WDW and Universal resorts

[francesjones]

I am trying to plan a trip to Universal and Disney for me and 5 other family members. Which resorts will sleep 6 people? We really want to stay on site at Universal.

 

[vernon]

At Disney you have the choice of the Wilderness cabins or one of the 2 bedroomed DVC resorts.

The Wilderness cabins I haven't stayed at but, despite some people's dislike of what is basically a "trailer", I thought they are well presented, uniquely themed and spacious. IMHO they are good value accomodation for a larger group. If you like the ambience of Fort Wilderness, it's the best price for larger accomodation on Disney.

The DVC Resorts ( OKW, BCV, VWL and BWV ) are all fantastic hotels/resorts and the 2 bedroom units offer a king size bed in a master bedroom, two queens in the 2nd bedroom ( in some units it's a queen and a double sized "sofabed") and a queen/double sofabed in the living room. They are not cheap accommodation, but having a full kitchen and washing dryer facilities in the room is a major advantage and even if you just have toast and cereal for breakfast it can make up quite a lot of the difference in room cost.

At Universal I'm not sure if any of the suites would be able to accommodate al of your group in one room, but IMHO you may be better looking at getting two rooms that have a connecting door between them. I think that will be a much more economical answer to your request and probably give you as much room as anything else they may offer.

Depending on how long you're visiting for, you could split your vacation and spend some time at Universal's hotels and some at Disney's. Another possibility if you want to get the best value is to think of renting a vacation home for your family. I wouldn't recommend it for a short ( less than 4 days) stay but for a week or more , with larger groups renting a whole house with a private pool so everyone gets a bed or room to themselves can make for a very relaxing holiday and it's one of the cheapest ways to get great accomodation. Here's a link to Premier vacation homes who advertise on this site and I've had satisfactory personal dealings with http://www.pr-vacation.com . You can get a 3 bedroom condo from $90 per night, a 3 bedroom house from $120. You can get cheaper deals by renting direct from owners, but if you haven't tried this route before you do have greater protection renting through a company as opposed to dealing with an individual that probably doesn't even live in the US, let alone Florida.

 

[mark & sandra]

Hi francesjones and welcome to the Disboards. Although I much prefer to stay at on-site hotels when I go, there are plenty of off-site hotels that are very close to both parks. I would suggest the Holiday Inn Family Suites, for your family of 6. It's about a 5 minute drive to Disney and about a 10-15 minute drive to Universal. They have all suite rooms. When we stayed there last we had a Kids Suite. The kids suites rooms have a separate room for the adults with a locking door,king bed, dresser,vanity and T.V., the kids have a bunk bed(small) and a pull out trundle bed(even smaller), with a T.V. and nintendo hooked up. The living room area has a queen size bed/ couch, T.V. and a kitchette area, sink, small fridge, microwave and coffee maker. Free huge buffet for all every morning and if you chose to eat there for lunch or dinner, kids eat free with adult. Also if any member of your party is over 50 look into the senior rates, I've seen it as low as 89.00 per night. Also huge pool, kids love it, nightly activities like dancing and bingo,face painting. Look at their site for more info and rates and choices of suites www.hifamilysuites.com

 

[damo]

Unless you want to spend mega-bucks, I also suggest the connecting rooms. This seems to be the way that most people solve the problem.

 

[SpideyHulk24]

But there is nothing like the on site experience and it is so convenient too!!! Also with the discounts at Universal (i.e.--entertainment, fan club) you can get comparable rates like off site resorts but with more benefits.

Have fun no matter what you decide!