Help! New experience for me.. Disney family of 5

[petrymom]

Hello -

We are looking to have a familymoon at Disneyworld in February of 2015. When I previously traveled we were only a family of 4. Can any of you give me ideas as to how to CHEAPLY stay onsite with a family of 5??? Not sure if I should look for adjoining rooms or if I only have the suite option. Thanks!

 

[tndisney5]

We will be traveling to WDW as a family of 5 for the first time in a couple of weeks. I will say straight up, it is not the cheapest trip! We are staying at Art of Animation with the dining plan. We chose to go in Feb due to good weather and low crowds. It will be our youngest child's first visit and we wanted to stay in the cars suite AoA offers. However this trip is so pricey we may not be coming back for a while! I found adding the 5th person really bumped up everything.

My advice for a cheaper stay would be to go when there is free dining and/or room discounts. Your options at value resorts would be the family suites at Art of Animation and All Start Music (I think those are the only two). Other than that you'd have to bump up to suites/studios/villas at the moderate or deluxe resorts and it gets really pricey. I've heard some folks say adjoining rooms can be cheaper, but I've never done this so I can't be much help there.

If you don't care about table service meals then you could also save by just getting the quick service meal plan. If we do return again we might try this ourselves.

 

[melk]

Hello - We are looking to have a familymoon at Disneyworld in February of 2015. When I previously traveled we were only a family of 4. Can any of you give me ideas as to how to CHEAPLY stay onsite with a family of 5??? Not sure if I should look for adjoining rooms or if I only have the suite option. Thanks!

You could look into renting points from a DVC owner. There are some DVC resorts that sleep 5 comfortably in a one bedroom (some even have 2 bathrooms). You may pay a little more but you would have a full kitchen which we find saves tremendously on food.

 

[Gorechick]

Depending on the ages of your children, Port Orleans Riverside can accommodate a family of five in their Alligator Bayou section.

 

[Pumbaa_]

What's a familymoon?

 

[mrsp1030]

We are a family of 5 traveling at Thanksgiving and we rented points for a studio at VGF. This was by the far the cheapest route to go over deluxe hotels and only about $100 more than the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside. We have found that renting points even for a one bedroom at some resorts is cheaper than through Disney depending on if any discounts are available or not. I just wish AKL and WL could sleep 5, especially in the bunk bed rooms. I wish they made trundles like at DIsneys Grand Californian.

 

[petrymom]

We are getting married and instead of a honeymoon we are taking the whole family on a "familymoom"

 

[powellrj]

If you don't mind off-site, you might try someplace like Bonnet Creek for more room.

 

[petrymom]

Thank you all so very much for your help.... I will do more research on the DVC rentals. I have traveled multiple times but have never done the rental of points option.

 

[squirrel]

If you decide to get two value rooms request connecting rooms, not adjoining. Connecting means they will have an inside door that connects the two.

 

[B.B. Sots]

We stayed at POR with the trundle bed and that worked great. Plus POR is one of the best looking resorts and my children loved it.

Now we opt for a Cabin at FW. As it has a Kitchenette and can sleep up to 6, it has enough room and you can also cook meals (we always did breakfast) to save some cash. This is something I highly recommend for larger families.

 

[wiigirl]

If you don't mind off-site, you might try someplace like Bonnet Creek for more room.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I love the idea of the familymoon! Lots of good choices. My sisters family loves the cabins at FW. We have been out there when they stayed there and they are quite nice. There are lots of choices in the upper level rooms or depending on the ages of the kids, you like the connecting rooms in a mod or value. A bit more privacy and two baths!!!

 

[maxiesmom]

One room at POR is the cheapest on site option for a family of 5. After that is 2 value rooms and third is an All Star Family Suite. We have done all 3 and our favorite was the family suite.

Keep in mind that if you decide to do 2 rooms, you can request connecting rooms (rooms with the inside door between them) but they are not guaranteed.

 

[SEA333]

POR with free dining for 4 nights/5 days and 3-day tickets was $2100 for my family of 5 in November 2013.

It was me, DH, DS13, DD9, and DS7. We fit just fine. The kids loved the quiet pool right outside our building more than anything else there. The boat to DTD was great, and the food court and gift shop was very nice, too. The grounds were beautiful, and I hear the busses are good, although I cannot speak from experience since we rented a car. We did walk several times to and from the main pool back to our room (NOT a preferred location room by any means) and it was still only a (very pretty and peaceful) 7 minute walk.

 

[krd315]

We are a family of 5 with 3 adults and 2 kids (both girls). We are in the parks most of the day and evening with an afternoon break for 2-3 hrs to swim and freshen up as we usually go in the summer.

We have done POR and Allstar Music family suite (cheaper than Art of Animation). I think it depends on the ages and gender of the children. At either resort 2 of the kids would have to share a bed. Our thoughts on these two options and how they worked for us:

POR - 2 queen beds and fold down with one bathroom - 7 y/o slept very comfortable on the fold down bed and 5y/o shared a queen bed with her mom. space was tight but okay for a week. we just had to stay organized. The resort also has boat to DTD but it can be a lot of walking if you are not in a preferred location as it is a large resort. POR is our favorite resort and we love staying on property in the "Disney bubble" even if we have to sacrifice space to do so. It's not for everyone but it works for us.

AS Music - separate queen bedroom with a door, 2 bathrooms and small kitchenette. living room has fold out beds, a double, full twin and one a little smaller than a twin. We tried this resort for a longer trip for more space. my adult dd said the double bed was okay but not as comfortable as the beds at POR. The extra space and bathroom was nice. We never used the kitchenette as we were on the deluxe dining plan. the family suites are preferred location at no extra cost. The cost was only a little more than POR. (there is a thread about the AS family suites on the resorts board that has great pictures of the room and layout if you are interested)

Congrats and enjoy your "familymoon".

 

[ferrarimomof3]

We too are a family of 5. We are going in March and decided to stay at the Art of Animation family suite. POR was a cheaper option. However, we decided that the two bathrooms and little extra room and mini fridge would make a difference for us. It is our first time at Disney.