Six at Disney?

[Duchesse]

My girlfriend is thinking of going to Disney with her kids for the first time. She has four children and I don't know what her options are as far as which resorts can accomodate them without breaking the bank. WOuld she need two rooms? Thanks....

 

[Philo]

Maybe one of the villas or staying at fort wilderness would be a good option - sorry, I dn't really know enough about room sizes to offer more help.

 

[Nansafan]

Many of the deluxe resorts accomodate 5 (Poly, GF, Contemporary, Yacht, Beach for example) 2 queen beds and a day bed. As far as the moderates, she would need 2 rooms (requesting connecting rooms) same with the value resorts. The All Star Music resort does offer family suites that sleep up to 6. I am not a fan of booking a room on the Disney website but I do like it for research. (Once we found Kingdom Konsultants, we became customers for life.) If she goes to the website and sets up a "dummy" vacation entering 6 people, she can get an idea of what options are available and the approximate cost.

 

[H20Babie]

It depends on how old the children are ... if one is under the age of 3, then the deluxes mentioned above, plus the moderate Port Orleans Riverside (rooms in the Alligator Bayou section have trundle beds), would all be good options. Children under the age of 3 are not included in the "5 guests" maximum room count.

Th other option would be the All Stars Music Family Suites or the FW cabins, both of which accomodate 6, or paying for 2 rooms at a value or moderate resort to keep costs down.

If staying off property is something she would consider, there are some great vacations homes close by with their own pools, extra bathrooms, etc. (but she would miss out on the perks such as EMH).

AllEars (http://www.allearsnet.com/) is a great site for on property accomodation descriptions, photos and rates, and MouseSavers (http://www.mousesavers.com/wdw.html) is a good place to start for off-property accomodations.

Hope this helps some

 

[Trishnh]

AS A FAMILY OF 6, WE USUALLY FIND IT MUCH CHEAPER TO BOOK 2 ROOMS AT A MODERATE OR VALUE RESORT. THE CABINS ARE NICE TOO BUT I WASNT A HUGE FAN OF THEM..THE ADVANTAGE IS THEY HAVE A FULL KITCHEN SO YOU CAN SAVE SOME MONEY THERE, BUT THERE WAS NO PLACE TO PUT YOUR CLOTHES & STUFF..WE HAD OUR CLOTHES IN THE KITCHEN CABINETS! PLUS, WITH THE 2 ROOMS YOU GET 2 BATHROOMS WHICH IS GREAT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

(SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS)

 

[eroyee]

Depending on the kids ages, I would suggest 2 rooms at a Value resort. You would have 2 bathrooms, which would be extra nice.

 

[happymom52003]

I just went through this helping a friend plan a trip. For a familly of 6 (with kids all over the age of three) these are the only options: a family suite at All Star Music, a cabin at Ft. Wilderness, a two bedroom Vacation Club Villa, two rooms at any resort, or stay off property.

 

[smk]

I love the cabins at FW. As someone stated before the cabins have a full kitchen and all the eating utensils, pots and pans etc....needed to make a meal or two, including a dishwasher, stove and full size frig. Also, FW has many things to keep kids occupied, plenty of play ground areas and outdoor movies, pools, petting zoo. We have never stayed at the "suites" offered at All Star Music but have heard they are okay, two rooms would at a value would work as well and be cheaper than one cabin at FW. We have done that as well and it worked out okay, but our kids were older and able to stay alone in their room (we went with "extra" teens over spring break, juniors in high school, all girls).

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

Were in the same boat with 4 kids. We are trying two Value rooms this time around. Were going in August this year ( I know Its hot, but its the only few weeks we have this year). Were in the POP. The AS Family suite was $184. the two rooms are $130. The FW Cabibs were $280ish. Were hoping to get joined rooms, if not at least side by side rooms when we get there. We had all packed into 1 POP room in the past when we had one under 3 in a crib, but there getting too big to fit now. (And I always get scolded on her for not playing by the rules. So I have reformed, and will be legal now.) If we had the extra money for the 10 days , we would most likely pick the AS Suite, but its over $500 more for the stay, so were going to 2 room it. We wish there were slightly bigger rooms, not suites, that allowd a family of six to saty. I dot know what fire codes would have to be met room size, or exit wise, but a more affordable alternative would be nice. Maybe a slightly oversized room at the unfinishes POP would be a stellar Idea. Slightly less $$ than a Family suite, but just a little more $$ than 1 room. Are you listneng Mickey?? Help out the "happy sized" families a little. Your driving alot of "bigger" families off site because of the cost. Oh, and the trade off with two rooms, is no "kitchenette, but you do get 4 more comfortable beds, rather than all the 1 queen, fold out chair, couch, and ottoman that are in the Family Suites.

 

[Nansafan]

Were in the same boat with 4 kids. We are trying two Value rooms this time around. Were going in August this year ( I know Its hot, but its the only few weeks we have this year). Were in the POP. The AS Family suite was $184. the two rooms are $130. The FW Cabibs were $280ish. Were hoping to get joined rooms, if not at least side by side rooms when we get there. QUOTE]

Remember to ask for connecting rooms if you want rooms with a connecting door. Adjoining rooms means near each other, could be next door, across the hall or down the hall. We found this the hard way. If you explain that only children will be in the next room, they really try to honor this request. If you've already made your reservation you might want to call right away and have this noted on the reservation so that when the room is assigned, it could be blocked out for you. (This was told to us by our travel agent.)

 

[scottinredstick]

I know this maybe blasphemy but you may want to look into some of the suite hotels off site. I think there are a couple in the downtown disney area.

 

[NadieMasK2]

You might want to look into something like the Bonnet Creek Resort. They have 2 bedroom, roomy condos. They are within Disney property, near Epcot, but NOT a Disney resort so you don't get EMH or bus transportation, although I hear they do have a shuttle. I haven't stayed there myself but have considered it.

 

[smk]

Were in the same boat with 4 kids. We are trying two Value rooms this time around. Were going in August this year ( I know Its hot, but its the only few weeks we have this year). Were in the POP. The AS Family suite was $184. the two rooms are $130. The FW Cabibs were $280ish. Were hoping to get joined rooms, if not at least side by side rooms when we get there. QUOTE]

Remember to ask for connecting rooms if you want rooms with a connecting door. Adjoining rooms means near each other, could be next door, across the hall or down the hall. We found this the hard way. If you explain that only children will be in the next room, they really try to honor this request. If you've already made your reservation you might want to call right away and have this noted on the reservation so that when the room is assigned, it could be blocked out for you. (This was told to us by our travel agent.)

I didn't think there were "connecting" rooms at the values. I don't know that I have ever seen a door in my room to another room but I could be wrong. Never hurts to ask.

I also like the idea of a two queen beds and the day bed offered at the Poly and the Contemporary. We have stayed at both as well and those rooms are very big compared to the small rooms at the values. Never stayed at a moderate, can't comment on those, although everyone here on this site loves POFQ! I do know that you cannot make a reservation for 6 people at any of the resorts I listed above unless one person is under three (?) and/or sleeps in a crib. Five people is the max in the rooms.

 

[Nemo14]

I didn't think there were "connecting" rooms at the values. I don't know that I have ever seen a door in my room to another room but I could be wrong. Never hurts to ask.

I also like the idea of a two queen beds and the day bed offered at the Poly and the Contemporary. We have stayed at both as well and those rooms are very big compared to the small rooms at the values. Never stayed at a moderate, can't comment on those, although everyone here on this site loves POFQ! I do know that you cannot make a reservation for 6 people at any of the resorts I listed above unless one person is under three (?) and/or sleeps in a crib. Five people is the max in the rooms.

There definitely are connecting rooms at the values, and they do their best to honor family requests for them. That being said, with a family of 6, you could save substantially by staying off-site in a condo or villa, even if you rent a car. In the past few years, we've found that Disney has really outpriced themselves out of this market for the average family.
JMHO

 

[3fordisney]

There are connecting rooms at the value resorts. We have requested connecting rooms and received it on 2 of our trips. Last year we were at Pop Century, traveling with the in-lawa and we had connecting rooms. We made our request when we made our reservations and did so again when we checked in. Its not a guarantee, but it never hurts to ask when you make your reservations and upon check in!

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

We looked into off site, just because of the money. Two rooms at POP are only going to be $130 when we go, so anything off site that fits 6 wasnt a whole lot cheaper. Most of the options were only $10 - $20 cheaper, and thats just not worth losing a little of the magic for. And we have stayed at a few, including a HoJo, a Days Inn, and a Comfort inn, because we arrived early when we drove a few times, and there were no rooms to add on the front of our stay. They were all so filthy, and old compared to anything on site. I dont see how the one HoJo we stayed at ever got more stars / diamonds, than Disney's value reorts, form various travle rating groups. Id would have rather stayed in the car that night instaed of the HoJO. We made the kids wear thier socks that night. it was just gross. If it wasn't so late, and we were actually awake, we would have checked right back our and got our oney back. WE did call when we got, and actually got 1/2 the room rate refunded, and a 1/2 off voucher fo any HoJo hotel. though.