Meadowlark Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I seriously feel like I need a PH. D to plan this-and I've only just begun! We knew Disney was in the 5 yr. plan, but today my husband said he wanted to go...soon, as in 1.5-2 years. My youngest is just 2, so when we go my kids will be 10, 8, 6, 5, 4. Are we nuts? I don't see any value hotels that can hold 7 people, and value is all we can afford. Dh REALLY wants to stay onsite, so please no offsite recommendations. Where do we stay? Dining plan or no dining plan? Best month? I guess if I can get those 3 questions figured out, it's a good start. Any advice is appreciated! Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Assuming you are looking at Disney World and not Disneyland, I would look into renting DVC points so that you can get a room that can fit more people in it. Dining plan? Depends on how you eat. We tend to eat more counter service places and that makes the dining plan less helpful. But it really depends on how you eat. Best month? For us, middle of January is good. The weather is nice and the crowds aren't there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Assuming you are looking at Disney World and not Disneyland, I would look into renting DVC points so that you can get a room that can fit more people in it. Dining plan? Depends on how you eat. We tend to eat more counter service places and that makes the dining plan less helpful. But it really depends on how you eat. Best month? For us, middle of January is good. The weather is nice and the crowds aren't there. Yes, Disneyworld. I'm not familiar with DVC at all. Help please? How does one find those rooms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okra Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Well, this may not fly with some families.....But, one way to save $$$ at Disneyworld is to rent a place with a kitchen, and then make your own meals. Breakfast, then take lunch with you, and eat Dinner there. I know with many families this would not be popular, as you are on vacation, and some people don't like to plan. But, for us, this works GREAT Why does your husband want to stay on site? I'm not recommending, I know your husband doesn't want to, but if all you can afford is the value hotels, then it makes sense to me to look at all the options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I grew up in a largish family. We didn't go to Disney. It never entered our minds! My parents went to Florida to visit my brother who had moved down there a few years earlier and they took him to Magic Kingdom. He was 32 years old. They had a blast. We teased him that he was the "favorite one" because he was the only one of us our parents ever took to Disney! Have you thought of renting a camper? I have friends who take their own RV down and camp on a Disney property. There are places you can rent campers, you don't have to buy one. I've stayed off site and on site. We usually stay off site. To me the important thing is transportation, and there are many, many hotels that provide transportation to all of the parks and some of the hotels really aren't that far off from the parks, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 We've not gone yet but these are some good posts from larger families who have: http://www.catholicallyear.com/2014/02/big-family-disneyland-hacks.html http://teamwhitaker.org/2015/05/hdydi-plan-a-multigenerational-disney-vacation/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 You'll probably need to rent DVC points to get a 2 bedroom villa (sleeps 8). The best place to do that is at mouseowners.com and points will run you an average $12 - 14 per point. You can google the Timeshare Store to find a point chart to see how many points you'll need to rent on any given date (varies for Easter/Thanksgiving). There are definite advantages to staying onsite. Best months are Sept, Oct, and Jan with the best combos of crowd and point costs. If you decide to rent DVC it really needs to be done more than 7 months in advance because of the way the booking windows work. It also really matters what resort you stay at. We just left today from a Disney trip with 17 of us (2 bedroom and 2 studios) and we did all the planning. The grocery shopping and pack your lunch plan works really well. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. Stefanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I'm thinking your original 5 year plan was better. More time to plan and save and all of the kids will remember it. Also, the ages will be MUCH easier for travel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof4babes Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I know you said no offsite, but I wanted to add my experience. We have been twice with our 4 kids. We stayed offsite both times at the Sheraton vistana, and bought a 5 day pass to disney. We spent $900 for the week and went to a quick timeshare thing. The villas were very nice. 2 bedrooms/bath with a kitchen. We went in February both times, and had good weather. The lines were not huge, and we were not sweltering all day long. We were able to pick up groceries, and cook at least one meal a day. They also have fun activities, and several pools for the kids onsite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermama Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 The most people the family value suites hold is 6, so unless you're willing to book multiple rooms, you're looking at either a DVC unit or something like the campgrounds. DVC is Disney Vacation Club - it's a points-based timeshare for on-site resorts. If the people who own at those resorts decide they can't use all their points that year, they can choose to rent them out to non-owners either through a company or personally. The 2 bedroom units hold either 8 or 9 people, depending on the resort, so they'd work for you, and they include a full kitchen, so you can also save money by cooking many of your meals there. In the lower point-per-night seasons, it looks like it could be around $500 a night to rent one of the units, based on the cost calculator at this rental company. Pros: You get all of the benefits of staying on-site: Magic Express, extra magic hours, Magic Bands, resort buses, etc. The cons are that many of the DVC resorts are very popular, so in many cases you'll want to book around 11 months in advance, and they have different "busy" periods - it's hard to get reservations October-December (usually a slow period for the hotel side of the business). Also, you won't get any of the discounts like free dining, kids stay and play free, etc (though you can buy the dining plan, if you wish, but it's probably not going to be a good deal for your family). The biggest one is that once you make that reservation, you're pretty much set in stone for your vacation dates - there are no cancellations like you can do with a normal hotel reservation. We went - years ago - in early December, and it was lovely. It was right after the end of Thanksgiving break, so we got to experience Disney World decked out for Christmas and relatively low crowds. There are two types of people who the dining plan are good for: those who are willing to plan out each and every meal down to what everyone will order to "get the most for your money" and those who want to prepay for food so they don't need to worry about what they're spending while on vacation ;) The more thrifty thing would probably be to plan one or two special lunches or dinners and cook the rest at your hotel room (if you're renting DVC). You can get groceries delivered to the hotel, even, so you won't need a rental car. The two other major expenses are park tickets and your transportation there (would you fly or drive?). Tickets are hard to get a discount on, unless you're military. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 If offsite is not an option, get two rooms at a value. If you don't want to worry about food, get the dining plan--just the quick service one unless big meals are important and you are willing to put some time and planning into making reservations for table service meals (more info on dining plans here.) However, considering that for the same cost or less of your two rooms at a value you could get a 3 BR, 2 BA townhouse offsite in a nice resort community, I think you should at least look at what your options are and not rule out offsite entirely. It's really a great way to do Disney on a budget. The ages of your kids in 1.5 - 2 years are ideal for a Disney vacation. One of my favorite years was when my kids were 11, 7, and 4. Our favorite time to go is early December--after the Thanksgiving rush but well before the Christmas one. The parks are decorated beautifully, the weather is great, and crowds are generally low. The new fast pass plus program has added a whole new layer of planning to a Disney vacation. But you've plenty of time to look into all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Here are all your options onsite: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/groups/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 We went to Disneyland, not Disney World, and it was a part of a bigger vacation, not the whole point of the vacation. We had five kids up through age 8 at the time. We stayed at a Disney hotel for two nights, and just went into the park itself for one day. We thought that was plenty of time for all of us and with kids those ages. We had two connected rooms at the hotel. Our first night there (the afternoon we arrived), we just ate at a nearby inexpensive diner. Breakfast was included at our hotel the next morning. Then we got a very early start at the park and were there all day. We had lunch and dinner there, on our own -- not part of a meal plan. Back to our hotel late that night, breakfast the next morning at our hotel -- and done! Oh, we were there in mid to late October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I think renting DVC points through a reputable company (a link above gave the calculator for this site https://www.dvcrequest.com) for a 2 bedroom villa and cooking in for the majority of meals would be a good combination. A 2 bedroom would give you and dh a master with ensuite bathroom, a second bedroom with either 2 queens or a queen and a full pull-out (different resorts have different comfigurations) and its own bathroom, and a common space with a full kitchen and living room area with a second pull-out couch. Plus a washer and dryer! And a nice balcony or patio. Some resorts even have another single pull-out or pull-down (a murphy bed hidden in a cabinet under the tv) so all kids could have their own sleeping space if desired. Two of those resorts (Animal Kingdom Lodge--Kidani Village and Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary) even have a third full bathroom in the 2 bedroom! If you are driving, you could get groceries for the week once you have unpacked. You can also have groceries delivered---there are two services that do that. We are DVC owners. We eat all but one breakfast in our villa and either lunch or dinner in each day. I buy food for easy meals so I don't have to spend my vacation cooking :D I would love not to have to cook, but we can save soooooooooooooooo much money this way, enabling us to go more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Would your husband consider a non-Disney condo but still on property? Bonnet Creek is a great place, much cheaper, non-Disney owned but still on the property of Disney. You can get a quote from these folks: http://vacationstrategy.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I'd find a good travel agent and let them figure it all out. :-) If you have AAA the travel agent cost will be about $25 (that is what I paid a couple years back) and the TA can get you discounts on rooms, rental cars, etc. and watch for cheaper cars/rooms/airfare for you. Disney has perks for AAA the TA can get you, too. When I used AAA to book my trip to Anaheim AAA got me a cheaper rental car, and free parking at the resort, plus fun Disney luggage tags etc. and an early morning entrance even though we stayed off-site. I love me some AAA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I'd work with a travel agent who specializes in Disney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubix Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 One option would be to do a value and get 2 adjoining rooms. More expensive than one obviously but less than the more expensive places. I'd try to go when there is free dining. We are going 10/29 - 11/9 this year and our meals will be free the whole time. Saves A Lot Of Money And Is more convenient than worrying about packing food. Plua, you get to say yes to some treats! We've done disney on the cheap twice, staying offsite, driving there (22+ hrs), not eating at all at the park, no snacks, bringing water, etc. It will be nice this time to say yes more often!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubix Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 We use MouseEarVacations.com to book. A savings over Disney's website and if disney adds any promotions after you book (like free dining) they will add it to your reservations. Disney won't do that from what I understand so you have to wait until promotions are announced to book and might have trouble with get to the dates or rooms or dining reservations you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 We stay at a 2 bedroom villa. We've stayed at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. We have been able to go when they were offer 40% off of room rates. I would also love to stay at one of the beach resorts near Epcot. For use, staying on Disney property is the whole point. I would not want to stay off site, so we just save up and do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjand6more Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 We stay on property usually at a value with adjoining rooms. We have stayed at a family suite, but your group is too big. We had 1 less and a baby under three then. We travel during free dining. It is always a better deal for us and less stressful for me not to have to plan who will share food, etc. We eat breakfast on the go(we are not really breakfast lovers anyway). We have VERY little spending while there. I get each kid a Disney giftcard for souvenirs. When that is gone, it's gone. We try to figure out what tips will be and so there is very little surprise spending. I have seen families there fighting over cost and money, etc. Not gonna happen to us on our vacation. :) We have gone with kids about your kids' ages. Always fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 How do larger families do Disney? Well here, at least, they don't. Can't afford it. This was how I was going to answer. I cannot imagine taking a large family to Disney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I'm thinking your original 5 year plan was better. More time to plan and save and all of the kids will remember it. Also, the ages will be MUCH easier for travel. This. I still rib my parents about the fact that they only time we went to Disney I was about 2 and therefore don't remember it. (Ignore the fact that we took other vacations. None of them were Disney-ish. They were all national/state parks or historical places.) Frankly, if things are out of budget, wouldn't it make sense to save up and do it when the budget isn't so tight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 One option would be to do a value and get 2 adjoining rooms. More expensive than one obviously but less than the more expensive places. I'd try to go when there is free dining. We are going 10/29 - 11/9 this year and our meals will be free the whole time. Saves A Lot Of Money And Is more convenient than worrying about packing food. Plua, you get to say yes to some treats! We've done disney on the cheap twice, staying offsite, driving there (22+ hrs), not eating at all at the park, no snacks, bringing water, etc. It will be nice this time to say yes more often!! I've thought about 2 adjoining rooms and free dining. What I wonder is, why would people who stay on property NOT out for free dining, or plan to go when it's offered? Is there a downfall to it that I'm not seeing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 This. I still rib my parents about the fact that they only time we went to Disney I was about 2 and therefore don't remember it. (Ignore the fact that we took other vacations. None of them were Disney-ish. They were all national/state parks or historical places.) Frankly, if things are out of budget, wouldn't it make sense to save up and do it when the budget isn't so tight? I see your point. I think it would be a whole different trip in 5 years. The thing is, we've been reminded lately that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Budget will always be an issue-no more so now than in 5 yrs. I guess. I don't know, I see both sides quite honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 For discount on park tickets you can plan to go when they have the general homeschool day. Usually in October and February. The ticket prices are fantastic; you just have to attend the general homeschool program on the designated day. It is included with your ticket package and it is for all ages. You can opt to take additional classes for an additional charge. I don't think that you can take advantage with free dining with this offer though. There are specially certified Disney travel agents that can help you at no cost to you. I have stayed both onsite and offsite. And while I used to say that I would always want to stay on site, the convenience and savings of renting an off-site condo/timeshare can't be beat. You and your husband could plan a trip just for the two of you where you can stay on site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I've thought about 2 adjoining rooms and free dining. What I wonder is, why would people who stay on property NOT out for free dining, or plan to go when it's offered? Is there a downfall to it that I'm not seeing? Free dining means you pay rack rate for the room. It works out better for us to use the room discount than free dining. You can always get a campsite at Fort Wilderness and rent a camper. We have done that and it was awesome. These are some good companies- www.meachamsrv.com ( we have used him and what a nice guy), www.greenburgrvflorida.com, and www.fortwildernessrvrentals.com. These three are recommended by a wonderful rv community I am part of. We rent DVC. It is awesome. Old Key West is the biggest rooms on property. Saratoga Springs is nice. I like having a kitchen so I can cook a few meals and save some money. We rent from www.dvcrequest.com or www.dvcrentalstore.com . It is also nice to have a washer and dryer so if you have a child who may tend to puke from overexcitement. www.undercovertourist.com has discounted tickets and is approved by Disney. I would look at DVC or the Campground. The Fort is such a neat place. It is one of our favorite places to stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I recommend picking up "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World." That book is worth its weight in gold and I don't have a big family. The most recent time we went, we stayed in a rented vacation condo off property. I would only do it this way forever after with kids. I don't know why you only want on-site, but staying at Windsor Hills was a thousand times better, it was three miles from Magic Kingdom, the price was comparable, we had space an amenities galore, we had a kitchen which saved huge on meals (and we liked eating this way better), and we had a laundry closet, so wearing outfits a few times was easy. It was a thousand times better than staying in a hotel. I love October if I have my puck of any month to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermama Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I've thought about 2 adjoining rooms and free dining. What I wonder is, why would people who stay on property NOT out for free dining, or plan to go when it's offered? Is there a downfall to it that I'm not seeing? Free dining is usually offered during "slower" times - early fall into the Christmas period, so right when kids are going back to school and parents are reluctant to take them out for a vacation. They usually also offer 30-40% discounts on hotel rooms at the same time, but you can only pick one discount. Depending on how you eat and where you're staying, the hotel discount may save you hundreds of dollars more. The regular dining plan (included as part of free dining for moderate and deluxe hotels) is 1 quick service meal (think fast food meal with drink and a dessert), 1 table service (sit down restaurant including drink and dessert), and 1 snack (like an ice cream bar or popcorn) per person per night. At least when we went, it was a ton of food! The values include a different dining plan that's 2 quick service meals and 1 snack per day. In our experience, getting restaurant reservations during free dining is even more stressful than usual and service isn't as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlanne Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 We have been three times and chose to stay off site each time for different reasons, mostly financial. The last visit we rented a gorgeous 8 bed/3 bath house. It was only 15 minute drive and we loved having the open space. We only paid $1400 for the second week of January. We wanted to stay on site but realized it broke our budget and would not be near as comfortable. We have a family of 8 and the kids were 18, 14, 12, 8, 5, and 3 at the time. Each day we ate breakfast at the house and carried a small cooler in our stroller with sandwiches and waters. We also had a backpack with apples and crackers. The backpack was a lifesaver as our stroller was small. We ate at a Disney restaurant only 2 times while there and ate a quick dinner when we returned home. One other plus with renting a home, the full washroom. I love, love, love having a washer and dryer at my disposal without worrying about extra money. Not only did we not have to pack as much, it came in handy after a day of rain and our shoes were soaked. Drying them that night saved us. Just something to think about if your husband's mind can be swayed. Our late Sept trip was by far the least crowded. We were able to ride the big rides without getting off even. Middle of May trip was crowded but not as crowded as it is in summer time. Still, I prefer to chose another time if possible. Second week in January wasn't bad. We had one busy day, our first, which was expected with crowds still there from New Years. After that, it was smooth sailing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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