Need suggestion for place to stay!!

[mrsschlep]

Hi guys. My best friend just told me that her and her DH are planning to take their kids to WDW in June. They don't have access to the internet ( Can you believe that? ) so I volunteered to help her plan. Here's the thing~ they have 5 kids!! Their ages come trip time will be 8,7,4,2,& 11months. They are looking for somewhere affordable to stay either in or outside of the park. I thought that they could get 2 rooms at a value resort with a connecting door, but my neighbor said that with only 2 adults Disney wouldn't do it. I don't know if that's true or not but that was the best I could come up with. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
~Jessi

 

[indigoxtreme]

Yes they will do the 2 rooms at the value. In fact since you only have the 2 adults, that is the only way to get a guaranteed connecting room. Be sure to ask for connecting not adjoining. Also you might check into the wilderness cabins. They sleep six and have a full kitchen, living room etc. So meals could be prepared there to save $.

 

[staci]

You can totally get two connecting rooms at the values. When we stayed in 1997 there were two adults, and three kids (17,17 and 13) , two rooms at the values (connecting). This works out nice because of the two bathrooms to share!

Since the baby will be in a crib the cabins would work too. I have never stayed there so I cant comment much.

With that many kids, I would not want to stay off property. It would be so much easier to not have to organized everyone in a van to move everywhere, and then get them all through the parking lots! The buses would be so much easier.

 

[rt2dz]

My personal recommendation would be the cabins at Ft. Wilderness (since one is under 3)--it gives you the best bang for your buck. It is also just a quick boat ride to MK and lots for the kids to do. Then you have the kitchen and all that extra room. It is the best thing you can do, imho, especially at those ages. They would have bunk beds for the older two, another bed in the bedroom, a pull out in the living room (and a pack-n-play).

The next suggestion would be to rent DVC points. Average cost is about $10 per point, but $9 per point may be possible. They could get a 1 bedroom and still have extra room and a kitchen--although only one bed, except at one of the DVC resorts.

My third choice would be two connecting (not adjoining) rooms at a value--not a problem with only two adults. But the walls are thin and there is no fridge, much less a full kitchen. But they would have four beds (tiny space though with a 4, 2, and 11 month that would be exteremly confining) and two bathrooms.

 

[princess mom of 4]

We have 3 kids and are doing the two connecting rooms at PopC this October. With children in the party, they will GUARANTEE that the rooms are connecting...with parties of all adults, there is no guarantee. My math showed this to be our best choice, and the two bathrooms are a definite plus!

 

[KristiKelly]

I would suggest either the cabins or DVC. We are staying in a 1 bedroom at Boardwalk this year. DS8 & DD5 will sleep on the pull-out sofa in the living area. DH & I will sleep in the bedroom and our baby in the pack & play.

A 1 bedroom has a king size bed in the bedroom and a queen size pull out. A 2 bedroom DVC would have the same as a 1 bedroom plus a studio that has a queen bed and pull-out sofa.

Have your friend come to your house and look at all of the accomodations on allearsnet.com.

 

[DisneyGrandParents]

My vote go for either POP or the cabins at FW. The upside to POP is of course more room, but probably a little more $$. Conversely, the downside to FWC are less room for less $$. We have done both (as well as many other locations), and I think they would be happy with either. It really depends on their budget.

Have fun.

 

[powellrj]

I am going to be the one person who suggests an off-site condo. You can get a 2 or 3 bedroom very close and very nice with full kitchen and laundry for under $500 on skyauction or hotelkingdom. With 5 kids the extra space and kitchen/laundry would sell the place for me.

We stayed at cypress point in June and could be in the parks in less than 10 mins.

We have never stayed in one, but I know lots of people that post on the Orlando board stay in pool homes that are much cheaper than hotel rooms and much nicer than my own home with home theater, private pools and 4 and 5 bedrooms for under $1,000 per week. Many of these are very close to the parks too.

 

[Gillian]

They have too many people for a DVC 1 Br, they only sleep 4.

Onsite will allow them to split up easily. I'd bet that with kids of different ages like that, they will sometimes want to do different things.

The cabins are great. Downsides are getting on the busses with 2 strollers. They will have to take 2 busses or a bus and a boat to the parks. They also may have to take a bus to the pool/store/restauarant.

Offsite would probably be the best value. a 3 BR condo in windsor palms has a ton of space for the money, plus a full kitchen and 2 bathrooms. The townhomes there have 3 BRs, 3 baths and many have a splash pool in the yard that is perfect for younger kids. Traffic is not a problem from that location.

 

[fraggle]

I would recommend off-site, too. This trip we are staying at a Residence Inn in LBV-they have great rates and a breakfast is included each day. They have two bedroom suites which also have a living room and a full kitchen. We stayed at the FW cabins on our last trip 3 years ago and the cabins are kind of small(vs. a condo or even a Residence Inn) and we did not like taking the buses with a double stroller (and a 15 month old and a 3yr. old) and ended up driving our car to all the parks anyways.

 

[brymolmom]

My family stayed at Homewood Suites (on Parkway or Parkwood - can't remember which) which is right off of 192 and only less than a mile out of the WDW gates. It was very affordable and the reason I did it is because with 2 little ones, I like having a 'suite' arrangement where there is a bedroom to put them to bed and my dh and I can stay up in another room. I think they have both 1 and 2 bedroom suites there. And the price includes a hot breakfast for everyone which would save a family that size a lot of money. Plus there's a kitchenette with frig in the room so having food onhand would be nice.

Plus the pool is nice and they have a kiddie pool too. We'll stay there again although for our upcoming visit we're staying onsite to take advantage of free dining. It's not a 4 star place - but it's clean and the location is great.

If you look into this just make sure they call when it gets close to request a room away from I4 - the hotel backs up to I4 and the rooms right next to it, I've read, can be noisy. We had a pool facing room and the noise was fine.

Good Luck.

 

[travelitis]

My vote is off site, too. You can get more creature comfort for your money. I'd look at the rental homes (expedia.com lists a few companies) - some have pools. With that many kids, more bedrooms, laundry, and a kitchen would give me more magic than staying in adjoining rooms at a value resort. If budget is a big concern, there are timeshare resorts who charge practically nothing if you'll sit through a timeshare presentation. We did that, saving hundreds on accomodations, and thought it was well worth it. Until we did that, my philosophy was that the only place to stay was on site. No more!

 

[newtowdw1]

I vote offsite. We stayed at Ft Wilderness cabins, and while we loved it, it was very expensive, even with AP rates. Look at Lake Buena Vista Suites. Sure seems like great prices to me!

 

[stacy6552]

Onsite onsite onsite. If they are budget minded, they can rent points from a DVC member and stay in a 2bedroom villa. It'll be great for them to have the advantage of a full kitchen, and the privacy of 2 bedroom doors.

 

[walters396]

I also agree with offsite. We are staying in a vacation pool home that has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2200 sq ft for $840 for 8 nights. This will give us and the kids are own space and we can save money on meals by eating at the house. Also, we can swim without worrying about everyone else in the pool and splashing (my DD doesn't like that).

Whatever you choose, have a great time!