Party of 15. Help us decide resorts.

[godwin25]

Need help deciding on a resort. There will be 15 of us; 2 grandparents 60+, my sister and her husband, 16 yr old son, 6 yr old daughter, my other sister and her husband, 10 yr old son and 2 yr old daughter, my wife and I, our 8 yr old daughter, and our 22 yr old son and girlfriend (ages at time of trip). We will traveling down Thanksgiving week 2018 for 9 or 10 days. Thinking of 3 suites and a king room at AOA, 3 rooms with 2 Queens and a pull down and 1 King room at either Caribbean or Riverside. I know that AOA would be the cheaper way to go but which resort would be better for our group?

 

[maxiesmom]

Taking the grandparents into consideration I would go with Riverside. Or have you considered 2 treehouse villas?

 

[Emma Rose]

Have you considered villas at any of the deluxe resorts?? The Beach Club villas are beautiful, not to mention Stormalong Bay is one of the best pools at WDW!

 

[HopperFan]

King seems to be important so I would look at a resort where it's a bookable category, otherwise it's just a request.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Need help deciding on a resort. There will be 15 of us; 2 grandparents 60+, my sister and her husband, 16 yr old son, 6 yr old daughter, my other sister and her husband, 10 yr old son and 2 yr old daughter, my wife and I, our 8 yr old daughter, and our 22 yr old son and girlfriend (ages at time of trip). We will traveling down Thanksgiving week 2018 for 9 or 10 days. Thinking of 3 suites and a king room at AOA, 3 rooms with 2 Queens and a pull down and 1 King room at either Caribbean or Riverside. I know that AOA would be the cheaper way to go but which resort would be better for our group?

AoA suites won't price out less than the standard rooms at POR or CBR. Of all the resorts, I prefer POR, but the only family that will be guaranteed a room with 2 queens and an extra bed at that resort would be the family of 5 in your travel group. I think you may have to decide if cost or space is more important.

 

[HopperFan]

AoA suites won't price out less than the standard rooms at POR or CBR. Of all the resorts, I prefer POR, but the only family that will be guaranteed a room with 2 queens and an extra bed at that resort would be the family of 5 in your travel group. I think you may have to decide if cost or space is more important.

Someone correct me if wrong but if you book Preferred at POR, isn't that AB with the fold down bunk? Paying the extra could guarantee the bunk.

 

[DeanDoug]

Have you considered renting DVC? OKW is terrific and the villas are huge.

 

[Dis703]

Someone correct me if wrong but if you book Preferred at POR, isn't that AB with the fold down bunk? Paying the extra could guarantee the bunk.

Yes, booking a preferred at POR is the only way at the mods to make sure you get a room with a Murphy bed.

ETA: Unless of course you put 5 people ages 3 and up in those rooms, then it's automatic at POR or CBR.

 

[ashnic4286]

Need help deciding on a resort. There will be 15 of us; 2 grandparents 60+, my sister and her husband, 16 yr old son, 6 yr old daughter, my other sister and her husband, 10 yr old son and 2 yr old daughter, my wife and I, our 8 yr old daughter, and our 22 yr old son and girlfriend (ages at time of trip). We will traveling down Thanksgiving week 2018 for 9 or 10 days. Thinking of 3 suites and a king room at AOA, 3 rooms with 2 Queens and a pull down and 1 King room at either Caribbean or Riverside. I know that AOA would be the cheaper way to go but which resort would be better for our group?

I usually travel with a party of 12-18 and in my experience renting a 3br villa at SSR, AKV, or OKW & a standard studio will accommodate your group comfortably. Your other option would be renting (2) 2br at any of the delux resorts. I personally love the BCV, with a large party and long stay you will get the most for your buck. Stromalong bay acts a water park itself, the location to Epcot and DHS makes it a breeze to head back to the room and break up the days. I'd say the cost difference would be within $1000 but when you have the full kitchens and laundry in the room, you'll be saving that much and then some by the end of it. I usually ship a box a dry goods down the week we are arriving and then utilize garden grocer. we are able to save so much just by bringing snacks and having a light breakfast before heading out. With a large party I would strongly suggest 2, 2brd. Have fun!!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would do all separate rooms and have each family unit/couple book their own room/package.

Personally I would go with a moderate for queen beds and an awesome pool. We've done CBR before and loved it. CSR looks really nice to me. If you were willing to spend money on AoA suite can you possibly swing a deluxe? We had a lovely stay at the Beach Club. The walk to Epcot and the pool were amazing. You can request a room with a daybed. We had one and it's a nice size daybed.

 

[godwin25]

Considered the Treehouse Villas but the distance of them from amenities concerns us.
Would consider other Villas but everyone likes their privacy. And everyone wants housekeeping everyday. Maybe 5 1BR villas would work.
We are now considering 4 preferred rooms and 1 king at POR or 5 standard view rooms at AKL.
Price is important but not the final consideration. My parents are taking everyone as a once in a lifetime trip. They tend to go all out on things. They have mentioned wanting to do Wilderness Lodge so who knows we may be doing 5 villas there. Wish I could get price for Nov. 2018 right now. We also hoping for free dining and upgrading to Deluxe Dining since we will doing a lot of character meals.

 

[hakepb]

Considered the Treehouse Villas but the distance of them from amenities concerns us.
Would consider other Villas but everyone likes their privacy. And everyone wants housekeeping everyday. Maybe 5 1BR villas would work.
We are now considering 4 preferred rooms and 1 king at POR or 5 standard view rooms at AKL.
Price is important but not the final consideration. My parents are taking everyone as a once in a lifetime trip. They tend to go all out on things. They have mentioned wanting to do Wilderness Lodge so who knows we may be doing 5 villas there. Wish I could get price for Nov. 2018 right now. We also hoping for free dining and upgrading to Deluxe Dining since we will doing a lot of character meals.

The new waterfront cabins (2BR, vaulted ceiling, see-through fireplace..) and villas in the lodge will probably be running by then.

 

[dmband]

AoA suites won't price out less than the standard rooms at POR or CBR. Of all the resorts, I prefer POR, but the only family that will be guaranteed a room with 2 queens and an extra bed at that resort would be the family of 5 in your travel group. I think you may have to decide if cost or space is more important.

Qft, we are doing three rooms at POR for less then 1 suite at AOA, this is because AOA doesn't offer anywhere near as good of discounts.

You can't go wrong with POR or cbr I only but POR is smaller and might work better with the grandparents
Booked preferred at POR to guarantee the fold down beds

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

We have 12 in our family and have spent the last several vacations at Wilderness Lodge. We are usually able get adjoining rooms (we have 3 rooms) and enjoy meeting in front of the lobby fireplace. There are several small areas with fireplaces on different floors that have rocking chairs and sofas --fun areas to meet as well as in the lobby. We do request standard views so know that your room views aren't great..but you do have balconies. The lodge itself is fun to explore, has great pool and beach areas, plus the ability to walk to Ft. Wilderness and see the animals or enjoy the bar b que ---makes for a fun resort time. One of the best reasons to stay at Wilderness Lodge is the watercraft to the Magic Kingdom--easy to board even with strollers and such a pleasant way to travel. We drive so we don't use the buses - just drive to the other parks and either walk to the gates or take the shuttles.
The beds are queen sized and comfortable. The only criticism of Wilderness Lodge is the food court --too small and limited for a hotel that size. We do bring our cereal/breakfast items (and the rooms do have a fridge) and coffee maker to enjoy breakfast in our rooms. We have not had any real issues with the renovations which I believe may be completed by the time you arrive. We have spent several Thanksgivings there - the decorations are up and the Wilderness Lodge looks terrific.
Hope this helps - good luck with your decision making!