DVC with 4 kids?

[Brian Noble]

You may actually enjoy the off site, driving in, transportation option more than being in the bubble, but at a resort that requires the bus.

...and it is worth noting that no WDW resort is close to everything. Unless you skip a few parks or do a split stay---its own special level of He** with small kids---you are eventually going to be on a bus if you are staying onsite.

 

[Brian Noble]

And I completely forgot about this one.

 

[airjay75]

I don't know if this is the original article I read on this, but I've also always appreciated this take - just buy the damn minivan.

https://www.jalopnik.com/parents-just-buy-the-damn-minivan-1597502940/

 

[Adopted By Disney]

We are in the realm of possibility for a Kia Carnival which apparently doesn’t “look” like a minivan but kinda is

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Don’t forget the ‘middle aisle’ in the minivan which allows you to get into the back pretty easily and without getting out of the vehicle. That was the thing that finally convinced me to go from a Grand Cherokee to a Town and Country AWD when our twins were little. (I needed the AWD to get to work, which makes finding a minivan today a little more challenging than it used to be.) I never wanted a minivan, either. But my friend had one and once I saw the middle aisle, that was a game changer. (Take your wife to test drive some.)

We’ve rented Pacificas in WDW and even the Plymouth Voyager (similar) and all have been really nice, I like them a lot. But no AWD anymore. The Sienna still has it but I saw one recently and it was $70K! For that price I might look at a Suburban or the like, idk, hard to say today as those are really up there in price too. Another 3rd row SUV we rented was a Kia Sorrento and we liked it, as well, but it’s smaller and not as versatile as a minivan is for young families.

As far as rooms for six on property, have you looked into the Disney Springs suite resorts?
https://disneyspringshotels.com/hotels/doubletree-suites-by-hilton-orlando-disney-springs/

We’ve also had good experiences at the Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista, which is really right outside the Disney Springs area. They have a full kitchen and offer a nice free breakfast, as well. Plenty of space in a 2BR.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Dang, minivan lovers here! I think my kids might make it through childhood without us getting a minivan. We’re down to just one carseat now and the AWD wagon is still kicking…might as well drive it to the ground.

 

[RangerPooh]

We're a family of six, and while our kids are now 14, 15, 18, and 20, we've been DVC members since the two oldest were itty-bitty. Over the years, we've tried many room combinations to accommodate our family—two studios, 2-bedroom villas, 3-bedroom grand villas, and even Fort Wilderness Cabins (booked as a cash reservation). The majority of our trips have been in 2-bedroom villas, which have worked really well for us.

We personally love Animal Kingdom Villas and own there, but honestly, there are many great resorts—it really just depends on what you're looking for. Now that our kids are older, we've started booking two studios instead, as it's often more economical. Our sons stay with us, and our daughters have their own space, which has worked out nicely.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on where you want to stay and how many points you're willing to spend.

Another option to consider is Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We own there as well and like to rotate between WBC and DVC every other trip when traveling with the whole family. The great thing about Bonnet Creek is that you get more space in each room category. We love their 2- and 3-bedroom units and have used them for extended family and friends on larger trips. I'm not sure about the cost these days, but we bought resale there 15 years ago and have used those points at Wyndham's all over the country.

 

[Blondientor]

Yeah, families of six definitely run into limits with the one-bedrooms. Two connecting studios usually end up cheaper, especially at resorts like Pop or All-Star, if you’re trying to save.

 

[Brian Noble]

You can pick up Wyndham points for not much more than closing costs, and you might not have to pay those. It will be a few more dollars to buy something with a low fee ratio, but we are talking de minimus.

I own (resale) in that system—it was my first timeshare. The sales process is ugly, but the resorts themselves are good to pretty good, and a few are genuinely great.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Dad of six, including twins, and all 7 or younger here

Buy the minivan so your kids don’t ding other people’s doors in the parking lot. You can upgrade to a Suburban in 5 years.

Drive, don’t bus, around Disney. Folding that double stroller and having all the junk fall out of it and side-walking it down the bus is the worst. Monorail, friendship boat, and skyliner are fine (in that order) for strollers. Minivans rentals aren’t usually too expensive at MCO.

I would milk the larger 1BR for all their worth before moving on to 2BR, if you can. We just came back from Riv, BLT, and CFW. At CFW, all the kids were in the bunk room and my wife and I were in the living room. It worked well! Not sharing walls + having a deck was very nice.

 

[MattB2G]

Family of 5 here:

We only use 2 bedrooms, especially when the kids were young (youngest went to WDW at 6 months) to have a place for naps. Plan on coming back to the room before noon almost everyday. We are VGF owners and we used the huge closet in the 2 bedroom unit for the pack-n-play for our youngest. Also, studios don't have laundry which is a huge convenience of the 1/2 bedrooms. We only take carry-on luggage with us on the airplane and pack enough for 3/4 days and then wash everything, we had a really bad experience with a delayed flight and waiting for luggage one time which moved us to only taking carry-on.

You might want to look at CCV due to the long contract life and low point cost of 2 bedrooms and right now it is going for around $130/point on the resale market.

Also a minivan lover...... we have a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and it drives a lot nicer than most cars I have driven, and much better than our old Town-n-Country. The hybrid motor has a ton of power/pick up and a ton of room for all the kids crap, along with the video screens to keep the kids entertained on long trips.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Okay, minivan lover here. We have a 2013 Sienna and she drives like a champ. The middle row seats slide (very important to us as parents are tall and even as babies they were tall!) We can take our middle seats out and fold down the third row and the Sienna hauls more than most trucks. After my in-laws died, we were tasked with emptying out their house after the estate sale to do a bunch of dumpster runs, and we loaded that sucker up with 60 years of crap and tchotchkes -- but that's another story. When we drive to the airport with my sister, BIL, and niece and all our luggage for the week, it all fits. There's cupholders EVERYWHERE for bottles and sippy cups and Stanleys and coffee. The new Siennas are hybrids and get like 40 mpg, too.

Would you consider Riviera resale for a 2B every trip? Hear me out. The Skyliner works great with tandem double strollers and gets you access to two parks. The hallways and foyer are roomy for maneuverability. The resort has lots of food options on site, under cover from the elements, so you're not schlepping shopping bags of food on top of strollers and crying, whining kids. Riviera rents well if you ever decided to take the cash and try somewhere else, or you could bide your time until you could buy a direct contract ten years or so from now and rotate stays of Riviera/something new.

You're going to need a separate space for napping for many years, and you're also going to need the extra bathroom for potty training and baths. If you're lucky enough to have grandparents or an aunt or uncle want to tag along to help out, the 2B gets you space. If you had enough Riviera points, you could book a Tower for the grandparents to have a little privacy but still be on property to lend a hand. You have to own at Riviera to usually grab a Tower studio, so that's an option.

Laundry, my God, that's the best part! I do a load every night -- and we're just a family of four. We sweat like crazy in FL and also have to deal with inevitable sunblock stains on shirts. With four under four, you're going to need the space, and the Riviera and VGF 2B are really large and spacious. OKW is awesome, too, but that's dealing with buses for everything and a 2042 resort. Also, it's inevitable that at least one trip someone will get sick, have bad blisters, or it's raining for days on end. You do NOT want to be on top of each other in a 1B. If trapped in the room with four little kids, you'll be VERY glad to have three TVs to disperse the crowds and keep the chaos down while you guys tag team the family for feeding, diaper changes, napping, and keeping them occupied. Riviera's Community Hall is RIGHT there, too -- again, no leaving the building in the rain to go do arts and crafts while the babies sleep. Dad can take the kids to create Mickey mosaic coasters and grab a coffee and watch the kids while Mom and the littles nap and throw a load of laundry in.

Copper Creek 2B, I really like their foyer setup with the cubbies for storing your daily gear before you run out the door. I wish Riviera incorporated the cubbies in some sort of oui-oui-Francais, fancy-pants style, but c'est la vie! LOL.

BLT 2B we haven't stayed at yet, but the refurbishment looks great, they have an extra bathroom, and it's RIGHT THERE at MK, which is clutch for the next decade.

You *could* roll the dice on CFW and hope that rumors pay off and it's bundled into LSL, but at $45k, that's a big risk if you're not into the Fort Wilderness vibe.

I find a lot of wisdom in @Brian Noble's advice, and years ago he mentioned not wanting anything less than a 2B for his family of four. We're also a family of four, kids are now going to be 12 and 13 this November trip, and our daughter is taller than me (5'8") and our son is about 5'6" and due for his puberty growth spurt any second now. The days of throwing him in the trundle bed are numbered, LOL, and we'll be eyeing the 2Bs for regular family trips from now on I think. I know it's a very daunting chunk of money, but if it means you can vacation, period, for the next decade, so long as you're not jeopardizing your family's finances, I think ripping the Band-Aid off now is the way to go. Team 2B!