Multiple families - best resort?

[frndshpcptn3]

My mom passed away last month before we could take my daughter on her first trip to Disney. So we are going to take her - along with my Dad, husband, sister, brother-in-law.

We are considering April and October.

I worked there as a CM in 1998 and 1999 but haven’t been in a while so am lost with reservations.

What are your recommendations for where to stay? I’m thinking connecting rooms? Or a Villa? We want our own bathrooms per family.

Thanks!

 

[JenniLuvsDisneyWorld]

My mom passed away last month before we could take my daughter on her first trip to Disney. So we are going to take her - along with my Dad, husband, sister, brother-in-law.

We are considering April and October.

I worked there as a CM in 1998 and 1999 but haven’t been in a while so am lost with reservations.

What are your recommendations for where to stay? I’m thinking connecting rooms? Or a Villa? We want our own bathrooms per family.

Thanks!

If you can swing it, a two bedroom villa is perfect! We stayed in a two bedroom with my mom at Kidani and had plenty of room. The 3 bathrooms was amazing!
I would take a poll of those going and see where they would like to stay. My mom’s dream was to stay at AKL. The lower point requirement and extra bathroom (at Kidani) sealed the deal for us.
Okw would be another great option. The rooms there are massive! A two bedroom there would provide plenty of space!
another option would be a two bedroom and a studio or a grand villa. Depending on how much privacy everyone likes.
My condolences on the loss of your mother.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Wow so many possible answer here….

any of the resorts with a grand villa

or maybe even multiple studios or one bedrooms….

how many kids in each family….. who is dad staying with…

is their a budget, because this is disney and it is really easy to get expensive quickly

 

[frndshpcptn3]

Oh I hadn’t thought of OKW. That’s not bad. The group will stay wherever I book - they’d like to stay on the monorail line but looks like the Poly is fully booked every day I’ve looked at. The garden wings of the Contemporary seems to have open rooms. I’m also open to Swan or Dolphin.

 

[frndshpcptn3]

Wow so many possible answer here….

any of the resorts with a grand villa

or maybe even multiple studios or one bedrooms….

how many kids in each family….. who is dad staying with…

is their a budget, because this is disney and it is really easy to get expensive quickly

1 kid total (7 years old). All the rest are adults unless I take my daughters best friend with us. I’d like dad to be in a connecting with me, my husband and daughter that way she can stay in either room when she feels like it.

Our budget is about $10k total including flights, hotels, meals.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I would say the swan and dolphin might be the best bet price wise.

I can’t remember if they have connecting rooms….

the LBV palace does…. However, the last couple times I stayed there I was not impressed….
i don’t know how long you are staying..

I don’t believe any of the DVC villas have connecting rooms other than a lock off two bedroom…. I could be wrong

I know nothing of the garden wing at the contemporary. Cold not tell you if they have connecting rooms or not…

 

[gottalovepluto]

1 kid total (7 years old). All the rest are adults unless I take my daughters best friend with us. I’d like dad to be in a connecting with me, my husband and daughter that way she can stay in either room when she feels like it.

Our budget is about $10k total including flights, hotels, meals.

With $10k to work with I would estimate out flights and meals, then you know your hotel budget. At that point see what is available for your dates and match it up with what fits the hotel budget. Then ask for opinions if you still want them. It’s easy to get ahead of yourself by picking the hotel or room config first but what’s the point when it’s not available or doesn’t fit the budget?

And I concur with also checking Swolphin, as it’s cheaper than Disney if there isn’t a convention and has boat access to DHS & EP.

 

[brockash]

My mom passed away last month before we could take my daughter on her first trip to Disney. So we are going to take her - along with my Dad, husband, sister, brother-in-law.

We are considering April and October.

I worked there as a CM in 1998 and 1999 but haven’t been in a while so am lost with reservations.

What are your recommendations for where to stay? I’m thinking connecting rooms? Or a Villa? We want our own bathrooms per family.

Thanks!

What's the budget and how close quarters do you want? If you guys just need 3 rooms and 3 baths and cost not an issue, we'd do the 3 bedroom villa at BLT. - Very pricey though. The 2 bedrooms are nice and they do have 3 bathrooms at BLT, however only 2 real bedrooms...someone would be in the living room.

Otherwise I'd probably just do 3 value rooms all close together and you could most likely get 2 connecting pretty easily.

 

[Marthasor]

If you are interested in Swan/Dolphin (we prefer the Swan), I would call the resort directly to price out connecting rooms and/or suites. I would also consider joining Marriott Bonvoy (if you aren't a member already) to get some discounts and perks. I've found Swan typically prices out about 50% less than the surrounding WDW EP resorts.

 

[starry_solo]

5 adults and 1 kid.

How long is the trip? I know you mentioned April or October, but are you looking at different lengths of the trip depending on when you go.

From which airport? (only b/c I'm from the west coast so I'm used to flights costing $500-600 round trip to MCO).

Do you want to be on property so you don't have to worry about transportation?

 

[Goofy4]

1 kid total (7 years old). All the rest are adults unless I take my daughters best friend with us. I’d like dad to be in a connecting with me, my husband and daughter that way she can stay in either room when she feels like it.

Our budget is about $10k total including flights, hotels, meals.

Sorry for your loss.

We've done a multi-family trip at the Boardwalk Villas and FW Cabins/Kidani. Both worked well.

We've also done a value connecting room. Not sure if ASMu (or other values) still have the king beds, but it was nice for us to have a king and the kids to have separate beds. If your daughter has a favorite theme amongst the values, that could work out well. And perhaps the gondola at AoA, Pop or Caribbean Beach could serve as a reasonable substitute for the monorail?

 

[mmouse50]

I am so sorry for you about losing your mother and I think it is great that you are going to Disney as a family to create new memories. You might want to check out packages on Costco. I was able to book 3 rooms under my account by calling them, we are all "travel with" so the rooms should be close to each other but I wasn't concerned with connecting rooms just wanted to be close.

I have used Costco for the Swan / Dolphin as it was cheaper booking through them instead of Disney in the past but I again I wasn't looking for connecting rooms and I know that my room did not have a connecting door.

 

[Boopuff]

We did a villa with 7. Plenty of room. Renting DVC is a good way to go.

 

[Karebear]

You might want to consider Coronado Springs. When I have stayed there, the bus transportation to the parks was good and I like all of the dining choices there. They have a tower there, that is a bookable category. That way if you book multiple rooms, you are all guaranteed to be in the same building. It is really nice too!

 

[stinkpickle]

We like renting DVC, but that's become very popular, so availability might be a problem. And so are the cancellation policies.

 

[unrequited23]

If 10K is your total out the door budget for 5 adults and 1 kid, I would start with looking at ticket prices, since those are hard costs that won't change. 4 day tickets for that crowd is already around $3000. Then you need to subtract any transportation costs. After that you will know what sort of budget you are working with for the hotel and food.

 

[sponica]

A) How many sleeping surfaces do you want?
B) How many bathrooms?

For that configuration of people, I might be inclined to do 3 rooms at a value or moderate and request for 2 to be connecting. That way you get 6 beds and 3 bathrooms.

 

[holden]

I’d do either separate rooms or a Grand Villa.

 

[Timandalicia]

Best resort as a whole for your group. I say 2 bedroom villa Beach Club renting points. Walking and transportation good for a big group. Then Minnie van to AK and MK because you have multiple households to share cost.
And the Marketplace is fast and easy for a quick exit in the morning.
Regrouping is easy at BC villas- pool or lobby, you’re never far from the room.