Disney- family of five

[shruley]

Looking at planning a trip in 2 years, and it would be our first trip with a family of 5, where the littlest is over the age of 3. Ideally I would like to stay onsite. To do so, the best option seems to be 2 rooms at a value resort, Pop probably. (we will have 3 girls, who will be ages 14, 11 and 5. The two bathrooms seems important.) Is there anywhere offsite that would be cheap enough, and large enough, for a family of 5 that would make it worth the hassle and expense of renting a car, paying for parking, etc? Never looked at offsite locations, not sure if it is worth the time to do so? We would be going over Sept 5th (for a birthday) so would hope for maybe some sort of room discount or maybe free dining or something to help lower the cost? Curious what any other families of 5 have done.

 

[Jajone]

We always rent a vacation home. Nothing beats 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, own pool, full kitchen. Usually can find it for around $100-125/night. But...free dining would maybe sway us to look long and hard at two value rooms.

 

[Pembo]

Windsor Hills - We are a family of 5 and I was able to get a 3 bedroom condo there for much less than staying onsite. The 2 bathrooms, 4 TV's, kitchen and washer and dryer were worth it. We saved a lot of money and found the whole vacation to be less stressful. The drive to property is about 5 minutes. Check out the Orland Hotels and Attractions Board for more info here on the DIS.

That said we've stayed at POR a few times with all 5 of us. It is tight. We also tried the FW cabins - still rather small.

 

[Brer Shay]

Also a family of five living in a Disney world made for four.

We have done both of your suggestions - rented two rooms at Pop and rented an offsite house. If free dining were offered, it would make me re-evaluate staying onsite since you have four Disney "adults." Otherwise, our family loved renting an offsite house. Several times, we got a 3BR Townhouse with a splashpool for $100 a night. Gave us room to spread out, sped up our transportation times (driving is a breeze), and gave us better food options.

 

[Marionnette]

Looking at planning a trip in 2 years, and it would be our first trip with a family of 5, where the littlest is over the age of 3. Ideally I would like to stay onsite. To do so, the best option seems to be 2 rooms at a value resort, Pop probably. (we will have 3 girls, who will be ages 14, 11 and 5. The two bathrooms seems important.) Is there anywhere offsite that would be cheap enough, and large enough, for a family of 5 that would make it worth the hassle and expense of renting a car, paying for parking, etc? Never looked at offsite locations, not sure if it is worth the time to do so? We would be going over Sept 5th (for a birthday) so would hope for maybe some sort of room discount or maybe free dining or something to help lower the cost? Curious what any other families of 5 have done.

It's been quite a while since all 5 of us went to Disney together and when we did, there were no Family Suites. We often stayed at deluxe resorts so that my husband and I could relax on the balcony while the kids drifted off to sleep.

As far as onsite options go, here's where you can stay:

• 2 Value Resort rooms - The advantage would be that you get 4 real beds and two full bathrooms. The disadvantage would be that connecting rooms are not guaranteed, nor do they guarantee that you will even be near another.
• Family Suite at AsMu or AoA - The advantage is that you will have 2 bathrooms and a small kitchenette. Plus, there's no chance of being assigned to different areas of the resort. The disadvantages would be that it is slightly more expensive than 2 Value rooms and only one "real" bed.
• POR room - The advantage would be that this is cheaper than 2 Value rooms or a Family Suite. You get 2 "real" beds and a pull-down bed, which is smaller than a regular bunk bed. You also get only one bathroom and everyone is crammed in one room without the benefit of a balcony to escape to.
• Deluxe Resort - Expensive in most cases. Only one bathroom. Three "real" beds but one of them is a daybed which might only be comfortable for a child or small adult.
• FW Cabin. - Two rooms and a small porch to relax on. Bunk beds and a double bed in the bedroom and a Murphy bed in the living area. A full kitchen. Only one bathroom. Not as expensive as a Deluxe Resort room but pricier than staying in a Moderate or Value Resort.
• DVC Villa - Studios will accommodate your family in most of the resorts. Only on "real" bed in most studios (OKW being the exception), with a pull-out sofa and a pull-down bed. Only one bathroom. At least you have a balcony to escape to and a kitchenette. Cost is about the same as staying at a Moderate Resort if you rent points during the right season. 1-bedroom villas are also available but the sleeping arrangements are about as complicated...one king bed in the bedroom, a pull-out sofa and sleeper chair in the living-room. You get a full kitchen and a washer/dryer. Some 1-bedroom villas have 2 bathrooms.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

CBR also has 5-person rooms now. They are slightly larger than the rooms at POR, but still only one bathroom for 5 people. I have friends with 3 kids that have stayed there several times and really enjoy it.

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I stayed at POR last year with 3 adults, 2 kids (7/3). There were 2 queens and a Murphy bed. If u stayed in a Fairfield or springhill suite, I feel it's similar footage. The difference is a sofa bed and Murphy bed. Also no kitchenette at POR.

I prefer POR over AoA suite because I prefer not to make sofa bed or turn the dining table to bed. My friend's family of 5 did 2 rooms at one of the All Stars. The good is 2 bathrooms, the bad is less amenities at Values. Also, the beds are full size not queens.

 

[WDWjen]

Check discounts at the Dolphin.... I know you can use Starwood points if you have them... We saved $1000 by moving our reservation from the Yacht club.. it was right next door. We had 2 queen beds and a rollaway twin. Watched the fireworks from our Balcony. It has a great grotto pool and ton of food options onsite and at the Swan. We found the room to be large enough for the 5 of us. (Kids were 8,10&12 and they are not small) I found 1 bathroom was fine.. we spend all day in parks anyway. Its a great location - you can take the boat from the Dolphin right to Epcot and the Studios..or take a nice walk. We had dinner at boardwalk, epcot and walked home. Only downside I could think of was no option for meal plan, but we just paid cash for all meals. We did 2 days at universal so we wouldnt have done the meal plan anyway... It has all other disney perks like buses, package delivery. We rented a car so I'm not sure about the Magical Express.

 

[HeatherC]

Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort! It is onsite just not Disney owned. It is next door to the Carbbean Beach Resort.

It is a gorgeous timeshare resort with private villas from one to four bedrooms. The resort has multiple pools, lazy rivers, free mini golf, kids activities, etc.

We were there again this past April and paid $125 a night including all taxes for a three bedroom villa with two full baths, kitchen, laundry, etc. Truly the best deal around and the location cannot be beat.

There is a huge thread on it over on the transportation board. You can google it to see pictures as well.

Even renting a car and paying for parking (we paid $360 for a minivan for 11 days) still comes out MUCH cheaper than two Disney rooms. Plus, you have the added benefit of a kitchen which is great to prepare snacks or have breakfast in your jammies before hitting the parks. They also have grills so you can always throw something on the grill during a pool day or at night when kids want to swim and don't want to have to sit in a restaurant.

And if you don't want to cook at all, it is connected to the Wyndham Grand hotel which has a couple restaurants. There are also a couple pool bars and places to get a quick meal.

We are a family of five with three teens and have been to Disney every year. We have stayed in lots of different places, but Bonnet Creek is our favorite for space, value, convenience and luxury.

Have fun planning wherever you stay!!

 

[edk35]

Windsor Hills - We are a family of 5 and I was able to get a 3 bedroom condo there for much less than staying onsite. The 2 bathrooms, 4 TV's, kitchen and washer and dryer were worth it. We saved a lot of money and found the whole vacation to be less stressful. The drive to property is about 5 minutes. Check out the Orland Hotels and Attractions Board for more info here on the DIS.

That said we've stayed at POR a few times with all 5 of us. It is tight. We also tried the FW cabins - still rather small.

We stayed in Windsor spring break of 2012. IT was AWESOME. We had 8 people for that trip and we had a 6 bedroom home with 5 bathrooms and a pool and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH CHEAPER than getting two rooms at Shades of Green which are inexpensive to stay at. IF we ever have a big group we will do that again. SO much space!!!!

 

[sersee05]

We stayed at the poly with 5. I always tell my friends if they haven't stayed onsite. .do it at some point. We did and then went offsite . It was so much better for us! Everyone had room and it's cheaper. There are even some really cute Disneyesque rooms in some places. We don't go to bed right away so it's nice that the kids can wind down and watch TV and we can too. Then get ready the next day in multiple bathrooms!! It was fine onsite when they were little. .but the older they got, the more room they wanted.

 

[kaddjr]

Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort! It is onsite just not Disney owned. It is next door to the Carbbean Beach Resort.

It is a gorgeous timeshare resort with private villas from one to four bedrooms. The resort has multiple pools, lazy rivers, free mini golf, kids activities, etc.

We were there again this past April and paid $125 a night including all taxes for a three bedroom villa with two full baths, kitchen, laundry, etc. Truly the best deal around and the location cannot be beat.

There is a huge thread on it over on the transportation board. You can google it to see pictures as well.

Even renting a car and paying for parking (we paid $360 for a minivan for 11 days) still comes out MUCH cheaper than two Disney rooms. Plus, you have the added benefit of a kitchen which is great to prepare snacks or have breakfast in your jammies before hitting the parks. They also have grills so you can always throw something on the grill during a pool day or at night when kids want to swim and don't want to have to sit in a restaurant.

And if you don't want to cook at all, it is connected to the Wyndham Grand hotel which has a couple restaurants. There are also a couple pool bars and places to get a quick meal.

We are a family of five with three teens and have been to Disney every year. We have stayed in lots of different places, but Bonnet Creek is our favorite for space, value, convenience and luxury.

Have fun planning wherever you stay!!

This. Wonderful place to stay. We will be staying here on our next trip.

 

[shruley]

Thanks. I checked out Winsdor Hills, and that definately looks interesting! All that space would be nice, I think people would sleep better having their own rooms instead of everyone in one. And even the little splash pool would be nice at the end of the night. For Bonnet Creek, I have to rent through another person, right? I thought I had looked at Bonnet Creek before on teh website and it seemd expensive!

 

[happymommy]

I would see if the dates you're going have free dining. If you get two rooms at Pop, you'd have lots of space (and you can SEE if you can get connecting rooms; if not see if you can move during your stay to make it possible). It would be much more comfortable than sharing one slightly larger room. With one bathroom. For us, last time we all shared one room, my DD had a hard time. Turns out, she has a connective tissue disorder and needs much more sleep than most. She had such a hard time sharing a room with us (even though she had the daybed). We haven't done one room since then.

If you want to go offsite, there are a million (literally) choices, but honestly all require you to do a rental car. It's a trade off.

 

[crisi]

Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort! It is onsite just not Disney owned. It is next door to the Carbbean Beach Resort.

It actually isn't onsite, Its adjacent to, and surrounded on three sides, by Disney property, but Disney does not own the land it sits on (a different deal than the Swan/Dolphin, which are onsite - Disney owns the land, they lease the land out for the hotels). Its an important distinction because while Swalphin guests get some onsite perks and Disney transportation, Windsor Hills guests get no onsite perks at all.

But they are very nice, very convenient, and affordable.

 

[happymommy]

I also agree to check the Swan & Dolphin! I love them! I've gotten rooms there for free (Starpoints) as well as less than $130 a night.

 

[crazelion]

We are family of six now. I have 4 kids. We stay offsite in all suite hotels plus comes with a free breakfast and plus happy hour. The I like the Residence Inn by Marriott or Druey Inn and Suites. The time we stay onsite now is when my son boys scouts troop go.

 

[McKelly]

If you are going during Free Dining Time. I would try and secure a room at POR or CBR. You get the regular dining plan which would allow you to experience more of the very expensive character dining with your kids. Yes, one bathroom stinks, but it's doable. Maybe a couple people can shower before bed and then some in the AM. There is a curtain by the sinks that you can close to obtain some privacy in getting dressed. One showering, one getting dressed and then shift. I might be the oddity, but I like being close together in one room with my family. It's the only time my teens talk to me - otherwise they are holed up in their room playing video games and texting their friends! It really feels like family time to me.

 

[shruley]

If you are going during Free Dining Time. I would try and secure a room at POR or CBR. You get the regular dining plan which would allow you to experience more of the very expensive character dining with your kids. Yes, one bathroom stinks, but it's doable. Maybe a couple people can shower before bed and then some in the AM. There is a curtain by the sinks that you can close to obtain some privacy in getting dressed. One showering, one getting dressed and then shift. I might be the oddity, but I like being close together in one room with my family. It's the only time my teens talk to me - otherwise they are holed up in their room playing video games and texting their friends! It really feels like family time to me.

This was a thought I had, but I read this year that free dining was really limited. I was assuming the rooms that slept 5 at the moderates would probably not offer the free dining or that I shouldn't count on getting that. Staying in the room that slept 5 would probably be doable. I would LOVE the regular free dining plan. Having a 5 year old, I still want to do a Princess meal for her and we always do Chef Mickey's, plus love places like Whispering Canyon and 50's Prime Time, but man paying adult prices for 2 of 3 kids is really painful. Especially for the then 11 year old. SHe's a heart kid. She eats like a bird. Paying $30 or $40 for a buffet for her...ouch!

 

[Cynt]

Another vote for Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. I was an onsite snob until my family trip with 9 - 7 adults and 2 kids. I'm sold hands down for WBC. We were going to rent 4 rooms at a moderate and at the last minute we went with WBC, 4 bdrm. Best decision we ever made for our family vacation. Everyone had their own room and we were able to visit the parks every day and RELAX when we got home. We stopped by Walmart and picked up breakfast food. We had a nice hearty breakfast in the morning and enjoyed the parks the rest of the day and evening. We didn't feel guilty splurging on food in the parks because we saved so much money on lodging. Downtown Disney is right down the street with numerous eating options as well.

The only thing I didn't like was driving to the parks every day. But I commute 2 hours back and forth to work every day so I HATE DRIVING! It had nothing to do with the drive itself. It was simple and easy to reach the parks.