Anyone with 3 kids???

[3littlepeas]

We will be going to Disney in early Dec 2003 with our 3 boys (9, 6 and 4) and I was wondering what do you suggest in terms of accomodations...we were there in Jan 2001 with only 2 of the boys at the time and stayed at the Double Tree guest suites b/c we wanted seperate bedrooms from the boys "for privacy" but now I wonder if it was really worth it....we were sooooooo tired at the end of the day that forget about "poom-poom".....
I looked into condos such as Vistana Resort and Holiday Villas but I think I would like to try an official Disney resort this time...anybody travelling with 3 kids out there??? tell me your opinions!!!
Thanks
Julie

 

[ls1222]

We also have 3 children (9,6,4). We have stayed last year and in 2000 with our children at POR. It is the only moderate that will allow 5. We love staying there (our children do too). Its not a very big room but like you said, after full days at the park, who cares. We spend about an hour wake time in the room. Its very nice to stay on-site. Hope this helps.

 

[woody5]

You have many options depending on your budget. Most all of the deluxes hold five people since they have two queens and a day bed. The WL and AKL only hold 4. At the moderates you could stay at POR. The Alligator Bayou rooms have a trundle bed that allow you to sleep five. The bed is small but would do nicely for the 4 year old. All other moderates only sleep 4. The All stars and Pop century will only sleep four so you would need two rooms. Many times two rooms at the value hotels are cheaper than one at a deluxe. Disney will guarantee connecting rooms under these circumstances. The last possibility is to stay at Fort Wilderness. The cabins sleep six. Your boys may really enjoy this and you would have a fridge and stove if you chose to use them. The cost of a cabin is usually more than a moderate but less than a deluxe. Your cheapest option on sight would be to stay at POR. We are also a family of five. Mine are older so we now many times opt for two rooms at the value resorts so that we get four bed, two tv's and most importantly two bathrooms. Good luck choosing. Let me know if you need more information.

 

[Scoootch]

In the moderate resorts, POR-R in the Alligator byou section allows 5 people in a room with 2 double beds and a trundle bed as well as CBR I believe. Also many of the deluxe resorts have 2 queen beds and a day bed. The best value I've heard so far though is the FW cabins. They allow 6 people, have a murphy bed in the living room as well as a separate bedroom and have kitchen facilities which is a nice savings on food as well as accommodations. Check out mousesavers.com as they often advertise good discounts on the FW cabins too! Or you could always check out the DVC rent/trade board for less expensive accommodations at the DVC villas.

HTH's some Good luck!

 

[lmhall2000]

Ours are 8,5,4- and we're staying at the Poly this September for two reasons....
Location/Monorail and the rooms are bigger than most.

You can stay at AKL or WL- just you have to stay in a Deluxe room- it has 2 bunkbeds and a daybed and a King I think in WL- but those rooms usually run about 10-20% more than a standard room at Poly, Cont, BC/YC or BWI- which most have daybed options. I would consider which parks you'll be staying at the most- for us it's Magic Kingdom- if you think Epcot or others maybe BWI, YCBC might be better- but I hear that Poly is great for transportation to all the parks just especially MK. We are so too tired to want separate bedspaces - but found the rooms at AKL to be pretty tight for five and Poly just seems much roomier.
HTH!
Tara

 

[Castillo Mom]

We have three boys as well, 9, 11 and 13. Believe me, I went back and forth deciding which resort to stay at. This is our first trip and we didn't really want to stay at a value resort. Privacy was a factor but our boys are also some pretty strapping young lads (13 year old is 5'6). Deluxe was a little outside of our budget. Theme and a centralized location are important so I finally decided on two rooms at CBR. We're not going until 8/04 and have booked at the rack rate but hopefully some discount codes will come out and we'll get a better deal. Poom-poom! Too funny 3littlepeas!LOL

 

[lmm]

I have 3 boys (13, 11 and 9) - we stay at POR with a trundle bed. It works out fine for us.

 

[SuiteDisney]

Most of the Deluxe resorts will sleep 5. POR will sleep 5. Another option would be a cabin at Fort Wilderness. They're really nice. They have a double bed and bunk beds in the bedroom and a Murphy bed in the living room.

You also might want to consider connecting rooms at All Stars. That will give you 4 double beds and you can leave the door open between the rooms. The added benefit is having 2 bathrooms.

 

[soccer mom]

Woody5 stole my reply!

We stayed at FW cabins several times when our four kids were younger and loved both the cabins and FW. Now we get two connecting rooms whereever we can afford because we couldn't live without two bathrooms! We tried five (#1 in college now) in a room at the Poly last year and although we loved the Poly and the room was HUGH one bathroom with three teens was the pits.

Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[skiwee1]

When we travel with our kids, whether 2 go or 3 go, we always get two rooms. It really is nice to have two bathrooms, privacy, and extra space.

 

[disney ready]

We will be at the POR and the BC next week. We also have 3 little ones DS12, DD8, and DD5. The 2 rooms sounds nice however not with little ones. It would worry me with them in another room that has access to the outside other than a window. If my kids were older that would be great I guess I just worry too much .

 

[trishfrom oz]

This is our first trip and we have three kids,ds 14 (over 6ft),dd 11 and ds5. Two beds in a room won't cut it as DS and DD won't share a bed so we need extra beds. I have looked at Caribe Royale with a 2 b/r villa. Can anyone tell me if its really worth the extra money to stay at a Disney resort? It will mean connecting rooms and our poor old Aussie dollar just isn't that good at the moment!

 

[dg39]

My answer won't help you, but I just wanted to share. We have 3 kids & been going to disney for years. When they were all younger we were able to fit in one room. We always stayed at the CR. Then they got older & we needed 2 rooms. So for several years we would get connecting rooms in the towers at the CR. You know how expensive that is, especially when you stay for 2 weeks. WELL, this year my twin 19yr.old daughters informed me that while they like disney, they won't be coming with us this year, because a group of their friends are going away & they will be going with them. I didn't know how to say "yippee,yippee,YIPPEE", without them thinking I didn't want them to come with us. So I just asked them if they were sure & that disney won't be the same without them & then I RAN to the phone & changed my ressies from 2 rooms to 1 and boy am I SAVING a bundle. So this year it will be myself, my dh, & my dd(8yrs). THose of you who only have little angels, won't appreciate my joy. Only those who have teens can know what I mean....
(please note: my post is all in fun. I love all my kids, but these teenagers take YEARS off your life,LOL)

 

[christi]

Hi Trish,
We're off to Disney for the first time in October this year. We have 3 kids also 12. 9 and 5 and spent a longtime choosing where to stay. We decided that we wanted to stay on Disney property and went for the WDW Dolphin which is a deluxe but because it is not run by Disney comes up a good bit cheaper than the other deluxe hotels! They also do good discounted rates ( lots of threads on here about it!) so it is worthwhile contacting them. Hope this helps

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by dg39
THose of you who only have little angels, won't appreciate my joy. Only those who have teens can know what I mean....
(please note: my post is all in fun. I love all my kids, but these teenagers take YEARS off your life,LOL)

dg39 - I hear you. My DD who is 13 1/2 was usually a "little angel" until this week. She has been moody & pretty miserable all week long. She won't talk & of course won't listen to anything I have to say. I finally said "whatever" & walked way. UGH - how am I going to make it through this.

Anyway, to the OP - I would suggest a cabin at FW. There is a separate bedroom, so even if there isn't time for a little "poom, poom" you will still have privacy in the evening when you put the kids to bed, just so you & DH can veg out in front of the TV. There is also a deck outside. I bet your DS's would love to be able to go outside during your stay. There is so much to do at FW. We love having the full kitchen. We always eat breakfast in the room, which saves time & money & it's great to be able to have snacks & drinks available when you want them.

FW has a petting zoo (no charge), a sing-a-long & movie every night (no charge), boat rentals, fishing. All kinds of things. I have 3 DD's & they love it. They always ask if we can stay at FW. I'm sure 3 DS's would really enjoy it. They also have basketball courts to use (no charge) & playgrounds.

I can't say enough about FW. Good luck with your decision.

 

[mrsR123]

We're on our third trip in as many years, the first with the #3 child needing a ticket and bed. Last year we stayed at the Poly and Dolphin. Both were great for us, but the Poly's advantage is the daybed. It's comfortable enough for moms who get kicked out of beds by preschoolers!

This year we're trying FW cabins; I really want a full sized fridge and a little more breathing room!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Trish,
You may want to take into consideration that if you stay off site you'll probably need a rental car. If you stay on site you can just use Disney Transportation. As another poster mentioned, you can also look for discounts on a Disney Hotel. Staying off site will also require you to pay parking for the day if you use a rental car. I'm sure some of the Disney veterans can give you more advise on saving money while enjoying the benefits of staying on site. Good luck!

 

[3littlepeas]

wow thanks for all the nice responses.....I will definetly look into FW and even if I stay on site I will rent a car....I am not into waiting for the bus and I love going to downtown Disney, we had a blast at Disney Quest last time, plus I think we'd like to see La Nouba this time....
By the way, I know this is not of my business but how do you all afford those Deluxe Resorts? do you all have really great discounts that I am not aware of or are you all really loaded ? LOL

PS my name is Julie, not Trish....

Thanks!!

JULIE xxx

 

[jimmalru80]

During our first trip to WDW in '96, we stayed at the Polynesian. DS was 12, and our twin DD's were 6. He slept on the day bed, and the girls in one of the queens. We adapted, improvised and overcame obstacles. We have been back 4 times since then, all at the Polynesian, and we will be there again in less than 3 weeks. We really never had a problem. We respected each other's wishes, and always had a GREAT time. Whatever option you choose, I'm sure you will have a vacation to remember.

 

[Praise2Him]

We have 3 kids, ages 17, 14, 12. We have stayed at the ASSp with 2 rooms once, but usually we go with a deluxe (1 room). We like being all together and my kids don't mind sharing a bed. The best was AKL with the bunkbeds and daybed. The worst was the Poly, but only because of the bathroom being all together in one room, so only one person at a time could use it. We've also stayed at HIFS, which was nice too.