Families of 5 @ Disney

[princessreilly]

I just resently found out that I am pregnant with my third child. Is it just me or does it seem like Disney gets complicated with a family more than 4. I am nervous that I may not get a family suite at a value resort in the future. Does any family of more than 4 want to share what works for them at Disney? I'll take any advise. Thanks!

 

[MandM-Mom]

First, Congratulations
Well we have 5 but my youngest is 2 so we can still go value in one room, but in August when we go again she will be 3 and we will do Port Orleans so we can do five in one room. 2 adults and 2 children and an infant was fine in a value for us, we don't spend alot of time in the room only for sleeping, if we are awake and at the resort we are at the pool so its worked fine for us

 

[jellybeans0607]

We have 3 kids. It does get a bit more difficult. We don't like POR, it's just not enough room for 5 people. We haven't stayed in the music suites yet, but I do think that will be where we are heading next time.

As for getting one, I don't expect it to be a problem. Well unless you are a last minute vacationer. Also i'm hearing they are planning to fininsh the other side of Pop, which will be family suites. So there really shouldn't be a problem by the time you need it.

When the 3rd child was really small we would stay at POFQ. It was a bit cramped, but doable. Its when they get older and start having luggage and need space that it becomes a problem.

 

[Donald Duck Dad]

We are a family of 5. On both of our previous trips we stayed @ POR
Alligator Bayou Bldg. 18 w/ trundle bed. On our last trip DS's 14 & 12
and DD 7 we did fine. We DO NOT spend a lot of time in the room
either but managed fine. We were @ WDW for 10 nights on this trip
with again no problems.

Looking forward to July 09 trip and our ressie's @ The Contemporary.
We have always wanted to stay and DW was able to score a rate
that was well within our budget for this 11 day WDW and for the DS's
2 days @ Universal.

You should have no problems with POR, it is a great resort.

 

[Perditamarie]

Having a family of 5 is what decided us on DVC...there is plenty of room and a nice kitchen and w/d. However, we just stayed at POR and were pleasantly surprised. It was fine for a standard hotel room and the resort was great. Also, 2 connecting value rooms and the Fort Wilderness Cabins as well as some Deluxe hotels could be options....just depends on your budget for that trip.

 

[dislal]

We took grandma and got connecting rooms at Pop. It worked perfectly we had four beds and two bathrooms for six people. Grandma was nice enough to pay for herself and everything (tickets, airfare, dining plan) for one kid too.

 

[SLK1]

I was starting to think the "trend" for the US was kind of toward bigger families (maybe that will change with these economic woes), and I get frustrated that Disney doesn't accommodate larger families better. We own DVC and are a family of 6. This last trip to CA, I didn't even mention the one-year-old because then I would have had to get TWO rooms! That is insane just because of an infant. I definitely think they should look at their customer demographics, particularly how many kids their typical guest family has, and make larger accommodations.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

I just resently found out that I am pregnant with my third child. Is it just me or does it seem like Disney gets complicated with a family more than 4. I am nervous that I may not get a family suite at a value resort in the future. Does any family of more than 4 want to share what works for them at Disney? I'll take any advise. Thanks!

Congratulations!!

We have stayed at POR as a family of 5 several times. It's okay when the third child is really young, but that trundle bed is small and not all that comfortable. Now that our youngest is 8, I don't think we will be doing POR again. We have done the YC and the CR and both of them were fine, but pricey. I am thinking for our next family trip which probably won't be until 2010 we will do a Ft. Wilderness cabin, that way the higher cost can be somewhat offset by having a few meals in the room, not to mention I think they just look fun to stay in

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

Congratulations! I am due around Thanksgiving with our third child as well, and this has been the subject of many conversations DH and I have. Thanks for the thread!

 

[Katy Belle]

Congratulations!

We are a family of 5. We stayed at POR with the trundle bed once and POP Century with two connecting rooms once. LOVED the two rooms. Four beds, two tvs, two full bathrooms, a DOOR between .

Katy

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We are 6 and bought DVC. If your budget doesn't allow for this, consider renting points. Or staying off-site. Lower budget, I would go for Fort Wilderness or the family suites. Frankly, 5 in a hotel room gets cramped, and we ran into all sorts of problems with differing sleep schedules. DVC felt much more "vacation-y". Plus, with the kitchen and laundry facilities, you could pack less clothing, prepare simple meals and snacks, etc. We really, really like it.

For quickie trips, we've done the 2 hotel room thing--it's not horrible, but not very vacation-like, either, IMHO. I'd rather stay off-site.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

Congrats on your new pg!

We're a family of six and you can add us to the list of "travels with grandma" - as 3 of our 4 are 5 and under (one of which is autistic & dyspraxic) we tend to take grandparents along for re-enforcement, extra hands, eyes and people to do bathroom breaks (been a culture shock for my dad- only 2 girls in my family growing up and so dad could go to public restrooms stress-free, WDW opened his eyes to what it's like to have to take a pre-schooler too ) therefore we have 2 adjoining rooms and split the kids between us.

We also love doing this as my kids adore their grandparents and it's some great memories in the making for them (my own granny died before I was even out of high school so it's important to me they spend alot of time with my parents.)

 

[Schmeck]

I was starting to think the "trend" for the US was kind of toward bigger families (maybe that will change with these economic woes), and I get frustrated that Disney doesn't accommodate larger families better. We own DVC and are a family of 6. This last trip to CA, I didn't even mention the one-year-old because then I would have had to get TWO rooms! That is insane just because of an infant. I definitely think they should look at their customer demographics, particularly how many kids their typical guest family has, and make larger accommodations.

WDW has family suites at the value level, POR with the trundle for moderate, and rooms with daybeds at the deluxe level. Not sure what else you want them to do - create barracks with bunkbeds? The larger your family the more everything is going to cost you, and wherever you go, hotels in general do not make rooms for 6 people to stay in.

Don't forget that WDW lets a child under the age of 3 stay in a room for free, not counted on the room tally.

 

[SomedayI'llBe]

Connecting rooms are my family's favorite option. We're a family of six, and we've gone twice since the last girl was born. Both times she was older than three. Once we stayed off site at the Caribe Royale- that worked pretty nicely for us, as it had two rooms, one with a king, another with a set of two fulls (the littlest girls slept in the same bed with not issues) and a pullout for the brother. It also had a kitchen which we stocked with breakfast food. The other time we stayed at CSR with two connecting rooms, and that worked really well too. Connecting rooms are actually a great solution for families of 6, especially as the kids get older (I was 16 by the time we had the connecting rooms, the youngest was 6). We do it almost all the time when we travel, unless they have the large family suites. It works out pretty well since we're all pretty capable of taking care of ourselves at this point. But when the kids are younger, problems can happen, especially if there isn't a large age spread among the kids.

 

[joyfulscrapper]

Connecting rooms are my family's favorite option. We're a family of six, and we've gone twice since the last girl was born. Both times she was older than three. Once we stayed off site at the Caribe Royale- that worked pretty nicely for us, as it had two rooms, one with a king, another with a set of two fulls (the littlest girls slept in the same bed with not issues) and a pullout for the brother. It also had a kitchen which we stocked with breakfast food. The other time we stayed at CSR with two connecting rooms, and that worked really well too. Connecting rooms are actually a great solution for families of 6, especially as the kids get older (I was 16 by the time we had the connecting rooms, the youngest was 6). We do it almost all the time when we travel, unless they have the large family suites. It works out pretty well since we're all pretty capable of taking care of ourselves at this point. But when the kids are younger, problems can happen, especially if there isn't a large age spread among the kids.

Ok, now you've got me worried! I was going to suggest connecting rooms in the value resorts myself, since we are doing this for our first family trip to the world in just under 3 weeks, and it was the least expensive option (even the value family suite was more than adjoining rooms), BUT now you said there can be problems if the kids are younger and closer in age. What kind of problems?! This is our first attempt at adjoining rooms anywhere since my youngest just turned 3 and it wasn't an issue until now. So what do I need to prepare myself for? Aside from how it might or might not work out, though, adjoining rooms was the most budget friendly option outside of staying off property...

 

[jellybeans0607]

Ok, now you've got me worried! I was going to suggest connecting rooms in the value resorts myself, since we are doing this for our first family trip to the world in just under 3 weeks, and it was the least expensive option (even the value family suite was more than adjoining rooms), BUT now you said there can be problems if the kids are younger and closer in age. What kind of problems?! This is our first attempt at adjoining rooms anywhere since my youngest just turned 3 and it wasn't an issue until now. So what do I need to prepare myself for? Aside from how it might or might not work out, though, adjoining rooms was the most budget friendly option outside of staying off property...

My guess would be having 3 kids in a room alone with access to outside, might be troublesome. Depending on the child of course. If I were going to do that with small children I would split up my husband and I. That way there was an adult in each room.

 

[Darcy03231]

We're a family of 6 and found staying offsite in a private pool home works best for us. There's plenty of room for everyone and I love having the pool for just our family. I also like having the full kitchen, washer and dryer. On average it costs a lot less than a room in a value resort too.

 

[tzolkin]

WDW has family suites at the value level, POR with the trundle for moderate, and rooms with daybeds at the deluxe level. Not sure what else you want them to do - create barracks with bunkbeds? The larger your family the more everything is going to cost you, and wherever you go, hotels in general do not make rooms for 6 people to stay in.

Yes, there are options but for a family of 5 it's still a little frustrating to know that when your baby turns 3 that your lodging costs will double. Of course people know that it will cost more the larger their family is (extra tickets, extra food, etc), but some may not assume that it would be that much more for one extra person. Once you know the options you listed, you know what to expect, but going from 2-3 kids may be a surprise for some who have had a regular room budget in mind.

 

[princess&her4princes]

We are a young family of 5, so so far it hasn't been an issue (baby is still in a pack 'n play) so we can stay wherever...but the next trip will most likely be a bit more complicated for us. We're considering renting a condo off site for the next trip (just to try it!), we've always stayed on Disney property and will probably regret doing this, but you never know until you try, right? But that way we have a washer/drier, we all have our own space and there is stuff for the big kids to do when baby has to go to bed.....but we'll see...that's if I can't convince my DH to buy me DVC!! LOL!! If there is a will, there is a way...Disney is for families, don't worry, you'll figure it out!!! Congrats on baby #3!!!!

 

[edamethyst]

we are also a family of 5. When the kids were real small we did the Dolphin and the three of them fit nicely in one bed. Then we moved up to the POR when they were a little bigger but the trundle bed is small. Our youngest is 10 so this year we are doing the Poly. The daybed looks fine for any of the kids. The cabins look nice we're just not a camping family but I've talked to people who love them.