Talk to me about the Murphy bed at POR (or another hotel)...

[thisismyusername]

We have always stayed at the deluxe level with my daughter (a teen) sleeping in a deluxe daybed (no problem) and my boys (11 and 7) sharing the other queen bed.

For an upcoming trip, we are getting into town late by car (probably 11 p.m.). We will be starting our vacation at Boardwalk, but I don't want to pay more than $150 for a night where we'll just be sleeping at the hotel. Right now, I'm considering hotels off site, but since we need room for 5, many of the rates seem to be about comparable to what we'd pay if we just spent the night at POR, which I know will sleep all five of us, but I'm pretty sure will not sleep my daughter (about 5'3") very comfortably. I could put my 7 year old in it (he's tall, so he's easily the size of an 8 year old), but then my older two kids (a boy and a girl), would need to share a bed, which I think they would if we told them they had no choice, but probably reluctantly…

The other concern I have with putting my 7 year old in the Murphy bed is that he's used to sleeping in a full-sized bed, and I'm worried about him falling out of it. It looks to be fairly high off of the floor, and the last thing I want to do is start a 2-week vacation with an injury.

Thoughts? Or do you have any off-site hotel recommendations (close to Disney or within the bubble?) that are about the same price as POR and nice accommodations and would sleep 5?

 

[qbren2u]

We also have a family of 5. DD 12 and DS's 14 & 10. We stayed at POR in Nov and loved it. DD 10 was in the Murphy bed and had no problems. DH and DS shared one queen and DD and I shared the other. Since we were only in the room to sleep it was perfect. We love POR it is so beautiful and peaceful!

 

[mini22]

There are no "Murphy" beds at Riverside. It is a considered a trundle bed. It is basically a small mattress that sits on the floor and it is a little smaller than a twin. My kids slept on them until they were teens but they were not the most comfy.

 

[thisismyusername]

There are no "Murphy" beds at Riverside. It is a considered a trundle bed. It is basically a small mattress that sits on the floor and it is a little smaller than a twin. My kids slept on them until they were teens but they were not the most comfy.

Actually, since the room rehabs, the trundle beds were taken away and there is now a Murphy bed.

 

[Haygar2]

There are no "Murphy" beds at Riverside. It is a considered a trundle bed. It is basically a small mattress that sits on the floor and it is a little smaller than a twin. My kids slept on them until they were teens but they were not the most comfy.

They have Murphy beds in Alligator Bayou. My son slept in one while we were there.

 

[Tpiejg]

My daughter used the murphy bed and she is 4' 11". She had no trouble and had room to spare. She said that it was pretty comfortable too. It isnt to high off the floor, its the same height as a regular bed if not a little lower. if its just for one night I think you would be fine.

 

[3Gsandme]

I'm 5'2" and I laid on the Murphey bed and fit fine.

 

[pixarmom]

Funny you should mention these circumstances, because ours were similar last month! We had a BWI reservation starting on Thursday, the 20th, but due to inclement weather at home, we needed to catch a flight a day earlier. We booked POR because we didn't want to incur the cost of BWI for a near-midnight arrival.

For that trip, I traveled on my own with our three boys, ages 14, 13 and 7. I thought our 7-year-old would absolutely love the POR murphy bed. He always sleeps in the daybed in deluxe resorts and I thought it would be similar, but even more fun (the Princess and Frog theme looked cute!) When we arrived (very late!) I pulled down the daybed and I set it up for him. He was in that bed for no more than 30 seconds and did not want to sleep there. He didn't like the bedding, the pictures bothered him and he said it wasn't comfortable. So he ended up sharing one of the queen beds with me.

That said, it was late and he was tired, we had been traveling for a long time (and unexpectedly, since we weren't scheduled to leave until the next day) and he was in a new and unfamiliar resort. So I really don't think the murphy bed is that bad for one night. If my husband were with us, we would have run out of sleeping space and we'd probably put the 7-year-old with the 14-year-old in the other queen bed and then the 13-year-old on the murphy bed (he's 5 feet tall and would have been fine.) I'd still stick with POR for a late arrival - fun to be on Disney property and a quick cab to BWI the next morning!

 

[PatMcDuck]

I have slept in the Murphy beds at Art of A (it is like a full size) and at VGC (more like a short twin?) 6 nights each time, too, not a one night deal.

I am a 5'4" adult. I like them! But I sleep near the edge of my bed at home, too, I do not sprawl out normally. So they feel cozy to me. And more comfortable than a pull out couch, and easier to open and close then them too.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Funny you should mention these circumstances, because ours were similar last month! We had a BWI reservation starting on Thursday, the 20th, but due to inclement weather at home, we needed to catch a flight a day earlier. We booked POR because we didn't want to incur the cost of BWI for a near-midnight arrival.

For that trip, I traveled on my own with our three boys, ages 14, 13 and 7. I thought our 7-year-old would absolutely love the POR murphy bed. He always sleeps in the daybed in deluxe resorts and I thought it would be similar, but even more fun (the Princess and Frog theme looked cute!) When we arrived (very late!) I pulled down the daybed and I set it up for him. He was in that bed for no more than 30 seconds and did not want to sleep there. He didn't like the bedding, the pictures bothered him and he said it wasn't comfortable. So he ended up sharing one of the doubles with me.

That said, it was late and he was tired, we had been traveling for a long time (and unexpectedly, since we weren't scheduled to leave until the next day) and he was in a new and unfamiliar resort. So I really don't think the murphy bed is that bad for one night. If my husband were with us, we would have run out of sleeping space and we'd probably put the 7-year-old with the 14-year-old in the other double and then the 13-year-old on the murphy bed (he's 5 feet tall and would have been fine.) I'd still stick with POR for a late arrival - fun to be on Disney property and a quick cab to BWI the next morning!

Beds are Queen at Riverside. Sorry your son didnt like it. My 11 and 9 year old granddaughter took turns sleeping on it as they loved it.

 

[neptuneflame]

We just got back from POR. My sister didn't like how high the Murphy was off the floor for my nephew, but it's just velcro'd on and she pulled it off and laid it on the floor. This might make it a little more comfortable. It did seem small, but we are tall people.

 

[pixarmom]

Beds are Queen at Riverside. Sorry your son didnt like it. My 11 and 9 year old granddaughter took turns sleeping on it as they loved it.

Yes! Yes! I should have been more precise - I definitely meant queen - I'll edit my post to avoid confusion! Still recommend POR for the night - despite our 7-year-old's view! As I mentioned above, it was late and he was tired, and we were surprised by his reaction - thought he would love it! Either way, good for the night OP is considering.

 

[thisismyusername]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I did go ahead and book the room because I figured that we'd wind up paying more off site for a room that slept 5 once we finalized rollaway, parking and resort fees--plus, I think heading to a Disney hotel as opposed to an off-site hotel will encourage everyone to get up earlier and start our all-day drive earlier. Worse comes to worse, my 7 year old will sleep with us (which happens at home at 3 in the morning without us realizing it more often than I care to admit) and my son and daughter can suck it up and sleep together one night.

It's really a shame that there are no moderate options for a family of five with pre-/teen kids.

 

[maxiesmom]

It's really a shame that there are no moderate options for a family of five with pre-/teen kids.

I think POR covers the pre-teen kid part. It is when they get larger that there is a bit of an issue. I think they still have a few roll-aways floating around, you can always request one.

 

[SaraMc]

DS and DD 7&4. Both loved the Murphy bed and took turns each night. It's not really higher than a regular bed. Only problem we had with it was DD4 kept pushing her pillow off the end at night. We just pushed the chair up against the top like a headboard and that didn't happen again. Just make sure to call mouse keeping and get a extra warm blanket for it. It did not come with one already on it.

 

[DebbieB]

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