To those with "large" families

[3girlsfun]

We are now a family of 5, and when we travel, my grandmother will be going with us. It is amazing what a difference it makes when trying to travel with a "large" family. The resorts we stay at (if we want one room) are very limited. And sorry if I don't feel comfortable putting my 82 year old grandmother in a room by herself. I also don't want an adjoining room, bc again, I just don't think I would feel comfortable with that.

We have a cruise booked for June of 2011. We couldn't afford to go any sooner because of the cost of the room for 5 people. We had to get one of the 20 rooms on a brand new ship that would accomodate our family of 5.

I know there are fire code laws, and all of that, so I can understand to an extent, however....it feels like we are being punished for having a "larger" family. And to think we hope to one day add another child to our family, we will definitely have to go into a different price bracket!

So, I guess my point to all of this whining is, what do you do to counteract the additional costs? I am totally prepared for the extra cost of their tickets, eating, I just hate the additional price for a second room/bigger room, that for us, we don't really feel like we need.

ideas, suggestions?

 

[3girlsfun]

I should have added, that we do own a camper, and we are hoping to upgrade to a larger camper after next summer when our two babies are no longer babies. Can't wait to camp at Fort Wilderness!!!!!!!!

 

[kacaju]

with your kids being as small as they are I would rent one room and deal with being together.
We take my MIL on vacations with us often (since my FIL passed away 9 years ago)
We used to fit in 1 room, but now that my kids are 16, 14 and 10 we NEED two rooms!!

 

[luvmy3]

with your kids being as small as they are I would rent one room and deal with being together.
We take my MIL on vacations with us often (since my FIL passed away 9 years ago)
We used to fit in 1 room, but now that my kids are 16, 14 and 10 we NEED two rooms!!

Its not always possible to put 5 people in one room due to codes. It has nothing to do with how many fit in a room, it about how many people are allowed to stay in the room.

OP I can totally relate, the world is not made for families bigger than 4

 

[unclescrooge_0707]

We are now a family of 5, and when we travel, my grandmother will be going with us. It is amazing what a difference it makes when trying to travel with a "large" family. The resorts we stay at (if we want one room) are very limited. And sorry if I don't feel comfortable putting my 82 year old grandmother in a room by herself. I also don't want an adjoining room, bc again, I just don't think I would feel comfortable with that.

We have a cruise booked for June of 2011. We couldn't afford to go any sooner because of the cost of the room for 5 people. We had to get one of the 20 rooms on a brand new ship that would accomodate our family of 5.

I know there are fire code laws, and all of that, so I can understand to an extent, however....it feels like we are being punished for having a "larger" family. And to think we hope to one day add another child to our family, we will definitely have to go into a different price bracket!

So, I guess my point to all of this whining is, what do you do to counteract the additional costs? I am totally prepared for the extra cost of their tickets, eating, I just hate the additional price for a second room/bigger room, that for us, we don't really feel like we need.

ideas, suggestions?

I can't answer to cruise stuff, but we're soon to be a family of 6, so i've been considering possibilities. I found that the disney vacation club resorts can sleep up to 8 in one "room", but it's got 2 bedrooms and it's own kitchen. Kind of like your own apartment for vacation. The downside is that it's probably just as expensive to do this as it is to get two rooms, but it answers your questions about putting people that are too young or too old off by themselves. :2cents: (I don't know if that's a smiley or not.)

 

[DisneyDadC]

We are now a family of 5, and when we travel, my grandmother will be going with us. It is amazing what a difference it makes when trying to travel with a "large" family. The resorts we stay at (if we want one room) are very limited. And sorry if I don't feel comfortable putting my 82 year old grandmother in a room by herself. I also don't want an adjoining room, bc again, I just don't think I would feel comfortable with that.

We have a cruise booked for June of 2011. We couldn't afford to go any sooner because of the cost of the room for 5 people. We had to get one of the 20 rooms on a brand new ship that would accomodate our family of 5.

I know there are fire code laws, and all of that, so I can understand to an extent, however....it feels like we are being punished for having a "larger" family. And to think we hope to one day add another child to our family, we will definitely have to go into a different price bracket!

So, I guess my point to all of this whining is, what do you do to counteract the additional costs? I am totally prepared for the extra cost of their tickets, eating, I just hate the additional price for a second room/bigger room, that for us, we don't really feel like we need.

ideas, suggestions?

It is tuff having a big family.I have a family of 7 and sometime travel with 8.We are currently DVC members so now we can get a 2 bedroom villa.In previous year we would just have to get adjoining rooms and leave the door open between rooms.To us that was not to big of a deal,however the cost can get up there. Being a large family we are used to paying more for most things.

 

[Disney_Mousketeers]

We too are planning on going on the Dream due to the room that can accommodate 5 people making it much more affordable. We also bought into DVC Kidani Village because they also accommodate 5 people in a one bedroom. It's tough I agree, but it is what it is.

 

[disneycruising]

We are also a big family of 6. My kids are now 16, 14, 12 & 10.

When we travel to WDW we do have to get 2 rooms. We alway get connecting at the parks.

On the cruise ship we always ask if the Cat 2... is available. Sometimes it is cheaper to do a cat 2 in the off season then doing 2 rooms. When the kids were little we would do 2 connecting rooms. As they got a little older we did side by side...and I take a baby monitor. So we can hear everthing that is going on. On our next cruise (dec 2011--Dream) we are planning on doing a veranda room (2 adults) with an inside directly across the hall (with the 4 kids).

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I should have added, that we do own a camper, and we are hoping to upgrade to a larger camper after next summer when our two babies are no longer babies. Can't wait to camp at Fort Wilderness!!!!!!!!

Just what I was going to suggest

Although we thoroughly enjoy camping, it was born out of neccessity. With three children, DS10, DS8 and DD8, it's the only way for us to be able to travel as we like and still stay comfortably at reasonable cost. We have two bedrooms in our "new to us" camper and I LOVE it.

 

[RMulieri]

It is the firecodes that restrict larger families out of many of WDW rooms.Have you thought about a villa at DVC? you can rent points from someone that would cut the cost considerably, or you can rent from WDW and pay cash( rack rate) but there are often discounts available for the DVCs

 

[Sgt Mickey]

We are a family of 6 so I can totally relate and it SUCKS!!! We ended up staying at the Ft Wilderness cabins twice. We stayed at the carribean once and got two rooms.

 

[imthatgirl]

The thing that bugs me the most about Disney is that my family of 5 can only stay at one Mod....yet all the mods are exactly the same size. No wait, isn't carribean beach slichtly larger. Yeah, so it makes no sense to me.
I'm really getting sick of staying at POR

 

[mjkacmom]

Do what we did - we have 5 kids, so we can justify the need for the extra room! I have no problem with ajoining rooms (which we do for cruising, too) - we just keep the door open.

 

[java]

We are a family of 6 and we have found more and more hotels adding "sleeps 6" rooms. Usually only one or two of them. But if I google sleeps 6 hotels in an area I am often surprised at finding a Fairfield in with a family suite!

In Disney we have recently been staying on the CL at the Boardwalk= they have a room that legally sleeps 6. (oh la la- it's a splurge but with a code is actually becoming our way to go this will be our third time staying there.)

We tend to travel to areas where home rentals are possiblities. Or villa rentals.

We would love to do a cruise sometime but I keep saying we have to wait until the oldest goes off to college and we are down to 5 again(He of course protests that and really I wouldn't do that to him but I like to kid him)
It's more expensive but isn't everything with a big family. But the more the merrier!

 

[java]

The thing that bugs me the most about Disney is that my family of 5 can only stay at one Mod....yet all the mods are exactly the same size. No wait, isn't carribean beach slichtly larger. Yeah, so it makes no sense to me.
I'm really getting sick of staying at POR

There are bigger suites at CSR too.

 

[imthatgirl]

There are bigger suites at CSR too.

Thank you for pouring salt on that wound

 

[tessieg]

My 3 kids are 3, 6, and 11. We usually just stay in 1 room (POR at Disney). We look for rooms with two beds and a sleeper sofa, like Comfort Suites. In some cases, if we are driving, we even bring along an air mattress that inflates by itself and use that for one of the kids, if there are not enough beds(many rooms allow for 5 legally but will charge for a rollaway for the extra person). With the ages of your kids, I would definitely use one of these strategies. We are getting to the point where I can see we will need two rooms...we'll need the extra bathroom. My 11 yo is starting to need "privacy!" So I would enjoy being able to do 1 room while you can.

As far as your Grandma though, I would think that would call for 2 rooms--adjoining, and leave the door open. Why is that a problem? At home you don't all sleep in 1 room. I think with more than 2 adults you really need two toilets/showers.

Anyway, I feel your pain. Travel is a bit tougher with 5+.

 

[badblackpug]

The thing that bugs me the most about Disney is that my family of 5 can only stay at one Mod....yet all the mods are exactly the same size. No wait, isn't carribean beach slichtly larger. Yeah, so it makes no sense to me.
I'm really getting sick of staying at POR

We used to cram in 1 room, but we found all the "togetherness" was really working everyone's nerves, so we started staying as ASMu in a family suite. It gave us a little more room and an extra bathroom. We have a new baby this year so we are renting DVC points and staying in a 2 bedroom villa. We found we can do this for just $200 more than the suite.

...there are also the FW cabins.

 

[heatherleigh]

We have been getting by with one room, but this will be our last year doing so, before we will have to get a suite. It's really difficult at Disneyland, because they have very few suites. The ones they have are more expensive than buying 2 standard rooms. My mom came with us the last time, so we had a couple rooms. We still have one child in a crib, and only two adults.

 

[seals]

I've said this many times myself. The cost of 4 vs. the cost of 5 (for the full Disney onsite experience that they constantly advertise) is much more than the cost of 1 additional person. Too bad for me, I guess, that my 2nd pregnanacy was twins (and I don't regret it for a minute -- so blllllhhhh to you Disney).

We are also on a tight budget (3 kids, state jobs) so even with codes the deluxes, etc. are pretty much out of reach, especially on a school vacation schedule. We've gotten adjoining rooms at POP with a 40% off code which was probably the best with lots of room and two bathrooms and two tvs. We also have slept in tents at FW which was the least expensive option, especially because we could prepare our own food for some of the meals.

Non-Disney places it's easier to find rooms that accomodate 5 (some ironically the same size as values at Disney). And luckily my DSs have no problem sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor of a motel (on a sheet I bring from home place over a comforter from the bed underneath them) if it means they get to go somewhere. We'll see if this still happens when they get to be teens a few years.