Two value rooms or off-site condo for large fam?

[lanejudy]

I am tempted to pay a few dollars more and go with two connecting value rooms on property.

This jumped out at me... you cannot book connecting rooms. You book 2 rooms (1 adult plus kids in each) and request connecting. No guarantee. Disney does try to grant that request, and most often it happens; but it's never guaranteed and there is always the chance you could end up with 2 rooms down the hall from each other, on different floors or even in different buildings. With that many younger kids, it would be a deal-breaker for me.

There are pros and cons to the on-site vs off-site debate, and you just have to weigh which best fits your family's needs and vacationing style.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Family of seven here...we have stayed onsite twice and offsite in a Windsor Hills condo once and enjoy both experiences for different reasons. There are definitely certain luxuries afforded by both experiences; but for us where we stay depends on the deal we can get. When we stayed in two connecting rooms at Pop Century last March we had the stay, play, and dine promotion. We did consider staying offsite again for that trip but since we weren’t able to get a good van rental deal (we flew in from Pittsburgh), we decided to stick with the onsite deal we had. We enjoy the all inclusive aspect of staying onsite (airport shuttle, transportation, dining plan, food court, resort theming, etc.); but I will admit we did miss certain amenities we enjoyed with our prior offsite condo stay (the space, patio, full kitchen, and having our own washer/dryer). For the trip we are planning for this summer, we will certainly consider a Windsor Hills condo again if we aren’t able to get a deal for two rooms onsite (especially if we decide to drive down and don’t need to worry about getting a van rental deal too). Good luck with whatever you decide, you’ll definitely have a magical trip either way .
OP, it sounds like you are interested in giving an onsite stay a try since you’ve stayed offsite before. We found the bus system to be adequate (not perfect) but for what it is we haven’t had a necessarily bad experience. Also, we find having the dining plan easier for us if we stay onsite, but this is more so a matter of personal preference. Since your kids are young (I have two teenagers in my crew), you may find two value rooms to be just fine for your first onsite experience. Pop Century has the most connecting rooms out of all the values, so we booked there to have the greatest chance of our “connecting rooms” request being met.

 

[maxiesmom]

As lanejudy pointed out, you cannot book connecting rooms. They are a request only, there is no way to guarantee you will get them.

That said, one thing I love about the laundry rooms as Disney resorts is the app you can use. It shows you which, if any, machines are available. And then it will tell you how long is left in your cycle. No need to sit there waiting for your laundry, unless you want to.

 

[100AcreWood]

We're a family of 5 and we love offsite. There are too many positives to offsite for us and not enough positives to stay onsite.

 

[Martinez1]

I can totally relate. 5th time going in August and have been debating to stay on-site or off. I have only done offsite. I will say that I already booked at Pop - two rooms. But i still keep on thinking about the pros and cons... especially how much i can save staying offsite. Im sorry I cant be of any help.

 

[Penmac]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! I have not booked anything yet, so never say never... But after thinking it over, I think we really are an offsite family! If we ever hit the lottery, I will book at the Polynesian...

 

[NinaBella]

If you thought a Fort Wilderness cabin was too small, I would not suggest a value. You are setting yourself up for dissapointment. The one and only benefit for you would be bus transportation. Everything else would be a negative: tiny rooms, no kitchen, no laundry, noisy neighbors (or you could be the noisy one getting complaints), no room for the family to rest and get away from each other.

 

[Klayfish]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! I have not booked anything yet, so never say never... But after thinking it over, I think we really are an offsite family! If we ever hit the lottery, I will book at the Polynesian...

With the Powerball and MegaMillions jackpots where they are now, I pondered the same thing...if I won, one of my first agenda items would be an all out spending WDW trip. But would I actually stay onsite?? Honestly, I think the answer to that is no. At any budget, I don't think any WDW property offers 3 or 4 bedrooms, full kitchen, full in room laundry, full family/living room, etc... I could do with a hotel room for a one or two night trip. But for a week or longer trip, regardless of budget, a hotel room doesn't appeal to me. And I'd have to have my car, you couldn't pay me to rely on WDW buses. But then again, with that kind of money, I could have the most amazing car ever. If I hit the lottery, I really think I'd rent the most luxurious offsite home I could find. Have some top notch conversion van for the family transportation, and go nuts buying souvenirs, experiences, etc...

 

[QueenIsabella]

I tell you, I do love me the extra space and full (real!) kitchen that come with off-site stays. But honestly, I think what I appreciated most, especially with little kids, was having laundry facilities. Not that I want to spend my vacation doing laundry--I can do that for free at home, thank you, but I find it so convenient. We can pack less, and there always seems to be some kind of incident that leads to the need to do a load (ice cream spill, vomiting, something). It's just so nice to be able to toss stuff in, and not babysit it or worry about having change or detergent or whatever.

We also typically rent a house, so I wash the pool towels a couple times--I probably don't need to do this, but I like having fresh ones.

 

[twoolle]

You are getting lots of good advice. We have 4 kids and once the youngest turns 3 we might consider one of the DS hotels that now has EMH and 60 day FP booking. Those really are 2 big perks for us. We love EMH especially in the morning. And booking for 7 people is tougher at 30 days or when trying to get extras.

We always drive to the parks except maybe MK. You do need to,factor in the cost of parking when offsite.

I am a stay at home mom so when I am on vacation I do not do laundry or cook, otherwise it's not vacation for me.

That summer meal offer would be tempting because my guess would be you could eat 2 QS meals per day on your allotment by sharing meals. We do breakfast in the room as others have mentioned.

I have also always heard on here that if there are only 2 adults on the reservation (plus kids) for connecting room requests then Disney will provide connecting or at least assign those first.

 

[Penmac]

I tell you, I do love me the extra space and full (real!) kitchen that come with off-site stays. But honestly, I think what I appreciated most, especially with little kids, was having laundry facilities. Not that I want to spend my vacation doing laundry--I can do that for free at home, thank you, but I find it so convenient. We can pack less, and there always seems to be some kind of incident that leads to the need to do a load (ice cream spill, vomiting, something). It's just so nice to be able to toss stuff in, and not babysit it or worry about having change or detergent or whatever.

We also typically rent a house, so I wash the pool towels a couple times--I probably don't need to do this, but I like having fresh ones.

I totally agree! Obviously no one wants to do laundry ever, but having the convenience of it in unit is a big time and hassle-saver. The more I type about this, the more I am realizing that I probably can't give up these conveniences!!!

Since we are always at WDW in the summer, we sometimes go through 2 outfits a day. If we leave the park mid-day to rest and swim, the clothes are too sweaty to put back on so we always wear a fresh pair back to the park in the evening. For 7 people, that is 14 outfits in one day! I loved throwing a load on in the evening and just tossing it in the dryer before we go to sleep. And being able to wash swimsuits so they are dry and not hanging all over the bathroom soaking everything, is huge! We also bring puddle jumpers because we have little kids who cannot swim, so I can't imagine not having a balcony area to store those. I know some hotels have balconies, but I am guessing the value resorts may not?

Anyway, I really needed these reminders about the upside of staying offsite!

 

[Penmac]

You are getting lots of good advice. We have 4 kids and once the youngest turns 3 we might consider one of the DS hotels that now has EMH and 60 day FP booking. Those really are 2 big perks for us. We love EMH especially in the morning. And booking for 7 people is tougher at 30 days or when trying to get extras.

We always drive to the parks except maybe MK. You do need to,factor in the cost of parking when offsite.

I am a stay at home mom so when I am on vacation I do not do laundry or cook, otherwise it's not vacation for me.

That summer meal offer would be tempting because my guess would be you could eat 2 QS meals per day on your allotment by sharing meals. We do breakfast in the room as others have mentioned.

I have also always heard on here that if there are only 2 adults on the reservation (plus kids) for connecting room requests then Disney will provide connecting or at least assign those first.

I did look at the Doubletree Suites in Disney Springs. It's no condo, but it does have two big rooms and at least a microwave/kitchen. They will be offering EMH and have a reliable shuttle service. I think this would be the closest I could get to staying onsite at this point. I have also been looking at Windsor Hills and I am leaning in that direction for a house rental.

 

[Penmac]

If you thought a Fort Wilderness cabin was too small, I would not suggest a value. You are setting yourself up for dissapointment. The one and only benefit for you would be bus transportation. Everything else would be a negative: tiny rooms, no kitchen, no laundry, noisy neighbors (or you could be the noisy one getting complaints), no room for the family to rest and get away from each other.

I didn't think they were too small. I mean, they do look tight; but, that wouldn't be an issue for me if I thought we could really benefit from the conveniences of staying on-property. I could tough that out. I thought the overall size of the campground/resort and the internal bus system you need to utilize to get from one area of the resort to another overwhelming. I don't want to have to read a bus map to figure out how to get to the pool at my resort. Otherwise, the cabins look cozy and I think my kids would really love staying there. The bunk beds (although they have these at home), would be a major draw for them.

 

[NinaBella]

We almost booked into the Fort Wilderness Cabins last summer, but the sheer size of the place intimidated me. The internal bus system sounds like a drag. So, I am looking more at a hotel scenario- Pop, or All Stars..

So you meant the size of the campground, not the size of the cabin. Okay. The benefit of two values over the cabin is two bathrooms. You lose the kitchen in the values. If you are okay with one bathroom, I would choose the cabin so you still have a kitchen. Kids love the campground as well. The internal bus system is not that hard; although we typically rent a golf cart. Also it depends on where your cabin is located if you need to take the bus or not. If you have two adults who drive and have a car, you can drop the kids and one adult off at the pool, then that person take the vehicle back and take the bus to the pool. You can park your vehicle at the cabin but not other places at the campground other than the parking lot by the entrance.

 

[Klayfish]

Out of curiosity, I just looked at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins. I knew they existed, but never really looked at them. I have to say they do look pretty neat, but they're still somewhat small. I guess I'm just a cheapskate because when I see that they're $325/night and up, my response is . For 1/3 of that, we get a true 3 or 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 story home, with all the amenities a house has. The 5 of us probably wouldn't fit in one cabin comfortably anyway. So it looks cool, but I just couldn't spend that kind of cash.

 

[Penmac]

Out of curiosity, I just looked at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins. I knew they existed, but never really looked at them. I have to say they do look pretty neat, but they're still somewhat small. I guess I'm just a cheapskate because when I see that they're $325/night and up, my response is . For 1/3 of that, we get a true 3 or 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 story home, with all the amenities a house has. The 5 of us probably wouldn't fit in one cabin comfortably anyway. So it looks cool, but I just couldn't spend that kind of cash.

When I was booking our trip for last summer, I waited until the month before the book accommodation and planned to go through Undercover Tourist. The rate for the Cabins was between $212-$220/night. I was planning to pay that for the cabins since it was on-property, although even that is higher than I typically would pay for a hotel. And NO way would I pay over $300/night. But, then I found a coupon code for Cheap Tickets and I actually ended up going with a condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (next door to Caribbean Beach Club), for less than $140/night. We were a little more crowded than usual (only a 1 bedroom), but it did work for us and we were very close to the parks. We had laundry and a twin air mattress, so I was happy. 2 bedrooms is definitely way better though! I think we will go with a house this summer if I do avoid the resort area. Have you stayed at Windsor Hills? I was looking there recently.

 

[Thing 1]

Tons of great advice but I’m not sure I saw this information. I’m pretty sure that if you have two adult, they won’t guarantee adjoining rooms. They will let you request them but unless you have one adult and the rest children, no guarantee.this might or might not be a big deal to you. We are huge on site people. When my sisters kids were little, they LOVED the cabins. You would have to have one child under age two however to make that work.

 

[Penmac]

Tons of great advice but I’m not sure I saw this information. I’m pretty sure that if you have two adult, they won’t guarantee adjoining rooms. They will let you request them but unless you have one adult and the rest children, no guarantee.this might or might not be a big deal to you. We are huge on site people. When my sisters kids were little, they LOVED the cabins. You would have to have one child under age two however to make that work.

Yes, this would have worked for us last summer because our baby was in a pack n' play. He will still be only 2 when we go this summer, and could probably still sleep in a pack n' play since he is in a crib at home, but it would be a tight squeeze for sure.

 

[chekhovgirl]

Our first trip with kids we stayed at POFQ and loved the convenience, DH did not like the room so much or the fact that we were eating Disney food all the time. We're not super snobby about food but can't eat just that for the week...

Next trip my parents came along so going off-site was a no-brainer. We have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek ever since. It's like staying at a DVC resort but better IMO! We love to take advantage of the many pools, hot tubs and lazy rivers. Love that it's inside Disney gates, love having laundry (yes, my son was sick and vomiting one time and I don't know what I would have done otherwise!). The activities for the adults and children are great.

When we go in April we'll be paying $182/night for a 3 bedroom deluxe. Our extended family is coming, 14 of us, and we're staying in two 3 bed units. I would not give up that space for anything, and it's 50% larger than the house that we live in! Maybe that's why I like it...however, I would not rent a house because I really like having the resort feel while on vacation.

 

[monorailsilver]

We are not a large family, just 5 of us so I can’t comment on rooms but we try to save as much as we can....and we splurge on our resort....crazy right?

We don’t do dining, never have, never will. We can eat cheaper. We all have thermos water bottles so we drink (bottled) water in the park, no soda. I have breakfast in our room-cereal, bagels, pop tarts, muffins, etc... But we do have lunch and dinner out (Quick service except 1-2 meals). When our kids were small, they would never finish their meal so leftovers....yep, they ate the other half of their kid size pizza for dinner to lunch the next day, no complaints! I can’t help you with other meals, wait except I got the Mac and cheese cups and 2 of my 3 kids ate that for lunch on 2 of our pool days...no complaints from them, they still had a dole whip!

As far as laundry, we are a daily load family. In Disney we wear 2 outfits/day and we only bring maybe 5, possibly 6 total for our 10-11 days. I have done laundry during our mid day break while everyone is sleeping but last trip we sucked it up and I did laundry our non pool days, DH helped too. The pool days someone, aka me, was still up at 6 so bathing suit and cover up on, laundry got washed.