What resort affordable for family of 6?

[4boyz4me]

I'm new to this...help.

Only trip to WDW we stayed at Poly and loved it, but it did cost a small fortune. Now we have 4 kids (youngest is 4), and want to stay on premises-but from what I can tell none of the resorts allow 6/room. We really can't afford a suite, would like to stay under $200-$225/night. Any suggestions?

How about the cabins-don't really appeal to me but would like to hear from someone who's been there. Plan on going with the meal plan so we won't need a kitchenette, etc.

 

[paladin]

What about getting two rooms at a value resort? That way you have 4 double beds, two bathrooms and two tvs.

 

[eblack0409]

What about trying to get adjoining rooms if available...that way it's almost like being in one room.

 

[Sammie]

What about trying to get adjoining rooms if available...that way it's almost like being in one room.

That would be "connecting" rooms, adjoining rooms at Disney are rooms next door to each other without a connecting door.

 

[AJKMOM]

I believe that if the number of kids is larger than the number of adults, as in your case, they guarentee connecting rooms at the value resorts. We stayed in the FW cabins and would do it again if we hadn't bought DVC. They have a double bed and 2 bunk beds in the bedroom, and DH & I slept on the pull down Murphy bed in the living room. This is where the TV was, so we could watch after the kids went to sleep. The bed is NOT a sleep sofa, and was very comfortable.

If you are looking for theming, this isn't the place. You can check the DVC forum here at the DIS, there is a section on renting points to stay at a DVC resort. You can go to the DVC website and figure what you need for a 2 BR, the points vary on when you are going, and what resort you want. Then check on the Board here and see if you could rent points. That is a lot cheaper than paying cash to Disney.

 

[tjmouse]

You might look at Ft. Wilderness cabins as well. Sometimes they have really good deals on those.

 

[WAHMto5]

We are staying at the cabins for Christmas and can't WAIT!! We have 5 children and have nothing but great things about them. We are also doing the dining plan so I just look at the kitchen as a little extra perk for the kids to put snacks, pop, ect in.

 

[deadhedjen]

I'm new to this...help.

Only trip to WDW we stayed at Poly and loved it, but it did cost a small fortune. Now we have 4 kids (youngest is 4), and want to stay on premises-but from what I can tell none of the resorts allow 6/room. We really can't afford a suite, would like to stay under $200-$225/night. Any suggestions?

How about the cabins-don't really appeal to me but would like to hear from someone who's been there. Plan on going with the meal plan so we won't need a kitchenette, etc.

We are also a family of 6 (with the youngest being 4, lol). Our upcoming trip is also going to be our first on-site visit to WDW. We currently are booked for 2 connecting rooms at All-Star Movies. DD4 is just crazy about Herbie, Dalmations, and Toy Story...but especially Herbie for some odd reason, lol!

Others may flame me for saying this, but to me anything that involves camping with 4 kids is not considered a vacation. I just don't think that camping (as in cabins...I don't care how nice they are...they are still cabins, and I associate cabins with camping) and WDW, and vacation go together. To me that just sounds exhausting. Plus, the price for the cabin is more than 2 rooms at a value. So no camping for us.

Here are some of the options I was checking out and my prices I figured using the AAA discount in regular season for our family of 6. Might give you some ideas for room options.

POFQ or the CBR for 8 nights came out to $1382.64 per room...you'd need 2 so that brings you to 2768.28.....minus AAA discount comes out to $2350.49 or $293.81 per night.

ASMo 8 nights was $894.96 per room...x2 rooms=1789.92....minus AAA discount comes out to $1521.43 or $190.18 per night.

Coronado Springs Jr Suite (sleeps 6) was $3077.44 for 8 nights.....minus AAA discount is $2615.82 or $326.98 per night.

Poly...$3291.52 per room, so $6583.04 for 2...minus the AAA comes to 5924.74 or $740.59 per night.

Wilderness Lodge, Deluxe Rm, Lake view can sleep 6.

Contemporary, 1 BR, Lake View Suite can also sleep 6.

BTW... FW Cabin is $2488.72 for 8 nights minus AAA comes to $2115.41 or $264.43 per night.

There might be other options out there, but these were the only ones I checked into.

Have fun planning!!!

Jennifer.

 

[deide71]

Actually, the cabins are really trailers. But they look really cool!

 

[minnie61650]

Two Rooms at the All Stars!
Thats means 4 double beds,2 bathrooms and best of all 2 TVs.
You and dh can watch your fav shows and the kids can watch theirs. Ask for connecting rooms. They have an inside door between the two rooms so when the door is open you have access to bOth rooms without having to go outside.

I am 55 years old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe resorts do not have anything special for me.
All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my favorite.It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Clypso building. It is closer to the pool,food court and bus stop.

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down.All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.
They are the preferred buildings and cost about $12 extra per night.
The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the preferred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
It is a great place to stay .
Preschoolers love it.
It is like being in the middle of a Disney Movie Fantasyland.

The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot,MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theaming is pure Disney.
My last 5 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 for 8 nights we stayed at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?
Have a great time at Disney!
I know we did!

 

[twojo21]

how about 2 connecting rooms at one of the value resorts, we love allstar movies & music. or a suite at coronado springs, we did this with my family of 6 a few years back & it worked great for us, it was about $200 a night, we really enjoyed the pool & healthclub.

 

[ducklite]

I'd take a look at the FW Cabins--they are NOT camping! They are like having your own little villa. You'll have plenty of space, the biggest downside is only one bathroom. You get daily housekeeping, and other than it being more private, it's like having a room anywhere else. You'll have less worries about disturbing the people next to you as well...

You could easily book connecting rooms at a value or moderate and stay in your budget. The moderates all have a mini fridge (costs $10 per day at values) and even though you're on the meal plan, a mini firdge will come in handy.

I'd also look into the deluxe room (jr. suite) at the Wilderness Lodge, which will handle you group comfortably. Depending on when you are going, if you can find a code this might work for you.

I'd also like to comment on the dining plan. WIth four kids you will probably end up with a lot of counter service, and I'm not conviinced that the dining plan will pay for itself, unless your older kids eat a lot.

Anne

 

[crazyme5kids]

Great thread! As far as the dinning plan goes, you really need to think about what youre eating style is, For myself, I go for a sit down restaurant 99.9% of the time and counter service as a last option. I think it gives a nice break to the day and gives all of us a chance to relax for a while.

 

[goofy4tink]

If you are planning on cooking, then I would go with Ft. Wilderness Cabins. We had friends that stayed there in June...grandparents with 4 kids. The only thing they did wrong was to assume they could buy all their groceries at the little store on-site. They wished they had stopped on the way.
But, if cooking your own meals isn't what you want to do, then I would go with two rooms in the AllStar group. They are nice rooms, great themeing, and the food courts were always fine with me.

 

[RobynK]

We are also a family of 6 and we had 2 rooms at POP. Like mentioned before if the number of children is more than the number of adults they will guarantee connecting rooms. It was great having two bathrooms and two tv

 

[BCV23]

We haven't stayed at the values but it does seem like one good solution.

But the cabins are wonderful. There is only one bathroom but with younger kids or boys that doesn't seem like a big deal. There are two TVs. It is a very relaxing setting after the parks and you can park your car right besiade the cabin. We drove to parks other than MK but the boat to MK is fun.

It is nice having the refrigerator for beverages and snacks.

We enjoyed having a living room after the kids went to bed.

 

[dsnymomof4]

We are also a family of 6 with youngest DD4 (seems like a lot of us on this thread). On 2 previous visits, we have gotten 2 connecting rooms at POP and loved it! There is definitely an advantage of having 2 bathrooms and and additional room. For our upcoming trip in December (28 days-yeah!), we rented points from a DIS DVC member and are staying in a 2-bedroom at the BWV, so it will be a new experience for us. Good luck with your plans.

 

[momsully]

I would definately look into renting points from a DVC member. You would have a full kitchen and laundry facilities in your unit which is great when traveling with kids. We love the space of the DVC units.

 

[fausz4]

I have to agree with the last two posters - Renting points is a great way to all stay together and reasonably priced too!
We rented a 2BR villa at OKW with my parents, DH and DSs 3 and 8...Plenty of room!
See the DVC Renting/Trading Posts section on this site! You wont regret it!

 

[HopperFan]

I would do connecting rooms at the value or moderate. Depending on the final price you can get for each. If minimal I would always go moderate. But we did enjoy our last visit to ASMo if that is your budget.

If you are going on a dining plan and have no use for a kitchen, then I would not go with the cabins or anywhere else with a kitchen unless the price was awesome. The cabins themselves are great and we saved lots of money eating in for a week. BUT they are located in a large campground with difficult transportation to everywhere inside and outside the campground. We had our own car to drive to parks (other than MK and it was an awful commute) and chose to skip all other activities in the campground because of the bus system there. It simply was too much work for a vacation.