Large Family tips and discussion

[Jenw83]

We're a family of 7--Us plus 5 kids ages 9 and under. We recently priced staying on-site (both a family suite and two rooms) and compared them to staying off site and we are saving $700+ staying off-site even after we factor in parking. That is a huge savings to us and totally worth it. And staying off site means that we have options for eating some meals away from Disney, which saves us even more. It also makes our vacation much more pleasant to have 3 bedrooms and get a break from each other. I hate navigating the busses with young children, especially now that I am pregnant--there is nothing worse on Disney transportation than standing on a bus, holding a toddler, while big and pregnant.

We usually get to the parks for rope drop, hit all of our favs once or twice and finish the day by 5-6pm. We also like to go at low crowd times since my 5 year old is severely adhd and can't tolerate long lines and huge crowds.

 

[angelmom27]

We are a family of 9 soon to be 10 in Nov. Our childrens ages are 14, 11, 9 (10 on sept 2nd), 8, 6, 4 (5 on aug 1st) and 2. We always stayed off site til this past May. I planned a surprise kid free trip for our anniversary. Which turned into a family trip with kids and staying in 2 rooms at POP. DH and I loved staying onsite so much we don't want to ever stay off site. We only live 2 hrs away so we just drive up. If we could afford APs I would get them. Right now even the payment plan doesn't work. The other passes wouldn't be good since DH only has weekends off and his vacation time is christmas only. I go to NOJ every yr and this yr it will be me and my 8 yr old DD. We are planning another May trip except this time we have out grown 2 value rooms so we are doing 2 family suites at AoA. We only did one park day and enjoyed the resort the other day. So we are doing the same again. Not sure which park we wll pick yet have to see the times and EMH.

We have a target debit card so we use that to buy GCs and save the 5%. Then we just save up in our savings to use the money towards our KTTW card.

Our future plans are to be able to do a christmas trip since we would get to stay for over a week there. Right now trying to get ahead money wise will come first and then we will plan for that trip.

 

[Sheaboys]

We are a family of 7, we have 5 boys, 15, 13, 11, 6 (soon t be 7) and 4. WE stay onsite. Last year it was Caribbean Beach with 2 room, connecting. We left the door open between the rooms and locked their door from the inside, during the day. The cleaning lady would clean both rooms with access through our room.

We love the quiet pool, although not so quiet once we arrive, but much much less hectic than the main pool.

I do try and dress them in same colors so it is easy to find everyone with a quick crowd scan, but now that the older 3 are getting older, they really are not for that. Although, they all had matching shirts with their names on them last year, and wore them with pride.

I did get a double stroller for the then 3 and 6 yr old, as it was just easier and faster to move through the crowds.

Disney is a great place for all of us, as we got to do so many rides as a family. Only a handful the 2 younger ones were not big enough to do.

We flew, with SW points. We did rent a van, as we flew into Tampa to visit my grandmother for a few hours then drove to Disney and got rid of the rental van that same day. We did stop at Walmart first filled up the frig and got a few snacks. We go at the end of August, which is less expensive, less crowded and usually Free dining, with 3 boys that are now "adults" with adult appetites it is well worth it for us to dine for free.

We are looking at going next year. Two rooms, flying, etc.

 

[powellrj]

It actually may be cheaper for a large family to get 1 AP so you can get the tables in wonderland card to save on meals. This would only be true if you are going for a longer period or more than 1 trip in a years time.

Also YES tickets can be found for a little cheaper.

We have also gone to the parties as park tickets since you can get in at 4pm, then spend the other days doing the beach, sea world or universal.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

While you can find cheap car rentals, cheap van rentals (which you need for a family that has 6 or more people) are hard if not impossible to find. I've tried! And usually the cost is so much that it wipes out most of what we would save by staying off site. And you still have to add in the cost of parking (unless you have an AP). Connecting rooms are not guaranteed. So if you book them and don't get them, the adults have to split up. If you are only in your room to sleep, it really isn't that big of a deal. It is a bit of a pain (been there, done that too!) but definitely do-able.

I think that what some of us are trying to say is on site is not out of the question just because you have a large family. There are ways to make it work and make it more affordable if your heart is set on on site.

Not necessarily so. This is what we initially assumed and it almost discouraged us from giving offsite a try. If you do your research and look for discount codes/coupons (carrentalsavers.com, mousesavers.com, and the Transportation thread are great resources for this), you can find great deals on minivan rentals. What we learned is that minivan rental availability in Orlando is abundant and it is not as expensive to rent one as we thought it would be. We were able to get a minivan for a week through Alamo for $279 (including all fees/taxes). We picked up the minivan at MCO and that process was rather simple (we used the self checkout kiosk and picked out our own vehicle). Even with having to pay for parking, the total cost of our 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills, minivan rental, gas, and parking combined was still hundreds less than it would have cost us to get two standard rooms at a value resort - even with a room only discount. Also, having our own full kitchen allowed us to save even more by being able to have breakfast and most dinners back at the condo. Yes there are pros and cons to both onsite and offsite (the never ending debate here on these boards) as we have also stayed onsite and had a great experience as well; but I am so glad we tried offsite because we now know what that experience is really like and can weigh our options with more certainty when we plan our next Disney trip

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We have 5 boys, so we're a family of 7. We also homeschool and travel during the off-season. I love the low prices and smaller crowds. I also like having an excuse to keep on doing school in the summer when it's too hot to have any fun.

We generally stay off-site. We like having a big pool home. We stay in Windsor Hills, and we get a 5 bedroom home. 4 bedrooms are generally the same price, so why not get 5? We'll be staying in Windsor Hills this fall for 7 nights, and the 5 bedroom house cost us about $1400 including tax and pool heat. The low price, plus the extra space, plus the full kitchen (important when you have food allergies like we do), plus the full-size washer and dryer, plus the game room for the big ones to play in during nap time, plus our own private pool makes it too good of a deal to pass up.

That said, we're also staying on-site for a few days this time. My husband has to go to a convention at the Swan, so we're going to move on-site after our week at Windsor Hills into a suite at AoA. We can just barely squeeze in since the baby is under 3 right now. My kids have really wanted to stay in one of those rooms since they found out about the resort when it was being built, so we decided it's a good time.The kids and I will take Disney transportation, and my husband will be able to use our car. We couldn't get 2 rooms at any of the Boardwalk resorts since we found out about the convention after they were all booked, so it's the only good way for him to be able to get around like he needs to.

Until recently, my husband worked from home and could work from anywhere with an Internet connection. Our last two trips involved us renting a house for 4 or 5 weeks. He took some vacation days and joined us in the parks in the evenings and on weekends, but a lot of the days I took them myself. We had a blast. We all got APs and spent over 20 days in the parks on each of the trips. We couldn't ride anything with a height restriction when my husband wasn't with us, since my older ones weren't old enough to ride without an adult (in my opinion--not Disney's), so we stuck to the rides without height restrictions and fun activities like Kidcot stations and Agent P adventures.

We drive to WDW, and one of the reasons is that I need my big van. Technically, our family would fit in a minivan or large SUV, but we can't get all of our luggage into one. Also, because of the food allergies, we take a lot of strange items with us, like a crock pot and bread machine. (No, we won't use those when we're on-site. We'll eat in restaurants.)

I love dressing the kids in the same color. It makes it so easy to find them in the crowd. Head counts are super-quick. We haven't ever lost any of them yet, but I'm sure it would help having them all in the same color if we did. We also find that people are more likely to talk to us when they're all in the same color, and we love having conversations with people about our big family.

We will also be a family of seven when we go back to Disney and since we don't go every year, our next trip will probably be the last time we will be able to "fit" in a WDW family suite So since the baby will be under 3 yrs old we may also try to "squeeze in" AOA . We like the family suites because of the queen size bed in the bedroom (DH is 6"3 and does not like full size beds) and we like having a kitchenette for trips that are more than a few days in length (we like having the larger size mini fridge, microwave, and coffeemaker ). For our next trip we are considering doing a split stay (3 nights onsite at AOA/5 nights offsite condo) if we go in May again which is "regular" season (higher rates, lower discounts) or we might go in late August again (which has lower value season rates and usually better discounts) and do 7 nights just at AOA. Decisions, decisions.....

 

[angelmom27]

The only thing I dislike about the family suites is they don't have connecting rooms. Would be nice then DH and I could keep the connecting door open and be able to be with each other.

 

[Legendteri]

I only have 2 children at this time, but I grew up in a large family ( I am the oldest of 7). Can I just say how awesome it is that you guys take your large family to Disneyworld. Growing up, we never went on vacations. I understand my parents did they best that they could; however, my husband and I really try to prioritize travel and vacations.

I have only been to Disney once, however we did travel as a group of 13. We are from STL and drove down but stopped overnight in ATL. I saved money by getting our hotel on hotwire and ended up paying $55 a night for a Hyatt. Not too bad if you ask me.

Another way we saved money was we shared two villas at Worldquest Resort in Orlando. Our particular villa was a three bedroom three bath and $150 a night. We split the cost among three familes so our portion was only $50 a night. Since our villa had a kitchen we were able to save money by having breakfast in our villa every day and by brining in our own snacks, drinks and lunches. If we go down as a large group again, I will do like you and look into a vacation home. I think a vacation home would be a great value.

I also saved a lot of money by bringing many souvenirs at home. My kids are little , 4 and 2, and I raided Dollar Tree, Target and Big Lots for Disney stuff that I can give them back at our hotel. Next time we go I will also buy a lot of items from Disney.com on cyber Monday. They have some awesome deals on that day.

Oh and next time I go, I am gonna look into using my Target Red Card, pharmacy rewards and even Target's Christmas specials to get as many Disney gift cards as possible to pay for TS meals.

 

[angelmom27]

From what I have been told by my TA when planning our last trip that in the case of where the kids out number the parents disney will give priority to connecting rooms for that family. We had no problem and it was even stated on our reservation that rooms would be connecting.

 

[alaskanabbott]

We have 6 kids, plus DH and I and we always bring my dad We stayed "value" last time at Movies (Toy Story room) in 3 rooms that were not connecting, but next to each other. My DH was a bit put out by the your groups, and after having dinner at the Coronado, and seeing how much quieter the place was, he said we will never stay value again, lol. So this time we are staying at either the Coronado or POFQ/POR. We fly from Alaska, so no chance of just driving- it would take at least a week in each direction, and airfare is NEVER cheap to anyplace from Alaska. Our flights usually cost about $5-6 thousand. Our only rule is we go during free dining, and we go in either Jan or Feb. If no FD comes out then we do a cruise- which is just as fun! For some people FD isn't worth it, but for large familes, it saves us a few thousand dollars.

 

[theyoungs07]

Awesome discussion folks.

I will really have to look into free dining and onsite renting DVC points next time. It still looks like I'd spend at least $400 a day for DVC accommodations, which may be do-able if we have a free TS per day. For the buffet's and Character Meals we average $180-200 each time. I might be able to find a break-even point for the rental house/DVC as long as many things line up. I'd love to try the ambiance of on-site with my family...but it has been hard to justify against 120-180 per night for a house. It looks like another spreadsheet is in my future Even if we stay onsite, I just can't imagine using Disney buses until I no longer have a double stroller chock full of stuff.

More tips we use:
Convenience is worth a lot to me...so I go for the Fantasmic Dinner Package...I don't have to stand in line for ever to get in to our favorite show. Same with the Wishes Dessert Party.

We also book our character meals as breakfasts, before the park opens so that we can be in the park early for pictures and then still out of the restaurant early enough to get on the big rides. Same with BBB appointments in MK.

*Edit* Well...just found out that you cannot pair DVC and free dining...nevermind about all of that

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Awesome discussion folks.

I will really have to look into free dining and onsite renting DVC points next time. It still looks like I'd spend at least $400 a day for DVC accommodations, which may be do-able if we have a free TS per day. For the buffet's and Character Meals we average $180-200 each time. I might be able to find a break-even point for the rental house/DVC as long as many things line up. I'd love to try the ambiance of on-site with my family...but it has been hard to justify against 120-180 per night for a house. It looks like another spreadsheet is in my future Even if we stay onsite, I just can't imagine using Disney buses until I no longer have a double stroller chock full of stuff.

More tips we use:
Convenience is worth a lot to me...so I go for the Fantasmic Dinner Package...I don't have to stand in line for ever to get in to our favorite show. Same with the Wishes Dessert Party.

We also book our character meals as breakfasts, before the park opens so that we can be in the park early for pictures and then still out of the restaurant early enough to get on the big rides. Same with BBB appointments in MK.

*Edit* Well...just found out that you cannot pair DVC and free dining...nevermind about all of that

I really like your tips about the Fantasmic Dinner package and Wishes Dessert Party for the convenience of better seating which is so nice when you have a lot of kids in tow. We considered the dessert party for our trip this past May but ended up not doing it this time. Fantasmic is still on my must do list.
I also come across a lot of suggestions for renting DVC points but it is very pricey if your family only fits in a two bedroom unit, you can't get discount promotions like free dining or room discounts, and from what I've researched the reservation is non-refundable. I have to say though I have always wanted to stay at BLT....maybe one day!

 

[4xmom]

We are a family of six. We usually stay in the Wilderness Cabins or at OKW with DVC points. A few years ago we did a grand reunion (total of 15 people). We had a grand villa at OKW. In Sept., we are taking my parents. We have a savannah view at Kidani. 2 room suite with 3 bathrooms for our $1900 yearly fee.

To me, staying onsite is a must. We take mid day breaks and I would not want to do that if we were offsite. Plus as the kids have gotten older, we love the EMH. The kids think it so cool to stay late at a park.

 

[Zabnee]

I have planned/organized this entire trip so I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders to make sure everyone has a great time.

I know EXACTLY what you're saying there.. I'm planning our trip this October.. it's an extended family trip, with 6 adults (my MiL, her brother, my SiL, her BF, DH and I) and four kids (DNephew13, DNephew12, DS9, DS8) in tow!

We dress in shirts that are the same color...if we ever get into the horrible situation of losing a little one, we'll know for sure what color they are wearing.

Another suggestion, that I do, is to take a picture of each kid/youth before we enter the park that day - that way we have an up to date photo, and exact description, should they get separated! (with us traveling with my nephews, it'd be hard to match all 4 boys clothing colours!)

Even if we stay onsite, I just can't imagine using Disney buses until I no longer have a double stroller chock full of stuff.

not so easy if you're using the double stroller to help cart bags full of stuff, but we found it easier to rent the double strollers they had at the parks, when we went with our two boys when they were 14mo & almost 3.. I know it's more money to spend, but we found those ones to be an absolute blessing when the boys were little.

Just another option!

 

[theduck619]

I'm really glad to have found this thread. We currently are a family of four and are in the process of adopting a sibling group of four. In a few months we will be a family of eight. We have been Disney fans since we celebrated our honeymoon there 20 years ago!

 

[theyoungs07]

Ok, I've been trying to convince myself that two connected rooms at CBR or POP would be a possibility. We usually take longer trips, what are people's experience doing laundry at the resorts? My wife is less than thrilled trying to do laundry at the resort for 9 of us as often as it would probably be needed...and I don't blame her. Packing for 10+ days would not be possible for us.

Thanks

 

[Schmeck]

Ok, I've been trying to convince myself that two connected rooms at CBR or POP would be a possibility. We usually take longer trips, what are people's experience doing laundry at the resorts? My wife is less than thrilled trying to do laundry at the resort for 9 of us as often as it would probably be needed...and I don't blame her. Packing for 10+ days would not be possible for us.

Thanks

10+ days - so you'd need 6 days of clothing, right? Do laundry on the 5th or 6th day, and you should be fine.

 

[Katd52]

We're a family of 9. We have 7 kids ages 18 yrs-16 months. We like to go during free dining and get 2 connecting rooms. We have only stayed onsite. We've done POP, POR,and POFQ. I love the convenience of the Disney Bus/Monorail system. Even with a double or sometimes multiple strollers it is still easier/quicker for us than having to park, take a tram, then a monorail, etc.
Hop on a bus and get off at the park! Easy Peasy!

As for laundry, I'm sure you guys are used to doing laundry for a ton of people It's really no different at Disney. It's actually a nice little getaway to take off for a little bit by myself and get some laundry done Maybe that's just me...........

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I really like your tips about the Fantasmic Dinner package and Wishes Dessert Party for the convenience of better seating which is so nice when you have a lot of kids in tow. We considered the dessert party for our trip this past May but ended up not doing it this time. Fantasmic is still on my must do list.
I also come across a lot of suggestions for renting DVC points but it is very pricey if your family only fits in a two bedroom unit, you can't get discount promotions like free dining or room discounts, and from what I've researched the reservation is non-refundable. I have to say though I have always wanted to stay at BLT....maybe one day!

We're a family of 6, and we much prefer the space of off-site accommodations. It helps, particularly, when you have more than one bedtime. Plus, the full kitchen allows for cost savings on some meals.

We've rented minivans cheaply through Costco. I'm not a member, but someone from here slipped me a code that was a real bargain.

I wanted to say on the Wishes Dessert Party--we went, kind of as a last-minute thing, on a trip in Jan. that was just me and my younger two (DD9, DS6). Just to set the scene, the overall trip was a gift from their grandmother, and she doesn't skimp--we stayed at the Poly and did a ton of character meals. My kids' favorite thing in the whole trip? The Dessert Party! Nothing like pigging out on desserts while having a great view of the fireworks. We're going again in Feb., and celebrating my youngest's 8th birthday...with breakfast and Chef Mickey's, a day at MK, and the Dessert Party! So, this is one splurge that this cheapo mother of 4 considers well worth the money!

 

[theyoungs07]

Hey all, I'm resurrecting this thread as I'm starting to plan a late April/early May trip for 2015. We called off our earlier plans as we found out we are going to have a baby in a few days. #8! So our delayed trip is looking at Spring and still thinking at least some of it might be onsite.

I'm thinking of renting DVC points for onsite unless there is a good deal on multiple rooms for our stay. Now we'd need two rooms that hold 5 each...does anyone have a suggestion of their favorite places that allow this? I've heard POR has a lot of 5 person rooms...and a trundle/murphy is fine for us since most of my kids are pretty small.

Any other new tips for large families?