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Bookswithtea
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We are hoping to go on a family vacation next spring. We have to find something that is fun for the 15 yr old all the way through the 1 yr old. Camping is an option since we own a pop up...Honestly, I'm not thrilled about that option, but if the bathrooms are clean and the location is lovely, we'll go that route.
Its soooooooo hard, both to find decent accomodations for a large family as well as to find trips that are fun for everyone. What has worked for your family? I'm looking for specific campgrounds, resorts, locations...anything in the Eastern Time Zone?
Also, has anyone ever "done" the Disney vacation with a big family?
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Marcia
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i'm stalking this thread.
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teachingmyown
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We are very fortunate to have an aunt who owns a lake house. It isn't the ideal vacation, but it's cheap! What about looking for a beach rental, or something on a lake if you don't like the ocean? My dh wants to go to Lake Erie one of these years.
Renting a house is much more family friendly than trying to stay in hotels or camp with little ones. The kids can swim and play games and depending on where you are, you could pick a day or two to do some sort of activity like sight seeing or a theme park.
We have spent hours looking at rentals online and trying to figure out what we can afford and what has enough variety to keep everyone happy. I don't think we will come up with anything to make ds 17 happy at this point unless he brings a friend.  Actually, we don't mind that as long as they both are participating in the family time and not off on their own.
We looked briefly at Disney and knew we couldn't afford it anytime soon.
Good luck!
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Lisbet
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We took a WONDERFUL vacation a few months ago - we rented a cabin on Lake Superior. The family we rented from had 9 children - so it was absolute perfection for us. I will share more tomorrow if you are interested.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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LisaR
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We decide where we need to go (usually our "vacations" are work or extended family related, for financial purposes...)
and then I "hotwire" a 3 star Hotel, sometimes even splurging for a 4 star. We've had 4 star hotels in Atlanta for 49.00 per night! Chicago burbs 4 star for 59!!
and you can't beat a free hot breakfast for my big boys! 
We also tent camp in State and national Parks only.
We;ve found them to be roomier space wise per site for us, the bathrooms can actually be cleaner than the KOA's, and there is always a trail to run off and explore, etc.
This summer we did Great Smokey Mountains- LOVED it!! The kids played in pristine waterfalls for hours, we have never seen such gorgeous foliage and so much wildlife!
We've also done Rocky Mt national park, loads of state parks.
Wilmington, NC is very affordable with lots of great War ships/historical sites.
We stayed in a 3 star for 39.00 per night there.in a Microtel suite that had a little kitchenette and everything!
(we have not been able to find a home or cottage that is as affordable, per night)
We bring some sleeping bags, and the kids rotate who sleeps on the floor.
No one has ever confronted us about the number of kids- and honestly, I've got two that look like adults, at least from behind!
Have fun!
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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5athome
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We have gone to Disney. Staybridge Suites has a nice set up with 2 rooms (1 has king/other has two doubles) plus sleeper sofa in living room. Kitchen can help keep meal cost down. Ticket prices is really what makes Disney so pricey.
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Margaret
ds '93, dd '96, ds '99,
ds '01, dd '04, ds '06,
ds '08
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teachingmom
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We did Disney with 5 children about 3 years ago. My kids ranged from almost 2 to 11. It was really fun! We stayed in a condo about 10 minutes from Disney that dh's employer allowed us to use for free. But I know that they are available for rent as well. It had two bedrooms, a pull-out sofa, and a kitchen. That's the route I'd take when/if we go again some day.
We vacation at the Outer Banks of NC every summer and that's a wonderful family vacation. We have also done shorter trips to the main cities in the northeast - New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. (Not sure if you're looking for city or country!)
I know someone with five kids who just got back from a fantastic trip to the Smoky Mountains. They moved around quite a bit during their time there and saw a lot.
I have another friend, who is a mom of five, who rents cabins for a week in the summer at Hungry Mother State Park in southwestern VA. You could camp there too. They love it.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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LisaR
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PS, I should have mentioned, the hotwire site is www.hotwire.com
(for some reason I have never been able to "link" things here!  )
the caveat is that you are not given the name of the hotel you get until after you pay. we love the suspense.
let's see, our most recent trips were Holiday Inn Express, some Mariott (courtyard?), a regular Holiday Inn, and Wyndhamm... I think?
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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missionfamily
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THe Smokey Mountain area is nice because just a little outside Gatlinburg you can rent whole houses for what it costs to stay in a hotel. Then you can cook for yourselves and keep a really relaxed pace. Many of the houses have hot tubs in them and there are usually pools on the grounds of the resort...so you can even take a whole day to just hang around. One year we rented two six bedroom houses and met up with our cousins and their families..I think there were 22 of us in one house and 19 in the other....we took turns cooking dinner and cleaning kitchens. It was so fun.
We have used this company: Cobbly Nob Rentals
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Colleen
dh Greg
mom to Quinn,Gabriel, Brendan,Evan, Kolbe, and sweet St. Bryce
Footprints on the Fridge
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mathmama
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My mom and stepdad rented a house in the Outer Banks for all of us. We went 2 years. There were about 15 of us. There are some big house there and I think they are reasonably priced for a beach vacation. I would imagine that in the spring the prices would be even better. We used this rental company. They came highly recommended by a friend of mine who has been going to the Outer Banks for years. We had a good experience with them the 2 years we used them.
Beth
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OHmomof2
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I second the Outer Banks recommendation! We have rented homes there the past two years and have vacationed/visited the area for the last five years. This is a link to the house we actually rented this summer: http://www.sunrealtync.com/house/KIN-105
I highly recommend this company to rent from, they were wonderful.
Blessings,
Pam
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Bookswithtea
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I am so encouraged, hearing all your positive experiences about vacation rentals. I am going to follow up on all these links this weekend.
Thank you so much!
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Aggie gal
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We did Disney this past Feb with our six children (ages 13-1) and two sets of grandparents. Everyone looooved it. We were able to go off season, so little crowd and since in Feb, not so hot either. We're military, so we were able to stay on Disney at Shades of Green (military resort) for a decent price. I know that there are campgrounds there as well too.
Also, I've noticed that they are trying to put together better deals for folks due to the slow economy. Might be a little close, but Disney usually puts our hotel and meal plan combo deals at discounted rates in January.
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Amy
Married to Rob, Momma to Patrick (17), Braden (14), Nathan (11), Benjamin (10), Aurea (8), Peter (6), Rosie (3) and Baby Blaise
Eight is GR8
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Big Family friendly vacations?
