Large Family Trip planning for non-resort guests

[kathy884]

Hi. The advice to stay in a DVC rental is certainly valid IF your budget would allow it. That is a big IF. We have made many family trips over the past 20 years and I can say it would pretty much triple our accommodation costs to do so. We rent whatever size and type of place we need at a nearby resort community and have been perfectly happy to do so.

The Disney bubble is real, and we only wish we could stay there, but we have come to appreciate those off-site rentals for way more than their cost savings! We want 1 bathroom per bedroom, we love having our own pool, as well as nice resort facilities to enjoy. Many homes offer games rooms, which get more use than we’d ever expected. The spacious living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms are great. Best of all is pulling into our own driveway at night, and not hiking through another large parking lot, followed by the hotel hallway treks, which can be l-o-n-g.

LuvMyEar, Your calculations match mine. Whenever I have crunched the numbers I have found that I can get a comparable offsite timeshare condo rental for about 1/3rd of the price as onsite (renting from an owner in both situations). It means I almost always stay offsite. I agree that now that Disney changed their system and all the onsite guests get to get into the parks a good 1/2 hour earlier than offsite guests, being onsite would be desirable, but with my bean counter personality I've only stayed onsite if a company is paying for me or DH to be at a conference that just happens to be in Disney (has happened four different times).

OP -- you may be doing onsite which does have the transportation and early entry advantages. If though you are looking at offsite condos FYI the places I have stayed most often are Sheraton Vistana Resort and Cypress Point. I often if going for a full week to save dollars will rent from a timeshare owner on Redweek.com or TUG2.net. With an offsite condo though you need to have or rent a car or have plans to use uber and lyft. Onsite provides shuttle service, lets you get paid fastpasses sooner, and lets you get into the park a 1/2 hour earlier with Disney timeshares and deluxe properties also offering some evening extra magic hours too (very seet to be in the parks with fewer people but you are paying for it).

A rental home is going to be even less expensive in most cases than getting offsite timeshare condos. My favorite though are the timeshare condos even if we have to get a few as I love the amenities and the resort feel that they provide.

If you have a reader / travel planner in your group, I concur that the book, "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" is fantastic. I think reading it cover to cover for a first timer is really worthwhile. I have given it to two different friends who are readers / planners who were first time visitors and they were so thankful for the book (loved it - thanked me multiple times for getting it for them). Once you have read that and been, then I think just the website subscription is a good way to go for future trips (one read of the book is all you really need and the website can give you updates). The book is an easy enjoyable read too.

 

[_19disnA]

Everyone has a different idea how to enough their vacation or a Disney trip. I think the adults should meet PRIOR to travel to talk budget, accommodations, expectations, etc. Everyone is not going to always want to do the same things. It would be a huge mistake to all arrive in one big group at a park your first day and then try to decide what to do next. Perhaps you agree to split up and meet for dinner. Those new to Disney won't know what parks/rides/shows they like best until they have some experience with all of that. Disney parks are HUGE and generally very crowded so a general understanding on how the parks are organized is helpful for first-timers.

Some may want to sleep in late, others want to stay up late. Some may want to get to the park right when it opens, others not so much. Some may want to sightsee while others choose to do rides/shows or shop. Have many cars will you have so people have flexibility on where to go and when? Over the years we have stayed both at Disney as well as other places nearby and enjoyed both for different reasons. I think it is a mistake to think you can only enjoy Disney if you stay on the property. The Disney 'experience' to us is mostly about the 4 parks. Some in you group may not have the budget to afford pricey places to stay or the most expensive Disney restaurants.

I would not want to be that one person organizing everything and expect everyone to want to do exactly what I like doing.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I went in Oct a couple of years ago with 4 families (my parents and my two sisters' families so we were related). I think all the advice about accommodations, budget, and expectations are really good. Huge emphasis on the expectations and budget.

What I wanted to tell you that worked for us is doing rope drop at the park with everyone, touring together in the morning and having lunch at 11am. Use the app to order food at 10:15 or 10:30am for an 11am meal. Eating early with rope drop was KEY for us to have more energy and avoid the crowds that descend at 11:30am or noon. I am not usually an early lunch person, but I was actually pretty hungry by 11am. I then do a snack/treat around 2pm and repeat the process for dinner, if we are eating in the parks. Some people in our group brought lunches and some ate counter service. The lunch bringers ate with the counter service people at the restaurant.

Then, for the afternoon, we split into family groups and toured just with our families. My dad went back to the resort because crowds are tough for him. It was nice to have that family time in the afternoon expectation already set-up ahead of time with no hard feelings because we weren't "together". We would meet again at some point in the afternoon/evening to either have dinner in the parks or go back to our resort.

We stayed off-site at Sheraton Vistana Villas. We often came back for dinner to eat there and then whoever wanted, went back to the park for nighttime rides/fireworks. It was close enough to the parks that we didn't feel really far way. Just make sure that you plan a lot of extra time for MK because you have to go through the TTC. And we usually take the ferry to MK because it can fit a lot of people and the monorails had long lines and can be unreliable. (Pro-tip: Go to the front of the boat so you are among the first to leave the ferry. You can walk up the stairs and then go back down and there usually is a spot open right before the stairs in the front, even if the boat is almost full.) We did a monorail trip during the day for those that wanted to ride and see resorts.

My group really couldn't justify the price onsite with the price offsite. We used that savings to pay for (at the time) Genie+ for HS and MK to help off-set the difference between on-site and off-site. We did ILL for AK and EP. Definitely wait until Spring/Summer 2025 to get used to whatever "fast-pass" system Disney has in place then. Unless you just like to know things for fun, then knock yourself out. If you don't want to be overwhelmed, just wait until next year. Touring Plans (and other touring planning sites) say that you can ride a lot with a careful plan. I have found that to be true. I have gone during Spring Break and ridden everything I wanted to ride. It's just a little bit more challenging to move as a group. Everyone has to go to the bathroom at different times and wants a break or a snack at different times. It is like herding cats. Bring down your expectations to your "must-dos" and let anything extra be icing on the cake.

I also LOVED reading The Unofficial Guide to WDW cover to cover. For me, it is so much fun to read about all the things that are possible, even if we aren't going to do it. It really gets me into the spirit. I buy a new UG every few years for fun, so I may not be your same demographic.

Good luck with planning! I hope you have a wonderful trip.