New Here Need advice for trip with large family

[7Bakers]

Hi everyone! I am new to the boards and am looking for help in planning a trip with a large family. There are 8 of us (Me, my husband, 5 kids and my mom) We aren't looking to go until next year, but I am needing to plan ahead so that I can budget for the cost. We would like to stay on site, but we are not sure what would be our best option for cost saving. I already feel quite overwhelmed in researching on my own, and a friend highly recommended checking out this site. Any help that you can provide me with would really be appreciated. Thanks so much. Be blessed!

 

[thelionqueen]

Welcome!! Great advice you got by searching this site. I've learned more here than anywhere else.

The 1st thing you need to decide is your accomodation. Value, Moderate or Deluxe. You will definitely need at least 2 rooms. See how many days you are going to stay and which time of year. With that many people I would strongly suggest off peak times...save lots of money and have a better time.

Once you decide how much you are going to spend on rooms and tickets, then you need to decide about meals. Dining plan or not (I personally LOVE the Dining plan) and budget accordingly. There is a great web site "www.allearsnet.com" that has a list of all the restaurants and menus.

Once you decide on a time and lenght, make your room ressies first.

Once you get to that point, then come ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations) which are very important.

Hope this is a decent start. I would also strongly recommend staying on site, just MHO>

 

[Schmeck]

How old are the kids? If they are older, I'd go for 3 rooms at a value, so you'd have 3 bathrooms!

 

[7Bakers]

When we go the kids will be 13,11,8,6,4. If at all possible I would like to stick with 2 rooms, but because I am such a newbie I don't know if that is a good choice or not.

 

[kizmac]

If your kids are younger, I'd go for 2 connecting rooms at a moderate. POR was wonderful for our stay this past September. There were 10 of us, my family with 6 kids and my parents. We did the connecting rooms and it worked out fabulously. My kids ranged in age from 14 to 1 yr. It would of taken 3 rooms at a value and we'd of gotten a lesser resort so for us POR was great. Deluxes are just too pricey for us. I did visit POP while there just in case for future trips, but was not impressed. Others seem to love it though.

I just see you posted your kids ages and I think you'd be fine with two rooms at POR or another mod. We did just fine with two bathrooms for the 10 of us and that was with 4 adults.

 

[isla bonita]

If off site is an option there are condos, town homes and pool homes that offer such wonderful options for the kids. Plenty of room, child safety, childrens items and toys. Washer and dryer for the messes.

 

[kizmac]

When we go the kids will be 13,11,8,6,4. If at all possible I would like to stick with 2 rooms, but because I am such a newbie I don't know if that is a good choice or not.

Those ages are almost exactly the ages my kids were when we did two rooms at POR with my parents! My kids were 14,11,7,5,3 and 1.5

 

[7Bakers]

We are looking to go off season. Maybe the end of September '07 or sometime in November '07. I was told there is a food and drink festival at EPCOT in October, so we are avoiding that month. How much difference is there in Value, Moderate and Deluxe? Does it really add a lot to the experience. Because of the size of our group, instinctively I would go with Value. But because of the cost for all of us to go, we may not get to go back for several years, so I really want to make it special, but still affordable. We do want to stay on site. I was also told that the dining plan is the way to go, and also to purchase a fast pass. Are there packages that are all inclusive, or is it best to purchase everything seperately? As you can see I have a lot that I need to find out about. I appreciate all of the help that has already been given. Thanks. Be blessed!

 

[In Luv with Disney]

With that many people, can I suggest a neighboring timeshare OFF SITE? I know that's a bad word to some people, but I own timeshare right outside of the gates of WDW and it is GREAT. We only have two kids now, but you can't beat the space. A typical 2 BR unit sleeps 8; Master bedroom with King (or Queen) size bed, 2nd BR with two FULL size beds and a Queen size sleeper sofa in the living room. There is a dining room, full kitchen and two bathrooms, one with a jacuzzi. You can get really reasonable deals for FAR less than two values will cost you for the week. Plus, you will be able to cook meals in your kitchen to save on costs as well!

I too LOVE staying onsite, but when you are trying to be budget conscious, this might be your best bet!

By the way, the food and wine festival is wonderful! A bit more crowded than I would have thought, but it was nice. Can I recommend going the last week of November or first two weeks in December?? It is typically the slowest time, although in recent years it has gotten more popular. All of the holiday festivities are AMAZING!!!!!!

 

[Kez250]

Why not stay at a disney vacation club resort - they have 2 bedroom apts with 2 baths that sleep 8 (sofa bed in Lounge) and they have a full kitchen - good for having breakfast/other meals in yr room and therefore saving money - they also have washer/dryers so you don't have to take as many clothes as you can wash as you wear

Only problem is once you've gone this way - you'll probably never want to stay in just a room again

K.

 

[rgribik]

If someone will sleep with grandma, connecting rooms at a value are great. We have done that many times(we like POP). Tell them you need connecting rooms because of the kids, and you will get them, no problem. If no one wants to sleep with granny, then Port Orleans Riverside is a good option, because they have a trundle bed(rooms sleep 5), then a little person can use the trundle. We don't use a kitchen or want that option, but I have read on these boards the villas at Fort Wilderness sleep more people and offer a kitchen. We always stay on site, love the atmosphere. You can bring breakfast from home if your guys aren't big morning eaters. We have pop-tarts or cereal, powdered donuts...... and just run over to the food court and get milk and oj. Check out the dining plan, it may be worth your money(my kids eat next to nothing, so lots of food doesn't help us). Many people on the boards swear by it. Good luck, you will find tons of info here. Dis can be done cheap(as cheap as you can be at Dis) or over the top, it's up to you.

 

[skent10]

Why not stay at a disney vacation club resort - they have 2 bedroom apts with 2 baths that sleep 8 (sofa bed in Lounge) and they have a full kitchen - good for having breakfast/other meals in yr room and therefore saving money - they also have washer/dryers so you don't have to take as many clothes as you can wash as you wear

Only problem is once you've gone this way - you'll probably never want to stay in just a room again

K.

That was my suggestion, too, to look into a "Home Away From Home" stay. A 2br villa will hold your party of 8 (if someone sleeps with Grandma on a pull out sofa), has two bathrooms, a full kitchen (to save money and time in the mornings) and the laundry--with five kids, you know it will be handy. There are also a few 3br grand villas that hold up to 12 (but may be cost prohibitive).

We booked our villa directly through Disney, but I'm sure you could spend a lot less money if you rent points from a DVC member--check out the DVC board for more info. They will start offering the Dining Plan to DVC'ers in April (one reason we didn't book with a DVC'er was that wasn't an option at that point) and going off-season like you plan should be easier as well (we're going at a pretty popular time). It's worth investigating. And I spent a lot of time goofing around the WDW Reservations website and inputing lots of different options to figure out the various prices for packages.

And then there's AAA discounts--they may be significant as well, so worth a call to your AAA TA for more info.

For a lot of us, this planning stage is as much fun as the vacation itself! Good luck!

 

[zookeeper]

We did Disney last September with me, DH, 5 kids (8,7,5,3,9months) and Grandma and Grandpa (God bless them!!). We had connecting rooms at POP and we did OK,but it was definitely a little crowded. I'm pretty sure that by day 3 my dad had had enough family togetherness!! 2 of the kids stayed at night in my parents' room so that helped and we didn't spend very much time in the rooms so it was tolerable. For us the $ factor was key so we couldn't move up to a mod. We also went with the free dining offer, but we all agreed that we would pay for it the next time. You can do the food a little bit more cheaply if you really want to, but without the dining plan we would have never gone to so many character meals and for us that was a huge part of the excitement. Plus, it was SO MUCH FOOD! I still can't believe it. We left without using all of our food credits although I swore it wasn't possible when I read others say that. We had brought a box of breakfast foods, drinks,etc just in case and we brought a lot of it back home with us. That was our first trip to WDW and I'm already starting to plan our next trip. After staying onsite for our first trip I think it would be hard to stay offsite. I'd feel like I was missing out on something. Plus, we wouldn't be able to get the dining plan. Good Luck and Happy Planning!! That was one of my favourite parts...planning!

 

[TravelinGal]

I understand you want to stay on site. I do too - so much it almost hurts! But it is SO much less expensive to rent a private pool home! You can get a NICE! 3 or 4 bedroom home (actually up to a 6 bedroom home even!!) with kitchen, washer, dryer, and sometimes even a game room (usually the garage with a pool table/fooseball table etc) for $1200 or less! Even with the cost of a rental car (or van in your case) the total is less than staying on site. They are within 9 miles of the main entrance to the parks, so it's not a prohibitive drive. Just check out Award Pool Homes to see what they have. It doesn't cost anything to look and consider...

If you're set on staying on site check out the villas. They are more expensive, but again, you have more space, kitchen (which saves money) and washer and dryer in the unit. I'd recommend Old Key West. They tend to run a little less than the other villas - and they are the largest ones. (As a travel agent, I've toured all of them)

RE Fast Pass - you don't buy those (at least not yet...see the rumor board). They are currently included for anyone who has admission to the parks.

The budget board here is a great place for money saving tips too (some Disney related - some daily life related)

 

[llp479]

I would rent points from a DVC member at OKW. OKW has the largest rooms, lowest points, with two beds in the second bedroom as opposed to the others which mostly have a bed and a sofa bed. By staying onsite you eliminate the need to rent a car, van, etc.

As mentioned, the dining plan is now available to DVC members/renters, so that's a consideration as well. It's so nice to have all that room to spread out. I only have 3 dds, but have traveled with various family members and friends as a party of 8. We own at both BWV and OKW, and OKW is much more comfortable with a group that size.

 

[Cllong75]

We had a similar situation this past September and I can tell you it's hectic but very doable. We had an amazing family vacation. For us there was myself, my husband, my mom, brother, sister-in-law, my sil's dad, and 4 children ages 8,5, 20 mos., and 3 weeks old. We stayed at All Star Sports and had two rooms, each couple had a bed and each grand parent had a bed they shared with the older boys and then we had a portable crib in each room for the two little ones, it was crowded but we were pretty much only there too sleep anyway. We pretty much agreed before we ever went which parks we would do what day so that was already decided and then we just kinda ate wherever sounded good, we had a couple planned but it worked out great. Best of luck and just remember to have fun and don't stress about everyone else