Family of 5 - Almost

[MOJoe]

Greetings All! Over the Christmas holiday my wife's family visited. Her niece asked us if we were planning another Disney trip this year, and again expressed her desire to join us. We have discussed it before, (she went to WDW as a child, and is dying to go back) but this time it seems she is serious, as she has a new job, with vacation time. We have a great relationship, she has fun with our boys, and honestly, it seems like it might be fun to have a newbie along with us.
Soooooo, if the 5 of us were to make the trip together, what would be the best room arrangements we could get? 2 connecting values? A Suite or a Villa? I'm looking for options, and i'm sure someone out there in Intercot Land can walk me through them.
Thanks for any response! :mickey:

[Diz-Knee]

Villas can be pricey but comfortable. Two connecting value rooms will give you two bathrooms. Also there are the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. One bathroom but they sleep 6 and have a full kitchen. How old are your boys? The cabin has a double bed and bunk beds in the bedroom and a comfortable double sized murphy bed in the living room.

[KarenP]

All Star Family Suites would also be an option. They sleep up to 6 people and have 2 bathrooms as well as a kitchenette.

[TammiMcMan]

Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee a connecting room, so if you all have to be together, then you probably want to look at other options.

Those can include the following:
GF standard room
CR standard room (great value)
BC standard room
BWI standard room
YC standard room
Poly standard room
WL junior suite
AKL suite
Fort Wilderness Cabin
AllStar Family suite
POR Trundle Bed room
CSR junior suite
DVC villas
Dolphin

[smallworldmom]

We just got back from the world on 12/21. We had myself, dh, 3 dds, and a close family friend. We opted for Pop adjoining rooms. We decided the two bathrooms were a better fit for our family.:mickey::cloud9:

[disneyfan328]

as of family of 5 ourselves we did some checking into this so here is what I found in my own research.

The price difference between 2 rooms at a value and one room at POR is minimal about 25.00 total for an 8 night stay.

the suite at All Star music will run you about 150.00 - 200.00 more than 2 rooms at the value (if I remember correctly ) again over an 8 night stay.

I am not sure about the cabins at FW as we didn't want to do those. We are a family of 5 with younges DS being only 5 at the time so we opted for POR - AB section as it was the cheapest ( this is the area with the trundle bed for a child up to age 9 is what is says). While it was a little bit hectic in the mornings, it worked out great for our family. There is only one bathroom, but there are two sinks with a shelf so ideally 3 people can be at some stage of getting ready at the same time. We bathed the kids at night when we got back and I got up and showered first while oldest DD and DH ate breakfast and then while DH and oldest DD got showers and ready I fed the kids breakfast and finished getting myself ready. We were all pretty much ready at the same time.

In your case it sounds like you would have more adults or older kids so POR would probably not work out as well.

If you are looking for the most cost effective way to do it I would ay it is 2 rooms at a value but again they can't guarnatee you connecting rooms unless you have more kids than adults (this is what Disney CM told me). I am sure that they would try their best to get it for you if at all possible.

I guess it really comes down to price. I would say if you want 2 bathrooms and the guarantee of all being together the suites at ASmu would be a good bet for you. They are beautiful and have a separate bedroom, small kitchenette and there is a sofa and chair and ottoman that all turn into to fold out beds so with that and the bedroom you can sleep up to 6. From what others have said here, the fold out beds are pretty comfortable.

[teambricker04]

We love staying at hotels in suites because we have two little kids and can stay up after they go to bed. Generally at WDW, we like to do the cabins at FW or the family suites at ASMu. We have done both with more than two adults in the room. If you are planning on being out an about the majority of the time, I think the family suite is great. There is a kitchenette, one bedroom with a full bed, a couple of twin pull outs and a full size sofa pull out. The best is the two bathrooms!

When we stayed at FW the best part was the full kitchen. We were able to get more food and saved some money that way. Downfall, only one bathroom, but it was big. There are lots of things to do at FW like the movie/campfire and the pony rides. There are more places to eat than the AS and you can take the boat to the TTC from FW.

Either are probably more expensive than just a room or two at the AS, but in my opinion... worth it!

[Tinkerfreak]

Is it still true that the family suites at the value resorts don't qualify for any discounts? If this is true you won't be able to take advantage of any discount codes or special packages.

[TammiMcMan]

Is it still true that the family suites at the value resorts don't qualify for any discounts?They are eligible, you just have to be quick ;).

[mouseketeer mom]

I would not go with the one room at a deluxe plan. I think a little more space is in order with a niece along for the trip. We are a family of five..we live together in the real world, so that room suits us, but bringing extended family along, no matter how close, feels like a different story.
I would choose a villa with 2 BRs if that was within your budget. That allows plenty of space with flexibility with your sleeping arrangments.
If that is not within your budget, the two rooms at a value or the All Star Suites sound like the way to go.
I wish you all a magical trip!