Accomodations for large families Resorts & Accomodations Discuss Accomodations for large families in the Vacation Planning forums; Our family of 6 (my husband, myself and our 4 children ages 9, 7, 5 and 3) are planning a trip to WDW this January. In the past, we have ...

[sweetpeamd]

Our family of 6 (my husband, myself and our 4 children ages 9, 7, 5 and 3) are planning a trip to WDW this January. In the past, we have stayed at the Beach Club in a standard room. This year, now that our youngest is 3, it seems that we may no longer fit into a standard room. Would it work to buy a vacation package for a standard room for all of us EXCEPT for the 3 yr old and then buy her park tickets and meals separately? If that is not allowed, which is more economical: adjoining rooms, a suite or a villa? We want to stay either at the Beach Club or the Polynesian and we do plan to get the regular dining plan. I would love to hear what others in our shoes have done. Thanks so much!

[zima-cheryl]

When our family went my Brother & SIL (+5 kids) did 2 adjoining rooms @ POP and it worked out okay for them. They paid for the 'fridge to be in the room so they had munchies for the kids in the room.

[nicks10]

An All Star Music family suite could be your best bet. Rates start at $184 I believe, check them out here All Star Music Photos

[kat228]

Your best bet will probably be either a villa or two adjoining rooms. Without ever staying in a villa, my best guess is that the 2 adjoining rooms at a deluxe would be cheaper than the villa since you might need to go with at least a 2 bedroom, if not a 3.

[Buzz2001]

I like the two adjoining rooms because you can get two bathrooms. CSR also offers jr suites that hold six.

[kat228]

The Jr Suite is a good idea. To my knowledge, it hasn't been rehabbed yet, but it should be done by October this year, which IMO is great if you're going in January. I travel quite a bit for work and I always look for hotels that are recently remodeled.

[monica31671]

Originally Posted by Buzz2001

I like the two adjoining rooms because you can get two bathrooms. CSR also offers jr suites that hold six.

Two bathrooms are always better than one!

The cabins at Ft. Wilderness are also an option.

[ruby6]

SweetPea - I was wondering what you ended up doing about accomodations. I am in your position as I plan for our family of 6 (9, 7, 5 and 2) for our Feb. trip.

This will be our first WDW trip, so any other large family tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

[Sharon&Randy]

Originally Posted by ruby6

SweetPea - I was wondering what you ended up doing about accomodations. I am in your position as I plan for our family of 6 (9, 7, 5 and 2) for our Feb. trip.

This will be our first WDW trip, so any other large family tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

We went this past Sept. Our children are 12,11,9, and 2. We stayed at the Polynesian. It was expensive but we were able to stay in one room since our youngest is 2. We requested a ground floor so when the 2 year old took a nap my husband and I took turns relaxing on the patio. 5 people plus a crib can stay at most deluxe. It was wonderful to able to experience such a great place. The next time we will probably go with adjoining rooms. Depending on the money situation it will be a value or moderate.
The rooms are large but it would have been nice to have 2 rooms.
We just figured this was the first and last time we as a family could do a deluxe.

[sweetpeamd]

We have, unfortunately , spoiled ourselves and have stayed at the Beach Club for the past 2 yrs. When it came time to schedule our Jan. 2010 trip, our youngest was 3, making our family 6 members. I called and spoke with a CM at length. We wanted to stay at the Beach Club, for sure. She said that we could do a 2 BR villa at Beach Club Villas or 2 adjoining rms at the Beach Club. The price was going to be almost equal. I told her that the 1 BR villa would be enough rm for us but she told me that it is their rule for families of 6+ to be in a 2 BR villa. B/C of the buy 4 get 3 deal, she suggested that it would be easier to apply the discount if we did the 2 BR villa rather than try to apply it to 2 separate rooms. We chose the villa. I am hoping that the villas have been updated like the Beach Club has been. Our room last yr was amazing.
We are doing the regular dining plan b/c we have found it to be a good deal for our family. We are big eaters and tend to prefer the more expensive items on the menu. It's nice to wind down the day with a table service meal each day, too.
Good luck with your plans and please let me know if you have any more questions about our family's experiences. BTW, our kids are 9, 7, 5 and 3 (I can't remember if I posted that before).

[sweetpeamd]

One more thing Ruby, if your youngest will be 2 during your trip, you can stay at a deluxe hotel (Beach Club, for example) in a regular room. We did it 2 yrs in a row when our youngest was under 3. They will even give you a cot (very nice) to use. The rooms are so big, we felt a little cramped but it wasn't too bad. The kids ate breakfast out on the veranda each morning. We never spend too much time in our room. The Beach Club's LOCATION, room size and beauty, pool and theming were our reasons for staying there. We spend a lot of time at Epcot and eat many dinners there so the Epcot resorts are very convenient for us.
And one more thing, our kids really enjoy collecting autographs from all of the characters. Buy an autograph book and large pen for each child and they will have so much fun searching for characters to sign their books. This year, we bought each of our kids a pin-trading starter set from the Disney store for them to try pin-trading. When they get tired and overwhelmed with all of the activity, it seems that the autographs and hopefully the pin-trading keep them entertained. Epcot World Showcase Kidcot fun stops are awesome too!!!

[williams]

We went Disney in the month of March 2009, stayed at Old Key West. It is really comfortable for us and charges are also reasonable. I loved having a kitchen so we could eat breakfast and snacks and enjoyed having a balcony.

Best Regards,

[kebdal23]

We have a very large family & thus have never ponied up the $ to stay on Disney grounds. I have never once stayed on Disney grounds. It's unfortunate that they can't offer a discount for the 2nd adjoining room...
We always end up getting a condo nearby or get two rooms at a cheap motel. The condos are great. I just wish Disney had more feasible options for large families on a budget...

[julielizabet]

We are also looking into a villa for our next trip (by then we'll have 3 kids) or possibly a FW Cabin. Let us know how it goes! I'm eager to learn from your experience.

[happycrafter207]

Originally Posted by williams

We went Disney in the month of March 2009, stayed at Old Key West. It is really comfortable for us and charges are also reasonable. I loved having a kitchen so we could eat breakfast and snacks and enjoyed having a balcony.

Best Regards,

we are going to wdw over the week of thanksgiving (family of 9) 7 adults and 1 4yr old and 1 4month old. we have a 3 bedroom villa at old key west. how was it getting to the bus and wait times? any other info would be great...a couple of us have been to wdw about 5 times but 2 adults and both children never before so its pretty exciting. my parents have never stayed on property before we normally get a rci resort about 10mins away for the world and my dad ends up having to drive us everywhere so it will be a nice change for him not having that stress.