Help with staying off site

[RedAlfalfa]

I have always stayed on-site at Disney, but the weekend we are planning on going Disney is completly booked (other than a villa at Saratoga Springs & even split 4 ways it's way too much). Anyone have any recomendations for places to stay. I am doing the planning for 4 different families. (It's my Moms group so 4 Moms and our 6 kids....possibly a 5th Mom will go too w/ her 2 kids).
I read a little about renting houses which sounds like it could be fun (or a disaster since the oldest of the kids is 4 while the youngest is 15 months...could be nuts). But is it possible to just rent one for 2 nights? And would that end up costing more than a hotel where everyone gets their own room?
I guess at this point I am just looking for opinions on if the house idea would work cost wise, sanity wise & to see if anyone has even attempted something similiar.
Emily

PS- I have thrown the idea out there to the Moms who don't mind either way...they are flexible.

 

[Aly23]

I have always stayed on site as well, but this past Oct DH, DD2 and I stayed with another family at a villa about 5 minutes drive from the park and it worked out great. I always enjoyed the convenience of staying on site and was nervous, but it turned out so good that we've booked another house for our trip this November. I don't remember seeing any minimum night's stay restrictions, only that if you stayed less than a week there was an additional cleaning charge (don't remember how much). There were a lot of options as far as # of bedrooms/bathrooms, so I'm sure you could find one that fits your group.

 

[spiceycat]

the problem would be - the best deals are with individual owners - not management companies.

but if Disney is that crowded - why rent to you for a few days - when they can rent the whole week to someone else.

don't mean to be discouraging - so I would find a management company that your liked. - remember this will cost more than renting directly from the owner.

 

[RedAlfalfa]

Thanks, We did find a house for the 2 days but still think we are going to go insane. Right now it looks like 5 adults and 9 kids!!! The oldest will be 5 a month after we go and the youngest will be 16 months. What are we thinking!!!
Emily

 

[mericletwins]

Thanks, We did find a house for the 2 days but still think we are going to go insane. Right now it looks like 5 adults and 9 kids!!! The oldest will be 5 a month after we go and the youngest will be 16 months. What are we thinking!!!
Emily

With that many little kids I don't think I would stay anywhere but on-site. Is it possible to switch your weekend for a different one? I wonder why the weekend is so booked? Holiday weekend? If that is the case the parks will be very crowded and I would think would be very difficult with all those little kids. If you are renting a house I am guessing you will all have your own cars to go back and forth to the parks as needed?

 

[blessedby3]

Try www.vrbo.com for rentals. They are individuals no management companies and you can see the exact house you will be renting. We have rented through vrbo 3 times and have always had great luck. You can be in contact directly with the owner. Be warned, though, that a lot of home owners are in the UK. The house we looked into booking in 2005 was owned by a UK person and we actually had to call them once. Luckily they called me right back so it didnt cost an arm and a leg.

 

[RedAlfalfa]

With that many little kids I don't think I would stay anywhere but on-site. Is it possible to switch your weekend for a different one? I wonder why the weekend is so booked? Holiday weekend? If that is the case the parks will be very crowded and I would think would be very difficult with all those little kids. If you are renting a house I am guessing you will all have your own cars to go back and forth to the parks as needed?

I'm not that worried about the time at Disney. We are all pretty much Disney vets (I think 4 of us are season ticket holders) and we do alot of playgroup functions around here (zoos, Lion Country Safari, that kind of stuff) as a group. It's the idea of 9 kids running around 1 house overnight for 2 nights that's a little worriesome. I am picturing the kids all wound up running around not wanting to go to bed while all the adults are exhausted and ready to pass out. LOL I do think it will be lots of fun though...if we keep our sanity.
As for changing the weekend- we picked the one we did b/c it falls into Disney's "value" season and we didn't want it to be packed. The following weekend is peak time I believe. Moving it up isn't an option either.

 

[katiesmom2]

I'd love to know what week your trip is planned so I can avoid WDW! Sounds like a very busy week!

 

[RedAlfalfa]

I'd love to know what week your trip is planned so I can avoid WDW! Sounds like a very busy week!

We are going Feb 9-11 (only the 10th spent at the Magic Kingdom). It's techniclly still value season so we're hoping the crowds aren't too bad (when I called I was told there are alot of confrences in Feb too so I'm keeping my fingers crossed everyone will be at meetings all day). But w/ the hotels booked I am not counting on it either.