Tips for parties of six?

I’ve already booked a room for this trip (actually, two reservations, both with two rooms) but I’m curious of a few things.

As a family of six (me, DW, DS15, DS15, DD14, and DS7 at the time of our next trip) we have never booked more than one room at a hotel (at WDW or elsewhere). Last year we were able to get a room at BC that slept six adults (two queens and a pull-out) - but there don’t seem to be many of those kinds of rooms to come by.

Disney’s site does not make it easy to find rooms that will suit our needs - there is no ability to indicate we need two rooms on a single reservation, for example. I’m curious how other people search? I end up keeping two incognito windows open, one looking for a party of six, and one looking for a party of three. Is there an easier way? In theory I’d love to be able to consider a normal room at Riviera and a second room there (I believe they are called “studio” rooms) that only sleeps two.

I’m also tempted to consider a villa that says it would sleep five - a king, queen, and single would actually work for our party of six - but I don’t know what WDW’s tolerance for over-filling a room is (I assume it’s zero).

Am I missing any strategies?

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I know the struggle. Curious if anyone has any answers - I usually book one room then add another. Or book a suite or cabin or villa that holds 6.

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I booked 2 rooms for a party of 6. My DH and I each have a Disney account and I booked one room on each account. When you book, there is a spot near the end where you can let Disney know the 2 reservations are linked. I think I was even able to request a connected room.

And you are correct, Disney will not allow an extra person to stay in a room unless they are under 3.

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Are you finding villas that specifically sleep six or are you looking for larger parties? I see villas that sleep nine, and they are either all booked (or, more likely I assume, being held for DVC) or they are not included in my search results because I don’t have enough people in my party.

I have booked 2-bedroom villas that sleep 8 or 9 but recommend if you do that to rent DVC points. Cash villas are very expensive.

We are staying offsite at Club Wyndham Bonnett Creek for this very reason.

One thing I’m considering for a future trip is renting an RV at FW. There are companies that set them up for you so you never even have to move them, apparently.

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I booked two connecting rooms for the first time over spring break and am doing it again in August at CSR. The first time, I called to have the second room added on with my AP discount and they noted the connecting request on the reservation. For August, I booked them myself and requested “connecting with” on both. When the discount came out and I called to have it added on, I asked them to check and be sure the request was there and it was not visible to her. So maybe it’s best to just call even if you set it up yourself to make sure they have the request on the reservations.

Disney doesn’t make it easy to search for multiple rooms. Even a family of four might want two standard rooms at a value or moderate rather than paying for a villa or suite at AoA. If you are a parks all day sort of family the kitchens are a waste. You just need the extra beds.

We too are a family of 6. I’ve found a lot of help from my friendly neighborhood Disney vacation planner (travel agent). They can find the reservations and deal with connecting them all together.

Another tip - some aggregators / third party travel agency websites like Hotwire will let you search for two rooms at once, even at Disney hotels. I have used Hotels.com in the past and it is very easy to cancel online and link your reservation to MDE.

We have a family of 6/7 depending on if the oldest kiddo is coming with us. We have booked connecting rooms successfully every time. It’s so nice to have a “boys room” and a “girls room.” I call, because I try to book the military room rate, and I try to call far out when there is plenty of availability.

Incidentally- I have twins too (they are 19 now.) Fun times!