Disneyland or WDW ????

[battymum]

One room or two?

 

[tapdancer]

Can you believe we are now looking at 5 days in New York at the start instead of 4 nights in Hawaii at the end eeeeeek I actually can't keep up in my own head

I actually like this idea better, any New York accommodation recommendations for a family of 5?

I have a headache

 

[battymum]

We stayed Doubletree Guest Suites - they have two room suites - two doubles in the bedroom and a sofa bed in the living area!

Its a great location right in Times Square -

Its not the cheapest, but we couldnt fault it!!

I think some of the other chains such as Hilton have suites but you have to email them directly - it wont show on any booking site.

 

[Travel Mum]

I think that makes more sense to combine NYC with WDW because you could more easily go to Hawaii from OZ another time than to go back to the East Coast of the U.S. If we go again to WDW, I certainly want to do NYC as well, as I've been very inspired by all the TR's on here from those who went there! As a family of five, I'd love for us to stay at Doubletree too but I'm fairly positive it would be out of our budget so I'd look into the Radio City Apartments which also get great reviews.

 

[viaggiamo]

Sounds awesome! I would prefer NYC to Hawaii as it's further away and you are already there (almost).

But I looooove NYC.

Have fun

 

[cola]

For WDW, a 2 bedroom DVC would work perfectly for a family of 5 or 6, but it is getting into the really expensive price range. Particularly if you are venturing beyond Disney, I'd suggest a week offsite at at a 2 bedroom timeshare is a very comfortable alternative, the price differential more than covers any car hire/parking costs - eg 2 bedroom at Marriott Grande Vista (sleeps 8) can sometimes be had for about $600AU for 7 nights, that is per night of less than $100AU. At that price you can then splurge for a couple of night staying on property. One family I know stayed at Floridays and loved it as a split stay with Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I've heard good things about The Fountains too. I know it can be viewed as sacrilege to suggest stay off site, but it is soooooooooooooooo much cheaper. Why pay inflated on site rates for the days you spend at Universal/Sea World/Kennedy Space Center/etc or outlet shopping?

 

[Travel Mum]

For WDW, a 2 bedroom DVC would work perfectly for a family of 5 or 6, but it is getting into the really expensive price range. Particularly if you are venturing beyond Disney, I'd suggest a week offsite at at a 2 bedroom timeshare is a very comfortable alternative, the price differential more than covers any car hire/parking costs - eg 2 bedroom at Marriott Grande Vista (sleeps 8) can sometimes be had for about $600AU for 7 nights, that is per night of less than $100AU. At that price you can then splurge for a couple of night staying on property. One family I know stayed at Floridays and loved it as a split stay with Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I've heard good things about The Fountains too. I know it can be viewed as sacrilege to suggest stay off site, but it is soooooooooooooooo much cheaper. Why pay inflated on site rates for the days you spend at Universal/Sea World/Kennedy Space Center/etc or outlet shopping?

Very wise words indeed. If I was to win Lotto, we'd be back and staying in a Two-Bedroom DVC (at BCV ideally) with a Disney dining plan and maybe even a rental car for visiting MK and AK

 

[Travel Mum]

Travelmum, would you consider AofA?

In my opinion, DVC doesnt work for family of five - especially as you are talking a few years away - your eldest will be ?? If you add on a dining package I dont think its the most economical option.

If it came to a choice between sharing a sofa bed with my sister or a blowup on the floor versus my own bed but a possible crowded food court and line for the bus I know what I would choose.

As I keep mentioning Pop was wonderful for our family - although we didnt use the food court - we did pay for upgraded dining and ate away from the resort everynight. Admittedly it was a bit crazy in the morning, my plan was to aim for rope drop and eat breakfast in the parks - but DH gets grumpy if he has to wait that long to eat. But they now have fridges in the rooms so I would get a grocery delivery and make our own breakfasts. My kids ate one dinner in the food court while we went to Narcoosees - and they claim it was the best meal of the stay! (teenagers )

I think if you plan on being at the resort a lot it might make the difference but if it is just a place to lay your head. My opinion is that these resorts run at a loss - (at least as Disney had already held the land for many years before they were built, it is not like comparing other budget hotels that have to cover the additional capital expense)

As for service, all the staff work for Disney, they have the same standards - although they may be a bit more stretched than at other resorts - we never had a problem. Similarly we never had any problems with buses. . I am not a hotel snob - but I am a people snob, and I only saw happy families at Pop.
I am assuming you would be going September /October again - it might be a different story in July / August.

You could also look at booking an additional separate "room only" booking, at one of the moderates with possible room discount and free dining for four in the other. (actually I wished I had priced out this option for our trip, because paying for upgraded dining for five adults for 9nights was $500)

I probably wouldnt stay at Pop without kids, and if I had only 2 I would go for a moderate - with QS beds and regular dining (although I think DH would still prefer seperate rooms) - but if you have to get two rooms- its great!

Like you, though, my dream would be an Epcot resort or Grand Floridian! (and to win the lottery!)

Battymum, I did read this very helpful post of yours but didn't immediately reply because I think I wanted to bury my head in the sand and not face facts

I'd love to go in the September/October school holidays again but, if we get to go back, it will have to be in early December because I could not justify the exorbitant amount of airfares it costs to get us from Wellington to Orlando return for just a two week trip. If we went again, it would have to be for at least 3 weeks or ideally 4 like last time. That's why, as Ms Shuttergirl knows, I'm eagerly waiting her next TR! If, as I'm dreaming of, we could go back next December, my girls would be aged 15, 12 and 8 (turning 9 while there). If I have to put it off until December 2014, my youngest would turn 10 while there but my lovely DU agent Michele advises that, as long as I check in while she is 9, we can buy a child price dining plan and child price MYW pass for her. Phew!

I know that, if we stayed at a Value, it would only be at either Pop or AoA. I'm not being a hotel snob but the values just don't really appeal to me (my kids might love them though), now that I have stayed at POR. As you know, I have a real desire to stay at Beach Club and have Park Hoppers. I love the idea of being able to walk 5 minutes into Epcot and eat dinner there or to take the boat to HS. So, I'm really trying to work out whether it is that I'm dreaming to get back to WDW or am I actually dreaming of going back to WDW only if I can stay at an Epcot resort. I think it might be the latter because, when Michele did a quote for me for two rooms at Pop vs one room at BC, she commented:

"Now that being said there is a BIG difference between staying at Pop Century Resort or any value resort and staying at a deluxe resort. As the saying goes “you get what you pay for”. We have stayed at all three EPCOT resorts Beach Club Resort, Yacht Club Resort and BoardWalk Inn and all are GREAT!
It’s so nice to just be able to walk to EPCOT or jump on the boat to Hollywood Studios. Then if you have the park hopper option you can walk through EPCOT and get on the monorail and head to Magic Kingdom but you must have the park hopper option to do this."

Reading that affirmed to me that I'm really dreaming of staying at BC and that will therefore probably mean it would have to be December 2014 as it would take me that amount of time to save the necessary funds. However, that feels so far away and who knows what might come up between now and then in our lives

Then, I read of some of the amazingly cheap offsite prices and I wonder if I could do it. That would be much more financially viable for us but, after having stayed onsite, having had a dining plan and the ease of Disney transportation, I'm not sure I would like it. Would you?

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Travelmum i dont think i could stay offsite after staying onsite i think even with the money savings its not worth it it takes long enough to get around as it is without adding extra time even if meant i had to wait longer to go i would wait.
If you had stayed offsite first you wouldn't know what you were missing


i just asked my kids if i told them we could go to WDW and they couldn't stay onsite would they want to go and i am a little shocked to say they said absolutely as long as they could stay at the Nickelodeon resort and that is from DS17 + Ds15 i am a little stunned but they prefer that to Pop or AOA

 

[battymum]

Yeah,

I would totally love to stay in an Epcot resort - but could never justify getting two rooms there. (maybe I would book a room at Pop for my kids ). Definitely would have stayed at least moderate if we were only 4.

Did you see the link someone posted for a house at Windsor Hills - I think that would be a great option - if you dont mind driving. (or I think someone mentioned places near DTD so that you can use the bus service)

Actually I think our Japan trip will be our last trip as a family of five. DD will be 18 next year. While everyone tells me they will keep coming on trips with you as long as you are paying! , my thought is that I am no longer obliged to take her, after that, she is old enough to stay at home. I would certainly expect a contribution from her though if she wanted to join us and I expect if I was making her pay, she would rather spend her $ elsewhere.

I am already thinking of a trip without children (maybe October 2014) we can go out of school holiday time for cheaper airfares - I am dreaming of 10days or so in NYC and then a road trip around the north east and maybe a few days in DLR as I have never been there.
To be honest I cant see WDW featuring in our foreseeable future, I dont think I could convince DH to go on our own.

 

[ky71]

We stayed at POR last Sept/Oct with our family of 5px (they were almost 15yrs, 12.5yrs and 6yrs plus 2 adults) and we loved the resort.

Shared a bus SOMETIMES with POFQ but usually just POR. No problems with food service or DTD boat. Room was big enough as we travel light.

In 2008 we stayed at POP (technically our family of 5px shared 2 rooms with grandma/pa -so 7px in two rooms) but to be honest my family of 5px stayed in one room with youngest on floor most nights-lol. There was enough room for all of us and our luggage and best of all POP had it's own bus service. We picked this resort solely because back then POP had frozen Coke at the refillable drink station-lol. Not any more...

Best wishes wherever you decide to stay.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Travelmum i dont think i could stay offsite after staying onsite i think even with the money savings its not worth it it takes long enough to get around as it is without adding extra time even if meant i had to wait longer to go i would wait.
If you had stayed offsite first you wouldn't know what you were missing

The time thing is interesting. I haven't really researched much at all yet, but the Unofficial Guide suggests that in many cases driving to the parks doesn't take much longer ( as long as your offsite accomodation is close to the Parks).

For us, we like space, hotels rooms are okay for short periods of time, but become too cramped for our growing family over an extended period of time. Plus we are not right into the food thing, so Free Dining is not important to us. We are happy with counter service,self catering, and with just the occassional table service meal thrown in.

But everyone is different, and know what they are /aren't prepared to compromise on

Now an onsite 3 bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge would be fantastic, but only in my dreams.

 

[Travel Mum]

Caroline, because you have never experienced staying onsite, I am positive you will love the experience of staying in the house. It seems like the perfect choice for your family needs. It just becomes hard to stay offsite when you have stayed onsite before and experienced the benefits that come with it

By the way, we too are more of a counter-service family when on holiday but just be aware that even counter-service is soooo expensive in the Disney parks for us converting to NZ$ Check out the menus on All-ears to see what I mean. That's why I loved being on the dining plan because I never had to worry about the prices and we could just order whatever we wanted - I found that so relaxing (and is also why I find cruising so relaxing as all meals are included). When I read Mum from Oz's TR and she mentions the meals and snacks they bought at the parks, I keep thinking that they must have had to spend quite a lot of $$ on them but, then again, I guess by staying offsite and paying less on accommodation than the onsite hotel prices, you have the extra $$ to spend and it probably works out the same?

 

[battymum]

If I was without a dining plan I would work out the difference and put it on a Disney gift card and use that for meals/snacks and try and convince myself "everything was included, so live it up"

 

[Andona]

Actually I think our Japan trip will be our last trip as a family of five. DD will be 18 next year. While everyone tells me they will keep coming on trips with you as long as you are paying! , my thought is that I am no longer obliged to take her, after that, she is old enough to stay at home. I would certainly expect a contribution from her though if she wanted to join us and I expect if I was making her pay, she would rather spend her $ elsewhere.

I am already thinking of a trip without children (maybe October 2014) we can go out of school holiday time for cheaper airfares - I am dreaming of 10days or so in NYC and then a road trip around the north east and maybe a few days in DLR as I have never been there.
To be honest I cant see WDW featuring in our foreseeable future, I dont think I could convince DH to go on our own.

Battymum, we made a similar decision once our two oldest kids turned 18 and left school. They were invited along on our trips but we told them they would need to contribute financially. They both decided that if they were paying they preferred to do their own thing with their friends, rather than coming along on trips with Mum and Dad anymore. It's a bit bittersweet when they don't want to come, you miss their company but it's sure nice not to have to pay for their airfares, accommodation and food anymore!

My DH and I are also quite looking forward to our first no-kids trip, it might even be next year because our youngest DS will be going on a big overseas trip with his school next year so DH and I may take the opportunity to head off on our own. Probably just Queensland, or Maybe Fiji. Don't think we'll be able to afford anything else after paying for DS's trip!

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[battymum]

Yes, while I would live to be those parents that an pay for their whole family to have huge trips - it's just not in our budget. The problem I have is that my kids are close in age, it's not fair to make a 19 year old pay for themselves but pay for two 17year olds.
So we will go on our own! (Maybe.....)

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Battymum, I did read this very helpful post of yours but didn't immediately reply because I think I wanted to bury my head in the sand and not face facts

I'd love to go in the September/October school holidays again but, if we get to go back, it will have to be in early December because I could not justify the exorbitant amount of airfares it costs to get us from Wellington to Orlando return for just a two week trip. If we went again, it would have to be for at least 3 weeks or ideally 4 like last time. That's why, as Ms Shuttergirl knows, I'm eagerly waiting her next TR! If, as I'm dreaming of, we could go back next December, my girls would be aged 15, 12 and 8 (turning 9 while there). If I have to put it off until December 2014, my youngest would turn 10 while there but my lovely DU agent Michele advises that, as long as I check in while she is 9, we can buy a child price dining plan and child price MYW pass for her. Phew!

I know that, if we stayed at a Value, it would only be at either Pop or AoA. I'm not being a hotel snob but the values just don't really appeal to me (my kids might love them though), now that I have stayed at POR. As you know, I have a real desire to stay at Beach Club and have Park Hoppers. I love the idea of being able to walk 5 minutes into Epcot and eat dinner there or to take the boat to HS. So, I'm really trying to work out whether it is that I'm dreaming to get back to WDW or am I actually dreaming of going back to WDW only if I can stay at an Epcot resort. I think it might be the latter because, when Michele did a quote for me for two rooms at Pop vs one room at BC, she commented:

"Now that being said there is a BIG difference between staying at Pop Century Resort or any value resort and staying at a deluxe resort. As the saying goes “you get what you pay for”. We have stayed at all three EPCOT resorts Beach Club Resort, Yacht Club Resort and BoardWalk Inn and all are GREAT!
It’s so nice to just be able to walk to EPCOT or jump on the boat to Hollywood Studios. Then if you have the park hopper option you can walk through EPCOT and get on the monorail and head to Magic Kingdom but you must have the park hopper option to do this."

Reading that affirmed to me that I'm really dreaming of staying at BC and that will therefore probably mean it would have to be December 2014 as it would take me that amount of time to save the necessary funds. However, that feels so far away and who knows what might come up between now and then in our lives

Then, I read of some of the amazingly cheap offsite prices and I wonder if I could do it. That would be much more financially viable for us but, after having stayed onsite, having had a dining plan and the ease of Disney transportation, I'm not sure I would like it. Would you?

I'd dearly love to stay at Beach Club too, it is my favourite looking Epcot resort. With that said, when I received the quote I just could not justify the cost, I really couldn't . I tried to let it marinate for a few days, seeing if I could get my head around it but because last time we did the split stay with WL and POP, I knew what a great time we had at both resorts and I just didn't think the many thousands extra for BC were going to make me that much happier . But, I haven't walked through that resort yet and I plan on doing so on this trip. It may be that I fall so in love that on a future trip, it may be a worthwhile expense. I wouldn't do a full stay there though, I think I would offset it with a split stay at a cheaper resort so I got a taste of the fancy and then went back to reality .

I hope my eagerly awaited TR isn't a let down . I'll have to think up some interesting and witty things to say.

Travelmum i dont think i could stay offsite after staying onsite i think even with the money savings its not worth it it takes long enough to get around as it is without adding extra time even if meant i had to wait longer to go i would wait.
If you had stayed offsite first you wouldn't know what you were missing


i just asked my kids if i told them we could go to WDW and they couldn't stay onsite would they want to go and i am a little shocked to say they said absolutely as long as they could stay at the Nickelodeon resort and that is from DS17 + Ds15 i am a little stunned but they prefer that to Pop or AOA

I agree I probably wouldn't want to stay offsite now I've stayed onsite, I love feeling like I'm in a bubble world. With that said, that house that Caroline shared looks amazing for the money. It would definitely be something to consider for someone happy to hire a car.

Yeah,

I would totally love to stay in an Epcot resort - but could never justify getting two rooms there. (maybe I would book a room at Pop for my kids ). Definitely would have stayed at least moderate if we were only 4.

Did you see the link someone posted for a house at Windsor Hills - I think that would be a great option - if you dont mind driving. (or I think someone mentioned places near DTD so that you can use the bus service)

Actually I think our Japan trip will be our last trip as a family of five. DD will be 18 next year. While everyone tells me they will keep coming on trips with you as long as you are paying! , my thought is that I am no longer obliged to take her, after that, she is old enough to stay at home. I would certainly expect a contribution from her though if she wanted to join us and I expect if I was making her pay, she would rather spend her $ elsewhere.

I am already thinking of a trip without children (maybe October 2014) we can go out of school holiday time for cheaper airfares - I am dreaming of 10days or so in NYC and then a road trip around the north east and maybe a few days in DLR as I have never been there.
To be honest I cant see WDW featuring in our foreseeable future, I dont think I could convince DH to go on our own.

It's sad to think you are about to lose one of the kidlets off the travel list. This is my greatest fear, my DD getting too old to want to come with us.

Andona has my husband and I now dreaming of our own coast to coast road trip in the US for after the kids are more independent.

We stayed at POR last Sept/Oct with our family of 5px (they were almost 15yrs, 12.5yrs and 6yrs plus 2 adults) and we loved the resort.

Shared a bus SOMETIMES with POFQ but usually just POR. No problems with food service or DTD boat. Room was big enough as we travel light.

In 2008 we stayed at POP (technically our family of 5px shared 2 rooms with grandma/pa -so 7px in two rooms) but to be honest my family of 5px stayed in one room with youngest on floor most nights-lol. There was enough room for all of us and our luggage and best of all POP had it's own bus service. We picked this resort solely because back then POP had frozen Coke at the refillable drink station-lol. Not any more...

Best wishes wherever you decide to stay.

We thought the rooms and buses at POP were excellent. Glad to hear you did too.

The time thing is interesting. I haven't really researched much at all yet, but the Unofficial Guide suggests that in many cases driving to the parks doesn't take much longer ( as long as your offsite accomodation is close to the Parks).

For us, we like space, hotels rooms are okay for short periods of time, but become too cramped for our growing family over an extended period of time. Plus we are not right into the food thing, so Free Dining is not important to us. We are happy with counter service,self catering, and with just the occassional table service meal thrown in.

But everyone is different, and know what they are /aren't prepared to compromise on

Now an onsite 3 bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge would be fantastic, but only in my dreams.

You will certainly have space in the condo Caroline. It's truly stunning.

Caroline, because you have never experienced staying onsite, I am positive you will love the experience of staying in the house. It seems like the perfect choice for your family needs. It just becomes hard to stay offsite when you have stayed onsite before and experienced the benefits that come with it

By the way, we too are more of a counter-service family when on holiday but just be aware that even counter-service is soooo expensive in the Disney parks for us converting to NZ$ Check out the menus on All-ears to see what I mean. That's why I loved being on the dining plan because I never had to worry about the prices and we could just order whatever we wanted - I found that so relaxing (and is also why I find cruising so relaxing as all meals are included). When I read Mum from Oz's TR and she mentions the meals and snacks they bought at the parks, I keep thinking that they must have had to spend quite a lot of $$ on them but, then again, I guess by staying offsite and paying less on accommodation than the onsite hotel prices, you have the extra $$ to spend and it probably works out the same?

You poor things with the NZ dollar.

I agree I love free dining and would also love the dining plan if I had to pay for it for the exact reasons you list. You don't worry as much about what you order if it's prepaid.

If I was without a dining plan I would work out the difference and put it on a Disney gift card and use that for meals/snacks and try and convince myself "everything was included, so live it up"

This my friend, is a fabulous idea.

Battymum, we made a similar decision once our two oldest kids turned 18 and left school. They were invited along on our trips but we told them they would need to contribute financially. They both decided that if they were paying they preferred to do their own thing with their friends, rather than coming along on trips with Mum and Dad anymore. It's a bit bittersweet when they don't want to come, you miss their company but it's sure nice not to have to pay for their airfares, accommodation and food anymore!

My DH and I are also quite looking forward to our first no-kids trip, it might even be next year because our youngest DS will be going on a big overseas trip with his school next year so DH and I may take the opportunity to head off on our own. Probably just Queensland, or Maybe Fiji. Don't think we'll be able to afford anything else after paying for DS's trip!

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Andona & Battymum - reading your posts about your older children is making me very sad. My DD is 14 and I can already feel the fear rising through me that all too soon she won't want to come along with us. I absolutely dread the day. Although by the time she is 17 or 18 she might be so annoying I'll be able to get my head around it . This comes back to one of our main reasons for not building the new big house etc. I want to show the kids the world while they will let me because all too soon they will be grown and this phase of our lives will be over.

Can you tell I hate change .

Yes, while I would live to be those parents that an pay for their whole family to have huge trips - it's just not in our budget. The problem I have is that my kids are close in age, it's not fair to make a 19 year old pay for themselves but pay for two 17year olds.
So we will go on our own! (Maybe.....)

I'm not sure whether I'll be one of those parents that can afford to pay for the whole family to go on huge trips - but hopefully a lotto win for us all will sort that out.

 

[battymum]

While I dont like admitting this, I am looking forward to DD not travelling with us - she can be great company on a good day, and she has a unique sense of humour which is fun - but she can be so demanding on others - its better now that she is older and I dont have to make her do everything we are doing.

She is definitely one that needs some "space".

But it will be a sad day when our boys no longer travel with us. I know Disney parks are for everyone - but I truly cant imagine going without them.

Our WDW trip was conceived when we holidaying on the Gold Coast in 2010 - she was 14 - how quickly that time goes.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Actually the NZ dollar is really good against the US greenback at the moment.
NZ$1 buys around US$0.81 at the moment, and that sure beats the US$0.54 it bought on our 2009 trip ( 2011 trip was US$0.74ish).
So no complaints from me, as long as it stays around there ( will start loading the prepaid US currency card soon for next years trip).

Also regarding paying OOP for food, I don't mind that either. When we go on holiday we buy whatever we feel like. But we are simple eaters anyway, so never eat anywhere too expensive. Rainforest Cage, Cheesecake Factory etc is our kind of place.

And DH is perfectly okay with driving, so we always hire a care for the entire duration of our holidays as well

 

[Caroline NZ]

With regards to travelling with the kids. Ours are currently aged 10 & 8. So I feel like the next 6 years or so are our "prime" years for travelling as a family. That is why I am going to pack in as much as possible, every thing going to plan ( 2013 DLR, 2014 WDW, 2015 UK, 2016 Canada Ski trip....., that's as far as i have got )