Dreaming of returning to Disney in 2022 - Need advice on where to stay

#1

I’ve been wanting to take my sister and her 3 boys with my family to WDW. I am hoping we can all be vaccinated and comfortable with travel by May 2022 (it’s never to early to start planning :sunglasses:). We will have a party of nine. 4 adults and 5 kids (6, 6, 7, 8 and 17). I’d like to rent DVC points and either stay in a 2 bedroom at BLT, or get 2 studios at either WL(BR), BCV, or BWV.

I love the location of BLT, but I’m a little worried we might be very cramped. I think 2 studios would still be tight, but they would save money and the 2 families would have some time to themselves. I’m worried about being able to get 2 studios close to each other, I looked at the BWV map and it is huge, it would be really hard if our rooms were far apart. Do people normally have luck getting DVC rentals close together?

If you had to choose and wanted to make it an amazing trip for these ages, which would you choose? My sister, her husband and their 3 boys have never been to WDW.

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#2

Personally I would go with a 2BR villa over two studios with the number and ages you noted. It’s going to feel a little tight regardless, but 2 adults and 3 kids in one studio sounds especially uncomfortable, though doable. The 17-year-old also complicates things in a studio. You should look at the layout of the 2BR at each resort you’re considering - they’re all a bit different. I’ve heard people say BLT feels smaller than the others.

As far as which resort, all the ones you mentioned are on my list to try someday. On my May 2021 trip, we will be staying at BCV for 7 nights, AKL for 2, and BLT for 1. I feel like the convenience of the Epcot area resorts is really nice right now with all the new attractions at HS and soon to be Epcot. Boardwalk is probably the more ideal location between it and BCV, but some people complain about noise there, and BC has the best pool if that’s important to you.

Good luck making your decision!

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#3

It’s possible, if you get two units rather than a 2 br, to be listed as traveling together. The room assignors will try to get you close.

A studio generally has a small under counter fridge and a microwave. It’ll generally have a queen bed and a sleeper sofa. It could have an extra single bed.

A one br villa usually has a full kitchen. Large fridge/freezer, range, oven, dishwasher and microwave as well as a washer and dryer.

As @Jeff_AZ said, check out the floor plans. Two bedrooms differ resort to resort. One bedroom will generally be a king bed while the other bedroom is meant to sleep 4, sometimes with 2 beds, sometimes with a bed and a sleeper sofa. The living room will usually have a sleeper sofa for 2 and sometimes a single sleeper.

We’ve stayed all over WDW, with kids of all ages, and groups of all sizes. We’ve had enjoyable times every where. One great memory is biking with family on paths at Fort Wilderness. Several memories involve buses or other Disney transportation, water parks, resort restaurants. Everybody’s mileage varies, with the weather, what’s open or down for rehab. You’ll be able to make great memories.

Be sure to keep your plans flexible, with plenty of down time.

Btw, it’s not on your list, and I think it currently doesn’t sleep 9, Old Key West was the roomiest 2 br we’ve stayed at - amongst Wilderness Lodge (I always forget what it’s called now), Boardwalk and Saratoga Springs.

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#4

I mentioned in another thread that at BW the 2 bedroom has one less sleeping surface than two studios (because they only have lock offs).

To me the question would be if you need the full kitchen and the washer and dryer in room (you always have free access to a washer/dryer in DVC). Does BLT have 3 bathrooms in the 2 bedrooms? The size issues at BLT are only in the studios, due to the design.

My two studios at BW are saving me 8-9 points a night? At $19 a night that adds up quickly if you are renting.

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#5

BLT and Kidani both have the extra bathroom in a 1 & 2 bed. They also have the sleeper chair in the living area, meaning 3 kids could be in there. My youngest always chooses the sleeper chair when offered the chance to swap to the sofa bed with his brother.

At the BCV only the lock-offs would have a 9th sleeping surface with the pulldown in the studio part. But if going with BLT I would go for a dedicated 2-bed.

Overall I would do a 2-bed to solve the problem of being close together, and also getting two owners. To get the “travelling with” noted on 2 separate rentals would require both owners to do a 3-way call to Member Services and I just don’t see a broker asking owners to do that. You could add it to a TP room request.

But don’t bank on the cheapest type of 2-bed at BLT or BWV (standard); you might get one depending on the time of year.

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#6

Considered renting a house? For probably half the cost, you can find a 5 or 6 bedroom house with private pool and hot tub, etc. You would also have more room to spread out in general…and some houses have nice resort amenities.

Here is one example:

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#7

BLT always has 3 bathrooms? Do they have dedicated 2 bedrooms ? BW does not have any dedicated 2 bedrooms.

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#8

On the private home idea, there are some that are loaded with Disney theming. I mean loaded.

That example link didn’t seem to have it, but most of the houses I looked at had the two-car garage turned into a game-room. That makes sense because they can’t let short-term renters have a garage door opener, which means that they can’t use it as a garage. So, in the garage you might have a pool table, foosball and air-hockey.

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#9

OMG, that was a mistake. I just did a 3D walk through of the BLT 2 bedroom. I now am officially saving points to stay in one of those one bedrooms.

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#10

I have thought about it, but we would have to rent 2 vehicles, also, DH has no interest in driving and dealing with parking at Disney. I tried to get a house last time and he was not interested.

#11

As far as I can tell all of the 2 bedrooms at BLT have 3 bathrooms. I was not interested in the 2 bedroom at BW because they are a studio connected to a one bedroom and the layout was more cramped than BLT.

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#12

I have seen some of those houses, I even tried to convince DH to try one, but DH is against staying off property. His favorite part of Disney is not having to worry about traffic, or parking the whole vacation.

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#13

Yes, BLT has both. And all 1-beds have 2 bathrooms, all 2-beds have 3 bathrooms.

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#14

We should have been in one now. :frowning:

#15

No one has mentioned the Tree Houses at Saratoga springs. Those are 3 bedroom sleep 9.

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#16

I am so sorry!

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#17

Oh no! I’m so sorry, I feel your pain! We had an amazing trip planned for the first week of May that was amazing, we had the perfect ADR’s, FP’s all modified and perfected, it was a work of art. I had to leave all of the Disney forums and FB pages for a few months to get over that one.

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#18

The cost savings of a house can pay for a lot of Uber trips. For me, a private, chauffeured car beats all the Disney transportation options.

#19

I did look at those, but OKW and SS are both pretty remote and we want to be really close to at least one park. DH does not want to drive so we would use all Disney transportation, as they say, location, location, location

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#20

The 2 bedroom at BLT feels spacious to me and it has 3 bathrooms which is great for a group that size. Now the studios at BLT are small and only fit 4 people so I would not opt for that. The studios at BWV are bigger and fit 5 people.

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