With a family of five- do you have favorite resort?

[lmhall2000]

Our children are 7, 3 & 4- the past visits we usually had one in a crib and could get away with 2 queen beds and a crib. But now they really all need a bed- or daybed for the youngest. Is it worth it to get a "deluxe" room and/or do you have favorites that accomodate more than the 4-person families. It seemed as though we were limited- I would consider the home away from home villas but it seems the resorts have more ambience. Thanks for your help!!
Tara
P.S. We've stayed at Old Key West Resort and Animal Kingdom- we're trying to try a different resort every 2 years. Is there one that you love for the age of our children?

 

[lmhall2000]

OOps need to change my signature line- the family below my name are dear friends who are at Disney right now fulfilling a dream- dear mom is terminally ill and it's their first trip to Disney!! With all the fun I had planning their trip I've gotten the bug to plan one for our family. Thanks!!
Tara

 

[Kermit]

We're just a family of 2 so far (actually, 2-1/2, will be 3 in February ), so we don't have to have a room for 5. But getting a room for 5 isn't impossible. Most of the deluxes, except for AKL and WL, sleep 5 with 2 queens and a daybed. POR also has some rooms with trundle beds. You have to pay an extra charge, I think it's $15/night, if you have 5 people in the room. I've stayed in a regular room at POFQ, and I think that 5 in a room that size would be a little snug, but it should probably be fine for your family for at least another few years. When your kids start getting a little bigger, you'll probably want the extra space.

 

[docswkids]

We are a family of 4, but last trip we stayed in a room with two queens and a daybed at the Beach Club. We really enjoyed that resort with the wonderful theme pool, stormalong bay. The location couldnt be beat.
Now that the Beach Club Villas have opened you could probably have the best of both worlds; the extra space, kitchen and laundry facililties and access to the Beach Club resort.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Our children were 8,7, and 4 on our first trip to WDW and we stayed at FW cabins (then they were called "trailer homes"). We've never forgotten how ideal they were! And our 4 year old-after an hour or two in the parks, he wanted to go back to his "village". The 3 kids slept in the bedroom, 2 in bunks, and one in the double. DH and I could stay up in the living room, watch TV, have a soda, and not wake anyone. And in the morning, cereal and OJ was right there. BTW, I have to say-the boys remember it so fondly that when one graduates from college next year, we're going to stay there for part of our trip "for old time's sake". Rest of the time we'll be at OKW because golf is his favorite sport (come to think of it, he first learned that at WDW too!) and DH loves the golf views there.

 

[Deb & Bill]

With your youngest being 3, you will have to get a two bedroom unit at one of the DVC resorts - OKW, BCV, BWV, VWL. They are pretty nice, though.

The Polynesian works very well with a family of five. The daybed there is about twin sized and very comfortable for adults as well as kids.

 

[ASFCurly]

I really like the Contemporary myself, I they sleep 5 and if not the largest, they are among the largest rooms.

 

[redsaid]

We booked a cabin for next summer. We only have 2 kids but I need the extra 'room'. When we stay in a hotel room, we wind up going to sleep with them since they usually won't fall asleep with the adults watching tv or reading with a light on etc.

I was the only way to stave off insanity. This way we have the living room, the deck outside etc.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Try Port Orleans Riverside. The Alligator Bayou section has rooms with trundle beds. The room capacity with the trundle bed is five.

We've used to stay in the mansion section when it was called Dixie Landings.

We are DVC members so we don't stay there anymore but we love this resort so much we visit it every trip to WDW.

 

[tinofan]

We are a family of 5 (2 almost 10 yr olds and a 5 yr old), we stay at the Polynesian. The 5 yr old sleeps in the day bed, which is quite large and very comfy. It is big enough for most adults. We had plenty of room.
Have fun!

 

[workingmom]

I love staying at Boardwalk! You can rent points on the rent/trade board on this cite and it is very economical. I would suggest a two bedroom which sleeps 8 (including the pullout sofa in the living room). Plus you have a full kitchen and don't have to eat all meals out! My kids (ages 4 &5) love the activity going on the boardwalk at night. They have jugglers, piano players on bicycles and we always walk over to the ice cream shop next door and get a cone! There is so much going on! An added benefit is the short walk to both EPCOT and MGM! It is the best place to stay on property!

 

[The Disney Bunch]

I was going to suggest OKW but you have stayed there already! With a family of 5 you probably are better off staying at a DVC resort since they have the washer/dryer & kitchen setup- I found it makes life so much easier than a regular hotel room. Good luck!

 

[LKS]

Our family of 5 likes the Contemporary. The rooms in the garden wings are usually the cheapest deluxe rooms, the tower rooms are a great splurge and the location is wonderful! We also stayed in a deluxe room at AKL and loved that too, but the transportation is better from the Contemporary and I think the kids like the Contemporary the best. (Ours were 10,8 and 4)

 

[princess sydnee]

Animal Kingdom Lodge!

 

[ahutton]

Nobody has mentioned the Wilderness Lodge... Don't they have rooms with bunk beds too? I'm not sure how many they sleep but it may be an option. As would a DVC villa at WL. If you find it price prohibitive to rent a room for cash via Disney, how about checking over on the rental board... We did that one year, and stayed in a premium studio overlooking the Boardwalk for $110 per night, based on what we paid per point... It may make a larger room that has a kitchen very reasonable!

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

Just wanted to submit another vote for a BWV 2BR (or any other DVC resort that you enjoy.) We also have a family of 5 with a DS-9, DD-5, and DS-3. Just can't beat the convenience of having (a) a kitchen to save money on breakfast, lunch (sometimes) and snacks, (b) a washer/dryer, and (c) the living room area so that whichever kid gets up early doesn't wake the other kids. (The extra bath/toilet comes in handy too!)

If you're frequent WDW visitors, you might want to consider buying into DVC.....many have calculated that DVC enables you to get a 2BR for the cost of a standard hotel room. Or, as the other poster mentioned, you can rent points.

Have a great trip whatever you decide!

 

[Karel]

Wilderness Lodge won't fit five. And with AKL, you need a deluxe room.

My absolute favorite for five, especially with young ones, is Port Orleans Riverside.

We've almost outgrown it though and like two rooms at All Stars. (my husband likes 'his space')

 

[JetMom]

My family of 5 loved the Dolphin. The rooms were beautiful, the food choices were great, and we loved the boats to EPCOT and MGM.

My boys also got complimentary hats and ice-cream for becoming members of the Dolphin Straight A club.

They also gave vouchers for a free 8 x 10 family photo.

We got a great rate because I am a teacher.

If you are a teacher, a nurse, or work for any branch of Federal, State, or Local Government you would be eligible for the same discount.

We stayed at a beautiful deluxe hotel for less than the price of a moderate.

 

[kindredspirit]

JetMom We are a family of five also and are planning to stay at the Dolphin . I heard that children also eat free with a paying adult. Kids nine and under. Do you have any info on this? I knew about the hats and icecream but does it have to be a report card for the full year or just for the recent nine weeks? The rate is too good to pass up!! Can you tell me about how long the boat ride was to get to MGM and Epcot? I am trying to figure what time we need to get up each morning to get to those parks at opening.Thank you so much!!

 

[JetMom]

Kindredspirit--

I don't know about the kids eat free, because we did most of our eating in the parks.

The boat took about 10 minutes to get to EPCOT and maybe 15 minutes to get to MGM. We left on the 7:00 a.m. boat togot to EPCOT for EE and had to wait about 15 minutes for the gate to open.

As far as the report cards go, they only need their most recent report card. We went in October of last year and the boys had not gotten a report card yet, so we brought the ones from the previous Spring - - there was no problem.