Families with 5 people

[dtootsie42]

We are a family of five and solved the cost of Disney by deciding to go to Disney every other year. We save and stay at the Poly. We love the larger room, its quiet, on the monorail, got the boat to the magic kingdom, we love the concierge service. Its like coming home. Our last trip was in December of 2009....since our "children" are now 22, 20 and 18 we talked about getting two rooms at a moderate but all three of our girls chipped in and helped with expenses. Now I realize not everybody has children who work and can help pay but as stated previously that is the one reason we went every other year. We always had a chance to save. This is our off year and we have decided to spend a few days at Disneyland in November. Because Disneyland is closer we may go there more often. Our biggest problem during our last trip was not the cost of Disney but the cost for five to fly from Washington state to Florida. It is much cheaper to fly from Washington to California.

Dec. 1997---Contemporary
Dec. 1999--Poly
June 2000--Disneyland
Dec. 2001---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2003---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2005---Poly Concierge
Nov. 2007---Poly Concierge
Oct. 2008--DisneyLand
Dec. 2009--Poly Concierge
Next Trip Nov. 2010 Disneyland

[disney_daddy]

We have been going to Disney with a family 5 for the past couple of years and yes it is cheaper to stay at Port Orleans the 2 rooms at a value.

[Goofy Pluto]

Why would this make your stay onsite more expensive? Even though she would be considered a Disney "Adult" for tickets and dining, she would still be considered a minor for your room cost. Only those that are 18 and over will incur the extra adult charge for the room.

Hi plutolovr.

To answer your question, the additional cost of the meal plan would probably prevent us from staying on site. We're finding it's much less expensive to stay off-site and buy our own food than to stay on-site and pay an adult price for a child. True, we'd have no choice with park tickets but we can keep costs down in other areas by staying off-site. Not to mention that renting a house for a week in and of itself is cheaper than staying in a Disney resort. We have a house our first week for $500 for the week with our own kitchen, pool, grill, etc. That vs. a small hotel room for about $900 a week (or more) for a POR (where is now the cheapest place a family of 5 can stay) makes it more economical to stay off-site. But we'll see how that works out on this coming trip.

[crltkcagle]

All I got to say is AMEN SISTA!!! I have always moaned and complained that a family of five is like having the plague when it comes to Disney. We always stay at POR too. And not that there is anything wrong with POR I just wish we had more choices.

[azcavalier]

Another family of five, and more of the same.

We've stayed at POR for the past few years (since the youngest turned 4), and we enjoy it. The room is a little cramped, it's true. What amazes me is that the DVC hotel one-bedroom suites still don't sleep more than four (with AKV being the lone exception). We don't spend enough time at the resort to warrant paying the extra $$$ for a Deluxe hotel that would sleep five.

We're waiting to see what the pricing structure will be at the new Art of Animation resort since it's supposed to have a ton of "family suites". However, I have a feeling that it will be just like the ASM Family Suites, and the same price to boot.

[familyof5]

Goofy Pluto: Yes...off site for a family of 5 or more is definitely going to be cheaper (the house rental sounds nice!). I just can't fathom spending an "adult" dining plan on my 10 & 12 year olds either; especially when they'll certainly never eat that much! Since we'll be going off property to eat once in a while anyway, staying off site is sounding pretty good right now!

crltkcagle: Yes, I'm sure POR is nice too...I was amazed at the lack of choices (for 5 or more)ON property when I really started to look into it. It's really too bad.

Thanks everyone! Still not sure what I'm going to do...I'm just glad I have a few months yet to decide!

[OogieBoogieMan]

OK, I am a bit biased because we have a home near Disney, but with three kids I have to say staying off site at a house is 100 times easier and cheaper.

[momof3+twins]

I feel your pain. We are a family of 7. And we always stay at a value resort. We get two rooms and request connecting. They are really good about trying to keep families together.
You could also try the family suite at Music Resort. My friend loves them.
But, we really enjoy the Pop Century so it all works out for us!!

[jonahbear2006]

Why would this make your stay onsite more expensive? Even though she would be considered a Disney "Adult" for tickets and dining, she would still be considered a minor for your room cost. Only those that are 18 and over will incur the extra adult charge for the room.

that actually is not true. we called our daughter an adult last year just for the ticket so she could eat adult meals and we had to change it this year and remind them she isnt actually an adult because they charged us an extra $200 for the week onto our accommodations at the wilderness lodge due to the fact that there was an extra "adult" in the room and she was listed at being 10.

[jonahbear2006]

btw i agree there arent enough options for big families for such a family friendly place. We have 5 children now and its hard to make a decision, not because there arent options, but because our options are so limited to a place that offers so many great options for everyone else. That is what upsets us! Im sorry, i do not want to live in a cabin for a week. I Love fort wilderness but if i am staying there, I am camping. I do not want to pay a deluxe type price for transportation and amenities that are very much value. I believe the cabins are way over priced for being in the same resort as the campground. I at least think that the deluxe resorts should allow you to get a 5 person room and let smaller children slide on the room number. You are paying $350 a night for a room, what is having a 3yr old in your room really to them?

[KAT1811]

that actually is not true. we called our daughter an adult last year just for the ticket so she could eat adult meals and we had to change it this year and remind them she isnt actually an adult because they charged us an extra $200 for the week onto our accommodations at the wilderness lodge due to the fact that there was an extra "adult" in the room and she was listed at being 10.

I'd be surprised to hear that. The WDW website has children all listed as under 18 and do not incur additional room fees. We travel every year with our four children, the oldest of which is 13 and have yet to incur an addtional room fee for her. The CM you booked with may have misunderstood and plugged your child in as an actual additional adult. Did you question the CM at checkin about the additional room charges?

[TammiMcMan]

I do not want to pay a deluxe type price for transportation and amenities that are very much value. I believe the cabins are way over priced for being in the same resort as the campground.

I'm fairly certain the cabins are in the moderate category now and not deluxe. Considering they are more comparable to DVC in style and hold 6 guests, I think the price is okay (just my opinion though )

I at least think that the deluxe resorts should allow you to get a 5 person room and let smaller children slide on the room number. You are paying $350 a night for a room, what is having a 3yr old in your room really to them?

There has to be an "age" for when they start getting counted towards room occupancy. I imagine that 3 was selected because that's typically when they would move out of the pack and play stage and into proper bedding. Deluxes (other than WL and AKL) accommodate 5, regardless of age. It's really just the moderates and values where having 5 counted towards occupancy becomes a bedding and fire code issue. I have a family of 5 myself and we've done the cabins and offsite home rentals. I loved the home rental, but there were added costs involved, like a rental car and paying for parking. Plus, we all had to be on the same park schedule and afternoon breaks weren't really a convenient option. Aside from that, having our own pool, separate bedrooms and being able to cook was terrific.

The CM you booked with may have misunderstood and plugged your child in as an actual additional adult. Did you question the CM at checkin about the additional room charges?

Disney's reservation system seems very outdated and it wouldn't surprise me if plugging in jonahbears daughter as an adult for dining, triggered her as an extra adult in the room. I'm sure if she questioned it at check-in, they would have adjusted the room rate for her. It's definitely designed for having more than 2 adult guests in the room (aka, anyone 18 and up). This is an excellent example of why these boards are so great. Sharing information like this can help someone else with their planning and they'll know to question something that just doesn't seem right.

[KAT1811]

Disney's reservation system seems very outdated and it wouldn't surprise me if plugging in jonahbears daughter as an adult for dining, triggered her as an extra adult in the room. I'm sure if she questioned it at check-in, they would have adjusted the room rate for her.

Exactly what I was thinking happened! Instead of plugging her in as a child over the age of 10 the CM must have added her in as an additional adult.