Trip for 6 under $7k?

[grendeleev]

I was wondering if it's even feasible for a family of 6 to have a seven-night resort stay, preferably with a dining plan (because my father likes the all-inclusive feel of it). The number of days we go to the parks is a bit flexible (family would like at least 5), park hopper is not necessary. There are a few dates my mother would like to stick to, but I bet if I could find a screamin' deal she wouldn't mind fudging her dates a bit.

Again, no idea if this is even a reasonable request.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Yes, I think it is possible. I don't know when you want to go or if you are six adults or have kids traveling (under 10 for pricing purposes). I went on the Disney website and plugged in January 20-27 for six adults (since January is one of the least expensive times to travel). For six adults in a family suite with 5 day base tickets and the quick service dining plan, it is $6562. Adding the regular dining plan instead would be about $7500. These are regular prices, but there are frequently discounts in January (or you could use AAA if you have it).

If you are all adults, you might look at two value rooms instead of a family suite so you will have four beds instead of the pullouts with the family suite. You could also look at renting points from a DVC owner.

A bit more info about the ages of your group and when you want to travel would better answer the question, though!

 

[grendeleev]

Yes, I think it is possible. I don't know when you want to go or if you are six adults or have kids traveling (under 10 for pricing purposes). I went on the Disney website and plugged in January 20-27 for six adults (since January is one of the least expensive times to travel). For six adults in a family suite with 5 day base tickets and the quick service dining plan, it is $6562. Adding the regular dining plan instead would be about $7500. These are regular prices, but there are frequently discounts in January (or you could use AAA if you have it).

If you are all adults, you might look at two value rooms instead of a family suite so you will have four beds instead of the pullouts with the family suite. You could also look at renting points from a DVC owner.

A bit more info about the ages of your group and when you want to travel would better answer the question, though!

Thank you so much for your answer! We're all adults, youngest person there will be 17. Mom is saying she wants to go the week of 1/7-1/13. Would two value rooms make it significantly more expensive than one suite?

Also, would renting points be a cost effective option? I've looked into it very briefly before---isn't it for the more expensive resorts?

 

[adelaster]

If I was you, I'd look into dvc rental. I put your dates into dvcrequest.com (david's dvc rental) & consider these dvc villa options:

SARATOGA SPRINGS
$3808 treehouse
$2944 two bedroom

OLD KEY WEST
$2896 two bedroom
$4672 grand villa

WILDERNESS LODGE
$3632 two bedroom

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE
$2480 two bedroom value
$2960 two bedroom standard

BOARDWALK
$2960 two bedroom

I would hope for some special deal on one park per day tickets, otherwise you're looking at $2220 for five one park per day tickets for six. Another consideration would be a third party ticket vendor.

The dining plan prices before tax per person for 2018 are:
$52.49 quick service ($314.92 x 6 nights = $1889.52)
$75.49 standard ($452.94 x 6 nights = $2717.64)
$116.24 deluxe ($697.44 x 6 nights = $4184.64)

So, you could do a dvc rental + quick service dining plan + 5 day base tickets at a two bedroom old key west for just a few dollars over $7k. That is your entire budget though. I would strongly reconsider the dining plan, and look at getting discount tickets. It's possible you could do two rooms at a resort, but a dvc villa would have a kitchen, enabling you to bring food or order groceries and eat some meals in the room to save on costs. It would also keep the family together, for better or worse. Knocking a night or two off your stay might also enable you to live a little more on your dime. It's possible you can get a good package deal through disney as the above poster noted, just explore your options!

 

[kydisneyfans]

DVC points rental would be the route I would look at first.
Free dining would be my second route to research.

The largest cost for us at Disney isn't tickets, it's transportation to get there. Are your driving or flying? The room and tickets, and if free dining, the food, are all easily within the goal, but if you need $2800 to fly 7 people to Orlando from the West Coast you may have problems.

 

[MandLBee]

Well...we are doing it by staying at the Campsites at Fort Wilderness

Party of Six (4 Disney adults, 2 kids), camping five nights at Disney, sleeping two nights in an Airbnb condo is $540.
3-day Parks tickets is $1870
Memory Maker is $150
That's without dining at $2560.

 

[brooke789]

I think it's doable!

We have an upcoming trip for 7 (4 adults and 3 kids). Two rooms at POR and 6 day park hopper tickets. We're paying $5310 for room and tickets. If we added dining it would be $1800 for QS or $2500 for DDP.
Even with our scenario you're close especially if you drop the PH or do less days.

If you need to fly that could throw it off!

 

[grendeleev]

I see that there's free dining plans in 2018 if you stay at a deluxe resort. Does that mean I can rent DVC points, stay at AKL for example, and get free dining?

Soooo many helpful answers, I'm starting to feel like this isn't a hopeless endeavor!

EDIT: Flying isn't an issue. The $7000 price point is just for Disney-exclusive expenses.

 

[adelaster]

I see that there's free dining plans in 2018 if you stay at a deluxe resort. Does that mean I can rent DVC points, stay at AKL for example, and get free dining?

Soooo many helpful answers, I'm starting to feel like this isn't a hopeless endeavor!

EDIT: Flying isn't an issue. The $7000 price point is just for Disney-exclusive expenses.

DVC is not elligible for free dining.

 

[Marionnette]

Don't count on getting an AKV-Value 2-BR. They're as rare as hen's teeth. They are actually a 1-BR and a studio with connecting doors (referred to as a lockoff). If a member books a studio, it turns a 2-BR into a studio + 1-BR with only the 1-BR portion remaining available for booking. Because they require so few points, it would be highly unlikely to get a Value Villa for January at this point. Owners booked those up when their opportunity to do so opened up in February.

AKV- Kidani 2-BR villas have 3 bathrooms, which could be a huge plus when you have so many adults getting ready in the morning.

OKW 2-BR villas have 2Q beds in the second bedroom and full-size washer/dryers in their units. They are some of the bigger 2-BR villas on property. However, there are only 2 bathrooms in them.

You may have trouble booking the entire stay with DVC. Your dates overlap with Marathon Weekend and lot's of DVC members book villas early. Many DVC resorts have a limited number of dedicated 2-BR villas. Most of the 2-BRs are lockoffs. So every time a member books a studio, that 2-BR lockoff becomes a booked studio and an available 1-BR. This results in limited availability of 2-BR units.

If you were to decide to stay in a DVC villa by renting points, I highly recommend getting your request in soon. But be aware that full payment is expected at the time that the reservation is confirmed and it is generally non-refundable.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

OP, here is a link to some of the discounts that have been offered during past Januarys. The discounts usually become available in late September or early October.

https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends

Renting points can give you more room for less money, but as Marionette and others pointed out, you have much less flexibility with your dates and with any changes. We rented points once and everything turned out great, but I did have some anxiety worrying about not being able to change dates if someone got sick or couldn't go for some reason.

Two rooms at All Star Sports from 1/7 to 1/13 for six adults total with the regular dining plan is $6800 (for six nights with 5 day base tickets). A preferred room adds about $20 per night per room, and rooms at some of the other values are a bit more per night (Pop Century and Art of Animation, in particular). I think AoA standard rooms generally either aren't available for discounts or have a smaller discount than the other value rooms, but that might have changed. If you are flexible with your resort, you might be able to snag a discount when they come out.

 

[Donnainnj]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to get two studios with DVC?

 

[DisMommyTX]

I couldn't imagine how cramped it would be for 6 adults sharing a room, even a value suite or villa, and I've never found the DVC availability we needed less than 7 months out.

A more comfortable and reasonable option (which we have done many times), off-site condos are $50-100/nt for 3 bd/2ba in Windsor Hills. If you are flying instead of driving, renting a car would be about $200/wk, and you'd probably want 2. Tickets would be about $2300k. That puts you in the $3K-3500 range before food. You could book all the dining you want without getting anywhere near $7000. Onsite is best for short stays and small parties, but in our experience it starts to get claustrophobic after a few days and the value diminishes. For larger groups and longer stays, we vastly prefer off-site.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We have always stayed onsite, although I know there are a lot of nice offsite places for less money. A nice thing about being onsite with a larger group is that not everyone has to go to the parks at the same time, or even go the same parks on the same day. If the teenagers want to stay out later and then sleep in, there is a safe convenient way to get them to the parks whenever they are ready. And if you are flying, you could avoid a car rental entirely by staying onsite.

I think the benefits of staying onsite aren't what they used to be, but you still get early entry and earlier access to book fastpasses. We are an early morning family (except for a day or two for the teenagers), so these benefits are worth it for us.

 

[Keels]

You may have trouble booking the entire stay with DVC. Your dates overlap with Marathon Weekend and lot's of DVC members book villas early.

This is the real wrench in the DVC plan ... DVC availability anywhere for any room size is basically non-existent right now for stays during Marathon Weekend. I tried adding on one more night (I'm staying at BCV Thursday-Tuesday) for the Wednesday before Marathon Weekend and nothing, nada. Not even at OKW or Saratoga Springs.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

I was wondering if it's even feasible for a family of 6 to have a seven-night resort stay, preferably with a dining plan (because my father likes the all-inclusive feel of it). The number of days we go to the parks is a bit flexible (family would like at least 5), park hopper is not necessary. There are a few dates my mother would like to stick to, but I bet if I could find a screamin' deal she wouldn't mind fudging her dates a bit.

The whole idea of getting the dining plan to "feel all inclusive" is a great scheme by Disney. I'd rather charge every meal, out of pocket, to my account and pay for it via CC or Gift Cards on my check out. If you are looking to save money, that would be the first place I start. It is hard to make the dining plan save you any money anymore.

 

[kymom99]

The whole idea of getting the dining plan to "feel all inclusive" is a great scheme by Disney. I'd rather charge every meal, out of pocket, to my account and pay for it via CC or Gift Cards on my check out. If you are looking to save money, that would be the first place I start. It is hard to make the dining plan save you any money anymore.

Plus it's really really not all-inclusive. You have to keep track of credits and unless you do deluxe you can't eat 3 meals a day on it. I was around when there when the plan really was a good deal. it included apps, tips, the whole ball of wax. Then they gradually increased the price while decreasing the value. Yet people still think dining plan=great value. That's definitely one area where I would disagree with Dad. Looking at all the figures mentioned previously, you still don't have transportation added in. If you are driving you can bring lots of food along with you.

I just saw the post where you said flying isn't an issue. Does that mean you have free flights or are you driving?

 

[Marionnette]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to get two studios with DVC?

Yes, but there are no DVC connecting studios other than at PVB. It's possible that two studios could be on different floors or even different buildings. Asking to have adjoining studios is just a request and not a guarantee.

Plus, as I pointed out before, the studios (with the exception of OKW) consist of one Q bed and a sofa bed with some select studios also offering a pull-down bed which is slightly smaller than a regular bunk bed to accommodate a 5th person. In addition, studios do not have a full kitchen (just a microwave, toaster, coffee maker and mini-fridge similar to the setup in the Value Resort family suites) and no washer/dryer in the unit. IMO, a family looking for 2 studios just to save money over a 2-BR would do better to get Value Resort rooms so that everyone has a real bed.

 

[Donnainnj]

I would prefer the two queens at OKW, if available, over two full size beds. With the group mainly adults I wasn't that concerned with the rooms connecting.

 

[Marionnette]

I would prefer the two queens at OKW, if available, over two full size beds. With the group mainly adults I wasn't that concerned with the rooms connecting.

Actually, any DVC stay during the OP's dates would not be possible due to a lack of availability. So you and I are arguing a moot point.