Need your opinions on my situation please!

[RPWS6]

Well, as you can see I'm new to the board. I'm gearing up to a planed trip in August-08. We have visited Disney twice since 2000 as our family has grown. We are a family on a single income and always looking for promos and deals like the free food plan.

Here is the big dilema: We are a family of 5 with 3 kids 4,6,and 8 years old. We want to go and stay at a fun, kid oriented hotel. Of the 9 value and moderate hotels, only 2 offer anything for a family over 5 people! The All Star Music has a few "suites" that offer 2 beds in 2 different rooms at a higher cost than just buying 2 rooms. The option that was given to me by the resveration line is to buy 2 rooms.??? For 1 family!!! And the Port Orleans Riverside is probably one of the most boring places in the world for a 4,6,8 year old!!! This fun vacation is for the kids and they want to see 30' characters at the hotel, that's fun!! I am kinda disgusted at this point that such a kid oriented place, correction, probably the most kid oriented place in the ENTIRE WORLD does not accomidate a family of 5 if not equally as a family of 4 than close to it, alot of America has 3 kids!!! I'm dumbfounded and in a pickle here.

It's not like I don't mind paying a bit more for the 3rd child. They won't let you. They say it's fire code??? I say it's a revenue maker. My children are young and will not stay in a different room nor do we want to, it's a family vacation. If they were teens, I can understand but they are young, even at home they end up in our bed some nights.

I would like to stay on Property. And also use the free meal plan for this visit period. I'm not trying to be dishonest, just utilize the fun resorts and the meal plan for 4.

Here are my issues:
-Do I go as a family of 4 and buy 1 child ticket seperately for the parks? I suppose this may be an issue at check in. Than I thought that I can check us all in together but the meal plan details state that all most check in together to qualify?? Any experience on needing to be present for the meal plan at check in?
-Do you think that Disney would refuse you at check in if they found out?
-If they refused to check us in, would I get a refund of all of my $$?
-Then what?
-What would they do if you were already there for 1/2 half of your stay and they found a 3rd child staying in your room?
-If I can get past the check in are they any obsticals with the meal plan in my situation?
-We would like to do a few character meals, should we make a reservation ofr 5 or just show up with an extra child(4 year old)and pay cash for them?
-Any issues at the parks with 4 resort attached admissions and 1 cash purchased admission for a week?

Like I said, I'm not trying to beat there system, I'm just trying to take my young family of 5 to a fun value resort and take advantage of the free meal plan as well(for 4). Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and sorry this was a bit long.
RPWS6

 

[Javier Boughton]

send your kids to the bathroom! while checking in..

another great option is the staybridge down at apopka vineland rd...2 bedroom suites with a separate living area, great breakfast, less than 10 minutes from Downtown disney, and a lot cheaper than staying within disney.

consider that staying inside disney you will have to pay around 5-10 bucks each for breakfast...for a family of 5..it adds up..

 

[Elonwy]

My family stayed at Port Orleans Riverside last year and the kids loved it! The boys were age 8 and 11 and the girl age 5. They loved the restauarants, the food, the room, and especially the pools. They really enjoyed taking the boat to the French quarter when we wanted to swim in that pool and to Downtown Disney.

I think you should stay on Disney property and do it properly with everyone on the same passes so you don't have a huge headache when you get there. If you try sneaking around to get an extra kid in the room and on the same plan you'll be stressed and if things don't work out the way you want...then what?

Besides, other than the pool areas how much time will you be in the room? Let them enjoy all the excitement at the parks and come back to a room where you can all relax.

thats my 2 cents...welcome to the boards :wave:

 

[GenerationX]

Port Orleans - Riverside is more fun for kids than you think it is. The first year we stayed there, the boys were 7, 9, and 11. They loved the main pool, the fishin' hole, and the arcade. They argued over who got to sleep in the trundle bed. PO-R is reasonably priced and loaded with amenities.

 

[Elonwy]

also..yes I believe you will constantly encounter problems with your meal plan as they explicitly state that everyone in the room must be on the same plan so you will have to purchase separate park tickets for the child that isn't on the same plan and your servers will obviously know that something fishy is going on when one of your children isn't on the plan with the rest of you

 

[wdwfan22]

Like I said, I'm not trying to beat there system, I'm just trying to take my young family of 5 to a fun value resort and take advantage of the free meal plan as well(for 4). Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and sorry this was a bit long.
RPWS6

Then what do you call it? You are clearly trying to beat the system. I'm not saying that I always agree with the rules, but life is full of things we don't always agree with. What you do from here is up to you. If you don't mind being dishonest then lie and book your room. The other option would be to conisder staying off property.

 

[RPWS6]

Then what do you call it? You are clearly trying to beat the system. I'm not saying that I always agree with the rules, but life is full of things we don't always agree with. What you do from here is up to you. If you don't mind being dishonest then lie and book your room. The other option would be to conisder staying off property.

If they would let us stay at more than 2 resorts, otherwise they can reccommend a deluxe resorts ot $4000 for the week. And of those 2 resorts, they go fast because there are not many suites. And buy the way, the cost of the 3rd child broken down on the cost of the suite at the All Star Music is about an extra $100 a day for 1 4 year old child!
Give me some options other than buy 2 rooms and stay in one and leave one empty. Why offer the meal plan for 4 and not for 5? Am I being punished for having 3 kids? I have done this with a family of 4 and there a a ton more options.

 

[828tnt]

have you considered fort wilderness campground? it's one of the best places for kids and they have many accommodations for your family size!

check it out! it may be your best bet!

 

[krisrunsdisney]

I also have 3 kids and starting next year we will be in the same situation as you. We normally stay on DVC points but there are times we've either used all our points or are saving them for other trips. Here's my suggestions:

~You've already stated that 2 rooms are cheaper than 1 family suite. So get 2 rooms and request connecting rooms. When they see it's a family requesting 2 connecting rooms it will be done. Stay at the All-Star or Pop Century resorts. The beds are full size beds, not even queen. Each kid can have his/her own bed. And you'll have an extra bathroom, 2 TVs (think, kids watching kid shows, grown-ups watching their own shows). Keep the door open between the two rooms and you should have no issue. We've done this before. The kids love it. They feel like they have "their own" room and DH and I get a small bit of privacy (for just a little while :animwink
~OR...stay at a Villa. Get a 1BR. You'll have a full kitchen, a seperate BR with a king size bed. There's a pull out sofa bed in the main living room area. They say the rooms sleep up to 4 but in a DVC you can do 5. Bring a sleeping bag or send yourself a small air mattress to the resort.

There are no little-kid-unfriendly resorts at Disney. My kids (ages 7,6 and 2.5) love Saratoga Springs (cool pools they say) as much as they love All Stars, Old Key West, and Caribbean Beach. They even ask when we are staying at Port Orleans (either side) again.

You have no real issue here. :shrug: There are options on property, you just have to look for them. The value rooms are quite a bit smaller than the moderate and/or deluxe rooms so safety may very well be an issue. I don't think there'd be as much of an issue with the # of people in the room at a deluxe resort (Contemporary, Poly, GF) as the rooms are a good size. Even a studio at OKW is fairly large. And now, by following any of these suggestions, you should have no problems with the DDP and your free dining or making meal reservations.

 

[DivineMadness7]

Regardless of how you try to justify it, breaking rules is breaking rules.
If you do the dining plan (which, by the way, you're running out of time for getting it free and from what I've read, Values are booking up/already booked up for the special) how do you explain the 5th child? He was a wandering vagrant who you picked up along the way?

"I'm not trying to beat there system" Yes, yes you are trying to beat THEIR system. You are talking about hiding kids and asking what the are the consequences.

We've taken 5 and ended up having to book the Beach Club to fit everyone. Yeah, it was in our budget. You aren't the only one to deal with this issue, plenty of families have five kids so don't say you're being "punished" by having 5 children, please. But Port Orleans has rooms with trundle beds that sleep 5 at a lesser price. Do you wanna live the whole week in fear of being caught? How can you enjoy it then? Most importantly, what sort of lesson are you teaching your kids by doing this?

 

[Elonwy]

I'm sure we're all curious to see if you've been able to make a decision on this. As another poster said, I would book ASAP to get the free dining plan as many places are already sold out for the free dining.

Hopefully you've been able to find something to accomodate your whole family in the same room on the same plan. I also noticed you were wondering how it would be if you just showed up to some of your dining with an extra person. Your reservations may not be honoured at all if the number in your party has changed and you will be "on standby" to see if they have a table for 5 available rather than a table for 4. This will cause just more headaches for you and I'm sure your kids don't want to wait hours for a certain restaurant especially if it's for a character dining.

I recommend finding a way to deal with this by staying within the Disney guidelines or you should look at some off site hotels and forget the free dining. Let us know how it works out

 

[santa's surpriz]

Have you considered looking into of the DVC deluxe resorts? You can book a room at Saratoga Springs or Old key West for a fair price, just like any other resort. They do have one bedroom suites that include a hide-a-away bed, plus you would have the convenience of a full kitchen. I know you'll have the dining plan, but is nice for breakfasts. IMO, a family of would be more comfortable in a one bedroom suite than two hotel rooms.

 

[Master Yoda]

I am in the same boat as you with the party of 5. I can tell you this, 5 in a room is an issue at quite a few non suite hotels and is by no means unique to Disney. This is due to fire code and not a case of Disney being greedy. Many other hotels will look the other way but those hotels are not under the microscope that Disney is so they adhere quite strictly to the rules.

I would advise against trying to get around the rules. Not only will you have issues with, EMH, dining plans, etc but you stand the risk of having to get a second room or move to a different resort if you are found out. Housekeeping is instructed to look for signs of overbooked rooms and report it when they find something. You do not want to spend your entire vacation looking over your shoulder.

From a cost and amenities standpoint PORS is the best choice. The pools at the values are nothing more than a concrete hole in the ground where as the main pool at PORS is very well themed and has a slide. You have activities available to you such as water craft rentals, cane pole fishing, and carriage rides to name a few. It is not over the top Disney decor but it is by no means a boring resort.

 

[Walt1967]

This past May (08) my sister and her family accompanied my wife and myself to WDW and we stayed at Pop Century. We were given rooms together that were seperated by only a door which you could open and turn your single room to a "suite." Look into this and it will probably solve your problem. Good luck !

 

[Gucci65]

I would also give Port Orleans a chance. When I stayed there my daughter was about 9 or so and loved it!!! She and her friend actually slept in the trundle bed instead of the bed. We had a pool pretty much all to ourselves with the "big" pool a short walk away. We all loved being able to ride the boats to Downtown Disney! Give it a chance, I will you will enjoy your vacation a lot more without the worry.

Yoda is right, housekeeping DOES look for signs of overbooking.

Check your PM!!:wave:

 

[BrerVeritas]

As a child, i was once asked to "not exist" at a hotel for this very reason. It was actually quite traumatic. It ruined my vacation, and had me worried the entire time that I would "ruin it for Mommy and Daddy if anyone saw me". Now as a parent, I would never do this to my child. Children take these things very seriously. To me, it felt like I was breaking the law.

That being said, you should seriously consider Port Orleans-Riverside. I have been there with both a seven year old and four year old, and they both loved it. there may not be a 30 foot Pluto outside your window, but there is a 30' water wheel, a boat hanging from the ceiling, horse drawn carriages, and a great pool. Besides, my four year old had more fun chasing lizards than looking at giant structures anyway.

POR is still WDW, and it has great theming. Your children will not have trouble finding enjoyment there.

 

[mro415]

i wouldnt try to beat the system because you might encounter a problem that puts you in a bad mood for the whole day.

Port Orleans has an awesome pool for the children.
If you want to stay at Pop Century, ask for a connecting room.
If you dont have the budget for a hotel that will accomodate you then maybe this time you have to splurge a little and hold back somewhere else on the trip.

they arnt trying to get you for their money, its kinda just the way it works with fire safety and such. which i agree.. value resorts are supposed to be for lots of children so the rooms could be bigger but it is a VALUE resort at the end of the day.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Jayhawkie]

My suggestion would be that you either book two rooms at the values and you stay in one room and the other parent stay in the other room--or you check into Fort Wilderness and or stay at POR. I would highly recommend the POR for your family of five. They will like it!!! I have the same problem as you with having a family of five. My family of five is going to get bigger to the fact that I am having a fourth child in July due to my Disney vacation that I had in November. Oh that Disney magic!!! The magic of Disney is so strong that I have three boys and they will be getting a sister(must have been all that princess stuff that they sell down there). Anyway, I will be either staying in a deluxe, staying in a condo off property, or booking two rooms. We just stayed at the POR and your kids will have plenty to do. Because you will have the dining plan you will have to make sure that your child is accounted for. Also, when there are extra magic hours you have to have a resort ID for everyone in your party. Good luck with whatever you decide.:wave:

 

[insoin]

I would recommend to not break the rules. It is not teaching the children a very good lesson is it?

As stated by other posters, it will lead to problems. No EMH if they are checking KTTW cards for everyone.

It could cause problems with the dining plan having everyone on it but one child.

All kinds of issues. Why not try the cabins at FW. I'm not sure how that would compare to two rooms at a value, but FW is a great place for kids and families in general.

It will cause you to worry all vacation if you are gonna get caught. And if you do, don't forget Disney has the right to ask you to leave right away, and I'm sure they will not pay you the difference. And to go to the extreme, they could ban your family for life. I know it is extreme for them to do that but you would give them that option.

Did anyone hear the story of the football teams players that got into a fight, and Disney told the entire team to leave, not just the family of the kids in the fight. They told them at 2 AM to pack up and leave. It made the news here in Louisville, KY.

 

[JerseySkiddie]

give POR a try. ive stayed there and while i don't have kids it looked like it would be lots of fun for them. there are lots of activities and a better pool than at any of the all-stars. its very well themed and the adults will like it too! then you won't have to be all stressed out about all of that other stuff and you'll enjoy your vacation.

have a great time!