DVC help!

[Cornballman]

I am planning a trip to WDW in sept 15. My aunt is a DVC member and has offered to let me have some of her points to stay there. The problem is I have no idea where is best for us to stay. My wife and I have 3 children who, at the time of our stay, will be 12 years old, and 2 year old twins. Any advice would be helpful!

 

[Weather_Lady]

You might try taking a look at the "yourfirstvisit" website, which has detailed reviews about each resort (DVC and non) and talks about their fitness for families.

Your decision will depend on a lot of things, obviously. How long do you intend to stay and how many points are at your disposal? (If you know your dates, take a look on David's DVC Rentals or a similar website and calculate the points you'll need...) What themes appeal to you? How large of a villa are you looking for? What parks do you want to be closest to?

Some of the pros and cons my family looked at for our upcoming stay with DVC rental points (looking for a 2-bedroom villa, with varied transportation options, a theme that appealed to us, and close to MK -- we ultimately settled on VWL) were:

Wilderness Lodge Villas: +Close to Magic Kingdom +Beautiful theme +Great dining options +Freshly refurbed -Not on monorail -Villas have smaller-than-average square footage

Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas: +Great restaurants +Views of animals on savannah +Attractive Theme +"Cheapest", points-wise +third bath in Kidani Village 2-bedroom villas -Jambo house villas have smaller-than-average square footage -Very far from all parks but AK

Beach Club Villas: +Beautiful main pool/splash area +Walking distance to Epcot and close to HS -One of the most "expensive" DVC villas -Theme arguably a little "stuffy" for small kids to appreciate -Villas have smaller-than-average square footage

Boardwalk: +Walking distance to Epcot and close to HS +Fun theme and live entertainment on the Boardwalk -Main pool, themed to a clown, is lacking, even creepy -Theme more attractive to adults than kids and some of the Boardwalk bar/restaurants are adults-only

Bay Lake Tower (Contemporary): +On the monorail +Walking distance to MK +Great restaurants -Slightly Sterile theme -Studio villas are smaller and more cramped than at any other DVC resort -Expensive, points-wise

The Grand Floridian Villas weren't open when we were deciding, and we rejected Saratoga Springs (themed to our home area of upstate NY and located in the DTD area and not near any park) and Old Key West (it has the largest rooms of any DVC resort, but we just hate the theme - a matter of personal taste, and it's also in the DTD area) out of hand.

Given the number/ages of your children, I would look most seriously at a 2-bedroom villa at the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village only), Bay Lake Tower or Beach Club.

 

[Cornballman]

Thanks for that information! I have been many times to Disney but have never had this option so I will have to do a ton of research. My aunt is also relatively new to the DVC thing so she doesn't know all the ins and outs as well. Thanks again!@

 

[Spikerdink]

Can't argue with @Weather_Lady ....but I would not dismiss OKW.... like she said, it has the biggest rooms of all DVCs. With three kids and two adults, you could go with the 1 BR and not feel cramped at all. The other DVCs with a 1 BR you will feel the close quarters.

It is also pretty quiet, which might be good for the twins. The pool area by the Hospitality House is nice - they added a slide a few years back and there is a very enjoyable place for the smaller kids to play....

The drawback for me here is the lack of food options if you are looking for a quick serve meal. (But Saratoga is just a short walk/boat ride away).

Anyway you look at it, any DVC is great. It's just what works best for your family....

 

[MorganKelly]

It might be a help if you consider what theme parks and/or water parks you will be frequenting. Bay Lake Tower, Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian are all very convenient to the MK. The Beach Club Villas and the Boardwalk are close to Epcot (you can walk there) and to the DHS. Also, the entire "complex" in this area gives you access to lots of eateries - also including the Yacht Club, the Swan & Dolphin. OKW and SSR are close to DTD (it is right "next door" to SSR and a nice watercraft/ bus ride from OKW). SSR also has cool Treehouses. And the Animal Kingdom villas are close to the AK and Blizzard Beach. You really can't miss with any of them! They are beautifully themed and furnished. The extra room is wonderful as is the added privacy. Having access to a kitchen is great, even if you just use it to refrigerate leftovers! And you can't beat the convenience of a washer and dryer --- you can get away with not packing as many clothes! Enjoy doing your research....

 

[slappy magoo]

...aaaaand perhaps a little love can go to SSR as well. The two major negatives for SSR are
- its layout is HUGE, HUGE I tells ya, and
- it's not close to any of the parks.
A minor minus
- the theme (upstate NY horse racing) is not as overwhelming as other, esp. Wilderness Lodge & Villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge

On the flip side, the rooms are very nice, it has two main pool areas and a smattering of smaller "quiet pools," its food court (Artist's Pallette) is IMO better organized than Good's Food to Go at OKW, I prefer the table service restaurant Turf Club over Olivia's @ OKW, and huge chunks of SSR are easily within walking distance of Downtown Disney. The Congress Park section especially. If you request that area (and the request is met), you'll be close to the Marketplace section of DtD, with all their shopping and dining options, PLUS you'll be close to the bus stop that takes people back to various WDW resorts. So if you have reservations for, say, Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge one night for dinner, instead of taking a bus to the Animal Kingdom Park and transferring to the Lodge, you can just walk to the Marketplace and take one bus direct to the Lodge.

Having said that, I'm honestly not trying to sway your opinion, just wanted to point out that, indeed, all of the DVC resorts have things going for 'em.

Not knowing how many points you have available to you, though, I'd hazard to point to any one resort and say "THAT one. Go for THAT one." Because you're a family of 5 but two of the 5 are twins, I'm guessing you can opt to stay in any of the studio resorts, but that might be cramped for a family of 5, and you may want a little privacy from the rugrats (and they might want privacy from you) in which case a 1BR villa would make more sense, but again I don't know how many points you have at your disposal. If you can only get a studio, Old Key West are the largest, and the "Value" sized rooms at Animal Kingdom are the smallest, with Bay Lake Tower also being kinda teeny. If you can get a 1BR Villa, the ones at Bay Lake Tower, Kidani Village at Animl Kingdom Lodge and the Villas at Grand Floridian are the only ones to offer two bathrooms, all the other 1BR units only have 1 bathroom. When it comes to getting ready and getting out, not to mention coming back sometimes if anyone overate, having the extra bathroom could be a big big deal.

Other than that, like Weather_Lady wrote, it boils down to your preferences and what's available.