Help doing DW with 5 kids

[David 1980]

I need all the help I can get. I am staying at the Quality inn Maingate east and want to know if we made a good choice? I need to know how close I am to all attractions for the kids? How much is it for parking at the parks? I need all the help I can get with my first time visit. Thanks Dave

 

[kty1]

I'm not sure what you're paying per night but with 5 kids maybe you may want to look into renting a home if you would like the extra room. We have 3 kids & a hotel room is already cramped, we just decided to rent a 5 bedroom pool home for APX $ 800 for a week. Just a thought if you would like the extra space & the ability to cook some of your meals at the house to save some $$. Good luck!

 

[Freyja]

I second the villa idea. We have 4 kids and we love the spaciousness and luxury of having a private condo/villa. It´s always cheaper than stayin in a hotel too, so that definately is a bonus.

Parking at the parks is $10

 

[spiceycat]

here are some very mixed reviews on your hotel
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...y_Suites_Maingate_East-Kissimmee_Florida.html

even worst
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-reviews-3...d_reviews-i;_ylt=AvSYL1ls0ua_AOn2TdgY_KfiphQB

these are little better.
http://www.travelpost.com/hotels/Quality_Suites_Maingate_East/h29986

would you consider a timeshare - Cypress pointe has 3-bedroom - although it would be best to get a rental car/van
www.cypresspointe.net

here is a website with cp and other places
www.hotelkingdom.com

enough posters here have stayed at CP to get pretty good reviews of it.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

If you wanted to look for a home you can try
www.indiancreekflorida.com
www.orlandovillaowners.com
www.orlandovillas.com
www.onlinefloridavillas.com

You could have a home that may have some extra's like a Crock Pot to be able to have a meal cooking while your at the parks! It would also save some $$ to be able to fix some meals at home or Pack some food to take with you to the parks. Also some homes have strollers for the smaller kids that you can use!

 

[winniedapooh]

Hi Dave and welcome. We have 5 kids as well and even went so far as to bring a 6th, my son's friend, this past Christmas. I have stayed in a hotel-2 rooms, onsite at both DVC and 2 rooms, and offiste with my crew. I have to say what works best for us is renting an offsite house. Enough bathrooms to get everyone ready. Enough rooms to get them to sleep and stay asleep. A nice pool that you can swim in at night after a day with the cherubs. People have given you some good links here. I would like to add mousesavers.com for looking for a rental car. It is not difficult to park although it can be expensive, but the savings on meals offsite and the relaxation and space is well worth it to us. Good luck.

 

[kerry34]

Hey Dave,

Welcome to the boards. If you are unsure about your choice of hotel, check the reviews on TripAdvisor. I generally use them as a guide to hotels if I am not sure about a place. We also have five kids that we take to WDW. This year we are renting a house in Windsor Hills. There are a good amount of bedrooms, plus 4 bathrooms, a private pool/hot tub, playroom, and two family rooms. Cost wise it is very economical. The only thing we dont have is free breakfast, but that is not a big deal since my kids dont eat alot in the morning anyway. We are looking forward to having several bathrooms and room enough for everyone to get some space from each other when needed. Last year we stayed onsite and it was great, but for the price you cannot beat having a whole house to yourself. Most of the vacation rental communities are very close by to Disney so traveling back and forth would not take forever. Any other questions feel free to ask and I hope you have a great vacation with your kids.

 

[David 1980]

Thank you for your help and kind words.

 

[scanmom]

I second the vote to sty offsite! Last year we went thru www.hotelkingdom.com and stayed at Cypress Point. It is a beautiful resort with a great pool, and we had a full kitchen in addition to the 2 bedrooms/livingroom/screened balcony/2 bathrooms(one with a jacuzzi tub)/and our own washer and dryer!!! The condo was beautifully decorated and we were 10 minutes from Disney. It is usually pretty expensive, but thru hotelkingdom we pain $96.00/ nite!!! The 3 BR goes for about 140.00/ nite. They did ask if we wanted to do the timeshare tour, we just said no thanks and they never bothered us with it again. But if you decide to do the tour, they give you breakfast and some sort of incentive. I "think" they were offering about $100.00 in Disney Dollars last year, but since we passed, I am not sure. Have a great trip and don't be shy about posting more questions if you have any... we all love to talk Disney here!!!!