Resort Ideas Family of 5

[disneyfanatic60]

My daughter, son-in-law and I have been making yearly trips to WDW. They recently started fostering to adopt two little boys (3 years and 4 months). We generally go just before Labor Day because my daughter is a teacher. We are considering taking them this year. We generally stay at Pop, though we have stayed at many different resorts through the years. We don't think two rooms at Pop makea much sense. I think it's best if we stay close to MK and HS as those will be the parks we will probably spend the most time at. We have never taken such small children to WDW so we are looking for ideas that works best for our "new family". What resorts would you recommend? Traveling to WDW will never be quite the same and looking forward to sharing our love with these two beautiful boys.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you're trying to have 5 in a single unit, your options are:

• AOA Family Suite
• All-Star Music Family Suite
• Port Orleans Riverside
• Caribbean Beach Resort
• Standard room Polynesian
• Standard room Contemporary
• Standard room Grand Floridian
• Club Level Deluxe units at Wilderness Lodge
• DVC studios at Riviera, Villas at Grand Floridan, Boulder Ridge Villas, Polynesian, Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club Villas
• DVC 1BR units at Bay Lake Tower, Villas at the Grand Floridian, Old Key West, Riviera, Animal Kingdom Lodge

Pricing is going to vary a lot, with the Family Suites and the 1BR units offering the most comfort/space, with the family suites offering the best economy. Stuffing 5 in DVC studios can be tight, and the bed situation is such you would have to sleeep with one of the kids, or sleep on a murphy bed that is smaller/narrower than a twin.

Research the bed situation. The best bed situations for a group of that makeup would be the standard rooms at Poly/Contemporary/Grand Flo, or a Family Suite, in my opinion. The 1BR DVC units would also work if the kids are okay sharing a bed, since the chair beds are adult sized. The CBR and POR units that sleep 5, the 5th bed is defiitely junior and you'd have to share with a kid.

 

[Calee]

Just a note, you actually will still be able to stay in rooms for 4. Until the baby is 2 he doesnt "count". You may not want to do that as it could.be squished, but you can.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

Congratulations on your new grandchildren!!! It sounds like the baby will be around 1 year old at the time of your trip, which is great for your room situation! Disney provides portable cribs for children under 3, so you can stay in any room that sleeps 4. Also, under the age of 3 means park tickets aren’t necessary and no charge at buffet dining.

I would highly recommend BLT, Contempo, or I guess GF since their walkway path should be completed by then. We took my son when he was 15 mos old and being able to walk back from MK with him sleeping in the stroller was worth every penny.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My daughter, son-in-law and I have been making yearly trips to WDW. They recently started fostering to adopt two little boys (3 years and 4 months). We generally go just before Labor Day because my daughter is a teacher. We are considering taking them this year. We generally stay at Pop, though we have stayed at many different resorts through the years. We don't think two rooms at Pop makea much sense. I think it's best if we stay close to MK and HS as those will be the parks we will probably spend the most time at. We have never taken such small children to WDW so we are looking for ideas that works best for our "new family". What resorts would you recommend? Traveling to WDW will never be quite the same and looking forward to sharing our love with these two beautiful boys.

As PP mentioned, you can still book one room at Pop as you are allowed 4 guests plus one child under the age of 3 in any 4-guest capacity room. If you would rather stay closer to MK, WL, GF, Poly and CR would do the trick with WL and CR garden wing most likely pricing out as the most cost effective in that area. In the DHS area, BW, BC and YC would work as would the new Riviera. All of these options will price out far more than a room at Pop, however, if that is a consideration. To save money, you could also consider Swan or Dolphin which uses Disney transportation to the parks, but you would lose Magical Express, free magic bands and the ability to charge back to your room.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I don't know from experience but you may want to make sure that they can go on this trip. I have heard that kids being fostered can't travel out of state.

To answer your actual question, we travel to Disney as a family of four in one room, and my mom stays in a connecting room. It gives us each our own space but we can also open the doors and have the kids run back and forth. We have stayed at both Pop Century with connecting rooms and twice at French Quarter with connecting rooms.

 

[5kidsmommy]

A cabin at Fort Wilderness might be fun for you too. Really close to MK. We are a family of 7 so that is where we always stayed but we have a trailer. Friends of ours always stayed in the cabins. They are nice and it's a very relaxing resort. The only issue is buses and lots of them.

 

[mickeymom22]

We are a family of five. We always squeeze into one room.

We really enjoyed our stay in a family suite at All-Star Music. At the time we had a 4, 10 and 13 year old. We put the 10 and 13 year old in the main living area. My sis-in-law bunked with them out there and she said the single fold out bed was fine. We put the 4 year old in a pack and play in the bedroom with us. It was nice to have her separate from the two older ones so she could sleep more soundly. Bonus of this is you get 2 bathrooms and if someone is sleeping you can close a real door to the bedroom.

We have also stayed at POR Alligator Bayou. Smallest one loved having a small bed of her own.

Right before our youngest turned three, we squeezed into a POFQ room. She slept in a pack and play. It was tight, but totally doable.
Bonus for POFQ is the resort is small...not a long walk to the food court or buses and a fun boat ride to Disney Springs.

We have also stayed in Beach Club. Bonus for this resort is that you can walk to Hollywood Studios or Epcot. When we stayed here, we would park hop to Epcot each night have a yummy meal and stroll back to the room. It was nice that we could let the youngest out of the stroller and she could walk with us back to the resort. Your four year old might like to dig in the sand at Stormalong Bay. You can get a kids meal at Hurricane Hanna's and it comes in a sand bucket.

We have also stayed in the Boardwalk. Same bonus as Beach Club. You can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

I wouldn't recommend the cabins at Fort Wilderness. Too many buses to worry with. If you don't have a golf cart, you have to ride the internal bus to get to the front to ride a bus to a park, or to the back to ride the ferry to MK.


Happy Planning and congrats on your growing family!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

You can always stay offsite there are a lot of choices. We really like skyauction.com Sheraton vistana . We have friends that really liked staying at holliday inn resort (formally nick)

 

[Babsy]

Absolute best choice for convenience with children that young would be the CR or BLT, I bedroom. After that, any MK area resort would be an excellent choice. The Poly or the GF have the nicest pools, if that is important. The WL will have the lowest price of the MK resorts.

If you decide against staying in the MK area, then any resort will accommodate your party because, as other have said, babies don't count until after age 2. However, I would personally find a value resort cramped in a regular room - unless you decide on a family suite at AoA or ASMu. ASMu would be the lowest priced option for the space you receive.

In the moderate category: CBR preferred rooms with a fifth sleeper would have a slightly larger room than the other moderates. Also a good choice because you now have the Skyliner for transportation to DHS and Epcot.