Military Family---best/cheapest way to go

[tryinginaustin]

Okay, so are a family of 6 and have been the last three years and I would love to go back either for spring break or the summer (when we have always gone). SoG is not really an option due to DH rank. It has proven to be cheaper to stay on property with the military discount. What are some suggestions? Family suite at a moderate or value? Adjoining rooms at value? We would like the dining plan. Help!! Thanks folks!!!

 

[Aliceacc]

Thank you for your service to our nation!

I'm not military, so I can't help you there. But as a family of 5, I can point you towards some options.


1. Take a look at the military discount at the Swan/ Dolphin: http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/dreamsres/sd.cfm

It would kill your DDP hopes, but it might be very well worth it in terms of the resort amenities and the location. If you could get connecting rooms, it might turn out to be your best option. (And you could load your dining budget onto a debit card, and pay as you go that way.)

2. Take a look at the family suites at All Star Music. They're probably your most economical option. They sleep 6 and have 2 bathrooms as well as a kitchenette. (The new Art of Animation resort also has family suites, but "economical" is probably not the right term for them.)

3. If you want a bit more room to spread out: take a look at the cabins at Fort Wilderness.

4. A two bedroom Villa would probably be lovely, but out of my price range.

5. How old is your youngest? If he or she is young enough to be in a Pack and Play, you might consider a room at one of the Deluxes. Many sleep 5 (plus that pack and play), and they're hard to beat in terms of amenities and convenience. Probably the cheapest bet here is a Garden Room at the Contemporary. We've loved the Polynesian, but are trying the Beach Club this time around, and we can't wait.

In terms of cutting cost, look at WHEN you go. Is there any way you can go at the very end of August, in the hopes of getting Free Dining? (It doesn't work for us; we're both teachers and need to be back before that.) It's not a sure thing, but it has been offered the past few years.


So.... here's what I would do: I would contact a Disney Certified Travel Agent. They work off commission, so it would cost you nothing. Ask him or her to price out three or four options.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

Probably two rooms at a value is the best deal. Prices will depend on season. I'm staying at Pop this week for $65/night I think. I haven't stayed at SOG since we got married there. It's nice, but I think once you're over a category 1 its not really worth it, plus we bring a car and have to park. Not to mention we get the dining plan. You can get dining plan with a military discounted room and not have to buy tickets which is pretty nice.

 

[uk_wildcat]

I don't know about more than one room or adjoining rooms, but we just booked a trip using the military discount. We are staying 4 nights at POR (there are 2 adults and 2 children) from November 7-11 and we added the regular dining plan. Total was $1088. We are buying our park tickets from the base - 4 day hoppers for $138 each. This comes to a total of $1640 for food, hotel and park tickets. The price on the Disney site for the same thing comes to $2375.82, so it is a savings of over $700. I also had Pop Century priced out and it was $908.90 for room and dining. Animal Kingdom Lodge was $1485 for a pool view with bunk beds. There were no other deluxe resorts available for my dates with the military rate because the Food and Wine Festival is going on. Those rates also include insurance, which I went ahead and got because I have a husband whose work schedule could be an issue.
I did not try a Swan/Dolphin discount, but you could call and see if it is a good deal. They don't have the military discount on the website, so you do have to call about it.

 

[*Michele*]

Just another suggestion, but AFVC (Armed Forces Vacation Club) may be another option for your family. http://www.afvclub.com/index.html

My family has used them for a Disney vacation in the past and absolutely loved them! $369.00/week for a two bedroom villa with a full kitchen. We stayed at Celebration World Resort and it only took about 5 minutes to get to the parks. Having the full kitchen saved us a fortune on food and we would pack lunches and snacks to bring to the parks.

This particular resort had a great pool and daily activities for the kids.

Best part: No fees, presentations, etc.

 

[tryinginaustin]

thanks guys...i have often thought about the Armed Forces vacation club, but i dismissed it because i would be missing part of the "magic" by not staying on base...however, that is a LOT of savings....

 

[Maddies Mama]

We went with AFVC years ago on our first trip to Disney after my DH & I got married...the place we got was a total dump. Others had a great experience according to the reviews. I guess it depends on what room you got, but they wouldn't move us due to capacity. We even left a day early because the place was so awful, we couldn't stand staying there anymore.

Having said that though, I personally find a lot of magic in the huge money savings, as long as they don't put me in a dump LOL. There is plenty of magic to be had at the parks.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Yeah, but it's nice to be on-site where you can split up if you need to. If you have a small one (or two) that need some down-time, you or your spouse can go back to the room with them while the other stays with the older kids to have some big-kid fun.

We stayed at SoG once and weren't impressed; we don't plan to return.

We always stay on-site - we love the convenience, and yes, we love the dining plan. It's nice to have it all paid in advance and just walk into a restaurant and order whatever you want without gagging at the prices. It's fun to do 2-3 character meals with the kids and also some nicer sit-down places.

Aliceacc gave a good round-up of the options for a family of 6. I think there are also Deluxe rooms at WL that sleep 6, but they're pretty spendy. CSR has junior suites, but again, very pricey.

We've used the military discount quite a few times in the last several years and it's saved us quite a lot of money!

 

[Leajess99]

thanks guys...i have often thought about the Armed Forces vacation club, but i dismissed it because i would be missing part of the "magic" by not staying on base...however, that is a LOT of savings....

AFVC has some very nice 2 bedroom condos with full kitchens. I like staying on site as well but sometimes it just makes it easier to go more than once a year staying off site.

With your family size, I would really look at staying off site. We stayed At silver lake in June and the drive was just as fast as staying onsite. It is out Ak's back gate. They also have various activities for the kids and even an onsite movie theater.

In June when we stayed there the kids and my ex made Tye Dyed tees as one of the activities.

 

[Leajess99]

We went with AFVC years ago on our first trip to Disney after my DH & I got married...the place we got was a total dump. Others had a great experience according to the reviews. I guess it depends on what room you got, but they wouldn't move us due to capacity. We even left a day early because the place was so awful, we couldn't stand staying there anymore.

Having said that though, I personally find a lot of magic in the huge money savings, as long as they don't put me in a dump LOL. There is plenty of magic to be had at the parks.

With AFVC, YOU choose the place. They don't choose it for you like Priceline does.

I have reviewed both places we have stayed in with AFVC and both had really good reviews. You can also ask on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum on here.

 

[tryinginaustin]

Is silver lake with AFVC? I almost thought staying on site for 2-3 nights then moving off site. We drive from TX and generally stay 9-10 nights. I have no idea how AFVC works.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

For our family of six--just for fun we had looked into the values and we found for the dates we were looking that 2 rooms were cheaper than 1 suite.

Results may vary.


One thing you might consider is renting points for a 2BR DVC Condo. Then you can cook in your room if you are the kind that doesn't mind food prep on vacation.

May not be as cheap as some of the suggestions offered, but may be cheaper than some of your discount options.

There is also Fort Wilderness Cabins. They sleep 6 and have a kitchen. Our family has enjoyed them in the past.

 

[tryinginaustin]

Does everything with AFVC work on short notice?

 

[Maddies Mama]

With AFVC, YOU choose the place. They don't choose it for you like Priceline does.

I have reviewed both places we have stayed in with AFVC and both had really good reviews. You can also ask on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum on here.

I chose the place. They chose the room. They didn't move us when we asked for a room that wasn't filthy. Said they were "at capacity."

 

[Maddies Mama]

Does everything with AFVC work on short notice?

We booked space-a about 2 months out. You can book farther out than that too. Last I looked on there about a year ago, there was another option called "nightly stay" that was not a pay-by-the-week rate like space-a is, but rather a nightly rate. I don't know much about it though as we always search the flat space-a rate to see if anything comes up that's interesting.

 

[Leajess99]

Does everything with AFVC work on short notice?

With AFVC you search the region you want for the time frame you want to see what is available. Every time I have looked for Orlando I have found many options available. You then decide which one you want and book it from there.

When the resort comes up it shows how many people the room sleeps and whether it has a full or partial kitchen. http://www.afvclub.com/ is the website so you can search and see. You can then search tripadvisor for reviews and look for the website to see what that particular one offers.

If it is available than it will work with short notice.

 

[kirrrby]

This is how we're doing our December trip. We have two members with military i.d.'s in our party. Mine is a spouse i.d. from my pending divorce (we're in separation at the current time) that's still valid. The other is my boyfriend whom has an i.d. also.

Tickets: 4 day park hopper promotional tickets, 2 tickets per person (thus getting the maximum allowed per i.d. = 6 (3 people) and then the other person buys 2 on his i.d.
6 day tickets:
Tickets with Military promo = $1,104 (NO TAX!, if bought at ITT or SoG)
Stars and Stripes tickets = $1,396 (but includes water park fun and more tickets)
Regular WDW tickets at Rack rate = $1,256 (park hopper only)

We chose the promo tickets because it was easier to buy two sets and use them back to back instead of buying one set and then a two day ticket.

This is our final option that we decided to go with in December.

Two value rooms at All Star Sports (includes KTTW card, free parking, EMH, and all WDW perks. Military discount for Value resorts = 30% possibly 35% (that's what we got).
Total for room = 922.00 (with tax) 66.50 for weeknights, 73.50 for weekends.
Try to go during the week, weekend rates are higher!!!

The two rooms was a better deal because of the type of party we have, it's four adults and we like our space. Versus one room at SoG for 105 a night, or two rooms at SoG for 210. PLUS the parking.

and purchase tickets at SoG upon arrival. If you choose to purchase the military promo tickets at the gate you will pay tax on them. If you purchase at ITT or SoG you will not pay tax.


Also, if you're going to fly. Delta and Southwest have military discounts. (I would talk to your ITT about that though)

Military discounts for Resorts go like this = 30-35% Values, 35% Moderate, 40% Deluxe. You don't get much difference in space except a few more sqft going up in classes. Mostly just about location. Also, book ahead in time, resorts have a limited number of military discounts they can give out.

Not sure about DDP, never used it. We like paying OOP for meals.

Hope this helps.

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

Don't forget to consider the fact that you won't pay tax on your room or food at Shades. It's a considerable savings. Shades has always been better for us, but we are only a family of 4. The extra fold out bed in the rooms is perfect for us since we have two teenagers, a boy and a girl. One gets the bed, the other gets the fold out. It' s a comfortable one too. I guess you need more space, though since there are six of you. I would definitely consider the Armed Forces Vacation Club unless you are stuck on staying on-site. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[lttlmc3]

Can anyone tell me what the discount on tickets is with a military ID? I'm only doing two days, no hopper.

 

[tryinginaustin]

I am not sure of the 2 day pass...i know the four day military salute pass is $138 which may in fact be cheaper than the 2 day pass. Don't forget to buy on base or at SoG to avoid tax!!v