Best hotels moderate price range for 5 people

[tiggerfan4me]

We will be going to DW after thanksgiving. Girls only. My DS works in Disney and will be booking our hotel for us. It is a girl's only weekend. Does anyone have any thoughts on which hotels are best. I am guessing a cot is given when you have more than 4. Also thinking about the possiblity of two rooms for bathroom purposes, just looking for thoughts and ideas. Thanks

 

[episode]

With 5, you only have Port Orleans Riverside as an option for a moderate.

You could also book a Family Suite at All Star Music, or upgrade to a Deluxe.

Keep in mind that if these are 5 adults, the trundle bed at POR is not very big and may not be comfortable. In that case, you may want to go with the Family Suite, or two rooms at a value.

 

[auntie]

Oh boy...this is usually the kind of thread that can open a whole other can of worms so to speak. The only moderate resort that will accomodate 5 is the Port Orleans. It doesn't offer a cot...none of the Disney resorts offer cots for the 5th person. It does however have a trundle bed, that will pull out from under one of the two full sized beds in the room.
The value resorts also offer a family suite(my opinion..very ugly..and again not bedding for everyone, rather fold out chairs and sofa...just my opinion) I think two rooms at a value would be a better option if you find the trundle bed option at POR isn't what you'd want. Deluxe resorts accomodate 5. All though the Deluxe Wilderness Lodge and Deluxe Aninmal Kingdom Lodge accomodate only 4..but have a bunk bed option. No cots. Disney options for families of 5 while available..are pretty limited, unless you want to go into a Deluxe resort Otherwise there are also the Cabins in Fort Wilderness..which is also very pricey..close to and over $300 depending on the time of year. We are a family of five have gone through this over the years. Fortunately when the kids were younger we also traveled with my mom and put one of them in with her. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Native NYer]

POR is the only moderate that can accomodate 5 guests. Have you considered a villa at one of the DVC resorts? A FW cabin? Family Suite at the All Stars? But as the PP said, it's pull out chairs and sofas in addition to one bed in the Family Suites. Not sure if that's appealing to you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't forget about the extra adult fee for any additional adults in a room over two. The price depends on the category of resort. All Stars family suite doesn't charge for extra adults; neither do the FW cabins.

 

[jemeh5]

We recently stayed at the POR as a family of 5. I really can't imagine an adult being comfortable on the pull out trundle bed. My 5 year old slept on it comfortably but it's shorter than a regular bed and more narrow than a twin. Unless you have a really small adult, you might want to book two rooms at a value as suggested by others.
As another option though, what about the Swan or Dolphin? I believe they have the queen comfy beds and maybe they would provide a cot as well. As adults, you might not miss the Disney theming missing a bit from these two hotels, yet you might really enjoy the more lush rooms and the other perks being near Epcot and the bus system. Just a thought!

Whatever you choose, have fun!

 

[Troy08]

I would definately go with two rooms at a value. Five women(unless all of you are beauty low maitenance types)two bathrooms will be an absalute must.

 

[C50T]

We're trying to find out the best option for 3 adults and two children. This fall we're trying to take Paw-Paw! We LOVE Wilderness lodge, but it looks as if that won't work for us this time. POR may be alright. Our 8 yr. old DD would love it. But with my father going with us we would be very concerned about transportation issues. His knees aren't what they used to be.
Any ideas out there? Advice?
thanks

 

[ashef]

Congratulations! Since you say your DS is a Disney employee and will make the reservations, you are eligible for the 40% cast member "extra guest bedroom" discount. (If he were going to stay in the room with you, you would be eligible for the 50% cast member disocunt.) As others have noted, only one of the moderate resorts has rooms that can accomodate five, but all of the deluxe resorts have rooms that can accomodate five, so why don't you stay in a deluxe? The 40% discount makes them affordable.

You should have your DS call immediately and find out which resorts that will accomodate five are still available for cast member discounts the weekend you want them. After you know that, come back and ask folks for their opinions of your options.

 

[Reginak]

I don't think that you will enjoy POR or one of the deluxe hotels that sleep 5. The trundle at POR is small and the deluxe hotel rooms that sleep 5 have a small daybed for the fifth person to sleep in. The extra bed is designed for a child.

You will only be comfortable if you get two hotel rooms or a two bedroom villa.

A two bedroom villa will be your best choice. They are really two hotel rooms with a living room and kitchen in the middle, which is perfect for hanging out while someone is relaxing in one of the bedrooms. One bedroom has a king bed and whirlpool bed and the other has either two queens or a queen and a sleeper sofa (the living room also has a sleeper sofa).

I would stay at the Boardwalk if I were you unless you plan to spend much time at Downtown Disney or Pleasure Island - if so, the Saratoga Springs or Old Key West would be best.

Regina

 

[C50T]

I don't think that you will enjoy POR or one of the deluxe hotels that sleep 5. The trundle at POR is small and the deluxe hotel rooms that sleep 5 have a small daybed for the fifth person to sleep in. The extra bed is designed for a child.


Regina,
Since our youngest will be 8 at travel time, we think the daybed would work well for us. What deluxes have them? Does Wilderness lodge? <-our favorite!
Thanks for the info. The villa's sound great, but we are major foodies. We love the Epcot dinners. Paying for a kitchen may make us comfortable, but we're really just looking for a place to sleep.

 

[tiggerfan4me]

Congratulations! Since you say your DS is a Disney employee and will make the reservations, you are eligible for the 40% cast member "extra guest bedroom" discount. (If he were going to stay in the room with you, you would be eligible for the 50% cast member disocunt.) As others have noted, only one of the moderate resorts has rooms that can accomodate five, but all of the deluxe resorts have rooms that can accomodate five, so why don't you stay in a deluxe? The 40% discount makes them affordable.

You should have your DS call immediately and find out which resorts that will accomodate five are still available for cast member discounts the weekend you want them. After you know that, come back and ask folks for their opinions of your options.

Yes plan to be on it tomorrow or possibly later today whenever I speak to DS next. Lots of good advice here. He has helped me before and saves us a lot of money. Thanks to everyone elso for your great input. I am a five foot petite stature woman, would the trundle bed be okay for someone my size?

 

[ashef]

Yes, you woiuld fit on the trundle bed at POR, but it's impossible to predict whether you'd be comfortable on it. The trundle slides out from under the full-size bed, so is just a smidge shorter than the full, and seems a tiny bit narrower than a twin bed. It is sort of cot size. Several years ago I slept on one for 2 nights and I'm average size and 5'7". The bed was ok -- not great --for me. I was exhausted from running around the parks, and am generally a very sound sleeper who doesn't move much.

PS. I'm pretty sure you can call WDW reservations yourself and find out which resorts have cast member discounts still available for the weekend you're interested in. I know that your son will have to call and make the reservation himself. Probably best for you to do as much as you can on your own to move this process along.......

 

[ElizabethB]

You can have 5 (one on a daybed) at the Swan and Dolphin, which are very nice hotels -- onsite in the Epcot Resort Area. Good rates are often available at these Westin hotels.

 

[LilGMom]

Since our youngest will be 8 at travel time, we think the daybed would work well for us. What deluxes have them? Does Wilderness lodge? <-our favorite!
Thanks for the info. The villa's sound great, but we are major foodies. We love the Epcot dinners. Paying for a kitchen may make us comfortable, but we're really just looking for a place to sleep.

The WL standards rooms only accommodate 4 people, so if you have five people you'd have to get a deluxe room at the WL. The studio and one bedroom villas at VWL also only sleep four. The Poly & CR standard rooms all accommodate five but one would be on the sleeper sofa/daybed. I'm not sure about the GF.

 

[tiggerfan4me]

Yes, you woiuld fit on the trundle bed at POR, but it's impossible to predict whether you'd be comfortable on it. The trundle slides out from under the full-size bed, so is just a smidge shorter than the full, and seems a tiny bit narrower than a twin bed. It is sort of cot size. Several years ago I slept on one for 2 nights and I'm average size and 5'7". The bed was ok -- not great --for me. I was exhausted from running around the parks, and am generally a very sound sleeper who doesn't move much.

PS. I'm pretty sure you can call WDW reservations yourself and find out which resorts have cast member discounts still available for the weekend you're interested in. I know that your son will have to call and make the reservation himself. Probably best for you to do as much as you can on your own to move this process along.......

Thanks DS is checking some more tomorrow for us, I saw on the disney site that Coronado Springs can do 5 also ASM. He is doing some final checking tonight and we will finalize tomorrow or Tuesday. May go the two rooms. Thanks so much for all of your info. I am quite excited to go to Disney with my sister and nieces. Just a girls only trip while husband is hunting.

 

[ashef]

I don't think the cast member discounts apply at Swan or Dolphin.

 

[gardenia]

Don't forget about the extra adult fee for any additional adults in a room over two. The price depends on the category of resort. All Stars family suite doesn't charge for extra adults; neither do the FW cabins.

I don't know if this is new or not... but FW cabins charges $5 a night per extra adult.

 

[Reginak]

The only deluxes that sleep five in a standard room are CR, Poly, GF, BC, BWI, and the YC.

I understand completely, we are foodies too (even our four kids, ages 5 - 10).
We just use the kitchen in the villa for soft drinks, water, snacks and the occasional breakfast bar. There is no cooking on my vacation - at least not WDW - we can't tear ourselves away from the Brown Derby or the Flying Fish Cafe.

Regina

 

[SusanDK]

I'm quite certain that you could not even book POR for 5 if one of the guests isn't a child under 10, even if one of you were willing to sleep on the trundle.

My sister has three children and stayed there when her children were small and enjoyed it. They tried to book again when her girls were age 17, 15 and 13. WDW would not allow them to book POR with a trundle because they said at least one of the children had to be under 10.

The funny thing is that it was her 17-year old who had planned to use the trundle. She was a small girl and wanted the private bed as opposed to sharing with one of her sisters. But they were not able to get the reservation.

I've always been surprised that I've never seen anyone post about this issue on the DIS before, but perhaps things have changed (this was perhaps 7 or 8 years ago).

Susan