Planning a Disney World Vacation with a Family of 5 can be a real challenge.  Like most of the hotel world, rooms are typically designed for up to people people and anything more than that can present difficulties.

Disney World Resort Hotels For 5

For a family of 5 that doesn't have an unlimited budget, finding a hotel that can comfortably accommodate the entire family can sometimes be a challenge.  Today we will look at identifying the Disney World Resorts that have rooms that are designed to accommodate five.  You always have the option of getting two rooms that are side by side or adjoining, but that is expensive and unfair for families that are one person over the limit.

Here are the best choices at the Walt Disney World Resort that we would recommend for families of 5:

Disney's Art Of Animation Resort

The new Family Suites at Disney's Art of Animation Resort is designed for up to 6 people.  There are three different versions: The Lion King Suites, The Cars Suites, and The Finding Nemo Suites.  They all are well designed and work great for families with younger children.  The pool area is amazing and the overall Resort theme will certainly catch your attention.

Disney's All-Star Music Resort

The original Family Suites were installed as part of Disney's All-Star Music Resort and also accommodate families of up to 6 people.  The cost is slightly less than the Art of Animation version, but it makes a great option for families.

Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort

Here is a somewhat hidden secret at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort.  The Alligator Bayou section of the resort is equipped with small single fold-down beds that are 63" long.  If you have a child this is a great option and by far the most economical for 5, but it will not work too well for teenagers.

Disney's Beach Club Resort or Disney's Yacht Club Resort

For both of these Epcot Area Resorts you can get a standard room that comes with 2 Queen Sized beds and a day bed to allow for 5.  These are beautiful resorts that happen to share the best pool area in all of the Walt Disney World Resort - Stormalong Bay.

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground

There are Cabins that can sleep up to 6 people at Disney's Fort Wilderness.  If you like Rustic, this is it.  The Cabins are considered part of Disney's Moderate Level Resorts, so they are qualified for receiving FREE Dining promotions.

Disney's Polynesian, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian Resorts

All 3 of the Deluxe Resorts on the Disney World Monorail Loop outside of the Magic Kingdom have rooms that are designed to sleep 5 with 2 Queen Beds and a day bed.  Although the costs are creeping up, it still may be a better option than getting two rooms at the next lower category.

Finding Room For 5 At Disney World

Although it can be challenging, there are still quite a few options for families of five at Disney World. Our #1 recommendation is to try Disney's Port Orleans Riverside if your youngest can fit in the fold down bed.  This is the most economical choice.

Next we would recommend the Art of Animation Family Suites for families with younger children and suggest either the Yacht Club or Beach Club Resort for families with teenage children.

The Big Blue Pool at Disney's Art of Animation Resort is not only the largest single resort pool in the entire Walt Disney World Resort, but it also features amazing theming based upon the Disney-Pixar movie Finding Nemo.


This 308,527-gallon zero-entry pool will amaze you with its stunning features and keep your children begging to jump in.


If you have a favorite character from Finding Nemo, you will find them here!  Marlin, Nemo, Dory, Crush, and all the others can be in and around the pool.  The Disney Imagineers have outdone themselves with this design.



There is so much detail to take in.  You can spend a great deal of time walking around checking out all of the amazing Finding Nemo references.


Even Bruce the shark can be found in giant form painted along the side of one of the resort building framing the pool.

Best Disney World Value Resort Pool

The Big Blue Pool at Disney's Art of Animation Resort is without a doubt the best Resort pool to be found at any of the Disney Value Resorts.  For families with younger children this may be one of the best Disney World pools period!  If you are planning to spend some of your vacation time around the pool this is a great reason to consider Disney's Art Of Animation Resort.

Disney's newest resort hotel, Disney's Art Of Animation Resort, is now open for business!  This welcomed addition to the Disney World Value Resort lineup brings 4 classic Disney and Pixar animation movies to life in this beautiful resort.

Disney's Art Of Animation Resort
The resort is divided into four sections with the first two now opened and the others opening later this year as they are completed.  Each section corresponds with a different movie.  Currently open are Finding Nemo and Cars sections, while The Lion King and The Little Mermaid are still under final stages of construction.


Visually stunning is one way to describe this resort.  If you like Disney's Pop Century then you will absolutely love this new resort hotel.  This is the first Disney World resort to be so closely tied to the Disney movies and characters.




From the moment you enter the lobby to the main building, called Animation Hall, you notice the wonderful colors and familiar images from these classic movies.


The food court, called Landscape Of Flavors is worth exploring even if you weren't hungry.  Each of the four movies has its own sections including sketches and images.




The food in the food court also bears inspection as many of the items that are available go well beyond the ordinary with a selection of Tandori style foods and a burger grill that has a multitude of great looking burgers that will tempt your taste buds.


Finding Nemo Section
The first section to open was the Finding Nemo section which is devoted to your favorite characters in this classic tale of a father and son and their struggles to overcome their fears in order to be reunited.




The pool section blew us away when we saw it.  Everything has been created so that the guest is "Nemo sized" and sees the world from his perspective.  All of the guest rooms in this section are elaborately themed Family Suites that can accommodate up to 6 people.  This is great for those that have struggled to find a place to stay with families of 5 or 6.





Cars Section
The second section to open was the Cars themed section.  This opened on June 16th.  The pictures shown were taken 2 days prior to opening, as final preparations were being made.  This section is also exclusively made up of family suite configured rooms.  Cars fans will love the theming that they will discover here.





The Lion King Section
We also saw a glimpse of the theming for The Lion King section.  It will not disappoint when it is finished.  I love the use of trees in the common area.  This section also will be exclusively made up of family suite configured rooms.  When completed Disney's Art Of Animation Resort will have over 1,100 family suites.


The Little Mermaid Section
The last section to be completed will be the Little Mermaid section.  This section will be made up of over 800 "normal" sized hotel rooms with The Little Mermaid theming at prices comparable to Disney's other Value Resorts.


Disney World Value Resorts
Disney's Art Of Animation Resort is a great new addition to the Disney World Value Resort lineup including: All-Star Sports, All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, & Disney's Pop Century Resorts.  This will add over 2,000 additional value priced rooms and suites with the focus on creating more family suites.

The resort is beautiful and should definitely be on your list to consider when you are planning your next Walt Disney World Vacation.


This article originally appeared on the Only WDWorld Blog.

Disney World's newest resort is now open for business!  Disney's Art Of Animation Resort with its focus on Disney Animated classics and family suite accommodations becomes the newest addition to the Disney World Value Resorts.

Here is a video from Disney Parks showing the opening:





Disney's Art Of Animation Resort
The resort is opening in phases as the four sections of the resort are being completed.  When completed later this year the four sections guests will be able to choose from are: Cars, The Lion King, Little Mermaid, & Finding Nemo.

This new resort will be adding over 1,100 family suites in addition to traditional Value Resort hotel rooms for Disney World Guests to enjoy.  These family suites can sleep up to 6 people and provide a great themed resort experience well beyond that of a typical hotel room.

If you are looking for a great way to add even more Disney excitement to your vacation then definitely consider booking a stay at Disney's Art Of Animation Resort.

Disney World  released new details about the upcoming 2012 phased opening of Disney's Art Of Animation Resort, which will be the newest addition to the Value Resort option including 1,120 Family Suites, and the largest feature pool besides the Disney World Water Parks.

Here is the Press Release:

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 10, 2011 – The first wing of the new Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will open to Guests on May 31, 2012, as construction on the 25th resort hotel at Walt Disney World continues on schedule.


In size and scope, the construction of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is a major project at Walt Disney World Resort and has created up to 800 construction jobs. Once open in 2012, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will also create 750 ongoing resort hotel jobs.

At a media gathering today, Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney World Resort Operations released images of new icons arriving at the resort this fall and shared some of the details Guests will see when Disney’s Art of Animation opens next year. For example, Guests exploring The Lion King courtyard will see characters from the film, such as the hyenas and the evil Scar, through the eyes of Simba and in the same size and scale as the young cub would experience them.

“Here at Disney, we are in the Guest experience business,” said Kevin Myers, vice president of resort operations for Walt Disney World Resort. “When we develop a new resort hotel, we draw on Guest feedback about our parks, entertainment, special events and every aspect of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to provide a resort hotel experience that only Disney can deliver.”

Examples of enhancements based on Guest feedback will be evident at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort in the food-and-beverage and recreation offerings. The dining area will feature items such as fresh smoothies, hand-scooped gelato and Mongolian barbecue. The resort also will feature the largest swimming pool outside of Disney’s water parks, as well as an extensive children’s water play area at the larger-than-life icons for the Finding Nemo wings of the resort.

Located adjacent to Disney’s Pop Century Resort, the new resort will include 1,120 family suites in The Lion King, Cars and Finding Nemo wings, and 864 themed rooms in The Little Mermaid wings. Suites will feature both a living room and bedroom, offering added space for families.

The family suites and rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will fit into the “value” category of lodging, with nightly rates similar to Disney’s All-Star Resort and Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

The phased opening of the resort will begin when the Finding Nemo wing opens May 31, 2012. Next, the Cars wing of the resort will open near the end of July. The Lion King suites will open a short time later in September, and The Little Mermaid value rooms will open by the end of next year.

Some fun facts about Disney’s Art of Animation Resort -
• With an area of 11,859 square feet, the feature pool at the Finding Nemo wing of the resort will be the largest swimming pool at Walt Disney World Resort outside of the water parks.
• The new resort hotel will feature 9,400 doors, which if stacked flat would be taller than the Empire State Building.
• The 227,000 lineal feet of carpet being used on the project would be enough carpet to stretch from Orlando to the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville.

The Art Of Animation Resort at Disney World will not open for guests until 2012, but Disney World released some great pictures of what the rooms will look like at this new Resort Hotel.


Disney's Art Of Animation Resort
The newest addition to the Disney World Value Resort line-up will have nearly 2,000 rooms in 4 distinct sections with each being themed according to a Disney or Disney Pixar Movie.  The resort will be ideal for larger families, as 3 of the sections will be dedicated to Family Suites which are twice the size of a normal Value Sized Hotel Room and can accomodate up to 6 people.


Cars Fans will love the opportunity to stay in rooms designed with your favorite characters from the films.

Disney World is now taking reservations for the Art Of Animation Resort which is due to open in late 2012.

The next resort to open at the Walt Disney World Resort is called the Art Of Animation Resort.  It will be the newest addition to the Disney World Value Resorts.  This nearly 2,000 room resort will have 1,120 family suites to accommodate families of up to 6 with more space than a traditional hotel room at a price that will be more affordable to families.


The Art Of Animation Resort will still have 864 "normal" Value hotel room in the Little Mermaid section.  These rooms will be comparable to what you will find in the other popular Disney World Value Resort Hotels (All-Star Sports, All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, & Pop Century Resort.)  They come at an attractive price with the Disney Theming that can't be match at the price point that is under $100 per night for most of the year.

Standard rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort start at $94 per night and family suites start at $248 per night.

• FREE Disney's Magical Express Service to and from the Orlando International Airport (MCO.)
• FREE Transportation throughout the Walt Disney World Resort
• FREE Parking at the Resort you are staying at and at the Disney World Theme Parks.
• Extra Magic Hours - Special extra hours that the theme parks are open only for Disney World Resort Guests.