Families of 5 or more check in here!!

[Laurabearz]

I feel like I need a traveling with families over 4 support group.

Gosh... what a pain to get a hotel room... non Disney and Disney alike...

I am planning a road trip to Columbus Ohio this Weds... and boy it was hard to find a normal chain hotel that would even allos us to book ONE room and none could garentee (sp) us connecting rooms (with door) if we reserved two rooms.

Sucks.

 

[Debs5angels]

I know what you mean! We are a family of 7 (DH, Myself and 5 DD'S). When ever we go to Disney we have to stay offsite because it costs to much to get 2 rooms onsite. I was lucky enough this time to get an e mail with a great rate for Pop Century so we got the two rooms there. Good luck finding a hotel!!!

 

[BevS97]

have you looked at the suite hotels? We are looking at

http://www.hawthorn.com - they do rooms for 6

there are quite a few other chains too

http://www.sierrasuites.com/
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/sb/1/en/home (Staybrige Suites)

actually there are loads - Marriott do one, so do Hilton

they aren't all particularly expensive either - Hawthorn Suites is $90/night in October

 

[zagafi]

OMGoodness! We went instantly from a family of 3 to a family of 5 when the twins were born in March. Talk about a shock...the world just isn't made for odd numbers. LOL!

 

[undertheradar]

Perhaps some of the problem is that the Ohio State Fair begins that day. The beltway around Columbus may allow you more options.

 

[WeluvDisney2]

Debbie, your girls are beautiful!

We are a family of 6. (myself, DH, DD 11, DS 9, DS 4 & DS 2)
We booked two connecting rooms at the Pop Century. I think something like half of all the rooms there are connecting, so it was not a problem. Also, two rooms there were alot cheaper than one room at the Deluxe resorts (and we get two bathrooms!)

 

[luvmarypoppins]

For disney we only do deluxe at a good rate or go to the swan with a roll away.

Now my dh just says 4. (not at disney)The hilton central booking tells us they cannot book 5 in a room. We ususally go to one hilton where we know we can request a roll away at check in.

A wyndham where we stay is also a problem. We will be there next week and only booked 4. They say no roll aways because of the fire code. They gave us a bunch of blankets last time, which they called a pallett, o.k. we are not familiar with this term and they told 3rd ds to sleep on the floor, huh. I am bringing an air mattress with me this time.
Its not that I am cheap and wont pay for 2 rooms, I am an overly protective mom who wants us all together. I think what would happen if there was a fire etc. etc.

Good luck.

 

[WeluvDisney2]

I forgot to add... The Port Orleans has rooms that can accomodate a family of 5. Two double beds and a trundle bed. You just have to ask when booking. Also not really expensive!

 

[Debs5angels]

Thanks WeluvDisney2,

Have you ever been to Pop before?

 

[WeluvDisney2]

No, this will be our first time, but we have heard good things about it.

 

[missypie]

Another family of 5 here. I think a travel agent could do well specializing in helping folks who need more than 2 double beds. When I book travel, the TA alwyas assumes that I need 2 rooms, even when they sleep 5 or 6. I have to do all the research and then inform them!

What really drives me nuts is all the "All Suites" hotels where the only option is a king plus a sofa sleeper!

And it's not only larger families that need more than 2 beds. A friend of mine is a widow with a teenaged son and a teenaged daughter. Neither wants to sleep with her, and they sure won't sleep with each other...so that is a family of 3 that needs more than 2 beds.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I know it is so hard. We are a family of 5 and we have to have a handicapped accessible room or 2 connecting rooms........none to be found!!!I think it is terrible that they cant at least reserve 2 ajoining rooms . It is very hard. Thank goodness Disney has great CM's who work with special requests.

 

[jcemom]

Yep, another family of 5 here and I know just how you feel! We just booked a cruise for next year and needed two staterooms, lol. (Basically, that means you are paying the adult rate for two of the kids! Luckily, my sister is coming along so there will be an adult in the room with the boys and I won't worry so much, plus I get to pay kids' rate for one of them, LOL.)

 

[swilshire]

Six of us, though the oldest two don't always go anymore. DH, myself, DD18, DS16, DS10 and DS5. Timesharing has been a blessing for us on vacation. We book a 2-3 bedroom condo and save a ton of money on food. Lots of room to spread out and lots of TVs to cut down on the arguments.

When we spend the night on the road (which we try to avoid) we typically just throw the three boys on the floor in sleeping bags. Since kids are usually free at the moderate hotel/motels where we stay, we just respond "two adults" when they ask how many. Probably not exactly honest, but it cuts down on a lot of the hassle of trying to get adjoining rooms or dividing the adults between two rooms. It's very crowded, but it's usually just for a few hours while we sleep.

Sheila

 

[janie91]

I know what you mean we are a family of 5 and everyone has fire code issues. I'm also protective and prefer our children in our room. I really think it would be more of a firecode issue with 3 kids trying to figure out what to do if those alarms go off. Once I made a nondisney reservation and the lady offered us 2 rooms near each other after she asked our kids ages then 2,4, & 6. A room near us for 3 little ones, right. I know my husband and I could spilt up but it's a family vacation for all of us and we spend almost no time in our room no matter where we vacation. We come in late at night and leave early in the morning so we shower and sleep. We just like the fun of a hotel like we did growing up but we may have to go to condos, and we are never in the room so it gets pricey for a place to sleep.

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

We are a family of 7. DH, me, DD9, DS7, DS7, DS3.5 and DS 1.5. We need many bathrooms and a kitchen for breakfast or it takes us 2 hours to get out in the morning!

We just bought into the the Disney Vacation Club, because we love to stay on property and feel that in the long run it will (hopefully) save us money.

I wish there were more options for large families, but unfornately I think we are such a small minority of families that they don't need to change things for us.

 

[pyrxtc]

As a mother to 4 kids, I know this dilemma well. When we went to Niagara falls, I rented an RV in a park. Slept us all plus my mother. When we go to Disney, we are going to try to rent some DVC points for a 2 bedroom suite which will fit us all great. We don't even want to think of staying offsite for our first visit there.

 

[Deafmedic]

This is a fantastic post! We haven't had that problem yet as we haven't travelled since the twins were born. There are 6 of us(DD10, DD6, and DDTwins 10months.) I often wondered how we would work it.

 

[Kendra17]

Our third child is only one, so I don't really have these issues, yet, since she's in a crib. But, personally, if I didn't want to book a second room, I think I'd consider purchasing an airbed for use in the room, and then deflate it in the morning.

I understand this might be a firecode issue, but I can't imagine getting a second room for young children.

We always get a suite when we go somewhere, because of the extra room and the privacy, but as I said before, we only need a crib, so far.

 

[swilshire]

Forgot to mention that our timeshare condos have at least two and sometimes three bathrooms. That makes a huge difference morning and night. At breakfast or dinner, some can eat while some bathe.

When the kids come in from the pool, it doesn't take them an hour to get a shower with multiple bathrooms. That's a biggie if they are freezing in the air conditioner.

Sheila