Why does Disney make it hard for larger families?

[Turn the Page]

I want to share that the older I get, the less I can stand the hassle of being off site. Heck, if I could I would stay deluxe every trip just for the ease of getting to either MK or Epcot.

Off site is great for space at a cheaper price. But for ease of getting to and from the parks you can't beat a deluxe.

Us too. We are soon to be a family of five so I have been reading this thread for ideas but frankly, we just can't seem to make the math work. I just checked WBC the other day for fun and put in a random week and it was giving me rates of over $200 a night. After you add in a rental car, parking fees, lack of 60 day FP, no EMH, and the sheer hassle it just doesn't seem worth it. I know everyone says it is cheaper to stay off site but I really can't seem to make the math work unless everybody is doing Airbnb or something.

 

[Nayan]

Us too. We are soon to be a family of five so I have been reading this thread for ideas but frankly, we just can't seem to make the math work. I just checked WBC the other day for fun and put in a random week and it was giving me rates of over $200 a night. After you add in a rental car, parking fees, lack of 60 day FP, no EMH, and the sheer hassle it just doesn't seem worth it. I know everyone says it is cheaper to stay off site but I really can't seem to make the math work unless everybody is doing Airbnb or something.

It really depends on how much you're willing to give up/put up with for savings. Eating both breakfast and dinner in your room, knocking off park days, going at off times (which means pulling kids out of school, something some can't do), etc. and it can be done cheaper, but I agree that it would be a hassle and I think I'd rather pay more for convenience in that case.

 

[Nancyg56]

Us too. We are soon to be a family of five so I have been reading this thread for ideas but frankly, we just can't seem to make the math work. I just checked WBC the other day for fun and put in a random week and it was giving me rates of over $200 a night. After you add in a rental car, parking fees, lack of 60 day FP, no EMH, and the sheer hassle it just doesn't seem worth it. I know everyone says it is cheaper to stay off site but I really can't seem to make the math work unless everybody is doing Airbnb or something.

I do not like to "make the math work" either. I can compromise as we lead up to our vacation, because saving at home is not my idea of sacrifice. We have very simply needs and wants. Once we arrive I do nto want to constantly monitor our spending, and honestly, if I wanted to cook, pack sandwiches, etc I could just stay home.

It really depends on how much you're willing to give up/put up with for savings. Eating both breakfast and dinner in your room, knocking off park days, going at off times (which means pulling kids out of school, something some can't do), etc. and it can be done cheaper, but I agree that it would be a hassle and I think I'd rather pay more for convenience in that case.

Me too.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We are a big family (5 kids) and stayed at ASMu family suite last trip, since my youngest doesn’t yet count toward room occupancy. It was ok, a little small for us, but this was the first time we haven’t stayed at a deluxe villa, so we’re spoiled. I certainly understand the appeal of staying in an offsite house/condo, but I’m a sucker for the Disney theming and service. We always do breakfast in room, and buy lunch and dinner. Got free dining on our last trip, which for my huge fam saved us over $3500, and we loved it.

 

[Turn the Page]

I do not like to "make the math work" either. I can compromise as we lead up to our vacation, because saving at home is not my idea of sacrifice. We have very simply needs and wants. Once we arrive I do nto want to constantly monitor our spending, and honestly, if I wanted to cook, pack sandwiches, etc I could just stay home.



Me too.

This is true. Everybody is different though. We eat out more at WDW than we do at home of course but I am not a fan of eating out all the time. I would much rather have a full kitchen to cook most of the meals in the room. It's way faster than eating out, the food is way better than quick service, and I'm guessing it is generally healthier. I can make meals my family likes in less time than it takes to eat a sit down meal in a restaurant that's for sure. We went three days before we got our grocery delivery and had packed cereal and things in a box to bring with us. After three days of quick service my taste buds nearly cried at the first meal of real food.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

For us, a big part of the vacation is the daily sit down meal. The restaurants at WDW are themed so well, they are part of the Disney magic for me. And after a day of running, it’s nice to sit down and regroup, to discuss the day. And if you take advantage of character meals you can cut out some meet and greet lines. Plus I cook the rest of the year, I deserve a break!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I don't have a big family but now that my kids are teens sharing a room with them is not magical. Last trip they were 15 and 9 and it got tense at the end. A few months ago we did an AI resort in the Caribbean and I booked a family suite. Well it was not what I expected. It was much smaller. Well that was only 5 nights and I almost didn't make it. All future trips they will be in their own room!

Since I like vacations to be convenient and semi luxurious staying offsite really isn't an option. I used to think that would be our next option but after thinking it through it just won't work for me.

Honestly even off site options are $150-200 a night. Add in parking, losing EMH, losing 60 day FP+, rental car price and the hassle of the kids saying "when can we go back to the room" and me not being ready to leave, I would rather just stay onsite.

I refuse to drive on vacation. Even when we do weekend trips to DC or NYC we Uber everywhere. I live in an area with a lot of public transportation so waiting 5-10 minutes for a bus doesn't kill me or bother me.

I refuse to cook on vacation. So even if we stay at WBC we can technically save by cooking in the condo....it'll never happen.

Disney transportation will save us from having to be together 24/7. If they get tired or want to hit the pool they can take a Disney bus back to our resort.

My next trip is just DD and myself. If we ever go back as a family of 4 (Maybe 2021???) we will do two rooms at a moderate or rent points and rent a one or two bedroom villa.

 

[Turn the Page]

For us, a big part of the vacation is the daily sit down meal. The restaurants at WDW are themed so well, they are part of the Disney magic for me. And after a day of running, it’s nice to sit down and regroup, to discuss the day. And if you take advantage of character meals you can cut out some meet and greet lines. Plus I cook the rest of the year, I deserve a break!

I admit that we can only do so many hours at a time in the parks. We often head in in the morning, maybe not rope drop but close to it, then around lunch time or shortly after we head back to the room to relax, maybe take a nap or a swim, and have an early dinner, then go back to the parks. We find it works best for us. I am amazed by the people that can go rope drop to close. I can't do it.

 

[MainMom]

I admit that we can only do so many hours at a time in the parks. We often head in in the morning, maybe not rope drop but close to it, then around lunch time or shortly after we head back to the room to relax, maybe take a nap or a swim, and have an early dinner, then go back to the parks. We find it works best for us. I am amazed by the people that can go rope drop to close. I can't do it.

We don’t go rope drop to close, but still eat in the parks or at the hotel QS. We used to do Garden grocer, get breakfast foods snacks and water and have a tight food budget. For our last trip I ordered no food. We ate in the parks or grabbed a pastry from QS before heading out in the morning. We plan to do the same next month.

Our typical day looks like: Rope drop, ADR lunch, break at hotel, evening with QS or see what we can find for TS at the time.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I admit that we can only do so many hours at a time in the parks. We often head in in the morning, maybe not rope drop but close to it, then around lunch time or shortly after we head back to the room to relax, maybe take a nap or a swim, and have an early dinner, then go back to the parks. We find it works best for us. I am amazed by the people that can go rope drop to close. I can't do it.

We also do midday breaks by the pool which makes off site an even bigger pain.

 

[JenniferYoung44]

Our families are pretty similar. At the time of travel, we will have 16, 14, 13 y/o boys, a 9 and 2.5 y/o girl and 14 month old boy.
My parents are also coming to help out! And we're all hoping for the free dining. My teen boys are athletes already over 6' 170+ and can literally eat all.day.long.
We are planning on traveling in early Dec '17 (flexible dates to try and snag free dining).

I priced everything possible- renting DVA points, 2 rooms at value & mod, suites, cabins, etc.

The best value for us was free dining & 2 rooms at Coronado. A value resort would only get us the quick serve dining & then we would need to upgrade or pay out of pocket.
I planned each meal, checked the menus and priced it out to be sure lol! I included everything - Every penny we would need, from gas to spending money to tips! Our final price is $7550.

-The cheapest DVC rental was about $1500 more (value 2bdrm AK, the standard 2 at AK was $1900 more)
-The value & mod came out equal, factoring in upgrading the free dining, and the value was actually more expensive if we paid out of pocket for the difference in food
-offsite was about $1000 more since we had to pay for food (even with discounted tickets and not hopping)
-room only was more, even with a 20% discount (not even sure if that would be out just checked in case)

I should note - we don't camp so I didn't check out RVs or the campsites! And we aren't willing to do more than snacks & coffee in our room on a Disney vacation, so if you are, your numbers could be different!
HTH

Last year moderate resorts only got the quick service dining plan for free dining. I wouldn’t count on them getting the regular plan in 2018
Edit: nvm I just realized how old that post was. Bet they were bummed when free dining 2017 was released

 

[Momtoapug]

[QUOTE="ETA: Even if you stay in a value room there are mini fridges there so you can get things like cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, etc for breakfast and have snacks, drinks, and sandwich fixings for lunch leaving you only paying for dinner out. That alone would save you a ton and is totally doable in a value room.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, I didn't realize that! Good point! We are going to stay offsite this time; but plan to check out a few resorts we have thought about staying out; to get a feel for them.

 

[DisneyOma]

We intentionally did not use the meal plan at GFV; but we had a kitchen we could store and prepare food for a week in. I feel I would be hard-pressed to store enough food for a week in a single room at a value resort, and we would not be able to prepare food there, I would imagine. Certainly aware we can skip meal plan, but just not sure I like the idea of skipping the meal plan and being in a place for a week where you cant really prep, store, or cook your own food....that would sort of force me into a meal plan, or, spending a good bit on food in the parks, I would imagine? But if I am wrong please tell me because I'd like to make that work- a value without a meal plan...without spending fortune on food?

You can store food in the mini-fridge in your room. Sometimes we bring down disposable bowls and have cereal and yogurt for breakfast. We tend to do counter service for lunch, so we can split some things. I'm not a big eater, especially at WDW in August, when tend we go. If we drive down we have a cooler or two as well, with sturdy perishables (cheese sticks, vegetables, etc - stuff that won't go bad if the ice melts a bit more than it should) and we can use them for food storage as well when we are down there. Every resort has ice machines.

Some trips we ate only 1 meal in the parks. We do get a lot of snacks though - Disney treats are part of the vacation to us. Mickey shaped rice krispie treats, dole whip, chocolate covered mickey bar, etc. For my daughter and me, those are enough to be a meal, or hold us off for a few hours anyways.

 

[JFox]

How exactly is Disney making it harder for larger families?

Most hotels I've ever stayed at are geared towards families of 4, sometimes 5. I also have a large family. There are 7 of us when we travel together. I know that means 2 rooms and necessary costs for 7 people. I don't expect Disney or anyone else to give me a break for my decision to travel with my large family. If Disney was too expensive for my large family then we would travel somewhere else.