Where to stay with 4 kids?

[nadira36]

We are also a family of 6 - 4 kids ages 7, 5, 3, and 4 months.

So for both of us the youngest doesn't count toward head count in the room. As far as onsite vs offsite, it depends on whether you're only looking at cost, or other factors. It'll be different for everyone.

For us, we love staying onsite and will continue to do so. For the next trip, our plan is to either rent points and stay in a 1 bdrm DVC or to stay at a deluxe that sleeps 5. A less expensive onsite option is a family suite at a value - AsMu is the least expensive option.

While at Disney, we love to eat and get the DxDP - I don't like o cook and clean on vacation - and DH doesn't like to drive on vacation, so onsite is best. But it is more expensive.

 

[EmilyAnn]

yikes! so much to think about!

I am totally new to this, so I have lots of questions What are magic hours? How much does it cost to park?

My mom and I do NOT want to cook or do dishes while on vacation. My husband and dad will be doing all of the driving so I am not too concerned with that. They are both good drivers and don't mind it.

My oldest son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. We do not get to go out to eat often because of his allergies, but I have heard Disney is excellent with food allergies so it will be a special treat for us to get to go out to eat!

I am interested in doing a character meal, but I do not know which one would be best for little boys. They don't care much for princesses LOL

 

[catherines_mama]

Magic Hours are designated days when a certain park (or parks) open 1 hour early or stay open 1 hour late. This is only accessible to guests staying on-site. You might also see it as EMH "extra magic hours"

Parking is $12 I think per day but that's off the top of my head I didn't look it up and last looked at a booth in August. If you have AAA you can get a discount pass. If you are and AP "annual pass" holder you park free. Onsite guests going to the park in their own cars also park free.

Character meals- our favorite breakfast is Crystal palace with Pooh & friends. It's good food and fun atmosphere. If you book pre-park opening you can walk down a pretty quiet Main Street and get some good pictures too. Everyone has their favorites, this is ours.

 

[Darcy03231]

yikes! so much to think about!

I am totally new to this, so I have lots of questions What are magic hours? How much does it cost to park?

My mom and I do NOT want to cook or do dishes while on vacation. My husband and dad will be doing all of the driving so I am not too concerned with that. They are both good drivers and don't mind it.

My oldest son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. We do not get to go out to eat often because of his allergies, but I have heard Disney is excellent with food allergies so it will be a special treat for us to get to go out to eat!

I am interested in doing a character meal, but I do not know which one would be best for little boys. They don't care much for princesses LOL

Magic Hours allow early entry or later times in the parks for on-site guests.

Parking is $14/day (or at least that's what it was the last time we were there).

When we all travel we stay off-site. With a large group (last time there were 9 of us) I've found that it was much easier (and faster) to prepare some simple meals back at the house rather than eat out every meal. Some meals were take-out (pizza, Chinese, sandwiches). We also did rotisserie chicken with salad - - stuff like that. I bought a crock pot when we got there and made a few crock pot meals (pulled pork, spaghetti & meatballs, etc). We used a lot of paper plates so clean-up was easy. We had a big breakfast at the house (breakfast casseroles in foil pans), would snack in the parks, go back to the house for an afternoon break/swim, have an early dinner, and then back to the parks at night. A couple of days we stayed straight through and ate in the parks, but it made it a really long day for the little ones.

For a character meals for little boys I would go with Chef Mickeys (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy). You can't go wrong with the classic 5.

 

[4littleones]

We have 4 young kids and we have gone with both Grandmas. So trips with 6 or 8 people. We have stayed on site and off.

If your focus is Disney Parks then stay on site. Good Options would be:

The Cabins at Ft Wilderness that fit 6 people. You will want to rent a golf cart to get around. They do not allow cars to drive thru the area. They have internal buses to take you to the pool etc but we found the Golf Cart was so much easier. It is considered a moderate resort and they have a waterslide at the pool & a really nice kiddie pool with slides. In addition to a bus to the Magic Kingdom you can also take a boat.

Art of Animation fit 6 also. It is considered a Value Resort but it has a really nice pool and spray area for toddlers. Lots of things to walk around and see. Very easy to have your meals just walking to the food court unlike Ft Wilderness.

If you are only doing a day or two at disney than maybe offsite is for you.
We LOVED our offsite vacation. We stayed at Reagal Palms in a 4 bedroom townhouse with 8 people and it was so roomy! Full kitchen, washer dryer, next door to a grocery store and many restaurants, they have their own restaurant at the pool. The pool was FANTASTIC! Lazy river, water slide, zero entry for little kids. It is abput 20 mins or so from orlando (Davenport area) but it was so cheap. Around $700 for the week. We did Sea World, Nick Resort, Aquatica water Park and some smaller stuff this last trip. I thought about doing a disney character meal
at one of the resorts (since we weren't buying Disney Park tickets) but we just ran out of time. It was the least expensive trip by far and so far the best trip we have had. I don't have pics of the Townhouse on here but here are some pics of the pool and our time in orlando. We rented the Regal Palms place thru VRBO and picked a place very close to the pool so we could walk back and forth easily. I did all the planning for all 3 trips and this one went the most smooth. The least waiting in lines, not dealing with crowds. My husband and both grandmas want to do this trip again rather than the onsite one.

HERE ARE MY PICS FROM REGAL PALMS AND NICK RESORT:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202010335327408.1073741833.1456650682&type=1&l=a3b51a3835

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I got an AWESOME deal on the Nick Resort with Seaworld and Aquatica tickets (I think they were 14 day tickets) We did 1 night at the nick with 2 suites for the 8 of us and it came with those tickets for 14 days at Sea World and Aquatica (Kids were all FREE for those tickets). I think it was around $700 for all that! It was a CRAZY deal!

Okay I just looked it up:
The price we paid for 2 adults and 2 kids to have 14 day passes to both Aquatica and Seaworld plus 1 night at the Nick Resort in a 2-Bedroom Suite was $370.92. THan we just doubled it and booked it again since we had 2 more adults and 2 more kids.

So at this point we had a fantastic place to stay with an amazing pool, 14 days of Sea World and Aquatica water park, The Nick Resort to see the live shows and meet the characters and play in the really cool pool/water park. And for 8 people we were at $1500!!!! No way could I have done that if we stayed onsite.

 

[EmilyAnn]

This might be a stupid question, but if we go the week of January 31 will it be warm enough to swim? I have only been to Florida in the summer and it was miserably hot!

 

[4littleones]

I'm not sure on the swimming. Some say yes, I'd say no. It needs to be warmer for me. The pools are heated but it would be more a dip not the focus of what you are doing that day.

Hmm I was going to say try to go during free diniong but then I realized you are going in January.

 

[EmilyAnn]

I'm not sure on the swimming. Some say yes, I'd say no. It needs to be warmer for me. The pools are heated but it would be more a dip not the focus of what you are doing that day.

Hmm I was going to say try to go during free diniong but then I realized you are going in January.

they never offer free dining in late January or early February?

 

[Dawg91]

When you are budgeting, don't forget to factor in $30 per day parking for two vehicles at the parks if you stay offsite.

 

[Gillyrose779]

This might be a stupid question, but if we go the week of January 31 will it be warm enough to swim? I have only been to Florida in the summer and it was miserably hot!

I think the average high in Jan is lower 70s- all Disney pools are heated too. Some would say too cold but I know people who swim in the middle of the day with no problem- then again I am from IL where it is 10 degrees in Jan so low 70s would feel like heaven- lol

 

[susanv]

yikes! so much to think about!

I am totally new to this, so I have lots of questions What are magic hours? How much does it cost to park?

My mom and I do NOT want to cook or do dishes while on vacation. My husband and dad will be doing all of the driving so I am not too concerned with that. They are both good drivers and don't mind it.

My oldest son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. We do not get to go out to eat often because of his allergies, but I have heard Disney is excellent with food allergies so it will be a special treat for us to get to go out to eat!

I am interested in doing a character meal, but I do not know which one would be best for little boys. They don't care much for princesses LOL

While EMH can be very wonderful, do you think you will use them, going by the ages of your children? I find it hard to get our crew up in time to get to a 9:30 breakfast res. never mind morning EMH, and unless we go back to our resort in the afternoon for a nap my kids are not up late enough to use the evening EMH. When we do use evening EMH the youngest three are usually asleep in strollers.

I get not wanting to cook/clean on vacation. That is why we vacation like we do, it doesn't let up except at WDW. That is the beauty of staying onsite and using the DxDP (we eat a lot). My DS's favourite character meals are Play & Dine at Hollywood & Vine - Handy Manny, Jake, Sofia & Doc McStuffins, Chef Mickey's - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & Pluto (?), and Crystal Palace - Tigger, Pooh, Eyeore & Piglet. Actually all the kids love these three, girls included. At Play & Dine the kids get to dance with the characters in a space between the buffet and tables. A less expensive way to go to these is for Breakfast, saves a lot.

They are very good about food allergies here! Make sure to note all allergies when you book your ADR, the chef will come out and show you everything they can/cannot eat. We have a gluten allergy, dairy allergy and corn allergy in the family so this is an awesome service. If they have very little on the buffet you cannot eat due to cross contamination they will make special food for you.

If you choose to stay onsite and rent points through a DVC member you're looking at around 217 points for the week (unsure the current going rate) or through David's Vacation Club you are looking at at 217 x $14 for seven nights for OKW. Looked up OKW for you as it is the least expensie DVC resort. That is a lot more than a house, but it would fit your whole group and is very spacious. DVC only includes trash and towel service every 4th day, but has a full kitchen and washer and dryer.

If you stay at one of the DVC resorts be prepared for the kids to want to play at the resort as much as at the parks, especially AKL!

Good luck and have fun.

 

[naynheath]

Ugh!!! I just crunched all the numbers and our 8 day vaca is going to cost us 8000!!! Ugh!!! That's everything including a almost 2000 souvenir budget for a family of 5 and universal too. Ugh!!!!!! Well we knew it wasn't going to be cheap and at the end of the day it will be worth it.

 

[kiramay]

Ugh!!! I just crunched all the numbers and our 8 day vaca is going to cost us 8000!!! Ugh!!! That's everything including a almost 2000 souvenir budget for a family of 5 and universal too. Ugh!!!!!! Well we knew it wasn't going to be cheap and at the end of the day it will be worth it.

Wow. My family of 5 spent about $100 on souvenirs. $2000 seems like a lot!

 

[naynheath]

Well this trip is more then just a vacation to me cause the doctor says I have about 2 years left before I cant walk so I just want to go and not have to worry about saying no. But yes I agree its a lot.

 

[catherines_mama]

Wow. My family of 5 spent about $100 on souvenirs. $2000 seems like a lot!

Agreed. We give each kid $25. And they save their money leading up to it. We give ourselves a $50 budget.

Hope your trip is amazing.

 

[Marionnette]

they never offer free dining in late January or early February?

I don't want to say "never" but it would be extremely unusual. "Free" Dining is usually offered in the late summer and the fall. There was a "Free" Dining offer in the winter of 2012 but not last year. There was a "Stay, Play & Dine" discount for this winter, which would have included late Jan./early Feb. Who knows what Disney will consider offering in the winter of 2015?

 

[susanv]

Ugh!!! I just crunched all the numbers and our 8 day vaca is going to cost us 8000!!! Ugh!!! That's everything including a almost 2000 souvenir budget for a family of 5 and universal too. Ugh!!!!!! Well we knew it wasn't going to be cheap and at the end of the day it will be worth it.

Yup Disney definitely costs, but we can probably help you reduce your numbers somewhat. What are the ages and sexes of your kids, have you decided on onsite or offsite yet? How far/ what were you planning for transportation? What dates were you thinking? Were you including BBB in your souvenir budget? Unless we included BBB we have never spent $2000 on souvenirs and that was for 6, however it would be easy to do.

Are you a big Universal fan or a bigger Disney fan? We went to Universal on the first day of our first Honeymoon (my DH had never been to either before) and were disappointed, but then WDW blew his socks off. The new Harry Potter World (?) would be interesting to check out though. If you are a bigger Disney fan would suggest starting with Universal. Also definitely suggest making time to relax at the resort or house you rent. You cannot get all of Disney done in 8 days. If you truly want a once in a lifetime trip would suggest careful planning, choose what you have to do - make sure you do those few things and then enjoy the rest. Things WILL go wrong, guaranteed. I have yet to have a vacation Disney or otherwise were everything went according to plan. However if you have a problem Disney will do their best to remedy it, as long as you ask. They make their money off of customer service - all the good stuff is sponsored by other companies.

Sorry for the book, but would be happy to help. Just came back from a once in a lifetime in May and while it cost more for 8 days ($10,000) that also included $3000 for transportation, an extra day at GF, 3 days at BC, 4 days in BLT (DVC), dinner for 11 @ CRT, Dinner for 11 @ Spirit of Aloha Luau, Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage for 11, 10 ADR's , BBB for three little girls (castle package including photos), and $2300 for tickets. I know that seems like a lot, yes it was. It would never and could never be repeated, but it was worth every penny so we skip a year or two. You have a very good reason for your celebration!

 

[naynheath]

As of right now we are staying at all star music at a family suite and we thought of off site but we really like the dining plan so we chose all star. As far as universal goes, yes we are huge Harry Potter fans,matter of fact that's what promoted us to go to begin with but we were rushed by about a year due to my situation. Right now we are thinking of just doing island of adventure but we are not sure. As it stand as of now we are doing two days at MK one at epcot one at mgm one at AK and one day at each of the universal islands. As far as extras all we have planned is two character meals and a few big dinners at downtown disney. And my kids will be 3 5 and 9 when we go, plus us (the two grown kids lol)

 

[Badamon]

I'm sorry to hear of your health issues and wish you the best and a wonderful vacation with your family.
To get that total cost down I would start by cutting the souvenir budget! IMHO, souvenirs do not make the trip more memorable. Buy a little something, something, like a Christmas ornament or a frame for a favorite picture and be done! But, I'm not a big shopper anywhere (vacation or not) and do understand that some people really enjoy shopping and bringing home their treasure. That being said, I'm sticking with $2000 being excessive. We've had fun at US/IOA and agree with PP that you should go there first, but we're definitely WDW people.

 

[Jedimom]

My mom and I do NOT want to cook or do dishes while on vacation.

Even in a condo, you don't have to cook. We stayed a week at Windsor Hills last January/February, "we" being myself and four children. Being a full-time, sole caregiver, and this supposed to be a vacation for me, I really didn't care to cook.

I think I cooked breakfast one morning, the others we'd just grab a pastry at Disney or do an early lunch. We'd eat one full meal at the park each day. For supper, I cooked barbecue/sloppy joes one night, maybe threw a pizza in the oven another, and the rest we either ate at an off-site restaurant, ordered pizza (Flippers is awesome), or ate left-overs.

I don't know about everyone else, but I get soooo sick of eating out all the time and it was nice to have options. Plus after all day at the parks, the kids were tired (me too!), and the last thing I wanted to do some nights was deal with them at a restaurant in all their crankiness.