What room arrangements do you recommend with extended family?

[snowbunny]

The other good reason to get two studios is so if MIL and BIL change their minds, you can simply cancel one of the studios, but you still have your room.

With a 2BR lockoff, the living room would be great, but if they cancel on you at the last minute, you're either spending a lot of points for extra room that you don't need, or wait listing (most likely) for a smaller unit.

If you read through the boards there are lots of threads in which well-meaning DVC owners were terribly inconvenienced by relatives who changed plans one or more times before the trip. No one thinks their relatives will cause such trouble, but it happens...a lot.

 

[spiceycat]

if your MIL needs an ECV - then you should be able to get her a handicapped room. Just ask for first floor HCR because of medical reasons.

I don't like HCR - because they don't have a tub only a walk in shower. that will get water all over the place - because some people won't cooperate and fix the shower so it doesn't.

with OKW I ask for separate building - they still laugh at that - but over the years they have gotten better at understanding.

OKW will try to put you both in the same building unless you ask that they be in separate areas.

 

[RLRDA]

Another vote for a two bedroom lock-off. We've done this several times and the extended family use the studio part. You'll need the washer/dryer and kitchen when you're traveling that far with kids.

I second this (or 3rd or 4th...not sure how many before have voted)!

 

[Kathi OD]

An OKW two bedroom would give you lots of room. You could even request a lockoff so they could have the private entrance and kitchen in their room. But they would still have two queen beds.

This is what we did when we took my parents a couple of years ago. Worked out perfectly. They are early risers and were able to get up & make their coffee (which DH and I don't drink) w/o bothering us each morning. Some evenings they wanted to watch something different on TV, so they had their own place to go. BUT, with having the lockoff we were right there in case there was a problem (Dad has some health issues). They are going with us on our next trip (date yet to be determined) and we'll do it the same way).

 

[crisi]

We've done the two bedroom lockoff as well. Works very well. And if the other party cancels on us - our kids get the second bedroom and the living room stays a living room.

As for resort choices - how do you anticipate your days going? When we took my MIL and her sister years ago my own kids were preschoolers - we knew she wouldn't want to ride Goofy's Barnstomer, and my kids would not want to browse stores in Epcot - so we split up most days and met for dinner. We stayed at BWV (our home) which made it very nice since they could easy get to Epcot - which was, as anticipated, where they wanted to spend all their time.

The pullouts in the resorts are fairly comfy now.

 

[lisaviolet]

'

Are you going for the week? I would want a 1 BR for me and the kids and a studio for the others. With 2 studios, you don't get a kitchen or living room area, plus private BR for adults and kids on sofa--nice if kids go to bed earlier and you still want to stay up (we put our kids in the BR, then transferred later that night). With a 1 BR, you could have an areas where all could come and hang out in the evening, play cards, etc. Plus, you could cook meals.

Of course, if you don't want a place where everyone can hang out together and don't want to be able to cook meals....well, that's a different story! We do the 2 BR--it is a LOT of togetherness!!

This is exactly what I was going to say.

I've posted this a couple of times. We had a family, two sides, of 13.

I was so sad that I didn't have enough points to book an SSR GV (OKWs were all gone). Very sad at the beginning. (But thankful to go, of course). I wanted to be all together in one unit.

So I booked

• a studio for M and D
• a studio for S and N...separate from M and D was a good choice
• A two bedroom for an entire family
• a one bedroom for us
• a POR room for a couple of others....we ran out of points but put them on the 2 bedroom as well
  

And it worked out beautifully. Our one bedroom was at OKW, the rest at SSR. And this once again was originally because of a disappointment. When it came to book us we didn't have enough points for a SSR one bedroom. And once again, lovely in the end.

We all hung out in our one bedroom at times. All of us had breakfast there one day with no problems because it's so expansive. They all got to see two resorts. M and D had privacy.

It was wonderful.

Here's to a terrific holiday.

Lisa

 

[cdmickey]

As mentioned, you need to weigh the odds of whether you're better off with a washer/dryer, dishwasher, bigger refrigerator, (do you want to share meals in the room, i.e. home made meals?), etc. or need the extra privacy.

Both options have merits and obstacles; good luck in whatever you decide.
(personnally we have done it both ways; neither way a detriment to a good time)

 

[disneymom8589]

When we were at SSR in July, my sister and her family joined us, too. We got 3 studios for the 8 of us (DSis, DD, Me in one, DH, DS in another and DBiL, 2 nephews in a 3rd). For us it worked great. We toyed with the idea of getting a 2 bdrm., but felt 3 studios would give us more room and we wouldn't all go crazy!!

 

[disney-super-mom]

Well, I've read all your replies to DH, and he wants to get 2 studios for this trip and see how it goes. As he said, we really won't be in our rooms very much, we're not going to do any cooking outside of a microwave since we'll be on the dining plan, and he really doesn't want to share a two bedroom with his mom.

I think that's a good plan.....the SAFE plan of attack!

 

[Disney Doll]

Not a bad compromise, but I would miss my washer/dryer.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Not a bad compromise, but I would miss my washer/dryer.

And my (say it with me) king sized bed.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

You may want to think about how important the kitchen will be to everybody, and make sure you are providing EQUAL accomodations.

We had reserved a 2 bedroom and a studio, for a trip with me, my two sisters, and our families. Putting one family with me in the 2 bedroom while the other family was at the other end of the resort in a studio was a big no no. The reasoning was totally logical. We put the smokers in the studio. Disney told us they wouldn't be close because of the smoking studio, but then it wasn't a smoking studio. (This was before the nonsmoking policy.)

One of my sisters was in a scooter, and the Boardwalk was really ideal for that situation. Scooters go on and off the boats really easily.

 

[capecoddisneyfamily]

We are going in December. MFIL will be with us in 2 bedroom. The seperate studio sounds like abetter choice

 

[BroganMc]

Whether to have your guests share your room or just your public meals comes down to how comfortable you are with each other in your underwear.

Ok, it sounds funny but just imagine you getting up in the middle of the night thirsty. Are you willing to risk bumping into that relative in the kitchen in your nightie, fuzzy slippers and hair askew. It would be a pain to have to dress just to get a drink of water.

I can share a room with my dad, my sister, her hubby and pretty much all my little nieces and nephews. But put me in a room with either of my SIL and I know WWIII will break out (or my blood pressure rises from me constantly biting my tongue).

Still I enjoy visits with the kids enough that I like our separate rooms to be nearby: same resort, same building or next building.

 

[OneMoreTry]

....

Now, since many of you have traveled with extended family before (and we haven't), I thought I'd ask your advice.

Is it better to get seperate rooms so there's not too much togetherness? (For example I could reserve 2 studios - one for my family, and one for my MIL and BIL share.)

Or, is it better to reserve one large unit, like a 2 bedroom?

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

We did an OKW GV with DMIL and DFIL and it was great!!! Gave them the master downstairs, which is HUGE. DS slept on the couch. Everyone else up. 4 bathrooms. I think about 2800 square feet or something ridiculous like that.

We could have stayed there another week or two and none of us would have been tired of it. I think.

 

[Inkmahm]

I'll be doing this next week with my husband's family. We have two two bedroom villas.

# 1 will have my inlaws, DH's sister and her husband as well as their two kids.

#2 will have me and DH (in the studio part), DH's sister and her husband in the master bedroom and DH's brother and his wife on the sofa in the living room. They will be there 3 nights out of the 5 that the rest of us are there so that's how they ended up on the sofa.

I think we'll be fine as is. Part of the fun of having family come to WDW is seeing them when you don't get to see them often. Everyone in #1 is from PA but in #2, we're from 3 different states. I haven't seen all these people together since Christmas of 2003. I'm looking forward to it!

 

[goofy4dvc]

I'd go for the 2BR. DH and I took my brother and SIL to WDW last year. Considered getting two studios, but decided against it mostly due to kitchen and washer/dryer. DH and I were able to go to the Master BR when we didn't want to socialize with them and they could go to their room (the 2nd BR) when they wanted down time. But we had the living room and kitchen when we needed to discuss our plans for the day and just talk. The washer/dryer allowed us to pack lighter and the kitchen allowed us to eat one or two meals a day in the room, saving a little $.

 

[dopeygirl76]

We just returned Nov10 from a week long stay at POFQ with my MIL and FIL. While it was wonderful for them to see the Magic in our girls eyes by day three I needed a BREAK!!!!! They had wanted to share a room - lucky DVC had not been decided before then - so we opted for adjoining rooms - unfortunately our 3 year old could (and did open the door) when she wanted and the ILs left theirs open always so she could get in!!! While we will go back separate rooms are a must and I LOVE the studio at AKV and ILs in a studio at OKW!

 

[sajetto]

For us it all depends on what relatives are coming, but if your extended family is tolerable I'd definitely go with a 2 bedroom. For us a washer and dryer are a must, not to mention how much nicer it is to be able to cook breakfast in the room.

In our case we always get a 2 bedroom if my parents are the ones coming along, but if the MIL is coming we book a 1 bedroom for us and a seperate studio for her. We usually request that she is placed nearby, but not adjacent to us

 

[50 years Too!]

I'd do a 1 Bed for my immediate family and a studio for MIL & BIL.
If they decide not to go you can release or rent the studio.
If you get a 2 bed and they don't go, you are stuck.