Staying offsite questions... not sure where to post this

[Flamingomo]

I have a family of 5 and we are having issues staying within our budget and finding a resort that has 4 beds. My boys cannot sleep together in the same bed, so we need them each to have their own. When I originally did the preliminary booking, I got the Pop family suite, had added the dining plan and park tickets and it was just where I needed to stay within the budget and there were 4 beds in the suite... a queen bed and three pullouts (one double and two twin beds). I realized I had put the wrong age for my one son at the time of travel, so I went to change it and suddenly that family suite was no longer available. I spoke to a CM through the chat and he told me there were no family suites at Pop and that I could not have booked it at all in the first place. But I did, and was able to. He suggested I go to ASM but it was over $600 more and was no longer in the budget.

He also said the hotels near Disney Springs were Disney property and I might make out better there and he was going to send me a link, but never did. Do you all know what hotels they are? He said they still had transportation to the parks and would have all the same benefits if we were staying on the property including the magic bands, DDP, fast passes, etc.

So, I started checking house rentals off site and they are so much cheaper even with a car rental and parking. My only issue is the Magic Bands, dining plan and fast passes. Am I able to still get the bands if I am not staying on site? The dining plan can go away since the house has a kitchen and we can eat breakfast there every day and possibly some lunch and dinner on our non park days. The home also has a private pool. 3 miles from Disney and Disney themed.

My only other option would be to get two rooms. My older boys (19 and 16) can stay in one and we can stay in the other with my youngest. It is actually cheaper than the suites, but I need to make sure we have two rooms together and I am not sure how all of that would work with the bands and ddp, etc.

Thank you!

 

[lanejudy]

The chat CM was correct, POP does not have, and never did have, family suites. So unless the age error you made involved listing one child under age 3, it isn't possible to book 5 people into 1 room at POP. From your description, it sounds like you had the ASMusic family suites. They are usually the least expensive family suite, does provide 4 sleeping surfaces for up to 6 guests, but it does usually cost more than a room at POP. If you had a reservation number, and paid a deposit, it should be simple enough to figure out what you initially booked.

Magic bands can be purchased. Maybe around $13. Or you can use hard plastic cards instead, which can be issued for free.

DDP is only available when staying at an on-site resort.

FP+ are available to all guests. If staying onsite or at one of the partnered offsite resorts, you can preschedule 3 FP+ 60 days in advance; if staying offsite you can book them 30 days in advance.

2 rooms at POP may be less expensive than a suite, but you cannot guarantee "connecting" rooms. Connecting is only a request.

Depending on when you trip will be, there could still be time for discounts or package offers, which may save some money and put the trip back into budget.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[SG131]

I have a family of 5 and we are having issues staying within our budget and finding a resort that has 4 beds. My boys cannot sleep together in the same bed, so we need them each to have their own. When I originally did the preliminary booking, I got the Pop family suite, had added the dining plan and park tickets and it was just where I needed to stay within the budget and there were 4 beds in the suite... a queen bed and three pullouts (one double and two twin beds). I realized I had put the wrong age for my one son at the time of travel, so I went to change it and suddenly that family suite was no longer available. I spoke to a CM through the chat and he told me there were no family suites at Pop and that I could not have booked it at all in the first place. But I did, and was able to. He suggested I go to ASM but it was over $600 more and was no longer in the budget.

He also said the hotels near Disney Springs were Disney property and I might make out better there and he was going to send me a link, but never did. Do you all know what hotels they are? He said they still had transportation to the parks and would have all the same benefits if we were staying on the property including the magic bands, DDP, fast passes, etc.

So, I started checking house rentals off site and they are so much cheaper even with a car rental and parking. My only issue is the Magic Bands, dining plan and fast passes. Am I able to still get the bands if I am not staying on site? The dining plan can go away since the house has a kitchen and we can eat breakfast there every day and possibly some lunch and dinner on our non park days. The home also has a private pool. 3 miles from Disney and Disney themed.

My only other option would be to get two rooms. My older boys (19 and 16) can stay in one and we can stay in the other with my youngest. It is actually cheaper than the suites, but I need to make sure we have two rooms together and I am not sure how all of that would work with the bands and ddp, etc.

Thank you!

So it looks like your next vacation is over a year away. It is way too soon to know for sure, but it is highly likely that some discounts will be released for your dates. Also, if your kids are under the drinking age but over 10, there's a good chance the dining plan can go away either way and you would save money paying out of pocket. A lot of times it's not worth what people pay for it, though in some situations the added cost is worth the convenience.

If you don't like ASMu, I would book stick with a disney springs hotel where you will still get the 60 day fp benefit. As ladyjune said you can still make fp 30 days in advance if you stay in a house offsite, but your available times and rides will be impacted. Especially with older kids who will want to ride some of the bigger rides I'd try to stick with an option that will get you 60 day fp. Here is a link to the disney springs hotels.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/more/#/disney-springs-area/

You know, it may be worth contacting a travel agent and booking through them. I know with dreams unlimited if a discount comes out they will automatically check for you and some other companies do that as well. Then you don't have to stay on top of that. Maybe look at booking at a good neighbor hotel with a good cancellation policy now and when discounts come out consider switching to onsite.

 

[Flamingomo]

So it looks like your next vacation is over a year away. It is way too soon to know for sure, but it is highly likely that some discounts will be released for your dates. Also, if your kids are under the drinking age but over 10, there's a good chance the dining plan can go away either way and you would save money paying out of pocket. A lot of times it's not worth what people pay for it, though in some situations the added cost is worth the convenience.

If you don't like ASMu, I would book stick with a disney springs hotel where you will still get the 60 day fp benefit. As ladyjune said you can still make fp 30 days in advance if you stay in a house offsite, but your available times and rides will be impacted. Especially with older kids who will want to ride some of the bigger rides I'd try to stick with an option that will get you 60 day fp. Here is a link to the disney springs hotels.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/more/#/disney-springs-area/

You know, it may be worth contacting a travel agent and booking through them. I know with dreams unlimited if a discount comes out they will automatically check for you and some other companies do that as well. Then you don't have to stay on top of that. Maybe look at booking at a good neighbor hotel with a good cancellation policy now and when discounts come out consider switching to onsite.

Thank you for the link, however, the rooms do not have 4 separate beds. only two queen beds and a pullout. Do you know when the discount packages come out for next year?

 

[SG131]

Thank you for the link, however, the rooms do not have 4 separate beds. only two queen beds and a pullout. Do you know when the discount packages come out for next year?

I think they were recommending you get two rooms at one of the offsite hotels because cost per room per night will be cheaper than pop. The discount packages come out at such random times. This year discounts for the summer through September came in January which was months earlier than it had been in past years and were very shocking as they included free dining in July which is uncommon. It was anticipated that that would be it for the year due to star wars opening, but then in mid-july out of nowhere they ended up adding more discounts for oct-dec. In 2018 winter discounts came out at the end of april.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I have a family of 5 and we are having issues staying within our budget and finding a resort that has 4 beds. My boys cannot sleep together in the same bed, so we need them each to have their own. When I originally did the preliminary booking, I got the Pop family suite, had added the dining plan and park tickets and it was just where I needed to stay within the budget and there were 4 beds in the suite... a queen bed and three pullouts (one double and two twin beds). I realized I had put the wrong age for my one son at the time of travel, so I went to change it and suddenly that family suite was no longer available. I spoke to a CM through the chat and he told me there were no family suites at Pop and that I could not have booked it at all in the first place. But I did, and was able to. He suggested I go to ASM but it was over $600 more and was no longer in the budget.

He also said the hotels near Disney Springs were Disney property and I might make out better there and he was going to send me a link, but never did. Do you all know what hotels they are? He said they still had transportation to the parks and would have all the same benefits if we were staying on the property including the magic bands, DDP, fast passes, etc.

So, I started checking house rentals off site and they are so much cheaper even with a car rental and parking. My only issue is the Magic Bands, dining plan and fast passes. Am I able to still get the bands if I am not staying on site? The dining plan can go away since the house has a kitchen and we can eat breakfast there every day and possibly some lunch and dinner on our non park days. The home also has a private pool. 3 miles from Disney and Disney themed.

My only other option would be to get two rooms. My older boys (19 and 16) can stay in one and we can stay in the other with my youngest. It is actually cheaper than the suites, but I need to make sure we have two rooms together and I am not sure how all of that would work with the bands and ddp, etc.

Thank you!

What was the age error?


Other poster and CM are correct that Pop doesn't have suites. The only value category suites would be at AoA or ASMu.

Otherwise, the chat CM might have given you slightly bad info. When you say you had the age wrong- well, what age matters. If you changed the child's age from under 3 to over 3, then the child gets counted differently. In short, infants don't count (as needing a bed). Pop rooms only hold four (or 4+ an infant), and no more than two double beds.

If, on the other hand, your age mistake originally had all the kids over age 3 (but under 18), and you booked a suite- then maybe the CM was partly wrong when they said you couldn't modify your existing reservation. If so, and you haven't tried calling, I suggest you try calling- especially if you haven't cancelled your original reservation. Sometimes phone CM's have more flexibility to fix errors on the original reservation without having to cancel original booking.

If, however, your child is over 3, and you had them listed as under 3, then the price was ALSO lower because kids under 3 can't buy park tickets or the dining Plan, and THAT is your $600 price difference.

Children under age 3 enter the park for free. Kids under 3 are also free at buffets and when eating off your plate, but you have to pay out of pocket if you order any quick serve or menu meals for them. Also, kids over 18 = adults, if that was the nature of your age mistake. Between age 10 and 18, DDP and ticket prices are eh same, but people over 18 = the extra adult hotel room fee.

I can't really help with options in Disney Springs area, except there used to be an all suites Hilton there. I'm not sure if it is still a Hilton, and it probably is more $ than the WDW value hotels.

A condo would likely be the most reasonably priced option with multiple beds for 5 people. Yes, you can buy Magic bands, but you don't need them.

Disney can usually get two rooms together, or very close together, but the won't guarantee it. Also-if you arrive and have NOT been assigned rooms that are together- the front desk can often find rooms that are together for you, especially if you arrive early in the day to one of the bigger WDW hotels like Pop.

We've done both on and offsite hotels. For me, the downside of condos is no daily room cleaning. The other downside is that cooking in the room takes too long in the morning. If you can stick to non-cook cereal/fruit/yogurt style items, that's quick...as soon as we added even just toast/bagels...that slowed us down quite a bit, ESPECIALLY if everyone wants something different every day, even worse when it expands into eggs/bacon/pancakes and all the cleaning that comes with cooking. Then someone turns on the tv, and suddenly an hour has lapsed!

If you are paying for the Dining Plan, it doesn't really save $, but does give a good approximation of food costs. If you DO get the DDP though, with your TWO older boys, the buffets are likely going to be a good choice, where they can eat as much as they want! If you book two rooms- you cold get the DDP for just the boys, too! You wouldn't have to book it for both rooms.

Your food costs POTENTIALLY cold also be a little lower without the dining plan, especially if you bring some snacks, drink tap water some places, and eat all (or mostly all) quick serve meals. (instead of table service meals). If so, you can still get the refillable mug good for unlimited soft drinks when eating at your hotel.

 

[nkereina]

Magic bands can be purchased. Maybe around $13. Or you can use hard plastic cards instead, which can be issued for free.

You can also use old Magic Bands from a prior trip if you have them.

I agree with PPs that offsite or Airbnb rentals will likely provide you the most space at the best price. But if staying onsite is important to you, there are rooms at POR and CBR that hold 5 people. They would offer 3 sleeping surfaces, but often people will bring a self-inflating twin size air mattress to add a fourth sleeping surface. People will lean it against the wall next to the bed during the day to make room for walking around. If you're flying, its something you can order and have delivered to the resort. Its also worth noting that the pull down bed in these rooms is slightly larger than a crib mattress, so this would work for your 9 year old but probably no one else (assuming the youngest is 9 or 10 based on your signature).

If you are considering this, I would also advise to price it against the cost of two value rooms. One room with more than 2 adults (18+) will be subject to an extra person charge per night for each 18+ adult in the room after the first two. In your case, it would apply to the 19 year old per night but not the other two kids. I *think* this adds roughly $25 per night (not certain on the cost), but it may make the cost difference negligible when comparing to two rooms at a value, where the extra person charge would not apply if you put the third 18+ adult on the second room.

 

[Searc]

What was the age error?


Other poster and CM are correct that Pop doesn't have suites. The only value category suites would be at AoA or ASMu.

Otherwise, the chat CM might have given you slightly bad info. When you say you had the age wrong- well, what age matters. If you changed the child's age from under 3 to over 3, then the child gets counted differently. In short, infants don't count (as needing a bed). Pop rooms only hold four (or 4+ an infant), and no more than two double beds.

If, on the other hand, your age mistake originally had all the kids over age 3 (but under 18), and you booked a suite- then maybe the CM was partly wrong when they said you couldn't modify your existing reservation. If so, and you haven't tried calling, I suggest you try calling- especially if you haven't cancelled your original reservation. Sometimes phone CM's have more flexibility to fix errors on the original reservation without having to cancel original booking.

If, however, your child is over 3, and you had them listed as under 3, then the price was ALSO lower because kids under 3 can't buy park tickets or the dining Plan, and THAT is your $600 price difference.

Children under age 3 enter the park for free. Kids under 3 are also free at buffets and when eating off your plate, but you have to pay out of pocket if you order any quick serve or menu meals for them. Also, kids over 18 = adults, if that was the nature of your age mistake. Between age 10 and 18, DDP and ticket prices are eh same, but people over 18 = the extra adult hotel room fee.

I can't really help with options in Disney Springs area, except there used to be an all suites Hilton there. I'm not sure if it is still a Hilton, and it probably is more $ than the WDW value hotels.

A condo would likely be the most reasonably priced option with multiple beds for 5 people. Yes, you can buy Magic bands, but you don't need them.

Disney can usually get two rooms together, or very close together, but the won't guarantee it. Also-if you arrive and have NOT been assigned rooms that are together- the front desk can often find rooms that are together for you, especially if you arrive early in the day to one of the bigger WDW hotels like Pop.

We've done both on and offsite hotels. For me, the downside of condos is no daily room cleaning. The other downside is that cooking in the room takes too long in the morning. If you can stick to non-cook cereal/fruit/yogurt style items, that's quick...as soon as we added even just toast/bagels...that slowed us down quite a bit, ESPECIALLY if everyone wants something different every day, even worse when it expands into eggs/bacon/pancakes and all the cleaning that comes with cooking. Then someone turns on the tv, and suddenly an hour has lapsed!

If you are paying for the Dining Plan, it doesn't really save $, but does give a good approximation of food costs. If you DO get the DDP though, with your TWO older boys, the buffets are likely going to be a good choice, where they can eat as much as they want! If you book two rooms- you cold get the DDP for just the boys, too! You wouldn't have to book it for both rooms.

Your food costs POTENTIALLY cold also be a little lower without the dining plan, especially if you bring some snacks, drink tap water some places, and eat all (or mostly all) quick serve meals. (instead of table service meals). If so, you can still get the refillable mug good for unlimited soft drinks when eating at your hotel.

The refurbed rooms at Pop all have two queens now.

 

[Lynne M]

I'll just add that if you want to learn more about staying offsite while visiting WDW, and/or you have questions about specific offsite hotels (like the Disney Springs hotels), check out our Orlando Hotels and Attractions board. The conversation on this board tends to focus on the Disney-owned resorts at WDW, along with the Swan & Dolphin.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Have you checked pricing for a cabin at Fort Wilderness? A cabin would give you 4 sleeping spaces (1 Queen, a set of bunk beds, and a pull out sofa) and a kitchen. I know a lot of posters will say that the bunk beds run shorter than most single beds, but my teen sons have found them comfortable so it might depend on how tall your sons are and how they sleep.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

If you aged your son 9 when you first priced out your vacation and then changed it to 10 or older the ddp and tickets went up significantly. Over 9 they are considered Disney adults so that could be the price difference. Pop does not have family suites, you must have checked out AOA which is connected to POP by a bridge. Your cheapest option for on site would be 2 standard rooms at one of the All Stars. Music and Sports usually have room discounts, Movies does not but it has been renovated just like Pop with queen beds. The other 2 have not been started yet but Music should be next. Depending on what discounts come out for next year you might even be able to book free dining. If you do book 2 rooms (and depending if Disney keeps everything as it now is) you have the option of adding any ddp to only 1 of the rooms and sharing the credits between the 5 of you for the more expensive ts and qs and supplementing with oop.