Families of five or more...

[maurihart]

This baffles me in a lot of ways. What are "big" families to do at disney? We booked POR for October for our family of five. Working the online booking is very hard when you have more than 4 in your family. What are the other options? What happens when DS5 gets too big for the Murphy bed? Are we just forced into getting two rooms? We go to other hotels all the time and have roll away bed options. Is this something WDW just doesn't do? And what deluxe resorts are suited for families of five? And what in the world do people with more than 3 kids do???

 

[dansdad]

There's the family suites, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom villas, and the Ft. Wilderness cabins. Some of the deluxes have 2 queens and a day bed.

 

[amytech]

I hear ya... I can tell you what this family of 6 (4 children) do...

We have stayed onsite once with all six of us and yes, we had to get two rooms. We stayed in All Star Music and the rate wasn't bad but what killed us was the FOOD! We did not go during free dining but went off season during March. We could not believe how much food cost us!!!

Now what we do is rent a house nearby for our 6 plus my mom. Way cheaper We miss the "full Disney experience" but since two of my kids really love their down time on vacations and need quiet, it works for us. We cook wonderful dinners at the house, take sandwiches into the parks and supplement with snacks in the parks which is a treat and eat the normal breakfasts we would at home. We love having a private pool so it really works for us. And we have saved a ton of money...

That said, this year we are staying at BC since DS2 is a CP and he has a lovely discount for us at hotels DH isn't big on Disney in August so it is me and the 4 kids so we can fit in a room for 5 and with the huge discount we can afford the BC for a few nights

Having a large family is what stopped us from staying onsite for so many years. We LOVE Disney and come most years. But it isn't set up for large families on our budget at this point. Renting off site has worked well for us...

 

[AliceIn]

I hear you, it's tough for a family of 5. Disney is actually pretty good, because there are decent options, albeit a bit more pricey. We stayed in the AoA suites last year and had a fantastic time. We loved the resort and felt the room was spacious and comfortable for us. This year we're trying out the Beach Club. They have rooms with two queens and a twin sized day bed. So do the Yacht Club, BWI, Poly, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian. The Wilderness Lodge has deluxe rooms that fit 6, but they are pricier due to being on the club level. The WL and AKL standard rooms only fit 4.

The moderates don't appeal to me much right now, but other families love them. The POR looks like a great resort, but with the ages of my kids I think we'd be too cramped. I think if you had 3 younger children it's a good choice. The Fort Wilderness cabins have more space, but I'm not an outdoorsy sort of person. I can see folks who love camping and nature would have a blast there. It looks beautiful.

I think all the Disney resorts provide a wonderful experience, no matter the level.

I've looked at other vacation possibilities (the Bahamas, Hawaii, Europe), and I've found the lack of room options to be a big problem. Either the maximum package is for 4 people, or you have to pay double the cost for that second room.

When the kids are older we'll consider two rooms, but right now with so few hotels guaranteeing connecting rooms we're staying away from that for now. The last thing I'd want is to have my husband and I have to split up with kids.

 

[JaimeA]

I have three kids, we started in the values when the youngest was under three. Then we stayed in POR. That was too tight so we started to stay in deluxes. As the kids grew those became tight so we bough DVC. Now we stay in a two bedroom villa.

I have heard that the cabins are great for a family with more than 2 kids but we never stayed there. You can also rent points from a member and stay in a villa for a good price.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[jtwibih]

That of course depends on your budget. I will tell you that we are renting points instead of booking straight through Disney. We have 6 adults and an infant. Instead of booking several rooms, we are renting a 2 BR villa that will fit everyone perfectly. What was nice was that with splitting the cost of the room, adding park hopper tickets for 7 days, and adding the dining plan, we come out just a bit more expensive than putting 4 in one room and 3 in another in a Moderate.

 

[2009CAN]

We are a family of five and one of our children is an infant so in theory we could still fit in one room but are choosing connecting rooms. One room is just too tight for us all to relax at the end of a long day.

 

[cheesemouse]

We have a family of 5 and it seems the options are as follows:

1) Deluxe resorts that sleep 5 (CR, Poly, GF, BC/YC, BW, AKL)
2) Deluxe villa 1BR (BLT or AKL and maybe one other???) either rent points or pay big $$$
3) Family suites (all star music or art of animation) while they are value resorts, still a little pricey
4) Cabins at FW
5) POR Alligator Bayou (but only if the 5th person is small!)
6) 2 rooms at any resort

Hope this helps!

 

[TeddiBarra]

You know when Disney redid their website they took away the link for the "families of 5 or more". I sure can't seem to find that page/link again.

But to answer your question- yes, I guess you do start looking elsewhere. There are many other options but they are pricier.

The least expensive suite options are ASMusic family suites. The AoA also (though perhaps better for those with younger kids).

The Villas are good options, don't overlook them. Old Key West you can do a 1 BR Villa that sleeps 5. Most of the deluxe rooms do sleep 5. Both Kidani and Jambo have 1 BR villas that sleep 5. Bay Lake Tower villas also sleep 5.

There's also the Cabins that sleep 6. These are not actually much more than two rooms at the values.

The Deluxes of course: Poly, Grand, Contemporary, Boardwalk, Beach, Yacht. (not regular rooms though at Wilderness or AKL)

Very pricey options are Beach and Boardwalk deluxe rooms (Boardwalk rooms sleep 6, two queens and a queen sofa bed, just stayed in one, very nice, like a mini suite)

 

[TeddiBarra]

The Fort Wilderness cabins have more space, but I'm not an outdoorsy sort of person. I can see folks who love camping and nature would have a blast there. It looks beautiful.

Believe it or not, I've never camped with my family and we stayed in the Cabins and we loved it. It really wasn't at all like camping. It was totally clean, and almost zero bugs (in Jan/Feb I couldn't vouch for non winter months).

 

[mousefan73]

The issue we are finding besides being possibly 5 next year, is not only the if 5 are allowed, but we really want two baths ( at least 2 toilets).

It would be DH, DD, DS and my mom. My mom is insisting on her own, private bathroom. Plus probably doesnt want my husband seeing her in her night gown and my DH also sleeps in his whities. so that is an issue.

It's just so expensive getting that extra room for one person. We normally stay at moderates, but AoA family suite is looking like a good thing at the moment.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

The PPs have provided great information on what is available. As a family of five, I actually feel there are many options easily available. I used to have a much harder time planning non-Disney vacations.

In the end of 2010, after 10 nights at the BC in one room, where the year before we fit just fine, we started doing the connecting rooms. One room/one bathroom just became too tight for the five of us as the boys got older (and BIG). We travel often for various reasons and have only once not had our connecting room request honored. This was a few months ago at a hockey tournament. The whole floor was filled with families we knew, so I wasn't concerned about the boys being next door.

For a few reasons we are doing a BC/Poly split stay this summer and will have two, hopefully, connecting rooms at each. Going forward though my disney plan is to rent points for a 2br villa.

 

[Aliceacc]

In what I'm pretty sure is increasing price:

1. That Murphy bed room at POR. Not an option for us, since my only son is way too tall.
2. Hopefully connecting rooms at a Value.
3. Family suite at ASMusic
4. AoA Suite
5. Cabins at Fort Wilderness
6. Deluxe room with a daybed.(Note: Standard rooms at WL and AKL do NOT have daybeds). The cheapest is usually a Garden Wing room at the Contemporary, followed by a standard room at BC, YC or BWI. Then comes the Poly, followed by the GF.
7. DVC. For many of them, you'll need a 2 bedroom.

Something else you may want to consider: a Deluxe Alcove room at the Dolphin, particularly if you qualify for the teacher, nurse or government employee discounts. That was my backup plan last year in the event that we didn't get a PIN or discount. http://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/deluxe_alcove.html

 

[thr33boys]

The issue we are finding besides being possibly 5 next year, is not only the if 5 are allowed, but we really want two baths ( at least 2 toilets).

It would be DH, DD, DS and my mom. My mom is insisting on her own, private bathroom. Plus probably doesnt want my husband seeing her in her night gown and my DH also sleeps in his whities. so that is an issue.

It's just so expensive getting that extra room for one person. We normally stay at moderates, but AoA family suite is looking like a good thing at the moment.

You should consider renting dvc points and staying at Kidani in a 2 bedroom villa. That way, you and your DH would have a room with your own private bathroom, your Mom would have a room with her own bathroom and the kids would have their own bathroom. Lots of privacy for everyone.

It is surprisingly an affordable option. We are renting a 1 bedroom as that fits our needs. It's costing us approx. $2400 for 9 nights. The same dates at AoA is $3252. You have to do your homework and make sure there is a trust with the owner, but it can be a fantastic way to vacation.

 

[Mollymum]

Re: POR murphy bed - stayed there last week for 5 days and my 14 year old daughter slept on the murphy bed! She is 5'4" and her feet were right at the end of the bed. Our family of 5 was fine there - we enjoyed it. Another year we did family suite at ASMu and that was a little more roomy, but more expensive than POR. Your 5 yr-old won't outgrow the murphy bed for a few years at least.

 

[Shea&Van]

We are a family of five and we LOVE renting a house off-site. Of course, in a perfect world, we could stay on site...but it's just not feasible for us.

This time, we are going to stay a short time at LM room (our youngest is only one) and then we are renting a house in Emerald Isle. We got four bedrooms, three bathrooms, private pool/hot tub for around $120 per night. Granted it is not on-site, we are willing to overlook that for space, comfort and privacy.

I know there are many people that are passionate about staying on WDW property and I totally get it, but for us, it's just not that important. We recently went to the beach for a getaway and all of us shared a nice hotel room with two Queen beds, kitchenette, and a pull out double sofa. Our baby is still in the pack-n-play. It was a very large sized hotel room (much bigger than the one I remember staying in at AllStar Sports in 2011). Anyway, we had a hard time getting the baby to sleep because she kept popping up to say "hi." Then, my son woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare and woke up my oldest daughter. Then, it took over an hour to get the kids BACK to sleep and when we woke up we were all groggy and cranky.

It just reaffirmed that renting a house is better for our family. If they each had their own room, I think it would have been much easier to go in console them and get them back to bed. I think they are much happy campers when they get a truly rested night's sleep.

If I had a larger budget, I would definitely look into renting points from a DVC member. We stayed at the WL one time in a one bedroom (before our third was born) and it was really nice. Would love to be able to rent a two-bedroom on-site for our family, but it is just out of our reach at this time.

Best of luck with your planning!!

 

[sbd78]

We are a family of 5. While Disney still would let us get away with one standard room since my youngest is in a crib, we thought we would be cramped and miserable, especially with 2 who still take naps! I would have loved to stay on site, but suite options were way out of our price range for summer travel. I think the family music suites were $360/night for our dates! AOA even more than that! We are trying out the Doubletree Suites in downtown Disney. We are getting a suite for much, much cheaper than Disney is charging. The hotel sits on Disney property, has its own bus service to the parks that runs every 30 minutes. (Probably not as good as the Disney buses, but still pretty darn good for being a non-Disney owned hotel.) And we will be walking distance to Downtown Disney which will be great. So kind of the best of both worlds. I'm hoping this works out and we enjoy this option. Yes, the hotel won't have Disney themeing, but I would rather have a suite than Disney themeing.

 

[uccats97]

We are a family of 6 who usually has to stay offsite. We did Saratoga Springs 2 bedroom once but it was $$$. We are staying at AoA in a Cars suite in a few weeks. It is a lot more $ than our usual offsite rooms but we wanted to give it a try for the experience. Some great options we have tried in the past are renting houses from VRBO, Double Tree Downtown Disney, Carribe Royale, and Hampton Suites Calypso Cay.
I will never understand why the majority of places consider families to be only 4 people. It's time to acknowledge larger families and not penalize us with high prices just because we have more than 2 kids!

 

[Dis703]

We are a family of 5 and traveled with my sister recently. It's definitely not only an issue at Disney. If anything we had more options there. But we lied and booked rooms on the way up and down as just 5 because we couldn't find hotels close to 95 that took 6. Disney at least doesn't count on of the infants/toddlers and that wasn't the case for regular hotels.

This trip the six of us stayed in a standard room at a deluxe resort. Next trip with the 5 of us we plan on POR. If as they get too big for the Murphy bed we can't afford the cabins or deluxe again we'll just have to stay off property as it isn't the end of the world to us. I just find it a lot ore convenient to do on site when the kids are small.

 

[iamadisneynut]

We have 5 kids, so we have stayed onsite in two rooms, but my kids actually prefer the room in an offsite house with our own pool and hot tub. We still usually eat out most nights for dinner, but even having breakfast and some lunches from groceries at the house saves us money.

We find it more stressful to be cramped in hotel rooms with our 5 kids than being offsite. So the savings in dollars is a bonus!

We have looked into renting points for a 2 bedrooms unit at AKV but having kids sleeping on the pullout in the living room didn't appeal as much as the space of the house either. Everyone does what works for them!