Getting discouraged at finding hotel for family of 7...

[5starmom]

I've found a few very nice hotels/suites that are off-site a bit to fit our family, but if we can stay in a Disney hotel or resort we'd prefer that!

Can anyone share any good, economical (but not necessarily tighwad...LOL) solutions for a place to stay? We don't want to rent a home, timeshare, condo or camping place to help narrow down the responses.

Thanks! I'm getting such great information here and am beginning to BUST with excitement over our future trip! Heehee!!!

 

[Stimpy]

How old are your kids? You might consider getting 2 connecting rooms at the All Stars or the Moderate resorts. They can't guarantee connecting rooms but if you request it and explain why, they will do their best to accomadate you.

Also, you might try one of the Home Away from Home resorts. We're DVC members and love the 1 and 2 BR villas they offer. You don't have to own DVC to stay there. You can pay cash or rent points from a member. Look into the DVC board here for help on that.

 

[5starmom]

How old are your kids?

My kids will be 4, 6, 8, 10 and 11 when we are able to go!

 

[toystorymom]

I was also going to suggest 2 connecting rooms at the All Stars. I think with children they will guarantee the connecting rooms. The kids would love the themes at these hotels and you would have 2 bathrooms. Best of all, you would be at a Disney hotel and it wouldn't break the bank. Good luck and have fun with the plannning!

 

[swilshire]

You want what you want and I respect that, but our family of six stays happily every year in timeshares. Some of them are nearly as close as the on-site properties at FAR less cost.

Sheila

 

[jkovick]

I think your only real solution if you want to be on property and economical, is two connecting Value rooms,which has already been sugguested. Hope you have a nice trip.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Can anyone share any good, economical (but not necessarily tighwad...LOL) solutions for a place to stay? We don't want to rent a home, timeshare, condo or camping place to help narrow down the responses.

May I ask why you would prefer a hotel to a condo for a family that size? We got a 2 bdrm full condo (kitchen, washer/dryer, etc) for 72.00 a night through http://www.hotelkingdom.com which seems to be awhole lot nicer than a hotel room. I think your only other choice would be renting 2 room and hopefully get connecting ones.

I should clarify, I mean an offsite hotel vrs an offsite condo.

 

[rgribik]

We have 5 kids (2, 2, 7,10 & 12) and always stay on site. We get connecting rooms at pop or port (those are our favs). They have always given me a connecting room because of the kids. I understand your wish to stay on site, we just have a thing for staying in Disney. I have heard that the cabins at Fort Wilderness are really nice and can fit a bigger family. We checked the price on family suites on site, and it is still cheaper to go with 2 rooms at a value. We are going in April, and have connecting rooms at Pop. I can put the kids in one room to sleep, nap, watch tv, and we still have the other room. We don't stay in the room much, so a home like atmosphere is not important to us.

 

[5starmom]

May I ask why you would prefer a hotel to a condo for a family that size? We got a 2 bdrm full condo (kitchen, washer/dryer, etc) for 72.00 a night through http://www.hotelkingdom.com which seems to be awhole lot nicer than a hotel room. I think your only other choice would be renting 2 room and hopefully get connecting ones.

I should clarify, I mean an offsite hotel vrs an offsite condo.

Really only because I'm not familiar with any of the condo rental properties and it makes me a bit nervous to try something new when this may be our only BIG vacation while our kids are still young! LOL I'm not fond of doing a ton of our own cooking in the room, either, so the need for a fully applianced room(s) isn't big for us.

I'll do some more research...right now it looks like the 2 BR villas at Caribe Royale are a good choice, but the site you linked looks great. I'll keep looking!

 

[momof2inPA]

Really only because I'm not familiar with any of the condo rental properties and it makes me a bit nervous to try something new when this may be our only BIG vacation while our kids are still young! LOL I'm not fond of doing a ton of our own cooking in the room, either, so the need for a fully applianced room(s) isn't big for us.

I'll do some more research...right now it looks like the 2 BR villas at Caribe Royale are a good choice, but the site you linked looks great. I'll keep looking!

The 2 bedrooms at Caribe Royale are nice, but no different than renting a two bedroom at Vistana Villages or Hilton Grand Vacation Club or one of the Marriott properties. If you book them through the hotel websites, they're treated just like a regular room reservation, with daily maid service. If you want a guaranteed nice property, stick to the names you know. The Hilton property on International Drive is brand new and right by the Caribe, so if the prices are about the same, I would choose either.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Really only because I'm not familiar with any of the condo rental properties and it makes me a bit nervous to try something new when this may be our only BIG vacation while our kids are still young! LOL I'm not fond of doing a ton of our own cooking in the room, either, so the need for a fully applianced room(s) isn't big for us.

I'll do some more research...right now it looks like the 2 BR villas at Caribe Royale are a good choice, but the site you linked looks great. I'll keep looking!

Ahhhh, ok. Sorry, I was curious. Yep, if you go through a hotel site, its no different than booking a hotel room. I don't cook either, lol. But its sure nice to have a full fridge and a toaster and a table to sit at for quick get aways in the morning and a balcony for morning coffee. Not to mention separate bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 TV's, etc. We booked Cypress Pointe, they have 3 bdrms as well.. If your interested in suites, etc...check out the Orlando Hotels and area part of the Disboards.

 

[JJsmama]

I'd do Fort Wilderness Cabins. It's not really camping and the kids have a place to run around just outside the door. It's convenient to Magic Kingdom and you could do some cooking or sandwich fixings / milk and cereal in the fridge, etc.

 

[Papillon]

Yeah, the cabins are great, BUT they only sleep six. Two bunk beds, one queen murphy in the living room, and one queen in the same room as the bunks. The condos at Boardwalk Inn, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Wilderness Lodge can accomodate up to 8, but have only two bathrooms. BTW, the cabins have one full bathroom.

 

[5starmom]

You all have been so helpful! I'll be doing some more research and take all of your input into consideration. I really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[lrjc]

Hi, I just wanted to tell you about Tropical Palms FunResort on 192, between Disney and Kissimmee, about 3 miles from Disney. We stayed there last June, for $79.00 night. It has 2 bedrooms, a loft with a bed, and a fold out couch, sleeping 8 people. It has 1 bathroom, full kitchen, and living/dining room area, and large deck with picknick table and 4 chairs. The foilage was lush, very clean and pretty inside and out. you can check it out on the web, just type in the name. Good luck. p.s. the kids loved the loft bedroom, it was their hangout!

 

[TNKBELL]

Hi I saw your post and have been considering Tropical Palms and looked at the website but they have no interior room photos, could you tell me how they compare to the WDW resort rooms? I would appreciate any info you could give me! Thank you!!

 

[the kabuki]

We did connecting rooms at POP couple of weeks ago, and was told by CM that if the connecting rooms include children and their parents, they will guarantee connecting rooms.

 

[FLORIDAFUNFAMILY]

you might look into renting dvc points to stay at one of the dvc resorts,
they have a listing on the boards and the accomodations are onsite, very nice,
and they have larger units that can accomodate larger parties. you just can't put a pricetag on what it is worth to stay onsite

 

[grlpwrd]

We 're expecting our 5th child this summer and that's why we have decided to become DVC members. I want to stay onsite and have enough room.

 

[goofy4tink]

Unless you are planning on cooking I would go with connecting rooms at one of the value resorts. You just can't beat staying on-site!!! If you will have a car and want to save a little money by cooking then I would go with one of the off-site spots. Or rent those points from a dvc owner. The two bedroom units are wonderful. And the in room washer/dryer don't hurt either.

All the resorts have laundry rooms. So you can do some laundry if you need to. I just love being on-site at all times.