Resort for 5: Which ones?

[jediagh]

Doing some advance planning and the next-next time we go to Disney World (2015) my 3 little ones will all count as "kids" where as right now for 2012 I will still get away with 1 infant. My question is what resorts will allow for 5 guest in one room? Or could I do 2 rooms (adjacent) to each other? If so what resorts allow that?

Please omit the value resorts. I looked at the deluxe one and those are much more expensive that the moderate which we have stayed at. But I think I can swing it budget wise if I start saving right after we come back from our SEP 2012 vacation as I will have an extra year to save.

In any case help please.

 

[Wendy31]

For a family of 5, I think there are the following options:

All Star Suites - sleep 6
Art of Animation Suites - sleep 6
Port Orleans Riverside - some of the rooms have a trundle bed & will sleep 5
Fort Wilderness Cabins - sleep 6
Wilderness Lodge Deluxe Room - sleep 6
the Deluxe Resorts (Beach Club, Boardwalk, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Poly, Yacht Club) - most of the rooms have a daybed & will sleep 5

There are also the "home away from home" villas. I believe some of the AKL 1-bedroom villas sleep 5-6, whereas, at most of the other villas, you would need 2 bedrooms.

You can also always reserve 2 rooms at any of the resorts & request "connecting" rooms, but I don't think connecting rooms are guaranteed.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

You have lots of options as a family of 5.

A lot of deluxe resorts sleep 5. I have stayed at CR, Poly & BC. All had 2 queen beds and a daybed.

Some of the one bedroom DVC Villas sleep 5. We stayed at BLT and the bedroom has a king bed & full bath. The living area has a queen sleeper & a sleeper chair, as well as a full bath, kitchen & laundry. Some one bedrooms at AKV sleep 5.

We have also stayed in a cabin at FW. The bedroom has a double bed & set of bunks. The living area has a double murphy bed. Also a full kitchen.

Disney doesn't guarantee connecting rooms, but my family has been lucky there.

Happy planning!

 

[amzking]

Just wanted to add that of the deluxes, unfortunately WL and AKL do not have daybeds and will not sleep five.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Wilderness Lodge Deluxe Room - sleep 6

Don't forget since that's a Club Level room it will be more expensive compared to a regular Standard Room at Contemporary, Boardwalk Inn, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Yacht Club and Beach Club.

 

[mydisneyobsession]

Another option is the Dolphin. My family of five loves it - it feels like a deluxe and it's priced like a moderate. It's in a great location close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and even though it's not an official Disney resort, it's got a lot of the on-property perks!

 

[jediagh]

Another option is the Dolphin. My family of five loves it - it feels like a deluxe and it's priced like a moderate. It's in a great location close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and even though it's not an official Disney resort, it's got a lot of the on-property perks!

Oh I was not aware it was NOT a disney resort. Guess I never made the connection when I was looking at the Disney website and not seeing it.

What are the on-property perks you refer to?
Can you still do EMH with it?
Free dinning would be out the door I would imagine right?

I priced out the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and for a 8 days/7 nights, Outer Room - Garden view, + Dinning (1 QD, 1 Sit down) and that comes out to 6423.55 in today's money. High estimate but adjust for inflation by 3% increase per year for 3 years and you have ~ $7200.00 (6423.55 * 1.12). Add in the expenses of Gas (travel), Hotels, Food on road, Tips @ park, tolls and I'm looking at close to $9800 for the 2015 trip.

So if I can stay in another moderate the price would be less overall and much easier to save for. Otherwise I need to cut back on stuff for the next 3 years to ensure I get that $10k goal. Although $10k for a vacation sounds like a lot to me. But then again it's based on a family of 5 as oppose to my priors of family of 3.

 

[nkereina]

Port Orleans Riverside - some of the rooms have a trundle bed & will sleep 5

No more trundle bed at POR. It is now a murphy style bed that pulls out and is about 3-4 feet off the ground. Makes it much more difficult to accommodate a larger child or a teen. I think it said this new bed is for 11 and under. There's photos of it at portorleans.org and the POR FAQ thread.

 

[jediagh]

No more trundle bed at POR. It is now a murphy style bed that pulls out and is about 3-4 feet off the ground. Makes it much more difficult to accommodate a larger child or a teen. I think it said this new bed is for 11 and under. There's photos of it at portorleans.org and the POR FAQ thread.

That should still be OK with me. My little ones will be 10, 8 and 4 at that point.
I did see that the "royal theme rooms" don't have the roll out beds so I would have to go with a std. room.

 

[honeymom]

I priced out the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and for a 8 days/7 nights, Outer Room - Garden view, + Dinning (1 QD, 1 Sit down) and that comes out to 6423.55 in today's money. High estimate but adjust for inflation by 3% increase per year for 3 years and you have ~ $7200.00 (6423.55 * 1.12). Add in the expenses of Gas (travel), Hotels, Food on road, Tips @ park, tolls and I'm looking at close to $9800 for the 2015 trip.

I think that some of the other deluxes will be less expensive than the GF. I think that is the most expensive deluxe.

 

[jediagh]

I think that some of the other deluxes will be less expensive than the GF. I think that is the most expensive deluxe.

Thanks I'll have to run some more # then. I figured all the deluxe were priced the same as were all the moderates. Choose GF just cause that was the 1st deluxe that came to mind.

 

[ElizabethG]

If you can book almost a year in advance and are unlikely to change your dates, renting from a DVC owner would give you space and amenities. You could rent a 1-bdrm at AKV Kidani, savana view, for under $3,000. That price won't change much over the years, so you don't have to adjust for inflation.

 

[captsparrow]

I think choosing a resort might depend on what location you want to be near. If you want to be near the Magic Kingdom then Contemporary or Polynesian. The Epcot/Boardwalk area also has lot of perks. The swimming pool at the Beach Club is amazing and you can walk to Epcot within 5 minutes. You can see the Epcot fireworks from the Boardwalk area. We have stayed at the Beach Club twice and absolutely loved it I also have 3 kids that are older in age and we always felt there was tons of room in our resort room. For moderate - Port Orleans Riverside is fantastic. When my kids were younger they loved the boat ride to downtown disney. They are all amazing in their own way just depends on what your own needs are

 

[Wendy31]

We love, love, love the WL!!

However, for our next trip, our youngest DS will be 3, so, unless we stay in a WL deluxe room, the WL is no longer for us!

For our upcoming trip, we're staying in the Contemporary.

The Garden Wing rooms of the Contemporary are not that much more than the FW cabin - which is also a nice option!

(We weren't able to get free dining in the Garden Wing, so we're now staying in the Tower.)

When I priced it out, the Beach Club rooms were a little bit less than the Contemporary Tower rooms, if I'm remembering it correctly.

If you are interested in staying deluxe, if I were you, I'd price out the different ones &, of course, each one is going to have different room options w/ different pricing.

 

[Wendy31]

Don't forget since that's a Club Level room it will be more expensive compared to a regular Standard Room at Contemporary, Boardwalk Inn, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Yacht Club and Beach Club.

Oh, believe me, I know! The WL is our favorite, & we priced out the deluxe room at the WL & hope to stay there on a future trip! But we're excited about staying at the Contemporary too!

Just wanted to add that of the deluxes, unfortunately WL and AKL do not have daybeds and will not sleep five.

I sooo wish the WL had daybeds!

No more trundle bed at POR. It is now a murphy style bed that pulls out and is about 3-4 feet off the ground. Makes it much more difficult to accommodate a larger child or a teen. I think it said this new bed is for 11 and under. There's photos of it at portorleans.org and the POR FAQ thread.

Thank you! That's good to know since we've previously considered the POR & will probably look at it for the future too!

 

[mydisneyobsession]

Oh I was not aware it was NOT a disney resort. Guess I never made the connection when I was looking at the Disney website and not seeing it.

What are the on-property perks you refer to?
Can you still do EMH with it?
Free dinning would be out the door I would imagine right?

You have access to Extra Magic Hours, and access to Disney busses to the parks. There is a boat launch at the resort, and Friendship Boats will take you to Epcot, Hollywood Studios and the nearby Crescent Lake resorts. (You are actually walking distance to those two parks as well, and you are right next to the Boardwalk Resort Area.)

When we stayed at the Swan, we were able to have our park purchases delivered to the hotel, and we picked them up from the Gift Shop. The gift shops at the Swan and Dolphin have Disney items, and also offered the "gift with purchase."

You do not have access to a dining plan or Magical Express, and you won't get a Key to the World card. This means you'll keep a separate park ticket and you won't have charging privileges at the parks on your room key. You also don't get the 180+10 benefit for making ADR's - instead you have to make your reservations one day at a time. The only benefit I really missed was the Magical Express, because I don't like having to pick up my luggage and haul it around the airport. (A big deal when you're traveling with a family of five!)

With the boats coming by, and the close proximity to parks, I really felt like I was "at Disney," but if Hidden Mickey's in the carpet are an important part of your Disney Experience, you might miss that.

I also really love the Swan and Dolphin's loyalty program. We've gotten several one night getaways close to home for free or very cheap using points earned on our 10 day vacation at the Swan.

 

[jediagh]

For a family of 5, I think there are the following options:

All Star Suites - sleep 6
Art of Animation Suites - sleep 6
Port Orleans Riverside - some of the rooms have a trundle bed & will sleep 5
Fort Wilderness Cabins - sleep 6
Wilderness Lodge Deluxe Room - sleep 6
the Deluxe Resorts (Beach Club, Boardwalk, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Poly, Yacht Club) - most of the rooms have a daybed & will sleep 5

There are also the "home away from home" villas. I believe some of the AKL 1-bedroom villas sleep 5-6, whereas, at most of the other villas, you would need 2 bedrooms.

Thanks for the list. Do the villas have room service (ie. they come and clean the room, make the beds, etc..) also are the villas included in the "free dinning" or "dinning plan"?

If you can book almost a year in advance and are unlikely to change your dates, renting from a DVC owner would give you space and amenities. You could rent a 1-bdrm at AKV Kidani, savana view, for under $3,000. That price won't change much over the years, so you don't have to adjust for inflation.

I'm not ready to go that route. We enjoy the free dinning/dinning program from disney and the room service (ie. cleaning of the room) and it's my understanding this does not occur with going this route.

It's a vacation after all and our rule is no cleaning during vacation or cooking.
It's time to relax.

You do not have access to a dining plan or Magical Express, and you won't get a Key to the World card.

Thanks but that is a deal breaker for us so this one is out for now.

 

[DannysMom]

If you are staying in a villa (DVC resort) and have booked it through Disney, paying cash (not points, rented from a DVC member) you DO get daily mousekeeping. You are also eligible for any free dining promotions, or just paying for the dining plan if you wish.

My upcoming trip we booked a 2 BR @ SSR -- the extra space allowed us to invite a grandma along. We are paying for the dining plan because we like the pre-paid aspect of it, and not worrying about food bills on vacation.

 

[jediagh]

If you are staying in a villa (DVC resort) and have booked it through Disney, paying cash (not points, rented from a DVC member) you DO get daily mousekeeping. You are also eligible for any free dining promotions, or just paying for the dining plan if you wish.

Good to know. Running the numbers however all the villas except for Old Key West Resort (1 room) would be out of my budget. Here is what I have come down to in terms of within budget and with "cool pools" for the kids.

Yatch Club
Board Walk Inn
Art of Animation Suite
Port of Orleans Riverside

I like the Yatch club becuase the Stormalong Bay Pool Complex is just WOW!
Love the themed rooms for Art of Animation based on the pics that I see and this resort is tailored more for families with little ones yet not thrilled about the value resorts. Have heard from friends who have stayed in the values (not Art of Animation) that said NEVER AGAIN. My experiences have only been an moderate ones. So that is why I'm iffy on that one.

Port of Orleans looks like need to see more pics of the pool area.
Found of pic of the "smaller bed" here:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/alligator-bayou-room/p58265-alligator-bayou-room-0.html

Hum... not sure I really care for that bed but then again I'm sure my DS (7 by that point) won't care and think it's kool.

Does anyone have pictures of what a room for 5 at the Board Walk or Yatch Club look like?

If ya have not figured it out. My family tends to plan which resort based on how cool the pool is. We loved CBR with the slide and little kids play area. Alas the kids have outgrown that little kids area so on to CSR this year. We are not really for the water parks yet. Perhaps after the 2015 visit. We tried a few water parks back home and the little ones did not care for it yet (they live pools better).

Hey water is water to me but I guess not to them.

Thanks all for your help. At least now I have an idea of what to set my monthly budget at and save, save, save...

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Does anyone have pictures of what a room for 5 at the Board Walk or Yatch Club look like?

Here is a link to the Boardwalk FAQ thread which has pictures of what their Standard Rooms look like.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2861186