Large Group lodging plan

[Chacha486]

Hey all, Its been 10+ years since we did Disney and our group has expanded. Two kids got married, one had their own 2 kids so we have a BIG group. I wanted to stay all together in the 3 bedroom treehouse at AKL (DIL is a serious giraffe fan) but even speaking with the Dreams Unlimited agent I don't think that's possible. So..... now I'm trying to think about the best strategy for rooms before I even think about the park. We will have 8-10 adults, 2 kids. We (my husband and I) will probably stay almost 2 weeks around Christmas so we can maximize time with the crew that will hopefully all overlap but may not entirely. I'm open to a split stay MK area and EP area...and.... we will likely pop over to Universal for the Harry Potter fans.. maybe even a day at Legoland. I could get a house off site easy enough but .... ugh... the thought of not being onsite just kills my buzz. lol. Anyway thoughts on all being in the same hotel vs. spreading out the resorts so we can maybe experience more

 

[amandaks]

I’d look into renting DVC points or even paying cash for villas. Having that extra space and a kitchen with little kids is invaluable. It’s a nice space to have your group congregate, too. I’d put 4 adults + 2 kids in a 2 bedroom villa and then studios for the other adults. Stay at the same place unless you’re really just planning to meet up at the parks. Traveling between hotels takes a lot of time and energy.

 

[lanejudy]

I wanted to stay all together in the 3 bedroom treehouse at AKL

Was there confusion about the resort? I’ve never heard of the AKV grand villas referred to as a “treehouse” (but I don’t stay DVC so maybe?). The Treehouses are at Saratoga Springs and I think they hold a max of 9 guests. AKV-Kidani does have 3-bedroom Grand Villas with a Savannah view; they sleep 12.

 

[Goofy4]

We did a group of 13 at Boardwalk and 9 at the FW Cabins / Kidani.

Boardwalk lets people spread out more on their own yet stay relatively close for meals and such. For that reason that would be my first selection for a large group. However, we are likely going back to Kidani next year (for the giraffes). We won't go with a 3 bedroom because of the cost, but it sure sounds like fun.

 

[Marionnette]

Hey all, Its been 10+ years since we did Disney and our group has expanded. Two kids got married, one had their own 2 kids so we have a BIG group. I wanted to stay all together in the 3 bedroom treehouse at AKL (DIL is a serious giraffe fan) but even speaking with the Dreams Unlimited agent I don't think that's possible. So..... now I'm trying to think about the best strategy for rooms before I even think about the park. We will have 8-10 adults, 2 kids. We (my husband and I) will probably stay almost 2 weeks around Christmas so we can maximize time with the crew that will hopefully all overlap but may not entirely. I'm open to a split stay MK area and EP area...and.... we will likely pop over to Universal for the Harry Potter fans.. maybe even a day at Legoland. I could get a house off site easy enough but .... ugh... the thought of not being onsite just kills my buzz. lol. Anyway thoughts on all being in the same hotel vs. spreading out the resorts so we can maybe experience more

The treehouses are at SSR and only sleep 9 + 1 child under age 3. And even though there are enough beds for 9 people, I would not recommend putting 9 people in one. There are only 2 bathrooms, one of which is only accessible by going through the master bedroom. The third bedroom has small bunk beds.

AKV has grand villas which sleep 12 people + 1 child under the age of 3. All but 2 GV have savanna views and those are both at Kidani.

I don't think you need a GV (although they are amazing at every resort that has them) but I think that being in the same resort will work better if you plan to gather at the pool together or enjoy other resort recreation. If I were to stay for 2 weeks, I would want a villa with a kitchen and laundry. You could stay at a resort that has both hotel rooms and DVC villas with each family getting their own hotel room and you booking a 1BR villa for yourself. That way, each family can book their own arrival and departure days and you're not left with an expensive large villa to yourself.

I see that someone already recommended renting DVC points. December is a very busy time of year for DVC. Many of us owners booked our December travel back in January. You may have to settle for your 3rd or 4th choice if you decide to rent a DVC villa.

Regardless of where you end up staying, a multi-generational trip can be a lot of fun. Just being together on vacation will make memories.

 

[kwdw]

Unless you can get a 3 bedroom grand villa at a DVC resort, I would rent offsite if you want to keep your group together. Or maybe a 2 bedroom and some studios?

I would assess who shares a bed and who can be in the same room to see what you really need. Here’s why, I have a five person unit that travels together sometimes. We need at least two bedrooms each with king or two queens and two bathrooms or we would drive each other nuts in just 20 hours. And as the the youngest gets older and taller, that’s another factor in the mix. Other families can have 4 adults in two queens in one room with a kid on the floor. Depends on what keeps your group happy and functional.

With 8-10 adults though, a rental house might be good. Plus, you want to hit more than WDW and more with a group that size mid trip just sounds like a wasted day to me with risks of raised voices and frustrations.

Good luck figuring this out!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We've traveled with a large family group before and did a combination of a 2 bedroom villa with some groups staying in a separate room. We were at BCV. Everyone would gather at the villa when we wanted to do something together, like a birthday party for a 3 year old grandson. My sisters stayed at a moderate resort and had a rental car. The other adults stayed in a resort room in the BC resort. The family with children stayed in the villa. It worked out well and gave the "married without children adults" some freedom to have fun without us.

We also stayed at OKW in a 2 br villa, but only had 7 people on that trip.

 

[Best Aunt]

The problem with renting DVC points is that the person/agency you rent from may have a "no changes, no cancellations" policy. That's one thing when you are planning your own stay; it can be a problem when you are planning a stay for someone else. Someone else might decide they need to change their travel plans after you have made the reservation.

Also, if OP was speaking to a travel agent, then it sounds like OP was thinking about a cash reservation through Disney, not a points reservation through DVC. So you run into the issue of Disney generally not having a lot of availability at the DVC resorts because most of the points are owned by members, not Disney. I don't know if 3-bedroom Grand Villas are ever available for cash reservations.

Animal Kingdom Lodge and Villas has two different buildings. If you book at Jambo House, there are DVC rooms and regular hotel rooms in the same building. So OP could try for a 1-bedroom villa for themselves, and a studio or regular hotel room for each of the other groups. If they are available for cash reservations through Disney, then the regular hotel cancellation rules apply. The 1-bedroom villa would have a full kitchen and living room; the studios and obviously the hotel rooms would not.

The Kidana Village building is all DVC, no regular hotel rooms.

Also, if each of the other family groups has their own room, then book for when they will be there and you are paying for what is being used. If there are nights when nobody else will be there, does it make sense to pay for a huge unit if there will be empty beds? OP will have to run the numbers.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I would just get three or four standard rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's easy enough to stay in the same building but not trying to cram into a single villa.

The Kidana Village building is all DVC, no regular hotel rooms.

A Deluxe Studio booked with cash isn't functionally much different than a standard hotel room, other than the fact that the second bed is a pull-out queen rather than a normal queen bed.

 

[mouschievous]

We were a group of 24 and we just got 9 rooms at the same hotel. They noted that we were traveling together and got us all as close together as possible. It was great because we all had our own space but then were able to hang out together for meals, in the pool/hot tub, etc.

 

[mrsap]

We were a group of 18 a couple years ago… we all wanted to be together and I was already booked for The Lodge, so everyone joined us there. Some families stayed in CCV/some main building/some BRV, but it was great because we were able to share the same amenities (pool, bar at night, watching fireworks/EWP, and to be together for boat rides/bus rides, etc, was especially for the kids that they got to be with their friends.) I’d definitely recommend trying to stay in the same resort. We had such a great time! Good luck deciding!

 

[nat1234]

I just booked a trip for our family of nine adults and two kids for this November. I booked three cabins at Fort Wilderness. The family thought this would give everyone some space away from each other and time together. That might be another option for your group.

 

[Chacha486]

Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve been trying to rent points and get a 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom at either beach club or board walk. So far I can’t get the points and days to line up. Our first night is not available. I’m considering just getting a couple of rooms in the hotel for the first night since that’s the night we can’t get points for. If Disney will transfer our stuff if should be fine since we would already be at the resort.

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve been trying to rent points and get a 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom at either beach club or board walk. So far I can’t get the points and days to line up. Our first night is not available. I’m considering just getting a couple of rooms in the hotel for the first night since that’s the night we can’t get points for. If Disney will transfer our stuff if should be fine since we would already be at the resort.

I don't know when you are planning to go in December but it is a very busy time for DVC bookings.

BWV 2BR villas are all lock-offs, which means they are a studio + 1BR with an interior door joining them. Once a studio is booked, it becomes "locked off" from the adjoining 1BR unit and that means one less 2BR villa in inventory. A 2BR villa at BWV is just as hard to book as a studio is!

BCV is one of the most popular DVC resorts and it's not that big. People who own there tend to have bought there because they want to stay there. From late September through marathon weekend in January availability can be sparse.

We are now well into the 7-month booking window for owners of other resorts to be able to book BWV and BCV for December dates. I would not delay in getting whatever is available booked. And you may want to broaden your search to include some of the larger resorts (OKW, AKV and SSR). Good luck!

 

[Shellyred8]

We are now well into the 7-month booking window for owners of other resorts to be able to book BWV and BCV for December dates. I would not delay in getting whatever is available booked.

I will second this thought. We own at BWV and had some last minute December plans come up and it's been a bit of a challenge to get a room there. The Studios are mostly booked up (which means no 2br's will be available). There was some 1br availability yesterday for the dates I was looking for, but as the 7-month window opens up for everyone else to book there, those will probably go pretty quickly too.

In regards to the transferring of your stuff if you start out on the BWI side and move to the BWV side: On the day of your move, you just pack up your things and drop off your bags at bell services when you check out of your room and ask them to hold your luggage until your BWV room is ready. Then, when your room on the BWV side is ready, you just pick up your bags from bell services. You can have bell services pick up and drop off your luggage too, but then you are on their timeline and depending on how busy they are, you might have to wait a bit for them.

Sounds like a great trip!!!!