I need a lot of advice

[Poptakesthefamily]

I'm planning on taking the family to Disneyworld in early May. I want to stay for 7 nights and go to the parks for 6 days. I am torn between renting a house outside of the resorts or staying in the resorts. There will be 6 of us. Me, my wife, and 4 kids, ages 18,13,12, and 12. Help!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I would definitely stay on-site. You get to take advantage of EMH, DIsney transportation and now the Disney Magical Express transportation from the airport. You don't have to rent a car and get to spend extra hours in the parks. I think the convenience is so worth it. For a family of 6 you would have to get two value or moderate rooms or rent DVC points for a 2 bedroom suite. I think it's much cheaper to rent the two rooms (plus you get 2 bathrooms and 2 tvs). Oh I forgot you could also get a FW cabin for 6. Have fun.

 

[Poptakesthefamily]

I had cosidered renting two rooms in one of the resorthotels, but I was hoping to have some of the amenities that come with renting a house, and renting a house is MUCH cheaper. With a house, we would have plenty of room, laundry, pool. However, I also like the idea of being "on campus" to take advantage of the transportation and ease of coming and going. I am afraid that eating will be a lot more though if we are not able to stay in a house. I thought about the cabins but they are very small and only have 1 bathroom. It is a difficult decision.

 

[foxfire]

Stay onsite if you can...it really is more magical that way. You can take advantage of the EMH as a resort guest which is a great way to get more use of your park ticket. You could opt for 2 value resort rooms...go ahead & book them, then keep watching for a discount code to apply to the rate.

To save on food costs:
Many who stay on site eat breakfast in the room with food they bring from home to save money.

You can order a double hamburger w/fries at one of the counter service places in the parks, buy an extra bun for $1, then pile on the "fixings" at the bar to have a meal for two for the price of one. The fries are plenty to share.

An adult can also order a kids meal at the counter service areas...a possibility if someone is not a big eater.

You can keep sandwich makings in the room for a meal after coming back from the parks...another money saving plan.

I don't think you would regret staying onsite!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

If you go in the cabin you will have a kitchen. However with two moderates you'll get two small refrigerators. You can make sandwiches and you can easily keep breakfast foods in there (milk, fruit) and do the cereal, breakfast bars etc. Most adults meals can be easily split. You won't have to rent a car. Someone had the phone number for a grocery where you could order ahead of time and have it delivered to your hotel (very reasonably). I don't think you'll regret staying onsite. You will experience all the magic, and none of the hassle of driving from place to place. I think you'll be glad you stayed onsite even if it costs a little more. Especially with some older kids you can split up and not have to worry about transportation. It's also nice to be able to hop on a bus and go back to your hotel for a swim/nap/lunch break. I hear that you can see the fireworks from CBR at night and POR has a boat that goes over to Downtown DIsney. The pools have slides and are heated. All in all it's just plan fun to stay at a Disney hotel. Don't forget only DIsney resort guests can take advantage of EMH.

 

[the kabuki]

To save a food costs, I stopped at Walmart's and bought a large cooler (only $17.00)with wheels, breakfast foods along with snacks, drinks, plastic tableware.The cooler was much larger than renting a fridge, and cheaper.

We ate in the room-this not only saves $, but time as well, for brkfst. Saved a ton of money on drinks too. Only had to refill ice at night. At the end of the stay, we just left it. Figured someone working there could use a nice, new cooler.

Staying onsite will get you into the evening EMH hours which are really great. I think your teenagers will like the late hours rather than waking up early for EMH mornings.

This was the first time we rented a car, and it wasn't a hassle at all.There's signs everywhere. Matter of fact, it worked out better than using disney buses, and we were able to spend a couple of days at US. BTW, with your kids' ages, US would be awesome for them.

 

[MNSusan]

I'm trying to make the same decision, Pop. We have always stayed onsite and loved it. All the comments about EMH, onsite transportation, convenience and the magic are true.

This last trip, we stayed offsite with friends in their timeshare and that was great, too. We found that we opened and closed the parks and were ready to head out after the fireworks. We had our packages held at the front gate rather than send them to our resort. We kept the magic going by visiting Disney Downtown in the evenings. And we made sure we had PSs for a meal in each park.

We'd like to take our son's family later this year (kids will be 11,7,3) and a house offsite is the only way we'll be able to afford it.

I'm very torn, but I think the budget is going to win out over the magic...

Good luck.

 

[mrsgus06]

When I take my 5 kids (without the camper), I stay in the cabins. There is one loop that backs up to a camping loop which has a bathhouse with plenty of showers and toilets! I can't remember what loop number it is, but we will request it while there in Feb. That way, you have the sleeping and cooking arrangements, plus the bathhouse a short walk away! I could never afford to feed all of them in the parks! My kids prefer to shower in the bathhouse anyway due to unending hot water. You also don't have to worry about disturbing the neighbors. You can get the extra disney magic staying on site, plus if you have the funds to rent a golf cart for a couple of days, it is nice to plunder through the campgrounds.

PS: don't forget about the campfire sing a long, fireworks from the beach, trading posts, two pools and the water parade. Enjoy!

 

[mareed]

I definitely say to rent a house with your family! Magic is being able to eat a quick, easy, inexpensive breakfast at the house before heading out to the parks in time to be there at opening. It's also having separate bedrooms for everyone to sleep in and 3-4 bathrooms for a group your size. It's being able to easily do a load of laundry during your trip to be able to pack fewer clothes. It's having all these nice things at half-price or less of what it would cost to stay on-site!

I have stayed on-site (Dolphin & POR), and when I'm traveling with my children, I much prefer off-site in a house or condo. It is not magical at all for us to be sleeping in the same room, sharing a bathroom, and having to deal with the hassle of a food court for breakfast before hitting the parks bright & early. We do the parks from opening to closing, and take our mid-day break in the parks with a late character meal breakfast/brunch or a nice sit-down lunch. We also avoid the early-entry or EMH park each day.

If you rent a house in the area close to Animal Kingdom, there are several neighborhoods to choose from such as Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, etc. that are very nice and very convenient for driving to the parks. And you don't have to wait for a bus and then stand on it once it gets there! We much prefer driving our own vehicle to the parks!