Advice Needed: Large Family

[heathab]

Hello! I am planning a trip for my family and brother-in-law's family. There will be a total of four adults and five kids, two of which will be under the age of two. We will not spend a lot of time in our room, mostly in the parks, but looking for advice on if their are affordable options for us staying in the same room or are we better off booking two separate rooms? I do not think my family of 5 will work well staying in a standard (double bed) room as we have two pack n plays so I was thinking we would already have to pay a bit more for our family alone. I am having trouble finding options for us to stay together. The Art of Animation family suites are just under our family size unfortunately.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Disvillain63]

Have you looked into renting points and staying at one of the DVCs? (dvcrentalstore.com or dvcrequest.com). Also, the family suites at AoA or the All-Stars might be an option.

 

[Wildflower]

Old Key West 2BR are reasonable and a LOT of space. King in one BR, two queens in the other, sofabed in the living room AND a sleeper chair. There is room for pack and plays, and I'm pretty sure there's one already there for you to use if you don't want to drag both along (we would just bring a fitted PNP sheet from home with us).

 

[sxeensweet]

You can also book any DVC rooms/villas directly from Disney and use any room discounts or other discounts that come out. Before we joined DVC in 2013 we did not rent points and booked DVC rooms directly through Disney and used the room discounts and added dining and tickets. You can also rent points and add a dining plan if that's something you want as well.

 

[Bryan Slater]

Check all the places mentioned from the other. Disney does over great promotions with great deals, such has military discount or even free dining depending on your dates. Also include your dining and memory maker it will save you a ton of money. If you need any help please message me and I'll be glad to help any way I can. I'm

 

[allidog1]

Have you thought of staying getting a Treehouse Villa at Saratoga Springs. My family of 2 adults and 2 teens stayed there very comfortably with my uncle, aunt and 2 young (I think they were 2 and 5).

 

[lorreejean]

Old Key West 2BR are reasonable and a LOT of space. King in one BR, two queens in the other, sofabed in the living room AND a sleeper chair. There is room for pack and plays, and I'm pretty sure there's one already there for you to use if you don't want to drag both along (we would just bring a fitted PNP sheet from home with us).

If you get a 2 bedroom lock out as opposed to a dedicated 2 bedroom there will be 2 pack and plays, one on each side. Also they have sheets for the pack and plays and since there is a washer in the room you can just wash them before use if you're worried about them being clean.

 

[s&k'smom]

I think renting the points is a great idea, you can get quite a good deal. Also when reading the Unofficial guide they had some good recommendations for renting just outside the parks.

 

[Jess G]

Personally I would get 2 separate rooms at a value or moderate resort and request for them to be near each other. I went with my large family (7 of us in total) ... I enjoyed being able to separate from them @ night and have my privacy, figure even if you have 2 showers how much time it would take away in the AM to get all of you guys ready... We had every fast pass and dining reservation together and @ night we would go off to our own rooms and set a time to meet at the bus stop in the morning... Not sure how long your staying but maybe you can even split between 2 resorts half with them and half on your own.

 

[blana]

If you definitely all want to stay in the same room onsite, your best bet, as others have mentioned, is a 2 bedroom villa. Saratoga Springs &/or Old Key West would probably be the cheapest option for that.

Otherwise, I'd consider getting your family of 5 a Family Suite at All Star Music & your brother's family a regular preferred room at the same resort. That'll be cheaper, and you'll all still be in the same area of the resort, unlike Art of Animation, where the suites & single rooms are in different areas.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If budget and timing don't permit a DVC points rental for a 2 or 3-bedroom villa (which would be my first recommendation -- we've been happy with David's Vacation Rentals for that purpose in the past), I'd recommend connecting rooms at a moderate resort. With the moderates, you get queen-sized beds (and some rooms at PORS and CBR have a kid-sized Murphy bed to sleep 5), double sinks, privacy doors/curtain around the sink area, and extra square footage ("extra" meaning more than a value resort would offer) to add a Pack 'n Play.

 

[NonnaT]

What about one of the cabins at Fort Wilderness? They've been recently refurbed and are the same price as a mod.

 

[cr3346]

As other have said, look into OKW. They will be the cheapest points wise, and are probably the biggest out of any of the DVC's

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

If at all possible, try looking into renting DVC points. We did that using David's for our 2014 trip. It worked out well and we were able to stay at Bay Lake Tower.

 

[Schneewittchen]

Like others suggested, look at Ft Wilderness. They seem pretty big and the ability to cook meals is a great way to save money.

 

[mouse_luv]

As previous posters have said. DVC renting would be the way to go. A few things I would like to point out though: First of all, don't rely on OKW to always be the cheapest option when doing so. Second, it looks like you have 9 people in your party, and if renting you are going to have to either go with a 2BR villa at BLT, AKV, VGF, OKW because those sleep 9. SSR your option would be a TreeHouse Villa that sleeps 9. If you wanted to stay anywhere else you'd have to look into Grand Villas that sleep up to 12. Now, this is granted that you all want to stay together. A previous poster mentioned about getting several rooms instead to separate from each other and while you can do that, it's going to cost you a whole lot more. Even with the Treehouse Villas, 2BR's and GV's you can close the doors off and it's like you're in your own separate room. Just some food for thought.

Not to mention, the 1br and up sized Villas have full kitchens as well as washer and dryers. So you could choose to get some groceries and have several meals in the villa and save $.

 

[Spikerdink]

To piggy back on what previous posters have said, go for renting at OKW. This was Disney's first foray into time shares and the 2BR are huge. The living room area is large enough that there is a nice size table and chairs, sofa, love seat, chair and there is still room to put the pack and play comfortably.

The kitchen area is part of the the living room with an island 'dividing' the room - the island contains the television.

I have had 5 adults in the 2 BR and we managed great - no bumping into each other, no too close for comfort, and the second bedroom allows you to close off for privacy.

You could also go for the 2BR lock off which is a one bedroom that connects to a studio. This would allow you to each have their own space as a family at night (plus you get a second kitchenette), but during the day open the door and share the main living room.

I have photos of it somewhere if you want to see. Send me a private message with your email and I will send them over to you.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Two cabins at Fort Wilderness will likely be cheaper than renting DVC points.

Plus, if you're anything like my family, you'll be at each other's throats in about two days if you try to share a single unit, even something as large as a two bedroom at OKW.

 

[mouse_luv]

One cabin at Ft Wilderness averages at $316.14/night. IDK how long OP and her family are going but if it's for a week that's going to be pretty expensive forking out for two cabins. A DVC rental would be less. A 2br villa at OKW for example for a week would be $217/night, so you are already a 100 under ONE cabin a night, in a DVC that will accommodate the whole party. Now, IDK when the OP and her family are going so the DVC point amount will vary, but it will more than likely be cheaper than forking for cabins at Disney rack or even Disney discount.