planning first family trip for six

[joym70]

We are planning our first family trip to WDW for April 2005. We have 4 kids ages at time of trip will be 8,5,2 and 11mths . I have been combing the internet looking for appropriate lodging. I think I have narrowed it down to: Hawthorne Suites LBV, Homewood Suites Disney Orlando, and Comfort Inn Suites.
I'm looking for free breakfast, closness to parks and restaurants, cleanliness, and cost. All these seem to fit the bill and I was hoping some people might have an opinion on one over the other. Also any info on discounts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Joy

 

[AJKMOM]

I never stayed at those places, but I like to check out www.tripadvisor.com for others opinions.
Also try the search function on this website.

 

[maps]

Have you thought about a vacation home rental?

You could choose a home very close to the parks, have the kids all in their OWN rooms, and have a full kitchen where you can make breakfast.

The homes are sometimes cheaper than the hotels, are bigger, have more amenities and have their own PRIVATE pool.

I have 2 kids and stayed at the Residence Inn at LBV one year. We still felt crammed in the suite, the kitchen area was small and the pool cold.

The following year we stayed in a rental home and haven't stayed in a hotel since!

 

[disneysteve]

Homewood Suites is nice, but even in a 2-bed suite I wouldn't want to stay there with 6 people. I definitely agree with maps. Rent a home. You won't be sorry. You can easily get a 3 or 4 bed home about the same price you will pay for a 2-bedroom suite hotel room. The house will have WAY more space, a full kitchen, a private pool and lots more. You can even splurge and get a 5 or 6 bedroom house if you really want space.

Check out http://www.vrbo.com for some ideas of what is out there.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I will throw out my opinion--a house or a condo. You can rent a two or three bedroom condo cheaper than a suite hotel. We stayed at Cypress Pointe earlier this year and it was great! Booked through Hotelkingdom.com. As for breakfast--we did not cook, but had cereal just like normal days at home. You will have so much more room in a condo or house, plus a washer/dryer.

 

[gilby]

I have a family of five and we are also going to be staying at cypress pointe booked thru hotelkingdom.com for around 65 a night. This will be our first time staying here, but everyone has given me good reports. We are staying in a 2 bedroom condo. We are planning on making our own breakfasts and some of our evening meals, since the parks close earlier this time of yr. We are going around the middle of NOv. I will give you a report when we return from our trip.

In 1999 we stayed at comfort inn in lake buena vista, they offered a free breakfast, after 2 days of their breakfast we were sick of it. We went out bought a styrfoam cooler and bought a few breakfast items and ate breakfast in the motel room. Don't forget to pack baggies to put your food in.

 

[joym70]

I'd like to thank everyone for their help. I will look into the house rental thing but I was hopning my vacation wouldn't include alot of cooking or cleaning.
Thanks Again
Joy

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Originally posted by joym70
I'd like to thank everyone for their help. I will look into the house rental thing but I was hopning my vacation wouldn't include alot of cooking or cleaning.
Thanks Again
Joy

As for cooking........you can do as little or as much cooking as you want at a home/condo. Just because there is a kitchen there doesn't mean you have to use it. But I'm sure your family would love somewhere just to put snacks, cold drinks, cereal, muffins, milk, juice,........that sort of thing. If you are saving say $20 a night on lodging, that can be put towards your meals.

And you don't have to do any cleaning either, if you don't want to. We cooked (saved hundreds of $$ by doing that, but we had never cooked on our vacations before) so therefore I had to clean. But if you're not cooking, no problem. I did do laundry because I purposely didn't pack as much and I didn't want to come home with loads of laundry to do.

You get a ton more space and luxuries with a home/condo over a suite. But you know what your family likes/dislikes. Have fun planning...............good luck.

 

[isla bonita]

Can't agree more. I own a rental home and have never used the kitchen myself. Refuse to while on vaca. We do breakfast quick in the morning with boiled eggs, toast cereal fruit yogurt and such but I have never cooked a full meal. The full kitchens are there if you need them. The space is wonderful the tv's vcr's dvd's and game systems let you get showered and dressed without falling all over each other. The pool in the yard is open 24-7 and spa. They sell themselves once you have stayed in them. Can't say enough. If you have any questions contact me any time. Good luck in what ever you choose. Have a great vaca

 

[jeff968]

I haven't rented a home but there are some many things I like about the suite setup that I don't think I ever would.

The resorts (suites) have many things to do for the entire family. All of the resorts that i have stayed at had programs, games, and fun things to do every day, most at no extra cost or very little. At the Marriott my son fell in love the the Rc car competitions. Everyday he would be at the track with the other kids working on their cars and racing. The car cost $11. My 4 year old would go to the various craft programs and had a great time there. At the Vistana they had movies and a "dive-in" theather at night. Lots of fun. At the Hilton we enjoyed $2 make your own sundaes every day and the kids did a couple of trips including wonderworld and behind the scenes at seaworld. then there are parties for the entire family at night with different themes. You don't have to do these things but it is nice that they are offered. And the resorts give you the socialization part so you met people and the kids make new friends.

We love the timeshare resorts.