Which resort (and room type) for a large family?

[Irishlisa]

I forgot to mention that we are flying out of BDL (not sure where you are in Mass), direct flight on SW.
Total price of 5 nights, villa and airfare is $4800.00.

 

[goodferry]

We are a family of six and have found that the two bedroom DVC units suit us the best, gives the kids their own space, allows us to save a little by cooking in the room in the morning and the washer/dryer are invaluable!
We bought DVC a few years ago, but before that rented points several times on these boards with no trouble at all! The only downside is that you really get spoiled with all the space!

 

[Irishlisa]

We are a family of six and have found that the two bedroom DVC units suit us the best, gives the kids their own space, allows us to save a little by cooking in the room in the morning and the washer/dryer are invaluable!
We bought DVC a few years ago, but before that rented points several times on these boards with no trouble at all! The only downside is that you really get spoiled with all the space!

I'm happy to hear this

 

[party-of-five]

I forgot to mention that we are flying out of BDL (not sure where you are in Mass), direct flight on SW.
Total price of 5 nights, villa and airfare is $4800.00.

Does the $4800 include tickets and food? Just wondering if I could save some money by renting points from someone for a villa.

Thanks.

 

[bellebud]

I did some agonizing research on this exact issue last month. My husband and I are travelling with our 4 kids, ages 8, 6, and 4 (twins), and my sister. We owned a time share and have rented a house before but we wanted to stay on property this time. I went back and forth trying to decide on 2 connecting rooms at a moderate or a villa at a deluxe, and everything in between. We ended up buying DVC points and booking a 3 bedroom Grand Villa at AK Kidani Village. Even though a 2 bedroom villa would have probably worked for the 7 of us, we decided on the Grand Villa because we got a good deal on the points and we'd rather have more than enough space than not enough

pics when you go please (when are you going??)

 

[canopynut66]

not sure what type resort you want but IMO two connecting rooms at POP which is a value would be the cheapest way to go. it will have fridge in it but not a kitchen but they do have suites at other value resorts. they are pricey. there is the deluxe resorts but they not all that big unless one gets the suite and then that cost more of course.

 

[Irishlisa]

pics when you go please (when are you going??)

I will take lots of pics!!!! We are going Sept. 19th

 

[Bonniec]

You can save money by not sleeping at a Disney resort. We just stayed for a week in January (before moving here, lol) at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It's on Disney property but not Disney owned. They do have shuttle to the parks.

I got us a presidential suite for under $200 a night off ebay. There is a whole thread somewhere on this place. The one I got was a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom and it was AMAZING. Both bathrooms had jacuzzi tubs, it was just incredible.

I had a trip report somewhere, I'll have to see if I can find the pics. ETA: Found It!

The downside is you will have to research to find the place but like I said, there is a thread. You also can't do the dining plan either, but I'm not a fan of that anyway.

 

[Irishlisa]

Does the $4800 include tickets and food? Just wondering if I could save some money by renting points from someone for a villa.

Thanks.

No, that's just the airfare and villa. We're not doing the dining plan because there is a full kitchen in the villa so I'm ordering groceries to be delivered to the resort.
You can definitely get a villa cheaper using DVC points. If we had booked the Grand Villa on our own it would have been $8000.00, just for the villa. By using DVC points from a member it only costs $3000.00. HUGE difference. If we had booked a 2 bedroom suite using DVC points it would have only been between $1500.00 and $2200.00 (depending on which resort we chose). BLT and AKV were the most expensive. We just wanted to splurge a little since it's our first time staying on property. We figured the difference in not having to rent a vehicle for $500-600 for the week and not having to worry about parking, etc was worth it to stay on property. And we've always had a full kitchen no matter what kind of property we've stayed at down there so ordering groceries is just easier for us.

 

[party-of-five]

@irishlisa. Thank you for the additional information. So many options, so many choices. That's one of the reasons our family keeps coming back. You can truly make your vacation the trip you want it to be. From a quick, inexpensive, gotta get a dis fix trip, to a go all out rest and relax while enjoying a little Disney magic trip. (plus, it's fun to plan these trips )

Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[bellebud]

You can save money by not sleeping at a Disney resort. We just stayed for a week in January (before moving here, lol) at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It's on Disney property but not Disney owned. They do have shuttle to the parks.

I got us a presidential suite for under $200 a night off ebay. There is a whole thread somewhere on this place. The one I got was a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom and it was AMAZING. Both bathrooms had jacuzzi tubs, it was just incredible.

I had a trip report somewhere, I'll have to see if I can find the pics. ETA: Found It!

The downside is you will have to research to find the place but like I said, there is a thread. You also can't do the dining plan either, but I'm not a fan of that anyway.

I took a quick look at your tr... WOW! You're an amazing mom, and I think it's totally awesome how you went all out for your kids!! The room decorations, the treats, the surprises... every kid should be treated like that at least once in their lives! I love the tinkerbell in the lampshade! Super cute!!! And the feathers from donald!! I was cracking up! Really, really creative!! Love all of it!!

How was the shuttle? Back and forth all the time like Disney buses, or more set times? Where did you get the shuttle from the parks? I assume not where the Disney buses are?? That property looks amazing, especially for the price and how many people can stay together. I'll have to look into that.

 

[Irishlisa]

@irishlisa. Thank you for the additional information. So many options, so many choices. That's one of the reasons our family keeps coming back. You can truly make your vacation the trip you want it to be. From a quick, inexpensive, gotta get a dis fix trip, to a go all out rest and relax while enjoying a little Disney magic trip. (plus, it's fun to plan these trips )

Have a wonderful vacation!

I agree I think it's great that there are so many options. Honestly we didn't think we could afford to stay on property until I joined this site and learned about buying DVC points. Now I'm happy to know that it is affordable and just like you said, there are ways to do an inexpensive trip or splurge and do a bigger trip. And I think I'm more excited than my family because I'm planning the trip, lol.

 

[Irishlisa]

Partyoffive:


You too!!!! December will be beautiful because of all the Christmas decorations.

 

[Bonniec]

I took a quick look at your tr... WOW! You're an amazing mom, and I think it's totally awesome how you went all out for your kids!! The room decorations, the treats, the surprises... every kid should be treated like that at least once in their lives! I love the tinkerbell in the lampshade! Super cute!!! And the feathers from donald!! I was cracking up! Really, really creative!! Love all of it!!

How was the shuttle? Back and forth all the time like Disney buses, or more set times? Where did you get the shuttle from the parks? I assume not where the Disney buses are?? That property looks amazing, especially for the price and how many people can stay together. I'll have to look into that.

Yeah DH made fun of me because I went so completely over the top. I don't normally do that but we had never taken a big vacation together so I wanted to make it as special as possible for them. The funny thing was, this was in January and 1 month later my husband got a great job offer here and now we live here. I'm loving it. But I see that resort often and miss it, lol.


The buses go to the same place that the Disney buses do. There are not as many of them, maybe about every 30 minutes compared to about 15 minutes that Disney does. Bonnet Creek has a schedule they give you when you arrive.

Disney resorts are certainly nice. We had relatives come and stay at Animal Kingdom and we went to their rooms. There is something to be said for sitting on your balcony while giraffes are walking by! But with 5 of us, we really liked having the space and this place was a palace. I also posted some pics in this thread of the actual room. Starting on post #98. Here

If money were no object, I'd probably choose to stay at the Animal Kingdom 2or 3 bedroom villa. But they are about 4 times what I paid and I'm just not that rich.

 

[TARDIS]

Bonnie that was such a fun trip report to read! Beautiful pictures. Thank you for posting. I hadn't even considered On property, but not a Disney resort. Great idea.

I also need to sit down and understand the DVC thing better. I seriously feel like I'm reading something in another language so far. It all seems quite confusing.