If this was your large party where would you stay?

[asrai555]

The group will be 5 adults, 3 kids 4-6, and 1 under 2. I was thinking 1st 2 adjoining rooms at POFQ since I lurve that resort. But then I was looking into some of the 2 bedroom villas.

If you have stayed in a villa please share the pros and cons or your experiences. I am particularly interested in AKV since I have always wanted to stay at that resort.

Thank you for your help.

[Seasonscraps]

I love staying in the villas. I only travelled there with my husband so we never stayed in a 2br but the one bedrooms have so much room. I love having a living room (it accomdated our different sleeping schedules), the kitchen, the washer/dryer etc.

[KineGirl]

At WDW Ive only stayed at the villas at OKW & SSR and I cant say enough about the level of comfort in a villa. Not to mention the the convenience of having the kitchen, laundry & living space. The occupancy of 2 BR villas is 8 ppl plus a child under 3 in a crib. The thing to bear in mind about 2 BR villas though is that the master BR only has 1 bed. So there would be a total of 3 beds and the pullout couch in a 2 BR. Im assuming the adults are 2 couples and a single - so they would take up all the beds. I suppose the 3 kids could sleep on the pull out and the baby in a crib.

The studios at the resorts have either 2 beds or a bed and a pullout couch.

[asrai555]

does disney provide cots? is that also an option?

i wonder about the sleeping schedules of everyone, which is why having 2 separate rooms might be a better idea.

also, i lurve the DDP. i wonder if paying a premium for a kitchen is worth it. our vacation will be less than a week so i wonder about that. also we won't be renting a car so we will need to get groceries delivered which i hear is costly.

[TammiMcMan]

The only resort that allows you to reserve a cot is the Caribbean Beach resort. When you price out the rooms, just keep in mind that the cot will be $15 per night and one room will be charged $15 per night for the additional adult (over the limit of 2).

I have heard from others that they'll bring an aero mattress if sharing a smaller bed is going to be a challenge.

I would definitely take the time with your group though and really price everything out to see what works best for your group. When you factor in the additional charges, a moderate resort like CBR will run you about $360 per night in value season. That will give you 4 double beds spread out over the 2 separate rooms. A villa runs $530 per night (7/20-10/1) and this option gives you 3 rooms. A king bedroom, a 2 queen or 1 queen/1 queen sleep sofa bedroom and a queen sleep sofa in the main living room. Sit down and ask the ones who are bringing children what their typical schedule is like and how their kids adjust when they're on vacation.

If memory serves me correct, based on the ages of the kids you're travelling with, afternoon downtime is probably going to be a necessity. Having a villa, if the kids do nap, that still leaves the adults being able to relax in the living room or out on the balcony. At night, when the kids go to bed, the adults can still be up socializing.

In regards to food, my family does not benefit from the dining plan at all, so we never purchase it. We'll have a quick breakfast in the room and then snack around whatever park we're in before having 1 sit down table meal. If you are all going as a group, something to keep in mind is that everyone who is listed in the room must be on the same package plan. If you have some that don't want the full DDP, that can be easier to book if you are in 2 rooms, as opposed to 1 villa. I wouldn't be concerned about grocery delivery though. It's not expensive at all and you can even ship the dry goods down ahead of time. All that will be left to buy is milk and whatever other perishables you might need.

I guess with a large group, you need to put all the information out there and as I said, decide what's best for the group. Everyone might have to be a little bit flexible, but that's pretty common when you vacation with others.

Good luck with your planning.

[asrai555]

thanks for that post Tammi.

this is the part that i loathe about disney vacations is pricing all the different options out. it takes quite a bit of time, even with a good travel agent, to way out all the pros and cons.

i like the ddp because everything is pre-paid. also, i don't want to spend my vacation cooking and cleaning! are their dishwashers in the villas? some may laugh at that question, but doing dishes for such a large number of people is a big factor!

[buzznwoodysmom]

If it were my family I'd get two seperate rooms. We've vacations a number of times at WDW with extended family and at the end of the day we all want our own space. We've had 3-4 families and everyone wanted there own space and quiet time after the parks. I don't know if you plan on spending a lot of time together in the parks or if you are having all your meals together, but to much together time can sometimes be a bad thing. Just something to think about.

[Seasonscraps]

thanks for that post Tammi.

this is the part that i loathe about disney vacations is pricing all the different options out. it takes quite a bit of time, even with a good travel agent, to way out all the pros and cons.

i like the ddp because everything is pre-paid. also, i don't want to spend my vacation cooking and cleaning! are their dishwashers in the villas? some may laugh at that question, but doing dishes for such a large number of people is a big factor!


Not a silly question at all! I don't like to do dishes on vacay either. There is a dishwasher.

We don't do any big cooking but we'll have breakfast in our room or heat up leftovers in the microwave.

[azdisneymom]

Fort Wilderness Cabins. I know it is not a villa. They do have kitchens to help with snacks for little ones. Kids can nap in bedroom while adults relax in the 'family room'. Plus think of all the extra space. There are a lot of activities to do without hitting the parks if you need a break.

[TammiMcMan]

I'm not positive, but I think the daily maid service provided by Disney includes filling up and starting your dishwasher. You do give up daily service though if you rent points through an owner.

The FW Cabins are excellent, but they only accomodate 6 guests.