Beach Club studios

[yedliW]

We are owners at SSR, but our next trip will feature a cast of 5 (me, my wife, our daughter (who will be 5), my sister-in-law, and her daughter (who will be 8)), so the only option there is the 2br, and that would be over kill, especially..

We were looking at the deluxe studio at Beach Club. How hard is it to get that at the 7 month mark for an October trip?

We would also be looking at Boardwalk or Boulder Creek if we can't get Beach Club.

 

[Phonedave]

We are owners at SSR, but our next trip will feature a cast of 5 (me, my wife, our daughter (who will be 5), my sister-in-law, and her daughter (who will be 8)), so the only option there is the 2br, and that would be over kill, especially..

We were looking at the deluxe studio at Beach Club. How hard is it to get that at the 7 month mark for an October trip?

We would also be looking at Boardwalk or Boulder Creek if we can't get Beach Club.

Pretty much impossible.

You are looking at a studio, at an EPCOT area resort, during Food & Wine.

You can sleep 5 in a 1BR at SSR. There will be beds, linens, and towels for 4, but you are allowed to have a 5th guest. This means you have to bring you own bed and sheets. We have done this a number of times. We bring an air mattress and sheets and one of the kids sleeps on that.


-dave

 

[wdisney9000]

We were looking at the deluxe studio at Beach Club. How hard is it to get that at the 7 month mark for an October trip?

We would also be looking at Boardwalk or Boulder Creek if we can't get Beach Club.

At the 7 month window? Good luck. As @Phonedave said, its F&W time and not only is it insanely popular for DVC, but also for the people who reserve rooms to rent them out and make a few bucks profit.

 

[Weather_Lady]

OP, I would respectfully caution you about trying to put 5 in a BC studio, even if you can get it.

My family of 4 stayed in one this past year (2 adults, 2 kids, 9 and 11) and it was TIGHT. The BC studios are very poorly-designed and laid out. The room is cramped to begin with, and once you fold all of the sleeping spaces out/down, there is nowhere to put the sofa cushions or coffee table except in the middle of the already-narrow walking spaces (there are multiple sets of legs under the bed which prevent you from putting them there), and there's barely enough room to tiptoe sideways between the Murphy bed and sofa bed. Not only that, but by the time you've moved the chairs and coffee table aside, your access to the little drawers in the Murphy bed cabinet, and/or the drawers in the coffee table, is totally blocked. In other words, using the 5 sleeping spaces immediately turns the rest of the room into an impassable and unusable jumble of furniture and cushions.

We are incredibly light packers (so we were able to live out of the packing cubes in our little suitcases, for which there was ample room in the entryway) and we don't mind stepping around each other, but our three-night stay at the Beach Club studios in our cramped, claustrophobic, nowhere-to-put-anything quarters was unpleasant (to me, "mess is stress") and disappointing. After checking out of the Beach Club, we spent two nights in a studio at the Polynesian, which felt like an airy gymnasium in comparison, with more space and storage than we knew what to do with and plenty of room to move even with everything folded out/down -- plus that second bathroom, which you won't find in any other DVC studio on property.

Obviously YMMV, but I'd urge you to consider the Polynesian for a group of the size and configuration you describe (e.g., a Polynesian studio is about 100SF larger than a Beach Club, Boardwalk or Boulder Ridge studio), if a studio is what you want. I know it will cost much more in terms of points, but the appreciable additional space, storage, second bathroom and convenient location/transportation do add a ton of value.

 

[yedliW]

Obviously YMMV, but I'd urge you to consider the Polynesian for a group of the size and configuration you describe (e.g., a Polynesian studio is about 100SF larger than a Beach Club, Boardwalk or Boulder Ridge studio), if a studio is what you want. I know it will cost much more in terms of points, but the appreciable additional space, storage, second bathroom and convenient location/transportation do add a ton of value.

We stayed at Poly with the same cast on our last trip. We really liked it, but also like trying other places. I wouldn't be disappointed if we ended up there again..

 

[correcaminos]

We stayed at Poly with the same cast on our last trip. We really liked it, but also like trying other places. I wouldn't be disappointed if we ended up there again..

PVB studios are significantly larger than BCV though.

BWV is going to be really hard as well.

We routinely do 3 or 4 in a 2 bedroom. Overkill is relative I think.

 

[Phonedave]

PVB studios are significantly larger than BCV though.

BWV is going to be really hard as well.

We routinely do 3 or 4 in a 2 bedroom. Overkill is relative I think.

That's the problem with DVC. You start out thinking that a studio will be fine. then you get used to a 1BR, and all of a sudden 2BR units are your default size. that's why you need more points.

We had a 2BR Old Key West unit with 4 people (me, my wife, and two of our kids) a few years back. Now that was a vacation. OKW is not my favorite for amenities, but for sheer room size, it is awesome.

 

[yedliW]

We routinely do 3 or 4 in a 2 bedroom. Overkill is relative I think.

I was really meaning from a points perspective.

 

[correcaminos]

I was really meaning from a points perspective.

I get that, my comment was more laughing at myself. Below I detail our progression lol

That's the problem with DVC. You start out thinking that a studio will be fine. then you get used to a 1BR, and all of a sudden 2BR units are your default size. that's why you need more points.

We had a 2BR Old Key West unit with 4 people (me, my wife, and two of our kids) a few years back. Now that was a vacation. OKW is not my favorite for amenities, but for sheer room size, it is awesome.

A studio was fine unril we took our first baby. Then we realized it wasn't. Before then we flipped back and forth between studios and 1 bedrooms. 1 bedrooms were enough until we sprang for a 2 bedroom one trip. Now 1 bedrooms are 2 nights or less.

We did an OKW 2 bedroom for 3 and then did a 1 bedroom at BCV. That felt so tight! We actually love OKW for amenities and feel which is why we own there. The room size though is phenomenal.

Now though, the only studio we do is PVB and connecting to another. Good use of points to get 2 real queens and 2 singles for less than a 2 bedroom in the area. We tend to avoid sleeper sofas for anyone unless for a night or two.

 

[eliza61nyc]

That's the problem with DVC. You start out thinking that a studio will be fine. then you get used to a 1BR, and all of a sudden 2BR units are your default size. that's why you need more points.

We had a 2BR Old Key West unit with 4 people (me, my wife, and two of our kids) a few years back. Now that was a vacation. OKW is not my favorite for amenities, but for sheer room size, it is awesome.

LOL, OMG @Phonedave you described us perfectly. Although we purchased enough points for a 1 bedroom, (we knew our kids were going to grow.), we started out in a studio. anyhoo the first time we did a 1 bedroom there was no going back and the trip from my picture avatar, was 4 ladies in a 2 bedroom. now my default is 2 bedrooms
Can't imagine 3 adults and 2 kids in a studio.

 

[eliza61nyc]

We did an OKW 2 bedroom for 3 and then did a 1 bedroom at BCV. That felt so tight! We actually love OKW for amenities and feel which is why we own there. The room size though is phenomenal.

Now though, the only studio we do is PVB and connecting to another. Good use of points to get 2 real queens and 2 singles for less than a 2 bedroom in the area. We tend to avoid sleeper sofas for anyone unless for a night or two.

man if I ever add on it will be at OKW. Stayed there in a 2 bedroom for the first time in August, lol I'm thinking about selling a kid to buy points there. FABULOUS is all I could say, even my millennial minions were impressed with the size and space

 

[Phonedave]

I get that, my comment was more laughing at myself. Below I detail our progression lol


A studio was fine unril we took our first baby. Then we realized it wasn't. Before then we flipped back and forth between studios and 1 bedrooms. 1 bedrooms were enough until we sprang for a 2 bedroom one trip. Now 1 bedrooms are 2 nights or less.

We did an OKW 2 bedroom for 3 and then did a 1 bedroom at BCV. That felt so tight! We actually love OKW for amenities and feel which is why we own there. The room size though is phenomenal.

Now though, the only studio we do is PVB and connecting to another. Good use of points to get 2 real queens and 2 singles for less than a 2 bedroom in the area. We tend to avoid sleeper sofas for anyone unless for a night or two.

I like the feel of OKW, it is just the lack of food that gets to me. We don't book many ADS anymore. It really is a hassle and the dining is just not worth it. (but then that is another subject that is open to debate depending on the person). While to pool at OKW is OK, it is the lack of dining that gets me. Aside from the limited QS offerings, I really don't find Olivia's so all fired great.

As far as rooms are concerned. If my wife and I go for a weekend alone, we will use a studio if it is available. We are friends with an other couple (I have known them for over 25 years now) who are the only people we will share a studio with. If we go for a weekend, we extend the invitation for them to join us (if their schedules permit). We know them very well, and we have vacationed and day-tripped with them many times. IF there is anybody else going with us, friends or family - even our kids, we go with at least a 1BR. We also tend to use the kitchen and the washer/dryer quite a bit, especially if staying a week.