2 studios or a 2BR..help me convince my husband

[Chuck S]

I would suggest a 2 bdrm lockoff at OKW, that way your parents would also have their own kitchenette in the 2nd bedroom, to make coffee or warm some snacks in the microwave. Also their own entrance and a small balcony/patio.

Dedicated 2 bedrooms don't have a separate balcony for the 2nd bedroom, and no kitchenette. Same number of points, either way.

 

[PEANUT1]

different - if your family gets along great - then a 2-bedroom is great.

however if your family does not get along - then it is better to go for the 2 studios. even been know to be in separate dvc resorts.

the extra costs for the meals -guess you are getting the dinning plan - whose paycheck is the cost for these extras coming from?

are you willing to do the same thing for his family?

now my brother is closer to in laws than us - but think he is exceptional. even they only took her parents to Disney once - using my DVC points.

we do get along well..we did a grand gathering about 5 years ago before we had dvc.
the reason I am taking my parents is because they can't afford to go on their own right now...we travel with my husbands family alot...we just did Alaska with his mom in August and did Disney with his mom, sister, hubby and daughter last January. They all have the money to go so we just supplied the treehouse..his sister even paid half the dues. My mil bought our timeshare for us and I already cleared it with her about taking my parents with our points for 2011.

We plan to pay for the dining plan for them...this way we know how much we are spending and they don't stress about money. I thnk I will have them pay the tips. We'll do breakfast in the room..the rest will be in disney.
We hope to do the YES youth program for our girls which gives crazy discounted park tickets..if I can do this, I'll pay for their park tickets too and they will just supply the airfare.

No, no, no, no, no. Keep the master bedroom for yourself. Let your parents enjoy the second bedroom. They will love it. And the girls can sleep in the living room. Or you can move them to the living room when everyone wants to go to bed and they have gone to bed in the king bed.

I knew you were going to say that seeing how much you love your king bed and all...after thinking about it, I think we will do the master....hubby agrees..but now he thinks we should do the dedicated 2br and I think lockoff

 

[Chuck S]

Go for the lockoff, it will give the parents a little more privacy and independence.

 

[PEANUT1]

Go for the lockoff, it will give the parents a little more privacy and independence.

I agree..thanks. Now just to convince the hubby.

 

[spiceycat]

then great go for a 2-bedroom.

OKW is definitely the biggest.

and even in the lock-out (vs dedicated) they get 2 queen beds - not the 1 queen bed and queen sleeper sofa in the other DVC.

makes it nice for family gathering.

It is so nice your family gets along so well Sure makes planning trips easier.

 

[a742246]

HI all!!!

My hubby and I decided to take my parents next year for a trip to the world We decided to provide accomodations and meals and they would find a way to get there and get park tickets.

My dilemma is that my hubby wants to do 2 studios where I want to do a 2Br. There will be 6 people total. 4 in my family (me hubby and our girls ages 4 and 7) and my parents.

The small prob is that we don't have a ton of points. I will have to pay for about 30 or so points to be able to do the 2br..I have enough for the studios.My parents really can't help with this cost..so its up to us.

What would you do??? and if you'd pick the 2br...what can I tell my husband to convince him??

Did you think of applying for a disney credit card. They give you $100.00 Disney Dollars. My wife and I applied and we got 200.00 dollars plus 1% towards Disney dollars. We then cut up our Citibank cards.

I would tell him with a 2 bedroom you will eat breakfast everyday in your room, that should save over 300.00 dollars.

 

[OhioDVC]

There is no contest, for 30 extra points the two bedroom is significantly better than two studios

 

[Sammie]

No way I would give up the master, let the grandkids stay with Grandmother and Grandfather, or in the living room, in a renovated room you will have a sleeper chair and sleeper sofa.

I would definitely consider OKW, more bang for the points, and centrally located to everything.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes...I am going to consider OKW...hubby has wanted to stay there for a while.

good. We just had 8 people staying in a 2 bedroom at OKW, and it was INCREDIBLE. There was SO much more room. We were in a dedicated, just b/c that's what they had when I booked, and it was totally fine. I think I'd try for a lockoff in the future, just to give the non-master people more independence if that makes sense.

I was just checking out OKW and it looks really nice...I think it would work well for us. I could even use the second bedroom for my family of 4..since it has 2 beds and my parents could have the master...as long as hubby is ok with this..then again, the King bed and huge bathroom does look really nice.

FWIW, I wished that our family would have allowed us to give them the big room. The master was great, and a big bathroom is nice, but not necessary. My aunt stayed on the chair-bed in the living room, and was only ever comfy using the toilet-room (the toilet room has locking doors to the laundry room and to the master bathroom with sink and big tub) late at night. She actually got ready for the day and for bed in the room where her daughter (and son in law and their kids) were staying, not wanting to impose. She would have had an easier time if we'd taken the 2Q room and let my cousin's family have the big room.

On the other hand, they have two kid and we just have the one...


Anyway, we would have been more than happy to take the 2Q room and give them the master!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We are just back from our first trip that involved someone sleeping in the living room area. It convinced me that if at all reasonable and possible we will try and work it so that we don't have that again. No great hardship but it takes away that space that people who rise at different times or go to bed at different times can use. Thankfully we were at BLT so the LR sleeper had their own bath. Just another thought that the idea of giving the master to your parents might make things more comfortable.

 

[PEANUT1]

We are just back from our first trip that involved someone sleeping in the living room area. It convinced me that if at all reasonable and possible we will try and work it so that we don't have that again. No great hardship but it takes away that space that people who rise at different times or go to bed at different times can use. Thankfully we were at BLT so the LR sleeper had their own bath. Just another thought that the idea of giving the master to your parents might make things more comfortable.

we are used to staying in studios so having a living area at all will be awesome The girls would be the ones sleeping on the sofa if that is what I decide...and since they are the early risers of the group they won't disturb anyone if they get up...we are also a rope drop family so we will be up early anyway

Now that I have pretty much decided that Old Key West is where we will stay, I just need to look into requests for location.

 

[Chuck S]

There really aren't any "bad" locations at OKW, but there are some views that are worse than others. I think my least favorite buildings are 27, 28 and 29. Our favorite areas are South Point and Turtle Pond, but if you'll be relying mainly on bus transportation, or are doing the DDP, you'll probably want to be closer to the front, near Hospitality House. That is a booking category, so at 7 months you may or may not get a near HH reservation. Near HH is usuallybldgs 11 to 14 and 23 to 26.

Also, there was a design change during constructin that may, or may not, concern you.

In the 1 & 2 bedroom units, buildings 29 and under have one entrance to the bathroom, through the master bedroom. Buildings 30 and high have a second bathroom entrance, through the laundry room, so the folks sleeping in the living room don't have to go through the master bedroom to use the restroom. For some folks it makes a difference, for others it doesn't matter.

Also, the original sales center was demolished, and bldgs 62, 63 and 64 were built. These are the only OKW building with elevators. All the other building have stairways only. However, bldgs 62 to 64 are often used for those with mobility issues.

IF you have older people in your party that have trouble with stairs, you'll want to request a first flloor villa or elevator building. That said, the stairs at OKW have a gentle rise of 1/2 flight, a landing, and another 1/2 flight...so pretty easy stairs. Judging by your photo, I'd say your parents are likely young enough to negotiate the stairs without any problems, assuming there are no other health issues.

 

[PEANUT1]

There really aren't any "bad" locations at OKW, but there are some views that are worse than others. I think my least favorite buildings are 27, 28 and 29. Our favorite areas are South Point and Turtle Pond, but if you'll be relying mainly on bus transportation, or are doing the DDP, you'll probably want to be closer to the front, near Hospitality House. That is a booking category, so at 7 months you may or may not get a near HH reservation. Near HH is usuallybldgs 11 to 14 and 23 to 26.

Also, there was a design change during constructin that may, or may not, concern you.

In the 1 & 2 bedroom units, buildings 29 and under have one entrance to the bathroom, through the master bedroom. Buildings 30 and high have a second bathroom entrance, through the laundry room, so the folks sleeping in the living room don't have to go through the master bedroom to use the restroom. For some folks it makes a difference, for others it doesn't matter.

This is great info!! We usually rent a car while we are in disney because we like to be able to come and go as we please especially when it comes to dining reservations. I don't think we need to be near the HH..I will talk it over with my hubby and parents and see where they prefer.

I am a little confused about the bathroom info you gave...the 2BR doesn't have 2 bathrooms..I dont understand why someone would need to walk throught the master...that is just weird I def don't want to do that!!!! I guess if we did the 2BR lockoff this wouldn't be an issue right???

 

[dianeschlicht]

that is a great idea..then I wouldn't need extra points...thanks. Honestly, I never considered it, because I like to be near Epcot.

It will be at 7 months. We will try to book for November (the week before Thanksgiving) We went this year and the crowds, weather and magic were perfect!!!

If you like being near Epcot for less points, stay at OKW. It's just across the parking lot, and while you have to take a bus there, it's really very close and Less points with more space.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I am a little confused about the bathroom info you gave...the 2BR doesn't have 2 bathrooms..I dont understand why someone would need to walk throught the master...that is just weird I def don't want to do that!!!! I guess if we did the 2BR lockoff this wouldn't be an issue right???

There are two bathrooms, but if someone is sleeping in the living room, their access to the master bath is through the master bedroom UNLESS you are in buildings 30 or higher.

 

[PEANUT1]

There are two bathrooms, but if someone is sleeping in the living room, their access to the master bath is through the master bedroom UNLESS you are in buildings 30 or higher.

but they could just use the second bathroom..no biggie to me We stayed in a treehouse last year and there wasn't an entrance to the master bathroom except in the master bedroom...there were 8 of us and it wasn't an issue. Thanks for the info

 

[Chuck S]

The lock-off studio, or the 2nd bedroom in a dedicated has it's own bathroom. But if someone is sleeping in the living, they'll need to use the master bathroom , or the bathroom in the studio/2nd bedroom.

In other words, the one bedroom units at OKW have 1 bathroom, unlike the newest DVCs where the one bedroom units have 2 bathrooms, and the new DVCs have 3 bathrooms in the 2 bedroom units.

Here is the basic layout. The photo on the left is a one bedroom, the right is a dedicated two bedroom (and basically the same as a lockoff.) Whoever is on the couch, unless bldgs 30 or high, will have to eiher go through the master bedroom or the 2nd bedroom, to get to a bathroom.

 

[PEANUT1]

perfect!!! thanks. I guess this is really an issue if there are adults sleeping on the couch. I don't think it is as much of an issue with my little kids. I am leaning towards the lock off anyway..of course it all depends on what is available at 7 monthsI could also just request the buildings where this strange bathroom layout doesn't apply.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

we are used to staying in studios so having a living area at all will be awesome The girls would be the ones sleeping on the sofa if that is what I decide...and since they are the early risers of the group they won't disturb anyone if they get up...we are also a rope drop family so we will be up early anyway

Now that I have pretty much decided that Old Key West is where we will stay, I just need to look into requests for location.

Sounds like it will work out for you pretty well. We had some very different sleep patterns with our group.

And to add - I'm sure that you will be amazed at OKW and the size of the units. And the balcony's! We've only had a couple of stays there but really like it. Beware though - you may have a hard time going back to studios once you've had the living room!

I'd consider the lock off mostly for the reason that your parents would also have their own little balcony.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...I'd consider the lock off mostly for the reason that your parents would also have their own little balcony.

Plus they would have a small kitchenette in the second bedroom of the lockoff. They can make coffee, watch TV, sit out on their porch, without waking up the girls in the living room.