Why does Disney make it hard for larger families?

[Mark Vines]

I am married with a step-daughter (16), two sons (10 & 8), one adopted son (5) and two foster daughters (15 months and 4 months). That first and last family trip we took was in December of 2013. Unfortunately, I did not know about this site at the time and hadn’t discovered the DIS Unplugged podcast as well. In fact, that trip did not go as well as I had hoped because I wasn’t as prepared as I wish I had been. When I got back I promised myself I would do the research before planning our next trip. That is when I came across the DIS Unplugged YouTube page and my addiction began!


I am now looking to plan a Disney World trip this upcoming fall but find it difficult to plan the trip and stay on Disney property considering my options are limited unless I am able to spend a ridiculous amount of money (which I cannot). I do realize that if we stay offsite we will spend less money but if I am going to plan a trip for the family we will want to stay onsite. Mainly because of theming but also for the convenience factor, free parking (we will drive to Orlando), fast pass selections and the possibility of free dining (I realize that this is very hard to get now). When we came in 2013 we stayed at All Star Music in one of their suites. This was fine for our family at the time but now we have added two more little ones. This seems to leave me with very few options. The All Star Music & Art of Animation suites state that they can sleep up to 6 adults. Not sure what that means for us since we have two adults and 6 children. Except for the campsites (which my wife would never approve), everything else onsite that would hold our family would be well out of our price range.


Does anyone have any suggestions? Any large families out there that have dealt with these same issues?

Mark

 

[NHdisneylover]

I am married with a step-daughter (16), two sons (10 & 8), one adopted son (5) and two foster daughters (15 months and 4 months). That first and last family trip we took was in December of 2013. Unfortunately, I did not know about this site at the time and hadn’t discovered the DIS Unplugged podcast as well. In fact, that trip did not go as well as I had hoped because I wasn’t as prepared as I wish I had been. When I got back I promised myself I would do the research before planning our next trip. That is when I came across the DIS Unplugged YouTube page and my addiction began!


I am now looking to plan a Disney World trip this upcoming fall but find it difficult to plan the trip and stay on Disney property considering my options are limited unless I am able to spend a ridiculous amount of money (which I cannot). I do realize that if we stay offsite we will spend less money but if I am going to plan a trip for the family we will want to stay onsite. Mainly because of theming but also for the convenience factor, free parking (we will drive to Orlando), fast pass selections and the possibility of free dining (I realize that this is very hard to get now). When we came in 2013 we stayed at All Star Music in one of their suites. This was fine for our family at the time but now we have added two more little ones. This seems to leave me with very few options. The All Star Music & Art of Animation suites state that they can sleep up to 6 adults. Not sure what that means for us since we have two adults and 6 children. Except for the campsites (which my wife would never approve), everything else onsite that would hold our family would be well out of our price range.


Does anyone have any suggestions? Any large families out there that have dealt with these same issues?

Mark

I don't know that Disney makes it any harder than anywhere else to travel with a large family.

That said,
I would look at two connecting rooms at the All Stars (I am not sure if you can guarantee the two will connect--you might possibly end up near one another but not completely together---though we always had the connecting door when we requested it at book back in the day).
You might have to book one adult with three kids in each room officially, but then can sleep whereever you want--and it is nice to have two full bathrooms to get ready in.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I'd seriously consider renting a large vacation home. We rented a 4 bedroom pool home on our last trip for $850 all-in for a week and it was divine. It was less than a 10 min drive to be in the WDW gates and the price of parking was nothing compared to the price we'd pay trying to rent a 3 bedroom DVC villa. You also may have better luck posting on the Disney Resorts message board.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Maybe look into a DVC 2 bedroom villa or 3 bedroom grand villa? They can be booked with cash directly from Disney, or you can rent points from an owner (either directly or through a broker like Davids).

Technically a 2 bedroom sleeps up to 9.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I don't have experience with large groups, but I think you could book 8 people in two rooms, with one adult in each room. I've heard they don't guarantee adjoining rooms, but I'm assuming they make every effort, and it might even be advantageous to have two separate spaces so the little ones could nap, get to sleep earlier, etc.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Another idea - the hotels in the Disney Springs area have shuttles, if not having to drive to the parks is the important convenience for you. I don't know what kind of options they have for large groups, but it might be worth a look.

 

[marmalade]

All Star Sports is usually the cheapest room option onsite. I don't know when you plan on going but I just booked a room for Oct 2017 for $110 a night. You could do 2 rooms there.

 

[mjkacmom]

Your family is twice as big as most, you get 2 connecting rooms (we've been a family of 7 for almost 14 years, used to it). A family of 8 will cost twice as much as a family of 4.

 

[hockeywoman]

Family of 7 (soon to be 8) here. I would vote on site with 2 connecting rooms at a value. With only 1 adult in each room we've always gotten priority for connecting. We travel at Christmas as well which is one of the busiest times of the year.

 

[Kitty 34]

The last couple of years we went to Disney we did two rooms at the All Stars......but our children were late teens and young adults. We loved the 2-bathroom scenario!!!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

The solution is pretty easy really.
Just book 2 rooms and request that they be connecting with a door in between.
1 adult in each room and then 3 kids in each room.

 

[Gracie09]

Disney doesn't make it difficult for large families, the size of you family makes travel difficult, anywhere. Your family is more than double the size of the average us family.
I would look at renting points for a DVc villa but make sure you know the pros and cons. I would also look at the treehouse villas. Also with a villa you have a full kitchen so you have an option of cooking breakfast in the room and can save some money that way

 

[smokeyblue]

If you think having a large family is bad, try going as a single or couple. The per person cost is much higher!

Really, it seems your cheapest option is to book 2 rooms. Seems reasonable to me. I would really urge you to look at renting a villa offsite or a condo. You would save a mint, especially if you ate a few meals in.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We prefer to stay offsite as a family of 6--much more room to spread out. However, it's important to mention that we also really value our space, and aren't into "commando touring". I would be more inclined to do the "2 rooms at a Value" option if we were only going to be there to sleep and shower.

Lodging off-site is much cheaper, but you also pay for parking and lose some perks (like early booking of fastpasses). OTOH, you can save on food by cooking some meals.

Another decent option is staying at Bonnet Creek, which has ample shuttle service, full kitchens, and is very close to WDW. It would be cheaper than staying DVC, but pricier than 2 value rooms.

A little off-thread, but a good website for you is sixsuitcasetravel.com, which lists hotels all over the country that accommodate larger families. I feel your pain on the costs of many blessings!

 

[maxiesmom]

Disney doesn't make it harder on larger families. Going by cost per person rooms are cheaper for larger families than small ones. As with everything else, cars, food, the more people you have the more expensive stuff is.

For a family your size the absolute cheapest thing to do would be to camp. If you are not into camping, then 2 rooms at an All Star. There are people who rent travel trailers and will even set them up at Disney's campground for you. Would your wife do that? You would be able to get lots of different beds/pull outs, be able to cook, and depending on the size of the trailer, even be able to have more than one bathroom.

 

[mefordis]

How about two connecting rooms at POP?

 

[Southernmiss]

We are a family of 6 age 14 and up. We love Fort Wilderness cabins and we are not ccampers.

We considered renting a 10 person RV our last trip and may do that in the future. Cooking in the cabin saved us a lot. Full kitchen and fridge We loved putting something in the crock pot in the a.m. and coming back to a home cooked meal midday.

 

[LilyWDW]

By having a larger family, you sort of accept that these things will be harder. You made the decision and this is just one of those things that goes along with it.

Disney will NOT guarantee connecting rooms, so doing anything with connecting rooms will be up to luck. You have to decide if you are willing to take the chance that you will not be able to get them.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Not really any different than any other vacation destination. Europe is fun because it is a challenge to find a hotel
For a large family.

Sometimes,we don't get the vacations we want because we have to pay for a lot of people. The onus is on us with large families to do what we can to make it within our budget.

For Disney, we went the DVc route because we do like staying in property. But it isn't for everyone. We have the basic amount of points and can really only vacation in the size room we need every other year. Or in very short couple night stays.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Strange question. I would actually say large families are making it hard for Disney with all of their connecting room requests and swap outs. If you want to stay onsite then do what is necessary and pay for 2 rooms. If you don't get connecting rooms, then it's going to be 1 adult and 3 kids in each room.

Personally, that sounds like a very difficult trip with all of those young kids and the babies. Not sure how you're going to sort all that out but I wish you the best of luck.