home away from home resorts

[999thghost]

im planning a trip in april of 2004 ,and i need the expert advice(that being you) of the best places to stay for families of 6 or more.i was thinking about the boardwalk but now that i realize im going during peak season , i see that the room rates are almost out of reach. if you have a favorite tell me what makes it so.you may be able to sway me into staying.....thanks all

 

[boston-yachter]

What about the Fort Wilderness Cabins....those are a big hit with kids....and still allow for a kitchen, table for six, and comfortable sleeping....the boat to MK is great...especially if you have small kids....

What about OKW....they're rooms are cheaper and larger...but it is a good distance away from each park...

If you have older kids...more of the MGM and EPCOT type...I would suggest the BWV or BCV....you can try renting points for that week....I'm guessing it's school vacation....usually renting points form a DVC member is cheaper....but there is a little risk in that....

 

[lizdotcom99]

We have rented points from a DVC member and it has turned out to be a wonderful experiance. We get a great villa for less than a moderate room. I would highly reccomend renting points. At first it is a little scary (there is a huge trust factor attached to this on both ends), but in the end it has been a wonderful experiance as we now are friends with our DVC "landlord" and can look forward to many more special vacations!

 

[franw]

You might call CRO and see what is left. As a DVC member I can tell you that I am on wait lists already for the time period I wanted six months out as it is a popular time. All the DVC members have first shot at the dates at the home away from home (except for the cabins) so it may save you some worry lines by just calling them and they will tell you what is left. I would say that for convenience anything along the Boardwalk area is premium. How about two moderate connecting rooms. The price would be lower for certain.

 

[JOC]

How many adults are in your group of six and how old are your children? The Ft. Wilderness cabins are nice, but the bedding configurations are a double bed and bunk beds in the bedroom and a pull out murphy bed in the living room. We didn't think the murphy bed in our cabin was very comfortable for sleeping, but I've read reports from others that they slept on them just fine. Also, there's only one bathroom in the cabins so it could be hard to get ready in the mornings with six people (although you could always go to one of the comfort stations and use the facilities if you're near one). I would look into a 2BR at OKW as they're very spacious, or maybe two connecting rooms at a moderate as franw suggested.

 

[999thghost]

adults in our group are 4 one teen-15 and an infant 2yrsold...i told you guys you were experts...great advice so far

 

[Halle]

I hate to be negative but.. we stayed at FW cabins once and after 2 hours were on the phone with CR to find a different resort. This was in 1986 and nothing was available so we stayed for a week but didn't enjoy it. We have 4 children who were 4,5,5, and 6 at the time. There really wasn't any privacy and DH and I slept on a Murphy Bed in the living room. I know many love it but we found the transportatin to be slow and we were very far from the pool. I'm sure many things have changed since 1986 but it was a bit remote for us. Good luck!!

 

[Cruelladeville]

Next year Easter week is around April 11, so you will not find a vacancy for your family at BWV, BCV, OKW, or VWL. Your only option is the cabins, which I think are terrific. They are new in the last couple of years, although it is true that you sleep on a murphy bed in the living room. If you want privacy, then your only option is to change the time of your vacation, since members get first priority at the Villas resorts. You could rent points from members, but, again, this time frame is a prime vacation time, so it would take many more points, and therefore, cost much more money. A week around Easter could cost 350 pts X $10 = $3500 for a one bedroom, a two bedroom at that time, which accommodates more than 4, would cost almost twice as much. These accommodations are much more reasonable at other times of the year than at Easter and Christmas, so you might want to consider them then. As a matter of fact, you could pay only $1500 or so if you changed the time of year in which you wish to vacation.