Christmas Trip Planning

[bkfamilyof5]

Hello DisBoards!

My family is in the very early stages of planning a multi-generation trip to Disney World over Christmas/New Years 2018. We are: My immediate family of myself, DH, 3 kids who will be 9, 6 & 4. My mother-in-law (74 with some long walking issues), and SIL's family of her, her dh and 2 kids ages 12 & 7. SIL has mobility issues and says she will need a motorized scooter.

So... DH has a dream of staying at the Grand Floridian. We know this is the most expensive resort and are of course willing to consider other options. He thinks staying on the monorail is a huge asset. I'm considering whether it makes more sense to stay off-site, rent a big van (or 2 cars) and have a little more flexibility. We also plan to visit Universal for maybe 2-3 days, because the older kids are very into Harry Potter.

Any tips or advice for hotels and ways to get around? We've been to WDW with our kids twice - stayed at Polynesian once and PO Riverside the second time. Definitely preferred Poly especially for the ease of getting around (kids we 21 mos and 4 and I was 6 mos pregnant) but we managed with the busses at POR alright as well. My concern is adding a motorized scooter is going to make it even more difficult.

Help!!

 

[sponica]

First see how many people will actually want to ride anything at Universal. Because it doesn't make sense for the whole gang to go to Universal if only a handful of people want to ride the rides. (I've left non riders at the Disney hotel and 5 of us piled into a cab to Universal)

Second, figure out what parks you want to visit Christmas and New Year's Eve/New Year's Day. Traffic is bonkers, so I wouldn't want to be offsite those days.

In addition to the monorail loop, I'd explore the Epcot resorts, you get walking/boat access to 2 parks (epcot and hollywood studios). Toy Story Land will be open by then.

I definitely think that time of year, on site is better than offsite, even with going to Universal. You can always call a mears cab or uber/lyft to universal.

 

[jvz82]

We're planning a big family trip like that at Christmas 2019 and are thinking we'll stay off-site. The biggest reason for us is that the resort prices are soooo much higher at Christmas time. :/ It's just not do-able! We found these huge houses off-site that are really close by, have enough beds for all 18 of us, have a small pool right at the house, plus a bigger pool area near by too. It's way cheaper. Keeping in mind of course that we drive, so we have access to cars already. I've stayed off-site at Christmas time before and never found traffic to be that bad. But we didn't drive back and forth much, we would get there early in the morning and stay until we were done for the day.

If money wasn't an issue, I would totally be staying on-site though. Obviously way more convenient and fun.

So a lot of it just really depends on what kind of trip you all want to have. Typically for us on our big family trips, people don't want to spend a ton of money and we end up off-site. If you have several groups of people who are all willing to spend the money, Grand Floridian and some of the other resorts are pretty amazing and the convenience is a big factor, plus getting to book fast passes sooner.

 

[Tksolomom]

If you are going to Universal for 3 days, it might be worthwhile to stay at one of their deluxe resorts those days so you get the free express pass, especially for that time of year

 

[bkfamilyof5]

Thanks all. The traffic isn’t something I thought about, good point. I know staying on-site is a lot easier and also a lot more expensive. Dh and I will be footing the bill for everyone so of course cost is a concern. We are likely going to need 2 rooms (for 5 people each), is that feasible at most resorts? Are there any resorts that allow for 6 in a room? What Epcot-area resorts are recommended and are those also able to access the monorail to get to MK? Trying to figure out the logistics for so many people is making me feel overwhelmed! And I haven’t even gotten into fast passes! Eek!

 

[sponica]

Thanks all. The traffic isn’t something I thought about, good point. I know staying on-site is a lot easier and also a lot more expensive. Dh and I will be footing the bill for everyone so of course cost is a concern. We are likely going to need 2 rooms (for 5 people each), is that feasible at most resorts? Are there any resorts that allow for 6 in a room? What Epcot-area resorts are recommended and are those also able to access the monorail to get to MK? Trying to figure out the logistics for so many people is making me feel overwhelmed! And I haven’t even gotten into fast passes! Eek!

The family suites at Art of Animation sleep 6, but I don't know what type of bed surfaces they are.

The places I know that sleep 5 usually involve a smallish murphy bed (might work for your 4 year old) and people sharing beds.

Honestly for a trip this complex, with this many moving parts, I'd contact a Disney travel agent. Then all you have to do is give them your budget/requests/etc.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thanks all. The traffic isn’t something I thought about, good point. I know staying on-site is a lot easier and also a lot more expensive. Dh and I will be footing the bill for everyone so of course cost is a concern. We are likely going to need 2 rooms (for 5 people each), is that feasible at most resorts? Are there any resorts that allow for 6 in a room? What Epcot-area resorts are recommended and are those also able to access the monorail to get to MK? Trying to figure out the logistics for so many people is making me feel overwhelmed! And I haven’t even gotten into fast passes! Eek!

The EP resorts are located behind EP WS, so cannot directly access the EP monorail. From the EP resorts, you can boat or walk to both EP and DHS, but will need to take a bus to MK and AK.

All deluxes except AKL have rooms that will sleep 5. WL has rooms that sleep 6, but they tend to be pricey because they are CL rooms.

There are some mods and values that can sleep 5 or 6 per room, but if you want ease of transportation, I wouldn’t even consider them.

If most of your time will be at MK, pick a monorail resort. Poly will give you monorail access to MK, plus you can walk to TTC from there to catch the EP monorail. If most of your time will be in EP and DHS, go with an EP resort.

I would let your park touring plan dictate your resort choice! We stayed at BWI during Christmas week 2015 and it saved our trip because we didn’t have to deal with traffic or crowded WDW transportation for two parks - it was awesome!

 

[Bamaclan4]

My family of 4 stayed at AOA in a Lion King Suite last Dec. 20-26. My DH and I had a queen bed in the master. DS 18 and 24 both 6 ft and over slept comfortably on the pullout sofa and Murphy bed. We used Disney buses all but 1 trip and usually came back for mid day breaks and traveled daily to 2 or more resorts for dining or park hopping. Seldom had to wait for buses more than 5 or 10 minutes. We could have easily had another person stay with us. FYI we have also stayed at ASMU suites which are cheaper and enjoyed them, we just wanted to try AOA.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Normally, I would say to save a boatload of money and stay offsite. You’ll have more room, a kitchen, more bathrooms, etc. The fact that you have guests with mobility issues in your party changes my usual advice. I would recommend renting scooters for both your DMIL and DSIL from an offsite company. First, they are necessary for almost anyone with mobility problems to be able to really and enjoyably experience the parks. Second, by renting from an offsite company, they will always have access to the device. The parks tend to run out quickly at that time of year, and you have to turn them in when you leave the park and get to your car or bus without them. The caveat is that loading these devices into a car is a challenge (and I can’t even fathom getting two into one car— even a big car). However, loading them on to WDW busses or the monorail is relatively easy. There’s extra steps involved but cast members handle most of that. Just make sure you have space for them in your room along with all the luggage and stuff we tend to collect during a trip. They need to be charged nightly. This may mean staying in a less expensive resort but renting two rooms rather than one. But the good part is that even in a sprawling WDW Resort, your guests will be able to use the scooters to get around to the main hall, bus loop, pool, etc.

 

[Spunky946]

It will be very crowded and there maybe park closures some days those weeks. We stayed off property the week we went and it was doable, it just takes extra planning.

It would definitely be easier on-site.

 

[bkfamilyof5]

Thanks all. When you say park closures do you mean they reach capacity and close to new people? Does staying onsite affect that all?

 

[sponica]

Thanks all. When you say park closures do you mean they reach capacity and close to new people? Does staying onsite affect that all?

They haven't reached a level like that in years. I think they reached phase 1 closures over the holidays, so if you didn't have tickets purchased or only had one day tickets you were turned away at the gates.