Girls trip!

[Nelly2016]

Hi everyone! Me and four of my girlfriends (in our early 20's) are planning a trip in late January of 2017. Our general trip philosophy is sleep cheap, eat rich. Our only requirements are that its clean, has a few disney touches (we still want some magic), is on the resort, and isn't too far away from the parks! Any suggestions would be wonderful thank you in advance!

 

[epcotisbest]

Hi everyone! Me and four of my girlfriends (in our early 20's) are planning a trip in late January of 2017. Our general trip philosophy is sleep cheap, eat rich. Our only requirements are that its clean, has a few disney touches (we still want some magic), is on the resort, and isn't too far away from the parks! Any suggestions would be wonderful thank you in advance!

My wife, her sister and group of friends do a girl's trip each February for the Princess Half-marathon and they always seem to have a wonderful trip. To save on accommodations to sleep cheap and eat rich, they always rent a multi-bedroom house or condo off site because there are usually six to ten of them depending on who decides to go. They always go out to eat at lots of good places and they always hit the outlet malls too. And, they drive so transportation is not an issue.
Well, that was no help was it? Have fun!

 

[belledream]

Sounds like my kind of philosophy!

Unless you are planning to get more than one room for the five of you, you're choices are limited in the value resorts. It might be cheap enough to get two neighboring rooms between the 5 of you.

The All Star Resorts (Sports, Music, Movies) are all very similar in layout and amenities, with Movies having a huge touch-of-Disney-theme, though they all do in their own rights. Only Music has "Family Suites" that can sleep up to 6, but depending on pricing for the end of January, that may or may not cost more than a the 5 of you staying in a moderate level resort like Port Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Beach. You'd have to run the numbers.

There's nothing like staying in WDW. It completes the trip!

 

[Nelly2016]

My wife, her sister and group of friends do a girl's trip each February for the Princess Half-marathon and they always seem to have a wonderful trip. To save on accommodations to sleep cheap and eat rich, they always rent a multi-bedroom house or condo off site because there are usually six to ten of them depending on who decides to go. They always go out to eat at lots of good places and they always hit the outlet malls too. And, they drive so transportation is not an issue.
Well, that was no help was it? Have fun!

That sounds amazing! I'd love to do one every year, lucky them! We definitely want to stay onsite and since we are Canadian and flying in, driving isn't an option. Thank you for the suggestions though!

 

[Nelly2016]

Sounds like my kind of philosophy!

Unless you are planning to get more than one room for the five of you, you're choices are limited in the value resorts. It might be cheap enough to get two neighboring rooms between the 5 of you.

The All Star Resorts (Sports, Music, Movies) are all very similar in layout and amenities, with Movies having a huge touch-of-Disney-theme, though they all do in their own rights. Only Music has "Family Suites" that can sleep up to 6, but depending on pricing for the end of January, that may or may not cost more than a the 5 of you staying in a moderate level resort like Port Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Beach. You'd have to run the numbers.

There's nothing like staying in WDW. It completes the trip!

We were actually thinking of getting a room for four and then bringing a sleeping bag along. I haven't checked up on the regulations involving doing something like this but it would keep costs down and it would be so nice to have all of us in one room! We're definitely considering both moderate and value resorts, especially Port Orleans because its such a beautiful space. Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[belledream]

We were actually thinking of getting a room for four and then bringing a sleeping bag along. I haven't checked up on the regulations involving doing something like this but it would keep costs down and it would be so nice to have all of us in one room! We're definitely considering both moderate and value resorts, especially Port Orleans because its such a beautiful space. Thank you for the suggestions!

I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't let you do that, but I've never done it nor have I researched it either, so don't quote me on that.
Good luck with whatever you choose and have fun!!

 

[epcotisbest]

We were actually thinking of getting a room for four and then bringing a sleeping bag along. I haven't checked up on the regulations involving doing something like this but it would keep costs down and it would be so nice to have all of us in one room! We're definitely considering both moderate and value resorts, especially Port Orleans because its such a beautiful space. Thank you for the suggestions!

I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't let you do that, but I've never done it nor have I researched it either, so don't quote me on that.
Good luck with whatever you choose and have fun!!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/groups/

 

[tractor tipper]

you could get by with 5 at POR. The extra bed is small, if their 5' or less should work for you, if not sleeping bag will work just roll it up in the morning.
check pricing it may be cheaper to get two Pop Century rooms though. that would give you an extra bathroom and more space.

 

[Nelly2016]

you could get by with 5 at POR. The extra bed is small, if their 5' or less should work for you, if not sleeping bag will work just roll it up in the morning.
check pricing it may be cheaper to get two Pop Century rooms though. that would give you an extra bathroom and more space.

I'll keep that in mind, thank you! POR is one of the ones we were hoping for.

 

[Wdw62114]

The only problem you may run into with the sleeping bag idea is when you check in. If all 5 are on the a reservation with the MM+ and magic bands, they will quickly find out you are putting 5 people in a room with the max of four. You could have one friend just buy park tickets and not attach a hotel reservation to her MM+ account.....but then she cant make FP reservations as early as the rest and lose out on Extra Magic Hours.

 

[MaryJaneP]

5 adults, one bathroom. Not good math in our estimation.

 

[Nelly2016]

The only problem you may run into with the sleeping bag idea is when you check in. If all 5 are on the a reservation with the MM+ and magic bands, they will quickly find out you are putting 5 people in a room with the max of four. You could have one friend just buy park tickets and not attach a hotel reservation to her MM+ account.....but then she cant make FP reservations as early as the rest and lose out on Extra Magic Hours.

I never actually realized that, thanks for pointing it out! I found some info on some rooms that offer a daybed and I will look into them. Thank you for the tips and let me know if you have any more!

 

[Nelly2016]

5 adults, one bathroom. Not good math in our estimation.

Haha, yes that might be a bit tough. But trust me - we are low maintenance. We can handle it!

 

[DisneyGirlNY]

We did a girl's trip for our 30th bdays 15 years ago (gulp!). There were 6 of us, so we stayed at a Ft. Wilderness Cabin. Yes, still 1 bathroom, but we made it work. We were close enough to walk to the MK ferry, but to get to the other parks from FW you need to take an internal bus to the park buses. But, those rooms had a kitchenette so we had bagels and muffins for breakfast to save a little cash. We loved it. Today, however, I would do the price comparison to these 3 options: connecting rooms at an all-star or POP; a family room at AOA or Music; or a FW Cabin and decide which works best for your group.

 

[Nelly2016]

We did a girl's trip for our 30th bdays 15 years ago (gulp!). There were 6 of us, so we stayed at a Ft. Wilderness Cabin. Yes, still 1 bathroom, but we made it work. We were close enough to walk to the MK ferry, but to get to the other parks from FW you need to take an internal bus to the park buses. But, those rooms had a kitchenette so we had bagels and muffins for breakfast to save a little cash. We loved it. Today, however, I would do the price comparison to these 3 options: connecting rooms at an all-star or POP; a family room at AOA or Music; or a FW Cabin and decide which works best for your group.

I briefly thought of the Ft. Wilderness Cabins as well but decided against it, as we wanted the hotel vacation experience rather than the camping experience. But I am interested to hear more about how you liked it! With trying to keep the price down, maybe I should give it another chance.

 

[jenos0524]

I briefly thought of the Ft. Wilderness Cabins as well but decided against it, as we wanted the hotel vacation experience rather than the camping experience. But I am interested to hear more about how you liked it! With trying to keep the price down, maybe I should give it another chance.

Try AoA suite they sleep 6 and have 2 bathrooms and a kitchenette. Plus they have their own bus line where the All-Stars all share one. (All though Pop may be cheaper to get 2 rooms)

 

[bee]

I personally would go with two rooms at a value before one room at a moderate, even if two rooms would be slightly more expensive. In theory one bathroom might sound fine but I would definitely prefer the bit of extra privacy you get with two. I've stayed at every value resort except for for All Star Movies and have been satisfied with all of them, though I prefer Pop Century because of the fun retro theming and short bus ride to Epcot (my favorite park). Depending on the time of year, you can often get a room discount at Pop or one of the All Stars that will bring the price down to around $100 per night or less.

Though value resorts only have a refrigerator and not a coffee maker or microwave, you can bring things like breakfast bars, fruit, cereal, etc., to save money and make room in the budget for your "rich" dinners. In recent trips of 4+ nights we have enjoyed the use of the resort refillable mug as it saved us a lot of money on coffee purchases we would have made in the parks.

 

[Nelly2016]

Try AoA suite they sleep 6 and have 2 bathrooms and a kitchenette. Plus they have their own bus line where the All-Stars all share one. (All though Pop may be cheaper to get 2 rooms)

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Nelly2016]

I personally would go with two rooms at a value before one room at a moderate, even if two rooms would be slightly more expensive. In theory one bathroom might sound fine but I would definitely prefer the bit of extra privacy you get with two. I've stayed at every value resort except for for All Star Movies and have been satisfied with all of them, though I prefer Pop Century because of the fun retro theming and short bus ride to Epcot (my favorite park). Depending on the time of year, you can often get a room discount at Pop or one of the All Stars that will bring the price down to around $100 per night or less.

Though value resorts only have a refrigerator and not a coffee maker or microwave, you can bring things like breakfast bars, fruit, cereal, etc., to save money and make room in the budget for your "rich" dinners. In recent trips of 4+ nights we have enjoyed the use of the resort refillable mug as it saved us a lot of money on coffee purchases we would have made in the parks.

I'll take those suggestions into account. Thank you!

 

[Nelly2016]

I don't think I saw this mentioned, but remember that value resorts have two double beds, where moderates have two queen beds. Smaller bed size is not a problem for many - just be aware. Also, I believe the last time I tried to get a room for more than four adults at a value (POP), the system would not allow me to select five adults.

Thanks for pointing that out!