NEW thread: HELPFUL tips for large families of 5+ for WDW vacations

[disneyfreak74]

We are trying to plan a trip in Dec. 8 adults and 2 kids. We have the option of renting a house REAL close, but I like staying on site. Does anyone think that the dining plan (we also LIKE to eat GOOD) could be enough to sway them to the "magic" side?

 

[Zoemakes5]

I think the dining plan is a GREAT deal IF......
You want to eat table service every day or most days.
or if your party is primarily children. I honestly don't think you could go a week at WDW not paying an average of $11 per day, even if you didn't eat TS any of the days.
For us, we would do it so we could take advantage of using the TS restaurants at a price which isn't too much more than what we'd spend anyway. The reason, of our family of 5, 4 of us are now considered adults (me, DH and DS's 12 & 10--in a couple of weeks). As a result, we're paying, let's round up to $40 per day for adult and $11 for DD=$171. Can I spend less than $171 per day for my family for food. Oh yeah. Could I go to a TS each day and do that, no. I'd be paying not too much less than that just to go to a single character meal. And, you can't get less dining plan days than your stay. If it was DH and I, but three under 9, then the amount would be roughly $113 and I'd go for it in a minute.

As far as other ideas for keeping costs down. Here's some of the things that have worked for me before and things I'm trying this time.
In the past: purchase things like glow sticks necklaces and twirly lights, mini fans, pins (from ebay or mousepins online), ponchos, umbrellas, etc. before hand. You will get them much cheaper, and it's things you'll need when you get down there.
Bring your own water bottles. Even if it's the bottled type you purchase beforehand, it's alot cheaper! And better for you. We either purchase or already have water bottle lanyards/holders, making it possible for anyone to use.
Bring your own stroller so you don't have to rent.
Have everyone have their own fanny pack and a stash of little snacky things. It will stave off the munchies and curb the impulse purchases. One fo the things we will often put in the fanny packs are uncrustables, and that way we can either get a later lunch or earlier dinner and sometimes combine them.
Invest in a roll or two of quarters and pennies for the pressed pennies. One thing I've found is that they really get into it, and when they're coming off a ride right into a store, they now tend to go looking for the penney machine and pretty much ignore all the merchandise. (You can steer them that way too.)
For older kids, give them their own money or Disney dollars. Tell them that's it and what will be included (for example, we pay for snacks and food, but they pay for any souvies/candy/extra pictures, etc.) It's amazing how careful they'll be with their own money!
Bring batteries and film from home (nothing like getting caught having to pay for that there!)
We eat breakfast before we go to the park.
We eat most, if not all, TS at lunch time. (Added bonus, eliminates the long lunch time lines at CS's!)
If we have a car, we buy postcards off site. We bring post card stamps from home.
We re-use our autograph books and our penney holders from previous years. We buy bigger sized pens at home, typically from the dollar store, for the characters to use to sign.
We try to eat offsite a couple of times if possible.

Something I'm trying to do this time around:
Each of my children will have a b-day and we'll have x-mas between now and the time we leave. We plan to give each of them Disney Dollars or gift cards, ponchos (already got DD a princess one), a Disney-themed t-shirt, some pins, pens, etc. as x-mas and b-day gifts. Building up the excitement for the trip and we're not having to "double dip".

 

[monorailsilver]

We are 6 months into being a family of 5 so our next trip will be yet a new experience.

What we have always done in the past (this was even pre-kids) was to bring our own breakfast from home (or we ship it down).

My kids are slow eaters (I have a 5 yo, almost 3 yo & a 6 month old) so getting dressed, showered & going to breakfast would waste at least an hour of park time for us.

So while dh is showering, I get the kids breakfast & then when I am showering I make sure they aren't making too much of a mess (or I shower first & he gets them breakfast).

Then we get them dressed & leave (dh & I also eat at that time too). Not only does it save us money but time too.

I even had one lady ask me where I got my oatmeal from & when I told her from CT she seemed very jealous that my breakfast for the week cost me about $5 total & her breakfast cost $10/day if not more.

I also bring my own snack too for lounging out by the pool or even in the parks.

My almost 3yo has food allergies (mainly dairy & peanut) so I need to make sure he has food he can eat at all times.

I also try not to buy soda in the parks all that much. If we do, we get it with our meal & then we just stick to our water bottles (the whole family).

Oh & I use my Disney Visa. I cashed in about $240 last summer & I am already (gulp) up to just over $200 on it & I have no trip planned until 2008 (I hope).

I also do Mypoints & just started 2 other rewards programs so I am hoping that helps me in the money area. And I am hoping to keep my ebay selling money in my paypal account & forget about it in a way so that I can use it for my vacation.

 

[masters58]

We are a family of 5 and just went to DW last month. We stayed at Fort Wilderness. My children were so excited about going to Disney that anytime we felt too lazy to cook or wanted to eat out, another child would remind us that that could be money for Disney. That helped a lot! We also saved change from the time we knew we were going until we left...we nearly had $95. We also let them pick two things each at the individual parks (MGM, AK, Epcot, MK) and I bought all of their Disney shirts at the disney store in the mall ($5 clearance!). We are planning to go again in March and have started collecting change.

We did the dining plan and enjoyed it! We have a 10 year old daughter and 5 year old twin boys. We can safely say that we did not have ANY leftover credits. We did take some snacks home with us, though. We did several buffets as my kids love lots of choices. Thankfully, they are very willing to try anything and it was wonderful at Boma. The kids also love a lot of fruit (we all know how expensive that can be) so buffets were great for just the fruit. We will definitely be doing the dining plan again in the spring.

 

[masters58]

Try tuscan-ridge.com , there is only one owner and the place is wonderful.

Thanks for the website--looks like a nice place and apparently, very popular! They are almost sold out!

 

[sully7]

We just got back from WDW. We are a family of six (me, DH, DSs 9 & 7 and DDs 5&3.)

We stayed at FW in the cabins and got the Dining Plan. Wow! It was fantastic! Our TSs for five days cost $1000! And we paid nothing! DH and I would laugh when we got the receipt with all the zeroes on it! I figure that all the Dining Plan that we used would be about $1500. Since we got Free Dining it was awesome! But DH and I decided that we would do it again even if we had to pay for it! I never had to say "NO!" What a relief for me!

The cabins were great. They truly are the most relaxing option. You come back home at the end of the day and you feel that you can relax, the kids can be louder than at a hotel and you can be 'alone' in the middle of WDW.

Even if you don't stay at FW, I suggest a visit. It is so much more laid back and relaxed. Catch the movie and campfire. Enjoy!

 

[ReinerFam]

We are a family of 5. Boy would a difficult time it was trying to select an affordable hotel on site. We chose POR because of the trundle bed. We could have stayed off site in a suite but we really wanted to use the Disney transportation system. Our littlest will be 2 1/2. We purchased the dining plan because it seemed affordable. We are only paying $20/day for the two oldest kids - the baby was free. We figured for two meals and a snack - it was worth it. We booked our vacation end of last Dec. We are going the first week in Dec. When we received our tax refund, we purchased a 9 month CD with the money we will need to pay off the trip. Now we just need a little spending money which is sitting in our savings account. Hopefully with the dining plan, we won't spend that much money.

 

[Joni317]

Okay, you guys have gotten me intrigued in the FW cabins. How much per night during value season. Also, how much space? We are a family of 5 - dh, me, ds5, dd3, dd19 mo.

Thanks

 

[sully7]

The way I see it the cabins cost a bit more than other ways to sleep (offsite, values even moderates.) However with a cabin you have the option of cooking any meals you want. We debated spending money on food in the parks vs. cooking good meals in our own kitchen. It wasn't even close. The money we could save by cooking for ourselves (even ribs and shrimp!) was huge! So we decided on the cabins. The extra space and no neighbors was just a bonus! Then Disney through a wrench in the works...Free Dining!

Now I could get 2 rooms at an All Star for way cheaper..What to do?

We kept the cabin and are glad that we did. The ability to leave the crowds behind was priceless. No hallway noise. We never worried that our 4 kids were anoying anyone else! We had our own space away from the kids but not too far away. We thought about using 2 TS to go to a Signature Dining event...no big deal just make Mac and cheese one night at the cabin and you're set, no meals oop at the park.

As for the space, Storage was adequate. 4 drawers in the bedroom and shelves on either side of the murphey bed in the living room. The kitchen cabinets have space you probably won't fill with food. I recommend an over the door shoe organizer for bathroom stuff. It will leave your bathroom counter clear! Speaking of bathrooms. There is only one but with little kids we didn't need more. As they get older and start to care what they look like, I figure we might need another bathroom!

Maybe the fact that we went in Sept had something to do with the peace at FW. I can't vouch for midsummer or holiday crowds, but I suspect that they aren't all that different just more numerous!

Have fun and relax, it is a vacation!

 

[3DisneyKids]

We are a family of 5 and manage to go down twice a year or so. (Sometimes once, sometimes twice...or like this year we did one big trip in May with all 5 of us and in a couple of weeks just DH and I are going for F&W.)

No, we are not mega-bucks winners! lol

My best secret is also Dinsey's best secret...joining DVC! You already mentioned this, so I know you know all about it. But truly, it just about guarantees that we go at least once a year and get to stay in awesome accommodations.

Since you are in FL, you can get the resident seasonal passes, so that is a huge savings on tickets. But for those reading this thread who are not so luck as to live near the Mouse, here is what I do. I purchase 10 non-expiring tickets from undercovertourist.com. And I purchase these at odd times and not all at once. I might buy one adult 10-day one month, and 2 months later buy for 2 kids, etc. Basically, I just spread it out so it never feels like a massive hit. But more importantly, we always have tickets that still have some days on them lying around. (Other option is to buy APs with that awesome DVC-member discount.)

This makes it SO MUCH easier to just take a quick trip down. Think about it...the hotel is paid for (b/c you bought into DVC), and you already have tickets. Those 2 items are the most expensive part of the trip often. We have to fly since we are so far away, so it makes it even easier to watch for DING! fares from Southwest. If I see a great DING! fare come through (for example, we see deals like $39, $44, $49, and/or $54 one-way all the time).

So again...let's say you have the hotel and the tickets...and then you get DING'd for $39...well, you do the math and you see that..."Wow--we can take a trip for only $450 in airfare plus the cost of food!" (and you can do foos ultra cheap if you want/need to b/c you have that DVC kitchen!) Of course, yes, you have already paid for everything else, but budgeting this way really makes it feel like you are only paying a few hundred dollars for a WDW trip for 5!

We do not feel that we have to scrimp and miss out on other stuff all year just so we can do Disney. We are careful by nature, though. For example, even before having a Disney habit, we always brought lunch to work everyday instead of eating out, etc. DH brings coffee in a travel mug instead of buying one on the way to work, etc. But again, we did all of this always.

 

[madge]

We are a family of five

For lodging, we've stayed onsite and off. It just depends on what type of trip we are taking, and what specials are available. Our resorts of choice (onsite) are PO-R, Shades of Green, and the Dolphin. If we are only doing parks, not much down time, a single hotel room is ok. If our vacation is going to be slower paced and laid back, I prefer to stay offsite at a condo through www.afvclub.com For $299/week, we've stayed at a couple of very nice properties in the Orlando area.

As far as eating, we still do a lot of sharing.... and most of our in-park meals are counter service. Once my 2 older children became adults in Disney's eyes, we stopped doing character meals. It's far too $$ to justify the expense. FOr that reason, paying for the DDP doesn't work for us. We did take advantage of the free dining promo last year, but my older boys don't eat $37 worth of food a day. We aren't opposed to eating a sit-down meal offsite, either.

for tickets, we go to Ft. Knox or Shades of Green.

I do send things ahead via UPS - snacks, sunscreen, etc. and we will stop at Publix for drinks and fruit.

Most of the souvenirs come from the Disney Outlet, as well.

 

[almburr]

we are a family of 7 DDs 12,9,&4 DSs 6 & 21mo. Last August we went with my cousin and her family we only took the oldest two my DH and Me , Cousin DH DD and 2DSs and cousins mother my Aunt. We had 2 rooms at POR that were contected. We were there for 4N5D it worked out fine 5and 5 per room. DH and I and the next two DS6 and DD4 are going in November. We felt it was there turn, since they didnt get to go last time we are going to stay at WL. Net time we are going to take the baby when he is around 4 or 5 by himself. I really want to go again with all of us. That would be seven people and we want to stay onsite, love the perks. Will have to do suites aor a few value rooms.