Lower-Priced Options for Large Families at Walt Disney World
Where to Stay Resort Features by Price Resort Kid Appeal Large Families
Large Family Value Prices Large Family Deluxe Spaces Beds/Sleeping Spaces
OVERVIEW: LARGE FAMILIES LOOKING FOR DISNEY WORLD VALUE PRICING
This page recommends Walt Disney World accommodations for large families seeking lower prices, sorted by family size.
See this page for an introduction to Large Families at Walt Disney World.
(For staying off-site, see this.)
Click on the thumbnail above (when open, click again once or twice to enlarge) to see the recommendations below in chart form.
The chart also includes additional information—for example, number of bathrooms, nature of any kitchen facilities, and total square feet.
As always, when more than one similar option is available, recommendations are made based on appeal to kids and transportation convenience.
All prices are for the 2011 Fall price season, the season when this site suggests you go–see this for when to go to Walt Disney World. Prices will be higher during most other parts of the year, but in similar proportions. See this for price seasons at Walt Disney World.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LARGE FAMILIES SEEKING VALUE PRICING
Basic Recommendation: Families with 4 people of fewer: Disney’s Pop Century Resort. For 4 people, you will pay $28 per person per night.
5 people: Best choice= All-Star Music Family Suite, $50/person/night.
A few buildings at Disney’s All Star Music have had two 4 person rooms converted into a combined 6 person space. See floor plan.
You get two baths, a private bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a microwave and mini-fridge, and a dayroom with couches and chairs that convert into sleeping space for 4 more people.
These rooms can be hard to reserve, but after the family suites at Disney’s Art of Animation resort open in 2012, family suites will be much more available.
The next best choice is the Alligator Bayou section of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort, which hold four in two double beds plus a fifth person in a 67” trundle bed, for $38/person/night. This option is not recommended for first-time visitors, as the resort not nearly as kid-appealing as All Star Music.
The final option is a 6-person cabin at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground and Resort. This option is not recommended for first-time visitors, as it is very inconvenient, and not nearly as kid-appealing as All Star Music. The cost is $70/person/night. You get a full kitchen and two sleeping spaces. One sleeps 4 in a full bed and bunk beds–the bunk beds are 70″ long. The second sleeping space is in the combined living room/dining room/kitchen, where a full bed folds down from the wall.
6 people: Best Choice: All Star Music Family Suite $42/person/night. See above for details.
Next best choice–a cabin at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, for $58/person/per night. See above–not recommended for first time visitors.
7 people: there are no good options for value pricing at this family or party size—or for 8 people either. You can try for connecting rooms at Pop Century, with no guarantees. Your cost for these will be $32/person/night.
Your best choice to guarantee you will all be in the same space is harder to pull off. It requires renting enough points (NOT reserving this villa from the WDW website—this will cost MUCH more) from a current Disney Vacation Club owner to get a Two Bedroom Villa at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. You can rent points from Disney Vacation Club members on websites like SellMyTimeshareNOW.com, a sponsor of this site. See this page for how to do so.
Success will get you a great space for $54/person/night. Disney’s Old Key West Resort is neither kid appealing nor convenient, but is the cheapest of the DVC resorts, and thus, when paid for using rented points, the only one that comes even close to the Value pricing range.
For your money you will get two bedrooms, one with a king that sleeps two, and one with two queens that sleeps 4. In addition, you get a huge (compared to other DVC resorts) kitchen/dining/living room combination with a sleeper sofa that sleeps two more and a fold-out chair that sleeps a ninth person.
8 comments
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Thanks for all this helpful information ! ! My family is planning a Disney vacation in 2012 during week 11. We have 4 children spanning from 4 to 11 and are currently attempting to book a reservation for the 6 of us. Recently I have given a lot of thought to inviting my niece who is 17 years old because she has never been to WDW and could also assist us with the small children. From my brief research in the planning process, large family accommodations are limited. It is especially the case with 7 people. I am trying to decide whether the cost of going from 6- 7 people specifically regarding hotel expenses would make it not feasible on our budget to invite her along. Do you have any recommendations on this? We have not ruled anything out as far as type of reservation we are looking to book-IE, value, moderate etc. Any input would be appreciated.
Hi Ginger–you are right, there’s a real break in the quality of options at lower-priced levels when you cross from 6 to 7.
For the higher priced properties, the break is from 5 to 6, as most of the good higher-priced 6 person options have capacities of 8 or 9 and prices to match.
Your family structure is also an issue with the niece on board, in terms of number of private sleeping spaces.
If you can afford it, with your niece I’d advise the Treehouses–see http://yourfirstvisit.net/2009/08/16/review-the-treehouses-at-disneys-saratoga-springs-resort-and-spa/
PS–by week 11–you mean by my rating? The week beginning 2/25? If so the treehouses would be about $715 a night then, and two rooms at Pop Century with a total of 4 full beds would be around 250 a night (total, not each), both pre-tax.
Hi Dave, thank you for all your hard work on the site! I am planning on going to Disney 10/12-10/21/2011(one of the cheaper times to go), with myself, my husband, and kids(14, 4, and 4). I do understand that your website is JUST a guide, but I am finding huge differences on the pricing. So I am wondering if I am doing something wrong? I do understand that I have a family of 5, but just wanted to check out the pricing at Pop Century since my twins can sleep with their older sibling. For 2 adults and 2 kids the price quoted on their website was $2067.44 for our week, which is $258.43 per night and $64.60 per night per person. Your pricing table quotes fall rates at Pop Century at $28/person/night(which is the rate I would like to get). We are on a very fixed income and none of my children or husband have ever been to Disney, so I am looking to cut costs where I can, but still meet our needs. Please help me locate where I can find these prices, thank you!!!!
Oh Dave, I am so sorry!!! I just figured it out, they had automatically included park tickets in that price. I found the price for Pop Century to be $1013 for 8 nights in Oct for 4 people!!!
Hi Lisa, glad it all came together. Let me know if I can help with anything else! Dave
any suggestions for a family reunion. 10 adults and 6 children. The adults have all been before but not the children ages 6-11. I have looked into old key west and Sarotoga suites as well as multiple rooms in port orleans. Also is dining plan really worth it??
Hi Faye!
It’s hard to advise not having some insight into your budget and family structure (ie. how many private sleeping spaces would you prefer.)
Besides the ideas you already have and the stuff on this page, 3 Family Suites (sleeping 18) at All-Star Music (or the Art of Animation Resort if you are arriving after 6/1/2012) is another option. See this: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/07/27/review-disneys-all-star-music-resort/
Also consider three cabins at Fort Wilderness also sleeping 18: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2009/10/26/review-the-cabins-at-disneys-fort-wilderness-resort/
If you go the DVC route there’s a lot to be said for two treehouses as well as you get extra bedrooms: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2009/08/16/review-the-treehouses-at-disneys-saratoga-springs-resort-and-spa/
The dining plan is only worth it if you would have eaten that number of sit-down meals anyway. With a party of 16, that’s unimaginable to me. The options that include a full kitchen–the DVC villas, and Fort Wilderness–may be a real help to you.
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