Resort Ideas for Families with Older Children

[tammyroo]

We have reached a resort dilemma in our family and would appreciate any input from those who have a similar situation. Our family goes to WDW about every 1 1/2- 2 years and have stayed on property all but once. As our children have gotten older it has been increasingly challenging to find the right resort. Our daughter is almost 20 y.o. and our son is 16 and about 6'1". So far, we have always stayed at Value Resorts (Pop Century is now our first choice) for several reasons: budget, Dining Plan and we spend little time in our room. The last few times we have had to get 2 rooms, which isn't great because we split up, but the beds are just tooo small and the room is too small for aerobeds etc.
We've been thinking of alternative ideas like staying off property...downside-no Dining Plan, transportation is an issue...our kids like to sleep later sometimes and they wouldn't have a way to parks or the transporation would be less than ideal from other non-Disney resorts. But, maybe with the money we'd save on housing we could afford to eat meals at our fav restaurants.
We've considered Deluxe resorts but they are just too expensive and the 2 beds would still be a problem.
Why doesn't Disney create comfortable family suites???!! The one time we stayed off property, when they were younger, we had a 2 BR suite with kitchenette and it was wonderful!
Any tips/advice for those who have struggled with this issue as well??

 

[nmmom95]

You could rent a DVC resort. There are 1 and 2 bedrooms available and you would have Disney transportation. Take a look on the rent/trade board, as this is often cheaper than renting from Disney. You can add dining, however, you would not be eligible for free dining if you rent from a member.

 

[tammyroo]

Great idea.....I forgot about the rent/trade board. Thanks.

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

The All Stars resort has a family suite.

 

[dopeyrunner]

I would suggest the Cabins at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds. My family which is myself at now 26 yrs old my brother at 28 and my parents have stayed here over 10 times.
It is my dad's favorite resort! The cabin provides a full size kitchen with outdoor grill. A seperate bedroom with a full size bed and a bunkbed set with tv. Then there is a murphy bed that pull downs in the living room. It's great to be able to eat some of our meals in the cabin and also have a respite from the parks.The campgrounds have plenty of activites to do that are free or low cost. While the campgrounds is spread out there are golf carts you can rent to get around or you could rent from an outside company and have them droped off. There is both busses and boat transportation from the resort. The boats are the quickest you can take them to the magic kingdom and then go on any of the busses or monorail from there and bypass the whole TTC. If you worried about grocery's you can have them delivered or you could rent a car you first day and drop it off onsite at WDW Swan if you rent through enterprise. Just a suggestion if your looking for more room then a standard value resort, the cabins are now considered moderate resort.