I am planning WAY ahead for my families first trip to WDW. My wife and I did go on our honeymoon back in 93 but we are ready to take the family.

Two boys 9 and 1, Two girls 7 and 3. We probably won't go until next summer or next fall (2008).

I want to stay on the property but I don't really know what I am doing.
I need a good space with enough beds (at least 3) to handle my family.

Also suggestions for food would be nice. Like I said, WDW newbie and this is the first day of my gathering info to make this big trip.

You aren't planning way ahead at all. Look at some people's countdowns. So don't worry you aren't out of the ordinary at all!

I don't know how much money you are planning on spending. You can do two connecting (or is adjoining...they mean two different things and I always forget which one is the one with the door inbetween) rooms at a Value or a Moderate resort. If you really want to splurge you can do 2 rooms at a Deluxe. You can stay at a Fort Wilderness cabin. You can do a 2 bedroom villa at a DVC resort. There are so many different choices but it's your decision on how much money you are willing to spend.

There are several choices available on property ranging from inexpensive (relatively) to expensive.

Cheapest way would be to get a two room family suite at Pop Century. these would feature two rooms, two bathrooms, and 4 beds.

next would be a trailer at Fort Wilderness. this would mean one bedroom with a twin bed and bunk beds, and a Murphy bed in the living room, with one bathroom. advantages of this is a full kitchen and it's relatively close proximity to the MK. (short pleasant boat ride away).

to top of the line would be a villa at one of the DVC resorts. a two bedroom would be required for your size of family. benefits would be a large condo with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, private (and price included) laundry, and some of the nicest locations in WDW. while these can be booked through WDW considerable money could be saved if you happen to find a DVC owner who cannot use his points that year and is looking to rent them out. of the DVC locations Old Key West has the largest rooms, but many people like the aminities and locations of Boardwalk, Beach club, and Wilderness lodge villas. Cost for renting points should be about $11-12/pt, so depending on when you go a two bedroom villa could cost from as little as $2000 to as much as $3000 for a week. about half as much as what Disney charges but considerably more then staying at Pop Century as this price does NOT include tickets.

What time of year do you plan on going? That can also factor in on where you stay.
do you plan to drive or use disney transportaiton?

When i was planing our choices were either All-Star Jazz or Fort Winderness cabins. We're staying at the cabins hoping that it will be quieter stay.

I believe it was an extra 10 a night for a room at the All-star with preferred location - meaning that you are closer to transportation and the food cort.
If you plan on heading to Disneyworld during the free dining they might have next year the suites are excluded.i

I think the differance was for 5 of us was about $50 a night more for the cabin when pricing the preferred location at all stars to the cabin.

For dining - I dont know yet - our first trip is in 44 days :D - for families I hear the Hoop-Dee-doo and Whispering Cayons are good. Both are located in the Fort Wilderness area.

Quite honestly, I would do two connecting rooms at a value or a moderate resort. Connecting rooms are the rooms with the door in between them. Adjoining means you would have to walk outside to access the second room. The big reason for suggesting two connecting rooms is you will have two bathrooms. With a boy 9 and a girl 7, you could have both of them getting ready in the morning in bathrooms. You'd also get four beds, allowing the three older kids to pick and choose where they want to sleep and in which room. The 1 year old would be in the pack and play. BTW - Disney does provide pack and plays for free so you won't have to worry about that. All four kids will be free in the rooms. Put yourself on one room with two kids and your wife in the other with two kids.

Fort Wilderness Cabins are very nice and have a full kitchen. Sleeping configuration would be a double bed and bunk beds in the bedroom (sleeps four in there) and then a double Murphy bed in the living room (sleeps two). Again, the one year old in the pack and play. And again, all four kids free in the cabin. You know your kids better than I do so look at the bund bed situation. Would your kids "fight" over bunk beds and the Murphy bed? Just thinking how kids' minds work. And there's only one bathroom.

As far as food is concerned, look on allearsnet.com for menus of all the different eating places at Disney World. Toss out the ones that will not work for your family (mine always have to have at least a burger available). Then start narrowing down to what you and the kids will want. All places will seat six, all places are kid friendly. You just have to decide what you want.

Have fun planning and keep asking questions!

Also a reminder. I've read that the value resorts do not have mini refrigerators and you will need to rent them at the resort.

I have also heard that requests for connecting rooms at the value resorts are requests- not guaranteed. Not sure if this is true or not, but something to check on.

If you're able to (that is - if you have military experience or someone in your group does) I highly recommend staying at the Shades of Green. Prices are very reasonable and the hotel is beautiful. Its across from the Polynesian.

As for Shades of Green, it's for active duty military personnel (and maybe reservists). Simply being a veteran doesn't make you eligible. Also, the rates are pro-rated. So, higher ranking military members would pay much more than junior personnel. For junior folks, it's a great deal.

My personal recommendation would be to book two rooms at a moderate. A moderate isn't much more than a value and I think they are much nicer. However, if you're trying to maximize your budget, there's nothing wrong with saving a few dollars and booking two rooms at a value resort.

Getting a villa or a suite at a DVC resort would be way nice, but also way expensive. You can price it out on the Walt Disney World web page. I don't hink you can book that far out, but you can try something sooner for roughly the same season and get a ballpark figure.