best disney villa accomodation

[ajmellu7]

Hi,

Am looking at coming over August 2015 and we are wanting to stay in Disney. There will be 5 adults and 2 children (aged 4 and 1.) The adults are 2 couples and 1 single person, so would want at least 3 bedrooms so the couples can stay together and the children had a room, with then the option for a sofa bed for the single person. I have seen that there are a couple of options available to us, but were wondering where people would advise? Many thanks in advance.

 

[GoofGoof]

There are some 3 bedroom grand villas at the DVC resorts. They are pretty expensive, but if budget isn't a concern you would get 3 bedrooms and a full kitchen and living room.

Another option is to go with a 2 bedroom villa. For example, the 2 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower has a master bedroom with a king sized bed and a second bedroom with 2 queens. There is also a pull out couch and a sleeper chair in the living room. The room has a full kitchen and a 3 full bathrooms. It is significantly cheaper than a 3 bedroom grand villa, but still kinda expensive. All of the DVC villas come with a pack and play portable crib which would work perfectly for the 1 year old. You could have the single adult stay in the living room on the pull out and the 4 year old in the 2nd bedroom with his/her parents. The baby can stay in whichever room the parents are in. The portable crib can be setup anywhere.

The value resorts have a family suite which usually has a bedroom with a queen and then a pull out couch and sleeper chair in the living room. You would probably need a family suite plus an additional standard room to fit everyone comfortably, but that would still be cheaper than the 2 bedroom DVC villa.

If you aren't set on staying on property at a Disney hotel there are a number of timeshares and condo resorts off property but nearby that have 2 and 3 bedroom units. They tend to be larger and much cheaper than Disney, but you would need to rent a car, probably a minivan or large SUV to fit 7 people.

Check out the Disney website for prices. The rack rates for a 2 bedroom villa in August will probably run $700 to $800 a night. There are sometimes discounts and you could look into renting DVC points as an alternative. The family suite with additional room is probably less than $400 a night for both rooms.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Another option is a 3-bedroom treehouse villa at Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR):

- Sleeps 9
- 2 queen-size beds, 1 bunk bed, 1 queen-size sleeper sofa & 1 sleeper chair
- Full kitchen
- Washer/dryer
- 2 full bathrooms, including master with whirlpool tub

These are much less expensive than a Grand Villa but there are only a limited number. You'll need to book these well in advance, at 11 months.

During the first two weeks of August, these are 366 DVC points per week.

During the rest of August, these are 329 DVC points per week.

Places like David's DVC Rental rent out points at $14/point.

Stealing a floor plan from the Internet, these look like this:

 

[Rob562]

Also if you're looking at renting a DVC villa, unless you're set on everyone being in one villa all together, it would be significantly cheaper to rent a two-bedroom and a studio than it is a three-bedroom... (Though Old Key West is the closest in price between those two options)

Using a DVC rental at $14/point:

Old Key West: $5152 vs. $5992
AKL Savannah View: $6160 vs. $9156
Boardwalk Preferred View: $6132 vs. $9450
Bay Lake Tower Lake View: $6958 vs. $10,402

-Rob

 

[ajmellu7]

Thanks so much for the help. I should have mentioned we are from England, does that make a big difference with whether we could do any of these options. We are all very keen on Saratoga springs, the tree houses look fantastic and are our number 1 option. We are planning on staying the first week in Disney accommodation and then staying in a villa at Hampton lakes in davenport. We stayed there a couple of years ago, so know the area well, but haven't stayed in Disney since 1997 and we then stayed at Dixie landings and have never stayed in Disney since then. Thanks so much for the help though, you guys are fantastic!

 

[Rob562]

Being from England shouldn't make any kind of a difference in your housing options. Just be aware that there are only 60 Treehouse villas, and they're very popular so they rent out quickly. If you're really serious about them, I'd talk to one of the rental places before your 11-month window so you can get them set up to book as soon as they can. Of course renting them at the 11-month window requires them to have the available points that are "home" to Saratoga Springs.

-Rob

 

[GoofGoof]

Forgot about tree house villas. Good call there. I have always wanted to try them out.

 

[ajmellu7]

Well I think we are decided on the treehouse, just need to make sure we can get booked now! If we cant get pne of those then I think we will go for a cabin at wilderness lodge. Now to try and decide on dining plan and whether to go with that!

 

[Weather_Lady]

Well I think we are decided on the treehouse, just need to make sure we can get booked now! If we cant get pne of those then I think we will go for a cabin at wilderness lodge. Now to try and decide on dining plan and whether to go with that!

Just to clarify: the cabins are at Fort Wilderness, which is a non-DVC resort. They are considered a Disney "moderate resort" accommodation. If you mean the Wilderness Lodge DVC villas, they offer the standard studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom arrangements in a hotel-style building.

 

[ajmellu7]

Sorry, you are right, silly me. I mean Fort wilderness. Would be a bit of a squeeze for all of us, but 2nd choice at the moment!

 

[slappy magoo]

Well I think we are decided on the treehouse, just need to make sure we can get booked now!

I think the treehouse villas look awesome and I'm certainly not going to say "don't try to get one." But word to the wise, the Treehouse Villas are considered part of the Saratoga Springs Resort, sharing their amenities, but going from the Treehouses to the main house is far enough that they actually have an internal shuttle bus. And unless you have your own car, you will have to use the shuttle bus or walk to one of the bus stops within Saratoga Springs in order to get buses to the parks. Whenever I hear about someone considering the Treehouses, I ALWAYS recommend renting a car, and I don't know how much of a hassle, insurance-wise AND driving-wise, it will be for people from the other wide of the pond to rent a car (in your case 2 cars or a van based on your party size). But without your own car, you're looking at potentially much longer travel times between your Villa and the theme parks, because you'll also have to wait for the shuttle bus or deal with the long slog to the nearest theme park bus stop.

And as far as your preferred alternate, staying in the Villas at WIlderness Lodge…again, great choice, beautiful resort, great location and amenities. But they don't have 3 bedroom Grand Villas. Either one or more people will have to sleep in the living room, or you'll need to consider a 2BR plus a nearby studio.