Affordable accomodations for large families?

[mom2twinz3]

Hi,

I have been lurking here for a little bit now, and I am so grateful for all I have learned from these boards.

We have a large family..my husband and I, there are six of us. It doesn't look like there are many affordable options within WDW for lodging with such a large group. I doubt they'd even let us camp on one site with so many of us.

I was wondering about the Comfort Suites in LBV. Has anyone stayed there, and if so, how was it?

Any suggestions would be most welcome. I wish we could stay in WDW..but if we have to go outside, we will.

Thanks in advance,
Mary

 

[Goofyzgurl]

Have you thought about renting a house? I think there's a couple of sites that you can rent a home from. I think a couple of the other posters are fans of them, and I'm thinking of renting a house next year. You can't beat it, there's a pool and a whole house to keep everyone happy.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I'm going with a family of five and another friend, so seven of us. I did MOUNDS of research looking for homes and found one at www.orlandovillas.com (although if you do a Google search you will find tons of sites that are similar.) The house we are getting is a four bedroom, three bathroom villa in the Oak Island area (about 3-4 miles from WDW) and it has two living rooms, kitchen, laundry room, two or three TVs, private screened pool, and it has enough beds for 8-10 people. We got a good deal, it's $700 US including tax for eight nights (though w/o pool heat.)

Although I haven't been to WDW before, I must say that getting two hotel rooms was not an option for us and DEFINITELY not two on-site (though there do seem to be lots of on-site alternatives.) Looks like I'll miss some fun not being on-site, but for $87.50/night for seven people - I don't mind!

Good luck with your search!

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

You can have up to 10 on a campsite at Ft. Wilderness.

 

[crazyme5kids]

We stayed at a timeshare resort, and it was wonderful! There are seven in our family, plus we brought my daughters friend. It had two bedrooms, and a pull out sofa bed. I loved having a washer/dryer in the room, which enabled us to pack a little lighter. I would just toss clothing into the washer every other day, never felt like I wasn't on vacation. Having a kitchen was great! We would have breakfast while everyone was getting ready, no wasted time to eat breakfast out. It also gave us more flexabiliity toward the end of the day, if the kids were too tired we didn't have to sit in a restaurant. The pool was great, my kids played with other kids, they had activities on site to keep them busy. A great time was had by all! Driving to Disney was not a problem at all.

 

[2disneywego]

A good site to try is www.hotelkingdom.com They have good rates for all types of accomdation and their customer service is excellent.

 

[DisneyKidds]

You could try and rent DVC points to get a 2 Br Villa (sleeps 8, plus an infant) or a DVC Grand Villa (sleeps 12, plus an infant). You can get more info on the DVC Rent/Trade Board.

A 2 BR would be anywhere from 218 points to 350 points (depending on time of year). A Grand Villa would be from 356 to 800 points (depending on time of year). At $10 a point it certainly won't be as cheap as an off site house rental, but you could get a great deal on some of the necest lodgings on Disney property - full kitchens, jacuzzi tubs and all.

We have rented DVC points before and it is very easy. Now we own .

 

[Bichon Barb]

http://www.orlando-rental-home.com

This is where we found our 3 bdrm townhome rental. Excellent rate! Pool, Jacuzzi, etc.

Good luck!

 

[lilsonicfan]

...wow 218 points to rent a 2 bedroom villa at $10 a point is certainly pricey. that's over $3400 canadian!

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by lilsonicfan
...wow 218 points to rent a 2 bedroom villa at $10 a point is certainly pricey. that's over $3400 canadian!

I disagree - I think it's a pretty good deal for on-site property, considering the accommodations you get. Also, they may be able to get it for less than $10 per pt. (although $10/pt. is average)

Remember, you don't pay the 11% hotel tax on that cost, you don't need to rent a car if you want to use Disney transportation, you would have 2 baths (great for a family of 6) and also a full kitchen, which would save money on meals.

I would also recommend at least checking into renting DVC pts.

 

[Gillian]

The DVC resorts are wonderful, but don't kid yourself into thinking they're inexpensive! Larger units with 2 or 3 bedrooms are available for hundreds less PER NIGHT!

Anyway, if you can afford it, renting DVC points is a great way to go. The per night rate for a 2 bedroom at Old Key West averages out to $311-500. a grand villa (3 BR) is $500-1140 per night.

You can rent a 3 br 2 bath condo at windsor palms for under $100/night, even in the busier seasons.

I have no idea how much that is Canadian.

 

[Tinkerbells2000]

WE are a family of 6 and have stayed at the campgroud ,and not had a problem. Campsites are pretty large, and I think they will allow up to 10. This year we are getting 2 conecting rooms at the All Stars for our trip. These rooms are not that expensive, and we will be getting 2 bathrooms,which is a plus. I think the rooms are anywhere from $79-$119 depending on the time of year, and view. Plus the Sports, and Music, seem to come out with pretty good discounts ,so you could even possibly get them cheaper.

 

[doindisneyagain]

We found our 4 bedroom villa with private pool at www.vrbo.com.
We only paid $520 for 7 nights (with pool heat!) - off season, and only a ten minute drive from Disney. It was a late availability booking, but I think if I did it again, I'd wait till a few months before and start looking for late availability again. There are so many gorgeous villas for rent in the orlando area, that you're bound to find one for rent at the time you want to go.

This will be our first year on property - at FW. So I can't compare which is better - on or off site. All I know is that a 4 bedroom house for $500 is great! Wait until you see these houses. We come from a modest home, so it was like we were living in a mansion for a week!

And even though we had a full kitchen - we ate out every night!
I wasn't cooking on vacation!

Happy Hunting!

 

[DisneyKidds]

Originally posted by lilsonicfan
...wow 218 points to rent a 2 bedroom villa at $10 a point is certainly pricey. that's over $3400 canadian!

For some, yes - but not in general. Let me talk US $$ as that is what you'd be quoted for Disney hotels. A DVC 2 Br sleeps 8. They are deluxe resorts. 218 points is "off season" at OKW. Assuming you can get a good code off season for a deluxe resort you might pay $189. With tax that would be about $210 a night. Most people would consider that a pretty good rate for a deluxe Disney hotel. To sleep 8 you would need 2 rooms. Run the math out and discounted deluxe accomodations for 8 thru Disney would set you back over $2,900 for a week. 218 points at $10 equals $2,180 - a significant savings over discounted Disney rates. Even if you rented points for a BCV/BWV 2 Br (270 points) you are going to save a few hundred off the deepest discounted Disney rates for those deluxe properties. Plus, with a DVC 2 Br you get a full kitchen and a jacuzzi tub. Even if you got WL for $159 a night you can still get more for less renting DVC points. Granted, if you can get a discounted rate thru Disney during busy season you might do better than renting DVC points, but it is worth looking into if you want to stay on property.

Of course if you want to rent something off site you can spend a lot less. However, if you want accomodations on site, renting DVC points can be relatively cheap. Not that there is anything wrong with staying off site (we have done it), but being on site adds a whole other dimension to a Disney vacation, IMHO. To some it is worth the extra $$, to others it isn't.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Oh let me say that I don't mean to say that renting DVC points isn't a good deal, relatively speaking. In fact I'm sure that it is, and I'm sure DVC points owners are happy to rent. I think I just meant that with exchange, it is a lot to rent a Disney villa. I haven't looked into all the accommodation options on-site as I can't afford any of them... it's a long way to come from the west coast of Canada ... but thanks for all the tips and maybe one day I'll get to stay on-site and experience even more of the fun.

I'm also a VERY frugal person! Spending money hurts! Heh. Have a great day!

 

[westjones]

Have you considered the Holiday Inn Family Suites? The one at the Maingate is a good price through Dreams Unlimited (I used them for our cruise last year, and I have a reservation for this hotel through them for our March trip--I haven't stayed here yet, but it looks good).

They say the kids suites and hold up to 6 and the 2 bedrooms can hold 8. There is a kitchenette and a free buffet breakfast. Again, I haven't stayed here yet, but we have reservations.

Here is the link to Dreams Unlimited and they have it for $69 a night:

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/himge/index.htm

Here is a thread on another board with more info on this hotel, and one of the posts has a link to floor plans:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=312964&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

Have a great trip!
DJ

 

[DianeV]

Isnt there also some other charge that DVC charges on top of what you pay the owner? Something like $95..

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by DianeV
Isnt there also some other charge that DVC charges on top of what you pay the owner? Something like $95..

The owner we rented from told us to make sure we told them were "guests" of their family when we checked in. We didn't pay any extra fee & we got all the DVC priveleges that owners do.

 

[MMCD]

DVC members are NOT charged $95 to book within the 6 vacation resorts of OKW, BWV, WLV, BCV, Vero Beach, and Hilton Head. Therefore a DVC member will not charge a renter a $95 charge.

When we stay offsite, we stay here:

http://www.homewood-suites.com/en/hw/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=MCOLBHW

It's also close to DD where you can park at the TTC and then use Disney's transportation.

The 1BR suite is enough for us. The kids are in the living area and the baby is with us in the 1 bedroom.

I guess it depends on the age of your kids.

MMCD

 

[DianeV]

I still think there is some $95 charge upon checkin or something. I know there was a big thread on Timeshare Users Group about it. I think even exchangers (if you can get it) are charged it. We were going to rent a few nights at OKW from someone and he mentioned the fee that we would have to pay at the resort. If its true that is something to keep in mind.