Large (ish) Families Staying On Site

[onetoescape]

Hi just started posting over the last few days. I am planning on going around this time next year or so. Has anyone stayed on site with 6 people people. We are Me DW DS 8 (at the time) DD 5 DS 3 Baby unknown 9 months. I am thinking of the All Star family room or the WL Cabins. Anyone know which would be better or any alternatives?

 

[helenk]

The least expensive way to go would be the Family Suites at the Allstar Music, this will give you the room you need and you will also have 2 bathrooms. You would not have a full kitchen like the cabins at Ft Wilderness, just a microwave and a small fridge.
The cabins at Ft Wilderness are more costly, and honestly I think that the transportation would be better at the Allstar Music, especially with having young children.
There are vacation villas in WDW, but again I think that the Family Suites would be cheaper, unless you rent points from an owner.

 

[Marie17]

We just returned 3 days ago from Pop Century with 7 (2 adults, 17, 14, 5, 3, 2) and even though it was nice having two bathrooms with our adjoining/connecting rooms it just wasn't worth the over 65% savings OFF the cabin to us. We had booked POP for $49 (ap rate) so it came to only $100 a night for two rooms. Cabins usually go for $299

I booked the FWCabin for our April trip. We much prefer having a full kitchen as we go through milk like you couldn't imagine. We don't use the Disney transportation system since we have a double stroller and a single umbrella stroller. It just isn't worth the inconvenience of having to unpack and fold the strollers to get onto the bus or trams. When going to the park - all you have to do is tell the attendant that you need to drop off children & strollers and they will let you use the medical parking drop off area to do so. You cannot park in the medical parking lot though so everyone would get out of the van I would then go to park and take the tram to the entrance.

We also like being able to park right outside the door and have instant access to a vehicle - we always beat the bus to the parks whenever we let the 17year old test it out (who got there first- bus or van).

The kids do not get that pent-up feeling as they do in the other resorts hotels. They like to go outside for a relaxing breakfast to sit on the picnic table. Play games or blow bubbles before we go to the parks. It is also very nice way to end the evening with a glass of wine or a beer while looking at the stars on the deck. Kids like having hot chocolate and snuggling up while talking about their day - the murphy bed is a real hit.

We prefer the cabins so much more than any other resort we've stayed in. If we only go for just 2 or 3 days, a resort room is do-able. But if it is anything over 3 nights - the cabin is our choice.

 

[Hopefully]

Since you will be 5 plus one under the age of 3 in a Pac 'n Play, you will also be able to stay in one room at the Deluxe Hotels including the CR, the Poly, the GF, the YC/BC, and I think in some rooms at the AKL.
When ours were younger we stayed at the Fort Wilderness Cabins. Note that Fort Wilderness is a different resort than the Wilderness Lodge (WL). Fort Wilderness is the campground and it includes Cabins for rent.
The bedroom has one double bed and a set of bunk beds. The Living Room has a double pull down Murphy Bed. They have one full bathroom and a complete fully stocked kitchen including a full size refrigerator, a dining area, a living area and a patio with charcoal grill.
We loved the Campgrounds. There are many, many free things for your kids to do. There are 2 pools, although they are not themed like the All Stars are. There is the nightly campfire and singalong with Chip and Dale. And the campground is spread out, very beautiful and very peaceful.
Transportation is more complex than the All Stars. You often need to take an internal bus from your Cabin loop to the Depot, and then another bus to the park of your choice. You can take a boat to the MK which is loads of fun. If you have a rental car, you can park right at your Cabin door and drive to the other parks than the MK, which negates the inconvenience of the 2 bus system.
I would choose the Cabins over the Family Suites if cost is not an issue. You can put the kids to bed in the bedroom, shut the door and have the living/dining/kitchen area to relax in yourselves. In the Family Suite the kids would be sleeping in the "living area" and you would only have the bed to sit on. Not my idea of a relaxing evening. Also the full size fridge is very convenient for juice, water, soda, adult beverages, as well as whatever food you would want. We always ate breakfast at the Cabin and that saved us a lot of money. You could also cook other meals in, if you chose.
We loved Fort Wilderness and the Cabins and would go back anytime.
Good Luck with your decision

 

[onetoescape]

Thanks for the replies. It is working out around £500 about $1000 more for staying at the cabins as we are going for 2 weeks. So in the big picture its a fair bit of money more but i feel it could be useful to got for that!

 

[chrisw127]

We just came back from staying at the FW cabins. My husband and I have a five-year old and (at the time) nine month old twins. One huge plus is that you don't have to worry about your children being quiet since no one is right next to you. When our babies cried or our five-year old got restless, they could do it without worrying what the neighbors thought. The kitchen is actually pretty large (full size stove and fridge) and it is well-stocked with pots and plates and whatever you might need. It also has a microwave. Since we went at Christmas, we were able to enjoy the many decorations that cabin dwellers and the people in RVs put up. It was fun. Some people complain about the beds but I thought they were fine.

One thing really impressed me. When we arrived it was really late at night (almost midnight) and we asked for two cribs. I figured we'd wait for an hour before someone brought one up, but they got to the cabin before we did and were waiting for us!

The laundry rooms were clean and the pool was very nice. Not quite up to the standards of some of the resort pools, but still, very nice.

We found the transportation system in the resort to be very convenient. You will have to wait some, but other than that it was fine.

I would not, however, stay there without a car. It is very difficult to get any kind of take-out food at Ft. Wilderness and the grocery store on site is very expensive. If I had it to do over, I would have ordered groceries delivered to the room from an outside company rather than driving all over the place looking for food.

The only downside I really saw to the cabins was that ours wasn't that clean. My sister-in-law was next door and hers was fine. I guess it can be hit or miss. It wasn't as "hotel-like" as I probably would have liked. It was a cabin (although, a cabin with two televisions and a very nice bathroom). If you're prepared for that, it's fine.

My son loved the cabins and now says he won't say anywhere else, so we might go back. It seems that the cabins have a huge following on this board--people are very passionate about them and have been going there for years.

 

[java]

Well we are now officially a 6 person family- as our baby will turn 3 before we go.
Our choices were more than I expected.

In the past when we were 5 +baby we stayed deluxe room- it was really plenty of room as we are family bed people so usually at least 2 end up in our bed anyway. For us the Poly seemed to have the most space. But we also loved the GF.(But again this is Deluxe so $$)

You could rent DVC points and stay in a villa.

There are also Deluxe concierge rooms at both the wilderness lodge and the Boardwalk Inn(where we are going this time )

My problem with the Family suites at the values would have been the opening and closing of the beds everyday.

The cabins have always interested me - but as you can see from above we are more "deluxe" travelers- though cheapos everywhere else.

I am assuming since you talked pounds you are coming from abroad. LUCKY YOU with the value of the $ vs. The Euro. I am assuming we'll see more Brits than we usually do this trip. And can I say we have never met a Brit we didn't like!
Good luck and happy planning.

 

[sl_underwood]

I just wanted to mention that a CM told me last night our family of 5 was to large to book a room at AKL, we would have to book a 2 br villa. Not sure if this is correct or not.

 

[minnie61650]

The Family Suites at All Star Music will sleep up to 6 persons.

They:

-Sleep up to 6 (plus one child under age 3 in a Pak-n-Play crib)
-Studio amenities and separate sleeping areas giving more privacy than a standard room.
-Queen bed, full-size pullout sofa, convertible ottoman & chair sleepers (4 separate sleepers)
-Private master bedroom and family room have 27” flat CRT TV and high speed internet access.
-Kitchenette with microwave, small refrigerator (4.3 cu. ft) and coffee pot
-Two-full bathrooms
-Cost less than a standard room at AKL or WL
------------------------------------------------------------

DH and I stayed in a Family Suite at All Star Music ( a value resort) in Sept. of 2006.

We really enjoyed the Queen size bed, the kitchenette with the microwave, having a sofa and cushioned chair to sit on and relax after a day at the parks before retiring for the evening.

I thought the pullouts very comfortable.

They are designed so the back cushion and seat cushion of the pullout support the pullout. There is no metal bar to hurt the sleepers back.

Info thread--Pullouts in Family Suites at ASMU with photos of how the pullout is supported.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18100990#post18100990

Here is the layout of the Family Suites:

Here is my review of the Suites:

www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17640774&postcount=7

For more photos and info please see this info thread:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392879

Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[minnie61650]

My problem with the Family suites at the values would have been the opening and closing of the beds everyday.

.

Just an FYI

The foldout beds at All star Music are super easy to fold out even with my spinal disability and limited mobility it only took a little one handed pull on the pull strap and the beds folded out. The Mousekeeping folded them back up after they made the beds eachday.

Here are a few photos of how the beds foldout:

Have fun at Disney!

 

[AlyLynn]

We are a family of 6. We have stayed in every type of Disney resort from the values to the Deluxes, as our family grew. Our oldest is 13. By far, our favorite resort is FW. I loved the cabins because I got to relax with the kids--I didn't have to worry about paper thin walls, and noise bothering other guests, as well as late night neighbors waking the kids. They are definitely more costly, but if you figure the money you can save on food by having a meal or 2 in the cabins, its not so bad. That being said, we bought our own trailer this past fall just so we could frequent FW even more! And we're from Pennsylvania, so we've gotta love it to drive down so often!