I'm trying to figure out different options...

[lucifie]

We're planning a January 2013 DWD trip and we're having a hard time figuring out where to stay. We're a family of 6 - 2 adults, DD(9) who has special needs, DD(7), DS(4) and DD(2). It seems like POR would be the best value for us, but from what I've seen of the rooms they look a little cramped. We're also considering ASMu, which I think is good because it has 2 bathrooms, but I've heard it can be noisy since the value resorts are where large groups of kids stay if they take school trips, etc. Is there a way to find out if large groups will be there when we plan on going? We would also consider getting adjoining standard rooms if it's cost-effective. Doing that would get us two bathrooms and it would ensure my husband and I have a little space of our own. I haven't been able to figure out a way to price 2 rooms at a time, though. Since we can't make January reservations yet, I'm going by mid-December prices to get an idea of how much this will cost, but since they haven't opened reservations, my Disney travel agent friend can't do much for me yet.

Any suggestions?

 

[Missytara]

Here is a link to the Disney website, where you can plug in all your info and it gives you every available option.

Like you said, you can use the same "season" as a barometer to get a feel for your options and budget.

http://guide.disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/vacation-package-guide/

I don't think there are large school groups at the resorts in late January. You miss the MLK holiday and I think they start more in February around the President's day holidays. I know a friend of mine went down that time period, since his daughter was in a competition down there and it was rather packed because it also coincided with Mardi Gras. I think you might be good for your time frame.

 

[minnie mum]

To see if there are large groups at the all stars, check out MousePlanet's WDW update (comes out every Monday). It has a list (near the bottom of the update) that lists major events happening each month. So things like Dance or Cheerleader events (and you KNOW that they WILL be at the All Stars). This is not an all inclusive list, of course, but it helps a bit.

 

[dworldlovers]

When you are pricing rooms, you might want to consider some of the villa rooms, such as Beach Club. You might find a larger room that your family could stay in together! Is your child in a wheelchair? ASMu is a great resort, but like most value rooms, they aren't very large. POR would have bigger rooms, but I think you still might be cramped. 2 rooms at ASMu would give you space, but would you be comfortable with some of your children next door? Planning Disney is almost as much fun as going, so enjoy!! You have plenty of time and many websites to explore!

 

[sharadoc]

YES, South American, mostly Brazilian, tour groups are there in January. The family suite is really awesome and definitely a perfect place to stay with that many little ones. You can put the baby in the bedroom with you and all three others can have their own bed to sleep in.

For the most part, your problems with large tour groups are in the food court and buses. Generally, they are out during the day and don't crowd the pool. They do hit the pool in the evening.

We stayed in a suite in January and asked for a room facing the parking lot. That eliminated a lot of the traffic noise from the big groups.

Take a look at late August prices to determine your cost. January and August are value season and the pricing is really close, if not the same, between the two.

 

[lucifie]

We stayed in a suite in January and asked for a room facing the parking lot. That eliminated a lot of the traffic noise from the big groups.

Just out of curiosity, why would facing the parking lot eliminate the noise? I would have guessed that would be worse.

Also, I should have mentioned earlier that DD(9) has special needs. If we stay in a resort that doesn't have elevators, we'll want a room on the first floor. She can do stairs, but she's slow on a good day and after being in the parks all day, I imagine getting her up stairs will be quite an ordeal. We are planning on getting her either an adaptive stroller or a wheelchair for the trip. On an ordinary day she doesn't need it, but this will be far from ordinary.

 

[minnie mum]

Just out of curiosity, why would facing the parking lot eliminate the noise? I would have guessed that would be worse.

Also, I should have mentioned earlier that DD(9) has special needs. If we stay in a resort that doesn't have elevators, we'll want a room on the first floor. She can do stairs, but she's slow on a good day and after being in the parks all day, I imagine getting her up stairs will be quite an ordeal. We are planning on getting her either an adaptive stroller or a wheelchair for the trip. On an ordinary day she doesn't need it, but this will be far from ordinary.

By facing the parking lot, you won't have all of the noise from the pool area, and from loud groups making their way to their rooms from other areas of the resorts. The view out of your room may not be the best, but I think they're quieter too.

If you need a first floor room for medical reasons, then specify this by calling and having it noted on your reservation. They will try very hard to do this for you.

 

[Missytara]

I have to agree. I normally book riverview/waterview at POR. This past year, the crew I took could only afford standard.

Other than Mousekeeping dropping off a van full of people each mornig as we were leaving the room, we did not see five people walk by all week. We were in the corner connecting rooms in Acadian House on the opposite side of the bus stop. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Honestly, I think most people in values and mods rely on ME and do not rent a car. The mods are more spread out, except POFQ, so you do not even realize the cars are there.

 

[lucifie]

By facing the parking lot, you won't have all of the noise from the pool area, and from loud groups making their way to their rooms from other areas of the resorts. The view out of your room may not be the best, but I think they're quieter too.

That makes sense. The idea of a nice parking lot view doesn't thrill me, but we won't be spending a lot of time in the room anyway. After working on my spreadsheet (yes, I created a spreadsheet), it seems like POR is the least expensive way to go for us, especially if we can get Free Dining. The pictures of the resort are lovely. It looks so quiet and peaceful and it might be a nice break for all the overstimulation of the parks. We just have to decide how badly we would want a second bathroom.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

We're planning a January 2013 DWD trip and we're having a hard time figuring out where to stay. We're a family of 6 - 2 adults, DD(9) who has special needs, DD(7), DS(4) and DD(2). It seems like POR would be the best value for us, but from what I've seen of the rooms they look a little cramped. We're also considering ASMu, which I think is good because it has 2 bathrooms, but I've heard it can be noisy since the value resorts are where large groups of kids stay if they take school trips, etc. Is there a way to find out if large groups will be there when we plan on going? We would also consider getting adjoining standard rooms if it's cost-effective. Doing that would get us two bathrooms and it would ensure my husband and I have a little space of our own. I haven't been able to figure out a way to price 2 rooms at a time, though. Since we can't make January reservations yet, I'm going by mid-December prices to get an idea of how much this will cost, but since they haven't opened reservations, my Disney travel agent friend can't do much for me yet.

Any suggestions?

The family suite at All Star Music has a separate bedroom for mom and dad and 3 different sleepers in the living room for the kids. I doubt if you had 2 rooms you would put mom and dad in one room and put all the kids in a room by themselves, so one parent would probably need to be in each different room.

With the family suite you get a kitchenette that makes having breakfast in your room a lot easier if you do that.

We stayed there and we were right by the main pool and lobby and the noise didn't come into our room at all. Now there weren't hundreds of screaming kids running around the resort either. Or if there were we didn't see it or hear it.

I would be more worried about large groups if I were staying at Pop Century. That's the resort I always see ppl complaining about hearing the large groups of kids.

We were in room 1414 which is the very first building closest to the lobby/food court but we were on the back side closest to the parking lot. You walk out the door and turn the corner and you were right at the pool. I would definitely stay there again.

If you stay in the family suites request the Calypso building. It is the closest to the main lobby and pool. Jazz buildings have family suites too but they are further down in the resort, the second building down.

I think it was $199-ish a night plus tax for the time we went. Which is about the same price as 2 separate value rooms.

I originally booked us at POR but couldn't stand the thought of shoving 5 ppl in a standard size hotel room. We had 5 bags of luggage and in a POR room there would be no place to even put our bags. At the family suite you have room in the bedroom and room in the living room to store bags.

 

[GoofTroop]

That makes sense. The idea of a nice parking lot view doesn't thrill me, but we won't be spending a lot of time in the room anyway. After working on my spreadsheet (yes, I created a spreadsheet), it seems like POR is the least expensive way to go for us, especially if we can get Free Dining. The pictures of the resort are lovely. It looks so quiet and peaceful and it might be a nice break for all the overstimulation of the parks. We just have to decide how badly we would want a second bathroom.

We're also a family of six, and until our youngest turned 3, we stayed at POR. It was a tight squeeze, but doable.

Since our youngest is no longer under age 3 (he's 6 now), all of our trips have been either at AMMu or Pop, with connecting rooms. It's actually cheaper to get connecting rooms than it is to have the suite.

Three of our four children are special needs. They are now 18, 14, 11, and 6....With our last trip just being 2 months ago.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE POR, and was sad when our family no longer fit in one room there, but I must also admit that having the second bathroom is wonderful. I don't know how we managed before with just one bathroom, but we did.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

We didn't see large groups when we stayed at the All Star Music Family Suite in 2010. We faced the parking lot and it was quiet. (December)

We stayed at the POP in April and the pool was a bit loud at night. There was one little girl shrieking. But the construction we encountered was VERY loud. We had some other issues that trip and will try our best to not go back to the POP.

The All Star Movie was quiet too. It was October and the pool was busier than December, but the noise wasn't bad at all. We had some grass outside of our room... so not really parking lot, I guess.

We loved the ASMusic FS and will be planning another trip to stay there.

 

[LilyWDW]

One thing to think about though when it comes to 2 rooms is that connecting (with a door) or adjoining (next to each other) is not guaranteed. It will only be a request and, while Disney does try to meet requests, it may not be met. If that would be an issue, then I would look into other options.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Will your youngest be 2 at the time of the trip? If so, you would be a family of 5 plus 1. If the youngest will be 3 by the time of the trip, then you would be a family of 6.

We are a family of 5 and have stayed in 2 connecting rooms. Disney doesn't guarantee connecting rooms, but my family has been lucky.

Also stayed at:

Cabin at FW - Bedroom has tv, double bed & set of bunks. Living area has tv, couch, and double murphy bed. Full kitchen, if you want to cook. Nice boat to/from MK.

BLT at CR - We stayed in a 2 bedroom and it was huge! The master bedroom has a king bed & master bath. The second bedroom has 2 queen beds and a full bath. The living area has a queen sleeper & a sleeper chair. Also a full bath & kitchen. The monorail is located in CR main building. We also enjoy the walk to/from MK.

For a Villa, you can book through Disney or rent points from a DVC owner.

Happy planning!

 

[GAGirlInVA]

We didn't see large groups when we stayed at the All Star Music Family Suite in 2010. We faced the parking lot and it was quiet. (December)

We stayed at the POP in April and the pool was a bit loud at night. There was one little girl shrieking. But the construction we encountered was VERY loud. We had some other issues that trip and will try our best to not go back to the POP.

The All Star Movie was quiet too. It was October and the pool was busier than December, but the noise wasn't bad at all. We had some grass outside of our room... so not really parking lot, I guess.

We loved the ASMusic FS and will be planning another trip to stay there.

 

[GoofTroop]

We are a family of 5 and have stayed in 2 connecting rooms. Disney doesn't guarantee connecting rooms, but my family has been lucky.

I just wanted to add that because we have special needs children, and the children outnumber the adults....We have always had guarantee of connecting rooms.

 

[mericletwins]

I believe you could stay at a 1 bedroom at BLT and AKV. I believe that a one bedroom accommodates 5 in both of those places and then one under 3 (as long as the baby will still be under three at the time of the trip). This would give you some nice "elbow room", a kitchen and a w/d in the villa. You can rent points directly from a member or rent through David's Disney Vacation rentals. You would have to look at the costs, but it may end up being not much more to go with a one bedroom villa.

 

[lucifie]

I just wanted to add that because we have special needs children, and the children outnumber the adults....We have always had guarantee of connecting rooms.

That's good to know. I definitely wouldn't be comfortable with a totally separate room for them, but connecting rooms would be awesome because then DH and I could have some quiet time after the kids are in bed. I'm hoping (but not counting on it) that the kids will be so exhausted that they'll be asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. A room with a balcony would be nice, too because we could sit outside while they sleep.

 

[LilyWDW]

That's good to know. I definitely wouldn't be comfortable with a totally separate room for them, but connecting rooms would be awesome because then DH and I could have some quiet time after the kids are in bed. I'm hoping (but not counting on it) that the kids will be so exhausted that they'll be asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. A room with a balcony would be nice, too because we could sit outside while they sleep.

I suggest you search for connecting rooms guaranteed. No matter what the paperwork says, they will NOT guarantee connecting rooms. All you are guaranteed is a room on property. We have had many, MANY reports of people being "guaranteed" connecting rooms and not getting them when they check in. This has even happened to a group with ONE adult and multiple children. In Disney speak, "guaranteed" just means "an important request".

Edit: there is a way for special reservations to do it, but it's only used if there is a greater number of people then a handicapped room can accommodate (when there were only king bed rooms left). That was due to equal access laws.

 

[ktsmama]

First I want to tell you that your children are beautiful! Love the picture!!

We stayed in a family suite at the ASMusic twice. Loved having the two bathrooms and separate bedroom for mom & dad. We also enjoyed the kitchenette, and missed having that in our standard roms at deluxe resorts. Our first stay we faced the pool in the Calypso building. It was a little loud, but not a deal breaker. At night we were so tired that the noise was not an issue. It was great being so close to all the action. On our second stay we faced the parking lot in another building, and it was incredibly quiet!! But was a longer walk from the pool & main building.

I would be nervous about booking connecting rooms, since there is no 100% guaranteed. I would suggest making sure you mention your special needs child when booking your reservation.

If your budget allows, you might love a villa at a deluxe resort. We have not stayed in one ourselves yet, but have friends who have stayed in Bay Lake Towers and Animal Kingdom Villas. They got rave reviews for space, amenities, etc.