Big families

[Disneytwinz]

I realized just how big my family was when calling to inquire about ressies for our upcoming trip. My husband and I have a 17 year old and two sets of twins. (ages 7 and 3) We can't find a place that is within reason price-wise for us onsite. I think our only option will be to stay offsite and rent a house. So I've almost given up looking on-site.
Anyone else in a similar family size situation and actually stayed on Disney property? Thanks for any input.

 

[F4disneyfan]

I realized just how big my family was when calling to inquire about ressies for our upcoming trip. My husband and I have a 17 year old and two sets of twins. (ages 7 and 3) We can't find a place that is within reason price-wise for us onsite. I think our only option will be to stay offsite and rent a house. So I've almost given up looking on-site.
Anyone else in a similar family size situation and actually stayed on Disney property? Thanks for any input.

Try renting points from a DVC member for a 2 bedroom it is much cheaper than the equivelent deluxe accomodation you would be looking at for the rest of the resorts. Your choices will be Wilderness Lodge Villas Old Key West Resort Beach Club Villas Boardwalk Villas and Saratoga Springs Resort.

 

[tripletots]

Congratulations on your wonderful family!

We haven't been to Disney in 10 years since the birth of our triplets. They joined my other two children. We haven't been for the very reason you said. We were going to stay at the Staybridge on Lake Buena Vista Drive. For the week, it came to around $735.00 with AAA. But then decided on adjoining rooms at All Stars Sports. I had to save for three years for this trip and we leave this Friday. We are so excited.

Wow, two sets of twins. How wonderful and fun. AND I know you are busy all the time.

It will all work out, just look and check places and prices. I had Staybridge booked for 3 months before I changed my mind.

We leave Friday for 6 nights at Disney and 4 days at Daytona Beach.

DH me DS14 DD13
DD8 DS8 DD8

 

[Disneytwinz]

Try renting points from a DVC member for a 2 bedroom it is much cheaper than the equivelent deluxe accomodation you would be looking at for the rest of the resorts. Your choices will be Wilderness Lodge Villas Old Key West Resort Beach Club Villas Boardwalk Villas and Saratoga Springs Resort.

What does it mean to rent points? I am not familiar with this. Thanks so much!

 

[ilovejack02]

What does it mean to rent points? I am not familiar with this. Thanks so much!

I have also read about renting points on Mousesaver.com. It seems like a good deal. Disney vacation club owners are alloted points each year...not all use them so you can rent their points and use the Disney vacation club accomodations at a much better price then us folks who are not DVC'ers. I think some of the villas have several bedrooms. Also, do the family suites in the all star and pop resorts not connect? I dont know, just wondering.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We have rented full size homes for around $130/nt 4 BR & 3 baths if you don't mind staying off-site. There were 9 (inlaws and more) of us last time and didn't feel the slightest bit crowded. You get the space and privacy for yourselves and also your 17 y.o. can get some quiet time away from the little ones. Most have your own private screened-in pool (splurge for the pool heat. it's extra $ but also heavenly.)
We like having a freezer for bottled water and popsicles, fridge for cold drinks and a microwave to make popcorn during movie time. Usually you can get homes with tv's & dvd players in each br and some offer Nintedo or PS2 consoles. Everyone can relax in their own way after a busy day at the parks without getting on each other's nerves. Some have their garage converted to a game room with billiards and air hockey tables. Many have large-screen tv's in the LR. (Dh is so spoiled that it became a must.) You don't have to cook or do laundry but it's there if you want to. ds once vomited in our rental car so it was nice to be able to quick throw his clothes in the washer that you don't have to share or keep a close eye on. It also allows you to pack much lighter.
The only downfall is that there's no maid service or room service but I really don't care if my bed gets made. It's kind of a trade-off for getting the extra space. Even our kids gripe if we have to stay in a plain hotel room. (ugh! 1 tv!) We've used villadirect.com the last 3 times prior to getting a timeshare and every time the house was exactly as it looked on their website. They have multiple photos and virtual tours. Here are the neighborhoods that are closest to WDW:
Formosa Gardens
Rolling Hills
Indian Creek
Windsor Palms
Windsor Hills
Emerald Island
Pay close attention to the neighborhood because some are like 15 miles away and some, like those above, are only 3. Considering that WDW is 49 sq. miles total, no one Disney hotel is close to everything. Their buses would be taking you several miles around too. If you think that the whole trip you'll be sad for not staying on site, then go for the multiple hotel rooms. For some, being on site is everything, though after 9 trips on and off site I don't understand why.
Good luck!

 

[Disneytwinz]

Congratulations on your wonderful family!

Thank-you

We haven't been to Disney in 10 years since the birth of our triplets. They joined my other two children. We haven't been for the very reason you said. We were going to stay at the Staybridge on Lake Buena Vista Drive. For the week, it came to around $735.00 with AAA. But then decided on adjoining rooms at All Stars Sports. I had to save for three years for this trip and we leave this Friday. We are so excited.

Oh now I'm excited for you!!! I bet you are having a hard time containing yourself at this point!? Are you driving or flying?
We are currently looking into Families First rental houses they are about $99 a night. (Just within' off season for our travel date) You get 3 bedrooms, kitchenette (fridge & stove), dining room etc. and private pool. But...I think they are about 15 minutes away from the magic. I've compared house rental verses on site and it isn't that much difference, except with food...we would for sure spend $500+ more staying on site with no fridge for 7 of us.
How nice to meet a multiple mommy on here with 5 children too!

Wow, two sets of twins. How wonderful and fun. AND I know you are busy all the time.

They are fun! Ohhh the laundry...you know that's a daily chore!

It will all work out, just look and check places and prices. I had Staybridge booked for 3 months before I changed my mind.

We leave Friday for 6 nights at Disney and 4 days at Daytona Beach.

Have a wonderful and safe trip and be sure to post when you get back!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are currently looking into Families First rental houses they are about $99 a night. (Just within' off season for our travel date) You get 3 bedrooms, kitchenette (fridge & stove), dining room etc. and private pool. But...I think they are about 15 minutes away from the magic.
:

Whatever you do DON'T rent from Families First. I'm begging you! My neighbor recommended them to us, along w/ the whole concept of renting a pool house. I don't know if they've changed lately but we rented from them for 10 nts. in Nov. 2004.

1. They don't let you choose what house you get. We requested any one of the neighborhoods I mentioned earlier and they stuck us WAY past the end of Rt. 192 and many miles down Rt. 27.
2. The key wouldn't work. At 9 pm (kids tired, cranky) we had to keep calling maintenance who finally instructed us to drive 10 miles each way back to their office in Celebration for another key which also wouldn't work. They finally said, "try pulling to door shut really hard while turning the key." By now it's 10 pm and finally got in!
3. The house was truly "bare bones." Beige carpet and white walls. Both were very stained. Trailer park furniture also stained.
4. We paid extra for pool heat. The next day we tried the pool but it was cold. Paperwork said to allow 24 hrs. to reach full temp. so we thought we'd wait til the next day. Having never done this before we didn't really know what pool heat should feel like. dh was thinking our kids were just being sissies! Ended up in parks for next 2 days. Third day it's still cold so we call maintenance. They check the heater and it was OFF! I called the office and asked for a refund of our pool heat just for the 3 days that we didn't get it.($25/day=$75) They said I had to speak to the mgr. to get a refund. Called back at least 5 more times after returning home and was lied to by office staff many times. Ex: "Mgr. is on another line. Call back in a few minutes." When I call back, "Mgr. isn't in yet." !!!! After alerting my credit credit card co. multiple times to have it taken off my bill, they finally said too much time had passed, even though I first alerted them w/in the required 60 day limit. I finally gave up.
5. After telling my story to same neighbor who originally recommended them, she had gone down and rented through another co. (can't remember who) She called me from FL to say she saw Families First on the Orlando tv news because they overbooked during Easter week and left dozens of families homeless for their vacation! tv reporters were interviewing stranded and pissed off travelers too!
After that 1st experience with Families First I vowed to never shop for a place on price alone. Good service is worth paying for. I never had a problem with VillaDirect.
Sorry this is so long but just the thought of people giving their long-saved, hard-earned $ to those ******** expecting a great vacation, just makes me want to vomit. I can't believe they're still in business!! Preying on unsuspecting people. I wonder if they ever get repeat customers? If villadirect is too expensive, try checking the Orlando resorts/hotels threads. DISers mentioned lots of other comapnies they liked too. Ok. I'm finally done ranting. thanks for listening!

 

[F4disneyfan]

What does it mean to rent points? I am not familiar with this. Thanks so much!

Ok renting points is quite easy and can be done right here on the DIS. Points are given to DVC members every year and some years people may want to take a Disney cruise the point alotment for that cruise is not worth the use so they will rent thier points out and pay cash for the cruise. You can get points for about 12-14 dollars a point usually and it saves you about 50% or better on the cost of the room over calling Disney and booking the room on cash. Rooms will vary from a Studio to a grand villa a studio has either 2 queen beds or a queen and pull out sofa not really suitable for a family of 5. A 1 bedroom has a master with king and a pull out sofa and plenty of room if the kids didn't want to share the sofabed to put down an airmattress. 2 bedrooms have a master with king and a second room with 2 queens. If you have any more questions feel free to ask away or head over to the dvc board and ask there even a better place is a site called (m o u s e o w n e r s) it is incredible for everything DVC even point rentals.

 

[Disneytwinz]

Wow, thank you for taking the time in helping me and in sharing your experience. Your family sure went through alot with them, how stressful. I am so so sorry they put you through all that. I'm thankful you shared with me and saved me the hassle. My friend recommended them as her family stays there once a year. She told me she has never had any problems with them. I checked into Villadirect, not bad. But we are now considering staying on site. Which is a seperate post We have never stayed so far from home before so I want this to be a nice trip of course we all do!

Whatever you do DON'T rent from Families First. I'm begging you! My neighbor recommended them to us, along w/ the whole concept of renting a pool house. I don't know if they've changed lately but we rented from them for 10 nts. in Nov. 2004.

1. They don't let you choose what house you get. We requested any one of the neighborhoods I mentioned earlier and they stuck us WAY past the end of Rt. 192 and many miles down Rt. 27.
2. The key wouldn't work. At 9 pm (kids tired, cranky) we had to keep calling maintenance who finally instructed us to drive 10 miles each way back to their office in Celebration for another key which also wouldn't work. They finally said, "try pulling to door shut really hard while turning the key." By now it's 10 pm and finally got in!
3. The house was truly "bare bones." Beige carpet and white walls. Both were very stained. Trailer park furniture also stained.
4. We paid extra for pool heat. The next day we tried the pool but it was cold. Paperwork said to allow 24 hrs. to reach full temp. so we thought we'd wait til the next day. Having never done this before we didn't really know what pool heat should feel like. dh was thinking our kids were just being sissies! Ended up in parks for next 2 days. Third day it's still cold so we call maintenance. They check the heater and it was OFF! I called the office and asked for a refund of our pool heat just for the 3 days that we didn't get it.($25/day=$75) They said I had to speak to the mgr. to get a refund. Called back at least 5 more times after returning home and was lied to by office staff many times. Ex: "Mgr. is on another line. Call back in a few minutes." When I call back, "Mgr. isn't in yet." !!!! After alerting my credit credit card co. multiple times to have it taken off my bill, they finally said too much time had passed, even though I first alerted them w/in the required 60 day limit. I finally gave up.
5. After telling my story to same neighbor who originally recommended them, she had gone down and rented through another co. (can't remember who) She called me from FL to say she saw Families First on the Orlando tv news because they overbooked during Easter week and left dozens of families homeless for their vacation! tv reporters were interviewing stranded and pissed off travelers too!
After that 1st experience with Families First I vowed to never shop for a place on price alone. Good service is worth paying for. I never had a problem with VillaDirect.
Sorry this is so long but just the thought of people giving their long-saved, hard-earned $ to those ******** expecting a great vacation, just makes me want to vomit. I can't believe they're still in business!! Preying on unsuspecting people. I wonder if they ever get repeat customers? If villadirect is too expensive, try checking the Orlando resorts/hotels threads. DISers mentioned lots of other comapnies they liked too. Ok. I'm finally done ranting. thanks for listening!

 

[zookeeper]

We also have 5 kids and we stayed at POP last Sept. in connecting rooms. It was so nice to be onsite. We loved it at POP and the kids can't wait to go back.

 

[shellbelle1971]

Hi! We have six kids, with #7 on the way. We think DVC is the BEST way to go to WDW with a family...for us, nothing else even comes close! We have stayed with our crew at Old Key West (which is the most spacious and will probably be the least expensive if you rent points) and Saratoga Springs resorts (which has, imo, the nicest decor and 2nd best pool of the DVC resorts). We still want to try Villas at Wilderness Lodge and the Boardwalk Villas...maybe the next trip!

Anyway...If you pop over to the "rent/trade" board http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29 you can see DVC owners who have more points than they can use who are willing to "rent" them out to others. It's different than a regular reservation from CRO, in that you're renting directly from another DVC owner, so you need to be very sure of your plans (because usually you can't cancel a ressie once it's made) and have a level of trust with the person you rent from.

Expect to pay between $10-15 per point for a rental. The charts at http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml
will show you how many points per night each type of unit costs. Note that time of year, size of accommodation, night of the week, and which resort you choose will all affect how many points you need to rent. So you could get a two-bedroom (sleeps 8) at Old Key West in low season (January) for a week for 218 points (or about $2725) or a two bedroom at Boardwalk Villas for a week during high, high season (Easter week) for 426 points (or about $5325.) Etcetera...

Anyway, we LOVE the DVC units. They have full kitchens, jetted tubs in the master bedrooms, a washer & dryer and are perfect for a big family. They still have all the perks of being onsite (wdw transportation, extra magic hours, etc.) except not daily housekeeping.

FWIW, we have taken our family to WDW twice and stayed offsite. Once in a pool home, and once at the Regal Palms Resort. NEVER AGAIN! We feel like we lose so much magic when we're not onsite that it isn't even worth it to go.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions! I have never rented our points out, and barring some unforseen tragedy never plan to do so. But it's a great way for a large family to "try" DVC (although I hear that once sampled, the DVC purchase becomes almost irresistable for most renters!)

 

[dsnymomof4]

We have 4 children and have done both renting DVC points and 2 connecting rooms at a value resort. All of the times we've stayed onsite were wonderful. On our first trip we stayed offsite and it just doesn't compare. We are leaving in 7 days (yay!) and are staying in 2 rooms at Pop - we really love it there - it's very family-friendly. It's so nice being able to just hop on a bus and go back to your resort for an afternoon break, then head back to the parks. You're immersed in the whole Disney experience. Good luck with your planning.

 

[Disneytwinz]

Ok after reading about the family suites I called and they told me we couldn't even go that route because they accomodate 6 people. We have 7. The sleeping arrangements would have been better I think, they said not. So I will just stick with our 2 connecting rooms and deal with no fridge, micro or coffee pot. I'll buy the $20 refillable mugs and take some dry cereals etc. for breakfasts since we got the dining plan we'll be fine. We are just hanging our hats in the rooms anyway, right? Because we'll be in the parks or the pools most of our stay The kinks are slowly working out...if only the May 2007 extra hours will come out soon so I can figure dinners and parks now!! 37 weeks to go...................................................

 

[Disneytwinz]

FWIW, we have taken our family to WDW twice and stayed offsite. Once in a pool home, and once at the Regal Palms Resort. NEVER AGAIN! We feel like we lose so much magic when we're not onsite that it isn't even worth it to go.

I agree, especially our first visit. Staying on site is for us. It may involve some more planning now but in the long run I think it will just make things easier.Thank you so much!

 

[jdb0822]

I have a family of 7, so we face the same problem. What we have done on previous trips is rent out a 2-bed at a timeshare resort offsite. We stayed at the Fairfield Cypress Palms for $800 for 7 nights. It was only a 5 minute drive to the disney gates.

This year, we are staying at the Fairfield Bonnet Creek resort, which is new. It is surrounded by disney property on 3 sides, and I-4 on the 4th side. You have to drive into disney to get to it. Its not "official" disney property, but its close enough for us. And for $1,000 for 8 nights, the price is right. I hear that its only 1 minute away from epcot. Might be worth looking into. Actually the epcot ball is within view of the resort.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...This year, we are staying at the Fairfield Bonnet Creek resort, which is new. It is surrounded by disney property on 3 sides, and I-4 on the 4th side. You have to drive into disney to get to it. Its not "official" disney property, but its close enough for us. And for $1,000 for 8 nights, the price is right. I hear that its only 1 minute away from epcot. Might be worth looking into. Actually the epcot ball is within view of the resort.

It might be only one minute from Epcot property, but it is at least 10-15 minutes from the entrance. But it probably is the closest non-Disney resort to Disney.

 

[badblackpug]

Disneytwinz,

We usually go the adjoining room route, too. There is nothing like staying on site. I don't know at which resort you are staying, but please check out the budget boards. There are usually people there advertising for a "fridge swap" for the various resorts. How this works is basically everyone who is staying in a named resort, for example ASMu where I am going, signs up for whatever week their vacay will be. All the people get together and split the price of BUYING a mini fridge, and then have it shipped to the resort for the earliest posters stay, then that person passes it on to the next and so on.

Basically: A,B,C,D,E go in together and purchase a mini fridge from staples the total cost is $175, so each pays $35. (shipping is free) The fridge is shipped to ASMu in A's name and ressie #. A uses it for his stay, puts it back in the box, writes B's ressie # on it and has the resort transfer it to B's room. ...and so on.

This way you get the fridge for a fraction of the price it would cost to rent one from WDW ($10 per night)

 

[Disneytwinz]

Basically: A,B,C,D,E go in together and purchase a mini fridge from staples the total cost is $175, so each pays $35. (shipping is free) The fridge is shipped to ASMu in A's name and ressie #. A uses it for his stay, puts it back in the box, writes B's ressie # on it and has the resort transfer it to B's room. ...and so on.

This way you get the fridge for a fraction of the price it would cost to rent one from WDW ($10 per night)[/QUOTE]

I would love ON this bandwagon if there are others staying around the same time. What an ingenious idea! Checking out the budget board now. Thanks

 

[rgribik]

Hi, we are another family of 7 (3 dd's and twin ds). We always stay on site, love the fact we can hop the bus and get back to the hotel, and then on to another park later. We usually stay in 2 rooms at POP, the kids like it there. If we have a lucky break we get 2 rooms at POR. We take small breakfast foods and get some milk from the gift shop(drinks are cheaper in the gift shop than the food court). We don't do big breakfasts at home, so quick and easy in the morning is no problem for us. Watch the souvenirs, that is what can easily ruin your budget(When you are there everything with a mouse on it looks like something you need )