Well, not exactly “cheap”, but at least without needing to sell any essential bodily organs. I mean, we can prolly spare one kidney but I draw the line at liver, heart, etc.
We’ll be travelling with Dweezil. Moon Unit, and a spare kid.
Going via the Disney webpage seems to imply that you cannot get a room at any of the lesser Disney resorts for that number of kids. I guess they don’t have any “family suites” at those. And anything the webpage turns up for a group that size implies a requirement for a liver or heart (why not brain? I’m not using mine anyway…).
Anyway - any hints for finding a “deal” on Disney properties would be appreciated. Our fallback plans include: getting 2 adjoining rooms at a lower-end resort, staying offsite at a motel e.g. in Kissimmee, or renting a private house/condo. Before we commit to one of those, tho, I’d like to explore the onsite options because of the transportation, early-bird park options, etc.
First of all, go to MouseSavers. The website is excellent for planning your faaaabulous Disney vacation, and there’s a newsletter they send you with deals as well. Second of all, you want the “unofficial guide” to Disney. Check your library. It has, among all the other great advice, a lot of stuff on queuing theory and plans that will really help you maximize your trip and get to do everything you want to as cheaply as you can.
Last time I went with my fam us kids were teenagers. We stayed in that group of hotels on-property but far away where the hotels are heavily themed - rock’n roll, calypso and something else.
Every day we got on a bus to take us to the park. No sweat.
We stayed in 2 adjoining rooms (mom & dad, me & bro). AFAIK these were relatively cheap hotels (since my family stayed in them - and previously, my school group stayed in them) and they had everything a family could need - namely, swimming pools!
Rooms for five are tough at Disney. Consider staying offsite where you can get some great deals on suites and condos and timeshare rentals. You will, however, need a car.
(Port Orleans Riverside is a moderate that sleeps five and may be cost effective for you, if you have your heart set on onsite).
Don’t expect a lot of discounts and bargains, but Disney does let you take food into the parks (and I don’t find their food to be ridiculously overpriced - we pay more at the ballpark or the local amusement park).
Your big costs will be:
room (lots of bargains offsite - few on property)
tickets (few bargains here, if you sign up for that mousesavers newsletter, she’ll send you a link for a discount - works to about 10% on tickets).
food (eat what you can offsite, have breakfast in your room, if the budget is really tight, pack in some sandwiches)
transportation (hopefully you can drive - that means no rental car or airfare).
All great suggestions. Also, water bottles! (Poland Spring bottles?) Those little holsters for bottles that fit on back-packs are worth it, as you can refill the bottles from water fountains. Bring rain ponchos, as it used to rain for 15 minutes daily back in the day and you can get them cheaper outside the park. Sunblock too. Sunglasses. Film. Snacks in ziplocks…
(Man, next I’ll be packing for you too. Sorry…)
Check that Mousesaver board for reductions in prices on rooms & airfare regularly, and if you see any that apply after you’vr booked, don’t be timid about calling up and asking for the lower price.
We went to Disneyworld in 2003 and stayed offsite at a rental house. It was a perfect option for that trip because the focus of our visit was a gathering of a number of other families (we shared the house with 2 other families). And we were there long enough that we could alternate days - park one day, stay “home” the next and enjoy the pool. We want to look into other options this time around.
zipperjj, sounds like you were at one of the AllStar places (AllStar Music, AllStar Movies, etc.) which may be where we wind up if we do go onsite. It may be cheaper to get 2 rooms there, than to get a larger suite at a higher-end place. CountBlucher, thanks for the reminder on packing food in - I’d forgotten they allowed that. One comment on the water bottles and refilling - the fountain water at Disneyworld is nasty unless they’ve improved it a lot in 4 years ::barf:: so we’d probably spend the money on bottled water.
Offsite is definitely an option if we don’t find anything we like at an onsite place. It is considerably cheaper (that rental house wound up being about 170 a night… and split 3 ways, almost obscenely cheap).
We’ll probably be flying rather than driving. Driving is an option (it’s about a thousand miles from here) but we don’t think we have the energy reserves to handle it without self-destructing on I-95. On the other hand, how can we deny the kids the pleasure of South Of The Border The Auto Train is about the same, for 4 people, but for 3 kids it’s prohibitively more.
If you fly, do the math between staying onsite and using the FREE Disney transportation vs. renting a car. Disney even takes you from the airport to the hotel for free now. (Keeps you onsite, spending your money). You can pack a suitcase of food if you do this, or there are grocery delivery services.
A standard all stars room has a rack rate (value season) of $89 a night - two rooms would be $178. Port Orleans Riverside would be $145 during that same period and sleep five. You’d get two bathrooms with the All Stars scenario (but people really like Port Orleans Riverside).
There are usually AAA discounts. But there aren’t a lot of other room discounts any more.
Oh, the water thing - WDW water has a lot of sulfur in it. Some people use filtered waterbottles. Other people bring single serving Crystal Light packs. We buy our water.
Not quite. If you like camping, or want to rent/borrow/beg/steal./whatever a camper, you can rent a spot with power and water for $35 a night at Fort Wilderness. You can take a boat ride to the Magic Kingdom, or get on the bus, watch free movies every night, and have easy access to an on-resort waterpark and a very good, reasonably priced buffet.
But it’s all about what you get for what you pay. I’d say most Disney hotels are a bargain, even at the price, simply for the ameities and services you get.
Agreed - when I was a kid we once stayed at a monorail hotel. Huge splurge, but a great, great time. The theming is incredible, and there is nothing like being able to take the kids back to the hotel for a nap so easily - nap, pool, back to the park.
I strongly recommend going to DisneyWorld at someone else’s expense, which is how I did it both times I went.
If that’s not possible (or even if it is) I also strongly recommend buying The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, and reading it well in advance of your trip. It is very helpful in planning your visit in ways the official Disney sources aren’t. For instance (working from memory here), the official opening times are typically an hour or so later than the real opening time. ISTR that there are many other examples where actual practice differs from the official rules, and the book helps you use them to your advantage.
It also can help you make the most of your time there, by providing reviews of the various attractions, when are the best times to avoid the crowds, how to prioritize which ones to see, and more.
Be sure to read it as far in advance as possible, and try to get as many people in your party to read it, too. You may be inclined to be impulsive and spontaneous on your vacation, but this is a bad plan at Disney World: you’ll waste a lot of time (and money), spend too much time in line, and leave a lot of things unseen and undone that you could have gotten to if you’d made plans in advance.
Depending on the time of year, you could probably get a 2 bedroom suite at Old Key West for a Sun-Thur stay for about $1,500. Check the relevent DIS board for people renting points: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29
If you’re looking at two rooms at an All Star, you’re probably in the $1,000 range anyway, and since OKW is a Disney Vacation Club property, they have the holy of holies: a kitchen.
Given that one chicken nugget at a Disney restaurant costs $35, we’ve found the kitchen to be a lifesaver. Just being able to eat breakfast in the room is fantastic. But we usually break up the day and eat lunch there, then rest for a while.
A 2BR is also nicer than two hotel rooms, given it has two separate bedrooms, with a living room and kitchen in between (LR has a pull out couch).
That said, I have a neighbor who goes at least once a year and stays offsite in a rented house with its own pool. They swear by it, and it is cheaper. I however prefer the perks of being on site.
Oh, and definitely check out the Unofficial Guide. Some fantastic tips in there. They even have a web address with a program that helps you decide what kind of park tickets to buy, and a link to a couple reputable dealers that have discounts.
Thanks again to everyone for all the tips! We did the offsite/house/pool once and it really was great. I’ve ordered the Unofficial Guide which should be in my grubby hands by the weekend.
On the Old Key West thing: so that’s a timeshare, and people who own weeks put up their weeks for rent? Just trying to make sure I follow. Does that have some of the “onsite” amenities such as transportation / early bird access?
Yes, Old Key West is one of the Disney “timeshares.” It works differently from traditional timeshares, as you aren’t locked in to a certain week. Instead, members have bought a certain number of points, and you can spend the points on reservations. Weeknights are cheaper than weekends, and off season is cheaper than peak season. Old Key West is also cheaper than other DVC resorts like the Boardwalk Villas or Beach Club Resort.
I quickly ran an OKW vacation through my points calculator (sorry, I think it’s only available to members), and it gave 150 points for a 2BR from March 20-25. If you have particular dates in mind, I’d be happy to let you know how many points you’d need for a particular resort. (A list is here.)
And yes, you get all the amenities of being a guest at an onsite hotel: early admission, access to EZ Ticket nights, bus transportation, etc. The DVC resorts also have restaurants (at least counter service) on site, and usually one really nice central pool plus some satellite pools, and also playgrounds.
The Auto Train is about the same, for 4 people, but for 3 kids it’s prohibitively more.
