Newbie with large family

[degkerr]

Hey all,
I've got 6 kids and we're trying to plan a trip to Disney. Of course, with 6 kids, we need to keep things inexpensive. I'd like to stay on site but on the Disney website, I'm told my family is too large for the Value and Moderate resorts. Is this true?
Also, what's the deal with meals? My friends have told me dinner reservations need to be made months in advance. I'm not that kind of plan ahead gal. Also with 6 kids (ages 4 to 14) flexibility is critical. Any ideas?
Thanks!!

 

[MMS1125]

You could do 2 value or moderate rooms if you wish to stay at one of those. I think with 8 people you need at least a 2br villa if you go deluxe if you wish to all stay together.

You can make dinner reservations 180 days in advance and if you want one of the popular character meals it's wise to do so. If you just eat quick/counter service you are fine without making meal plans.

I'm an over-planner so I could never just wing a trip w/out ressies or anything. It makes me twitchy but more power to you if you can! Chances are you won't get into any of the more popular sit down restaurants without dinner reservations so just a heads up.

 

[LegoMom3]

If you stay on property you would need two rooms at any resort unless like the PP said, you book one of the villas. Another option is the Fort Wilderness Cabins but I don't have any real experience with those. Those don't come cheap, though, so you may be better off looking outside the World. I've looked into the Dreams Villas before and while I haven't stayed there, I seem to recall seeing some units for around $99/night. That's going to include full kitchen facilities which could really help with food cost. If you really want to be on-site, I think going with two Value rooms will be your least-expensive option (or maybe one of the Family suites??...not sure how many people they accommodate but they also have a kitchenette).

As a first time visitor with so many people to consider, I wouldn't worry about making all sorts of meal reservations ahead of time. I would maybe pick out one character meal that you'd like to experience, book that as soon as you are able, and just do counter-service (or do some meals in your villa if you go that route) for the rest of the time. That gives you maximum flexibility all around.

 

[MK2010]

Hi there! And welcome! I have four kids. Our first trip was in 2009 and I didn't know where to start, but I got all of my great information right here! You have some options to keep it cheap(er) lol. If you want to stay on property you'll have to do 2 rooms and you can get adjoining rooms. The great thing about staying on property is if your flying in they'll transport you everywhere. If you go during free dining you can get a nice dining package that includes your meals for free. And there is an extra touch of magic! We stayed at All Star Music in 2009 on free dining and loved it. This time when we go back we're staying off property at Wyndham Bonnet Creek 'cause the accomadations are cheaper. The trade off is that we aren't eligible for the dining plan. So we won't be eating any meals in the parks.

As far as planning, you might want to think of this as an adventure rather than a vacation. the biggest thing is to just educate yourself. We have lots of people on here and we all tour Disney differently. Some of us have elaborate spreadsheets that tell us what minute to be in line for which ride. Some of us have been going to Disney for so many years that we know what we want to ride and when the best time is to ride it so as to not have to wait in line. Any way yu do Disney is magical.

I would however, encourage you, if you want to have meals with the characters or any of sit down table service meals- get those booked. Yes, sometimes you can walk up to those restaurants and be seated, but a few minutes on the phone will save you the worry. Also, check out some of the wonderful websites such as www.easywdw.com. (Its free) and it can give you an idea of which park is the best to visit which day during your stay. This will cut down on time spent waiting in lines. Know how to use Fastpass. And try to get an idea of which rides you might be interested in.

Good Luck with your planning! I love to plan. I find it keeps me in the Disney spirit!

 

[cah5525]

If you go by 12/31...The Best Western, located in downtown Disney has rates for $79/night + 9.99/night resort fee and free self-parking.
http://www.mousesavers.com/bestwestern.html

 

[ccgirl]

Hey all,
I've got 6 kids and we're trying to plan a trip to Disney. Of course, with 6 kids, we need to keep things inexpensive. I'd like to stay on site but on the Disney website, I'm told my family is too large for the Value and Moderate resorts. Is this true?
Also, what's the deal with meals? My friends have told me dinner reservations need to be made months in advance. I'm not that kind of plan ahead gal. Also with 6 kids (ages 4 to 14) flexibility is critical. Any ideas?
Thanks!!

Inexpensive can be interpretted differently. What is inexpensive for one person may not be for another. If you have a $$$ and care to share we can help you further.

As others have pointed out, you would need two rooms. Or, the Villas. You can look into renting points from a member. That is much cheaper than paying through WDW.

Don't discount offsite. We can get a 2BR timeshare for a fraction of the cost. That way, we grocery shop and bring in lunches to the park. WE do some quick dinners as well to keep the cost down. There are MANY off site places that you can get to within 15 minutes. Even a lot of the on site places, such as the value resorts take 15 minutes to get to from the park. If you plan on busses, they can take quite a while as busses are shared between resorts.

 

[vjgunkel59]

My husband and I also have a large family of seven children. We are DVC members and get a 2 bedroom villa because we decided to invest in the place we keep going back too. The advice here for you about lodging is good, but I wanted to share some of my tips for keeping things reasonably priced for our family.
Disney has value seasons-this are the BEST times to go to Disney because the cost of lodging is lower, the availability of getting your character dinners on shorter notice are more successful, and best of all-the crowds at Disney parks are smaller giving your family a better enjoyment of all Disney has to offer without waiting in long lines to get it. Because Florida temperatures are so mild, you can even take your family to the Disney waterparks in these value months. Being a large family that doesn't 'hop' to parks easily, we buy the "Magic Your Way Base tickets" which allows us one park per day-which is the most reasonably priced ticket for the parks and it's what we do anyway-no hopping for us. For a little bit more cash, add on the Water Park Fun and have access to both of Disney's waterparks, Disney Quest and Disney's All Sports-this screams value, because it doubles your days of fun at Disney for just a little bit more cash. The waterparks are also a nice change of pace when your family get's worn out after being at the parks several days in a row. One more tip to save, plan your main meal at lunch. You'll have a better chance at the character meals, a nice break in the middle of the heat, less crowds, and a cheaper menu price.
Last tip, I promise-if you go in mid-November, or first week in January you will get to enjoy Disney decked out for Christmas without the Christmas crowds. If you go mid-late September-same thing only Disney is decked out for Halloween. Just keep in mind the shorter park hours and plan accordingly to get the most out of your time there.
Have a great trip!

 

[eliza61]

Welcome to the dis.

while my immediate family is only 4, we have gone with large groups when we take nieces and nephews.

Here are my tips.

1) forget a lot of sit down dinners. You are absolutely right, I love the flexibility when your dealing with a lot of people. I would shoot for maybe 1 or 2 reservations (ADR's) and then let it go. Now, I don't go during super busy seasons so when we go with a lot of people I call disney dining maybe the night before and I have NEVER, EVER not been able to find some place to eat. Just my experience. Disney is pretty good in having great options besides burgers for quick service (CS). many hotels have food courts where everyone can find some thing they like.

2) the new art of animation may offer some decent rooms at good prices.

Personally, with that large group, I prefer Bonnet Creek. close by, less expensive and tons of room. Now you stay off site you won't get the Extra magic hours and transportation. but bonnet creek is right next door to wdw and it takes me less time to drive there from any theme park then it does getting back to my resort using disney transportation (except of course those resorts that you walk to the park). We've gotten 2 bedroom condos at awesome prices.

3) Be extra flexible. Pretty much I check out the park hours and then that's it. It's great to have a plan but trying to micromanage 6 excited kids is like trying to calm a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Generally we pick our park and concentrate on the 1 or 2 headliners. You didn't mention if this was your first visit or not. If it is, your kids are going to be on stimulation overload, the nanosecond they entire in the parks. Play it by ear. if they want to check out the shops on main street, let them. After we hit one or two rides I found it's much nicer for everyone if we're not trying to concentrate on being in X spot at Y time. Before you go check out a few sites to get a lay of the land.

 

[degkerr]

Thanks for all the feed back! It gives me a lot to go on.

 

[maganda]

Not sure if you are driving vs. flying but you might consider staying offsite. You can rent a house within an easy 15 minute drive and like a PP mentioned, driving your own vehicle *could* take less time than using Disney busses. You'd have to factor in daily parking costs into your budget. I have a family of 4 and we always stay offsite, only because it gives everyone their own space to decompress at the end of the day. Not having to share one bathroom or sleeping room is important to us. Everybody's different, though, and what works for my family may not work for somebody else's family. Some people don't want to cook their own meals or do laundry on vacation. And that's understandable and totally fine. Some people want a resort-type experience and I completely understand that. Personally, it doesn't bother me to cook a meal or two. We aren't big on ADRs (though I have two made for my trip next month).

On my last trip I rented a 7 bedroom/5 bath house with our own pool and rec room. There were 10 in our party. Check out home away.com or vrbo.com. There are tons of rental options nearby.