Family of 7 so have to book 2 of our kids in inlaw’s room who aren’t getting mealplan

[LynnTH]

With kids your ages have you considered Boardwalk or Beachclub. Not sure how they compare to pricing but I love that location. Can walk/take boat to Epcot and Hollywood Studios and the area is beautiful and fun. You may want to price this out as an option also. We have always rented DVC points and stayed at Boardwalk. My kids are now 19 and 17 and it is their favorite.

 

[monorailsilver]

Not sure when you are going but don’t forget tomlok up TAs with magical deals! Glad you decided on the CR. I have never stayed there but it suits your family’s needs more then the GF could.

Lastly, is it rude that I don't want to put my children in my sister in law's room nor in the couple without children's room? I know I'm going to get grief from his entire family over this because they want us all to be in the Grand Flo, but I want my kids with me in my room. Period. It's hard to keep 5 ducklings in a row when your 5 ducklings are scattered about & I don't want to have to get them from those rooms and chit chat with the inlaws about where we are going and when blah blah blah every time I need to get my kids. The single sisterinlaw only likes my husband of all her siblings so she's clingy but she's SO difficult (it's why her other siblings avoid her - they're blunt). She ends up arguing with my kids then eventually I lose my cool because trying to accomodate and take into consideration the ideas and desires of children ranging from 17-3 at Disney is challenging enough without an adult child inlaw sticking herself into the middle of it, ya know? But again, his parents are gonna be like "why don't your girls stay with Liza? They can totally stay with Liza." I feel like if I'm paying the difference (not asking them to buy the second room) then they shouldn't give me grief, right? Or am I being bratty?

No, no and no. Your SIL is nutty, I would want to keep my kids near me.

And if they give your grief remind them it is your vacation too and your family has been screwed out of a skiing trip so you want to make it the best possible trip for your family and want to be all together OR you can back out and tell them you are going skiing...hmmmm....evil in me says to back out when they all purchased non refundable plane tickets.

They will see you in the park, some meals but just not the pool! And you will get to the park quicker with out rounding up all 23 (?) of you Wanda waiting for the stragglers. You can text them and say “we are in xx ride, meet us at the exit when you get here.”

I also agree with the posters advising you to ditch the meal plan. You'll likely save money by paying out of pocket, and it will definitely be less complicated.

I agree. We don’t do the meal plan, do a small handful of ADRs and still come out ahead. We bring breakfast, have water bottles (water is on,y allowed in the park, aka cheaper). Sometimes we are not hungry so we will split something, etc...

 

[NYCgrrl]

Thank you for your reply. Y'all are all right. I am SO glad I joined here.

I just looked at the contemporary because I really want to be on the monorail. If I book 2 rooms at the Contemporary it will only cost 1500 more than if we went the squish them all into one room route at the GFloridian. Earlier the only room that was coming up at the contemporary was 5 or 6,000 more than if we squeezed in illegally at the GF. I think that 6,000 dollar more room was a suite so that's why it was so much more. Since I was entering my entire family that is the only room that would come up at the contemporary. Just now, I broke us up into my husband, our 3 boys in one room then me and our 2 girls in another room. Those 2 rooms added together will only cost 1500 more that if we squished in like sardines at the Grand Floridian. So I will book 2 rooms at the Contemporary.

Questions:
I'm totally cool with the 1500 more as is my husband. Is the contemporary getting shabby? Should we forgo the monorail to stay somewhere else that's not on the monorail but is in the same price range for 2 rooms?

If I book 2 rooms, I have to put myself in one and my husband in the other while booking since we are the only ones in our family over 18. Will this be a problem with fast passes etc - being split up during the booking process? I kept seeing replies worried about the reservations and fast passes so now I'm worried about 2 rooms even though everyone in both rooms are my family members.

Also, I'm thinking I will actually put our 17 year old and our 10 year old in the second room so I can be with my husband. Is there a way to make sure the rooms are next to each other?

Lastly, is it rude that I don't want to put my children in my sister in law's room nor in the couple without children's room? I know I'm going to get grief from his entire family over this because they want us all to be in the Grand Flo, but I want my kids with me in my room. Period. It's hard to keep 5 ducklings in a row when your 5 ducklings are scattered about & I don't want to have to get them from those rooms and chit chat with the inlaws about where we are going and when blah blah blah every time I need to get my kids. The single sisterinlaw only likes my husband of all her siblings so she's clingy but she's SO difficult (it's why her other siblings avoid her - they're blunt). She ends up arguing with my kids then eventually I lose my cool because trying to accomodate and take into consideration the ideas and desires of children ranging from 17-3 at Disney is challenging enough without an adult child inlaw sticking herself into the middle of it, ya know? But again, his parents are gonna be like "why don't your girls stay with Liza? They can totally stay with Liza." I feel like if I'm paying the difference (not asking them to buy the second room) then they shouldn't give me grief, right? Or am I being bratty?

Thanks everyone. I should probably have hired a therapist rather than taken this to the Disney Boards. LOL

Just back from our first stay at the Contemporary so here are my impressions whilst still fresh.
Conveniently located to the other monorail hotels as well as MK and AK.
We stayed on the 12th floor at club level and I hated the terrace, LOL; too narrow and open for my fairly mild phobias. The room's bathroom was nicely set up for multiple use of the room's occupants. One person can use the WC housed in a separate room while another showers or uses the sink. This was a great time saver for the 4 of us. The rooms were well decorated in a thematic and utilitarian manner. Nice amt. of USB ports and electrical outlets. I didn't feel an update was needed in the room we were in.

All and all I would return to this hotel but not stay in a CL room since I prefer the offerings at YC's and Poly's lounges.

 

[Bmh4796]

With kids your ages have you considered Boardwalk or Beachclub. Not sure how they compare to pricing but I love that location. Can walk/take boat to Epcot and Hollywood Studios and the area is beautiful and fun. You may want to price this out as an option also. We have always
rented DVC points and stayed at Boardwalk. My kids are now 19 and 17 and it is their favorite.

What is DVC?

 

[Bmh4796]

Not sure when you are going but don’t forget tomlok up TAs with magical deals! Glad you decided on the CR. I have never stayed there but it suits your family’s needs more then the GF could.



No, no and no. Your SIL is nutty, I would want to keep my kids near me.

And if they give your grief remind them it is your vacation too and your family has been screwed out of a skiing trip so you want to make it the best possible trip for your family and want to be all together OR you can back out and tell them you are going skiing...hmmmm....evil in me says to back out when they all purchased non refundable plane tickets.

They will see you in the park, some meals but just not the pool! And you will get to the park quicker with out rounding up all 23 (?) of you Wanda waiting for the stragglers. You can text them and say “we are in xx ride, meet us at the exit when you get here.”



I agree. We don’t do the meal plan, do a small handful of ADRs and still come out ahead. We bring breakfast, have water bottles (water is on,y allowed in the park, aka cheaper). Sometimes we are not hungry so we will split something, etc...

I’m still learning the lingo
What are AVRs?
DVCs
And TA’s?

 

[LynnTH]

What is DVC?

Disny Vacation Club. So basically Disney Timeshare. I can usually rent a Boardwalk Studio DVC for about the cost of Value/Moderate. I have rented from Disboards before and now we know someone with points so get direct from them. There is a DVC forum with lots of good info. You rent points from an owner and normally cannot cancel and they own your reservation so you can't make any changes. You need to do your homework but is an awesome way to stay. (The Studios sleep 4-5 and have a Kitchenette in them. The 1 and 2 Bedroom Sleep 4-9 and come with full kitchens and washer/dryer. Very nice.

 

[Bmh4796]

Disny Vacation Club. So basically Disney Timeshare. I can usually rent a Boardwalk Studio DVC for about the cost of Value/Moderate. I have rented from Disboards before and now we know someone with points so get direct from them. There is a DVC forum with lots of


good info. You rent points from an owner and normally cannot cancel and they own

your reservation so you can't make any changes. You need to do your homework but is an awesome way to stay. (The Studios sleep 4-5 and have a Kitchenette

in them. The 1 and 2 Bedroom Sleep 4-9 and come with full kitchens and washer/dryer. Very nice.

Ohhhhh. Interesting. I’m getting nervous about the time. We’re goibv the first week of March so I’m worried if I don’t book 2 rooms at the contemporary today that the prices will go up or they will run out of rooms with the lower price. Is that crazy? Should i take the day to research DVCs/Timeshares?

 

[LynnTH]

Ohhhhh. Interesting. I’m getting nervous about the time. We’re goibv the first week of March so I’m worried if I don’t book 2 rooms at the contemporary today that the prices will go up or they will run out of rooms with the lower price. Is that crazy? Should i take the day to research DVCs/Timeshares?

Can you book something that you are able to cancel and then do some research? There also has to be availability with DVC. Their is a Timeshare Company that rents points (David's Rentals). Never used him but he gets good review and is a Disboard Sponsor. DVC can be booked 11 months in advance. So, your timeframe was available for renting in April.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Ohhhhh. Interesting. I’m getting nervous about the time. We’re goibv the first week of March so I’m worried if I don’t book 2 rooms at the contemporary today that the prices will go up or they will run out of rooms with the lower price. Is that crazy? Should i take the day to research DVCs/Timeshares?

Go ahead and book at the Contemporary. it's early enough that you'll get your deposit back if you want to change but still gives you time to continue a search.

AVR is probably a typo and ADR is meant which means advance dining reservation.
TA= travel agent

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I'm confused... are all these adults actually functional adults with jobs? No judgement if they are unable to work, but really now, if they do....

there is absolutely nothing standing in the way of your family taking the ski vacation you want, and NOT using the Bank of Mom and Dad.
there is also absolutely nothing standing in the way of your sister's family taking the Disney vacation they want, and NOT using the Bank of Mom and Dad.

If all that is standing in the way of your vacation is the manipulative tactics in order to use the Bank of Mom and Dad, then omit that part. You do you!

Too bad for the other siblings and their sob stories if they "cannot" vacation on their own dime and need to use manipulation in order to use the Bank of Mom and Dad. Sounds like they haven't earned the vacation and don't get to go. wah. *waves very small violin*

 

[10CJ]

We use have used DVC Rental Store twice in the past and have a May 2019 trip booked with them. They have a point calculator on their website that you can see how much it would cost for your stay.

A 2 bedroom theme park view is about the same as standard view at the Grand Floridian. I just put in random dates in March. March 3-9 is $7128 for BLT theme park view, lake and standard view are less than 6k. The Grand Floridian is $7092 for standard view and $8334 for lake view.

The 2 bedrooms at Bay Lake Tower will have three bathroom.

 

[monorailsilver]

I’m still learning the lingo
What are AVRs?
DVCs
And TA’s?

You got your answers I see! I am still learning how to type...or I should say my iPad has a mind of its own.

 

[Bmh4796]

Go ahead and book at the Contemporary. it's early enough that you'll get your deposit back if you want to change but still gives you time to continue a search.

AVR is probably a typo and ADR is meant which means advance dining reservation.
TA= travel agent

Ok so I'm running all these numbers on the dining plans now but am certain we want 2 rooms at the Contemporary. Since I'm still going round and round on the meal plans, can I book the contemporary now with our 5 days of passes and the park hopper then add the dining plan later if I end up figuring out it will be a deal for us?

Right now I'm thinking I'll book My husband, our 16yr old, 6 yr old and 3 year old in one room and get the deluxe plan for them
then in the next room book me, our 10 yr old and 17yr old with NO dining plan at all.

This will cost 1,600 dollars
we will get 60 credits to use at TS or QS for adults or children (doesn't matter where, who, or what age with the deluxe right?)
We will get 40 snacks, so that will cover "breakfast" every morning for anyone who doesn't want a granola bar or apple as well as a dole whip thingy and mickey ice cream bars every now and then.

I figured we will all need 2 credits per day EXCEPT our 3 year old. We can share with him.
so that's 12 credits per day to cover everyone except the baby. so that's 60 credits. Perfect! Right?
some places we will need 2 credits so we will pay out of pocket for a few QS lunches rather than waste our credits on QS when we can be putting them towards Boma, Be our guest, Flying Fish etc. And I really loved The Wave at the Contemporary.

So does that sound like a good plan? Can we share with our 3 year old or is there a rule against that? If so, then that blows up my whole plan. If we can't share with him then I'm thinking we should go the OOP route.

Anyway, my main question is can I book the Contemporary now and add the deluxe plan to one room in a couple of days once I'm certain we don't or don't want the plan?

Thanks everyone. Y'all have really made an experience that I wasn't really looking forward to to one that I actually am now! Now that I don't have to choose between being sardined stepping over my boys on the floor breaking fire code or waking up inlaws to wake up my kids in the morning down the hall only to be followed and frustrated by my adult child sisterinlaw all day. Those 2 choices were not desirable! I'm excited now that we will be in the Contemporary! I'm actually looking forward to planning out each day/theme parks!

 

[Bmh4796]

Oh my. Now that just might change everything again! I'll definitely check that out in the morning. I'll tell my husband that I've narrowed it down to 2 places. He will laugh and say tell me when it's 4

thanks for the tip about the calculator. when I looked into the DVCs earlier today, I didn't see any prices. So I didn't look into them much further. That calculator will be handy!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

There's no rush to book the dining plan. You can add it up until a few days before you check in.

The only places you can't share with the 3 year old would be buffets (like Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, etc), family style meals (like Garden Grill, Ohana, etc), dinner shows (like Hoop Dee Doo, Spirit of aloha, Mickey's backyard BBQ) and prix fixe meals (like Cinderella's Royal Table). Anyone can share at regular restaurants.

So with what you've listed, the 3 year old could share at Flying Fish. You'd have to pay for him (or use a dining credit)at Boma as that's a buffet. With The Wave, he could share unless you did the breakfast buffet, where you'd have to pay child's price/ use a dining credit. With Be Our Guest, dinner is switching to a signature meal later this month and there's speculation about whether sharing will be allowed since it will be prix fixe.

 

[Bmh4796]

They're all functioning with jobs except the one adult child that I know better than to be around for long periods of time. Sadly, she's not normal or functioning. I love her and pray for her, but that doesn't change the fact that she's one of the very few people that can really get under my skin enough to make me confrontational.

One of the families is normal functioning but on a tight budget. The other 2 siblings can totally afford it. The newlyweds, though they can afford it, they have no kids. So they're like whaaatttt - especially the young little wife. She was like what's up with this? I said "welcome to the family" and laughed.

I was really annoyed when we responded to a group text saying we were going skiing only to get the response no one goes if we all don't go : /

It's tough because we don't want to seem ungrateful, but at the same time it was annoying. They're generous and loving but just very different. For example, they don't even go to the theme parks. So they buy all this for us then don't go. They stay in the room or do things in Orlando proper. Isn't that strange? To each his own I guess.

Anyway, the kids are really excited except for our 16 year old son. He was REALLY looking forward to skiing. We will probably still go, but in 2020 or 2021.

 

[Bmh4796]

There's no rush to book the dining plan. You can add it up until a few days before you check in.

The only places you can't share with the 3 year old would be buffets (like Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, etc), family style meals (like Garden Grill, Ohana, etc), dinner shows (like Hoop Dee Doo, Spirit of aloha, Mickey's backyard BBQ) and prix fixe meals (like Cinderella's Royal Table). Anyone can share at regular restaurants.

So with what you've listed, the 3 year old could share at Flying Fish. You'd have to pay for him (or use a dining credit)at Boma as that's a buffet. With The Wave, he could share unless you did the breakfast buffet, where you'd have to pay child's price/ use a dining credit. With Be Our Guest, dinner is switching to a signature meal later this month and there's speculation about whether sharing will be allowed since it will be prix fixe.

Awesome! Thanks!

I'm kind of set on doing the 2 adult deluxe and 2 kid deluxe - it's a pretty good deal considering we are paying kid deluxe prices but can use the credits for adults. Can I book that tomm with the rooms and then remove it if I change my mind later? Or can you only add things later/not remove things.

& this i'm just curious about - doesn't really matter. But suppose we are somewhere that we want to get him a kids meal or pay for his buffet. will they allow that? or do we have to use a dining credit if everyone else in the family is using a dining credit? just curious

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Awesome! Thanks!

I'm kind of set on doing the 2 adult deluxe and 2 kid deluxe - it's a pretty good deal considering we are paying kid deluxe prices but can use the credits for adults. Can I book that tomm with the rooms and then remove it if I change my mind later? Or can you only add things later/not remove things.

& this i'm just curious about - doesn't really matter. But suppose we are somewhere that we want to get him a kids meal or pay for his buffet. will they allow that? or do we have to use a dining credit if everyone else in the family is using a dining credit? just curious

You can take the dining plan off later if you want, up to I think 30 days before you check in, which is the paid in full date. After that, I think you can still change things but they might charge a fee if it's something that makes your package cheaper like removing the dining plan? I k ow up to 30 days prior though, you can add and delete all you want with no penalty.

You can absolutely pay for some people's meals with the dining plan and others out of pocket. We did that when we had extra table service meals than what our plan covered and someone was ordering something cheap that wasn't really worth a credit. You can do it too if you don't have enough credits or want to save them for later or whatever. You can do it at quick service or restaurants. Just tell them what you want to use dining credits for and what you want to pay out of pocket for.

In case you didn't already kniw, at all table service restaurants, you will be charged an automatic 18% gratuity since you have at least 6 people. The dining plan does not cover that, but you can pay with cash, card, gift card, etc and the server will bring the receipt with the balance owed (meals minus dining credits used plus gratuity), so if you do pay for all the meals with dining credits, you'd just owe the 18% gratuity.

 

[Bmh4796]

I think I'm going to go the BLT route. I just sent them the availability request to see if it's available. Thx for this!

 

[Bmh4796]

You can take the dining plan off later if you want, up to I think 30 days before you check in, which is the paid in full date. After that, I think you can still change things but they might charge a fee if it's something that makes your package cheaper like removing the dining plan? I k ow up to 30 days prior though, you can add and delete all you want with no penalty.

You can absolutely pay for some people's meals with the dining plan and others out of pocket. We did that when we had extra table service meals than what our plan covered and someone was ordering something cheap that wasn't really worth a credit. You can do it too if you don't have enough credits or want to save them for later or whatever. You can do it at quick service or restaurants. Just tell them what you want to use dining credits for and what you want to pay out of pocket for.

In case you didn't already kniw, at all table service restaurants, you will be charged an automatic 18% gratuity since you have at least 6 people. The dining plan does not cover that, but you can pay with cash, card, gift card, etc and the server will bring the receipt with the balance owed (meals minus dining credits used plus gratuity), so if you do pay for all the meals with dining credits, you'd just owe the 18% gratuity.

Good to know about tipping. I was wondering how we'd figure out the total so we'd know how much to tip. I would want to tip on the full amount (whatever the full meal for the whole fam would have cost us without credits)
Glad they will have it figured out for us already! We usually tip 20 percent so 18 percent is fine with me