Hi Austin,
Welcome to planDisney!
First, kudos to you for starting to plan well in advance! You will need the time given that you are planning for a larger group. I love your question because it actually brings up the issue of value and cost. So, my family really started considering the amenities that we prefer and then comparing prices. We decided that one of our top priorities is staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel because we typically fly to Orlando and, when getting to and from the theme parks, we rely on
Walt Disney World® Transportation options.
We also prefer a resort hotel that is within walking distance to a theme park. So we love Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa because we can walk to Magic Kingdom from those resort hotels. We also love Disney's BoardWalk Inn, Disney's Yacht Club, and Disney's Beach Club Resorts because they are within walking distance to EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Next, we love to relax at our resort hotel, so we also like to have access to multiple dining options including at least one table-service restaurant. When we stay at Disney's Contemporary Resort, for example, we always make
advanced dining reservations at Chef Mickey's, Steakhouse 71, and, when we are celebrating a special occasion, California Grill.
To have access to all of our preferences, we will pay more and, we take all of those amenities into account. Once we really thought about the amenities we want to have on vacation, we realized that we prefer Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa resort hotels. For us, those amenities are a fantastic value. When we leave Magic Kingdom after the Happily Ever After fireworks, we have such a great time walking past all of the incredibly long lines for transportation. The walk is no more than 10 minutes and we always have the best time talking about what we experienced that day.
Once you have prioritized the amenities you want, I suggest you consider whether or not you want to all stay together or if you are ok splitting the group into different rooms. On our first visit with our girls, my parents travelled with us and we stayed in a 2-Bedroom Villa at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. If you have the option to choose a preferred room, I also recommend those because those rooms are closer to the main location of dining and other guest services at the resort hotel. On another family trip, we split up into two standard rooms. I loved the 2-Bedroom Villa because we all could hang out in the villa after a long day at the parks. You can do a price comparison for a villa and compare that to the cost of two standard rooms. Keep in mind that two standard rooms may not be connecting rooms, they also may not be close to one another. But, two standard rooms might be more budget-friendly.
Now, on to the logistics of booking. Start keeping an eye on the
Special Offers. Offers are released at different times of year. My one word of caution - availability for some room types can be limited, so if you know you want a particular type of room, go ahead and book that room with a deposit. If a Special Offer becomes available at a later date, try to modify your reservations to take advantage of the Special Offer or
call to speak with a cast member to get help modifying. It may not be possible to apply a new Special Offer to your reservation, but I always try!
Austin, I hope this helps you get started! Happy planning!
Magic and memories,
Donyell