We went to Disneyland again this year, only this time we brought lots of family from both sides! A couple of the days there were 22 of us in the park together! I wanted to give some tips for going to Disneyland in large families or groups and hopefully make things easier on those who do something similar. We spent two weeks in California: the first week was in a large group of 20+ people, and the second week we were about 12. So I will give some tips for both types of sizes. This is mostly about lodging, if you are looking for park tips, see our post Hacks for Doing Disneyland as a Group.
Disneyland lodging for large families or groups
Our first week was spent at a “Castle House.” It's a group of several houses that have been renovated and decorated Disney style! They are soooo fun! We had been wanting to stay in a Castle House for about a year now, and finally made it happen! All of these Disneyland vacation homes are located within 2 miles of the park (some of them much closer), and each of the rooms are themed! Not only did we save money by having a full-sized kitchen to enjoy breakfast in, but the houses also offered other things we needed (pack n plays, strollers, etc.), so that we didn't have to pack our van completely tight. If you are flying, this will be a lifesaver not to have to bring a stroller or crib! If you are spending more than a day at Disneyland, I highly recommend a “buffer” day where you relax in between your days at the park. This is another way that the Castle Houses come in handy! I kids had just as much fun splashing around in the pool and splash pad than they did at Disneyland! It was a great day for the adults to recover, and we had a kitchen to prepare our meals in all day long.
Here's a what our Castle House was like (We stayed in Castle House # 12):
HERE ARE SOME FUN PICTURES OF ONE OF THEIR NEWEST PROPERTIES, CASTLE HOUSE #16
DISNEYLAND LODGING FOR LARGE GROUPS (5-12 People)
For our second week, we didn't have quite as many people, but our group was still large. We went with a suite hotel for this week. There are many suite hotels near Disneyland that have multiple rooms, and even bunk beds. We went through Get Away Today for this because they specialize in Disneyland vacations and have personally stayed in all of the hotels they recommend, so I have never struck out with them! They also will beat any price you find on both hotel and Disney tickets, so it's a no-brainer. They have the best customer service around, and they call you before and during your trip to make sure everything is going smoothly. If you're doing a package (tickets + hotel), you can get an extra $10 off with code “MOTHERSNICHE”
Some of the Suite Hotels include: Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Springhill Suites, Staybridge Suites, Howard-Johnson, and Del Sol.
Now that we have covered lodging, tune in next week for large group tips while you are IN THE PARK!!!
*I was not financially compensated for this post. We received a stay in Castle House 12 in exchange for our honest review.