Help! Don't know where to stay....

[Soccermom12]

My DH is turning 40 this summer, so I started thinking of ideas for bday presents.....which got me thinking about next spring when I will turn 40. I told him I would love to celebrate my bday at Disney and stay at a deluxe.

Well I told my sister my plans and she volunteered to come along and babysit the kids (DS13, DS10, DS8, DD5) so DH and I can go out to dinner a few times. Then I started thinking that my parents might like to tag along as well (they haven't been there since the early 80s).

So, where would you stay with a group of nine people? I originally wanted to stay at a deluxe but I'm not sure if its worth it. Would you rent a house off-site? Rent points from a DVC member and stay in a villa? Get 2 to 3 rooms at a moderate or a deluxe?

Thanks for your help!

[Pirate Granny]

We rented points for a grand villa at OKW for eight nights for 7 adults, and 4 young children. Expensive, but probably just as much as paying for three rooms.

[epceddie]

I would consider renting three rooms at a moderate resort like Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans Riverside, or Port Orleans French Quarter.
A discount site lists the following standard-view nightly rates for April 15 through the end of May in 2012.

CBR - $180
POR - $180
POFQ - $180

Old Key West - 1BR is $490. A 3BR Grand Villa with four bathrooms and a jacuzzi is $1,480.


Contemporary - $365
Animal Kingdom Lodge - $325
Beach Club - $390

These are the "rack" rates, which are the highest ones that you pay, and they don't include the 12.5 percent sales tax.

Discounts sites are great They offer significant discounts on room rates and have all kinds of info about saving at WDW.

We've rented five bedroom houses in the past and it's been great. You're far away from all the Disney magic, but the kids loved having their own private pool in the back yard. Try to stick with rental companies that are recommended by Triple-A.

My wife and I bought our DVC timeshare for a great company called the Timeshare Store, and they rent DVC points for $12 a point.

I hope this helps you out. As with anything else, you have to do some research and try to find the best deal. Good luck!

[epceddie]

You might also want to look into using a travel agent called Magical Journeys. They can get good rates and they stay up to date on discounts and apply them to your reservation to save you money.

[btharvey]

Ditto the Magical Journeys suggestion. Everything from several rooms at a moderate to cabins at Ft. Wilderness. Give them some ideas and let them do up some combinations for you.

They keep their eyes on all the discounts that come out, so if one combination suddenly becomes a better bet, they'll contact you immediately.

[Soccermom12]

Thank you for all your ideas. I am planning on using Magical Journeys.....have used them before and LOVE them. I'm just trying to narrow my ideas down before I contact them....didn't want to cause anyone extra work because I can't make a decision:blush: I have recieved about four pin codes since January for 45 percent off of Deluxes......hoping Disney keeps them coming!

[BigRedDad]

For just your family and your sister, you are looking at 2 rooms. If you add in your parents, you are looking at 3 rooms. The first thing to do is make a budget. Your budget will play a huge role in what level resort to look at. You will also need to look at how much your sister is looking to contribute. If she will be babysitting often, it is almost as if you should be covering her cost or some of it.

Personally, I would not stay off site. There is not much of a cost savings after you start figuring parking cost and other incidentals.

[WishingStar2006]

There were 9 of us this past June and we had the same quandry. We finally chose renting a 6 bedroom/5 bathroom house through All Star Vacation Homes. We saved a TON of money and the house was great...with our own screened in pool...it was great to come home to at the end of the day. And it was only 4.5 miles to Disney Property and we found that we were home in the time that we would have spent waiting for buses and the many stops the bus makes before you get back to your resort.

We did, however, miss not being able to be on the Dining Plan.

One of us had an annual pass so the parking fee ($14 per day) was not an issue for us.

[Fastpasssteve]

I have the feeling you've lost your focus. This originally started as a trip for you and your husband, right? Why don't the kids stay at home with your relatives, and you two go by yourselves. I have the feeling you two haven't gotten away by yourselves for a long while. People started volunteering to go to 'help' and then you thought about your parents going...and now you are hosting a parade. This sounds like classic "pleaser" thinking...trying to make things nice for everyone, while not getting your own needs met. Think about what you really want to do.

If you want to stay at a Deluxe, do so. Who says that your sister or parents all have to stay at the same resort. You could meet up in the parks at a certain time and place. People have cell phones now...all that business is a lot easier now.

Friends of mine and their families all stayed at different resorts and then visited the restaurants and watering holes at all the different locations. Plus...they didn't get that clausterphobic feeling.

Plus...travelling in large groups in the Parks makes me yearn for a frontal lobotomy. Groups do not move nimbly in the parks...always waiting for someone to use the bathroom, or moving at different speeds, waiting until all are together to get something to eat, get in the queue for a ride...yuck. Travelling in small groups is the way to go.

Reconsider your plan of attack. This all began as a trip for you and your husband. Don't lose sight of what you want. How many more times are you going to get to do this?

[LandFan]

I agree totally with Fastpasssteve above... I often have the same pleaser mentality and sometimes we just need to go by ourselves...

[Soccermom12]

Fastpasssteve and LandFan are probably right.....it has morphed into something completely different than my original plan. I just got excited when I looked at the 2012 school calendar and realized that the kids have spring break April 15-21.....and Easter is April 9.....so I figured the crowds would not be too bad the week after the week after Easter, and the weather has got to be nicer than when we usually go at the end of August. Maybe I can convince DH to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this Nov at a deluxe, and then go back with the kids in April.....

[disneymom2000]

Now that sounds like a plan.

[nfrustaci]

Fastpasssteve and LandFan are probably right.....it has morphed into something completely different than my original plan. I just got excited when I looked at the 2012 school calendar and realized that the kids have spring break April 15-21.....and Easter is April 9.....so I figured the crowds would not be too bad the week after the week after Easter, and the weather has got to be nicer than when we usually go at the end of August. Maybe I can convince DH to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this Nov at a deluxe, and then go back with the kids in April.....

:thumbsup:

[KAT1811]

If you are anything like me I love the the "adults only" trip in theory but have a lot of trouble leaving the children (DD14, DD6, DD4, and DS2) Trouble leaving them as in, I don't, ever. Dinner out is about as far as we venture and as much as DH and I love time together we would be miserable without them. So. . . we travel to WDW for 2 weeks every year and bring my parents (who also happen to be our best friends). That gives us the best of both worlds. We have all the family time we love and get a few nights out together for some "us time" but at the end of the day we can still kiss the kids before we go to bed.

You could always go as a group and then take off for a day or night if you want to. Send the kids off to have fun with the rest of the family while you do you your own thing. Maybe a romantic dinner at the end of the day too. Or you could leave a day or two ahead of the crew and have them meet up with you in Disney. Spend the first night or two in a deluxe and then move over to a value, moderate, or even the cabins in FW. Whatever you end up doing may sure it works for you and your children.

Good luck!!! :mickey:

[Cinderelley]

I agree with making the trip what you want it to be, but some people love having their family around them to celebrate. I have done both kinds of trips and had a great time at both.

In my opinion, the key to trips with large groups is not planning everything together. We stay in the same resort but not the same rooms. We all go to the same park on the same day, but the only thing we do together in the park is one big meal together. Sometimes it is breakfast. Sometimes it is dinner. Alot of times we run across each other and the groups running around together morph into other groups depending on what different people are interested in doing.

I have one picture that I took of the acrobats in China. It wasn't until I got home that I realized my mother and stepfather are in the background. I never saw them while we were both standing there watching the acrobats. lol

[wdwfansince75]

It would require a change of dates, but...If you, your husband or your dad served in the Armed Forces, and received an honorable discharge, Shades of Green is extending eligibility to veterans with honorable discharges (DD214) for the months of September 2011 and January, 2012. Eligible persons may reserve up to 3 rooms at a rate of $130. Rooms at Shades of Green have two queens and a sleeper sofa. Rooms are larger than any other on site hotel, including Contemporary or Polynesian. SoG provides bus transportation to AK, DHS, and TTC...and Poly is only a short walk away.