Opinions please...to villa or not to villa?

[kstinw19]

We are pretty frequent Disney visitors (usually 1x/year) and have stayed at Poly, Poly concierge, BC, Boardwalk Villas, and Contemp suite. This year we are going in April and have some decisions to make.

It will be me, dh, and four kids under 9, the youngest will be 2 when we are there. I am torn as to where to stay. We absolutely love Poly but don't really want to pay for 2 rooms this time around. I am going to see if there is a suite available but I have never been able to get one.

We have stayed at BC concierge too and liked that but we weren't thrilled about the BWV because of the long walk and the fact that it wasn't as "new, clean and shiny" as other Disney rooms are. We actually checked out of there midweek and checked into Poly.

So...should we take the 2 year old and do BCV, or will it be just like BWV? Or should we leave him with my parents and do one room at Poly? Or one room at BC? Or can we fit in one room at either?

I would love some opinions on this. Has anyone done either?

Thanks

[Evita227]

Wow..... I'm surprised to hear that the rooms look that way in BWV. I'm staying there next week and haven't been there since 2003. I think the BWV are a newer resort - within the last ten years.....

I say stay in a villa because you get the full kitchen and laundry. You just can't beat that with kids. I've always wanted to try the beach club, but I've heard that there are many more kids there than at the boardwalk villas.

[nurse.darcy]

First off, the rooms at the BWV were recently renovated so you should not have issues with that.

Personally, for my taste, after just staying at AKL, I would totally go with AKV or Kidani Village for my villa. It does seem out of the way but I will tell you that I never had problems with the bus. Always got me there quickly. Also the pool at Kidani Village and the mini water park/playground next to it are awesome. I would stay there in a heartbeat with kids.

[nurse.darcy]

First off, the rooms at the BWV were recently renovated so you should not have issues with that.

Personally, for my taste, after just staying at AKL, I would totally go with AKV or Kidani Village for my villa. It does seem out of the way but I will tell you that I never had problems with the bus. Always got me there quickly. Also the pool at Kidani Village and the mini water park/playground next to it are awesome. I would stay there in a heartbeat with kids.

That being said, BCV and BWV are much more convenient for Epcot and DHS. Then there are the villas at Bay Lake Towers. Close to MK and on the monorail line.

I would definitely choose a villa. Heck, I like a 1 br when its just Ken and I.

[abubu919]

I would go with the villa...I am staying at the BWV in early October, but when I visited this summer they were renovating them, so I believe that they all are pretty new now. If you want to try another villa but in the same area try to BC Villa, but I think it is more convenient and also has the kitchen which is nice if you don't want to spend all your money in the parks on food

[francie57]

The BWV are all being renovated. We just stayed in a 2 bedroom in Aug. and had one of the new rooms. People on these boards were saying the same about the villas at the BC since they have not been updated. We love the BWV. I know everyone complains about the long walks but I guess we are not that stressed out about a walk and we just use the stairs.

[bradisgoofy]

With kids, you can't beat Stormalong Bay pool area with the BCV.

[haleofafamily]

We stay in a 2 bedroom villa and now we are so spoiled we hate getting 2 hotel rooms when we go anywhere else. Not only is the kitchen and laundry a plus but we love having a living room for us when kids are sleeping and for kids who aren't napping when others are napping.
So far the BCV is our favorite. (We are trying out AKV Kidani in 2+ weeks - so that could be new winner). We also love OKW. We really like all of the ones we have stayed at now that we know what sections we like to stay in.

[MareSINY]

I faced a similar predicament this year when booking our upcoming November trip. In the past we've stayed in two rooms and so this year I decided to check out the villas. We're staying at SSR in the THV's, I'm very excited about it and can't wait to stay there. It's a 3 bedroom treehouse, which will give us all plenty of space to spread out. We wont have to worry about keeping the baby (she's 2) up or making too much noise.

[vod2117]

Why not take the 2 year old and pay for one room? Unless you don't want your child waking you up at night, there would be no reason not to. There are Pack-n-Play cribs that are offered, and you will have adequate enough room in one room.

[Brian Noble]

I really really enjoy the additional amenities of a villa. The kitchen makes breakfast and snacking very easy. Having the living room gives everyone a little more space, and allows night owls and early birds to do their thing without waking up the normal folk. The in-unit washer/dryer means packing light without having to babysit your loads in the public machines. The ability to just throw a load in the wash on your way out the door (and come home with clean laundry!) is a big win for us.

[BfloChick]

Originally Posted by kstinw19

We are pretty frequent Disney visitors (usually 1x/year) and have stayed at Poly, Poly concierge, BC, Boardwalk Villas, and Contemp suite. This year we are going in April and have some decisions to make.

It will be me, dh, and four kids under 9, the youngest will be 2 when we are there. I am torn as to where to stay. We absolutely love Poly but don't really want to pay for 2 rooms this time around. I am going to see if there is a suite available but I have never been able to get one.

We have stayed at BC concierge too and liked that but we weren't thrilled about the BWV because of the long walk and the fact that it wasn't as "new, clean and shiny" as other Disney rooms are. We actually checked out of there midweek and checked into Poly.

So...should we take the 2 year old and do BCV, or will it be just like BWV? Or should we leave him with my parents and do one room at Poly? Or one room at BC? Or can we fit in one room at either?

I would love some opinions on this. Has anyone done either?

Thanks

I find that traveling with kids, it is awesome to have the extra space that a villa affords. If you were concerned about a long walk with BWV, perhaps check out some of the others - especially BLT if ease of transportation is an issue. I can tell you also that VWL (with which I'm most familiar) is very compact, and it is easy to get around the resort. The bus line is right there upon exiting the villas, or you can walk a couple of minutes more and take the boat to MK.