Rooms for larger groups

[Ahsokasmom]

My troop is planning a trip to Disney, I have 8 scouts and we are hoping for a larger suite type room so the girls can all stay together. Looking at the site I am not sure which resorts I should be focusing on because Disney only allows the search criteria up to 6 kiddos. Staying on property is the goal but we realize we have to expand the search in order to meet GS guidelines.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Pointers to share? We are looking at packages and possibly the dining option as well. Traveling in June. Two will not need tickets as they have passes.

 

[msk]

What about adjoining rooms at POR or CS? I think both resorts allow 5 people in a room. You could have 4 girls and one adult in each room. I loved taking my scouts on trips. Hope things work out for your troop!

 

[Ahsokasmom]

I chatted with a Disney rep last night on the phone and was told they cannot guarantee adjoining rooms. Unfortunately w our guidelines we either have zero adults in a room or two adults which is why we are looking for suite type rooms that we could have all 8 girls and 2 adults in one place. If we could book adjoining rooms we could book 3 rooms but without the guarantee we aren't comfortable having the girls alone. With adjoining we could leave the door open.

 

[Hopefully]

I chatted with a Disney rep last night on the phone and was told they cannot guarantee adjoining rooms. Unfortunately w our guidelines we either have zero adults in a room or two adults which is why we are looking for suite type rooms that we could have all 8 girls and 2 adults in one place. If we could book adjoining rooms we could book 3 rooms but without the guarantee we aren't comfortable having the girls alone. With adjoining we could leave the door open.

You got good information from the Disney CM. Adjoining rooms are never guaranteed and there are no 3 rooms next to each other that would adjoining so that is not even possible.
If you MUST be guaranteed to be together I think your only option is to book an offsite house. If you go this route you would need a vehicle large enough for all of you (or 2 vehicles) and you would not be able to add a dining plan.
Good Luck

 

[Bree]

I don’t believe there are any onsite options that can sleep 10. The treehouse villas only accommodate up to 9.

How old are the girls? My daughter went on a trip to Washington DC in May at the age of 11yo. It was her and three other girls in a hotel room. The chaperones “locked” then in their room at night. They put painters tape on the outside part of the hotel room door. That way if the door was opened after curfew the chaperones would know because the tape would be broken. An opened door meant sitting all day in a hotel room instead of sight seeing. If you do this at a value resort you would need three rooms - 4 girls per room and adults in another.

 

[FSU Girl]

To keep everyone in the same room you'd need a Grand Villa through DVC, which will be kind of pricy. I've only booked villas through cash, but those aren't usually available that way that I've seen. You'd probably have to rent points. A quick look at the Disney website the Grand Villa in Copper Creek has room for up to 12 people.

 

[rwdavis2]

How about not calling a scouting activity and then have one adult in each room? Does it really matter?

 

[ariane37]

My troop is planning a trip to Disney, I have 8 scouts and we are hoping for a larger suite type room so the girls can all stay together. Looking at the site I am not sure which resorts I should be focusing on because Disney only allows the search criteria up to 6 kiddos. Staying on property is the goal but we realize we have to expand the search in order to meet GS guidelines.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Pointers to share? We are looking at packages and possibly the dining option as well. Traveling in June. Two will not need tickets as they have passes.

My mom never took a troop to WDW but she's worked for the GS Council at the local office for many, many years after being a leader for my sister and I for many, many years Her current position is Product Manager so although I have all boys, we always have plenty of cookies, nuts, etc in the house lol!

There is another issue I see here; if you all stay in one room on property you'd have to do a ticketless package if you wanted dining since 2 girls have AP's, and get tickets separately-everyone in a room must have the same package. Not a problem just something to keep in mind. I assume it's not an option to have no adults in a room; could you do 2 or 3 girls/ 1 adult per room? How many adults do you have? You could do a few rooms at a value. Yes, you couldn't guarantee they'd be in a row but you could get a travel with # and hope for the best. You'd still be at the same resort and it would only be when everyone is actually IN the rooms that you wouldn't be in close proximity. Not sure of the exact GS guidelines so these are just suggestions Staying on property would be awesome and easiest but off property may be how you have to go.

I don’t believe there are any onsite options that can sleep 10. The treehouse villas only accommodate up to 9.

How old are the girls? My daughter went on a trip to Washington DC in May at the age of 11yo. It was her and three other girls in a hotel room. The chaperones “locked” then in their room at night. They put painters tape on the outside part of the hotel room door. That way if the door was opened after curfew the chaperones would know because the tape would be broken. An opened door meant sitting all day in a hotel room instead of sight seeing. If you do this at a value resort you would need three rooms - 4 girls per room and adults in another.

Lol just quoting this b/c in 7th grade my son went on a school trip to Boston and they did the same thing

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The two adult guideline really is not something scout leaders can skip by just labelling the activity as non-scout. The activity is 8 scouts and 2 leaders, and just because you claim it is a banana does not make the apple yellow.

Signed, another scout leader

 

[Lynne M]

Jumping in with a terminology note: in hotel-reservation-speak, adjoining does not mean two rooms with a connecting door in-between. If that's what you want, you need to ask for a connecting room.

If you ask for adjoining rooms, the room assigner will interpret that to mean that you would like two rooms that are near each other, preferably next door or across the hall. But in practice, it could mean down the hall, on the same floor, or in the same building.

 

[Lynne M]

Yeah, the only onsite option for 10 people in the same room would be a Grand Villa, which will be very pricey and very hard to get. As others have said, there are no 3-room sets that connect at any resort, and at any rate, you can't guarantee connecting rooms.

Is it possible to bring two more adults, so that you would have four girls and two adults in each room? You could then do family suites at AoA or ASMu, or cabins at Fort Wilderness, or two 2-bedroom villas.

 

[shellyj]

I chatted with a Disney rep last night on the phone and was told they cannot guarantee adjoining rooms. Unfortunately w our guidelines we either have zero adults in a room or two adults which is why we are looking for suite type rooms that we could have all 8 girls and 2 adults in one place. If we could book adjoining rooms we could book 3 rooms but without the guarantee we aren't comfortable having the girls alone. With adjoining we could leave the door open.

I think your best onsite option is either a grand villa. Or tent camping, but I don't even like tent camping in summer in VA. I love my scouts, don't think I'd tent camp in June in FL If you really want to be onsite and you are absolutely certain that your girls are committed and ready to fully commit the money, you might want to look into renting DVC points for the grand villa. We rent 2 bedrooms for our family and we usually have to book right at the 11 month mark to get what we want, but you might get lucky and find something available.

 

[Ahsokasmom]

Thanks all! So much great information.
Guidelines are either 2 adults in a room or no adults in a room. Troop funds are paying and paperwork will be filed so there is no ignoring of that. Our girls know the guidelines and we want to keep living the Girl Scout Law.
Locking them in would be doable, the girls will be 10-11. I remember the tape from my HS days, they are a great bunch so we don't anticipate shenanigans just peace of mind for us leaders in an unfamiliar setting.
We were hoping for a space big enough for the girls to be together first and if not the connecting rooms for the girls to still be together. We understand we may have to go offsite, we were hoping onsite for the FastPass window as planning rides with 8 kiddos will be hard enough. We will be driving so we will have transportation but Disney transport is obviously easier.
We have a parent who is DVC so will check with her on the Villa's mentioned and explore off site as well.
Thank you all so much!

 

[Ahsokasmom]

I think your best onsite option is either a grand villa. Or tent camping, but I don't even like tent camping in summer in VA. I love my scouts, don't think I'd tent camp in June in FL If you really want to be onsite and you are absolutely certain that your girls are committed and ready to fully commit the money, you might want to look into renting DVC points for the grand villa. We rent 2 bedrooms for our family and we usually have to book right at the 11 month mark to get what we want, but you might get lucky and find something available.

And yes, tent camping in June in Florida is a no from this Leader! I love my girls and would do anything for them...but that! Haha!

 

[maxiesmom]

How about renting an RV and staying at the campground? There are a few places that will set up the rv for you.