Those of you with 4+ kids, where do you stay?

[Aliceacc]

If, by some chance, you qualify for one of the discounts at the Dolphin (teacher, nurse, member of the military) take a look at their Deluxe Alcove:
http://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/deluxe_alcove.html

You'll have to call for pricing. But with my teacher discount I think it came to ballpark $240 a night in August. (That said, we got a 30% PIN code from Disney, so I dropped that reservation in favor of one at th Beach Club.)

Here's their discount page: http://www.swandolphin.com/offers/index.html

For anything other than a standard room, you'll have to call for pricing. But it may be well worth the phone call.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

We have 4 kids and love the Ft Wilderness Cabins. They sleep 6 and the plus is having the full sized kitchen.

 

[mom-n-michaela]

I am not sure when you are going, you didn't say - but in May of this year a new value resort is opening - Disney's Art of Animation Resort, and while one of the other Value resorts I know has some family suites - it is my understanding that this resort will be made up of mostly family suites and some regular rooms. The family suites will fit 6 people and have one bedroom, 2 bathrooms and a living/dining space. The couch pulls out to a bed and the table turns into a bed somehow. You can look at the resort on the Disney website...looks very cool! That is where we are planning to stay when we go back in 2013! Last time we stayed off site, this time I want my family to have the full experience as it is probably the last time we'll be going with all 4 of our kids since they are getting so much older

 

[dizkrazkate]

Well, it wasn't cheap, but we bought DVC a few years ago for this exact reason. We currently have 3 kids, and are expecting our 4th. Since we do go to Disney every year, and sometimes twice a year, having the extra space has been wonderful. It was worth the money. You can always try out a villa for a lesser cost by renting. In the effort of not getting a note for violating any rules, I won't give an actual name, but the one I'm thinking of I'm pretty sure is an official advertiser on this board, so if I'm right you should find it easily enough!

I did a blog post last summer on this topic, you can check out on "Where to stay for larger parties of 5 or more"

http://www.faith-trust-andpixiedust.blogspot.com/p/where-to-stay-for-larger-parties-of-5.html

I have heard lots of good things about Port Orleans Riverside, and I believe they just renovated a lot of the rooms!

 

[6elginfans]

We have 4 kids, 10,8,6 & 1. Once you outgrow the Value resorts, The next least expensive place to stay Is PO Riverside. We brought a inflatable mattress and playpen. We hardly spend anytime in the room, so being cramped for a few hours is ok with us.

 

[DisGirl1971]

Well, it wasn't cheap, but we bought DVC a few years ago for this exact reason. We currently have 3 kids, and are expecting our 4th. Since we do go to Disney every year, and sometimes twice a year, having the extra space has been wonderful. It was worth the money. You can always try out a villa for a lesser cost by renting. In the effort of not getting a note for violating any rules, I won't give an actual name, but the one I'm thinking of I'm pretty sure is an official advertiser on this board, so if I'm right you should find it easily enough!

I did a blog post last summer on this topic, you can check out on "Where to stay for larger parties of 5 or more"

http://www.faith-trust-andpixiedust.blogspot.com/p/where-to-stay-for-larger-parties-of-5.html

I have heard lots of good things about Port Orleans Riverside, and I believe they just renovated a lot of the rooms!

We are a family of 7, we have done the DVC tour, but I can't ever justify the cost. We caught on to Free Dining promos in 2006 and as long as they keep offering free dining I don't think we will even consider DVC. The minimum buy in for DVC for us is about $25,000.00 and I've barely spent that on the past 7 years worth of trips. We've stayed at all levels of resorts at Disney, I think the Polynesian will always be my favorite resort, but really as the kids have gotten older they actually prefer to stay at the value resorts - they love Pop Century and All-Star Movies and everyone is really excited to stay at the new Art of Animation. And as another poster mentioned, we really only sleep and shower in our room, so I just don't seem to be able to justify paying for deluxe resorts anymore, or even the moderate resorts for that matter, let alone a Villa. But, I do think it varies from family to family and you have to weight all the options.