Where should we stay?--Updated (decision made)

[nuts4wdw]

OK, I've racked my brain and I don't know where to stay. My choices are:
-Offsite at Windsor Hills 3bedroom, 3bath townhouse with splash pool, rental car, and a daily allotment of $100 for food.
-Onsite at Pop Century, no rental car (using magical express), and the dining plan.
Both come to the same price. It will be my family including me, dh, ds 6, ds4, and ds 1 in pack and play. I have never done the dining plan, so I really want to try it, but the thought of all of us in a little room . One day I decide to do the other and then switch the next. Our flights arrive in Orlando at 11pm and depart at 6am (yuck), so I don't know if that is another consideration I should worry about. I have to decide by Thurs. So, which would you do and why?
Thanks, Riali

 

[runwad]

Umm, that's hard, with my family definetely offsite, but w/a 6,4 & 1 yr old maybe you're better onsite. Just thinking that if the 1yr old needed to go back to the room the other parent can stay with the older two at the parks, whereas offsite you all have to go back to the room. Have you done Disney before? If not I'd say onsite for the first time too. Good Luck with your choice.

 

[spiceycat]

you get more room offsite. if you have a good map then getting around property is not a problem. WIndsor hills is not far from WDW at all. You can pick up at the grocery store what your family will eat.

but Pop is a great choice too. that say - I hate to share a bathroom with 4 other people. one bathroom.

I do love Pop it is a fun place to stay!!!!

 

[kaysmommie]

I'm not much help because I'm trying to decide for our fall vacation on either Windsor hills townhome or WL which will cost way more. Our other option that I don't like too much is a moderate resort. I'm not into taking buses to every park, then I might as well drive. since you have a larger family then I would say stay at Windsor hills. The townhomes look really nice, I think 100 times better than a value resort or moderate. It seems very deluxe to me. You will be very squished in a value resort room. WL which is deluxe seemed small to me and thats when I had only 1 kid. The rooms are only 344 SQ. Feet at WL. The rooms at Pop are 260 Sq. Ft. I know you really want the DDP. We got it for free in September and honestly I would not pay for it. It was too much food and time spent on dining. Also if you stay in Windsor Hills you don't have to pay a bundle for onsite restaurants the whole trip. You can just select a few in Disney that are must do's and eat at some offsite restaurants as well. I don't know if you cook on vacation but I don't. Hope this helps some .

 

[spiceycat]

now if you go for 2 connecting rooms at Pop - hey Pop gets the votes.

but 3 small children and 2 adults in a tiny little room. sorry no.

 

[nuts4wdw]

OK, more information on us. We don't spend very much time back at the room, we spend all day at the parks. We usually eat 4-6 sit down dinners and the rest counter service. We commando it! We eat breakfast in the room. We will be in the parks for 7 days. My husband, ds 4, and I are all big eaters. Our other son is not a big eater and is content with chicken nuggets 24/7. Our ds 1 is not a fan of a playpen to sleep, so I worry about the small room. Last trip he was so sleepy when we returned to the condo, though, I had no trouble getting him to sleep. We will be going the first week in May. Thanks for your opinions, so far, I'm going to print them off and talk with hubby tonight.
Riali

 

[mbb]

Hmmm...

That's a tough one.

We did both
Pop for a week, then offsite at a villa.

The nice part about staying offsite in a villa is that you kind of, well, "leave" the crazy vacation feeling behind, KWIM?

And sometimes those buses are FULL!
It's nice to have a car, and plan some non-park time, and you're going to be close enough that traffic isn't really an issue...

But the DP would be fun too...
And Pop is really great...

I'm sorry for not being much help!!

Let us know what you decide!

 

[MiaSRN62]

This is a tough one. I love staying onsite, but the thought of you all squeezed into only one room at POP does not sound fun. I'm not much for the DDP as I cannot eat all that food and do not like making a ton of reservations and being committed to being there. Though I do see you mentioned most would be counter service. It's the thought of sharing one bathroom that is tough.
Where POP shines is that if the 1 yo needs to go back to the room for a nap, one of you can still stay in the parks with the other two. Staying offsite means restrictions in coming and going. It's all or nothing if one needs to go back to the room with the townhouse.
But in the end, I'm gonna vote for the townhouse. Especially when u said your 1 yo is not a fan of the playpen. There's nothing worse than having a cranky baby all week. That will stress everyone. I just think it will be so much more relaxing for you all in the townhouse.
PS: I'm with Spicey....only if you could get 2 rooms at POP would I vote for onsite.
Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Freyja]

I voted for off-site. We always stay off-site. We like the extra space and the freedom of a rental car (couldn´t afford to have one if we were on-site) and although we all love Disney we also love being able to eat anywhere we want to and so on.

 

[ILuvTinkerbell1974]

OK, I've racked my brain and I don't know where to stay. My choices are:
-Offsite at Windsor Hills 3bedroom, 3bath townhouse with splash pool, rental car, and a daily allotment of $100 for food.
-Onsite at Pop Century, no rental car (using magical express), and the dining plan.
Both come to the same price. It will be my family including me, dh, ds 6, ds4, and ds 1 in pack and play. I have never done the dining plan, so I really want to try it, but the thought of all of us in a little room . One day I decide to do the other and then switch the next. Our flights arrive in Orlando at 11pm and depart at 6am (yuck), so I don't know if that is another consideration I should worry about. I have to decide by Thurs. So, which would you do and why?
Thanks, Riali

We are going in April (Easter week...lucky us?!?) There are 7 of us, me and my 2DD and my friend and 2DS, 1DD. We are getting a 2 bedroom at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas (full kitchen, washer & dryer) for $770 for 7 nights. It has enough room for 6 people (the baby, 1, will sleep with his momma) and is about 1300sf (per the description). We are driving down, so now worries about a car. We booked at hotelkingdom.com, so you might want to check this out, as it was A LOT cheaper than getting 1 or even 2 rooms at the POP. And if you want a 3BR, they have that too and it was still cheaper than Disney property.

Just a suggestion! Good Luck!

 

[f7prez]

On site with the dining plan is how I voted.

It was close but you will probably make out better with the dinning plan than trying to feed five people on $100 per day (unless you do counter service for all meals. yuck). Your kids will prefer the colorful themeing of POP, which will make for a more magical trip for them. 3 small children in one room is fine. We have 5 kids now but most of our trips were taken when we had 4 kids. We usually stayed at a moderate but I am sure POP will be just fine for you.

 

[murcor]

My vote goes for onsite. The buses are so convenient, no worries, no stresses of renting and driving a car.

The kids will love the theming. Chances are when you are back at the hotel you will be swimming, resting or doing other things.

On the other hand the extra space is a big plus for the townhome and the pictures look so nice. Is it in your budget to get one of the suites at the all stars?

We used to stay offsite but after staying onsite we realized that it is just so easy, come and go when you want, no stress, no headaches.

Good luck deciding
Angela

 

[spiceycat]

the only problem I can see is the transportation.

have you considered getting 2 Tracfone phones - you can get them at one of the Dollar stores for $15 each it comes with 60 minutes of air time on each phone.

then when you have to leave or your husband, you can call the other. may sure they are okay and leave.

but you are not traveling with teens - all your kids still little - I just can't see a 6 or 4 year old going the whole time in the parks without melting down.

so I would think if you schedule rest time each day - then you at least leave with the kids - everyone would be fresh that afternoon and you could stay until closing then.

if you don't eat each and every meal on Disney property - that $100 will go along way.

another reason to go back to your rental home each day close to lunch and not come back to the WDW parks until after your family has eaten dinner.

be carefully with your offsite restuarants - some are as expensive as Disney.

You could also do what I do. the week before you leave cook twice as much - then freeze it hard and take a freezer with you - packed with your food from home.

but I do love to buy food in Florida - their fruits and vegetables are so much fresher and bigger than what I get at home.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

We were going to have to rent two rooms at a value, since my mom was going with our family (me, dh, dd 6, ds4, dd 2 ). But after reading this board, I decided to look into the Windsor Hills option. With the money I am saving, we can easily afford flying (instead of driving 12 hours) and renting a car ($242 for eight days with a minivan). I still have reservations for some nice restaurants at Disney, that I will pay out of pocket. But I look forward to trying some restaurants off-site as well. I think we are going to have a great time either way, and I think that the townhouse will be a lot more comfortable for my family!

 

[Brian Noble]

Our family could not comprehed the idea of staying in a single 240 sq ft box for a week---after two days, we'd probably resort to fratricide. But, if that doesn't bother you, I think you might as well try onsite.

FWIW, last year, we spent about $600, maybe a little more on food for a seven-night trip between two adults, DD7, and DS5; that includes everything on-property and groceries. We ate four TS meals, most lunches and dinners in the parks, all breakfasts in the townhouse. So, $100/day is probably okay.

 

[Ksquared]

We are going in April (Easter week...lucky us?!?) There are 7 of us, me and my 2DD and my friend and 2DS, 1DD. We are getting a 2 bedroom at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas (full kitchen, washer & dryer) for $770 for 7 nights. It has enough room for 6 people (the baby, 1, will sleep with his momma) and is about 1300sf (per the description). We are driving down, so now worries about a car. We booked at hotelkingdom.com, so you might want to check this out, as it was A LOT cheaper than getting 1 or even 2 rooms at the POP. And if you want a 3BR, they have that too and it was still cheaper than Disney property.

Just a suggestion! Good Luck!

I've stayed at the Cypress Point Grand Villas ...they are very nice and really close to Downtown Disney area. We stayed offsite this past May (different resort) and spent most of our time at the parks...we never mind being offsite and we've gone back to our resorts for naps sometimes too. In May, we were there with friends who stayed in Disney and were on the dining plan. We ate most meals with them and just paid out of pocket...it wasn't too bad although the plan would have been more economical for us.

That being said, can you try a family suite at the All Star Music resort? It will give you a little more room and then you can get the DDP and be onsite.....not sure how much it would cost but if it's not too much perhaps the extra space may make it worth it.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[mumzie2three]

I voted for WH, we stayed there in May 05. My question is why the townhome? The condos are 3 BR/2 BA and they are all one level, which means you wouldn't have to worry about the 1yr old and the stairs.

 

[MiaSRN62]

That being said, can you try a family suite at the All Star Music resort? It will give you a little more room

Ksquared....
Good suggestion, but I think it actually comes out a little cheaper to get 2 connecting value rooms vs the suite (you'll lose the kitchenetter but gain an extra bathroom with 2 rooms).
Here's a link with pics of the suites :
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/resorts/AllStarMusic/allstarmusic-suites.html

 

[dougsmom98]

I can't imagine trying to get the kids to sleep with them all in one room. There is no way my 1 year old would close her eyes with that many people around. I also hate the idea of all of us crammed on two beds having to watch the same shows on the TV. I love having separate bedrooms for everyone and having the option of keeping the lights on and talking while the kids are sleeping.

 

[nuts4wdw]

Well, a decision has been made! We are staying at Windsor Hills!!! My mother decided to join us for a few day, that made up our minds. We are excited and know that my dh and I will be back down to WDW in Feb. 08 doing a 10th anniversary trip and can do the dining then. We now get to relax and spread out in our 3 bed, 3bath townhouse with a splash pool for a nice long vacation. Thanks, for all of you input, all 3 boards came up with around 75% for onsite and 25% offsite.
Riali