Advice first DW trip with all the family

[Marilyn Penning]

hi we are a family of 9 ( 6 adults & 3 children ages 6, 4 & 3 )
planning first trip to DW all together. Would like advice on staying on site. not sure if we want each our own room or stay together.
definitely will need a fridge. Would like to know pros & cons of staying on site or off. We can rent a condo off site from relatives if we want to.
any information will be helpful. Thanks

 

[Rory607]

Do the 6 adults include grandparents? I personally vote for on-site for ease of getting around the parks. We’ve done trips with extended family and stayed at Disney resorts in multiple rooms. This way everyone gets their own space and can go at their own pace. If the grandparents needed to be done and were ready to head back to their room, it was very easy to split up and meet up again for dinner or whatever. As far as a fridge, the resort rooms should have a small fridge in each room.

 

[holden]

Another option is a DVC room (or 2) if they are offering them for cash. One bedroom and larger units will have a full kitchen.

 

[Marilyn Penning]

Do the 6 adults include grandparents? I personally vote for on-site for ease of getting around the parks. We’ve done trips with extended family and stayed at Disney resorts in multiple rooms. This way everyone gets their own space and can go at their own pace. If the grandparents needed to be done and were ready to head back to their room, it was very easy to split up and meet up again for dinner or whatever. As far as a fridge, the resort rooms should have a small fridge in each room.

Do the 6 adults include grandparents? I personally vote for on-site for ease of getting around the parks. We’ve done trips with extended family and stayed at Disney resorts in multiple rooms. This way everyone gets their own space and can go at their own pace. If the grandparents needed to be done and were ready to head back to their room, it was very easy to split up and meet up again for dinner or whatever. As far as a fridge, the resort rooms should have a small fridge in each room.

 

[Marilyn Penning]

Yes grandparents are going too. What resort would you recommend.
I am sure everyone will want to have a pool day. we were thinking port or leans riverside or Caribbean beach. But maybe boardwalk, but thought that might be too busy.

 

[Marionnette]

hi we are a family of 9 ( 6 adults & 3 children ages 6, 4 & 3 )
planning first trip to DW all together. Would like advice on staying on site. not sure if we want each our own room or stay together.
definitely will need a fridge. Would like to know pros & cons of staying on site or off. We can rent a condo off site from relatives if we want to.
any information will be helpful. Thanks

All Disney resort rooms have small refrigerators, the kind you might buy for a college kid’s dorm room. If you want a full-size fridge, you would need to book a Vacation Club 1- or 2-BR villa.

Yes grandparents are going too. What resort would you recommend.
I am sure everyone will want to have a pool day. we were thinking port or leans riverside or Caribbean beach. But maybe boardwalk, but thought that might be too busy.

A lot is going to depend on which resorts are open when you visit. BWI and POR are currently not open and there has been no reopening date announced. CBR is open and has the added advantage of being on the Skyliner for easy access to Epcot and HS.

I would recommend the Poly. Although the hotel rooms and monorail stop are being refurbished right now, the Vacation Club side is open. There are studios only (small fridges) but each studio sleeps 5 and if you request connecting rooms, you are quite likely to get them. With children that young, chances are good that you will spend a lot of time at the MK. Poly is more convenient to the MK for returning to the resort for afternoon naps and down time.

 

[Rory607]

Yes grandparents are going too. What resort would you recommend.
I am sure everyone will want to have a pool day. we were thinking port or leans riverside or Caribbean beach. But maybe boardwalk, but thought that might be too busy.

We love Port Orleans and have stayed there multiple times, but I’m not sure when it will reopen. But definitely a beautiful and relaxing resort if that is an option. I’ve never stayed at Caribbean Beach, but you would have the skylines as an additional mode of transportation to busses. The Poly is great as someone else suggested, if that is in your budget. There is both the monorail and the boat to get to Magic Kingdom. My kids loved staying there!

 

[magicalmom1]

Like others have mentioned, if you want to stay altogether, I'd highly recommend renting DVC points to stay on site. 1BR or larger have full kitchens with a full size fridge. But make sure to read the cancellation policies carefully.

We stayed in a 3BR at Bay Lake Tower (at the Contemporary Resort) for our party of 6 adults and 4 kids, and it was very comfortable for us

 

[kwdw]

Budget? One idea is get one 2 bedroom DVC and a studio at the same resort. That’s expensive. Cheap, just get three rooms at a value. Technical you could go for a DVC grand villa, but they are pricy! If you want to spend time together in the room, cook together, hang out, you might want to look at an off site rental for the whole gang. This really depends on what you want the trip to feel like and how much time doing what at the place you stay.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

if I fad six adults all trying to get ready and out the door at the same time I woul want as many bathrooms as possible. I also think anyone over the age of 30 wouldn’t want to spend more than 2 nights on a fold out sofa. Kids seem to love sofa beds.

If you want a kitchen where everyone can meet rent a one bedroom and two studios in DVC resort. Did this a few years ago worked great, we meet for breakfast before heading out each day. The couples staying in the studios chipped in to help pay for the one bedroom. The one bedroom also had a washer & dryer

 

[mjkacmom]

if I fad six adults all trying to get ready and out the door at the same time I woul want as many bathrooms as possible. I also think anyone over the age of 30 wouldn’t want to spend more than 2 nights on a fold out sofa. Kids seem to love sofa beds.

If you want a kitchen where everyone can meet rent a one bedroom and two studios in DVC resort. Did this a few years ago worked great, we meet for breakfast before heading out each day. The couples staying in the studios chipped in to help pay for the one bedroom. The one bedroom also had a washer & dryer

We did a 2 bedroom for our immediate family of 7 and a studio for the grandparents and it was perfecr.

 

[Elephantay]

So much depends on how you plan to spend your days...
Offsite gives you the most bang for your buck, and is cheaper for food options. Its trickier to head back to your resort for a break, then return to the world, Imo. For us, once we leave it feels like a bigger deal to go back.
If everyone wants to be sharing living space , DVC options are great. Full kitchens and laundry, shared living spaces but separate bedrooms and baths. Each resort is so different! Our top pics for convenience are BLT and BC, but our personal love is AKJ. There, you can walk outside or animal watch while some people in your party can get ready, or sleep in...
I think with three little kids, a regular room is less ideal.

 

[Marilyn Penning]

thanks so much for all your suggestions. we are getting a pretty good idea of what we want now.
no on wants to sleep on pull out for 2 weeks. getting our own rooms side by side or close together seems to be the way we want to go now, moderate resort or looking into buying dvc points. thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[JFDIS]

Like the other posters said, it really depends on your budget. Ideally staying on property would be best so you could all take transportation at your leisure. A group that large are all going to want to do different things at different times. If you can swing it a two bedroom villa and a studio would be nice. You’d have a full kitchen and beds for everyone. You can find economical DVC rentals at BWV, AKL, SSR or OKW. You can really get a good deal if you rent points from someone on here but there is risk involved with that.