Room for a family of 5?

[nvmom]

We are noticing reduced air faires to Orlando and are considering the idea of a DW trip instead of a DL trip, perhaps in mid May.

I'm looking at the property resorts and I'm not seeing options in the moderate category for a room for a family of 5? Do any of them have 2 Queens & a sleeper sofa? Or do you have to go deluxe to get something like that? We do like a little space in our room when we travel so I just can't imagine a standard room with a roll away squeezed in.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

nvmom

[GusMan]

There are rooms at Port Orleans Riverside that have a trundle bed. However, they are best suited for a smaller child, tween age or younger. Depending on the ages of those in your traveling party, that might work.

Most of the moderates have two full size beds, not queens. You can get a rollaway for around $15/night, but it does then get a little cramped when it is not folded up. But then again, you have to think about how much time will you spend in the room anyway.

Another option might be the Family Suites at the ASMusic resort, which sleep 6.. The only item there to consider is that there is only one queen bed with the others being fold-out sofa and chairs. (They are not your "typical" fold-outs.) If you are traveling with three kids, that might be something to consider as well and you get much more space and a kitchenette for about the same price of a Moderate with a rollaway.

[anniedg]

We love POR (Port Orleans Riverside) and have used the trundle beds quite a bit. Be sure to let them know you need an Alligator Bayou room with a trundle bed. We've never had trouble getting a trundle bed room when we requested it, but do be sure to request it at time of reservation. It's tight quarters, but I do think it's the cheapest way to fit five in a room at WDW. Unless regulations have changed they won't let you have 5 people in a value room, we were told it's against fire regulations.

If you want to have a bit more room and can spend a little more, I think GusMan's idea of an AS Music suite is a great one, or two adjoining rooms at any value. There are also the Fort Wilderness cabins which have a lot more room with a full kitchen.

Hope it works out - happy planning!!

[momof three]

I have the family of five dilemma all the time at W.D.W. since we have three kidos. The above information from the others, as depressing as it may be for a larger family, is accurate.

I also hate cramming us all in one room and sharing one bath. You're going to have to examine your wallet and figure out if it's worth it to you to stay on site. Only you can decide if it's worth the extra cash to you to enjoy the amenities Disney offers.

Since you are thinking of coming in May there is a huge sliver linning for you. Disney is currently offering the pay 4 days stay 3 more free if you book by 1/24/09. This means you would save a lot of cash booking this deal as apposed to traveling at another date. If you do go this route I personally would book either two value rooms or a family suite over the other Disney options. By doing this you not only have two rooms but you also get two bathrooms. We have done the whole trundel bed thing at P.O. Riverside and it is doable. I won't however embellish the truth. By day three of this stay I was thinking being single and childless again sounded fantastic!

If you do decide to stay off site do yourself a huge favor and rent a car. The off site hotel shuttles are just not worth the dealing with.

Also, if you do go off site you might consider looking into a condo or vacation home rental. We do this a lot if we are staying for a week. It's very nice to have the space, a full kitchen and a washer and dryer. We usally save quite a bit of money off our food bill by doing some simple meals at the condo or house. The big down side to this is no maid service. My family has learned if they want a happy Momma they best pick up after themselves and help out at meal time when we vacation this way. No way am I spending my vacation cooking and cleaning. It's a trade off but we like the space a condo/ home provides.

I live in Florida and love May here. The weather is still nice and our peak tourist season is done. It's a great time to go to Disney.

Mily

[nvmom]

Thank you so much for this helpful info. And now, a few more questions :)

-Our children are 14, 11 & 6, so a trundle is no problem. I will look into that.

-I did look at the Fort Wilderness cabins. You certainly get more space for you money w/these cabins. I couldn't find any pics of the pool and recreations areas to get a sense of how nice they were.

-We would consider a vacation home rental except we have no desire to drive in the Orlando area at all. Having lived in a rural area we are out of practice for city driving not to mention that we drive 2.5 hrs to a bigger town to an airport, doctors, etc. So not driving at all is part of the vacation for us :) lol

-Dh & I have been to WDW last March for a brief 2.5 day stay. We stayed at Swan/Dolphin which we loved! We loved that whole area because you were walking distance to Epcot, and we loved Epcot. Plus, coming from DLR it was nice to be walking distance to a park. :) Does the Boardwalk have options for a 5th person in a room? Of course then we're looking at a deluxe.

nvmom

[momof three]

Yes, the Boardwalk does offer two queens and a day bed (a twin bed) in the rooms that sleep five. They also have two bedroom villas for vacation club members that if available you could do. These are pricey but very nice. It's a great resort, if you can affored to stay here, you will love it. If I could affored it I would stay there in a heartbeat. I would also love to stay across the lake at the Yachat/Beach Club. They offer the same type of rooms as the Boardwalk and you can still walk to Epcot and The Studios. They have an amazing pool that your kids will love!

We have stayed in The Ft. Wildreness Cabins once. They are large and we found it very nice. The campground is huge and there is tons to do there. Nightly campfires, a petting zoo, horseback ridding, and bike rentals the list goes on and on. I found two very silly things that buged me about staying here. First the pools. They were just big cement ponds to me. Very unDisney and no slides on the pools. Word is they are supposed to upgrade these but so far no change. The second thing was that the place is so huge that they have there own internal bus system. You have to catch an internal bus and take it to the Settlement or Outpost and then transfer to either a boat or another bus to get to the parks or else where on property. It's doable just make sure you allow time for this. I know it's silly and I wouldn't let it stop me from staying there again. I just would have liked to known this before I stayed to better prepare. I'm a freak about about knowing all the little details. It really was an enjoyable place to stay.

Mily

[tjrj]

One more thing-does bed-size matter to the adults in the party? As well as that adult space thing. I was giving the Cabins at Ft. Wilderness a look-like the extra space and the outdoorsy feel as well as a full kitchen. Couple of things, put me off-as Mom of three said-pools look not-so-great and the internal bus system thing was just too much for me. But the deal-breaker was the double bed and the bunk beds in the only "bedroom". DH would get the bed and I'd get the bunk bed(I'm a foot shorter so it'd would for me over him). Sons would take the Murphy bed or one of the foldouts in the front room. Sorry-but not sure I could take a twin for a full week.

Reasons we booked the family suites at Music-queen bed; two baths; newer than the Cabins; no internal bus; location-all suites are in a preferred section at Music. Still get that extra space-though not the outdoor "home" feel and at least a kitchenette. Now, if a wonderful code comes out that could be applied for our dates, hotel might change, but for now I'm satisfied.

[nvmom]

My dh isn't really into the idea of Ft Wilderness.... so we shall set that idea aside. :)
We can deal w/a double bed... it isn't our first choice and I guess I'm surprised that Disney can't do queens in moderate rooms? which makes me nervous about the size of the room in general.

I'll take a look at the Boardwalk. I'm sure it's out of our price range...
And I'll look at the suites at Music.

nvmom

[anniedg]

Well, sounds like you've ruled out FW, but thought I'd thrown in that I'm right with momofthree. We really liked FW, but were also underwhelmed by the pools both because there was little to no theming and because it was a bit of a trek from our cabin to get to them. We also used our rental car quite a bit to avoid the internal bus issue. We loved the overall feel of FW and I'd absolutely stay there again, but to us those were real issues.

If you're checking out the deluxes be prepared for sticker shock, but realize as you're comparing that many of them sleep 5 comfortably. When our 4th was an infant we actually had 6 of us in a Beach Club room and it was just fine. Just like Boardwalk they have 2 queens and a daybed. I'm with you! It was heavenly to be able to walk to EPCOT and the Studios. Love, love, love the EPCOT resort area!! Unfortunately we haven't gone near a deluxe since 1995 when #4 hit 3yo and they wouldn't let us cram 6 in a room anymore :|

To each his own, but for us it's worth having less living space and being onsite at Disney. I do think your most economical option is an AB room at POR. If you go that route, we like building 14.

[momuvseven]

Hi NV mom, I live an hour or so south of you between the dairy and the alfalfa fields. I just got done shopping and the best prices I found were for the family music suite through SWA. I was about to go for it but then chopped our budget in half by going to Expedia and shopping our dates there. We are staying in a vacation home. I understand the whole not wanting to drive thing but we can handle it for the price difference since it will allow us more space and the money to vacation again later in the year. We also shopped the same dates going to DLR and found it would cost us more. That was pretty shocking so we decided this must be the year for us to go to WDW. I looked at rates last year for August and we couldn't do it because it would have been close to 10K for our large family. Good thing that didn't work out because I understand the humidity is horrible that time of year.

Have fun!

[tjrj]

I guess I'm surprised that Disney can't do queens in moderate rooms? which makes me nervous about the size of the room in general.

I'll take a look at the Boardwalk. I'm sure it's out of our price range...
And I'll look at the suites at Music.

nvmom


Disney does do queens in moderates-as of fall '08 Coronado Springs has queens-but only two. Guess the kiddos could "fight"-over who gets to sleep in the rollaway each night. Rollaways are extra-think in the $15-20 range for each night. But...space will be real tight-same as POR-CSR rooms are 314 sq. ft. My boys(teens) and I were at CBR(340 sq. ft) for a week, fine but you'll be adding 2 people to a bit less than that space.

The proximity to Epcot(for any of those deluxes) would be really, really wonderful for me, but no way the budget could swing that high-and we'd lose the 2nd bath and the separate bedroom.

[nvmom]

Thank you for your continued advice. Much appreciated :)

nvmom

[mickeymom5]

We stayed in the ASMu family suite during the first week in September. It was a life saver. Family members were: Me, DH, SIL, and our three kids (ages 11, 8 and 2). We were in Room #438 (first floor) on the back side of Building #10. It was close to the food court and bus stops, yet really quiet. My SIL slept with my eight year old on the fold out couch and she said it was comfortable. The kitchenette and two bathrooms were great!

For the price, the family suites were great. This was our second stay in a value and we had superb service.

[nvmom]

So Cornoda & Caribbean Beach will let you put 5 in the room.... you just have to do a roll away or bring an aerobed or something for your 5th person?

nvmom

[momof three]

Sorry but no. The max is four to a room at Coronado (accept jr. suites and this is very pricey)and Caribbean Beach. The only mod that allows five is P.O.R. While it may be tempting to do this you are breaking the rules and can get kicked out.

[Rooj1949]

nvmom,

Same problem for me, so for comfort and convenience and price.
Allstar Music Suite, Sleeps up to 6. check out www.allears.net for pictures. Once you see the room you'll know what I mean.

Also they have a kitchenette, think morning breakfast on occasion. Starting out on a full stomach is a good way to save. Enjoy!