Large family contemplating a stay (offsite) with no car. Need advice!

[robinb]

My Family and I have gone to Disney 15-25 times and have always driven to FL here's my advice. If you fly, you are, without a doubt, going to get one of the best rates on property. Why?
1. Disney Magical Express is free
2. The Transportation is reliable and free
3. you can get rooms with kitchenette's in family suites (music, AofA) or mini fridge in all standard rooms
4. Can get two rooms at a value resort and save lots of money (make 2 reservations)

I would say stay at an all star (each room sleeps 4) and get two rooms, since your youngest is 2 years old, he isn't considered a guest so if you wanted a family suite (sleeps 6) you would reach the max of guests allowed in the rooms. Also, All star sports is a few miles away from a Mc Donalds (which you can walk to) if that helps

Well, I have a BIG doubt that staying onsite is cheaper. Yes, ME is free, yes buses are free. However, a family suite at ASMu is $400 per night with taxes. A standard single room is about $178 or $356 per night for two rooms. Her 1 BR suite at the Doubletree is less than the cost of ONE room at All Star Music. So, while transportation is indeed "free" at Disney resorts, you're really paying for it.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

My Family and I have gone to Disney 15-25 times and have always driven to FL here's my advice. If you fly, you are, without a doubt, going to get one of the best rates on property. Why?
1. Disney Magical Express is free
2. The Transportation is reliable and free
3. you can get rooms with kitchenette's in family suites (music, AofA) or mini fridge in all standard rooms
4. Can get two rooms at a value resort and save lots of money (make 2 reservations)

I would say stay at an all star (each room sleeps 4) and get two rooms, since your youngest is 2 years old, he isn't considered a guest so if you wanted a family suite (sleeps 6) you would reach the max of guests allowed in the rooms. Also, All star sports is a few miles away from a Mc Donalds (which you can walk to) if that helps

There are VERY few situations where an onsite stay is cheaper than offsite. Even with renting a car, offsite is typically cheaper especially if you include savings by preparing meals and taking food into the parks.

OP, I have stayed offsite many times and I would never consider doing so without a car. I would either drive or rent a car if you decide to fly. Good luck!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

A minivan won’t be able to pick up a family of 7 with luggage.

Well, since they drive a minivan, and priced out renting a minivan...I concluded that a minivan would possibly suit their needs.

 

[Calee]

Well, since they drive a minivan, and priced out renting a minivan...I concluded that a minivan would possibly suit their needs.

But once you add a Lyft driver that goes over the capacity for most mini vans...

I agree with the PP. I reread a few times to make sure I read correctly the make and mileage of your vehicle. I wouldn' t think twice about driving it. Under 100k miles is practically brand new the way my family drives cars!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

But once you add a Lyft driver that goes over the capacity for most mini vans...

I agree with the PP. I reread a few times to make sure I read correctly the make and mileage of your vehicle. I wouldn' t think twice about driving it. Under 100k miles is practically brand new the way my family drives cars!

I also wouldn't hesitate driving their vehicle, so long as driving doesn't eat up too much vacation time. They can always call Lyft and ask about options for larger families.

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, since they drive a minivan, and priced out renting a minivan...I concluded that a minivan would possibly suit their needs.

I have 5 kids, have used uber and car services, there is no way an uber, taxi, or car service will agree to pick up a family of 7 and luggage with a minivan, 10 passenger van is the smallest. Sure, they can drive their own minivan, we’ve done it to a cruise port, but there were only 7 of us, and it was CRAZY tight, with luggage squeezed in everywhere.

 

[Penmac]

Thank you for all the opinions and words of wisdom! I appreciate all of the insights from onsite and offsite Disney fans. To comment on a few things:

We have driven our family of 7 to Florida and back two times, in a minivan. So, I know we can fit everything we need. Last year we managed to fit a double bob jogging stroller, a pack n' play and all of our items, so we can do it. My husband is a packing Houdini! One thing we always do for road trips is pack our clothing and other items in plastic bins that can stack instead of suitcases and duffel bags. It saves a ton of space!

We will NOT fit into a single Lyft or Uber, even if it is a minivan because on the Uber app it specifically says that Uber XL is for up to 6 people. I imagine it would be a liability for the driver, but I don't know since I have only taken one Uber ride, and without all my kids. Maybe if we lucked out with a van that seats 8, but no guarantees on this. Also, we would need a car seat for our 2 year old. The car seat is an available Uber option in Orlando (very few cities offer this service), but it does cut down on the number of available uber drivers that would suit our needs. Not only do we need a large vehicle, we need a car seat too. It makes logistics difficult and we could be stuck for a while without an available vehicle. I think we would have to do two ubers and split up and that gets pricey.

Onsite is not an option for us. It would hands down be much more expensive- no matter how many shuttle rides we get for free. Although someday I will make it work! Staying onsite in a deluxe is on my bucket list.

After discussing this at home, we have figured out some things! If direct flights drop a bit closer to the dates (like, $99 fares each way), then we will fly AND rent a car. We are BJs members and they tend to have better deals, so we will go with them. I did price out picking up car at another location but I think this is too much hassle and not worth the savings. Being able to leave the airport in a car will be much easier with the kids. If we can keep our overall transportation cost at or under $2000 for 7 people, we are doing OK. As someone stated above, rental car prices could continue to drop so we will wait it out and see if we can get a better price than $500.

If flights do not come down to $1500 or under for all of us, then we will service our car and drive. We can manage it and the responses above about the reliability of Toyota has given me major peace of mind. I trust this community and its advice!!!

With all this said, I cancelled our reservation at Doubletree Suites. I love the idea of the Extra Magic Hours, but I can live without it (boo hoo!). We can't justify staying at this particular hotel with a car since it's $27/day to park. The nightly rate is reasonable at $162 through Hilton Honors, but a condo offsite will be anywhere from $95-$130, and that's a better price given that it will come with free parking, a washer/dryer and a full kitchen.

I have changed my mind so many times about the logistics of this trip (I always do), but talking it out on the forums always help me narrow down what we actually want and what we can afford. In the future, I would really like to rent a sweet RV and stay at the campground! They have decent RV rates, but the Disney campground nightly fee is pretty high in the summer (over $150/night), so that puts that out of reach for us this year. Maybe someday!!!

 

[MamaBelle4]

I just wanted to pop in to say, your family reminds me so much of mine! We also have 5 kids and our oldest is 9! Whatever you decide, I hope your trip is filled with magic and pixie dust!

 

[Klayfish]

Sounds great! Let me throw another suggestion out there for the flying potential. Look at airports and airlines that may be a bit off the beaten path to see if you can get a better deal. As I mentioned before, we live in Atlanta now, so we just drive. But previously, we spent our entire lives in PA, nearly Philly. We didn't want to drive, so we always flew. I don't know how many times, if ever, we flew right from Philly to Orlando. We would fly from Atlantic City NJ to Sanford FL, or Trenton NJ to Tampa. One time, we flew from Trenton (I think) to St. Petersburg (I think). It was a 3 hour drive from the airport to WDW, but the tickets were something like $80/person round trip...including taxes. Airlines like Spirit, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant.

 

[Penmac]

Sounds great! Let me throw another suggestion out there for the flying potential. Look at airports and airlines that may be a bit off the beaten path to see if you can get a better deal. As I mentioned before, we live in Atlanta now, so we just drive. But previously, we spent our entire lives in PA, nearly Philly. We didn't want to drive, so we always flew. I don't know how many times, if ever, we flew right from Philly to Orlando. We would fly from Atlantic City NJ to Sanford FL, or Trenton NJ to Tampa. One time, we flew from Trenton (I think) to St. Petersburg (I think). It was a 3 hour drive from the airport to WDW, but the tickets were something like $80/person round trip...including taxes. Airlines like Spirit, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant.

Thanks for the tips! We are mainly checking flights out of Providence. We are closer to Boston but there are reasonable direct flights from Providence for better prices.

 

[Penmac]

I just wanted to pop in to say, your family reminds me so much of mine! We also have 5 kids and our oldest is 9! Whatever you decide, I hope your trip is filled with magic and pixie dust!

Wonderful! Love when I find others like us

 

[Penmac]

Thank you for all the opinions and words of wisdom! I appreciate all of the insights from onsite and offsite Disney fans. To comment on a few things:

We have driven our family of 7 to Florida and back two times, in a minivan. So, I know we can fit everything we need. Last year we managed to fit a double bob jogging stroller, a pack n' play and all of our items, so we can do it. My husband is a packing Houdini! One thing we always do for road trips is pack our clothing and other items in plastic bins that can stack instead of suitcases and duffel bags. It saves a ton of space!

We will NOT fit into a single Lyft or Uber, even if it is a minivan because on the Uber app it specifically says that Uber XL is for up to 6 people. I imagine it would be a liability for the driver, but I don't know since I have only taken one Uber ride, and without all my kids. Maybe if we lucked out with a van that seats 8, but no guarantees on this. Also, we would need a car seat for our 2 year old. The car seat is an available Uber option in Orlando (very few cities offer this service), but it does cut down on the number of available uber drivers that would suit our needs. Not only do we need a large vehicle, we need a car seat too. It makes logistics difficult and we could be stuck for a while without an available vehicle. I think we would have to do two ubers and split up and that gets pricey.

Onsite is not an option for us. It would hands down be much more expensive- no matter how many shuttle rides we get for free. Although someday I will make it work! Staying onsite in a deluxe is on my bucket list.

After discussing this at home, we have figured out some things! If direct flights drop a bit closer to the dates (like, $99 fares each way), then we will fly AND rent a car. We are BJs members and they tend to have better deals, so we will go with them. I did price out picking up car at another location but I think this is too much hassle and not worth the savings. Being able to leave the airport in a car will be much easier with the kids. If we can keep our overall transportation cost at or under $2000 for 7 people, we are doing OK. As someone stated above, rental car prices could continue to drop so we will wait it out and see if we can get a better price than $500.

If flights do not come down to $1500 or under for all of us, then we will service our car and drive. We can manage it and the responses above about the reliability of Toyota has given me major peace of mind. I trust this community and its advice!!!

With all this said, I cancelled our reservation at Doubletree Suites. I love the idea of the Extra Magic Hours, but I can live without it (boo hoo!). We can't justify staying at this particular hotel with a car since it's $27/day to park. The nightly rate is reasonable at $162 through Hilton Honors, but a condo offsite will be anywhere from $95-$130, and that's a better price given that it will come with free parking, a washer/dryer and a full kitchen.

I have changed my mind so many times about the logistics of this trip (I always do), but talking it out on the forums always help me narrow down what we actually want and what we can afford. In the future, I would really like to rent a sweet RV and stay at the campground! They have decent RV rates, but the Disney campground nightly fee is pretty high in the summer (over $150/night), so that puts that out of reach for us this year. Maybe someday!!!

I should probably clarify, because I did say in a previous post above that staying at the Doubletree was cheaper than a condo + rental car scenario. On paper, yes- but I really didn't factor too many conveniences like laundry and even a stove. We don't cook much on vacation, but usually do one night of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for the kids, and that's probably a $50 savings right there. And, the figure I came up with was only if we did amazon pantry delivery for most groceries, walked everywhere from the hotel, and relied only on the shuttles for rides to the parks. I think we could still have budgeted for a couple uber rides or shuttle from the airport and not reached the total fee for condo plus rental car, but the money we would spend overall staying in a hotel versus a condo really offsets all the savings. Basically, we have decided that paying a bit more for the rental car will save us money in the long run- even with paying to park at the parks for the 3 days we are going.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Thanks for the tips! We are mainly checking flights out of Providence. We are closer to Boston but there are reasonable direct flights from Providence for better prices.

We could fly from either as well, but much prefer Providence. It's just so much less of a hassle!

 

[QueenIsabella]

If you normally fly out of Providence, it doesn't hurt to look at either Manchester, NH or Hartford (Bradley), CT. We used to live in NH--about equidistant to those two. Sometimes one was cheaper, sometimes the other. Both are fairly easy airports to access (compared to, say Logan or JFK). One trick we used was, flying out of Bradley was cheaper for February break, because NH took a different week of than CT did.

Personally, I love staying offsite. We liked the space, the laundry facilities (what are the odds you'll need those with 5 kids?), and the full kitchen. I tend to cook a lot, even on vacation, but if you figure it's just for breakfast, reheating leftovers, and the odd meal--you still save a ton. It's kind of funny--I always make break-and-bake cookies on vacation. Normally, I'm too cheap and do scratch cookies. My kids say they know they're on vacation when they smell those cookies in the oven! Of course, you could always make, freeze, and bring your own cookie dough, too.

 

[Penmac]

If you normally fly out of Providence, it doesn't hurt to look at either Manchester, NH or Hartford (Bradley), CT. We used to live in NH--about equidistant to those two. Sometimes one was cheaper, sometimes the other. Both are fairly easy airports to access (compared to, say Logan or JFK). One trick we used was, flying out of Bradley was cheaper for February break, because NH took a different week of than CT did.

Personally, I love staying offsite. We liked the space, the laundry facilities (what are the odds you'll need those with 5 kids?), and the full kitchen. I tend to cook a lot, even on vacation, but if you figure it's just for breakfast, reheating leftovers, and the odd meal--you still save a ton. It's kind of funny--I always make break-and-bake cookies on vacation. Normally, I'm too cheap and do scratch cookies. My kids say they know they're on vacation when they smell those cookies in the oven! Of course, you could always make, freeze, and bring your own cookie dough, too.

I must be cheap too because I didn’t even know what break-and-bake cookies were! I had to read it twice before I copped on. I also love in-unit laundry. We do one full load a day on vacation!

 

[HopperFan]

The only hotels I would stay at without a car are Disney Springs because it has a decent and reliable bus system to Disney ... that is free and runs regularly. These are regular buses just like Disney buses.

You can walk to Disney Springs.

You can walk the other way to Crossroads Shopping Plaza (busy road to cross so only you know your kids) to a variety of restaurants including McD and a grocery. Overpriced but close.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I must be cheap too because I didn’t even know what break-and-bake cookies were! I had to read it twice before I copped on. I also love in-unit laundry. We do one full load a day on vacation!

With four kids, there's no way I would ever do the break-and-bake cookies at home--they wouldn't last an hour! They make a great vacation treat, though. And I hear you on the laundry--not only can you pack less, but I always seem to have somebody with a spectacular laundry need, every vacation. Even the smaller, less impressive stains--it's nice to toss them into the washer, rather than have them sit for days. I also find that, when we stay at Windsor Hills, i like being able to wash the pool towels every few days. They get a LOT of use with my gang.

 

[Penmac]

With four kids, there's no way I would ever do the break-and-bake cookies at home--they wouldn't last an hour! They make a great vacation treat, though. And I hear you on the laundry--not only can you pack less, but I always seem to have somebody with a spectacular laundry need, every vacation. Even the smaller, less impressive stains--it's nice to toss them into the washer, rather than have them sit for days. I also find that, when we stay at Windsor Hills, i like being able to wash the pool towels every few days. They get a LOT of use with my gang.

Yes- it is nice to pack lighter and do laundry. We toss it in the washer while we are getting the kids ready for bed and then in dryer when I go to bed and it's ready for the next morning. Washing swim suits a few times throughout the week rather than always draping them all over the bathroom to dry is a nice space-saving perk, too, with so many people. Since we usually do Disney in the very hot weather, we go through a couple sets of clothing a day sometimes. If we are in the park for rope drop and then head back to the condo for lunch and swimming, no way are we wearing the same sweaty, sun-block drenched clothes back to the park that night for the parade. You just get SO dirty and grimy in these parks!!! So, that's 14 sets of clothing in one day. Pop it all in the washer at the end of the day and we are good to go! Some people think I am crazy for wanting to do laundry on vacation, but this just makes it easier and more enjoyable for me. Every time I briefly consider staying onsite in a value hotel (pipe dream), or even my reservation at Doubletree that I just cancelled, I always remember this convenience and then I think it would be hard to do without it. I know the hotels have laundry facilities, but it's just not the same and we certainly wouldn't be able to budget for the valet laundry service.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I wouldn't go so far as to say I "want" to do laundry on vacation, but I do like having the availability to do it. As you say, it takes very little hands-on time. Sometimes, to hear me crab about laundry, you'd think I had to haul it down to the river and beat it against a rock.

I feel the same way about that full kitchen. No, I don't want to spend my vacation cooking, but it sure is nice having plenty of snacks and cold drinks.

 

[cadawson]

I got a really good rate on my last Orlando car rental through Costco Travel.
If you do decide to take your Sienna again one day, you might consider getting AAA. I first got it for the hotel discounts, but AAA South (my region) also gives me discounts on Universal and Disney tickets and APs. Also, free towing, free jumpstart. We are getting ready to drive to Orlando from TN in our Sienna with 90k miles in a couple months. Knock on wood!
I hope all your details come together and you have a great time!