Off or onsite for family of 6 teens/tweens- what do you suggest?

[DashforCash]

Our family has been to WDW twice. We are considering a February or Mach 2020 trip. Kids will be 17,16,13,11. We have always stayed onsite at a Deluxe 2 bedroom villa and have gotten a dining plan. This time, with college expenses starting soon, that a villa will be too expensive.
Must haves on the list: Not renting a car ( unless we can do it really cheaply, typically a car that fits 6 is $150 a day), table service for one meal a day, each child must have their own bed and mom and dad's bed has to be at least queen and king is better. We value sleep! In past stays, we never return to the resort during the day and do not use any of the resort amenities. Would you suggest on or off site with these parameters and which resorts or hotels would you recommend looking at? Thanks!

 

[starry_solo]

Off site and Uber.

 

[SG131]

This one is tough. With teens I would definitely suggest staying onsite so they can come and go with a little freedom. I’m not sure how comfortable you are letting them Uber alone. The separate sleep surfaces does complicate things though. Maybe consider 3 rooms at a value resort. All pop rooms have two queen beds now and now that all star movies construction has restarted that will be all queen beds soon. I’m not sure how a 3rd room would work with the requirement to have an adult in each room, that might be a question for Disney or someone more knowledgeable. Did you consider renting DVC points for the two bedroom?

At the kids ages, unless you’re planning to do a bunch of character meals the dining plan will most likely cost more than paying out of pocket. They all will cost the adult price of the dining plan, however none of them are old enough to consume the alcohol included in the plan. You can take a look at the numbers cost verses what you are likely to buy.

 

[sponica]

Maybe 2 rooms at a value or moderate and bring down/ship some air mattresses? I'd definitely skip the dining plan if you're offsite

Caribe Royal just offsite has 2 bedroom villas, but not 6 sleeping surfaces, so you'd have to bring an air mattress. But you'd have to uber or rent a car, as I don't think they have a shuttle. Or if they do, I didn't use it when I stayed there.

You might want to post in the Orlando Hotels forum for other offsite pointers.

 

[3gr8boys]

I am not the best resource on where to stay as I have only made a few trips with my kids.....but agree with PP that onsite would be optimal if at all possible. My family often splits up (and teens often go their own way). Staying onsite makes it easy for subsets of your group to sleep in before heading out to meet others or to head back to your resort ahead of others.

I also agree with SG131 that paying for dining plan could cost more than paying OOP. Last trip we had at least one TS a day (including some character meals)- overall we spent less on food than the dining plan would have cost....partially because my kids are, like yours, now disney adults (DS12 still prefers to just order kid meals) and because we like apps (sometimes instead of entrees), typically don't order desserts and didn't have alcoholic drinks with our meals. To have that "I can order whatever I want 'cause its already paid for" feeling, I put what we would have had to pay Disney to add DDP to our reservation into a savings account when we were planning. We charged everything during the trip knowing that there was $ waiting to cover it. In the end, the cost of the dining plan covered our food expenses and then some.

Like sponica, I think two value or moderate rooms would be worth considering....using an air mattress if needed to reduce/eliminate bed sharing. We stayed at CSR last April with a rollaway (exclusive to CSR, I think, and only available first come first serve- we had an air mattress with us just in case) because one of my boys is a kicker- 3 sleeping surfaces was a necessity. Connecting rooms are not guaranteed.....so you would have to go in planning for the possibility of not being connected or even next to each other.

 

[JimC77]

Have you looked into renting DVC points or booking through one of the brokers?

You can get a 2 bedroom DVC Villa which would sleep 8 for about 40pts/day or ~$600/day. This is about the same price as what you would pay for 2 moderate rooms. The other really nice thing about a DVC rental is they have a full kitchen so making meals is much easier!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you don't want to rent a car, I would stay onsite. We've ubered from offsite and it wasn't fun. How big is your 11-year old? Perhaps consider two 5th sleeper rooms at POR or CBR? That would give you 4 queen beds plus two smaller pull-down beds. POR would give you the boat to DS along with all the Disney buses and CBR would offer you the buses plus the new gondola.

 

[JimC77]

Have you looked into renting DVC points or booking through one of the brokers?

You can get a 2 bedroom DVC Villa which would sleep 8 for about 40pts/day or ~$600/day. This is about the same price as what you would pay for 2 moderate rooms. The other really nice thing about a DVC rental is they have a full kitchen so making meals is much easier!

If you stay in one of the 2-bed room DVCs at Animal Kingdom Lodge you would also get 3 full bathrooms. With 4 tween/teens this having your own bathroom and letting the kids share the other 2 may help keep the peace during your stay!

 

[piccolopat]

You might consider the cabins in Fort Wilderness. It says they sleep 6 adults but I think that includes a sleeper sofa and so you might still need an air mattress. I think onsite is better for your family if you plan to let your older kids go off on their own since they can get around on Disney transportation.

 

[rg35]

I'd look into renting DVC points and staying in a villa. I think it's the best option - especially with older kids who might want to go off and do their own thing, being on property and having access to WDW transportation would be a good thing.

Personally, I think it's a ridiculous requirement that each kid needs their own sleep surface. It sounds like with college expenses coming up they should feel fortunate to even be getting a vacation like this. There's no reason that the kids can't pair up and share a queen sized bed, which means a 2 BR villa would still suffice for your group (although in that case the two older kids could each have their own bed and the younger kids could share the sleeper sofa, or any such combination.)

 

[DashforCash]

Have you looked into renting DVC points or booking through one of the brokers?

You can get a 2 bedroom DVC Villa which would sleep 8 for about 40pts/day or ~$600/day. This is about the same price as what you would pay for 2 moderate rooms. The other really nice thing about a DVC rental is they have a full kitchen so making meals is much easier!

I have looked, but an off site house with 3 bedrooms would be $200ish. I'll look again and compare with uber info.

 

[DashforCash]

I'd look into renting DVC points and staying in a villa. I think it's the best option - especially with older kids who might want to go off and do their own thing, being on property and having access to WDW transportation would be a good thing.

Personally, I think it's a ridiculous requirement that each kid needs their own sleep surface. It sounds like with college expenses coming up they should feel fortunate to even be getting a vacation like this. There's no reason that the kids can't pair up and share a queen sized bed, which means a 2 BR villa would still suffice for your group (although in that case the two older kids could each have their own bed and the younger kids could share the sleeper sofa, or any such combination.)

I probably think some of the things that you feel are important for your family is ridiculous, your comment is not helpful.

 

[DashforCash]

You might consider the cabins in Fort Wilderness. It says they sleep 6 adults but I think that includes a sleeper sofa and so you might still need an air mattress. I think onsite is better for your family if you plan to let your older kids go off on their own since they can get around on Disney transportation.

We do not plan to let our kids go off on their own. We might split with one parent taking one or two, but all kids will have a parent with them. We looked at Fort Wilderness last time. I love the area, but those cabins are just too small and the bunk beds in the same room as the master bed are a deal breaker. If it was one or two nights, that would be fine, but a week too long. I am going to look at renting an RV to park there though. That might work. Thanks!

 

[DashforCash]

If you stay in one of the 2-bed room DVCs at Animal Kingdom Lodge you would also get 3 full bathrooms. With 4 tween/teens this having your own bathroom and letting the kids share the other 2 may help keep the peace during your stay!

Yes! We have stayed at Saratoga Springs and at Old Key West in 2 bedroom villas. Ideal would be a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom with one of the bedrooms having 2 sets of bunk beds.

 

[DashforCash]

If you don't want to rent a car, I would stay onsite. We've ubered from offsite and it wasn't fun. How big is your 11-year old? Perhaps consider two 5th sleeper rooms at POR or CBR? That would give you 4 queen beds plus two smaller pull-down beds. POR would give you the boat to DS along with all the Disney buses and CBR would offer you the buses plus the new gondola.

I'll take a look at those. My kids are all tall. DH is 6'4. Older teens (girls) are 5'9". POR was one of my picks in the past, but was more than a Villa at the time. Thanks!

 

[DashforCash]

I am not the best resource on where to stay as I have only made a few trips with my kids.....but agree with PP that onsite would be optimal if at all possible. My family often splits up (and teens often go their own way). Staying onsite makes it easy for subsets of your group to sleep in before heading out to meet others or to head back to your resort ahead of others.

I also agree with SG131 that paying for dining plan could cost more than paying OOP. Last trip we had at least one TS a day (including some character meals)- overall we spent less on food than the dining plan would have cost....partially because my kids are, like yours, now disney adults (DS12 still prefers to just order kid meals) and because we like apps (sometimes instead of entrees), typically don't order desserts and didn't have alcoholic drinks with our meals. To have that "I can order whatever I want 'cause its already paid for" feeling, I put what we would have had to pay Disney to add DDP to our reservation into a savings account when we were planning. We charged everything during the trip knowing that there was $ waiting to cover it. In the end, the cost of the dining plan covered our food expenses and then some.

Like sponica, I think two value or moderate rooms would be worth considering....using an air mattress if needed to reduce/eliminate bed sharing. We stayed at CSR last April with a rollaway (exclusive to CSR, I think, and only available first come first serve- we had an air mattress with us just in case) because one of my boys is a kicker- 3 sleeping surfaces was a necessity. Connecting rooms are not guaranteed.....so you would have to go in planning for the possibility of not being connected or even next to each other.

It looks like the meal plan is currently $75 per adult per day and a buffet at Tusker House (and similar places) is $60 per meal. I'll look up how much the quick service meals are and go from there. We each breakfast in our room/condo, but eat all other meals at the park. I'll take a look at CSR with the roll away! ALL of my kids kick and roll and thrash. I don't even like sleeping in the same room because they move so much it keeps me awake. They'd kick each other black and blue if they slept in the same bed.

 

[DashforCash]

This one is tough. With teens I would definitely suggest staying onsite so they can come and go with a little freedom. I’m not sure how comfortable you are letting them Uber alone. The separate sleep surfaces does complicate things though. Maybe consider 3 rooms at a value resort. All pop rooms have two queen beds now and now that all star movies construction has restarted that will be all queen beds soon. I’m not sure how a 3rd room would work with the requirement to have an adult in each room, that might be a question for Disney or someone more knowledgeable. Did you consider renting DVC points for the two bedroom?

At the kids ages, unless you’re planning to do a bunch of character meals the dining plan will most likely cost more than paying out of pocket. They all will cost the adult price of the dining plan, however none of them are old enough to consume the alcohol included in the plan. You can take a look at the numbers cost verses what you are likely to buy.

We do not plan on character meals, except Askerhus as my husband loves that place. I didn't realize alcohol came with the meals now. Maybe worth it to buy 3 meals plans and have 3 order off the menu.

 

[Klayfish]

We are a family of 5 and are very dedicated offsite people. As I've said many times here, we wouldn't stay on property if it were free...really. We just value all of the space, comfort and conveniences that offsite affords. Not sure where you're looking, but you can get a 3 bedroom condo or townhouse for $100-$125/night all in, at most. We've gotten some for $70-$80/night all in...though we have a longer stay (17 days). You can also get a rental minivan for probably $50-$75/day if you don't want to use Uber.

For us, having 3-4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a full kitchen, a full family room, etc...is the only way to go. Nothing like coming back from a day at the parks, getting a nice shower and everyone having their own spaces to unwind and do their own thing. They always are in nice gated communities, with nice pool complexes, etc...

From your description, I'd highly suggest trying offsite. You may be surprised how much you like it. Oh, one other nice thing about offsite with rental car is that your "bubble" just got so much bigger. There are countless gift shops, restaurants, activities, etc...just off property. Sometimes we come home from the parks, grab dinner at "home" and then go out for dessert. Those are some of our favorite family memories...sitting outside of Menchies and talking about our day and what's to come tomorrow.

 

[piccolopat]

We do not plan to let our kids go off on their own. We might split with one parent taking one or two, but all kids will have a parent with them. We looked at Fort Wilderness last time. I love the area, but those cabins are just too small and the bunk beds in the same room as the master bed are a deal breaker. If it was one or two nights, that would be fine, but a week too long. I am going to look at renting an RV to park there though. That might work. Thanks!

If your kids will always be with you, then offsite has a lot of options. There are places like Windsor Hills that you can rent a condo or house with 3 or more bedrooms and some of the houses even have a private pool. The money saved on those accommodations will usually be more than enough to rent a minivan or larger SUV plus the parking fees at the parks.

 

[DashforCash]

If your kids will always be with you, then offsite has a lot of options. There are places like Windsor Hills that you can rent a condo or house with 3 or more bedrooms and some of the houses even have a private pool. The money saved on those accommodations will usually be more than enough to rent a minivan or larger SUV plus the parking fees at the parks.

Off to look Windsor Hills, thanks so much!