First trip to Disney World for a Disneyland Family [6 people]

[sjhanksaz]

So in a little over a year our family of 6 will be goint to Disneyworld.

I am looking for advice on the best place to stay. We have 4 kids, ages 9 - 16. We want this to be a great trip and we are looking to not break the bank but have a great time. We also would like a room for our size group. I would rather not spend the money on two seperate rooms. A suite of some sort would be great.

So we are looking for the best hotel. Not the cheepest, nor the most expensive. Someplace close to the action where we can get from park to park easily. Does anyone know of a place where we could look into buying time from someone's timeshare?

We are also interested in a day trip or two to the beach and to that other park with the Harry Potter attractions. Can you rent a car from one of the Disney properties so that you don't have to go back to the airport...... or is there a shuttle that will take you to the beach or Harry Potter.

Please share your wealth of knoledge my fellow Mouse Planetiers.

[Ohthatjeff]

I'll let others pipe in about their favorite resorts (both on and off site), but you may want to consider staying on site if you can couple your reservation with the Dining Plan. As far as transportation goes, yes you can rent a car at a couple of locations on site (Ticket and Transportation Center, Dolphin/Swan). Some non-Disney hotels do indeed run shuttles to Disney World and Harry Potter.

[Drince88]

Onsite, I think the Treehouses at Saratoga Springs would be my first recommendation, especially if you rent a car for the whole time. Or Wilderness Lodge Campground Cabins. (I think they both handle 6, might be just 5, though). The family suites at the Art of Animation would be another option, I believe (I think they can handle 6)

[Barberella]

I think the first thing that you need to decide is the length of your trip - IMHO you can do WDW reasonably well in 7 days - if you want to do anything else (Harry Potter, the Beach...) then plan on at least a 10 day trip.

It is hard for those who have visited Disneyland several times to really comprehend when they begin to plan for their first trip to WDW, but there are some really important differences between Disneyland and WDW.

When planning a trip to Disneyland: TIME, MONEY and ROOM SPACE are pretty easy to figure out - after all, the 2 parks there are contained within a couple of hundred acres and surrounded by plenty of room options. However, when planning a trip to WDW, the weight that you give TIME, MONEY and ROOM SPACE are more difficult to figure out.

Disneyland: You can do Disneyland one day and California Adventure the 2nd day and then go back to your 'favorite' park for the 3rd day. Yes, in 3 days - you can cover pretty much all of Disneyland/CA. You don't even really need to purchase any sort of Park Hopper (although some do, of course). Also it is not necessary to stay on-site - in fact, one of the best cost-saving strategies is to stay in a very nice nearby offsite hotel.

WDW: These strategies don't translate well to WDW. For example - it would be nearly impossible for a newbie family of 6 to do 5 days at WDW - say, 1 day for each for Epcot, MK, HS and AK and back to your "favorite" park for the 5th day. First off, all the parks are far apart, bigger, and the often humid weather can slow down everyone. So, IMHO - given the ages of your children - a Park Hopper is a necessity for your entire family. Also, take a look at the MYW ticket prices - along about Day 4 or 5 - the ticket prices slow dramatically in price per day - and multiplied by 6, it can be a big cost saving to slow down and take the time to really enjoy WDW, as opposed to rushing across town to say, see Harry Potter.

With the ages of your children (no babies or toddlers) it would be fine to stay offsite (but nearby) in some sort of condo where there was a washer/dryer (less to pack) and a kitchen. If you go that route, though - you have to factor in renting a car at the airport and making a grocery stop for breakfast items. You will need to contrast that with staying on-site by perhaps renting DVC points (but only through a reputable firm who has been in business for years) at OKW or SS (2 bedroom with washer/dryer & kitchen) and getting some groceries delivered by a grocery delivery service. However, with this option, you will not need to rent a car as you can all use Magical Express to get to/from the airport.

If you do want to rent a mini-van for a side trip to Harry Potter, Alamo & National have WDW on-site rentals and you can drop it at the airport.

[floridafan]

Being close to the action depends on what "action" you are looking for. The resorts on the monorail are close to MK, as is WL. You can also get to Epcot fairly easily from them, too. You just have to take a monorail to the TTC & transfer to the Epcot monorail. Then you can get to DHS by going through Epcot & either walk or take a boat there. The Epcot resorts are within walking distance from both Epcot & DHS. Or you can take a boat to either. Go through Epcot, take the monorail to the TTC & transfer to MK monorail to get there. No matter where you stay you will have to take a bus to AK. You can get to DTD by boat from SS. You will have to take a bus from a family suite at either of the value resorts that have them. The Disney transportation is great, IMHO, & you would just need to rent a car to go to Universal (Harry Potter) &/or the beach. The Treehouses would be great. They have 3 bedrooms & a full kitchen. However, be aware that there is no direct bus to any of the parks. You have to take a bus to SS, then transfer to a bus for whichever park you want to visit.
Keep us posted on where you finally decide to stay. AND HAVE FUN!!

[mxrapu]

The most affordable on-site options would be the Fort Wilderness Cabins or the Art of Animation suites. Both sleep 6. For offsite suite hotels, I would look at mousesavers.com. I know at least one of their "preferred" hotels is an all suite hotel and the prices are usually quite reasonable. If you're looking for a townhouse or a house, we have used All Star Vacation rentals in the past. The property was very nice and a short drive to Disney. I'm sure others can chime in with recommendations for other vacation rental companies.

With all due respect to Barbarella, given the ages of your children I cannot agree that you should skip Universal. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing and there are lots more thrill rides in the Universal Parks than at Disney. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney and when our kids were younger we skipped Universal. But now that they're older (5 and 10 on our last trip), we wouldn't dream of visiting Orlando without going to Universal. You are Disneyland regulars, so there are many attractions at WDW that are similar or exactly the same as what you have in DL. If you have to, you could skip those attractions so you have time to hit Universal. There is NOTHING like Harry Potter anywhere. You won't be able to see and do everything at WDW in 5 days, but depending on the time of year you should be able to do a lot. We usually go in the winter and spend 5 days at WDW. I've never left feeling like we missed anything. We're able to experience most attractions at least once, and others multiple times. Sure, if we had more time we could do every single thing in the parks, but in my opinion that is really not necessary. Pick what is most important to you family and do those things.

[Barberella]

....With all due respect to Barbarella, given the ages of your children I cannot agree that you should skip Universal. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing and there are lots more thrill rides in the Universal Parks than at Disney....

I don't see in my previous post where I suggested that Universal be skipped. I suggested only if this family wanted to do WDW and Universal that the vacation be at least 10 days in length.

I think the first thing that you need to decide is the length of your trip - IMHO you can do WDW reasonably well in 7 days - if you want to do anything else (Harry Potter, the Beach...) then plan on at least a 10 day trip.

[sjhanksaz]

Good stuff

We would like to stay on property, and include a food package with our stay. Can you add dining packages to your stay with a DVC Rental?

We are looking at spending about 8-9 full days in the area (we would fly in and out on two other days) Since the parks are far apart from each other is it best to get the multi day one park only passes?

I didn't want a rental car for the trip. Just for the two days to go to the beach and Harry Potter

Which of the two water parks is the one to go to?

We are also looking at mid October, most likely next year - I like to plan a big trip well in advance so this is why I am reaching out now for some advice. Is this a good time of the year as far as weather and crowds? I know Disneyland has really gotten busy during this Halloween time.

As far as the Harry Potter it is a must see. My kids have read all the books, some of them have read them all two or more times. In other words they have told me it is not optional.

[scoobydooby]

If your children love HP it is a must IMHO. We've done it once and can live without it again, but if you've not seen it I would say do so. Get to IOA early too. Or even better stay at Universal one night to get early entry on two days. I really wish we had done this.

[Drince88]

I usually recommend park hoppers, in part because some parks (especially Animal Kingdom, or MK on days there are parties) close fairly early, and you might want to hop over to Epcot for part of the evening. Also, you can go to different parks before and after a mid-day break without travel time being an added factor.

I believe you can get a dining plan if you're staying at a DVC on points, but definitely double check with whoever you rent through. Know, though, that you have to do the dining plan for the whole trip, so if there are two days that you're not going to be at Disney parks, you may not get full value from it, so definitely look into that before you make a final decision.

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend that you check the bed configurations of whatever you decide, and know how you would divide the kids up. (Particularly if you don't have 2 boys/2 girls.)

ETA: Also, based on your avatar I don't know if I totally have to say this, but don't skip Tower of Terror. VERY different from the DL version (and the drops are randomized, so it's never the same twice!)

[mxrapu]

Also, take a look at the MYW ticket prices - along about Day 4 or 5 - the ticket prices slow dramatically in price per day - and multiplied by 6, it can be a big cost saving to slow down and take the time to really enjoy WDW, as opposed to rushing across town to say, see Harry Potter.

Sorry, Barberella, I misinterpreted this. My apologies!

[Barberella]

No need to apologize - I was a bit rambly in my first post on this thread!

We would like to stay on property, and include a food package with our stay. Can you add dining packages to your stay with a DVC Rental?

If you choose the DVC rental company recommended by mousesavers;dis,allears (and some other trusted websites) you can. You can also arrange Magical Express through this company.

[scoobydooby]

If you were looking at a suite at the value resorts, also price two rooms at a value. Might be cheaper. No kitchenette but two full bathrooms and 4 proper beds.

[pj4963]

If you are going to rent a car why not rent a vacation home with a couple bedrooms/bathrooms. The prevous posters are right there is allot to see and do your first trip to Disney World. A couple years ago my best friend and I went to Disney and when she would tell people about what she had seen she would get Universal and Disney confused. I think staying on property is great but we never rent a car. Call Disney or go on their site and compare packages good place to start.

[mickeymom5]

We just got back from a 3 night stay at the Wyndham Grand Resort at Bonnet Creek. The room was a nice size. There was one bathroom with a sink. There was another sink out in the room by the mini-fridge. There was a set of bunk beds in alcove with its own flat screen TV. There was also a nightstand in there. In a separate room, there were two queen beds with their own flat screen TV. The security box was roomy. We had a coffee-maker and hair dryer. Daily maid service. There was a comfy overstuffed chair by the window and a desk with a chair. There was a roomy closet and a dresser with six drawers. We got it for $143 a night. They do charge $13 a day to park your car on top of that. They have shuttles that take you to the different attractions. I can't comment on the timeliness of the buses. We didn't use them. The resort is made up of the hotel and time-share condos. If you stay in the hotel, you can use all the amenities of the time-share condos.

We are a family of five. Ages of kids are 15, 12 and 6. We enjoyed the resort. This was our first time staying off-site. Up until now, we have been die-hard on-site people. The older my kids get the more room we need to spread out. The next time we decide to spend a week at WDW, I am definitely going to consider staying at Bonnet Creek again...even perhaps in one of the time-shares. It is right there "in" Disney. You have to go under the big WDW welcome sign to get to it. It is right beside Disney's Caribbean resort. You can see Pop Century and Art of Animation from it, if your room is high enough.

I hope this helps. Half the fun of a WDW trip for me is in the planning! Happy Planning!

[sjhanksaz]

We just got back from a 3 night stay at the Wyndham Grand Resort at Bonnet Creek. The room was a nice size. There was one bathroom with a sink. There was another sink out in the room by the mini-fridge. There was a set of bunk beds in alcove with its own flat screen TV. There was also a nightstand in there. In a separate room, there were two queen beds with their own flat screen TV. The security box was roomy. We had a coffee-maker and hair dryer. Daily maid service. There was a comfy overstuffed chair by the window and a desk with a chair. There was a roomy closet and a dresser with six drawers. We got it for $143 a night. They do charge $13 a day to park your car on top of that. They have shuttles that take you to the different attractions. I can't comment on the timeliness of the buses. We didn't use them. The resort is made up of the hotel and time-share condos. If you stay in the hotel, you can use all the amenities of the time-share condos.

We are a family of five. Ages of kids are 15, 12 and 6. We enjoyed the resort. This was our first time staying off-site. Up until now, we have been die-hard on-site people. The older my kids get the more room we need to spread out. The next time we decide to spend a week at WDW, I am definitely going to consider staying at Bonnet Creek again...even perhaps in one of the time-shares. It is right there "in" Disney. You have to go under the big WDW welcome sign to get to it. It is right beside Disney's Caribbean resort. You can see Pop Century and Art of Animation from it, if your room is high enough.

I hope this helps. Half the fun of a WDW trip for me is in the planning! Happy Planning!

How far/easy was it to get to the parks? Did you take a shuddle?

[Drince88]

How far/easy was it to get to the parks? Did you take a shuddle?

It's a great location - not any farther than any of the WDW on-site resorts when you look at transportation to all the parks. I can't speak to the shuttles here in particular, but in general, it is HIGHLY recommended that you not rely on non-Disney shuttles for transportation to/from the parks. Their frequency is often lacking, especially if you want to take a mid-day break.

[Barberella]

Totally agree.

While staying offsite can achieve significant savings on the room cost, you do - IMO - have to add in the daily cost of a rental vehicle (in your family's case, likely a minivan) as well as daily parking at WDW ($15 per day last time I looked) plus you will not have access to Extra Magic Hours (EMH) at WDW as you are not staying onsite.

[floridafan]

Unless things have drastically changed, the shuttles that serve the off-site hotels frequently contract with several hotels. They may be picking up people from 3-4 hotels. And while each hotel will tell you that a shuttle leaves every 20-30 minutes, that means a lot of wasted time, stopping at each hotel. And if you happen to be the last pick-up, you will probably stand. The same thing going back to your hotel. And those shuttles usually have to let people off & pick them up in the middle of a parking lot....not too close to entrance gate. And each bus has to stop at each park. So you can imagine that, even if you happen to be at the bus's 1st stop, (& get a seat) but you are going to AK & AK is the last park that the bus will go to, how long you would be on that bus.

[sjhanksaz]

Unless things have drastically changed, the shuttles that serve the off-site hotels frequently contract with several hotels. They may be picking up people from 3-4 hotels. And while each hotel will tell you that a shuttle leaves every 20-30 minutes, that means a lot of wasted time, stopping at each hotel. And if you happen to be the last pick-up, you will probably stand. The same thing going back to your hotel. And those shuttles usually have to let people off & pick them up in the middle of a parking lot....not too close to entrance gate. And each bus has to stop at each park. So you can imagine that, even if you happen to be at the bus's 1st stop, (& get a seat) but you are going to AK & AK is the last park that the bus will go to, how long you would be on that bus.

You can't take the suttle to the nearest park and then grab one of the Disney Shuttles from there to another park?

[Drince88]

You can't take the suttle to the nearest park and then grab one of the Disney Shuttles from there to another park?

You could - but that's not going to save you any time.

[Barberella]

People can - and do - stay offsite and take shuttles, but most here highly recommend having a rental vehicle if you stay offsite. One trade-off with staying offsite is no access for EMH - however, Disney will have changed evening EMH to 2 hours (from 3) by the time you go.

I would definitely consider accommodation with a washer/dryer and a functional kitchen for your family. There are some real cost savings on food if you eat breakfast and the occasional lght meal in your condo; and also if everyone takes some snacks / bottle of water to the parks at the start of the day. (For example, Disney charges $2.50 for a bottle of water - that's $15 for everyone in your family to get water at Disney - but you will pay less than $2 if you purchase those same 6 bottles elsewhere and bring them into the parks yourself.) You will also need to pack less - and pay less baggage costs - if you have access to a washer/dryer.

If you still want to stay onsite and don't want to rent a car for the entire duration of your trip, it is possible to rent an Alamo or National vehicle at the airport and drop it at Disney's Car Care center. There should be no drop charges. So you could rent a vehicle at the airport, stay offsite near Universal for a few days, then check the family into onsite accommodation (with plenty of snack foods you picked up while you had the car). You can then return the vehicle to the Car Care center and then they will give you a ride back to the resort. When it comes time to go home, you can all take Magical Express back to the airport.

[mickeymom5]

How far/easy was it to get to the parks? Did you take a shuddle?

It was really easy to drive our own car to the parks. You are "technically" on Disney property.

I can't comment on the shuttles. We did not use them. They did give us a schedule for the shuttles. They had fixed times when the shuttle bus would be at each park. So I am not sure how I would like having to be at a specific time to get back to the resort.

I hope this helps. I will have to see if I can find the schedule to let you know the times. I will look for it tonight.

[betsyrina]

When I was there in May, I went out a week early for a conference. We spent the first week on Disney property and used Disney transportation, then we moved to the conference hotel (which was the Hilton across the street from Downtown Disney). The shuttle from the Hilton was much slower and took so much longer than Disney transportation. We ended up taking a cab a couple of times to get home. I agree with others who have commented about standing room only. We were the first hotel to get picked up and there were a couple times where there was very little seating after we got on (and there were at least two, maybe three hotels to pick up still). The buses also go to two parks each, so if you're not the first park, you have to wait for all the pick ups at the hotel, then the park drop off, and then you'll be on your way again. Also, the shuttle drops you at the TTC for Magic Kingdom, which is also very much more inconvenient than at MK for the Disney Transportation. One night we actually took Disney transport to a resort, and from there caught a bus to Downtown Disney and then walked across the street to our hotel. That also took a while, but I honestly think it was faster.

If you can stay onsight, I would totally recommend it. We thoroughly enjoyed being in the middle of all of the Disney magic. Another advantage to staying on sight (besides the EMH mentioned above) is that you can have any purchases made in the parks sent back to your hotel. That is a wonderful service.

Have fun with all the planning! I agree, that is part of the fun of the trip!

[jsilkey]

We have stayed both on and off-site, and would not ever chose off-site over on-site if we could afford it. We LOVE the dining plan!

One of the things that surprised me was that the parks are so spread out that even the high-end Disney hotels are not close to all the parks. You might be right next to one, but you will still have to travel a pretty significant distance (compared to the DLR) to get to the others. I never did figure out the layout of the entire property on our first trip. By the second trip and LOTS of map study, I think I sort of got the idea of the total property lay-out, with hotels and all.

Try picking up a travel guide from AAA or Costco, they have a map of the whole property where you can look at each resorts' location relative to the various parks. Also, look at the website for a list of attractions that are at each park. With many of the rides being the same/similar to DL, you should be able to predict which park(s) will be you family's favorites and that may factor into deciding which hotel to chose.