Thoughts/Advice for Doing Disney with Growing Families

[quagmire0]

As a basis of comparison, our family of 6 will be going in June. Ages will be 9, 6, 4, and 10months. 7 day park hoppers, 9 nights at a 3 bedroom/3 bath condo (with splash pool) at Windsor Hills, 10 day minivan rental, and 9 day double-stroller rental have us at around $3400.00 Granted, that does not include dining, but the condo and car allow you to go buy groceries and save a ton on simple breakfasts, lunches, and snacks you can take into the park. And you can control how many or how few meals you decide to have on site. That's how we do it.

 

[MammaMoe48]

One way to save money-Really crunch the numbers and think about ditching that DDP. Seriously. I only compare adult prices because my kids are not little anymore, so it may still be a value for those with Disney age kids. It is not a value for us. You have to think about how you eat. If you don't get soda and dessert at every TS meal and a dessert and soda at every QS meal normally, it is a complete waste of money. You can still pre-pay meals, by sticking that money in savings or buying Disney GC. You can still get that feeling of everything being paid for and not worrying. There are some online calculators that can help you decide. ( I realize if you want to do character meals every day it might still be a good value for you- everyone has different circumstances.)

here is a great blog post that might help. http://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-dining-plan-costs-info-tips/

This! I considered the DDP but when I thought about it, I knew we'd never eat that much food, DS is 10 so he'd have to pay for the adult plan so I went to Disney's website and looked at the menus and did a sort of quick estimation of meal costs and paying OOP should cost me about $1800 for the entire week - breakfast (in room), lunch, dinner, snacks, 6.5% tax, 18% tip and even a few beers/bottles of wine. If we got the DxDP it would run us about $2400 (a cheaper plan wouldn't give us as much food as paying OOP either). Since your children are under 10 it might not be as big a hit for you so the DDP may still work.

 

[ontheuptick]

As a basis of comparison, our family of 6 will be going in June. Ages will be 9, 6, 4, and 10months. 7 day park hoppers, 9 nights at a 3 bedroom/3 bath condo (with splash pool) at Windsor Hills, 10 day minivan rental, and 9 day double-stroller rental have us at around $3400.00 Granted, that does not include dining, but the condo and car allow you to go buy groceries and save a ton on simple breakfasts, lunches, and snacks you can take into the park. And you can control how many or how few meals you decide to have on site. That's how we do it.

Our families are almost the same - we are about 1 year behind you!

I looked at all of the 3rd party vendor sites and the best price on tickets I could find was around $1900 for the tickets you have. So, you were able to get your condo, Minivan for 10 days, and your stroller all for $1500ish? Wow. I know the strollers are $100 or so, I've never rented a Van but assume it has to be $400-500 for 10 days. So, less than $1000 for the Windsor place for nine nights?

We may have to do something like this. Even at that price, we could spend plenty of money on character meals and be around $5000.

 

[ontheuptick]

One way to save money-Really crunch the numbers and think about ditching that DDP. Seriously. I only compare adult prices because my kids are not little anymore, so it may still be a value for those with Disney age kids. It is not a value for us. You have to think about how you eat. If you don't get soda and dessert at every TS meal and a dessert and soda at every QS meal normally, it is a complete waste of money. You can still pre-pay meals, by sticking that money in savings or buying Disney GC. You can still get that feeling of everything being paid for and not worrying. There are some online calculators that can help you decide. ( I realize if you want to do character meals every day it might still be a good value for you- everyone has different circumstances.)

here is a great blog post that might help. http://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-dining-plan-costs-info-tips/

This! I considered the DDP but when I thought about it, I knew we'd never eat that much food, DS is 10 so he'd have to pay for the adult plan so I went to Disney's website and looked at the menus and did a sort of quick estimation of meal costs and paying OOP should cost me about $1800 for the entire week - breakfast (in room), lunch, dinner, snacks, 6.5% tax, 18% tip and even a few beers/bottles of wine. If we got the DxDP it would run us about $2400 (a cheaper plan wouldn't give us as much food as paying OOP either). Since your children are under 10 it might not be as big a hit for you so the DDP may still work.

FWIW - I have read that post and about everything on Tom's site. I know the economics of the DDP pretty well, and for several reasons, the DDP works well for us.
1. We have 3 paying kids and 2 paying adults. The price for kids is stupid cheap. $22 for a kid. Shoot, most of the character meals that we go to are more than that already, let alone the QS meal (which doesn't have to be a kids meal) and snack.
2. When we go to QS places, with the new rules allowing you to sub out your drink and dessert for sides, we can use 3 QS credits and get 3 meals, 6 sides, and water - and have PLENTY of food. We've saved 2 credits for that meal, that we get to save up and use for breakfast or something else later in the week.

Bottom line: I know the DDP in most scenarios isn't a great bargain. But, depending on your family makeup (a greater ratio of kids) and knowing how to work it, you can get great value out of it. We literally line up all the most expensive meals when we are on the DDP (Akershus, H&V, Crystal Palace, Ohana, etc).

 

[smiths02]

We *only* have 3 kids, but we travelled to Disney in 2003 as a couple, 2009 with one child and the in-laws (we split cost with the in-laws), and 2011 with just us and one kid. Since we had twins, it was an overnight large family for us, but until they turned 3, most things, except daycare and diapers, were manageable...now that they are 3 and aren't "free" everything is insane
Changes we made:
--DH worked A LOT of overtime
--Dropped the dining plan...I know you loved it in 2012 "for free" but it really has dropped in value and the free dining promos are diminishing. We got Annual Passes and a Tables in Wonderland card. We also chose meals that could be cheaper (doing breakfast character meals, for example, or using credit card points for T-Rex gift card)
--Getting APs and planning two trips within 365 days and then probably won't go again for quite some time
--Because of wanting to do the two trip in one year thing...we saved longer
--Having an AP for one person could be helpful because that person could get dining discounts, merchandise discount, room discount, Tables in Wonderland, and free parking if you decide to stay offsite
--Have Christmas and birthday gifts be Disney related (either gift cards or clothes/souvenir type stuff---we had a lot of cheap Wal-mart and Target or discounted Disney Store stuff so we didn't have to buy everything once we were there)
--Have Amazon Prime, Garden Grocer, whatever deliver stuff to your resort.

My DHs special OT assignment will run out at the end of this year, so we just won't go back for a long time (at least until we aren't paying daycare anymore) and I bet we will stay offsite next time. (Even onsite, we prefer driving instead of navigating strollers and buses)

My last piece of advice...look at what it would cost to go elsewhere so you don't feel as bad LOL Everything is expensive with more people. Our grocery bill alarms me every single time.

 

[smiths02]

FWIW - I have read that post and about everything on Tom's site. I know the economics of the DDP pretty well, and for several reasons, the DDP works well for us.
1. We have 3 paying kids and 2 paying adults. The price for kids is stupid cheap. $22 for a kid. Shoot, most of the character meals that we go to are more than that already, let alone the QS meal (which doesn't have to be a kids meal) and snack.
2. When we go to QS places, with the new rules allowing you to sub out your drink and dessert for sides, we can use 3 QS credits and get 3 meals, 6 sides, and water - and have PLENTY of food. We've saved 2 credits for that meal, that we get to save up and use for breakfast or something else later in the week.

Bottom line: I know the DDP in most scenarios isn't a great bargain. But, depending on your family makeup (a greater ratio of kids) and knowing how to work it, you can get great value out of it. We literally line up all the most expensive meals when we are on the DDP (Akershus, H&V, Crystal Palace, Ohana, etc).

I agree with you about the ratio and family by family, and I know this isn't an "argue the DDP" thread, and I know you can get your money's worth...but you CAN also spend less and get a pretty similar experience.
If you order Garden Grocer or whatever and do a quick breakfast in the room, do Crystal Palace for a late breakfast (not only has the price gone down, but I've also had to tip less if I tip a percentage of the bill), share a few Dole Whip floats in the afternoon, then get a Counter Service pizza for dinner from your resort...you haven't necessarily given up on those dining experiences, but you have shifted the cost to where DDP might not be a huge savings. And the snacks are just insanely priced now...44 cent bag of pretzels is over $3...my experience isn't less magical b/c my 2 year old ate the Rold Gold pretzels in my backpack instead of the ones sold by Disney

And shifting costs can become more important the bigger your family is...just look at the thread about the after hours event that is $150...even people who would consider paying $150 can't imagine paying the $750 it would cost my family to do it

So some people have saved money by not doing DDP and cutting back on some of those expensive meals...which aren't necessarily that amazing. We went in 2009 and 2011...we have now been in 2015 and 2016 and I have found that many of the meals aren't really as worth it as they used to be.

 

[ontheuptick]

I agree with you about the ratio and family by family, and I know this isn't an "argue the DDP" thread, and I know you can get your money's worth...but you CAN also spend less and get a pretty similar experience.
If you order Garden Grocer or whatever and do a quick breakfast in the room, do Crystal Palace for a late breakfast (not only has the price gone down, but I've also had to tip less if I tip a percentage of the bill), share a few Dole Whip floats in the afternoon, then get a Counter Service pizza for dinner from your resort...you haven't necessarily given up on those dining experiences, but you have shifted the cost to where DDP might not be a huge savings. And the snacks are just insanely priced now...44 cent bag of pretzels is over $3...my experience isn't less magical b/c my 2 year old ate the Rold Gold pretzels in my backpack instead of the ones sold by Disney

And shifting costs can become more important the bigger your family is...just look at the thread about the after hours event that is $150...even people who would consider paying $150 can't imagine paying the $750 it would cost my family to do it

So some people have saved money by not doing DDP and cutting back on some of those expensive meals...which aren't necessarily that amazing. We went in 2009 and 2011...we have now been in 2015 and 2016 and I have found that many of the meals aren't really as worth it as they used to be.

I totally get your point. It's not a DDP vs no-DDP argument. You are just saying: Consider cutting down on your food costs.

Great point, and something we will likely do/consider when we stay offsite. But, we've found that we have a hard time cutting out a ton of our Disney meals. We just enjoy it. Our best Disney experience consisted of it being all-inclusive and knowing that we didn't have to worry or think about what the menu price said - we just ordered. With a growing family though, those days are likely gone, for most trips at least. Thanks for sharing!

 

[rideswithchrist]

For us= CAMPING! When we went to Disney in 2015 (Family if 5), DS was 2 so he was free, we crammed into one room at POP. I am also expecting #4 so we will go when pregnant, which does not count towards anything but comfort- but getting a room at POR or at Caribbean is about $1200 more just for rooms than camping at Fort Wilderness. Thankfully, we already own a camper.

We also will be bringing in our lunches and eating breakfast in the room all but 1 day (just like we did last time).
No DDP for us, I found 3 of the cheapest places to eat in each park and we had one good sit down meal per day. We eat on the go anyway so having a sandwich in hand is better for our family than waiting 35 minutes to get to eat and the 1 popcorn snack provided on the cheapest DDP was not cutting it for us (plus that gave us wiggle room for some Dole whip and turkey legs)
PLUS- I don't want to keep track of "credits" and things like that. $22 for a kid's meal is NOT cheap when I can get an adult's meal for $15 at some places (Salmon included).

Our trip last time, including rental car, food, travel, room, tickets and spending money was around $3800.
This trip we will not be renting a car and we are staying during a cheaper time, so I am budgeting 3800 as well because even paying for my son, we saved the $400 car rental.

The kids requested Disney Gift Cards for Christmas, so that is what they got from family. They also collected cans and turned them in for more spending money.
I made custom Disney shirts so we did not spend money on that.
This year, we will each get a shirt in the park though.

Next time we go, we will have a free baby as well, but will be staying at FW in February, which is peak rate practically so we will have to add on another $400 or so but still, we are well under 7K for a trip.

That is budgeting in $600 worth of food.

Rent a stroller from Apple, last time, you only paid for your insurance so it was $60 total for the entire stay.

 

[gorkt]

I swear this is how they get you. Now we have to fly from Boston so we are paying 1500-2000 no matter what, but our first trip with the 2 year old I only had to buy 3 park tickets and all his meals were essentially free. We rented a DVC room (my husband insists on the separate room) so cost was 5500-6000 total or something. Then the kids get older, you are paying for two tickets and meals, a slightly longer trip. Cost went to $7K. Now my kids are tweens/teens. They eat a lot and pay full price plus demand and prices have gone up, plus they want to go to Universal. This next trip we are looking at 9K! Crazy! This is likely the last WDW while the kids are young though.

 

[Tara1988]

Question for those recommending family suites:

Do you specifically prefer that over 2 connecting rooms at a Moderate or at Pop or something? I ask because I'm wondering if it's just a default to look at the family suite and most people don't think of connecting rooms, or, have you tried it and connecting rooms don't work out as well?

Depending on the discount season, connecting rooms at a Moderate would be about the same price as a family suite at ASM or AoA. And, for that same price you would get more sq. footage, 4 beds instead of 1 real bed and some fold downs, and all the amenities of a moderate (better pools with slides, etc.). I've stayed at AoA Little Mermaid and like the resort. But, if I had to choose now for similar money I would go with CSR or CBR connecting rooms. I've never tried it, but that's what seems like the best call... Thoughts?

The problem with connecting rooms is with 2 adults, they won't guarantee that you will get connecting rooms. There's a good chance you will, but it isn't promised. With a suite, you're guaranteed to be together, have a few more amenities, and mom and dad can have some privacy.

 

[Tara1988]

Our families are almost the same - we are about 1 year behind you!

I looked at all of the 3rd party vendor sites and the best price on tickets I could find was around $1900 for the tickets you have. So, you were able to get your condo, Minivan for 10 days, and your stroller all for $1500ish? Wow. I know the strollers are $100 or so, I've never rented a Van but assume it has to be $400-500 for 10 days. So, less than $1000 for the Windsor place for nine nights?

We may have to do something like this. Even at that price, we could spend plenty of money on character meals and be around $5000.

I've rented a 6 bedroom house with private pool for 8 nights under $1500. Try vrbo or homeaway.Renting a house or condo is by far the cheapest way to go.

 

[Vijoge]

The problem with connecting rooms is with 2 adults, they won't guarantee that you will get connecting rooms. There's a good chance you will, but it isn't promised. With a suite, you're guaranteed to be together, have a few more amenities, and mom and dad can have some privacy.

We considered getting two connecting rooms and certainly would have had they been guaranteed. Probably would have stayed a a mod in that case, so we wouldn't have saved any money.

 

[bluezy]

Question for those recommending family suites:

Do you specifically prefer that over 2 connecting rooms at a Moderate or at Pop or something? I ask because I'm wondering if it's just a default to look at the family suite and most people don't think of connecting rooms, or, have you tried it and connecting rooms don't work out as well?

Depending on the discount season, connecting rooms at a Moderate would be about the same price as a family suite at ASM or AoA. And, for that same price you would get more sq. footage, 4 beds instead of 1 real bed and some fold downs, and all the amenities of a moderate (better pools with slides, etc.). I've stayed at AoA Little Mermaid and like the resort. But, if I had to choose now for similar money I would go with CSR or CBR connecting rooms. I've never tried it, but that's what seems like the best call... Thoughts?

We have 5 kids -- two of them are now adults so they don't always travel with us anymore, but we've made numerous trips to Disney with 3-5 kids. We did connecting rooms at Pop Century on 3 trips (before AoA opened). We were fortunate that we always got our request for connecting rooms. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if we hadn't, but I was glad that we did. Once AoA opened, we started staying in a suite there (because our oldest son wasn't traveling with us anymore or if he did, he and his girlfriend would get their own room, so we were a party of 6 and fit in a suite). We will be staying there again in a few months. We prefer a suite over 2 connecting rooms for a few reasons:

1. I like knowing that we are guaranteed to be under one roof....but that DH & I will still have some privacy because of the master bedroom. When we had connecting rooms, we always ended up with a kid or two in our room because none of them like to share a bed if they don't absolutely have to. They'll share beds for short weekend trips that we take (to places other than Disney), but a week or more of sharing a bed just wouldn't be good. They're all restless sleepers so they constantly wake each other up. (FWIW, the pull-out beds at AoA are pretty comfortable -- much better than the ones in the ASMu Suites. My kids have said that the ones at AoA are as comfortable as most hotel beds they've slept in. They're not your typical hotel pull-out beds -- the sofa mattress is 6" thick and the table bed is 8" thick.)

2. Because of the room design and layout, the suites at AoA feel much bigger than 2 connecting rooms at a Value resort. The layout of the suites allows plenty of space for an air mattress or two (see previous comment about not sharing beds).

3. We always eat breakfast in the room so the kitchenette is very convenient. We also like having the microwave for heating up leftovers or making popcorn for an evening snack. My husband also likes the coffee maker.

4. I love the walk-in shower in the master bathroom. It's a nice little "upgrade" compared to the typical shower/tub combo.

As far as the value resorts not have slides at the pools....my kids couldn't care less (even when they were little). We don't do a ton of swimming when we're there (usually 2 or 3 times during the week) and as far as they're concerned, they just want to get in the water. We belong to a private pool club at home and their pools have fun slides. I can probably count on one hand the number of times my kids have used those slides. Pool slides are not even a blip on the radar for us when making a resort selection.

The suites have always cost us more than 2 connecting rooms at a Value Resort (usually at least $70/night) but we like the suites much better than having connecting rooms so it's worth it to us. YMMV. We did price out 2 rooms at a Moderate resort for our upcoming trip and that would have cost us $200-800 more for the week depending on the resort and room location. We have family staying at Pop Century for this trip so we decided to stay at AoA again because we wanted to be close to them.

We have zero interest in staying off site whether it be in a hotel suite or a rental home. We're on VACATION. Nothing about offsite is appealing to us. I have no desire to cook meals to save money. We have no interest in giving up the convenience of being on property to save a few hundred $$$. We drive 1,000 miles to get to Disney World so once we're there, we like to park the car and forget about it until a week later when we leave (unless we need to run to the store for something). We have no problem with using Disney transportation while we're there. It might not always be the fastest option, but it's the one that requires the least amount of energy on our part. We know a Disney vacation is going to cost us about $8-10,000 so rather than figuring out ways to value engineer our vacation so we can go every year for less money, we just estimate how long it will take us to save up the $10K and plan the next trip for that time frame (usually 2 years). I will say that the next time we go (after this summer), just for a change of scenery, we will probably try connecting rooms at POFQ (the only mod that really appeals to us) because our kids are old enough now that it would not be a problem at all if we weren't in connecting rooms. And if only 2 or 3 kids travel with us, we might actually try a Deluxe room that accommodates 5 (which is usually about the same cost as the suite at AoA) - if I think we can survive with 1 bathroom.

As far as the Dining Plan... Because we're all Disney adults, the dining plans just doesn't make sense for us. We usually only do 1 or 2 table service meals for the week, so the DDP doesn't really work for us. We considered doing the QSDP for this trip just for convenience, but our 11yo eats like a bird and usually still orders kids meals most days so it doesn't make sense to pay for her as an adult. That being said, in your situation (assuming all of your kids are under 10 when you travel) and you enjoy doing character meals throughout your stay, the DDP probably makes good financial sense for your family. Families with several children under 10 are part of the small percentage of Disney visitors who actually come out ahead on the DDP without much effort.

 

[Ensusieasm]

My family loves Disney World (and Disneyland). Love it. I never went as a child, but took my young family in September of 2012 for our first trip. We then went to Disneyland in 2013, WDW in 2014, and WDW for 9 days recently in December 2015.

September 2012 Trip
DH, DW, DS5, DD2. We stayed at AoA Little Mermaid. Free Dining.
7-Day price: $1,749 (including room, tickets, dining plan). Amazing, right?
Here were my kids at that time.

We had an absolute blast and were hooked.

Now, we have these three... And my wife is pregnant with number 4!

So with my wife being pregnant, our next trip will have 4 children. I

March 2017 Trip
DH, DW, DS9, DD6, DD3, and a BABY
2-Connecting Rooms at Pop (including 15% expected promotion discount)
Price: Around $6,300 (including rooms, tickets, and Dining plan)
2-Connecting Rooms at CBR (including 20% expected promotion discount)
Price: Around $6,700 (including rooms, tickets, and Dining plan)
Renting DVC 1-Bedroom at AKV, SSR, OKW
Price: Around $7,000 (including room, tickets, and Dining Plan)

All this to say - my how things have changed! Granted, I realize that my wife and I had a lot to do with that - expanding our family. I'm not expecting Disney to discount me for that But, we went from paying $1,749 all-in 4 years ago to looking at $7000 all in (excluding driving/flight costs). That's a very, very dramatic increase.

I'm not bashing Disney. I'm simply trying to look at the numbers and say - How have others handled this as the price to take their family to Disney has increased as your family has grown to 4 kids (or more)? What else should I be considering? What options (those listed above?) have you found that work best for your family both factoring in cost and comfort?

Complicating matters: My wife REALLY loves staying on-site (granted, we haven't tried anything else) and loves having the Dining plan. She doesn't care whether it saves us a little, or costs us a little, she loves knowing that she doesn't have to think or worry about what she is paying at each meal. When we do the DDP, we end up saving because we book expensive meals and have enough kids that the cost works out.

Thanks!

Just a heads up.... Connecting rooms are only a request and not a guarantee. Sometimes the connecting rooms you have requested are not even near to each other. So, a AoA suite or the DVC one bedroom is the only way not to be split up with your wife in one room and you in another. However, an OKW one bedroom would accommodate 5 plus a baby in a pack n play because it has a sleeper chair, but a one bedroom at SSR does not have a sleeper chair and accommodates 4 plus a baby in a pack n play. Your 3 year old would be counted in the occupancy total. You might want to look at POR because if you book preferred you get a Murphy bed and two queens with an occupancy of 5 plus a pack n play.

 

[roseaster]

I can sympathize. I have 6 children, so we are now (my baby is 1 month old) a party of 8, and we have done all the on site options, including renting DVC points.

We loved staying on site, had never done anything else, wouldn't consider it, but a few years back when the hefty price really started getting out of hand we bit the bullet and stayed off site. It was, really, the only way we could afford to go.

Our last trip was in August 2014 (we didn't do 2015 because my pregnancy was, well, terrible, I'm old) We rented a 4 bedroom, 4 bath private home, with a private pool about 15 minutes from the park from www.vrbo.com. It cost us $1500 for 14 nights. We saved money by making breakfast in the house, making some dinners, and eating some other dinners off site. In addition, we had tons of room, with lots of bathrooms so that 3 teen aged girls weren't fighting while getting ready. The kids loved having the pool to themselves and the ability to use it whenever they wanted. We were able to pack very lightly because we had a washer and dryer.
I bought tickets at a discount through my job. We drove down (from NJ, not a short drive)

By staying off site we spent less on a 2 week vacation, and got to see Universal and SeaWorld too, than we would have spent for a 1 week on site Disney vacation.

 

[bluezy]

.....

By staying off site we spent less on a 2 week vacation, and got to see Universal and SeaWorld too, than we would have spent for a 1 week on site Disney vacation.

That's probably the only time we will consider staying offsite -- if we're taking an extended (more than 14 days) vacation. And I know that won't happen as long as the kids are traveling with us. It was a huge challenge to figure out 7 days that our entire family could make the trip this year. We're working around at least 5 different employment schedules in our family and we have the added challenge of one person who only works weekends and can't take off 2 weekends in a row while everyone else wants to take advantage of the weekends so they don't use as much vacation time. And then add in the college schedules and pre-season mandatory sports practices along with other commitments during the summer and it was nutso. It really was like a complicated high school math problem to figure out a 10-day window (including travel time) to take this trip. However, when DH retires, he and I plan to do extended (more than 2 weeks) vacations to Disney so we we will probably stay offsite then....or not.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Wyndham Bonnet Creek questions: The place looks great, reasonable pricing, plus I am a Wyndham Rewards member, so could get it for less using my points.
So it's totally non-Disney? You just enjoy lower prices and proximity? No dining plans allowed, no Magic bands, no EMH? This is the first "off site" option I've even considered, so I'm not sure of all we're losing by not staying with Disney.
We're a family of six, four kids who count as one junior, two kids, and a free toddler. We would could easily enjoy a character meal at each park (and MUST do Hollywood & Vine for our Disney Jr. lovers) and things like the Hoop Dee Doo, so the DDP seems worth considering. I hate traffic, so I don't think I'd enjoy staying well and truly off site.
Thanks for all the input, all you PPs. Nice to not feel alone in trying to have a decent vacation with more than two kids. ;-)

 

[maxiesmom]

Wyndham Bonnet Creek questions: The place looks great, reasonable pricing, plus I am a Wyndham Rewards member, so could get it for less using my points.
So it's totally non-Disney? You just enjoy lower prices and proximity? No dining plans allowed, no Magic bands, no EMH? This is the first "off site" option I've even considered, so I'm not sure of all we're losing by not staying with Disney.
We're a family of six, four kids who count as one junior, two kids, and a free toddler. We would could easily enjoy a character meal at each park (and MUST do Hollywood & Vine for our Disney Jr. lovers) and things like the Hoop Dee Doo, so the DDP seems worth considering. I hate traffic, so I don't think I'd enjoy staying well and truly off site.
Thanks for all the input, all you PPs. Nice to not feel alone in trying to have a decent vacation with more than two kids. ;-)

Yes it is not a Disney resort. You lose all the Disney resort perks if you stay there. They also now charge a per person fee for using their shuttle to the parks.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Yes it is not a Disney resort. You lose all the Disney resort perks if you stay there. They also now charge a per person fee for using their shuttle to the parks.

I guess I'm trying to say that I'm not 100% sure I understand what all the "perks" are at WDW.
Yes, I read a review that mentioned the horrendous charges for the shuttle. ($8pp for each trip! Not good for people like us who take a mid-afternoon break.) A family of my size would definitely drive to the parks on our own schedule and pay for parking.

 

[roseaster]

I can sympathize. I have 6 children, so we are now (my baby is 1 month old) a party of 8, and we have done all the on site options, including renting DVC points.

We loved staying on site, had never done anything else, wouldn't consider it, but a few years back when the hefty price really started getting out of hand we bit the bullet and stayed off site. It was, really, the only way we could afford to go.

Our last trip was in August 2014 (we didn't do 2015 because my pregnancy was, well, terrible, I'm old) We rented a 4 bedroom, 4 bath private home, with a private pool about 15 minutes from the park from www.vrbo.com. It cost us $1500 for 14 nights. We saved money by making breakfast in the house, making some dinners, and eating some other dinners off site. In addition, we had tons of room, with lots of bathrooms so that 3 teen aged girls weren't fighting while getting ready. The kids loved having the pool to themselves and the ability to use it whenever they wanted. We were able to pack very lightly because we had a washer and dryer.
I bought tickets at a discount through my job. We drove down (from NJ, not a short drive)

By staying off site we spent less on a 2 week vacation, and got to see Universal and SeaWorld too, than we would have spent for a 1 week on site Disney vacation.

Honestly, we will probably not stay on site again until we are just traveling with the youngest. There is a 10 year age gap between her and the rest of the tribe.

We did not intend to take a 2 week trip. Our intention was a 7 day trip and just WDW, but when we realized the savings we decided to extend the time and see Universal because we have never been.

I know it is akin to sacrilege to criticize Disney here, but the fact of the matter is that in lodgings what you get is not worth the price they charge. I know a lot of it is convenience and atmosphere, but their value rooms, for which they are charging close to $200 a night for now is comparable to most $79 motel rooms anywhere else in the area. We have stayed on all levels in WDW from value to DVC. For the money it just doesn't compare lodgings outside of WDW property.

The food doesn't, either. The food quality has gone down and the prices up. We used to love the dining plan, but now, for what you get, it just isn't worth it. Honestly, most of the restaurants, other than the signatures, aren't worth the prices, either.

Now the on site "perks" are disappearing. They are cutting hours. They are contracting out a lot of services so that you are no longer getting a personal touch. They are working on phasing out free EMH for on site guests, too. They are now offering the packages where you are paying $100 and $150 extra for EMH while cutting down the days where "free" EMH are available.

For us, other than the transportation convenience it is removing the incentive to stay on site.