Help!! Family of 5 at Animal Kingdom Lodge

[tcampb6960]

We have 3 kids ages 11, 8 & 3 and have reservations at Animal Kingdom Lodge in Standard room in March. They say you can only have 4 in room. We were just not going to say anything about 3rd child. Are we going to get arrested by Mickey Mouse and his posse? I am sure other people do this. How would they ever know?

 

[Sammie]

Unless you plan to leave the 3rd child in the room all day you are not going to have any choice. This child will need a room ID for early morning, extra magic hours and such. I would not advise it.

 

[douglisa]

That would be just wrong for them to make a stink about a three yr old! They better not! LOL Disney will not go broke letting a 3 yr old in. Just be honest w/ them and tell them that you will need a cot.
Lisa

 

[Lynne M]

That would be just wrong for them to make a stink about a three yr old! They better not! LOL Disney will not go broke letting a 3 yr old in. Just be honest w/ them and tell them that you will need a cot.
Lisa

If you're honest and tell them that there are 5 in your party, they will NOT book the room.

If you choose not to tell them, and sneak the three year old in, you won't be able to use morning or evening extra magic hours. Each person in your party gets a resort ID card, and if one of you doesn't have a card, they won't let them in to EMH.

Also, you won't be able to use Magical Express. Each person in your party gets a little voucher card, and without that card, you don't get on the bus.

Now, we've all heard of exceptions to the rule, and that some families have gotten into EMH without a card for little Junior, or that no one checked their vouchers before they boarded the bus. But, the odds are not with you on this one, and I sure wouldn't take the chance.

 

[Bouncing4Tigger]

It is just not Disney that is saying there can't be 4. Fire Laws also have a say in it. They are what govern how many people to a room. Due to fire hazzards and such.

 

[Aliceacc]

You CAN fit 5 in a standard room at:

POR
AS Music Family Suites
Contemporary
Poly

and most other Luxury resorts.

 

[Esmerelda]

Unfortunately for you, Disney does watch this sort of activitiy. I wouldn't think it would be worth being embarrassed about or having to move resorts/rooms?


just my 2 cents,
Esmerelda

 

[septbaby]

Make your room change quickly as your 45 day mark is fast approaching and you'll incur a fee to change past that date.

You'd have to upgrade to a suite to fit 5 at AKL. The other option would be to try to get on of the One Bedroom Villas at AKL (ie. DVC units).

 

[maxiesmom]

That would be just wrong for them to make a stink about a three yr old! They better not! LOL Disney will not go broke letting a 3 yr old in. Just be honest w/ them and tell them that you will need a cot.
Lisa

Disney will not give you a cot for this type of thing. Too many people would be doing this as a cost cutting measure, and the resort's services are simply not set up to cater to that number of people. Eveyone sneaks someone in, and the system will be overwhelmed. The busses would be a nightmare, the pools would be packed, and the restaurants swamped. Disney says 4 per room at the Animal Kingdom, and that is what they mean.

 

[tcampb6960]

Thanks to everybody that replied. I guess we will be cancelling our reservations at Animal Kingdom Lodge . Had a good rate also of $272 per night, peak season in March.

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

If your 3 yo was 2 when you made the reservation, you are OK. There are 4 in a room plus one under three at most resorts. Alot depends on when the trip was booked. You can verify this by calling Disney.

Also, if you did try to 'sneak" in the third child, which I wouldn't recommend - were you planning on not getting a park pass for him/her as well? All children 3+ need a park pass. Again, this too can depend on when the trip was booked. Just give Disney a call and be honest - it's always best.

Good Luck!

 

[madalex]

If your 3 yo was 2 when you made the reservation, you are OK. There are 4 in a room plus one under three at most resorts. Alot depends on when the trip was booked. You can verify this by calling Disney.

This is not correct; the date of booking is not relevant to the age of child issue. Disney does not count children under 3 against the room occupancy limits, but this is tied to the date of the trip and not the date the trip was booked. If your child is 2 years old when the trip starts, but turns 3 during the trip, Disney is not going to do anything. But, if the child is 2 when the trip is booked, but has turned 3 before the trip, that children will count againt the occupancy limits.

 

[livie1205]

Unless you plan to leave the 3rd child in the room all day you are not going to have any choice. This child will need a room ID for early morning, extra magic hours and such. I would not advise it.

sorry, i sent a pm to u and i ment to send it to the op, anyway...they dont follow you around but if the child was three when you made the resi it should be fine,but if you use the ddp you will be short one plan...maybe the cabins would work for you ,i think you can get deals on them through out the year...but whatever you do it is your choice but it is a touchy subject here but have a fun trip.

 

[disneyred]

You CAN fit 5 in a standard room at:

POR
AS Music Family Suites
Contemporary
Poly

and most other Luxury resorts.

wow.. i learn something new every day ! I thought the only MOD resort accepting 5 people per room was POR ... I did not know Contemporary did also ! thanks.

 

[heatherlynn444]

wow.. i learn something new every day ! I thought the only MOD resort accepting 5 people per room was POR ... I did not know Contemporary did also ! thanks.

..contemporary is not a mod, it is a deluxe

 

[douglisa]

I do not like dishonesty, so normally I would not suggest this....How bout just telling them the child is two and you made a mistake when making the reservation?

 

[Atchley]

That may run into complications for future Disney trips. They keep on record how old your kids are. They knew that my kids were going to be 10 and 8 during our next vacation. I don't know if I would risk having that messed up in the future. I'd go with POR or the contemporary. If it is a vacation in March, you may have to go with whomever has an opening.
Sorry about all your troubles.

 

[Deb & Bill]

That would be just wrong for them to make a stink about a three yr old! They better not! LOL Disney will not go broke letting a 3 yr old in. Just be honest w/ them and tell them that you will need a cot.

I do not like dishonesty, so normally I would not suggest this....How bout just telling them the child is two and you made a mistake when making the reservation?

Oh, give me a break. What parent doesn't know the age of their own child? Especially when it comes to saving or spending extra money. Sounds a bit dishonest to me.

The OP just needs to change resorts and suck it up.

 

[Princess Dot]

Only at Disney does it seem to be such a big deal about families of five. We are five and travel all the time with an airmattress for the 5th child no matter where we stay. No other hotels seem so "strict" about how many are in your party. I always just ask for 2 queens and leave it at that. We are a family with 3 young children, not 5 adults looking to save cash by cramming into one room meant for 4 for goodness sakes. We would never travel if we had to always get 2 rooms. Now when they get bigger I can see the situation changing but for now this is how it goes.

Yes yes I know that Disney had plenty of other options for families of 5, like most of the other deluxes, POR and the Value family suites. And I can understand that being such a popular destination that there is a great risk of people trying to stuff as many bodies as possible in a room. But I think for the most part you have families traveling and if you happen to have a third small child I do not see this as somehow "cheating" the system to use an airmattress at the Wl or AKL.

To the OP, I would keep your reservation and don't stress. Can you really imagine someone stopping your 3 year old to ask for a room key or ID?!

 

[Allison]

Of course, it is cheating. How could it not be? Disney clearly states the room occupancy and if they knew people were over the limit, they would not be allowed to book the room. If you are going to do it, it's your own business and I don't really care but at least be own up to the fact that you are cheating and move on from there.

OP-Have you considered Port Orleans Riverside? It's a very nice resort and will accomodate your family size. I also hear good things about the All Star Suites.

It's a bummer that AKL and Wilderness Lodge standard rooms don't accomodate 5 people. We would love to stay at Wilderness Lodge but would have to get a deluxe room to do so.

We got connecting room at POFQ on our last trip and that worked out nicely for us.