, Ds 17, DS 14, Dd 8 and Dd 7 stayed at Art of Animation in a Finding Nemo suite our last visit and everyone loved it. We had plenty of space and never felt like we were tripping over each other. I loved having two bathrooms - especially in the morning. The kitchenette was great too; allowing us to have breakfast in our room. Our kiddos liked the pool so much that we cancelled an ADR because they wanted more pool time. I would definitely recommend AOA suites for a large family.

 

[4under4]

I'll add my vote for the DVC suggestion. Getting a 2 bedroom, you will actually end up with a LOT more space than just getting adjoining rooms, and it can be very cost effective. Throw in the benefit of the full kitchen & washer/dryer, and it's really hard to beat. We've done SSR twice, and even though it has some drawbacks, I think it would be great for your family. It has a two really great pools, arcade, close to DTD, so many food options are close/convenient. And if you end up with an additional two people, you could still fit comfortably in a 2 bedroom.

 

[ElizabethB]

If I'm counting correctly, if the other two adults don't come, you have 5 plus one toddler under 3.

That means you can sleep in any room that sleeps 5 or more (the 2-year-old isn't counted for room occupancy purposes). So, that is the Family Suites at the All Star Music or Art of Animation (which sleep 6), the Fort Wilderness Cabins, any deluxe regular hotel room (other than Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, which only sleep 4), any one-bedroom DVC unit with an extra single sleeper sofa, and one room at Alligator Bayou at Port Orleans Riverside.

There are also more expensive rooms that sleep six comfortably and would work great for 5 and a toddler -- e.g. deluxe room at the Boardwalk Inn (comes with Boardwalk/water view and club level services), deluxe room at Wilderness Lodge (sleeps 6). There are also deluxe rooms at the Beach Club which sleep 5 rather than 6 but are extra large and come with club level services).

You can also get two rooms anywhere, ask for them to connect and hope for the best. We once had connecting rooms at Pop Century with a king bed in one room and two queens in the other. Worked out great for our group of 5. Beyond that there are expensive suites of all sorts and the larger DVCs.

With respect to DVC units, we stayed in one once with two adults and two 15-year-old boys. It didn't work out very well, frankly, due to the fact that two of us had to sleep on the sofa bed, which was exceedingly uncomfortable. It was so uncomfortable, we checked out two days early and returned to Portofino Bay Hotel. We found we much prefer one room at a deluxe with club level. The boys love the all-day food offerings and dh and I can get up early and go to the Club Level room while the boys sleep in. In the one-bedroom DVC unit, if dh and I wanted to get up early, have a bit of breakfast, etc., while the teens slept in, we had to sleep on the sofa bed and give the king bed to the boys. That didn't work out very well, but was better than the two 15-year-olds sharing the sofa bed. So we went back to deluxe club level -- two queens and a daybed. We disturb the boys just long enough to get up and dress, then we go enjoy breakfast, the newspaper, etc. while the boys sleep. Works great.

If the other two adults come along, you will be 7 adults plus one under 3. The DVC 2-bedroom units would be very comfortable (as would the 3-bedroom ones but I gather they are hard to get). Once when we were a party of 9 (mix of adults and kids), we got two rooms at Grand Floridian main building club level. The rooms were connecting, everyone had comfortable beds and enough room and we had all of the extra room of the main building club level lounge. That worked very well. For a group, I think it is really convenient to have the lounge for breakfast, snacks, evening appetizers, drinks, etc. We prefer two rooms at a deluxe club level to the DVC units.

That's about all I can think of. Hope it helps.