Two adults taking 6 kids for 2 weeks. Are we nuts or can it be done?

[McArcDes]

My girl friend and I are taking our 6 kids (4 are mine and 2 are hers) for a 2 week vacation to WDW next year. Have any of you done this and what advice do you have for us? One other thing, her son who will be 5 when we go is Autistic. The others are aged 13 (G), 11 (G), 8 (G), 7 (B), 4 (G). I apreciate any advice you all could give us.

 

[venooch333]

Eat early in the evening!! The kids will get restless the l8r u go and also other people aorund u will become frustrated and annoyed if ur children begin to make noise! The noise factor normally isn't a problem in early evening because nearly every table has children!! Hope this helps :king:

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I would contact Guest Relations concerning a Guest Assistance pass for the child who is Autistic (Spelling is off I think). They might be able to help you out or at least give you some tips.

You will be fine. Try to plan out what you want to see ahead of time so that everybody will agree. Also, you may want to buy the Official For Kids By Kids Disney Book. It's a great guide and can be picked up at The Disney Store!

Have a wonderful trip!

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[Trishnh]

you are brave!

:lol:

It can be done, but I would say just make sure you are flexible! We have gone several times with our 4 kids (ages 9,8,5 with down syndrome, and 2) and it is crazy sometimes (as is life :lol: ) but it is a lot of fun. I think you have the advantage of having kids a little older who can help you out with the younger ones.

Guest relations should be able to help you out with your friend's autistic child if he requires any special assistance.

Obviously you will need 2 rooms, which is kind of nice to have the space, anyway.

 

[Laura]

Wow! I think I'd be spending a lot of time at the hotel pool. That would be the least stressful activity!

 

[barnum42]

I have no kids so I don't feel in a position to give advice. But I think Laura22 is on to something

With two weeks you can really afford to take things at a steady pace rather than a mad dash because "we must see X, Y and Z" before the day is done or our itinerary will be all shot.

You also have lots of time to plan out your options, pick the brains of the folk here and I would also suggest you look at the info on http://allearsnet.com/ where they have lots of planning advice.

 

[swimmom]

Speaking from experience, if your 11 & 13 year old girls are not early risers, don't push too many early entry days. My daughter is now 15 and we don't do early entry days at all anymore. We have a much better time staying at the parks late and letting my daughter sleep til 8:00ish so that she doesn't start the day out crabby!

 

[maelstrom]

It depends on what kind of kids they are. We (myself, my parents, and my aunt & uncle) went with my cousin (she turned 2 down there) for a few days, and it was hard for the five of us adults to handle the one terrible-two. You're definately taking on something huge by taking SIX kids to WDW! I wish you the best of luck!

 

[AliciaLuvzDizne]

Speaking from experience, if your 11 & 13 year old girls are not early risers, don't push too many early entry days. My daughter is now 15 and we don't do early entry days at all anymore. We have a much better time staying at the parks late and letting my daughter sleep til 8:00ish so that she doesn't start the day out crabby!

haha me too when i was her age!!



im going to suggest sitting down and talking to the older ones before you go. tell them you really want to go and have a good time but since so many of you are going, you need their cooperation...because you sure will. but i think as long as you can count on some help, you'll be fine! and the advice about calling guest services is a great idea have fun!!

 

[ZHoyt]

Make sure to do lots of research on things to do. 2 weeks is a lot of time to fill, even at an extremely leisurely pace, which I advise you take. Don't get overly excited and wear yourselves out. Make sure to spread out and do things outside the four parks. There are tons of planned activities for kids like the pirate adventure at the Grand Floridian, make sure to find them. Good luck!

 

[disneydummy125]

Just don't force the kids to do anything that they don't want to do. Also, take LOTS of breaks!


Good Luck! :wave:

 

[McArcDes]

Thanks for all the tips. I did not even think of calling guest services about my GF son. Taking it easy and asking the older kids to help out a bit is a great ideas too....We decided today to go over Halloween 05. We are not sure if we are going to fly or drive. With 8 of us going that will be a lot in airfare. We could rent a van and drive in two days, have a car to get around to all the off site things we want to see. That may make better $$ sense. Any suggestions on a Hotel? I have stayed at CBR, POR, CS and WL. I would love to stay at the WL but that may not be affordable.
My oldest kids loved the pool and play ground at CS.

 

[phlydude]

For 8 of you, you might as well rent a house of site. You are going to have to get 2 rooms no matter what resort you go to unless you want to shell out thousands for a DVC villa home.

 

[disneytati]

Of course it can be done! All the tips people have given you are perfect, and I think you will manage it quite well. I used to take 40 teenagers in those huge tour groups! Talk about insanity! :lol: I am taking my baby to WDW in December, let's see what happens... How far are you from WDW? Kids can get really bored if they get stuck in a car for too long. And believe me, the way back can be unbearable! If you are not too far, renting a big (huge) van would be great.

I hope you have a nice trip! :wave:

 

[McArcDes]

I am considering renting a house off site...My GF has said though she wants to stay on site...As for Driving we have done it down and back 3 times. (only 4 of us for 1 of them and 5 the other 2) We live In Massachusetts 1442 miles away from the parks. Straight through it takes 26 hours to drive. We do have family in VA. (12 hour drive) so we are thinking of stopping there over night. We may actually invite them to go along so we have a better adult to child ratio. One thing I can say for driving there it really builds the excitement the closer you get and when you see the first WDW sign. We video taped our arrival on Disney property the first time we drove. You should here me! I sound like Clark Griswald in the first Vacation movie when they finally get to "Wally World" (I know I am a sick sick man)

What about Fort Wilderness? Has anyone stay there? Tent camping, Travel trailer, Motor Home?

 

[jordanyosh]

I guess my advice would be to stay on-site. With any person with any disability, it is nice to have the extra option to split up the party. If for some reason, your autistic child or any of your children for that matter, has to take a break from the action, you can then split the group and some of you can stay at the theme parks and the others can go back to the hotel. This would not be an option if you were staying off-site in a rental home.

There is a website, www.wdwinfo.com, that has discussion boards like these. There is even a forum for folks with disabilities. I know there have been several threads concerning autistic children and it seems like folks had some great tips and info for other parents. I would check there for any helpful suggestions. I think there was a thread in the General Discussion forum in this website called "teary eyed experiences" and one poster had an autistic child..you may want to find that thread and contact that poster for some tips.

Good luck to you...

 

[phlydude]

Since you live in MA, I feel obligated to point out that JetBlue is running $49 each way fares from Logan to Orlando. Don't know if the fares will be available for your trip but it may be worth looking into.

An RV could be an option at Fort Wilderness but unless you drive long haul trucks for a living, you may find challenges driving a RV that is big enough to accomodate the entire family. On top of that, staying for 2 weeks in an RV with 7 other people can wear people down!

 

[MichRX7]

Last trip we had two adults, we stayed 9 days and somehow managed 6 kids with very few problems. They ranged in age from 15 to 3 (mainly in the 3-5 y/old range).

We stayed in our Airstream in Fort Wilderness. We love FW.

On a previous trip our neighbor stayed in one of the cabins. It could easily handle two adults and six kids. Just bring some sleeping bags. :lol:

 

[disneytati]

One thing I can say for driving there it really builds the excitement the closer you get and when you see the first WDW sign. We video taped our arrival on Disney property the first time we drove. You should here me! I sound like Clark Griswald in the first Vacation movie when they finally get to "Wally World" (I know I am a sick sick man)

I have it videotaped too!!! The purple and red signs, the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, the parking lot, the turnstiles, Main Street, Castle, turning left, Frontierland, and..... Splash Mountain!!!!!! Now I am finnally at WDW!!! (I am a sick, sick woman, too... :wave: )

 

[slappy magoo]

According to an unofficial guide I have on me (NOW who's sick?), autumn is usually very light when it comes to crowds. That means, even though the parks will close earlier, you'll have much shorter lines, making it easier to get more done in a day. As long as the kids can keep up with their homework, it seems like a great time to go.

I don't know what your budget will be like, but if you want to stay on site, I'd suggest getting at least one annual pass. This will give you access to much better room rates reserved for passholders, and I'm pretty sure one annual pass will allow you to book up to 3 rooms at a time. Perhaps you can get connecting or at least next-door rooms at Port Orleans Riverside. Food court's awesome, and I bet the kids will love the pool there (don't know about the entire age range of the kids, either). You might be able to get away with Park-Hopper Passes for the rest of the group, with the intention of spending some quiet days lounging at the pool, or maybe days at non-Disney attractions like Universal or Sea World. But the money you'll save on room fees will probably more than make up for the added expense of one annual pass. AND if you plan on going to the parks every day, annual passes for everyone! (hey, what do I care, it's not MY money. HAHA!).

I'd also look up some of the free/inexpensive things to do on-property. Trail's End Buffet at Fort Wilderness is one of the best meal deals on the property, and they also have free campfire singalongs & movies every night at Fort Wilderness. When doing meals, think about going for more buffet-type meals, so everyone can really stock up. Like, bagels and cereal for early breakfast, followed by a buffet/family-style late breakfast or lunch, and a fast food dinner. Also see about renting a refrigerator.

If you're not flying to Orlando, rent a van at the airport. All the kids would require a lot of bus shuttle fees, and it might be problemativ getting them all one one bus, and having transportation will allow you to save money on meals off-property some times. If you can't rent a van or other large vehicle, you'll probably save money hiring a town car to get there and back.

Good luck