Party of 5

[PixiePower]

I am planning a trip in May for 5 people...myself and my 2 daughters( 8 and 6) and for my best friend and her daughter(7). They have not been in many years. I was planning to stay at Shades of Green but have decided not to due to a not so pleasant stay there this past week.

I would love to get some insight on good places to stay with this # of people. I was thinking about a cabin at Ft Wilderness...any thoughts? Any other ideas would be appreciated. I want the kids to have a great time but not have them on top of us. I will have my car there and don't mind driving to the parks. FL res/AP rates do apply in this case!

I appreciate any and all ideas...I have never planned a trip with this # of people...usually have to get only 1 room or we have enough people to get several rooms..trying to be cost sensitive on room since they have to fly down and buy tickets.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Master Yoda]

I now have a party of 5 since my youngest turned 3 so my experience is limited. So far the easiest resorts to fit a party of 5 in one room have been the Contemporary and AKL. At all of the value resorts and I believe most of the moderates you will need to get 2 rooms. The cabin sounds like a pretty good idea that way there won’t be too much doubling up in the beds. You might also look into buying DVC points. Other than that I imagine you will be looking at a suite which can run big $$$.

 

[gabtic]

Poly

You can stay at any of the moderate resorts and ask for a ______ when you make reservations. There is a 15 dollar charge per night.

The all star and pop centurey resorts will not allow cots. The rooms are to small and disney says it's a fire hazard.

If you are looking to spend little. Stay at the Caribbean Beach. Many of the delux resort, which cost more come with 2 queen beds and a day bed.
I most certainly would not spend the money on a suit for 5 people

 

[gabtic]

poly

Opps!!!!!

Ask For A ______

 

[shoppingnut]

Opps!!!!!

Ask For A ______

Rollaway bed.

I'm going with my brother and his family 3 adult and 2 children 9 & 4 and we are getting two rooms at Pop Century. This way we can spread out and have two bathrooms and TV's. Why be on top of one another since this will be there first trip to Disney in a long time.

 

[TURKEY]

You can get rollaways at the values and moderates.

 

[cj2me]

Port Orleans Riverside can accomodate 5 people. It also has great themeing for the kids. They have a main pool, several add'l quiet pools and a fishing hole. We stayed there with kids ages 9,6,3 & 1. They LOVED IT!

 

[Yellow Shoes]

In your situation, I would get connecting rooms at a value resort. (or moderate, if the price is right)

You and your girls can have one room, and your friend and daughter can have the other. The girls would have the option of swapping sleep partners and rooms if they chose to--this is a BIG adventure for girls this age. Most importantly, with this arrangement, the adults sleep alone. I'm not a huge fan of sleeping in the same bed with my kids--they are blanket stealers!!

2 bathrooms will be handy, and 2 TVs can work to your advantage also. You can also put the kids to bed in one room, then stay up a little later if you wish.

This option will be far less $$ than the cabins.
$234 for cabins; $77 each x 2 = $154 for value (rack rates/no discount)

I think the only reason I would consider the cabins is for the kitchen (and I do NOT cook on vacation!)

 

[krissybear2003]

My family of 5 stayed at Port Orleans and loved it. The rooms were spacious and they have a trundle bed that you pull out the kids took turns sleeping on that. We are going back there on our next trip. Good luck in your search.

Kris

 

[GenerationX]

We're a party of five and have stayed at the Contemporary, Beach Club, Polynesian, and Yacht Club. Each room had a daybed, and we slept comfortably. The rooms were fairly large - not as large as two rooms at a less expensive resort, but still good sized.

One of the biggest advantages of the above resorts are their amenities. The Yacht & Beach Club, in particular, share the enormous Stormalong Bay pool area and are walking distance to Epcot.

 

[ACE]

I was planning to stay at Shades of Green but have decided not to due to a not so pleasant stay there this past week.

Not trying to change the subject but what happened at Shades of Green? I was planning to stay there on my next trip.

Thanks,
:wave: ACE

 

[PixiePower]

Thank you so much!

Thank you everyone for the great ideas! You gave me some wonderful places to start!

2 rooms at a value are almost the same as a cabin with the ap rate right now and if you add a fridge...must have in my opinion!....it is less then $15 difference.

Rollaway in value almost =s moderate and I think someone may get killed if we tried that one...they were tight with 4 let alone 5...where would they put it in a value anyway?!


How is the trundle bed at Riverside? Anyone have experiance...how big a kid can you put on there? The smallest we have going is almost 50" tall.

I would love to go for a deluxe but hard to justify the expense when I CAN stay at SoG...just don't want to!

Any other ideas out there? Keep 'em coming!

 

[PixiePower]

Shades of Green

I don't want to bash SoG. PM me and I will give you the details of what I experianced.

I have stayed there many times before and had a great experiance. This trip was not the same. They are making some changes that I am not thrilled with. It may have been just bad timing but it was enough to make me change two reservations I had with them.

 

[Master Yoda]

From my understanding (not military so I don’t know for sure) the prices as SoG are pretty hard to compete with so if you are like the rest of us and aren’t swimming in cash SoG will probably be your best bet.

 

[PixiePower]

The rates are on a sliding scale by military members rank. My husbands rank puts us at the top end of the scale for room price.

I may have overlooked my bad experiance this past week but since I can stay at value and moderates for LESS money then SoG...it has made me think twice.

The rooms there are large and can accomodate 5 people easily...2 queens and a sofa bed. Not so much Disney charm but that is ok usually. I have stayed there many times before and only recently started to stay at other resorts. I still like SoG and think it is an incredible benefit for the military. It is a beautiful resort. But there is something to be said for the magic you get at a Disney property. SoG has a very large population to serve and no problems filling rooms. Therefore, IMHO, they do not care so much about keeping customers happy. Disney does. Makes a difference in how you are treated.

 

[goofyoverdisney]

PixiePower,
I wish you the best of luck in choosing another resort for your upcoming trip. We have relatives who live in FL who made reservations last week at ALL Stars Music for 57.00 a night, for the last week of May and first week of June. I do have a question for you. Why were you not pleased with The Shades of Green? My in-laws stayed there last March (2004) and left angry, before their reservation time was up, at the service and management. We have stayed there twice before the renovation and change of management and loved it. We are due to go for two weeks at the end of May and into June. We have reservations for Shades of Green for three rooms, for three seperate eligable parties. We also have reservations for Fort Wilderness as we have recently bought a travel trailer. We have also stayed at Fort Wilderness numerous times. We are watching the gas prices and weather forecast, so we can make a better judgement as to where to stay closer to the time. Anyway, if you don't mind me asking, what was it about Shades of Green that you were not pleased with? I see on your profile that you are a Shades of Green fan like I am. I sure don't want another ruined vacation for my in-laws, or our family reunion. Good luck with your trip plans! 65 days till our Disney trip!!

 

[JPVonDrake]

Officially, (i.e. DRC Policies)

The rooms at the Value Resorts sleep 4 guest plus an infant 2 or under.

With the exception of select Alligator Bayou rooms at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside (POR) resort, all other Moderate Resort rooms sleep 4 guest plus an infant 2 or under. Select rooms at POR have a child's size trundle bed that is 35" x 65" and can hold a child under the age of 10 and under 100 lbs.

The reservation software at the Disney Reservation Center (DRC) will not allow us to overbook the above maximum capacity of the room.

All value, moderate and deluxe resorts offer connecting rooms in most room catogories and can be guaranteed only if there is 2 or less adults and 1 or more children sleeping between the two rooms. If there is 3 or more adults, or no children between the two rooms, then connecting rooms can be requested but not guaranteed.

*Officially* reservation agents at the DRC must state roll-a-ways do not exist at the value and moderate priced resorts and therefore a reservation agent cannot requested one on a reservation. Maximum capacity limits are due to Florida fire codes.

*Brent is *unofficially* correct about roll-a-ways. They cannot however be used to increase the capacity of the room. They are for guest situations such as guest not wanting two of the guest (due to opposite gender, special needs guest, etc.) sleeping in the same bed. All request for roll-a-ways must be made at the time of check-in and will be up to the Resort Management as to availability.

Select deluxe resorts rooms can sleep 5 guest, Wilderness Cabins can sleep 6 guest, 2 bedroom Villas can sleep 8 guest, and Grand Villas can sleep 12 guest.

I'm not trying to contradict anyone's answers, but just wanted to let everyone know what we at DRC are required to advice our guest.

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[PixiePower]

Goofyoverdisney, I will send you the info you requested in the morning.


JP VonDrake- I appreciate the "official" word...especially the info on the trundle. The youngest with us may be ok sleeping on it but not with all the stuffed animals she brings with her!

It is looking like a cabin may be the best way to go. I have never stayed at Ft Wilderness...any opinions out there?


Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Thank you everyone for the great ideas! You gave me some wonderful places to start!

2 rooms at a value are almost the same as a cabin with the ap rate right now and if you add a fridge...must have in my opinion!....it is less then $15 difference.

Rollaway in value almost =s moderate and I think someone may get killed if we tried that one...they were tight with 4 let alone 5...where would they put it in a value anyway?!


How is the trundle bed at Riverside? Anyone have experiance...how big a kid can you put on there? The smallest we have going is almost 50" tall.

I would love to go for a deluxe but hard to justify the expense when I CAN stay at SoG...just don't want to!

Any other ideas out there? Keep 'em coming!

I would strongly suggest the Riverside with the trundle bed. There is no longer a charge for the trundle and you get a free refridgerator. They usually do the trundles by age. I do believe it's up to 10 years old. I have done this a few times myself. The trundle slides out from under one of the beds so it is put away during the day and you have more room in your room. The resort has a nice big playground for the kids and I do believe 5 swiming pools located on property.

Hi KrissyBear! The first time that I met KrissyBear in person was at Riverside as a matter of fact. Her family loves that resort as much as mine does although they are a bit spoiled with the deluxe resorts as of late. :lol:

Good Luck!

Pam

 

[krissybear2003]

Hi Pam

She is right my kids absolutely LOVED that resort. We stayedin a house the last time we went and the kids were so disappointed that there wasn't a housekeeper thatfixedtheir stuffies in different ways. The rooms are really spacious, and are decorated great. The food court is awesome there is something there for everybody. The restaraunt is faboulous. I HIGHLY reccomendthis resort. Let me tell you thoughtthe price is nothing. We just stayed at a Holiday Inn in New York City for 300.00 a night. The room was tiny I sware that they converted a broom closet into a room. I kept telling my husband we could be staying at Riverside for alot less money and have a great pool. Good luck to all and if you need help with reservations contact Pam she is the best.