Excited to in full planning mode again after, like many, my perfectly planned trip last May didn’t happen. We had rented a 2 bedroom villa at Kidani and were doing a split stay at Art of Animation Nemo suite.
I’m very thankful for David’s for providing a travel credit and am looking to rebook a DVC rental for March 2021 for a portion of our trip. It’s nothing I didn’t know before, but oh how I wish the DVC occupancy would have something for a family of 6. Instead, rooms jump from accommodating 5 in many studios or 1 bedrooms to 8 or 9 people in a 2 bedroom, with a jump in cost accordingly. If only I weren’t blessed with surprise twins 7 years ago (just kidding - only not when it comes to Disney accommodations haha!).
I am currently holding reservations for a Ft Wilderness cabin and 2 rooms at POP for our entire 8 night stay which I will modify once I figure out the DVC rental portion. Our park plans will depend on where we are which days.
Would any DVC owner be willing to look up availability for 3 nights March 20-23:
one 2 bedroom (value or standard) for AK Kidani or BWV
and
TWO studios at AK or BWV
My credit is for $1876 and I’d like to stay as close to that as possible. Since our dates this year are during spring break, rates are higher than our cancelled May trip last year, but I got my DH to agree to 8 nights total instead of 7 so I want to stay close to our original DVC rental costs that we were credited. Two standard studios at BW seem to equal one value 2 bdrm at AKL.
Option 1: 3 nights 2 bedroom Villa Kidani value (if available)- focus on AK, resort, pool time, evening hopping to MK or EP if we want to, then move to 2 rooms POP for 5 nights.
Option 2: 3 nights renting TWO studios at BW (I know they won’t connect but hopefully could be nearby, 1 adult and 2 kids in each) focus on HS, Epcot, pool and BW area, then move to Ft Wilderness cabin for 5 nights (or POP potentially).
Thoughts on the two studios vs one 2 bedroom? I know being separated is not ideal but it’s only for 3 out of 8 nights and will just be for sleeping. I don’t see us using a full kitchen. Also, not considering off site.
Have you considered using your travel credits for something other than renting points? They said in their initial email when I got the credit that you could use it for any product or service they offer. You might be able to get a cash room or even a wilderness cabin, or tickets or something like that. Worth looking into!
Interesting - did you use the pin code for a Deluxe resort? I emailed David’s about a month ago asking if I could use my credit for a non-DVC resort and they said they could only offer quotes in the deluxe category.
update: I decided to ask again this morning via chat to Davids and today I was told that yes I can use the credit for non-DVC resort bookings, even at value resorts. Now I’m planning to book two rooms at CSR and two rooms at Pop - for a total of 8 nights! My credit covers almost 65% of the room cost this way (vs not even 3 nights in a 2 bedroom at Kidani) so I am delighted!
I know CSR doesn’t get rave reviews, but I think we will enjoy it - those days we are there will mostly be resort time, AK, blizzard beach and will probably visit AKL for lunch of dinner at Sanaa.
We also loved CSR! I don’t doubt that we would have loved a delux more, but I would stay there again. We are also a family of 7 (also with a set of multiples as the caboose) so I can totally relate to your quandary, except all of the “sleeps 6” places seem to be the most abundant . We used TP to find rooms marked as connecting and request them. We didn’t get the exact rooms but got the same location one building over (closer to the pool and maybe also the bus stop but father from the lobby).
We did have a car, which probably negated a number of the usual complaints, but I’d happily stay there again.
Then you’ll love the resort and it’s proximity to those points of interest. We just stayed there for the first time and it’s my new favorite. We were only there 1 day and 1 night but we never left the resort. I think it doesn’t get rave reviews because it’s probably not the park you want to be at if you’re rope dropping a park. It’s sorta secluded but that’s what makes it great for us. Enjoy it!!
. We used TP to find rooms marked as connecting and request them. We didn’t get the exact rooms but got the same location one building over (closer to the pool and maybe also the bus stop but father from the lobby).