First Trip to Disney....HELP

[katieloubear]

I am so confused, we are a family of 5 and I am planning our first ever Disney trip. Dh is the only one to have ever been but he was 5 so he doesn't recall much at all....lol My girls will be 12, almost 10 and my son will be a few months from 8. With this being said, where should we stay? I really want this to be an awesome trip, we aren't planning on going until Sept 2009, we will most likely spend 10 days. Any input would be wonderful. I have looked into the Contemporary or the Poly...I think Chef Mickey's is making me lean more toward the contemporary.

 

[joenan88]

HI~ I stayed in November at The Poly in two rooms concierge, we took the kids (mine are 9, 7 and 6) to The Grand Floridian for dinner and they liked it but didn't jump up and down when I said we should consider staying there next time..their choice was the Contemporary and we didn't even go there...we just went through it on the monorail..the kids love that! I am going back in Aug but we are staying at The Grand Floridian..ONLY because we did the Poly and The contemporary is sold out one of the nights over our stay..also it has contruction going on still...but should be over when you go. It's a great choice..the kiddies will love it! also I had many friends that stayed at The Wilderness Lodge and they loved that also! That has ferry service to The Magic Kingdom! Have a good time!

 

[katieloubear]

See I have also thought about the wilderness lodge, I love the "look" it has

 

[maxtomsmom]

Since you are a family of 5 look into which resorts and rooms you can book. Then you can narrow your choices based on your budget. Once you know where you want to stay, you can reserve the room a year in advance. If deals come up you can always apply them later (AAA discounts, annual passholders). We've used the annual passholder discount and have saved a bundle on the hotel. Only DH was the passholder. We also got the DDE and saved on our meals.

Once you know where and when you are going, you can start researching. I believe you said you were going in Sept. so you can look into MNSSHP, which is a lot of fun. Be prepared to get tons of candy. You can also book ADR up to 180 days in advance. Use the DISboards and the website to get info. There are great books on Disney. We like the Unofficial Guide. I have also used Tour Guide Mike. Sept. is one of the best times to go crowd wise. We did Sept. in 2005 and the longest we waited was 25 minutes for Soarin. Sometimes we didn't have to get off a ride and were able to ride it again and again. Love that! The only thing is it is very hot in Sept. So you if you are pool people, you might want to check out which hotel pool strikes your fancy. You will be visiting the pool after a long hot day in the parks.

 

[katieloubear]

we love swimming...so the pool thing is something good to look into. I don't want to waste the money on the waterparks since the hotel will have a pool and I'd rather be in a park...As for the MNSSHP, I looked into a trip for last year, but things came up and we didn't get to go, so now dh's contract will be up in april of 09, if this goes well, then we will do disney in September. (even if it doesn't go well I am hoping that I have had enough time to save and go anyway ) He works for AT&T and they are union. They may have to go out on strike..not good at all.

 

[Sinderelli]

I'd go with the Poly or WL. My DS8 really wants to stay at the Contemporary (the whole monorail thing appeals to the boy side of him). We stayed at the GF last year, and my kids liked it well enough. I would choose the Poly b/c of the volcano pool, and 'Ohana breakfast with Stitch, beautiful grounds, and monorail.

WL is a beautiful resort. It's all one building, so you don't have to walk the grounds to get to the main building. There is a boat to take you to the MK, so if you will be spending a lot of time there it is definitely a plus.

I'm hoping to stay at these 2 hotels one of these days.

 

[frdeb1999]

We love the Poly and our dd's do also. The pool is wonderful and they have quite a bit of activities my younger dd (11) loves to do in the lobby. The rooms are large enough for 5 comfortably. They have the water parade passing nightly and the fireworks, along with the monorail right there. For us the contemp. is just too busy. The rooms look wonderful though.. Good luck planning!

 

[Dis#1Fans]

My family and I stayed at the WL in April, 2005 - it was gorgeous and worth every dime! The only complaint that I would have is that we got there and checked in and they gave us our room # but we went to the room to check it out we found out that it was someone else's room! We walked in with our own card key to discover someone else's belongings. It was all eventually ironed out 4 hours later when we were given another room but besides that it was wonderful. I would say though if you are going for a more budget friendly choice, the moderates are beautiful and has everything that WL has in terms of the rooms. The moderates are spreadout but the gounds are so beautiful and our kids love that they have a variety of pools to swim in. If you want to escape the crowds of the "feature" pool you can go to your own pool that you share with a couple of buildings and usually meet it with peace and tranquility. I hope that your planning goes well and you can defiantely learn alot from the DIS. Also, highly recommend the DDPlan, we didn't do it our first year but have done it every year since. Have fun planning!

Currently planning our 4th trip to DW - Coronado Springs here we come...
Jennifer -DM Rob - DH Austin -DS
Abbigail - DD

 

[AnninIowa]

You'll find great advice from everything to rooms and food here on the Dis, but I'd also get at least on guidebook to help you. I personally like the Unofficial Guide.

 

[2TxAgs]

Hey Katieloubear....we're just a short drive down the road from y'all. We are also a family of 5. When the youngest was not quite 3 years old, we all
stayed at Carribbean Beach, but that's not possible now with them being
older. I do not believe you can stay at WL with 5 unless it is a very high
priced room.

Do not worry about whether or not it will be an awesome trip based on your room choice. Your kids will LOVE being there, whatever hotel you choose, as the Disney magic is all around you. This past trip, we split our time between connecting rooms at ASSports and a single room (with the trundle bed for the third child) in POR. Both reasonably priced, and something to
consider with a husband who may be on strike at the time.

Our kids are about your kids ages (13,12,9) and they loved both POR and ASSPorts. One thing to consider with younger ones is that they are typically hopping around on the adrenaline of Disney. The outdoor space of the All Star resorts gives kids a chance to run around and check things out. There are multiple pools and lots of fun things to climb on and check out.

Wherever you stay, it will be magical. Look at your budget and check out what your choices are based on there being 5 of you.

Enjoy!

TxAg

 

[lovesdumbo]

I would choose the Poly. I love the atmosphere-especially at night with the Tiki torches and the view of the castle changing colors all night long. Love the beach and the pool. The rooms are really nice too. The great thing about the Poly is that you can monorail or boat to the MK and walk to the Ticket & Transportation Center (TTC) to get the Epcot monorail.

The rooms at the CR are beautiful but they have virtually no storage-they do have the closet but they don't have any drawers-just in the bedside table. It was nice to be able to walk to MK but I found the direct Epcot monorail at Poly more convenient.

At the WL your family of 5 would need a deluxe room so it would be just as expensive as Poly or CR and while you can boat to MK you have to bus to every other park.

AND....just to add to the confusion your kids would probably love the pool at Yacht Club or Beach Club. You can walk or boat to Epcot or MGM from those resorts.

 

[Deb & Bill]

See I have also thought about the wilderness lodge, I love the "look" it has

You'll need a deluxe room at WL for your family of five. But you can stay in a standard room at the Contemporary or the Polynesian (or GF, BC, YC or BWI for that matter). Contemporary is very nice, large rooms and while the pool isn't that fancy, it is nice and right on Bay Lake. Plus you are in a Monorail resort and easy walking distance to the MK.

 

[robemcdo]

5 people limits your options. We love the Boardwalk area. Walk to epcot, Walk to MGM. Your kids are older so you might want to split up from time to time. Their is always lots happening at the BW area. I'm not sure they can accomodate you however in anything reasonable. They might force you into a 2 bedroom suite, which would be a very exceptional way to stay for 10 days, but it is beyond my budget and most people I know.

If budget is an issue, the Allstar Movies has a family suite which sleeps 6. Two hotel rooms made into one. Two bathrooms (key for your teenagers), Double on one side for Mom and Dad, while family room in the other that has pullouts for 4 people. Brother stayed their with 4 kids and they loved it. Obviously it's not the Contemporary, but at $150 a night, it was within their reach. Chef Mickey's will feed you no matter where you stay.

 

[Disneys Billpayer]

I also travel with 5. I would consider splitting my stay between two resorts. 10 days is a long time. The best resorts for kids that age are the Poly and the AKL. The Poly has a great pool and is very convenient to get around to the other parks espeacially MK and Epcot. A lagoon view room is nice and you can see the water parade each night.
The AKL is a one of a kind experience especially if you get a savannah view room. There is nothing better than to have giraffes and other wild animals right outside your balcony feeding each morning and evening. The pool there is also fun, with its own waterslide. Fortunately you have some time to find what suits you best and plan accordingly.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...The AKL is a one of a kind experience especially if you get a savannah view room. There is nothing better than to have giraffes and other wild animals right outside your balcony feeding each morning and evening. The pool there is also fun, with its own waterslide. Fortunately you have some time to find what suits you best and plan accordingly.

But there are no AKL rooms that sleep five at the AKL (except for a few suites still left over) anymore since all the deluxe rooms were converted to DVC villas. You'd need a one bedroom (that will sleep five with the addition of the twin sized sleeper chair) or a two bedroom villa.

 

[Disney Fool]

Remember that the love bugs come out in mid-september. They are not harmful but they are a nuisance. Book early in the month.

 

[Stittsville]

we love swimming...so the pool thing is something good to look into. I don't want to waste the money on the waterparks since the hotel will have a pool and I'd rather be in a park

I wouldn't underestimate the water parks... they were my favourite part of our trip in May 2007. They aren't just pools, but a lot of great waterslides. I don't enjoy rollercoasters much, but loved the slides. I tried the Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach. It was scary looking down, but a smooth ride.

Incidentally, we are also a family of 5. Myself, DW, DD14, DD12, DD8. We stayed at the Poly, MK view and LOVED IT! Beautiful and convenient. The downside? We want to go again! We splurged on that trip, figuring we would not likely go again for a long, long time. Now we want to go, and stay at the Poly again. Anything else would just not be the same.

Ah well, maybe next year.