Family of 5 Staying Onsite

[joolz1910]

Ok, I've been weighing up my options. I definitely don't want all 5 of us in 1 room, so these seem to be the choices:

OKW 2 bed
SSR 2 bed
AKV 2 bed - too expensive as no offers on this.
All Star Music Suite
Art of Animation Suite
Fort Wilderness Cabins
or 2 standard rooms at Pop, POR etc.

We are a family of 5 (no infants) and ideally I want:

Food £1500
Tickets approx 1500
Accommodation for 2 weeks £2000

or

Free ddp
Tickets
Accommodation
total of no more than £5000

Can it be done?

Would I be better off looking to rent points? I saw that OKW and AKV 1 beds will sleep 5 if you are renting - this would (according to my calculations) cost me about £2500.

Any advice or experience would be really appreciated.

 

[dixonsontour]

What tempted us onsite was the free DDP. It makes it as cheap as offsite factoring food/parking and car hire.

Your dates for Oct this year would come it at £4738 with disney uk inc free dining plan and tickets, staying in a 2 bed at OKW. You wouldn't need to hire a car and no other spending required other than tips.

Offsite eg a 2 bed condo at floridays same dates is £1478, £1100 tickets, say £2000 food, theme park parking £140, car hire £350 - say approx £5000.

For us we hire a car no matter so take that out of the equation.

This year I got accomodation offsite at a great price and even factoring in parking it was nearly £500 cheaper than onsite.

Staying onsite is fantastic and we had a magical first proper disney holiday onsite. DDP is like being all inclusive - you can book all the pricey character meals and if the kids want an ice cream get them one without looking at the price.

 

[dixonsontour]

I'd wait until the free ddp disney offers for 2012 come out that do a comparison and see.

The free ddp/ 42% off okw/ssr deal has been around for a few years and is a great deal imo.

 

[Dimplenose]

On our last trip we had 2 interconnecting rooms at ASMu. It worked well for us (2 adults and 2 teenagers) but was cheaper than having a family suite.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

I'd wait until the free ddp disney offer 2012 come out that do a comparison and see.

The free ddp/ 42% off okw/ssr deal has been around for a few years and is a great deal imo.

Hi where do these offers get posted? Is it on the official WDW website? Am i right in thinking that they never offer free DDP for stays over Christmas?

Claire

 

[joolz1910]

I am concerned that OKW with the free DDP etc will be over £5000 for 2012. I'm just not sure that it is worth it.

I keep doing basic maths:

'Free' DDP worth £1700
Tickets approx £1200
Accommodation £2100 (minus £500 approx for transport costs) so £1600 for 2 weeks in a 2 bed.

Actually, that is pretty good.

I still wish I could have all 5 of us in a 1 bed though.

 

[joolz1910]

Hi where do these offers get posted? Is it on the official WDW website? Am i right in thinking that they never offer free DDP for stays over Christmas?

Claire

The offers usually end mid November. I think they start in mid August. The offers are on the Disney website.

 

[crabbie1]

I'd wait until the free ddp disney offer 2012 come out that do a comparison and see.

The free ddp/ 42% off okw/ssr deal has been around for a few years and is a great deal imo.

I agree Juliette.The time you are going the free DDP should be out and with 5 of you it will be a big benefit. What ages are your children? My DD was 8 when we went last sept/oct and was at the age when she wanted what we had.The childrens menu is very limited so this year we have paid for an adult ticket which cost an extra £20 roughly so DD although will only be 9 will get the adult plan. We have rented points.Looking at dates 15 oct to 30th oct(as I dont know your exact dates) animal kingdom 2 bed would be 495 points x £6.50 approx per point would be around £3200 plus you would have to pay for the DDP. If you had a one bed at OKW this sleeps five and would save you money. This would be around £2450. If it costs the same through disney with the free DDP then thats the best option.With DVC fri and sat nights are more nearly double points.Pros and cons. Bonnet creek is very nice apparently and there is a whole thread on the resorts page.Gorgeous condos. Approx $120 a night for a two bedroom. This is located next to Carribean Beach Resort in the world gates. Depends how much disney feel you want .

 

[joolz1910]

I agree Juliette.The time you are going the free DDP should be out and with 5 of you it will be a big benefit. What ages are your children? My DD was 8 when we went last sept/oct and was at the age when she wanted what we had.The childrens menu is very limited so this year we have paid for an adult ticket which cost an extra £20 roughly so DD although will only be 9 will get the adult plan. We have rented points.Looking at dates 15 oct to 30th oct(as I dont know your exact dates) animal kingdom 2 bed would be 495 points x £6.50 approx per point would be around £3200 plus you would have to pay for the DDP. If you had a one bed at OKW this sleeps five and would save you money. This would be around £2450. If it costs the same through disney with the free DDP then thats the best option.With DVC fri and sat nights are more nearly double points.Pros and cons. Bonnet creek is very nice apparently and there is a whole thread on the resorts page.Gorgeous condos. Approx $120 a night for a two bedroom. This is located next to Carribean Beach Resort in the world gates. Depends how much disney feel you want .

Our dates are 29th Oct - 12th Nov. The kids will be 12, 8 and 5. If I could get the 1 bed at AKV or OKW, it would be so much cheaper - but the only way to do it would be to rent points. I know nothing about this lol. I will have to wait until Disney release their deals to see how the prices compare. We could definitely cope in a 1 bed and I really like the look of both OKW and AKV. I want the whole Disney experience.

 

[crabbie1]

Hi where do these offers get posted? Is it on the official WDW website? Am i right in thinking that they never offer free DDP for stays over Christmas?

Claire

Claire they havent for a couple of years on the uk site but have on the US site.We had it when we went december the 8th 2008. Trouble is they may extend the november date but probably wont till they need to promote sales and considering the reports of brits not going to the US so much lets hope they do this year and next. I would have gone later this year but wanted the free DDP as DM coming with us.Food provided on the cruise so only the last 5 days to buy food for and may add DDP onto DVC for some of the days.

 

[dixonsontour]

My understanding is if you rent points to be eligible to stay in a 1 bed (as a dvc booking) then you have to pay for DDP which would cost more than staying in a 2 bed at okw with free ddp.

I know you want to get sorted but from all the posts I have seen from you I very much get the vibe you would be happiest on disney with the ddp.

If the usual okw/ssr offer is out for 2012 I bet you will work out similar to staying offsite if you are not bothered about a car.

Not sure when the offers are usually out - someone on here will post it!

 

[crabbie1]

One bed OKW dvc approx £2450+1680 ddp + tickest would be more than booking direct.At AKLV it would be cheaper doing DVC as only £180 diff in dvc price for accomodation. You need to have a look at the resorts Joolz and see what you prefer and what your budget is. Like I said ddp doesnt have to be for the whole stay with DVC which is useful if doing other off site parks. Also the DDP does have to be paid on booking DVC now whereas before it could be paid for when you check in.
As dixon said wait till disneys offers come out but if you decide on AKLV i would seriously consider DVC

 

[paulh]

. Like I said ddp doesnt have to be for the whole stay with DVC which is useful if doing other off site parks. Also the DDP does have to be paid on booking DVC now whereas before it could be paid for when you check in.

would have to split reservation to do it over fewer nights than the length of the stay, a plus with getting it with dvc is you don't have to buy any park tickets to get it
Paul

 

[crabbie1]

would have to split reservation to do it over fewer nights than the length of the stay, a plus with getting it with dvc is you don't have to buy any park tickets to get it
Paul

Iv been reading about it paul and I think its a bit of a pain to do it on a daily basis as each day is a seperate booking. I did read that someone had booked the accomodation then rang back to add the DDP for 3 nights. The cm had to cancel the booking and put back in(so I understand) I suppose there is a risk of loosing the booking if someone clicks on the night being rebooked. I think I prefer the old way of paying when you arrive for the ddp.It has its good side in that you can still stay on site ,visit off site ,eat off site and not loose loads of cs or ts meals. We lost a few last time because we were at other parks. Just my opinion

 

[burt]

Unless things have changed recently i dont think you can have 5 in a one bed at okw, you have to go for the 2 bed which is what we are doing this year, it makes it a fair bit more expensive

 

[crabbie1]

would have to split reservation to do it over fewer nights than the length of the stay, a plus with getting it with dvc is you don't have to buy any park tickets to get it
Paul

Unless things have changed recently i dont think you can have 5 in a one bed at okw, you have to go for the 2 bed which is what we are doing this year, it makes it a fair bit more expensive

I think you can mart with DVC but not through disney or TA

 

[paulh]

not that i am saying to do it but have seen some American families cram a room,book 4 and have more in it,seen done at the values
I know i`am all for saving money wouldn't do it myself
Paul

 

[fairytale]

We are a family of 6, so share a similar situation.

We stayed in one of the cabins at Fort Wilderness in 2008 prior to free DDP. We absolutely loved the campground the whole ambience and feel of the place was something else, however, the cabins are not the most spacious lets say, and have a serious lack of storage

For the next year we took up on the free DDP @ SSR in a 2 bedroomed Villa. Villa was beautiful, but imo the resort lacked the "feel" as such of FWC. However, the 2 bed villas are HUGE and have more than enough room for a family of 6. Whilst there during our last visit we asked if we could reserve a 1 bed villa as we felt we could easily manage in a one bed rather than 2. We were told by Guest Relations that even though we felt we could fit in a one bed, Disney's policys would not allow us to rent a smaller villa

Upon our return I enquired the same with DisneyUK. They advised that you can only qualify for the DDP if you allocate the whole of your family to the reservation, ie 6 people, 2 bed villa and purchase park tickets aswell for the whole party. Hence we have again booked for SSR this coming October through DisneyUK

As a previous poster has mentioned, if renting points you will not be able to qualify for Free DDP and will get twice weekly maid service rather than every day. Good Luck

 

[Disneymadhouse]

Claire they havent for a couple of years on the uk site but have on the US site.We had it when we went december the 8th 2008. Trouble is they may extend the november date but probably wont till they need to promote sales and considering the reports of brits not going to the US so much lets hope they do this year and next. I would have gone later this year but wanted the free DDP as DM coming with us.Food provided on the cruise so only the last 5 days to buy food for and may add DDP onto DVC for some of the days.

Hi, I tried to check the resort prices on the US site, but it just wanted to direct me to the UK site! Any ideas please!

Thankyou

Claire

 

[joolz1910]

Thanks everyone.

I'm definitely going to wait and see what Disney offer re OKW and free DDP, as Dixonsontour is right - that is what I would really like. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing another option.

Burt, with renting DVC, you can have 5 in a 1 bed at AKV and OKW, but not through direct bookings - forcing families like ours to pay a massive premium for 1 extra (unneeded) bedroom. A good deal though if you have an even larger family. Still feels a bit unfair though.

Am I right in thinking that renting DVC means that you have to pay for DDP for some of your stay? I'm a bit confused.