Large Party - Grand Villa?

[bwbuddy5]

Within the next two years, I plan to take my extended family of 9 (includes one 4yo granddaughter, all else adults) to WDW, renting DVC points. Should I shoot for a grand villa, or would you recommend multiple smaller villas for the added privacy?

 

[JJZMgailey]

We recently stayed in a Grand Villa at Old Key West. There were 10 of us total; 3 generations! The youngest was under a year old.

It was really cool because each family had their own bedroom and private bath, but we could all congregate very comfortably in the kitchen and living room. I recommend a GV just for that reason because if you had separate rooms, you wouldn't have those big living spaces to hang out in.

 

[com_op_2000]

We did a GV for DD's graduation with extended family and it was fun. What we find we like better is to have one 1-bdrm and studios for all the other family members. That way we have a meeting place/place to have meals together and each family get their own private area. You might want to check the points charts to determine which works best as far as points are concerned.

 

[Marionnette]

Within the next two years, I plan to take my extended family of 9 (includes one 4yo granddaughter, all else adults) to WDW, renting DVC points. Should I shoot for a grand villa, or would you recommend multiple smaller villas for the added privacy?

I think that your problem will be finding an owner with enough points to use for a GV rental. You will have more success with multiple smaller villas because you would have a larger pool of owners with available points. It might mean making multiple agreements, but the chances of success are greatly improved.

 

[disneynutz]

Depends on how close your party is and would they enjoy being in the same room?

Bill

 

[crisi]

I'd go with multiple smaller rooms. For both the reasons above.

1) It will be difficult to find an owner with enough points for a GV. And depending on resort and time of year, may be difficult to book.

2) Your children and their spouses don't like each other nearly as much as you think they do. (My sister's husband drives EVERYONE nuts - except my sister. Mine is infuriating to her. On my husbands side, I refuse to be in the same room with his sister - she's a racist bigot - a situation which has implications in a multiracial family). Add spending vacation together, a child, and long days with crowds, and they'll likely want their personal space.

 

[OKgirl]

We stayed in a Grand Villa at Aulani this summer for 4 nights with my immediate family of 5, my parents, and my inlaws. We had a wonderful time eating breakfast together at our large dining table and watching movies together in the evenings. Early risers went to the beach while late-risers slept in and it worked very well for us. We used to oven to make frozen pizzas and cookies. We made popcorn every night. I would never have left my 11 year old son in the room by himself to sleep in but with 2 -4 other adults around, there was always someone who wanted to hang out in the room for a bit. I really enjoyed this stay but we all get along pretty well. We never tried to stay together as a group the whole time and just tried to meet at breakfast and in the evenings for dinner. I felt that it was worth the points to have us all together but I can see how this might not work with all families. If you are a close family who gets along well, you'll really enjoy the grand villa!

 

[bwbuddy5]

Thanks all, I've done my homework with points, so I know what my options are. Leaning toward GV at AKV at the moment, but understand what you mean about possibly needing two contracts. We'll shoot for Sun checkin, Friday checkout in mid-June, for the moment. So, since that would require 525 points, I'll probably have to shoot for two DVC rental contracts, one for the first half of the week, one for the second?

I chose AKV because, even as an extended family of 9, it's all about the grandkids, and I know they will be excited to get back to the rooms and see the animals.

Make sense?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Personally I'm one that if I'm vacationing with family then I like a large villa where we will get to see each other, so yes, the AKV GV makes sense to me!

 

[DenLo]

Good luck and have a wonderful vacation with the family. There is nothing like going to the parks with the grandkids or in my case the great-nieces and nephews.

 

[Poohs Pal]

Within the next two years, I plan to take my extended family of 9 (includes one 4yo granddaughter, all else adults) to WDW, renting DVC points. Should I shoot for a grand villa, or would you recommend multiple smaller villas for the added privacy?

Twice we have done GV. Once at SSR and AKV. Hands down the pool table and tv on the wall across from the soaker tub was a winner. In the real world we all sometime's have issues with one another but at Disney in that GV enjoying coffee in the morning on that Huge veranda together watching the animals is hands down some of my favorite memories. The pool table makes for a fun family evening. We have had vacations of up to 20 family and friends in previous years(not all staying in the GV) my next vacation is BWV with 17 people. That trip will be multiple rooms and I would love a GV there but not enough points for the length of time we are staying(insert sad face..lol) You are only staying 5 nights. I say go for the GV. Now if someone isn't willing to sleep on the sofa bed then I would go several smaller rooms

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks all, I've done my homework with points, so I know what my options are. Leaning toward GV at AKV at the moment, but understand what you mean about possibly needing two contracts. We'll shoot for Sun checkin, Friday checkout in mid-June, for the moment. So, since that would require 525 points, I'll probably have to shoot for two DVC rental contracts, one for the first half of the week, one for the second?

I chose AKV because, even as an extended family of 9, it's all about the grandkids, and I know they will be excited to get back to the rooms and see the animals.

Make sense?

Rental contracts with 2 different owners will mean that you will have 2 different reservation numbers with no way to merge or link them. You will have to make a request to be able to stay in the same villa when you check in on the first day. If it is possible to stay in the same villa for the second half of the visit, you will still need to physically check out and check back in at the front desk. although you would not have to vacate the room or move any of your stuff.

Ideally, you should try to shoot for one reservation from a single owner in order to get the GV that you want.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Rental contracts with 2 different owners will mean that you will have 2 different reservation numbers with no way to merge or link them. You will have to make a request to be able to stay in the same villa when you check in on the first day. If it is possible to stay in the same villa for the second half of the visit, you will still need to physically check out and check back in at the front desk. although you would not have to vacate the room or move any of your stuff.

Ideally, you should try to shoot for one reservation from a single owner in order to get the GV that you want.

Great points, and I find myself waffling a bit. We could get two 2-BR villas, so that each of the four couples (and one toddler), get their own bedroom, and it would be 500 points total, 25 less points than the GV, and would probably make the multi-contract for DVC rental a bit easier. So, this would give us more bedroom space, but less "congregating" space.

What to do, what to do!

 

[disneynutz]

Living with someone even for a few days can be unpleasant for some people. If you vacation and spend time with the others and you know that you will have a great fit, then that is a different story.

Each family has their own routines, likes and dislikes. Nothing worse than having the other party say that they don't want to share the grocery costs because they want to eat out each meal. Then, you guessed it they eat your groceries, make themselves breakfast, eggs, bacon, all of your food and drinks and they opened and ate our DVC fruit gift basket, been there done that.

Sometimes a little separation can be a good thing.

Bill

 

[bwbuddy5]

Living with someone even for a few days can be unpleasant for some people. If you vacation and spend time with the others and you know that you will have a great fit, then that is a different story.

Each family has their own routines, likes and dislikes. Nothing worse than having the other party say that they don't want to share the grocery costs because they want to eat out each meal. Then, you guessed it they eat your groceries, make themselves breakfast, eggs, bacon, all of your food and drinks and they opened and ate our DVC fruit gift basket, been there done that.

Sometimes a little separation can be a good thing.

Bill

Great thoughts. In our case, we actually vacation together quite often, we're the gparents, with our 3 grown children, their spouses/girlfriends, and a grandkid, so far. We're used to being mooched off of, so that won't bother us. In fact, they normally won't let me pay for everything, and insist on at least picking up some meals here and there. We're Hilton Head fans as well, actually go there more than Disney, and I've considered buying resale there, but would be concerned we couldn't get what we want at the 7-month window when we do want to use the points at WDW.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

One thing to consider is that 2 Bedrooms from a cost perspective are usually a better deal than Grand Villas.

A 2 bedroom standard view at AKV is 287 points for a week in mid-June (Magic season), so two of them would be 574 points for the week. A Grand Villa standard is 707 points for the same week. So 2x 2BR would save you 133 points @ $13 pp = $1729. For Savanna view, the differential is smaller. (And interestingly for Savanna View in Choice season, the GV is cheaper than 2x 2 bedrooms for some reason, while the GV is more expensive in the other seasons).

Size-wise, a 2 BR at Kidani is 1,173 Sq ft. So 2 of them = 2346 square feet. A GV at Kidani is 2,201 sq. ft.

So, 2x 2 bedrooms gives you more space at a lower price.

On the other hand, Grand Villas look pretty awesome (we're staying at a GV at VGC in June )

 

[Donna M]

We have stayed at the akv in Jambo. That one has the pool table and dining room table that can actually seat 12. Many other gv seat only 8 comfortable. We travel with extended family often and enjoy being in the same unit. We have gotten a studio for the extra people since we only put one family or couple in a bedroom. OKW is huge for a gv, Jambo is also very large.

If your group of 9 will be eating meals in the villa, then you really need the gv. The two bd only has plates for 8 and seating at the table for 4. The 2 bd has one couch and one chair in the living room along with the 2 dining room chairs. The space would be way too cramped for 8 adults and a 4 year old to feel at home in whereas the grand villas are spacious and contain 12 sets of dinnerware.

 

[Halle]

We have stayed at the akv in Jambo. That one has the pool table and dining room table that can actually seat 12. Many other gv seat only 8 comfortable. We travel with extended family often and enjoy being in the same unit. We have gotten a studio for the extra people since we only put one family or couple in a bedroom. OKW is huge for a gv, Jambo is also very large.

If your group of 9 will be eating meals in the villa, then you really need the gv. The two bd only has plates for 8 and seating at the table for 4. The 2 bd has one couch and one chair in the living room along with the 2 dining room chairs. The space would be way too cramped for 8 adults and a 4 year old to feel at home in whereas the grand villas are spacious and contain 12 sets of dinnerware.

I agree 8 adults in a 2 bedroom even without the four year old is crazy. I always bring plastic plates, cups,and utensils. Less work more fun time.

 

[bwbuddy5]

I agree 8 adults in a 2 bedroom even without the four year old is crazy. I always bring plastic plates, cups,and utensils. Less work more fun time.

To make sure I haven't mislead everyone, if we don't go with the grand villa, I would get two 2br for four bedrooms. I think I'm back to leaning towards a GV, but am concerned I won't be able to rent that many points on one contract. The two 2br route with two contracts may prove easier to find.

 

[Pirate Granny]

We rented points for a OKW GV one March...we had no problem finding an owner to rent. We started looking 12 month out. We loved it so much,we bought into DVC. We go every three years GV, with ten of us, six adults and four kiddos. We love being together.