[mommytoEli]

i've read some of the other wdw threads...and you guys are always so helpful! so here's my question....where's the best place to stay?? we have 5 kids- so we need 2 rooms...which means i'm not staying at the luxury resorts....i'm thinking more moderate luxury. we are driving...so as much as it would be fun to stay in a disney hotel, we don't have to. also...has anyone ever stayed at the nickelodeon hotel? that looks cool. i'm looking for something that won't break the bank. will be fun for the kids, VERY clean for me, within driving distance of disney- preferably on site or with a tram.

[kretzklan]

Have you checked into the cabins at Wilderness campground? We aren't staying there...but have a family with 5 kids and that is where they always stay. They also mentioned there are some great (though I don't know about price) condo type properties very close by.

[lzriggles]

Hi there,

We went to Disney in June and stayed at the Pop Century Resort. Someone I met during my first adoption works for Disney and recommended it since it's the newest of the Disney Value Resorts. It has a big bowling pin shaped pool which all our kiddos loved and I have small kids so we really enjoyed the kids splash pool with fountains, etc. They have a big foot court area with lots of different choices; also things you can just grab and have in the room. I rented a fridge for the week so I could have milk and things cold all the time, but you could get by without that if you're trying to save $. We had a van but ended up just using their transportation which was reliable and easy and included in the room prices which saved us on parking at each resort.

Have a great time!
Liz

[amymole36]

I know you said that you would prefer somewhere that was onsite or with a tram, but my sil and family stayed in an awesome house in a community 5 minutes from Disney last year and we are going to go with them next year. It is a great price, has it's own pool, is in a neighborhood with a park, clubhouse with pool tables, etc... PM me if you would like the info.

[GuatMommy2Be]

Well, we've stayed at Coronado Springs on our honeymoon, and will stay there again in 3 months when we go again. We like it a lot. It's a long walk if you're not close to the front, but then again, I had a sprained ankle on my HM so that made things worse LOL.

The contemporary is considered a luxury but not too badly priced.... also, Disney has had a habit in the past of giving away 40% off room rates, which helps!

[KKR213]

My sister and I go almost every year and once stayed at Pop Century and did like it for a Value resort. The food court was good and that year, we had 2 connecting rooms since a friend went with us too.

This past summer we stayed at Coronado and HATED it!! Like another poster said it can stink if you are far away from the main building. We were the absolute farthest from the main building and it had steps up to it which stunk with a stroller. Our room had little bugs flying in the bathroom and since it is a convention site the food court is always packed. They ran out of chicken nuggets and said it would be another 20 minutes to cook more. Trying explaining that to a tired, hungry toddler. We were really surprised at the service too. We switched after 1 night to the Contemporary and LOVED that but it is a Deluxe. It is super convenient since the monorail goes through the hotel. The pool, arcade and stores are good too. The staff was fantastic.

Good luck and have fun!!

[susmjones]

We have stayed at the Swan and Dolphin- on site with buses and ferries to all the parks. It is a bit pricy normally but if by chance you are a teacher, nurse, fireman, policeman, etc....you get a REALLY huge discount. When we went we got rooms for $129 a night and I think they are normally around $300. Have fun!

[Anne1377]

Hi...

We have stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside ( Alligator Bayou section) the past two times we stayed on Disney property. It sleeps 5. It has two double beds and a trundle bed for a small child. We still needed to get two rooms that connected because we brought our four kiddies as well as my friend's daughter so we had 5 kiddies and 2 adults.

We also really love the off site Marriott vacation clubs. There is the Marriot Grande Vista, Horizons and Cypress Harbour. These are quite roomy. They have two bedrooms...one with a king bed, the other has two double beds and a pull-out in the living room. There is a full kitchen, washer, dryer, and two bathrooms. There is a jacuzzi in the master bedroom, a dining room and three tv's. There are a lot of activities going on at these resorts so we like that when we want to get away from Disney!

If you have any questions, please PM me.

Diane

[avoel]

Not sure how long you are going for, but if you are going for a week, I would strongly recommend looking into some of the off-site condos off 192. We stayed at Orange Lake and loved it last June. My parents have RCI but I know they rent by the week too and end up being cheaper than 2 hotel rooms per night for that long. We had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a living room and a kitchen. It had 5 pools and a waterpark too. If you have your own car, it really is much easier to drive to the parks than to wait for those buses with tired kids and try lugging the stroller on and off those things. We could be inside the park...or back at the condo, within 15 minutes of leaving the park (the exception being Magic Kingdom which takes a bit longer because of the Transportation and ticket center transfer). No, you don't get extra magic hours but I tend to avoid those parks on those days like the plague anyway.

[devildogwife]

Seth and I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and we really loved it. Very pretty, not a huge resort, so things weren't really spread out and we were able to see fireworks from outside our room every night. We got a pretty decent rate being military too.

[mommytoEli]

Originally Posted by Anne1377

Hi...

We have stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside ( Alligator Bayou section) the past two times we stayed on Disney property. It sleeps 5. It has two double beds and a trundle bed for a small child. We still needed to get two rooms that connected because we brought our four kiddies as well as my friend's daughter so we had 5 kiddies and 2 adults.

ummm......alligator bayou section? *gulp*....please tell me this is a cool name for a building section and not a place where gators hang out.....this reminds me why i don't want to go to florida.

[Anne1377]

Ahhh.....I should have clarified before I posted. Port Orleans has two sections...Riverside and the French Quarter. Riverside has two sections- one is Alligator Bayou and the other is Magnolia Bend. The only section of either of these hotels that will hold five people is the Alligator Bayou section of Riverside. They have the trundle beds for the little kiddies.

I think they call it Alligator Bayou because it is more rustic than the Magnolia Bend or the French Quarter and NOPE....there are NO alligators....merely just the name!!!

Diane

[giannismom]

We were in Disney in May and stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. I picked that one especially for the pool. It wasn't just a regular pool but had a few extras. I booked it a year in advance and when we got down there the pool area was being renovated. They had other pools through out, but just plain pools. We didn't end up spending much time at the pool anyway so it was ok. The food court was really good for breakfast and snacks. We ate most of the other meals in the parks and other hotels.

Have a wonderful time. I can't wait to go again.

[Tamiswaiting]

With 5 kids and 2 adults your least expensive way would be to rent a vacation home....especially since you'll have your car. I've stayed at 2 different homes (the last time was on our January trip). It had four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, washer & dryer, dishwasher, a fully stocked kitchen, a game room (pool table), a private pool, Nintendo game, etc. We were minutes from the parks.

FYI-Staying onsite does not necessarily make you closer to the parks. When we stayed at a vacation home in December '05, while my extended family stayed onsite, we actually beat them to the parks even though they were actually getting on the bus before we left the house to meet them there. LOL.

If you're not absolutely set on staying onsite, you might want to look into the possibility of a home...

When are you going?

[akasohappy]

All Star Music (WDW value resort) has Family Suites.
They converted 2 rooms into one larger one.
micro, mini fridge and little sink area with storage.
Sleeps 6 (1 Queen bed, pull out couch for 2 kids and a chair that converts to twin size pull out and ottoman that converts to a smaller cot size pull out.
I only seen photos on internet and have never stayed there. It would work for a larger family and should be fairly reasonable.
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