Looking to try and do this for around 4-5 thousand if possible. Maybe cheaper lol.. I want a nice place for my kids to play.
We found a 2 bdr villa to be a good deal for us as we would have needed two standard rooms otherwise. After doing the math, there wasn't a huge difference between the villa and 2 standards. I think it was about 100/night difference, but the trade off for what we were getting for that extra money was huge going from 2 value rooms to a 2 bdr / 2 bath / full kitchen / living room / washer / dryer in a deluxe resort. Also, we knew with a large family the money we'd save by having a kitchen and cooking would make up that difference. You might want to look into that as I notice you have a larger family as well. Not sure if it would be a good value for you though over a holiday, we were looking at off season prices. It doesn't hurt to check. It may be way too high, not sure.
If you aren't set on staying on property, you're best bet is honestly to rent a house. You can get some really nice deals for less than $2,000/week tax included with pools and game rooms. You can also get some very nice multi room condos and villas in nearby resorts for $1000/week or less. Try searching vrbo.
If you are set on staying on property your least expensive option will be the value resorts: Allstars (sports, music, and movie themed), Pop (decade theming) and Art of Animation (Little Mermaid, Nemo, Cars, & Lion King themed). Allstars is the oldest and cheapest, then Pop is next, with AoA being the newest and most expensive. AoA also offers family suites, but booking 2 rooms costs less and provides you with more space, so I've never really seen the point. The suites don't offer full kitchens and only come with one real bed. You have to convert the couch and table into the other two beds. This just always seemed like a pain to me. Who wants to be making and unmaking beds all vacation every time you want to switch between using the living/ kitchen room space from sitting / eating / working/ playing to sleeping or taking a nap. The only non suites at AoA are the LM rooms. All the other value resorts offer standard rooms only. All the values are pretty much just immaculately themed motels with food courts, a few scheduled kids activities, and nice pools without slides. The rooms all open to the outside not to a central hallway. The resorts do look and feel magical due to the over the top theming, making them a favorite of kids. However, besides the aesthetics, they don't really offer you all that much amenity wise. As far as transportation, you have to take the buses.
The nicest accommodations for your money will be at the Swan or Dolphin as they are on the same level as Disney Deluxe hotels but at Disney value or moderate hotel prices. Pricing varies throughout the year and depends on what special discounts are offered at the time. However, military and teacher discounts are always offered. The downside to these hotels is that they aren't Disney themed, so they don't seem as magical, and since they aren't official Disney hotels, there are a few perks you don't get. However, they do offer the most important ones like extra magic hours, free Disney transportation, and FP+ reservations at 60 days out. They even offer onsite character dining. They are both located on Disney property in the Epcot area, so they share Disney transportation. You can take buses to MK and AK, and boats to HS and Epcot, or you could technically walk to Epcot, but it would be quite the walk.
Really any choice you make will provide a nice place for your kids to play. You need to look at each hotel online, at the theming, at what it offers. Which are your kids favorite characters, hobbies, interests? What are priorities for your family, Disney transportation, closeness to a certain park, child care programs, pools with slides, having a food court, etc.? Once you know these answers, you will be able to narrow your search down. You can pretty much get the military discount everywhere, you just need to decide which resort you like the best.
