Booked a Family of 6 at Art of Animation

Crimson Sky

New Member
Original Poster
Hi all,

I have a dilemma. I booked a family of 6 at the Art of Animation suite in WDW and now, my wife's uncle is insisting on staying with us which pushes us over the 6-person capacity.

What are my options?
 
Two rooms. You cannot have more than 6 in that suite unless one is a "Disney infant" meaning under 2. You could move one person out of the suite with the uncle, so you had 5 in a suite and 2 in a room. But the only rooms at AoA are in a separate section from the suites. With 7 people, you could also switch to just 2 rooms at pretty much any resort.
 

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Sorry, I got distracted and posted that before I was finished LOL. To add a little more info:

There was a thread here in the last day or two where someone was toying with the idea of adding an extra kid to their trip, but that kid was going to put them over their limit for the room. As others stated in that thread, the kid would not have been able to ride the shuttle with them from the airport if they tried to sneak him in, and if they got caught going over the occupancy limits they risked getting kicked out of the hotel or being made to pay for an extra room. Others also said, in that same thread, that the rooms are not big enough to add an extra person. While you have a suite booked, I would say 7 people sounds like a lot even for a suite.
 

Crimson Sky

New Member
Original Poster
I found an article that answers your question; basic answer: yes, but pretty much only in the deluxe resorts, with a few options scattered around the moderates:

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/resorts/wdwroomoccupancy.shtml

Thanks.

Ugh. This is such an awkward situation. It seems wasteful to have ONE person book a room for themselves separately but I only booked the 6-person suite because he said he'd be staying with a friend. Now, his plans have changed.

I may just have to tell him to book a room for himself and he can pay the solo rate. I'm sure he'd appreciate the privacy anyway. I just don't know if he can afford it...
 

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Thanks.

Ugh. This is such an awkward situation. It seems wasteful to have ONE person book a room for themselves separately but I only booked the 6-person suite because he said he'd be staying with a friend. Now, his plans have changed.

I may just have to tell him to book a room for himself and he can pay the solo rate. I'm sure he'd appreciate the privacy anyway. I just don't know if he can afford it...

When is the trip? If it's still a ways out, you may want to play around on the Disney site (not logged in so it doesn't somehow mess up your current plans) and just see if there's another resort that has an 8-person suite and see if the difference in price would be less than the cost of a single room at your current resort. Then you could tell him you did some research and these are the two options as you see them. That way, you're not outright telling him he can't stay with you guys, but "this is what we'll have to do to make that happen." Just make sure that you only offer to do that for a resort you wouldn't mind moving to.

If your research doesn't return any results that make that plan work, then being up front and telling him to book his own is your best option IMO.
 
Thanks.

Ugh. This is such an awkward situation. It seems wasteful to have ONE person book a room for themselves separately but I only booked the 6-person suite because he said he'd be staying with a friend. Now, his plans have changed.

I may just have to tell him to book a room for himself and he can pay the solo rate. I'm sure he'd appreciate the privacy anyway. I just don't know if he can afford it...

I have stayed in the AoA suites. You cannot fit 7. The beds are all doubles (no queens). I don't know the make-up of your group (such as is the family of 6 you, your wife, and your 4 kids or is it you,your wife, your 3 kids, your wife's aunt, or any other possible combo) so it is hard to say what would be best. But you will either have to split into 2 rooms or book a villa or something much much more expensive than the suite at AoA. You could also look offsite and find a house that would sleep 7 for less than the expensive deluxes on property and may be comparable in price to the AoA suite.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
If you don't want to have to switch to a different resort entirely, the most convenient (and fairly inexpensive) option is for "Uncle Eleventh Hour" to reserve a standard room at AoA in the Little Mermaid section. The standard rooms are far less expensive than getting another family suite, and if you reserve a family suite in the "Lion King" section (which is immediately adjacent to the Little Mermaid section), you'll at least be nearby. He'd have privacy when he wanted it, and could easily stroll over and "hang out" with you whenever he wanted. Frankly, I'd see this arrangement as a win-win for everybody.

Otherwise, as others have said, you're looking at a move to another resort and potentially a huge increase in the cost of your room(s). If it is important for you all to stay together, some options would be: (1) 2 connecting standard rooms at a moderate resort -- this would require 1-2 people in your party to share a room with the uncle and you wouldn't have a kitchenette or living area, although you'd have more space than a value, plus coffeemakers, double sinks, fridges, etc.; (2) a 2-bedroom villa (with 1-2 people sleeping on a living area foldout sofa) or a 3-bedroom "grand villa" at one of the deluxe DVC resorts, but either of these will be quite expensive.

If one of your children is under 3 and in a crib, technically you could could all stay in an All Star Music family suite or one of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness Campground (they both sleep 6, + a "child under 3 in a crib," but it would be a tight squeeze either way: in the ASM suite, the Uncle and kids would all be sleeping on living room foldouts, and in a cabin, the Uncle and at least 1 child would be sleeping on foldouts/Murphy beds and you'd all share a single bathroom)!
 
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lebeau

Well-Known Member
I have stayed in the AoA suites. You cannot fit 7. The beds are all doubles (no queens). I don't know the make-up of your group (such as is the family of 6 you, your wife, and your 4 kids or is it you,your wife, your 3 kids, your wife's aunt, or any other possible combo) so it is hard to say what would be best. But you will either have to split into 2 rooms or book a villa or something much much more expensive than the suite at AoA. You could also look offsite and find a house that would sleep 7 for less than the expensive deluxes on property and may be comparable in price to the AoA suite.

I second the house rental idea. You get so much more for your money off site when traveling with a big party. You can live it up in a luxury house for a lot less than it would cost to stay on property. And be closer than some of the Disney-owned hotels.
 

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Wow, I would never let a relative insist he or she must stay with my family, nor would I ever insist I must bunk with their family during a vacation.

What stinks is that there's no solution that doesn't involve losing the semi-semblance of privacy the 2 grownups would have received with the AoA suite. Any solution will probably require two standard rooms somewhere. Which means if you opt for 2 standard rooms in any other Value resort, either Mom & Dad have to share a small bed, or they each bunk with a kid which would be stinky for a whole trip.

Is this uncle at least offering to pay some of his way? I know it's none of my business, but it seems like almost any other option that would at least let you and your wife sleep in a queen bed together is going to be more money.

I have no idea what sort of pricing promotion you may have received for the suite you booked, when the trip is supposed to take place, etc. I know that there aren't supposed to be a lot of discounts for AoA suites yet.

My suggestion - see if you can rent some DVC points and get two studios. You & your wife won't get the privacy of the bedroom in the suite, but you'll still get a queen sized bed and a kitchenette. Depending on the time of year our trip is booked, getting two studios in Old Key West (the biggest studios) with 2 queen sized beds each (as opposed to a queen and a sleeper sofa like the other DVC units) would run roughly $200 per room per night. Similar deal, maybe a few bucks more, for 2 standard view studios at the Boardwalk or 2 standard view studios at Animal Kingdom Villas or 2 studios at Saratoga Springs. A little more for Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge or Boardwalk studios with a view. And then bigger bucks still for Savannah views at Animal Kingdom, or anything at Bay Lake or Grand Floridian. The themes might not all be as whimsical as AoA, but the square footage will be bigger and you'll have access to so many more amenities and be closer to more points of interest, perhaps walking or boating distance to one or more of the parks or Downtown Disney, depending on which resort.
 

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