How can I stay onsite under 14K?!

[kboo]

We are a party of 6 also I have never liked the idea of have 2 separate room since it is not guaranteed they will be connecting. We just recently stayed at AoA in a Cars suite (August 2016) for 8 days and it was great for our family of 6. The whole package was $4500, so absolutely you can do it for MUCH less.

The next trip we have planned is for November of 2018 at the AKV, and we rented DVC points because we have more people coming this trip, 12 total so we are getting a 2 bedroom villa and studio. We have rented from Dave (https://www.dvcrequest.com/) several times in the past, then we bought a DVC and subsequently sold it, so now we had to rent points again and it was still a great experience dealing with Dave and his team. The best part of the 2 bedroom vills is they will sleep 8 or 9 so you would have room for the nanny if she was to come. The downside is you can not get free dining, but you can pay extra to add it on if you want.

You really do have many options, but it totally depends on what you are looking for:

This pretty much lays out the options if you are set on staying onsite.

Option 1 - 2 Standard Rooms - You are not guaranteed that you will get connecting rooms but you should be able to get the free dining, and you will technically have room for the nanny. (Ball Park Price - I have no idea as this is not an option for our family)

This is probably the (second) most cost effective option except and lowest cost add-on if you wanted a 3rd room for the nanny (which you could also cancel if she didn't come)

Option 2 - Family Suite at Art of Animation - Can sleep up to 6 and your family will all be in one room and again you should be able to get the free dining but NO room for the nanny unless you want to get her a single/standard room. (Ball Park Price - $5500-$6000)

This is probably the most cost effective option *and* best option to add on a single standard room for the nanny if you are dead set on her not sharing space with you.

Option 3 - Rent DVC Points and stay in a 2 Bedroom Villa - Can sleep 8 or 9 so you will have room for the nanny but you can NOT get the free dining. (Ball Park Price - $6500-$7500)

This would likely be the cheapest option if you are ok with the nanny in the same living space with you, sleeping on the pullout or sleeper chair in the living room. Some villas have a sleeper chair, which would enable you to keep the pullout as a couch and keep the living room feeling more like a living room. Also - BLT and Kidani have a 3rd full bath in the 2BR units, which will help a lot if the nanny can have her own bathroom.

Another option - book nanny her own hotel room in the same hotel (would be a deluxe and it would get expensive) or at a standard room onsite.* (see below)

Option 4 - Pay Full Rack Rates for a Suite / Villa from Disney - (Pall Bark Price - $14,000, I would never do this option)

No. Just no.

* More on the nanny: When would you be expecting her help? If you are thinking of bedtime and/or morning times, then having her in a separate room may not be practical, even if she is in the same resort. If you are thinking of having her watch or stay with the kids (or some of the kids) while you are out doing other things as adults or with the older kids, then I'd suggest you think seriously about simply hiring a sitter while you are there. It is around $15-20/hour and even if you did it every night, it would be FAR less $ than paying for a nanny to come along.

You might also want to ask in the Disney for Families section, but I think your 11-yo may be able to be in the parks alone, and may even be able to have their next oldest sibling with them. Obviously everyone's child is different, and you know your kids better than anyone else, but if part of the reason for a nanny was because you may need to split up 3-ways from time to time, this is another option to consider.

ETA: I thought your oldest was 11, not 15. 15 yo DEFINITELY can be out alone (per Disney rules), again not sure if they could take next youngest sibling.

ETA: Do you really need the nanny?
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/minimum-age/

 

[bumbershoot]

The 15 year old is fine to enter parks alone. They can even escort the youngest to the parks. And ride with the 3 year old.

The 9 and 7 year olds are both fine to wait in lines and ride alone because 7 and up can do that. They can’t enter the park on their own though.

 

[rosiebean]

I agree with the poster that said to buy Disney gift cards (a few $1000 cards) and say "they're for our 'free' dining." I've done the math for my family, and the DDP just doesn't save us money (we usually stay deluxe and sometimes moderate), even when it's 'free'. We just don't eat enough to make up for the discount. I simply put aside money every month leading up to our trip in a 'meal' savings account...and I pay down my charges with that money while at Disney. I don't feel like I'm paying out of pocket, and it saves me money in the long run.

I understand, though, that you don't want to fight over getting a dole whip, lol. But if you can't get 'free' dining, I think it's worth using gift cards.

 

[Monykalyn]

Also check Disney Springs Resort hotels- B Resort has family room with bunk beds (my younger two loved having own bed) and the Doubletree suites can sleep up to 6 I believe (2 queen room). Look for specials that waive resort &/or parking fees too. We'd stay at either of these resorts again.

 

[Shanti]

It doesn't sound like you really have the butter for what you want. You're going to have to compromise somewhere: either the nanny doesn't come, or you stay offsite, or you stay at a Disney value suite. Or, you suck it up and hand $14,000 over to Disney.

I recommend leaving the nanny at home.

 

[dminnie]

Just for fun, I was playing around on the Disney website. You could do 2 water view rooms at Coronado Springs resort for about $10,000 for you group. That's for 4 children and 3 adults, with 8 day park hoppers and the DDP. It's not a deluxe resort, but they do have some deluxe amenities like a spa and fitness center. It's a beautiful resort, especially at night.

I don't know your situation, but it seems like your nanny would probably want her own room. Maybe you could even get 3 rooms and let her be in her own room. You could pay another $1,800 for another water view room for her, still staying well below the 14K you have to spend.

The dates I entered were from Sept. 15-22nd. I would imagine you could get it cheaper once the special offers come out for that time period.

Edit: I would NOT go for one of the DVC villas that some are suggesting. Going for a moderate resort, you'll all have actual beds to sleep on. The DVC rooms often have pull out sofas for some of the people in order to have that many people in the room. They also often don't have daily housekeeping. Those 2 things do not sound "luxury" to me.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Edit: I would NOT go for one of the DVC villas that some are suggesting. Going for a moderate resort, you'll all have actual beds to sleep on. The DVC rooms often have pull out sofas for some of the people in order to have that many people in the room. They also often don't have daily housekeeping. Those 2 things do not sound "luxury" to me.

DVC is not a luxury product. It's a timeshare, solidly marketed to the middle market.

Realistically, Disney Deluxe isn't a luxury product either. The pricing suggests to some it is, but the features and amenities do not compare to the average $600+ hotel room in a major market.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Nothing bad to those that like the values especially with kids, but the values when we stayed there yrs back felt very stressful and noisy with a lot of huge bright plastic decorations, uggh, not the beautiful landscaping we want. My husband and I vowed never to go again. The moderates on the other hand were a HUGE jump up, absolutely loved them with a resort feel. You get a lot of bang for your buck at a moderate. Or another we really liked and enjoyed was the Dolphin/Swan. Being Starwood members we've gone where many of our days were paid for by points alone. Another we've done that personally I would do in your situation, was renting a house. We had 13 people in a gorgeous 6 bedroom house and it was extremely reasonable, and did not feel cramped! We had our own pool and game room. They come in all different sizes. They had a theatre, community pool, all kinds of amenities on property, just 5 minutes from WDW and saved tons of money doing that. Had many kids there at that time everyone had a blast. If you do go down to the value from the Deluxe you wanted, try the POP which looked better than the others I've been in.

 

[Fern]

I have a strong aversion to all things plasticky and gaudy, and this reasoning has been a major contributor to why we've always stayed at Deluxe in the past (and one moderate). This fall we took a bonus trip and stayed at the Pop in one of the renovated rooms, and I will admit, we all loved it. The room was spacious and not at all tacky, and I loved the thoughtful design with the murphy bed and tons of storage space. I was very impressed. Yes, the grounds were large and the food court was large and noisy, but we were barely there. The AofA suites (we had friends staying there) were also quite nice. I wouldn't be so hasty as to disregard the values (at least the new rooms at Pop or AofA) as not being "nice". It's worth looking into at least (maybe check out some photos on AllEars or something). You may be pleasantly surprised. IMHO, I don't think I'd stay at a moderate again. We usually stay at the Boardwalk, which I love for the convenience. Pop was a great value. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat- it was clean and nice and we saved a great deal of money. Deluxe is great for the convenience and amenities and general luxe feel. For us, the moderate wasn't really worth the extra cost over the value- not close to the parks, the resort was huge and took forever to get through all the bus stops.

 

[kniquy]

I think people have already mentioned a rental of DVC points which can be done through Davids DVC -- if you have some flexibility in when you go then you can use their calculator to play with a variety of dates to see what would be the cheapest - unfortunately Disney is not a cheap vacation. The only down side to DVC renting is that you will not be eligible for free dining, but when you want free dining you need to pay rack rate -- so how much are you really saving. To get a 2 bedroom DVC which generally can sleep 9 you would want to book 11 months out -- going this route would save quite a bit and you still can pay for and add the dining plan if that is of interest.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would do a treehouse or 3 rooms at a mod. Let the nanny have at least her own space (we had a nanny, as well, and we brought her to WDW, too... in 2010. She had her own room.).

2 rooms connecting - mom/dad/kids. 1 room adjoining - nanny.

 

[rdaky]

A lot of great advice here. I think you're just going to have to figure out where to compromise. I would say that most people who plan a Disney vacation have to compromise somewhere unless they want to spend an enormous amount of money.

We've been to Disney many times and have found that "free dining" actually costs us more. We are better off with a room discount. I buy a ton of Disney gift cards in advance, we use our Magic Bands to charge our meals to our room, and then we pay down the balance with our gift cards. Everyone gets food, snacks, and drinks and because I have saved up all of those gift cards, it doesn't feel like a burden to buy another ice cream.

We have had trips when we stayed at a nicer hotel and we ate at fewer Table Service restaurants. We're staying at a moderate on our next trip so that allows us to spend more on food. (We really wanted to stay at a deluxe but realized we had to compromise somewhere, and we like Disney food, so we were willing to go moderate to allow more restaurants)

 

[AdamEfimoff]

We are a family of 6- 2 adults 4 children ages 15-9-7-3. The only options that Disney is giving me is the suites at Poly or AK and it's over 14k for an 8 day trip..

My ideal trip would be AK during free dining in September but there is no way I am willing to pay $16k for lodging and park hoppers.

We would also like to travel with our nanny to help out with the kids which doesn't seem to affect the room capacity as we are already over the limit for a smaller suite/room.

Does anyone have any tips on a way to stay onsite with this large of a group for a more reasonable amount? Do any of the resorts offer connecting rooms?

With this large of a party does the FDP pencil? I also like the fact that my husband won't be complaining over every meal and snack price.

I used this forum to plan my WDW trip in 2014 and I greatly appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment and give their insight.

Thanks!!

wow that is a lot of money. Have you tried the off site Waldorf?