Big Family Trip--What would be cheaper?

[bab830205]

I am planning a large family trip for December. It will be 5 adults and 6 children, 2 of them are infants. Would it be cheaper for the 3 familes going to get separate rooms or for us to stay in 1 large room? Also Ive heard rumors of Free Dining coming up for December, anyone know if that's true? Sorry this is our first trip and it can be a little overwhelming planning for so many.

 

[Marionnette]

I am planning a large family trip for December. It will be 5 adults and 6 children, 2 of them are infants. Would it be cheaper for the 3 familes going to get separate rooms or for us to stay in 1 large room? Also Ive heard rumors of Free Dining coming up for December, anyone know if that's true? Sorry this is our first trip and it can be a little overwhelming planning for so many.

There are no "large rooms" that will accommodate 9 people plus 2 infants. There are vacation club villas that will hold that many people, such as the SSR Treehouse Villas and the other DVC Grand Villas, but they are expensive to get through Disney and hard to come by in December even for DVC members.

Free Dining for December 2013 is rumored to be announced on August 1st. It will probably be more affordable for the 3 families to each get their own room at a Value Resort using the Free Dining offer than it would be to try to rent DVC points for a Grand Villa (which probably isn't even available).

My advice would be to price the cost of a vacation package for each family using Disney's website. Do not include a dining plan when you price those packages but do include any park tickets you will need. When Free Dining comes out, you will pay that same price for a package but it will include the free dining plan for that resort level. You may have to shuffle bodies around in order to get the best possible price. Room capacities in most Value and Moderate Resorts is 4 people plus 1 infant. If there are more than 2 adults (age 18+) in a room, there is an additional per-night fee ranging from $10 to $25 per extra adult per night.

 

[Angie789]

When in December are you travelling? The week of December 8 is Pop Warner, and there aren't usually free dining offers then and obviously there is no free dining around the Christmas holidays.

 

[bab830205]

There are no "large rooms" that will accommodate 9 people plus 2 infants. There are vacation club villas that will hold that many people, such as the SSR Treehouse Villas and the other DVC Grand Villas, but they are expensive to get through Disney and hard to come by in December even for DVC members.

Free Dining for December 2013 is rumored to be announced on August 1st. It will probably be more affordable for the 3 families to each get their own room at a Value Resort using the Free Dining offer than it would be to try to rent DVC points for a Grand Villa (which probably isn't even available).

My advice would be to price the cost of a vacation package for each family using Disney's website. Do not include a dining plan when you price those packages but do include any park tickets you will need. When Free Dining comes out, you will pay that same price for a package but it will include the free dining plan for that resort level. You may have to shuffle bodies around in order to get the best possible price. Room capacities in most Value and Moderate Resorts is 4 people plus 1 infant. If there are more than 2 adults (age 18+) in a room, there is an additional per-night fee ranging from $10 to $25 per extra adult per night.

thank you for this info, I am so lost trying to do this all but so excited for our family to finally all go!

 

[bab830205]

When in December are you travelling? The week of December 8 is Pop Warner, and there aren't usually free dining offers then and obviously there is no free dining around the Christmas holidays.

we had planned on going Dec 18-22 but we are willing to move it if the free dining does happen. Im waiting until the 1st of August to book so I can find out the dates.

 

[lisalis]

There are already free dining pins out for the 1st week of December, so they may offer free dining that week. That's when we decided to extend our Thanksgiving cruise vacation into another week at Disney

 

[badiggio]

Those dates at Disney are going to be expensive,just before Christmas.IMo,free dining just isn't worth it when you have to pay regular accommodation rates at Disney.
For that many people get a 4 bedroom presidential at Bonnet creek or even Lake Buena Vista resort,if BC isn't available.

 

[Marionnette]

we had planned on going Dec 18-22 but we are willing to move it if the free dining does happen. Im waiting until the 1st of August to book so I can find out the dates.

According to this post from the Codes and Rates subforum, Free Dining will include your dates.

Free dining will be extended beyond September.

Bookings for these dates will begin August 1.

As usual, Disney Visa holders should have a few days notice to book early, likely on July 29. The dates are below:

September 29 - October 2
October 18 - November 2
November 11 - 23
December 12 - 22


As usual, certain room types are excluded, such as campsites at Ft. Wilderness, 3-bedroom villas, and the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation. A 3 night minimum stay (14 night maximum) and two day minimum park ticket is required for each person in the party.

Disney Value Resorts ~ Quick Service Dining Plan Included
(can be upgraded to regular plan)
All-Star Movies Resort
All-Star Music Resort
All-Star Sports Resort
Pop Century Resort
Art of Animation Resort (excluding Little Mermaid rooms)

Moderate Resorts ~ Regular Dining Plan Included
Carribean Beach Resort
Coronado Springs Resort
Port Orleans Resort French Quarter and Riverside

Deluxe Resorts ~ Regular Dining Plan Included
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Yacht & Beach Club Resorts
BoardWalk Inn
Contemporary Resort
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Polynesian Resort
Wilderness Lodge

Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts ~ Regular Dining Plan Included
Bay Lake Tower
Animal Kingdom Villas
Beach Club Villas
BoardWalk Villas
Old Key West Resort
Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
The Villas at Disneys Wilderness Lodge
Fort Wilderness Cabins

A word of thanks as well to Dave at **************. He and I have had continued discussions on this topic for some time and shared much insight on the Free Dining promotions both in September and beyond.