Families of 5+, Where do you stay/own?

[Sugart]

My family of 5, myself, wife, DS 13, DD 8, and DD 6 have been renting points the last 3 or so years and am seriously considering buying in. We have been renting studio pool/water views at BWV and it's been fine, but we need more space. Where does everyone own or stay with larger families, we love the boardwalk but to get more space I would have to go to a 2 bedroom. Is there any 1 bedrooms sleeping 5? How hard are they to book 7 months outs? Thanks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Well, at BWV, a 1BR does sleep 5, you just need to bring a bed.

There are several resorts with beds for 5 in the 1BRs: AKV, BLT and OKW. In general, 1BRs are the easiest 7 month booking year-round, but you are unlikely to get BLT Standard, AKV Value or AKV Club at 7. In fall, booking home resort is helpful, rather than waiting for a 7 month booking.

 

[Vijoge]

We stayed at AKV in a one bed with five in January. It was lovely and we had plenty of space. My son owns at BLT, so that's where they stay, sometimes in a one bed, sometimes in a two bed, depending on how many points they currently have. I stayed at BLT in a studio once, with just one three year old, and it was tight. Can't imagine doing it with five in the room.

 

[erikawolf2004]

GFV has a double sofa bed and a murphy bed in the living room of the one bedroom, so fits our family of 5 nicely. I think there are several now with this set up.

 

[gracelrm]

We are a family of five. When our kids were younger (17 and older now) we usually got a 1 BR and took an air mattress. When our youngest was very young, we kept him in the master with us on an air mattress. When he got older, we'd put him in the living room. Usually, even with the sofa bed pulled out, there was still room for a twin air mattress somewhere in the villa. As our kids got older, we switched to a 2 BR for trips as we needed more bathroom space and the kids no longer wanted to sleep two on the sofa bed. Last year, we got a 1 BR at BLT for our trip that included our son and two friends. With the sofa bed, chair bed and an air mattress and the two bathrooms, we were fine. We've also used a 1 BR at Kidani and had plenty of room for 5 there too!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

At BWV in a two bedroom. No way would I be happy with 5 people in anything smaller. I don't want to be miserable and cramped on vacation.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We stayed at AKV in a one bed with five in January. It was lovely and we had plenty of space. My son owns at BLT, so that's where they stay, sometimes in a one bed, sometimes in a two bed, depending on how many points they currently have. I stayed at BLT in a studio once, with just one three year old, and it was tight. Can't imagine doing it with five in the room.

You can't have five in a BLT studio unless one is under the age of three. And then it will be super crowded.

 

[beffiegirl]

We have 6 now, but before baby was born. We had kids( 15,12,8) We bought into GFV. With that said haven't stayed there yet. Usually we stay AKL 1 br. or OKW 1 br. since they have the extra bed and my older son likes being in the living room by himself. It's all up to you and what you like. If your never in the room you can do a studio in GFV or Poly. They sleep 5. But if you want space, stay in 1 Br. The problem with staying in a 2 br, is the cost!! You have to use to many points. We are going to Disney for spring break, when the points are higher, so we are staying at poly in studio. Hope we don't kill each other. And also I got that at 7 month window with no problem.

 

[holden]

We are a family of 4 (me, DH, DD14 and DD10). We like a 2BR for our WDW vacations. If it's a short trip, 1BR will do. The older the girls get, the more bathrooms we need. Two bathrooms is a minimum. We like the 3 bathrooms in BLT and Kidani.

 

[BillPA]

We're a family of 5, the "kids" are all grown now, but we always had a 2 BR at OKW. And every year at least one friend would come along, some times more than 1 extra. Now with our 5, son-in-law and the 4 Grand Kids, we get a GV, and that is getting tight.
Currently the best deal for a family of 5 is a standard view 1 BR at AK-Kadani. Sleeps 5, King, queen sofa a twin sleeper chair plus 2 full bathrooms.

 

[Ellester]

We have 4 kids (and often travel with my mom). We own at SSR and have always stayed in a 2BR. There were single chair beds at Kidani and Hilton Head when we stayed in the 2BR (love that extra bathroom at Kidani!). There are some pull down trundles at VWL but we didn’t have one in the dedicated 2BR we stayed in last trip. We are definitely spoiled with a 2BR!

 

[Sugart]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know about the air mattress. I think I'm going to rent points for a 1 bedroom and see how that goes. I'd like to buy sooner though as prices just keep going up.

 

[catherines_mama]

We have a Family of 5. Kids are 16, 15 & 12. We will manage a 1 Bdrm if we are staying 1 night / 2 nights max. Many of the rooms have large entry halls and we will place the air mattress there. My son sleeps in there and has his own SPACE. Granted he's 6'4" and HATES the air mattress so we have to hear about how much he hates it. If we stay any longer we do 2 Bdrm. Girls get the luxury of their own room and he sleeps on the pull-out.

We own at SSR but have only stayed there two times, both on purpose and short trips in 1-Bdrms. We are looking fwd to buying more @ the new DVC they announced at D23 to allow us more points for grandkid vacations in the far future, and to allow DH and I too use pts for more travel when kids are gone. We recently stayed at BLT and realized we REALLY LIKE the hotel setup.

 

[ptlohmysoul]

BLT 1 bedroom is definitely our favorite due to beds for 5 and 2 full bathrooms, as well as the location close to MK. AKV-Kidani 1 bedroom would be the runner up for saving points, but not our preference. We now prefer 2 bedrooms, however, as long as we have the points.

 

[melk]

We own at VWL and we were able to get by with a one bedroom there when they were very small. Then we took some trips to Kidani and BLT to get the sleeper chair in the one bedroom. Now that they're grown a two bedroom is an absolute must. Staying at OKW two bedroom next trip.

 

[juju12345]

We own at SSR but have never stayed there (bought direct way back in the day). I have 3 kids under 6 and the one bedroom at bay lake was perfect for us. At Hilton head we do the 2 bedroom bc we are in the room more there. I would say we will be in 1 bedrooms for the next 3-4 years then start doing 2 bedrooms as kids get older. I'm going to need more points!

 

[amym2]

We only have two kids, but no one has ever been able to share a bed with DD (she's a horrible kicker). We've stayed in one-bedrooms at OKW, AKV, and BLT (and Aulani) and love them all. We're staying in a two-bedroom at Copper Creek for one night pre-cruise in Dec and I know we're going to be spoiled! Then we're doing a Disney cruise and 3 nights in a Poly studio. I'm hoping we can all maintain our sanity! Now that the kids are older, DH and I will leave them in the room while we go listen to music or get a drink. I do see using more two-bedrooms in our future, especially at resorts where the one-bedrooms only have a sofa bed. It's nice to have options!

Oh and we own at SSR but have only stayed in a THV with family and GV with friends. I don't see us really staying there much. We have never had issues booking one-bedrooms at 7mos, but I always book at 8am exactly 7mos ahead.