Large family

[chirodoc78]

Throw out your favorite ways to do Disney for a large family. It will be my family of 5 (8yo, 8yo, and 5yo), plus my mom and dad, plus my hubby's mom, dad, and sister. I'm looking for budget tips, resort ideas, and anything else you wanna throw at me! And GO!!!

 

[chirodoc78]

And also, thoughts on a stroller for the 5yo. Yes take one or no don't take one?

 

[karatemom2]

Yes to the stroller. It is a huge amount of walking and for my family it prevents meltdowns and complaining. My kids even rested/slept in it when they were tired. Happy kids = happy mommy

 

[mm1971]

Throw out your favorite ways to do Disney for a large family. It will be my family of 5 (8yo, 8yo, and 5yo), plus my mom and dad, plus my hubby's mom, dad, and sister. I'm looking for budget tips, resort ideas, and anything else you wanna throw at me! And GO!!!

And also, thoughts on a stroller for the 5yo. Yes take one or no don't take one?

First, YES on the stroller. We had a stroller for ours until age 8. They get tired and having a rest here and there prevents melt downs. It's also a good way to store some stuff to make it easier to walk around.

Are you planning to stay on property? Are you willing to stay off property? A few years ago we went with 4 families and 18 people. We rented a house off site about 5 minutes away. It was $800 for the week, split between the 4 families was $200/family. The home had 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, a small enclosed pool and plenty of room to hang out together or have a little privacy. Just a thought. If you want to stay on property, the cheapest way would probably be to rent DVC points. That way you could have a suite. If not, then POR is probably the best choice. They have rooms for 5 and 3 rooms there would probably the best bet.

When do you plan to go? That may influence other tips based on the season, discount or FD offers, etc....

 

[MandiC]

If you want to stay on property and don't mind separate rooms from your parents there are rooms at Port Orleans Riverside that can fit 5. We just stayed in one and they are awesome, probably the best room price for a family of 5 on-site. Then you could request connecting or close rooms with your parents.

I'd bring a stroller for the 5 year old...just in case. I think this just depends on the child. My 7 year old definitely did not need a stroller at any point in time. When we go back we'll have a 5 year old and I am not planning on bringing a stroller for him for most of the parks but might for Epcot

 

[chirodoc78]

We will be going the last week of September into October 2015. And yes, we are willing to camp at Ft. Wilderness OR rent a home off property...although neither of those is my personal preference.

 

[mrsp1030]

Look into renting points either through a private owner or a rental store. It will save you and allow you to stay on property. Explore the resort options and book at 11 month mark.

 

[cjbcam]

You could stay in the values. A couple have family suites. I think after looking into it renting a house is the cheapest.
As for the stroller, we took a sit and stand for my 3 and 6(she turned 6 while there) year olds. Well we would push it into the park and to a stroller parking and ditch it after the first two days we left it at the resort. My kids were not wanting any part of it, even my three year old. That being said we would only spend like 3 hours then go back and rest for a bit. So it really depends.

 

[MandiC]

Something to consider when booking is that you *may* be able to get free dining during that time if staying on site.
If you stay at a value resort during free dining you get the Quick Service Dining Plan. If you stay at a moderate you get the Basic Dining Plan and if you stay at a deluxe you get the Deluxe Dining Plan. You can always upgrade if you would like but that would be extra.

We haven't stayed with all 4 of our kids yet but am planning for our next trip which will include all of us. My in-laws would like to come (as well as my sister-in-law and her husband, who may have a baby by that point as they sound like they plan to start their family soon) and the plan is separate rooms. This is personal preference but I want my own space They said they don't mind if we book 2 of our kids in their room so we can stay in basic rooms. I'm hoping to plan our trip during a free dining period so we all get the basic dining plan for free (staying at a moderate).
One thing I wish I had done for our trip was plan a day to just stay at the resort. Especially at the moderates there is a LOT for kids to do and I just wish I had made time so they could do more of the things they saw and liked around the resort. It would have been nice so we could sleep in too cause most of our park days were open-fireworks.

 

[Heluvsme]

Bring from home (or go shopping once you're there) and buy your own quick breakfast foods and snacks. Granola bars, Pop Tarts, donuts, fruit snacks, etc, AND... buy a case of water, it will save you a small fortune!! Take your own water into the parks (unopened is allowed!) We freeze our water bottles partially before we leave and they slowly melt throughout the day and are plenty cold when we want them later on.

You're also allowed to take in your own snacks. Big money saver!

There's a Wal Mart nearby, they sell licensed Disney merchandise for a fraction of what the parks sell stuff for.... let the kiddos pick out t-shirts and souvenirs there, another money saver!

Staying off site can be a money saver if you're willing. We are renting a condo at Windsor Hills for $89 a night this summer.... 3 bedrooms and sleeps 7. Full kitchen, 2 full bathrooms, lots of room to spread out.

If your local grocery store offers fuel points, or any type of incentive points for gift cards... we stock up on restaurant gift cards and gas cards, accumulate the points, and we'd be spending the money anyways. Double duty spending!

And yes to the stroller. Mine used one for a long time, it really helps. Take a large garbage bag and some clothes pins to cover it in case you're in an attraction, or a restaurant, and it starts raining.