1 room/suite for 5 or adjoining rooms?

PHS79

Active Member
Original Poster
We are planning on our next trip in Feb 2015. My DW, DD and I are planning on the 19-27th and my parents are wintering in FL next year so they want to join us and they are thinking about only staying 5-7 days.

We were all at WDW last year together and stayed at AoA in a Lion King family suite and it worked out good for us, so we were just planning on AoA again for our next trip. But after talking with a bunch of friends that have been to WDW over the winter were tossing around the idea of maybe trying out a different resort.

I know that the AoA family suites are pricey and most times 2 rooms at mod resort can be had for about the same price, keep in mind that we don't want to go much past the price of a AoA suite to go else where.
So that brings me to the questions: do any resorts (mod or value) have adjoining rooms? Or if we decided to all stay in 1 room/suite what are our options? We are not DVC members but is it worth considering renting DVC points and staying at a one of them, if so which ones?
 

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
Many of the Moderate Resort rooms can be connected via a door, although the last time I checked, Disney would not guarantee connecting or adjoining rooms unless there was only 2 adults with children. You can still request it though and, if possible, they will accommodate you.

I don't believe resort prices for next year are available. Typically, Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) is the least expensive. Using this year's prices as a guide, the least expensive CBR room for the 8 nights in question costs $1752, or $219/night for one room, $438/night for 2 rooms. (Prices probably will increase 2-5% next year.)

WDW offered a 25% discount this year for that room. There is no guarantee they will do the same next year. However, if they do, the room should be about $165/night. So, 2 discounted rooms might be $330/night.

$14/point is the standard rate through the major DVC rental companies. For the nights in question, it would take 122 points to rent a single Studio at Old Key West (OKW) or 244 points for 2 rooms, costing $3416, or $427/night.

A 2-bedroom villa (2 bedrooms and a common kitchen/living room) would be even more, 336 points, or $588/night.

It's often possible to get last-minute deals on points for $10/point or less but you'd have to keep checking and hope for the best. That would make 2 OKW Studios cost $305/night and the 2BR $420/night.

The best deal depends on whether Disney once again offers room discounts and whether it's possible to find a cheap DVC rental. Even Disney hasn't decided what discounts they'll offer 11 months from now so there's simply no way of knowing today.

Meanwhile, it's unlikely to find any cheap DVC rentals 11 months out. Because of the way DVC bookings work (11 months is the start of the booking period) rental prices for February 2015 are at a premium right now (i.e. $14/point).

DVC is designed to compete with Deluxe Resorts, not Moderate Resorts. Also, a 2BR is 3 physical rooms, not 2, so you're paying for 50% more space.

Hope this helps.
 
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slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Some 1BR DVC units accommodate 5 people - Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, Grand Floridian Villas and Old Key West. All except Old Key West have 2 bathrooms. They each have a master bedroom, a sleeper sofa and sleeper chair. I think the plan is, at some point, all 1 BR will sleep 5, but for now it's just those, if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will pipe in. The Grand Floridian Villas are the only ones that sleep 5 but with four adults and one child, that might be too cramped.

The latter half of February seems to get into a more expensive price range compared to early February, schools with late winter breaks going into spring breaks, going into Easter week which will be the most expensive. Looking at Feb rates from THIS year a 1BR unit at Villas at Animal Kingdom with a Savannah View averages about 544 a night if you rent points, versus a rack rate of $781 a night. There's a general public discount of 20% off, which puts the room around 625 a night.

Meanwhile 2 preferred view rooms at Port Orleans Riverside would average roughly 520/night. With the 20% off general public discount, that's roughly 416 a night. But unless they're checking in the same night you are (and leaving early) it'd probably be more difficult for Disney to book you in adjoining rooms.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We've requested (and gotten) connecting rooms at Coronado Springs in the past (and it was not a low crowd time, it was Easter break!). Perhaps it helped that both room-fulls were checking in at the same time. I'd opt for that over a family suite any day, because it gives everybody bigger rooms, bigger beds, and the option of total privacy if they want it. The ceremonial "opening of the doors" between DH's-and-my-room and that of my parents every morning was a fun little tradition -- Dad would make a big announcement and knock on the connecting door as though begging to enter a castle for sanctuary. Then he and my Mom would come into our room and we'd kibitz over our morning coffee. Later in the day, Mom and I would grab a nap in one room while my Dad and DH hung out and watched TV in the other. :)

If/when you make the request, be sure you know the difference between connecting rooms (which have a door between so you can use the rooms as one space if you wish), and adjoining rooms (which are simply two separate rooms that happen to be next to one another).

Also, in general, the earlier in the day you arrive at your resort, the better chances you have of getting your request met, as the "inventory" of available rooms and room combinations will generally diminish as the day goes on...
 

shoppingnut

Active Member
In going with the different types of suites you'll need to know what the bedding configuration is because not everyone can fare well on fold out couch or chair type beds.
 

ParkMan73

Active Member
We've done connecting rooms three times now - it has never been a problem for us to get our request accommodated. So, I suppose you could end up without connecting rooms so be prepared - but I suspect there is a good chance it could work out.

However, I suspect there is a very low change of getting connecting rooms if you check-in at different times. For check-out, I doubt it matters, but checking-in together I expect would be very important.
 

daisyduckie

Well-Known Member
I've arrived a day earlier than the rest of the family and we still ended up with connecting rooms. By the same token we have arrived all the same day and not gotten them when requested. There is a small chance you won't end up with connecting rooms, but make sure you will be ok with them if that is what you end up with. If the thought of not having connecting rooms makes you break out in hives, you probably don't want to risk it.
 

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