Where to stay with a family of 5, or 6

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

We have made it to The World twice since the kids got older, in '08 and '10. Since we live too far away to make camping feasible, we flew down and stayed on-site. Both times we stayed at PO Riverside. We basically found 3 options: 2 rooms at a value resort, a suite at Pop Century, or Alligator Bayeau at POR. With 5 of us, we couldn't do single rooms in most of the resorts.

I'd like to get some input on on-site and off-site places for a family of 5, or 6 for that matter. We like to do the extra hours, so we stayed on-site, but there must be good places off-site as well.

Where do you prefer to go, on or off? I need some advance ideas for the next trip. I'm hoping for one in '12.

[Rhonda (aka Roz) 7]

My personal favorite resort, offsite, is the Sheraton Vistana Villas - on International Drive!  The resort is fantastic, with a really nice pool and other amenities.  The villas are beautiful!!  They are as nice (or nicer) than the DVC villas onsite at Disney, but less than half the price! 

They have 2 bedroom villas that have a full kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms, and laundry room.  The master bedroom has it's own bathroom, with a jacuzzi tub.  The 2nd bedroom has 2 queen beds, and is connected to the main bathroom.

I've been getting some really good rates for people lately too!  Let me know if you'd like a quote for a specific time, and I'll get it for you.  :)

If you'd rather book it on your own, here's their link:  http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=5607

DH and I are staying there next month for our anniversary!  ;D  :)

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Call Al, Rob.  I'm sure he can help you out.  If you need his # or email, PM me.

[Auntie 17]

We have made it to The World twice since the kids got older, in '08 and '10. Since we live too far away to make camping feasible, we flew down and stayed on-site. Both times we stayed at PO Riverside. We basically found 3 options: 2 rooms at a value resort, a suite at Pop Century, or Alligator Bayeau at POR. With 5 of us, we couldn't do single rooms in most of the resorts.

I'd like to get some input on on-site and off-site places for a family of 5, or 6 for that matter. We like to do the extra hours, so we stayed on-site, but there must be good places off-site as well.

Where do you prefer to go, on or off? I need some advance ideas for the next trip. I'm hoping for one in '12.

Have you thought of staying "Deluxe"?...I've got some room photos of the Polynesian  :wave1: posted in this forum, and you can see by the size of the room they easily accomodate five. There are two queen beds in addition to the day bed.

We've stayed there a few times. Never paid the rack rate. That's just ridiculous. As much as we love the resort..$400. 00 a night it is NOT worth. :dropjaw:.

That being said, a discounted rate of $238.00, seemed pretty good. Not a whole lot more than rack rate at the moderates depending on the time of year.

Of course you might also consider the cabins in FW for 5 or 6 people. Again, I wouldn't pay rack rate for them either, but with a decent discount that's another story.

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

"Discount" is the key word. Neither time we went had a decent discount offer on the deluxes, and the cabins are just as expensive. next time Down I wi work on my wife about renting an RV and staying at the Fort.

[Judy in Texas 150]

All Star Music Resort has family suites.  They've taken two rooms and made them into a suite.  One room is the original bedroom, a kitchenette, and a bathroom.  The other room is a livingroom with a foldout sofa bed and another bathroom.    I thought they were nice.

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

All Star Music Resort has family suites.  They've taken two rooms and made them into a suite.  One room is the original bedroom, a kitchenette, and a bathroom.  The other room is a livingroom with a foldout sofa bed and another bathroom.    I thought they were nice.

We looked at those. They end up being more expensive than POR, though it looks like more floor space. What made us stay with POR was the quality of the food court, plus a the smaller pools scattered around the resort, in addition to the big main one.

[Auntie 17]

"Discount" is the key word. Neither time we went had a decent discount offer on the deluxes, and the cabins are just as expensive. next time Down I wi work on my wife about renting an RV and staying at the Fort.

When is it you're thinking of going?

We've also found that if we purchase an annual pass, we get some decent discounts on the rooms. Only one person in your party needs it to secure the room discount. While it is never guaranteed that this will be a perk, we have found that they usually run a decent Annual Passholder discount. If you plan your trip right, you can get two trips out of the pass as well. As it's good for an entire year. If you visit just a week earlier the following year, you're getting two visits and the room discounts with that one annual pass. As I mentioned we had a rate of $238. (including tax) at the Poly, when it normally would have been $400.00. I would have had to purchase a pass either way, so forking over the extra bucks for the AP was worth it for the discount on the room alone.   

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

"Discount" is the key word. Neither time we went had a decent discount offer on the deluxes, and the cabins are just as expensive. next time Down I wi work on my wife about renting an RV and staying at the Fort.

When is it you're thinking of going?

We've also found that if we purchase an annual pass, we get some decent discounts on the rooms. Only one person in your party needs it to secure the room discount. While it is never guaranteed that this will be a perk, we have found that they usually run a decent Annual Passholder discount. If you plan your trip right, you can get two trips out of the pass as well. As it's good for an entire year. If you visit just a week earlier the following year, you're getting two visits and the room discounts with that one annual pass. As I mentioned we had a rate of $238. (including tax) at the Poly, when it normally would have been $400.00. I would have had to purchase a pass either way, so forking over the extra bucks for the AP was worth it for the discount on the room alone. 

Hmmm, food for thought.

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

"Discount" is the key word. Neither time we went had a decent discount offer on the deluxes, and the cabins are just as expensive. next time Down I wi work on my wife about renting an RV and staying at the Fort.

When is it you're thinking of going?

We've also found that if we purchase an annual pass, we get some decent discounts on the rooms. Only one person in your party needs it to secure the room discount. While it is never guaranteed that this will be a perk, we have found that they usually run a decent Annual Passholder discount. If you plan your trip right, you can get two trips out of the pass as well. As it's good for an entire year. If you visit just a week earlier the following year, you're getting two visits and the room discounts with that one annual pass. As I mentioned we had a rate of $238. (including tax) at the Poly, when it normally would have been $400.00. I would have had to purchase a pass either way, so forking over the extra bucks for the AP was worth it for the discount on the room alone. 

Hmmm, food for thought.

[vacamper 6]

We have rented this house 3 times.. [email protected].  $95 a night, private pool, 3 bedroom. Very clean and nice neighborhood.  Their neighbor takes care of the house and always checks in on you to see if you need anything or have any problems.  It is a 10 min. drive to disney.  We love having the extra room.  we split it with a family in april so we paid $50 a night, can't beat that.  Our friends parents liked it so much they rented it for a month once, and my bil has rented it 3 times also.  Just really nice folks to deal with.

[johnnyb aka John 15]

Hey Rob, never really looked into it, but a couple pictures I saw on here made me think about it.  How bout renting some DVC points (like on Ebay) and try the tree houses!!!  They look cool as heck, and I think they sleep a decent sized family!!! :rofl2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

We have rented this house 3 times.. [email protected].  $95 a night, private pool, 3 bedroom. Very clean and nice neighborhood.  Their neighbor takes care of the house and always checks in on you to see if you need anything or have any problems.  It is a 10 min. drive to disney.  We love having the extra room.  we split it with a family in april so we paid $50 a night, can't beat that.  Our friends parents liked it so much they rented it for a month once, and my bil has rented it 3 times also.  Just really nice folks to deal with.

Hey Rob, we rented a house on or last trip too.  It was awesome!  Paid about the same as Amanda.  Having the private pool was awesome.  Ours was 4 bedroom and 3 bath.  There are a ton of houses to choose from.  I could get you a link if you are interested.

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

We have rented this house 3 times.. [email protected].  $95 a night, private pool, 3 bedroom. Very clean and nice neighborhood.  Their neighbor takes care of the house and always checks in on you to see if you need anything or have any problems.  It is a 10 min. drive to disney.  We love having the extra room.  we split it with a family in april so we paid $50 a night, can't beat that.  Our friends parents liked it so much they rented it for a month once, and my bil has rented it 3 times also.  Just really nice folks to deal with.

Hey Rob, we rented a house on or last trip too.  It was awesome!  Paid about the same as Amanda.  Having the private pool was awesome.  Ours was 4 bedroom and 3 bath.  There are a ton of houses to choose from.  I could get you a link if you are interested.

Any links would be greatly appreciated. I don't see us down there this year, but I sure hope for 2012.

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

Hey Rob, never really looked into it, but a couple pictures I saw on here made me think about it.  How bout renting some DVC points (like on Ebay) and try the tree houses!!!  They look cool as heck, and I think they sleep a decent sized family!!! :heart:

Where are they? For some reason I think I should know, but I'm not picturing it right now.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Hey Rob, here is a link to what we rented. 

I'll tell you, we really liked the house but it wasn't the best house available.  But, we wanted to bring our dogs and this one was pet friendly.  And considering they allowed pets, it was very clean.  All tile floors helped a lot. 

If you don't have pets, there are probably some better ones available on the VRBO.com site.  you can do a search. 

[~Kristina~ 10]

We stayed at POR in 09 with 4 children.  It was cramp and we considered going DVC. The catch was we were planning to have another baby and couldn't do both.  We did the DVC tour and had to the end of the month to decide.  The day before the deadline I got a + pregnancy test.  So we bought our HTT.  We can't afford 2 rooms or the family suite AND tickets.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

Have you thought about Bonnet Creek? It's on property near the studios and BW but isn't a disney resort. Lots of folks really enjoy it and the activities schedule is great for enjoying the resort on off-park days.

I've booked clients there in condos there before for $129 a night. More typically, rates are around $180-$225 a night though. A 2 bedroom there should sleep 8 and have cooking/laundry facilities in the unit which helps keep costs down with larger families too.

For those who don't mind doing the timeshare tour, there can be even better deals available but I've never done those so can't say how pushy they are after the tour. DH did a tour once 20+ years ago for that campground resort in Gettysburg and, no matter what they offer now, I can't get him to tolerate another timeshare tour pitch.

[loriandmatt 2]

we once took along my MIL and my niece so we were also looking at lodging for a party of 6.  did the onsite math and it just was not adding up.  family suites were more than two rooms.  POR has those trundle beds, but still....too crowded. 

i started looking off site and thought the magic would be crushed.  i was totally wrong!

We stayed at Windsor Hills and rented from these folks.  http://www.themagicorlandorental.com/  (can i do that or did i just break a rule?  crap.  don't kick me off jen.  perhaps i should put a legal blurb in here about not being affiliated....blah blah blah)

loved the house.  great decor.  the kids loved the mickey themed room.  very very clean.  best part.....3 full bathrooms!!!    tons of room, its a 3 bedroom house with a full kitchen and pool.  no lie....commute to WDW property was 5 min tops.  the price was CHEAPER than two value rooms on property.  the private "splash pool" was small but more than good enough to dip in.  the main pool at the resort was very nice too, but being zero entry it was quite shallow.  but that is my one and only gripe...and that ain't much. 

i could gush about it more, but will hold that until solicited.

one side note....off site is only less expensive if you were already going to rent a car or have one with you anyway.  if you have to add in the cost of a rental, it may be cheaper to just get the two value rooms onsite.

don't get me wrong, onsite rocks and if conditions are right, it is the way we go.  however, if i have a group larger than 4, if i could afford a cabin at the Fort i would go that route....but i can't.  off site was an affordable, attractive,  fun alternative

[disney4dan 68]

We just booked a 7 night stay at Pop Century for August using a PIN code that got us the free dining.  We considered POR, but we were able to get two standard rooms at Pop Century, added cost of table service dining, still about $1,000 less than POR.  And we now have two bathrooms and 4 beds instead of 2 beds and trundle bed.

We were not planning the trip for this year, but my Brother in Law wanted to go with us again and his kids are 6 and 3.  We of course got the "fever" and started pricing things out.  Really wanted to go camping at the Fort, but I can't take a full two weeks off, and the cost of fuel was going to be pretty high (looks even higher now).  So we scored some airfare for $184 roundtrip and will be down there this August.  If you see me melted into the pavement, please smile as you scrape me off your shoe!  I expect to be totally exhausted from the heat, but will die with a smile on my face!

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

We just booked a 7 night stay at Pop Century for August using a PIN code that got us the free dining.  We considered POR, but we were able to get two standard rooms at Pop Century, added cost of table service dining, still about $1,000 less than POR.  And we now have two bathrooms and 4 beds instead of 2 beds and trundle bed.

Be sure to give us a review of the Pop. I haven't talked to anyone that stayed there, and we've considered it before. Having two bathrooms is quite an incentive if the resort is OK.

[vacamper 6]

Rob, I enjoyed pop,  Room might be a tad smaller than port orleans but the atmosphere for kids was great.  They will like the pool.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

POP has the food court that's open latest on property too - or did at any rate, I haven't been lately. Late night snacks might not be a biggie for most, but make a huge difference if it's 11-ish and you haven't had dinner yet. We had way too many extra DDP credits to burn before midnight a few years back and started in the studios, then headed to DTD. After Earl of Sandwich & Goofy's candy closed it was too late to do much else with our excess "use or lose" credits.

Then someone suggested driving over to POP's food court. Sure enough, it was open til midnight and the food choices looked very nice even that late at night. We closed the place down, and headed back to the BC with full tunnies... and even fuller take-out bags for lunch the next day.

Now why can't they keep something besides room service open that late around YC/BC, I ask ya?? People in deluxe resorts need a midnight snack occassionally too... :banana:

[stacktester 78]

Rob, I enjoyed pop,  Room might be a tad smaller than port orleans but the atmosphere for kids was great.  They will like the pool.

Oh, you take your kids to Disney? I thought you just did the wild women weekends. Oh that's right, you did bring them once. ONCE.

[vacamper 6]

Rob, I enjoyed pop,  Room might be a tad smaller than port orleans but the atmosphere for kids was great.  They will like the pool.

Oh, you take your kids to Disney? I thought you just did the wild women weekends. Oh that's right, you did bring them once. ONCE.

I occasionally treat them to something special.