Where to stay on-site with 2 adults, 3 kids?

[mlbretscher]

My husband & I are planning our first trip to WDW for Sept '04 and can't decide where is the best place to stay. Our three children will be 9,7 & almost 4 and I think from all I have read that may limit our choices some. I really want to stay on-site at WDW. I know we can book a deluxe room at WL at a current rack rate of $390 per night for '04, but would it be best to try to save $$ and stay at POR? It seems too cramped for all five of us to stay in one room, can you get two rooms connected at POR? Price is a consideration, but I really want this to be a nice trip. Any suggestions? Anyone have any ideas on what the best dicount I could hope for off of the $390 rack rate for a Sept '04 value season stay might be?

 

[sue1013]

Yes you can get adjoining rooms at POR. I will be going with 2 adults and 3 children in November and we decided on 2 rooms at POR. Our thinking was since the children (oldest is 7) would be going to sleep before the adults, it would be easier if we had the 2nd room so the adults could watch television without disturbing the children.

 

[soccer mom]

Another consideration would be the cabins at FW. They are very nice and have full maid service. We used them several times when our four kids were younger and enjoyed the convenience of the full kitchen. We only used it for quick breakfasts (bagels, cereal). The kids never seemed to eat enough to justify a big breakfast everyday. There is a bedroom with a double bed and a set of bunks, and a pull down murphy bed in the living room. Lots of fun things for the kids at FW.

We now use the two connecting room, couldn't live without two bathrooms!

 

[soccer mom]

One more thing - if you opt for the two rooms, make sure you say CONNECTING. Adjoining means next to each other and may not have a door between them.

 

[SamSam]

The Beach Club has rooms with 2 queens and a daybed. My kids told me the daybed was quite comfortable. You have to request a room with a daybed in it. Although it has been several years since we needed to do this, at that time we always had our request granted. Beach Club also has a Storm A Long Bay, which your children would probably love. Being Sept. I would think that some discounts would be available.

 

[sjw4870]

$390 seems very high for Wilderness Lodge. I've never paid more than $220 and I've paid as little as $145 to stay there. Getting 2 connecting rooms at a moderate would be a good alternative, but I don't believe they will guarentee this. You'd have to get 2 rooms at a moderate because they only allow 4 in a room (and a 5th under 3 I think). The deluxes (with exception of ALK and WL) comfortably sleep 5. My family always stayed at Poly when I was growing up. There were 5 of us in the room and I don't remember it being too much of a problem.

I've never booked a trip as far in advance as you are planning. I assume you could book something now, just to hold a room, then keep looking for deals. Many deals aren't announced until relatively close. For example, I just got a postcard for deluxes from $109 per night, but its for August-October of THIS year. You can also get great deals on "mousesavers". My best advise for now is to keep checking and keep calling.

 

[CindyAnn]

Hi mlbretscher and welcome to the Dis! The Polynesian is my favourite, and the rooms comfortably sleep 5, with 2 queens and a day bed. The Poly is very tropical (south seas theme) and has a friendly staff. The convenience of the monorail is great when you have young children, too. At the Poly the monorail comes right to the second floor of the main building, and allows direct access to the Magic Kingdom, and access to Epcot with a change to a second monorail.

Have fun!

 

[tar heel]

Since your trip is a year away, make sure not to book a package with hefty cancellation fees. Book room only because you are almost certain to be able to get a discount for that time period -- it's just that the really good discounts won't be available until about this time next year. I personally never book until I find a discount, but I realize some people plan further ahead than me! You will be able to keep up with the discounts by checking this board and/or mousesavers.com regularly.

We're a family of 5 who has generally traveled in the summer (i.e., time when rates would be expected to be higher than September). The most we've ever paid is around $200 for yc and for two rooms at csr. We've had code rates, upsells (where you ask for a price on a moderate and they offer you a price on a deluxe), summer specials, AP rates, etc.

I think PO-R would be fine with children the ages of yours. We stayed there twice, but now feel like we've outgrown doing one room there -- but two of my boys are teens and the little one is 9. Although we really liked having two bathrooms when we did connecting rooms and having a kitchen at FW, we will probably continue to choose one room at a deluxe unless it's lots more expensive.

 

[sherry8253]

You might also want to check out the Dolphin. Many fellow board members with children have very good things to say about the Dolphin. I think you can sleep 5 in a room there and it is very reasonably priced right now. Plus, til next year all of the rennovations should be completed. Good luck on making a choice and have a magical trip.

 

[Evil Princess]

My family has been to POR many times, and we're also 2 adults, 3 kids. Currently I'm 18, my brother is 15, and my sister is 12. We had no problem with the youngest sleeping in the rollaway bed. It's Disney, how often are you in the room anyway? To shower, get dressed and sleep. (At least, thats how we do it, we're ALWAYS in the parks!).

I always found that POR was great with the busses, since its centrally located. Never had a problem, and I've been there alot at many different times of the year.

 

[stacy6552]

I reccommend you stay at the FT wilderness cabins.

You can tuck all three kids into bed at night in the bedroom. Then you and your spouse can stay up and talk in the living room before retiring on the murphy bed out there with some privacy.

Plus you get a full kitchen so by dining in you can save money. With the AAA discount its not much more expansive than a moderate resort.

 

[ducklite]

They WILL guarantee conecting rooms when the second room will be occupied by your children. If you're bringing a third adult, then they wo'nt make the guarantee. One other nice thing about having two rooms is having two bathrooms--a major time saver getting ready in the morning.

If you really want WL, go ahead and book it, if you can find a discount they'll apply it to lower the rate for you.

Have fun!

Anne

 

[Lesley]

In the past couple of years we've had no problem booking the deluxe resorts for under $200 per night. At the WL or AKL you need a deluxe room, but at the other deluxe resorts the rooms all sleep 5. I've had the Polynesian for $169 and Savannah view (not deluxe) at AKL for $179. One of these was an AP rate but the other was a generally available rate that was better than the AP rate by a few $. With your kids' ages, I'd consider the YC/BC for the pool. But the WL is absolutely wonderful as well. Oh, do note that WL standard rooms are the same size as the rooms at CBR....so if you feel you'd like more space WL may be a little small for you. The older deluxe resorts have larger rooms and I feel the Polynesian would be perfectly comfortable for a family of 5.

POR is also a wonderful resort....and you could probably get two rooms there (using a discount) for about the same or a little more than you'd pay for a deluxe resort room. Or any of the moderate or value resorts would work with 2 rooms. But personally if you want a relaxing trip I'd pass on the value resorts.

The FW cabins are also a great idea....I've always wanted to try them. The transportation at FW is a bit convoluted, but if you don't mind taking a little time to get where you're going, or can spend the $40 a day for a golf cart, its a great option. You also have a kitchen there.

Best of luck planning a great trip! I've been watching to see what most families of 5 do since we have #3 on the way....let us know how it works out, whatever you choose to do!

 

[lalapodip]

We stayed at the FW cabins last year and really enjoyed it. I would love to stay at WL in a deluxe room, but I hear what you are saying about the price!! We're giving the AKL a try this time because we've heard so much about the theming, but I am a bit worried about the five of us in one room. Good luck with your decision!

 

[boomer626]

I was looking at the WL Junior Suite for our upcoming trip, and the problem is that this room is typically not discounted with any of code or AP rates and was not eligible for the FTP.

As a result you'll probably be better off from a value perspective with a discounted deluxe or two discounted moderate connecting rooms.