JenniferB Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 We are going to Disney World in May. This will be our first time. We have 4 kids, so 6 all together. We need advice for a room to fit all of us, 1 king and 2 doubles or queens and 2 bathrooms and a shuttle to and from the park. We are used to the family suite at LaQuinta at Anaheim and around $120-$140 per night with a shuttle that goes back and forth every hour or so, but we can't find that in Orlando. This will be our first time at DW. We will have 7 days there. I'm so excited! Can I get some advice from the DW experts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I've stayed in connecting rooms in which one had a king and the other two had 2 beds. Even the value resorts have that. The new Art of Animation resort has suites for up to 6, and prices would be $300+ a night. All Star Music does have a limited number of suites for 6 and those are in the mid $200s a night. The regular room rate during that time (@ Value Resorts looks like $109 a night) so 2 connecting rooms would be the cheapest route. All the resorts provide buses to and from the parks all day long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Well, my advice is to stay on site...others will tell you differently. I've found the convenience and the perks (extra Magic Hours), to be well worth it to my family. Especially if you want to return to your room in the afternoon for naps or a swim. Any value resort (I prefer Pop Century or Art of Animation) will get you two connecting rooms at a fairly decent price. Otherwise, you're going to need a suite or a deluxe resort to accommodate your family...depending on the ages of your kids. How old are they? We can give you much better advice with that info. I also love the Dining Plan, but other people think it's too expensive. It depends on what your idea of a vacation is, and your budget. I've calculated that for our family, it costs us $675 per day at Disney. That doesn't include souvenirs or extras. Dawn's budget is lower than mine...and Disney can be done in MANY different ways. Hopefully, she'll chime in to share her method with you. Oh, we are a family of five, with two of my kids regular adults, and one a Disney adult (age 9 and older). BTW...May is my absolute favorite month to go to WDW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Ages 14, 10, 8, and 5 in May. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I think you should stay onsite too. All star music has suites that keep 6. I think the Disney transit will give you more flexibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Ages 14, 10, 8, and 5 in May. :D Ok, so two of your kids are Disney adults, which means adult priced park tickets, and adult meal plans (which my son always preferred anyway). Your five year old will need a stroller...a must at Disney where you can walk up to 13 miles in one day (we wear pedometers there to keep track). I recommend visiting these sites: www.disboards.com www.easywdw.com www.mousesavers.com www.touringplans.com You will need some sort of touring plan...especially if this is your first visit. And trust me...they work! I use the app from touringplans.com, but I also love easy WDW. Josh, who owns the site, is so funny! Disboards is an amazing site. There is NOTHING those mouse junkies don't know. Get the "Unofficial Guide" and read it like it's the Bible. They also own Touringplans.com, so the info will coordinate with the site. Oh, and I only follow a touring plan to the letter until lunchtime...then we mellow out and do things at a more relaxed pace. But at rope drop, my family are the maniacs running at top speed for Toy Story Midway Mania in Hollywood Studios to get there before the line is 90 minutes long. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I wonder what the wait times are like in May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I wonder what the wait times are like in May. Generally not bad, although Star Wars weekends can be a bit crowded in Hollywood Studios. Go at the beginning of May (when we usually do), and the crowds are low, the weather is fabulous, and the rates are halfway decent. There is a new discount that's just been posted in the past few days for spring. You'll rarely get free dining at that time, but I tend to avoid free dining, as the restaurants get quite crowded. Josh on www.easywdw.com has really accurate crowd calendars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Ime, May is a really good time to visit. You might want to check about the SWs weekends, but you can always decide to hang by the pool etc., then. I like the value resorts quite a lot, although we have had amazing times (great prices!) at Windsor Hills and Windsor Palms, as well as the Wilderness Cabins onsite. If you are looking for a 'resort' experience outside of WDW, Bonnet Creek is pretty spectacular. It's more costly that WP or WH, but really great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 We're going to Disney in May! This will be our first Star Wars weekend and my boys are SO excited! We stay off-site at Windsor Hills. I'll give you the link to where we stay, but if you do a vacation rental search for Windsor Hills, you'll find lots of options. http://storytimeorlandorental.com/ We have a 3 bedroom townhouse with a full kitchen for $105 per night. It has a private splash pool on the backporch and access to a huge recreation facility in the main complex with a giant pool. It's less than 2 miles from Disney and we can make it from townhouse to the magic kingdom / epcot parking lots in 5-10 minutes. I love being able to come in from the parks and have an entire "house" to relax in, instead of being cramped in a hotel room. We also have breakfast there every morning before we leave (saving lots of $$), lunch in the parks, and dinner in the townhouse most nights (the only exception would be if we're staying late in Magic Kingdom or Epcot for fireworks). We love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I will second (or third?) the Windsor Hills/offsite recommendation with a family of your size. However, I wouldn't do it without a car because I don't think the shuttles are all that great. It might still be quite a bit less expensive, even if you do rent a car and pay parking though. I'd check out all your options and compare that with onsite estimates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Thanks for all the advise and links everyone! Now does anyone know what the best off site option is, that has the most convenient and frequent shuttle back and forth from the parks? DH is doing his best to balance budget and time maximization, as well as my need to be able to conveniently return to the room midday for a nap, etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 If you stay off WDW property, you probably need a car, as you will want to come and go as you wish with your children. If you are able to save on housing & food, maybe a car rental for some days (plus parking) works. Maybe it doesn't. You have to crunch the numbers. Have you looked at the Wilderness Cabins or adjoining rooms at WDW Value Resorts? Both work well. I have booked 2 and 3 bd Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills condos for as low as $69/night. Even if you do a 2 br,, some kids can sleep on the pull-out sofas in the living area. I like the laundry/kitchen facilities of the condos (I often don't go to the parks, just hang at the pool), but it's also nice to stay in a hotel, and not worry about any of that (kitchen/food, laundry etc). I go to FL/WDW because I can count on the sun (most of the time), good bargains on housing, and we have family nearby. WDW is not my main draw, as horrible as that sounds. lol What kind of vacation are you wanting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I wonder what the wait times are like in May. Early in May is best. For both crowds and temperatures. We often went in the beginning of May and it was quite pleasant. We went towards the end of the month once and I was surprised at the jump in the heat in just a couple of weeks! (And I'm a Florida girl.) If you want to stay off-site and rely on the hotel shuttle, then I would check out the hotels at Lake Buena Vista (is it still called that?) - the area of hotels near Downtown Disney. Any further away, and I agree with others that you will want a car. Staying on-site will be much more convenient without a car, you'll have more meal options that way as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkd Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 We travel a different way. We are a family of six. We go on vrbo.com and rent a house. It has felt so much more relaxed. It gets us so much more for about equal price. Also, we have a full sized kitchen. Everyone sleeps better and we always try to get one with a pool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Thanks for all the advise and links everyone! Now does anyone know what the best off site option is, that has the most convenient and frequent shuttle back and forth from the parks? DH is doing his best to balance budget and time maximization, as well as my need to be able to conveniently return to the room midday for a nap, etc.... Just be aware that Disney World is HUGE. To leave the park mid-day in a CAR and go back to an offsite condo will take anywhere from 30-45 minutes...or longer... each way. To wait for a shuttle bus that only runs hourly (and may or may not be on time) will eat up even more of your park time. If you choose to stay off site, a car is one of those "must have" things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Here are a few other things to consider about staying off-site. You do pay for parking if you stay off-site -- and it was $14 per day when we went last year -- 7 days at the parks will run you $100. If you stay on-site, and say you choose to drive (your own car, or a rental), you don't pay anything to park. We also don't park hop...which is something we might do if we stayed on-site....and we stay at one park for the entire day. If you have little ones that need to nap, staying off-site doesn't give you the flexibility to go back to your room in the middle of the day for a few hours and then return. It's just too much of a hassle off-site. We wake up early, have cereal or muffins or bagels in the townhouse for breakfast, hit the park for rope drop at 9am and stay in the park ALL DAY. If we're at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom, we usually leave early -- around 4:00 -- and have dinner in the condo. If we go to Magic Kingdom or Epcot, we won't leave the parks until 10:00 at night. We can do this because we don't have any little ones. Our youngest will be 11 in a few weeks and it doesn't phase her a bit to be in a theme park for 13 hours straight. Not everyone has that much stamina! But we wouldn't drive 2 miles to the theme park, park the car, take the shuttle to the monorail, take the monorail to the park, visit for a few hours -- take the monorail back to the ticket center, take the shuttle back to the car, drive the car 2 miles back to the townhouse...only to turn around and do that all again a few hours later to go back in the afternoon / evening. So that's something else to consider -- how long do you plan to stay in the theme parks each day? And you would need a car. I wouldn't rely on off-site shuttle transportation. We always drive to Disney...and my kids actually enjoy long car trips (thank you, books on tape & Nintendo DS!). We can make it from Virginia to St. Augustine, Florida in about 10 hours. My hubby went to college in St. Augustine, so we always stop there for the night and meet up with friends in town for dinner & drinks. We spend most of the next day in St. Augustine and then arrive in Orlando that evening (another 2 hour drive). But driving might not be feasible, depending on how far away you live. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadianmumof5 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Not an expert yet but have been researching & planning like crazy for our trip. We leave in just over 3 weeks. The www.disboards.com is an awesome site for getting pretty much any Info you could ever want about disney :) They have all the news about discounts, places to eat, special events, etc Disney just released a new offer to the public on January 3rd -save up to 30% on a resort stay. And the month of May is included! Make sure you create an account on the Disney.com website and do a bit looking around - save a few vacation options and order their DVD for planning your vacation. It looks like Disney is sending out postcards for free dining right now so you may also be lucky enough to get one of those. In addition to staying on site, we are also spending some time offsite and are staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek which is a timeshare but is available for rent. You can get some good deals here as we'll for 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedroom condos. Lots of good reviews and it is pretty much onsite at Disney just not a disney owned place. I am not an expert since we haven't even left home yet but I feel like I know so much from spending so much time on the Disboards. (Hence my absence from here lately LOL) Feel free to PM me :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.