2 adults 5 kids.. am I NUTS?

[melissa6631]

Hi guys!!!

We are taking the plunge and taking the kids to see and on Memorial day weekend/week. (may/29- 6/5)

Here is my question...

We will be staying at the Mariott Grande Vista Resort and I'm not quite sure how to go about this the cheapest way. We have 5 kids aging 9-3. I think we'd only need a 3 day hopper pass, and a "two" day SeaWorld Pass. I plan on spending one relaxing day in Clearwater. It's by far the most beautiful beach we've ever been to and surely worth the drive. We were just there in August of this year.

How do you recommend traveling and doing it in the cheapest form yet assuring that we have a GREAT time! I am already planning on buying cereal, milk, iced tea etc for our breakfast's which will save us $40 or more a day on that meal. I may even do small things like order a pizza one night and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch on a day when we're at the pool.

I haven't seen a lot about people with a lot of kids on this board but of course this board is SOO big I'm not sure where to look.

If you could give me any suggestions I'd appreciate it. I did see Alamo is the best place to get 3 day hopper tickets.
Thanks in advance.


Melissa

 

[crazyforgoofy]

If taking a ton of kids to WDW means you're nuts then include me. I took my own 4 by myself and now am taking the 4 grands (2 nine year olds, a six year old and one who's turning six). We'll be there at the same time as you (May 25 - June 8).My hubby is disabled and won't be much help in the parks but we'll do fine. And so will you. They're young for such a short time. Take tons of photos. Don't expect to do everything at Disney in 3 days. Make lists of must dos, use Fast Pass, learn as much as you can about how to efficiently do the parks.


To save $$ you might want to either give each child a small "budget" for souvenirs. Telling family members to give Disney $$s or cash for birthdays etc. helps too.

Bring your own stroller(s) to save the daily rental fee in the parks.

There are so many good ideas to be found here on the Dis - keep reading and you'll be an expert before you know it.

Have a wonderful time. Maybe we'll run into each other in "The World."

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Are you flying or driving? One big way to save $ is to drive. We usually eat breakfast in the room and sometimes are tired in the evening and make a sandwich in the room, too.

We bring snacks into the park. That's not to say that we don't buy things, but it helps with the expenses. When we do buy snacks we share. Some people have their kids share meals if they don't eat much. My 3 older kids eat a lot so I can't do that any more. My 4yo is a picky eater and I never know when he will want to chow down and when he will just pick at his food and not eat much.

Have fun!

T&B

 

[KSgirl]

We've taken our four kids twice to Disney World. We always stay off-site and search for super suite deals (got a 2 bedroom, full kitchen, washer and dryer for $89 in December). Tips I've learned:

*buy and pack snacks in fanny packs for each kid before leaving home (shop for best prices)....best snacks include small individual bags of snack crackers (like goldfish...larger crackers will get crushed more easily), fruit chews, small packages of nuts, beef jerky, and hard-candies (that won't melt easily)
*fix dinners at the Resort/hotel (these can be very simple...PB&J, mac 'n cheese, etc)
*in the parks for lunch, purchase meals like Chicken fingers with french fries and share portions. We could feed 6 people with only 4 meals.
*make your own autograph book and have the kids take turns asking the characters to sign it. That also saves TIME at Character meet and greets!
*save allowance beforehand in an individual jar for each kid (when I had extra dollar bills, I would also stick them into jars and didn't seem to miss them). If you start early enough, the kids will have quite a bit saved before you go. Whenever my kids requested an "extra" (aka: Mickey bar, thier own bottle of soda, candy, souvenier, etc.) then they could pay for it with their own money. I didn't have to spend any "extra" money on them during the trip.
*bring your own stroller to the parks. Even if the youngest doesn't want to ride in it, you will have a place to carry all the things you tend to collect.
*definitely eat breakfast before you go!
*pressed pennies are a fairly inexpensive, and fun, souvenir to collect. You can just start saving your change now, and you will never even miss it. Store the quarters and pennies (cost = 50 cents per pressed penny) in those mini m'n'm tubes for easy toting.

Good luck! We also found renting (or driving) our own car was worth the money, as we could leave when it was time, without having to wait for a bus with cranky children. And beware....the kids will be EXAUSTED by the end of the trip, so don't plan nearly as much at the end!

 

[melissa6631]

I am going to fly down. I don't think it's worth taking all 5 down in a crammed minivan. We'd be sooooo tired by the end of our trip that driving from Florida to PA would be exhausting.

To me, the $800 is well worth it!

The money idea is a good one.

I haven't made any reservations yet. I saw on mousesavers.com that Memorial Day weekend is a bad time to go. Should I change it to the end of September?

 

[Mic]

I've taken my own four kids many, many times over the last 5 years, beginning when they were 4,5,8,& 9. Sometimes my DH goes with us, in which case we become a party of 5 kids and 1 adult, and sometimes not. Now that the 2 oldest are in middle and high school, being alone with their family is a punishment worse than death, so we have to bring friends. You can go to WDW knowing that many nuts before you have survived. Things that work for us:
(1) Eat breakfast in the room, and make lunch our big meal of the day. We usually plan 1 character meal per trip. Since you are staying off-site, try to snag an 8 AM breakfast at a non early-entry park, and be sure to arrive on time. When the park opens at 9, you will likely be done with breakfast and ahead of everyone in the line at the gate.
(2) Each child has their own fanny-pack with snacks(I purchase individual-size cookies/treats that I don't normally allow the kids to have before we leave, and put them in a big plastic container. Each child picks something out each morning to go in their fanny pack. I carry a few cold bottled waters and Capri Suns in an insulated lunch bag in my back-pack. I usually freeze the Capri Suns and use them to keep the waters cold. By 10 am, they are a little slushy, just the way my younger 2 like them.
(3)Bring a cooler(we have a rolling collapsible thing we bought at Wal-mart for less than $20). We are DVC members and have a fridge, but still use the cooler for drinks on the drive down and the waterparks. We carry it to the pool, along with some napkins and paper plates, and order a pizza for dinner(my kids love this!). You could use it at the beach, as well, and it is easy to pack for flying.

Bring your own stroller( a real lifesaver) and any extra batteries and film you may need for cameras. These small things really put a dent in a budget if you pay Disney's prices. And I second the opinion of giving each child a set amount of souvenir money; we've done this from day 1, and never had a problem.Check-out menus online before leaving, so you'll have an idea of what each restaurant offers and how much you'll pay for it. We see so many families at WDW fall apart trying to decide where to eat while the kids are screaming(from heat and hunger). We always plan where lunch will be ahead of time, and make the necessary PS arrangements, so we only have to argue about dinner after we leave the park. Decide before you go what parks/what day, and have a plan of attack. Get the kids involved; we've let each one of ours plan a whole trip(budget and activities) before, and while they're not pros like most DIS'ers, they did spend time researching and discussing the trip. For us, planning is half the fun, and it gets everyone psyched! As far as WHEN to go, our favorite time has always been early Oct.(our school system scheduled a weeklong break once, but only 2 days last year), but we have gone over Mem. Day for the last 4 years, leaving a day or 2 after school got out. This year, we are taking 3 extra teenage girls, so you will be in good company. I hope this helps!

 

[4greatboys]

We have 4 kids and they always go with us. This trip we have planned in June Im also taking 3 extra kids We are DVC members so we dont normally have to worry about paying for our room except for the night or 2 we spend at Universal.
We also use some meal vouchers at certain places like Pepper market and Beachers and Cream. We also buy a couple of the vacation kingdom lunch vouchers and share a great meal at RFC.
I think eating breakfast in your room and maybe taking some light snacks to the park will help with your expenses. Also before our last trip I caught a couple of good sales at TDS and bought some things to stick in the suitcase and then hand out later while at Disney like the little fans that lite up .97 each and some tee shirt that were $4 & $5. Maybe your kids could earn a little spending money from neighbors or grandparents.

 

[wdwphanatic]

... Memorial Day week will be very crowded and very hot! I went in May last year and really didn't like it, mostly because I wasn't used to the hot weather yet and the 90+degree days really got to me... On the other hand, I've been the last week in Sept. and LOVED that! It's one of my favorite times of the year to go -- the parks are empty and it's very relaxing. It was hot then as well, but I guess because I'd been thru a NJ summer at that point, 90 degrees didn't seem to take as much out of me! If it weren't for my kids' school and soccer schedules, I'd choose late Sept/early Oct for all my WDW trips.

Can't say I have many money-saving tips for you (I always spend waaaaayyyy too much money when I'm there!), but I see that everyone else has come up with some great ideas anyway... Hope you have a wonderful vacation with your kids!

Happy planning,
Sarah

P.S. Quick question... How could you buy 7 airline tickets for $800?? The cheapest I've ever gotten from Philly (the airport we use) is about $180 r/t... Just wondering if I'm missing something!

 

[funhouse8]

We have four kids and all off mine have been adults in Disneys eyes for awhile. It's really hard to save money but it can be done. Everyone is right when they say to bring in your own snacks and drinks but also remember if you don't mind the water in the parks you can get a cup of ice water at most stands for free. I wanted to memtion the cheapest character meal is the ice cream social in the garden grill at epcot. It costs 6.99 per person. Yes you could say that is alot for ice cream but you are really paying for the one on one with the characters. We had breakfast at chef mickeys and it costed us 100 and there were only five of us that day. the ice cream social was only 42.00 and the characters were alot of fun. Your kids will love this. go enjoy and rember even if you don't get to see everything there is always next trip. Gina

 

[TeresaNJ]

The pros and cons of May/September. Yes, May is crowded, but you have the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, which is absolutely beautiful, and you have later park hours over the holiday. We were there for the 4th of July in 2002, and while crowded, we didn't mind it. It added to the festivity. September is nice, less crowds, but parks close earlier, and you run the risk of not seeing Wishes or Spectromagic at the Magic Kingdom. I think I'd opt for May. No matter what though, you will have a wonderful time. I must be nuts too, cause we're going with our three kids, four of their friends, my nephew and his friend, brother and his fiance, and her daughter this July. Kids ages range from 14-24. Oh yea, forgot, my mom is going too! Staying in a two-bedroom and two studios at the BCV.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by wdwphanatic
[B
P.S. Quick question... How could you buy 7 airline tickets for $800?? The cheapest I've ever gotten from Philly (the airport we use) is about $180 r/t... Just wondering if I'm missing something! [/B]

I wondered that, too. Maybe she meant that the difference in cost between flying and driving was $800 since a person needs to think about gas and an extra night in a hotel. But of course a person needs to consider a rental car or some sort of transportation after they are there if they fly.

We drive from Maryland and, even though we don't look forward to the drive, we're getting it down to a science. It takes time to fly, too, especially since a person has to get to the airport so early. For us it takes and hour to get to the airport, parking in a long term lot and taking the shuttle can take 1/2 hour, supposed to get there 2 hours early, our flight is almost 2 1/2 hours, then 1/2 hour to get to baggage claim and pick up the bags, picking up a rental car if a person needs to, and then driving to WDW (1/2 hour?). That adds up to over 7 hours depending on the ground transpotation. We could be 1/2 way to Orlando by then and we can keep our own schedule.

We only do this, though, if we have at least a week vacation since time is at a premium for a shorter trip.

T&B

 

[tinkandhook]

hi, I too am going with 2 adults and 5 kids(ages 12,11,10,8,&6)
this will be the first time going with all the kids at once(we are a mixed family and usually when we go , it is when 2 of the kids are at their dads house)

We are staying at the holiday inn family suites, but are going from july 10-21. We do however live in florida so are used to the heat. its the crowds that will bother me. This will be our first trip to disneyworld, however we have been to disneyland lots of times. And went to universal studios/IOA & busch gardens last year with 3 of the kids.

I know we are all getting excited about going.2 of the girls bdays are in that time frame, and usually one of my daughters is with her father for her bday , so it is an extra special treat, mickey and mom..lol

The problem that we seem to lean to is the number of us and the ride seats, and also that my 8 yr old is scared of everything.(at universal we had to leave shrek becuase he was scared, and my daughter had to pee after standing in line for 90 min. just to get in...) We do use the baby swap areas, so that helps.

these boards always have great threads and it is great to get all the insight before going.

hope ya'all have fun!
tinkandhook

 

[MOM POPPINS]

I am taking my 5 in few weeks (14,9,5,2,8months) We have been with our 4 girls on 4 different trips. We had a great time each and every trip. We have made the drive once and flown the other 3 times. I think flying is a better option when you look into the expenses incurred while driving. We stay on club level (concierge) at the Dolphin to save us money on our breakfast, water and afternoon snacking. We have stayed at HIFS and the girls also loved it as well. We just prefer the convenience of the on-site transportation. Either way you will have a great time!! Having more kids just adds to our memories. To see the little ones see Mickey for the first time is priceless.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

You've already got a lot of great advice! One thing I'd add is considering doing some souvenir shopping at an Orlando area outlet mall. There are a couple stores that sell authentic WDW merchandise, not just things you'd find at a Disney Store.

Here are a couple links...

http://www.belz.com/factory/locations/orlando/orlando_layout.html#stores

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=17