Why can 5 stay in some resort rooms and not others?

[DWLhometous]

We are trying to find a room that will allow 5 people. We really want to stay at Wilderness Lodge or Villas. We can get a Studio room at The Villas but they will only allow for 4 people. We can do Port Orleans, or Polynesian with 5 people so why not The Villas? I know the rooms at Port Orleans seem a lot smaller then The Villas at DWL.

 

[Polydweller]

We are trying to find a room that will allow 5 people. We really want to stay at Wilderness Lodge or Villas. We can get a Studio room at The Villas but they will only allow for 4 people. We can do Port Orleans, or Polynesian with 5 people so why not The Villas? I know the rooms at Port Orleans seem a lot smaller then The Villas at DWL.

It's all about fire codes. Fire codes can be complicated but come down to how rapidly can all people in a given area be evacuated should a fire occur. It includes things like the number of exits, width of corridors, number of units using the same building egress, flammability of materials used, toxic smoke that would produced by the flammable materials and so on. The occupancy capacities are set not by the hotel owner but by the equivalent of a Fire Marshall in the jurisdiction area.

 

[ryguy]

I know the poly has a day bed, port orleans you must be able to use a roll-away bed.

 

[Master Yoda]

I know the poly has a day bed, port orleans you must be able to use a roll-away bed.

Select rooms at PORS have a trundle bed.

 

[Polydweller]

I agree that fire codes are the primary factor but room size also matters. It's much easier to exit the All Stars than the Boardwalk Inn yet the BWI allows 5 guests per room while the AS allows only 4. BWI rooms have space for a pull-out sofa while AS rooms do not.

True. But the room's legal capacity is based only on fire code rating.

 

[Disneykidder]

As far as I know the trundles are only recommended up until a certain age. I'm not sure of the age, though...sorry.

We are a family of 5, too. 2 rooms may be the way to go for us for now on if staying at a mod...double the bathrooms/beds. We have stayed at ASMu in a family suite that was awesome but we are looking into mods and up so I know what you mean. :/

 

[GenerationX]

We're a family of five, and we've stayed at Port Orleans-Riverside twice. The boys loved the trundle bed, though they were younger at the time (7, 9, and 11 the first time and 8, 10, and 12 the second). Our oldest barely fit, though it was fine for the other two. I'd say kids under 54" tall would be OK.

Now that the boys are older (12, 14, and 16), there's not enough room for us at POR or any of the single room deluxes. We found the cheapest way to maximize space was to get two connecting rooms at a moderate. Over spring break we stayed at the Caribbean Beach, and the two rooms worked out very well.

 

[captainkidd]

Disney's answer: Fire Codes.

The truth: Money.

Now, I'm not saying there isn't some credibility to the fire code story, but much of it doesn't make sense. Disney could easily add a pull out sofa into some rooms at Wilderness Lodge. Just get rid of the table and chairs and/or the desk. There's just over 700 rooms at the Lodge. There's about 700 rooms at the Yacht Club, like the Lodge, all in one building. What's the difference?

If you look at the Villas, it's even weirder. They will allow DVC members to have 5 people stay in a 1 bedroom villa, but guests paying cash can only have 4. I guess Disney's answer for that could be that a DVC member's life isn't worth as much as a guest paying cash.:shrug: