New here! Large family needing advice on everything Disney!

[auburngirl409]

Hi! We are a family of 9. DH and I and 7 kiddos ages 16 down to two year old twins.
We are tossing around the idea of a trip to DW this December or January. I need all the best tips on saving money, staying off site vs on site, parking(because we will probably be driving to the parks), etc.

Our stay will be about a week.
We haven't been in several year, and the last time we went, we stayed on site with free dining.
I'm not thinking that is an option now that we have two more kids and no other adults going with us.(to strategically put kids/adults in rooms)
We will be driving, so info on parking at the parks will also be helpful!
We aren't ones who generally take a break from the parks during the day and we don't enjoy park hopping.
I know this is scattered, but it all seems so overwhelming right now! Any help will be appreciated!

 

[Klayfish]

Wow, I can't even imagine...7 kids. I have 3 and it's more than a handful at time. I bow to your abilities to manage it all.

First, I'd take a grab a cup of coffee (or whatever floats your boat) and spend a lot of time reading through the message board. You'll find a lot of these topics are discussed quite often and you'll find a wealth of info.

Personally, I'd stay off site, but I'm a big fan of staying off site. Never stayed on site and have no desire to. For a family your size, I would think off site would be far more economical, especially if you're bringing your own car. Places like VRBO are your friend in helping find a place to stay.

Parking is easy. It's $20/day (or is it $22...we go as AP holders, so it's included in our ticket). Pay at the entrance to the park you want to go to. CMs will then guide you where to park the car. The parking lots, especially in MK and Epcot are amazingly massive. So make sure you mark down where you parked. Use the tram to get you to the front gate...except for MK where it will take you to the TTC and you then take the monorail or ferry to the front gate. I know you said you don't hop, but if you wanted to, the parking ticket is good for any park that day, so if you did hop you don't have to pay again.

If you haven't been in several years, be sure to read up on the FP+ system and how it works. Personally, I love it. There is a FP+ thread specifically for this, tons of information in it.

 

[rer1972]

I'm a big fan of staying on-site; however, with a family of 9 I would consider renting a home nearby. It's much cheaper than a room on-site or an off-site hotel, and if you are willing to pick up groceries and do some minimal cooking (tv dinners and sandwiches) it would be cheaper food wise as well. Many of the homes have multiple bedrooms, and some are even decorated with Disney themes. I think most of those homes have pools too, so a stay home pool day would be a savings on tickets for one day at least.

We've also taken small soft sided coolers kind of like the soft lunchboxes/bags with us to the parks filled with sandwiches, chips, drinks, water, snacks; we just stuff it an a locker and come back for lunch and snacks. Having the car and being off-site also gives a chance to spend less on food even when not eating at "home".

As the previous poster said, check out some of the budget boards here on the DIS as well as other's experiences with rentals and such. Lots of ways to go and not break the bank.

 

[mjkacmom]

Check out renting a condo with several bedrooms at Bonnet Creek. We are a family of seven, and rented points for a 2 bedroom villa on our last trip, but if I had any more people, we would've gone off site. I think they have shuttles, so if your older kids wanted to come and go without the parents, it's doable.

 

[katyjeka]

Our suggestion, Bonnet Creek. The rooms are huge and the resort is beautiful. It is our favorite resort hands down. You get a lot of "magic" for a little money.

 

[taccol]

Hi. I'm relatively new to this board, but not to Disney. We are a large family as well...7...5 kids, and we often traveled with the grandparents. We found that a DVC stay was best for us. We had a full kitchen, were still on property, could take advantage of Disney transportation and all resort amenities. I'd look into renting from a DVC member and while you're at Disney, taking a little time to take the DVC tour, then coming back to this board to discuss any membership questions you have BEFORE you look into DVC membership.

I think the overall experience is smoother, more enjoyable, and of course, more memorable when you stay at Disney. Even with the ability to move 9 people around (if you're driving), the logistics of the back and forth to the park are so much easier when left to Disney. Any tips I can offer further from our experiences, please let me know. There is also a great page (free) that we utilized a lot when we first started traveling with our family. www.mousesavers.com teaches so much that will benefit your family--the when, where, and how to save money when eating was most beneficial to us. Good luck!!

 

[jeepnjudy]

Whether we stay on or off-site, we eat breakfast in our room and pack in a lunch (Big money saver!). Also pack some snacks...makes for less grumpy kids and they can snack while waiting in line for a ride. Since you have the toddlers I presume you will be pushing a stroller. You can stuff your lunch in the stroller if you do not want to rent a locker and it's on your person when everyone gets hungry. We then treat ourselves to a TS for dinner because by dinner time we want a sit down break! Renting a house/condo off-site will likely be the most beneficial financially and you would likely have much more room for your family. As PP stated, DVC is great but will be much more costly to rent points rather than staying off-site. Hope that helps!

 

[quandrea]

Hi! We are a family of 9. DH and I and 7 kiddos ages 16 down to two year old twins.
We are tossing around the idea of a trip to DW this December or January. I need all the best tips on saving money, staying off site vs on site, parking(because we will probably be driving to the parks), etc.

Our stay will be about a week.
We haven't been in several year, and the last time we went, we stayed on site with free dining.
I'm not thinking that is an option now that we have two more kids and no other adults going with us.(to strategically put kids/adults in rooms)
We will be driving, so info on parking at the parks will also be helpful!
We aren't ones who generally take a break from the parks during the day and we don't enjoy park hopping.
I know this is scattered, but it all seems so overwhelming right now! Any help will be appreciated!

It's a long shot but check out renting dvc points. Your best chance will be a two bedroom at Saratoga Springs or Old Key West--both of which I love by the way. If you stay there I'd look into renting a car but you could get away without one if cost is a real issue. I love the full kitchens and laundry. Cooking on holiday is not the hardship you would imagine. I cook breakfast and one other meal every day, plus most of our snacks. Due to allergies but a huge savings.

 

[kboo]

Some 2BR villas on Disney property will sleep 9 (and some have 3 baths) and there seems to be pretty good availability in January BUT a 2BR will run around 225 points for 6 nights. IF you get a deal on points ($13-14 pp) it sill still average about $500 a night. I suspect you could rent a whole house with more bedrooms for less than that. With 2yo twins and only 2 adults, I would not suggest tree house villas or one of the farther off resorts. Bay Lake Tower is convenient to lots of transportation, but 6 nights on a point rental would run you around $3100-$3200 for 6 nights.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I would highly recommend renting a house at Windsor Hills. It's a beautiful resort only 2 miles from Disney, with houses up to 6 bedrooms. Most are decorated very nicely with Disney themed kids rooms, game rooms, and private pools. You can rent a house for the fraction of the cost of staying onsite. You can also save a ton of money by getting groceries and taking meals/snacks into the parks.
www.windsorhillsrent.com

 

[rer1972]

A coworker rented a house near Celebration with 4BR for just over $100 per night last year (think it was around Nov/Dec). He has a family of 6 and was very happy with the place. Clean, nice pool, and lots of space for everyone

It kind of depends on what you are looking for? Saving some money, or the benefits of being close to the parks (someone else can drive/park, using WDW resort's nice pools, imersion in the whole Disney vacation). I've done both, and enjoy either way.

Renting DVC is not cheaper than renting a home off-site, but it will get you on-site at a nice resort for less than usual.

Also, a trip in January is more than likely to be less expensive.

 

[katyjeka]

We are arriving December 9th and staying two weeks in a 2 bedroom at Bonnet Creek for $1679.00. That is the grand total. I understand Bonnet Creek is not a Disney property but it is next door to CBR and it feels pretty close. The resort is beautiful and the rooms are great. I understand you are minus a shuttle service but for the price difference we'll drive.

 

[HopperFan]

Thoughts:
- The thing you have the most control over is the lodging, then the food.
- Stay offsite. I would look at a 3 bedroom condo, Bonnet Creek is practically onsite.
- Big living spaces, big balconies, great resort amenities.
- Groceries for breakfast in room.
- We pack lunch and take in park, assume you'll have double stroller so small soft coolers can be loaded on.
- A few dinners in room, simple ones or use grills outside.
- A few special dinners at parks or off property to keep the vacation vibe.
- Parking will be $20 per day at parks.
- If you don't hop or take breaks arrive at rope drop and go as long as you can.

 

[North of Mouse]

OP, check out the 'Budget' board, you will get some good advice/tips there!!

Have a great trip!

 

[TwoMisfits]

Have an idea of what you want to spend...a total overall budget and per category cost.
Your tickets will be the killer expense b/c those are not pretty fixed especially if you want to go every day you are there...you will have about $3K+ in expense just for those.
Other categories:
Travel Cost (getting there and back)
Lodging
Food - Both groceries and Eat Out
Tickets
Parking
Other Entertainment
Souvies/Photos/Misc

If we know what you want to spend, we can help you spend it better. Offsite in a condo/townhome with resort activities and full kitchens in the rooms will almost certainly be the best call...especially since you'll already have a car...

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

How exciting! You've pointed out a few things that stand out to me: you've been before/have stayed onsite and are open to the idea of staying offsite, you will be driving, you don't typically take breaks (which may not be needed in Dec/Jan with milder temps and possibly shorter park hours), and you are a family of nine which would eliminate the most affordable onsite option (other than a FW campsite) which would be two value resort rooms. So with all this in consideration I would definitely look into renting a house offsite. Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, and Indian Creek are a few of many vacation home communities that are close and popular with families doing Disney trips. We've stayed in a condo at Windsor Hills before and loved it; and it was an easy drive to the parks (~10 min on average) and near plenty of grocery and dining options which will save you a bundle on food which is nice cause that can make it more feasible to add extra experiences in your budget (dessert parties, dinner shows, Disney Springs, etc.) if your family is interested in those experiences. I'm a big fan of loading up on Disney gift cards as one way to save for a trip ( use them to buy park tickets, pay for souvenirs, dining reservations, memory maker, parking) and since you are driving I would see if you can buy them where you can get fuel discount perks which will help save you money on gas for the drive down (maybe buy most of the gift cards closer to the trip so that the fuel discount perks don't expire too soon). Happy planning!

 

[KayaWildfire]

Family of 8 here! Our 6 kiddos range in age from almost 7 to 22. I may have missed this in your post, but are you driving to Florida? Since you have such a big group, you would are pretty limited in the car rental department and renting a car that fits your crew isn't going to be cheap (I speak from experience). If you are driving to Florida, I would probably go ahead and stay offsite in a house. There developments that are close to Disney and it gives you a lot of space. For cost savings, I would go in January as well. It is one of the cheapest times of the year to travel-the best weeks are the last two weeks in January. If you were planning on flying to Florida, I would reconsider onsite. Are your twins going to be over 3 when you travel? Because of they are still going to be 2, you are technically a party of 8 from a resort perspective because you can have an "infant" under 3 in your room in addition to the normal room capacity. So that opens up the option to stay in 2 rooms at the value resorts onsite. The cost of food might be a killer though, but there are usually deals in January that are room, ticket, and dining plan packages. You aren't guaranteed connecting rooms of course, but traveling at a slower time will help that. I did fax a request for connecting rooms to our hotel before our last trip asking for connecting rooms by saying we were one family with a lot of kids and they granted our request.

 

[Muskrat191]

We only have two kids, but often travel with friends or family. For the last two WDW trips, we rented a house in one of the subdivisions near Disney (one was a 7 bedroom in Rolling Hills and the other was a 4 bedroom in Windsor Palms). The houses generally have private pools/spas, and lots of room to spread out. Older kids (and parents!) can be swimming, watching movies, etc. at the house once the little ones are in bed for the night. The kitchen makes it easy to eat breakfast and pack lunches to save money.

 

[keirin]

We're a family of 5 - 3 kids - and we're going with best friend's family in Oct. There will be 9 of us altogether. We're renting a 5 bedroom house on airbnb and the cost is half what resorts cost for a 2 bedroom hotel suite. I'd look there - you'll find a wide price range for houses but it's not difficult to find something reasonably inexpensive and close to disney world.

Undercover tourist is an approved seller of disney tickets and it is cheaper than window prices.

You can bring food into the parks, so consider packing your own and bringing it in at least some days instead of eating on site. Eat breakfast at home and consider going home for dinner.

If you think you might want ponchos, buy them at a walgreens/cvs/dollar store and bring them in.