8 people/9 people - which resorts handle best?

[Golden Rose]

We're going to be traveling as a party of 8 next year - 2 couples, 4 kids - 2 boys, ages 10 and 11, and 2 girls ages 5 and 6, and a party of 9 the following year - 2 couples, 5 kids - 4 boys (ages 12, 8, 8, and 8) and 1 girl (age 6).

We will be staying 5 or 6 nights both trips, and want to do a split stay for a least the first trip.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage the two trips. I don't have enough points to do Grand Villas for both the entire trips. I could manage a grand villa for most of the time borrowing from next year, but I don't want to put myself in too much of a deficit when we're looking at another trip with friends the following year.

Which resorts are most comfortable for parties of 8 in a 2 bedroom?
Which resorts allow currently allow parties of 9 in a 2 bedroom?

If we're going for a Grand Villa for part or all of a trip, we'd have to combine points for different resorts, so which resorts have Grand Villas we're likely to be able to book at 7 months out at moderately busy times (spring break or early summer)?

Our home resorts are BWV, AKV, and VGF, which lets us book those at the 11 month mark. But, of course, we'd be willing to consider others at the 7 month mark if we find availability.

 

[cvjw]

When we travel with a party of 7, we always stay at Kidani Village or BLT for the extra bathroom and sleeper chair in the living area. I personally would not stay at one of the older resorts with a party of 8 or 9, just for the bathroom situation. We have teens, so we need that third bathroom

 

[BillPA]

We stay at OKW in a grand villa when we have 8 or 9 people. Lots of room and the point 'cost' isn't bad. Plus you have 4 full bath rooms.

 

[Pirate Granny]

We've stayed with nine in BCV! It was roomy enough, however we have one mommy and two sons in the master, one mommy and one aunt and two daughters in the second bedroom, and we took the couch. bathrooms weren't a problem. We did ten in a 2 bedroom lock-off at GFV, nice, but I thought smaller...wasted space in the huge master bath and the double bath in the studio side, with no place in the studio to unpack clothes..and we put five people on that side...kids loved the "fancy", I thought it was just OK. We do OKW GV for most of our trips, sigh, great space and we love, love the room and the resort. We once did do a 2 bedroom OKW, for 6 of us, which was HUGE too...and it also has a sleeper chair. Us grandparents don't mind sleeping on the pull-out to be able to stay together and not have kids on the pull out in the living room, so we adults can visit when they all go to sleep...SMILES. I have my heart set on BLT GV! Time will tell, next big trip is 2017.. Oh maybe a three bedroom cottage at Vero Beach...even better.

 

[com_op_2000]

Another vote for the OKW GVs. Our party of 12 had no problems fitting everyone in and the bathrooms were plenty.

 

[Donna M]

Are you aware that even though you own at the three resorts you can not combine your points and use them at the 11 month mark?

When we have a large group we like to stay at OKW because the living room is the largest.

 

[Golden Rose]

Yes, we know we can't combine points at the 11 month mark; we've been DVC members for several years. We'd have enough points for a Grand Villa for the whole week if we could! But I can borrow from the next year, which would give me the ability to get the Grand Villas at the resorts we own at 11 months if we do a split stay. I don't necessarily want to do that, though, since I'm planning to do another big trip with friends that next year.

I'm currently trying to figure out what to book at the 11 month mark, so that I have something booked that I can live with if what I most want isn't available at the 7 month mark. I'd prefer to do that with a minimum of borrowing, since I know I may want to move things around at 7 months.

That third bathroom is probably pretty essential with 8 people. Guess I'll book that at Kidani, even though I prefer Jambo, at the 11 month mark. Maybe try to grab a couple of nights in a Grand Villa at one of our other home resorts to make sure I have something. Then maybe look at OKW at the 7 month mark. I love the Grand Villa at VGF, and it's effectively 4 bedrooms, but the point cost is painful. Even with banking and borrowing I can't swing a week there at the 11 month point.

I know its a little weird that I need to figure the two trips out at once, but since whatever I don't use next year I'll bank to the following year, and I probably do want a Grand Villa for as much of the week as possible with the party of 9, I've got to figure out an acceptable base of what we can manage.

I'm excited! I love traveling with friends. We've done two trips with friends in the past, but logistics were a little easier because there were fewer kids involved then.

 

[CarolMN]

What about a point transfer to get what you want at 11 months? Then rent some of your other points to recover some of the cost of the transfer. Might be worth paying a few extra dollars to avoid the 7 month stress.

Good luck!

 

[ain0004]

Tree houses are great for that size of party. We love them. Or I would go with BLT or AKL Kidani. Extra sleep chair and bathroom

 

[DizBub]

We went to OKW in a 2 bedroom with a party of 9 and were very comfortable. 4 adults and 5 kids ages 6 to 17. DH and I were in the master (owners get the king bed ) DD, SIL and 2 girls in the second bedroom and the 3 boys in the living room. We certainly could have used the extra bathroom at BLT or AKV but points were cheaper at OKW and we had more room. OKW has extra leisure seating with the loveseat, ottoman and the full dining table plus the full dining table and 4 chairs on the deck.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd also throw the THV into the mix. I know that would be 7 months too but the couples would each have their own bedrooms and the bunkbed for 2 of the kids. It's 2 bathrooms though but a good option that requires points between a 2br and a GV.

 

[spiceycat]

depends do you mean comfortable like away from the parks - or close to the parks.

love OKW - it is a nice place - but going by bus to all the parks can be a pain - just depends upon what you are looking for - although it and SSR would be more likely to be available when you want one - Spring break or summer.

would go with BWV - despite it not having a regular 2-bedroom (just a 1-bedroom and studio) - because during spring break is the flower/garden festival - and being able to walk to it is pretty nice. get it early enough and you might be able to get a standard view (so the point cost would be reduced) - of course if you are talking next year - you are probably already too late.

although at that time of year - OKW is beautifully

 

[deide71]

I would do a 2 bedroom at Old Key West. Owner in the master bedroom, their kids on the sofa bed and sleeper chair, and the second couple and their kids in the second bedroom.

 

[edk35]

Without even reading all the responses I am going to say OKW for the HUGE LIVING SPACE, Kidani or BLT because there are 3 bathrooms.

 

[jimandami]

We have done 9 in a 2 bedroom at BLT twice and felt like there was plenty of space. I actually felt like we had more space there than we did at the THV!

 

[Golden Rose]

We're looking at early summer for next year, and possibly spring break for the following year. We're just entering our 11 month window tomorrow, actually.

A point transfer really doesn't make sense for us. I'm only trying not to really borrow my own points much because I'm trying to leave them for the even bigger group trip the following year. We own a fair number of points, and we added on just last year in order to have enough points for most trips we would want to take. We wouldn't be in a bind at all except that we're looking at "larger" trips with friends two years in a row, where 3 bathrooms is really nice.

Right now I'm thinking at the 11 month mark, assuming I can get the reserations, I'll go ahead and do 3 nights at AKV Kidani in savannah view 2 bedroom, and 2 nights at BWV in a Grand Villa. If I can't get those, I'm sure I can get something similar for a fallback, and book something we'd be happy with when options shift at the 7 month mark.

 

[DenLo]

Tree houses are great for that size of party. We love them. Or I would go with BLT or AKL Kidani. Extra sleep chair and bathroom

I agree with ain0004. I especially like the resorts with the extra bathrooms. I would also add VGF except for the point cost. If actually cooking will not be done in the villa, you also could consider PVB and get a couple of connecting studios, but then the point cost might be too high. I don't recommend OKW to families with strollers, because you will have to cart everything up the stairs, including sleeping kids.

A negative with the THVs is that they have parking for only one vehicle, which many have complained was taken by the villa next door. The second car has to be parked at the Grandstand area of SSR.

 

[Golden Rose]

I didn't realize the THVs only have parking for one vehicle. That's really inconvenient. We will definitely have 2 vehicles, and we'll be using them at least some of the time.

Can they guarantee connecting studios at PVB? It would ruin the feel of the vacation if we were far apart.

 

[tjkraz]

We've stayed in most WDW 2B villas with a group that size: BLT, BWV, OKW, Treehouses, SSR, AKV come immediately to mind.

No experience was poor enough to be noteworthy. There are certainly some gives and takes like the sleeper chair and extra bathroom. OKW was probably the most comfortable due to the large living space--adults typically dined in the room while kids ate out on the large balcony table. The dining setup in most resorts leaves the group more fragmented. But, back to those gives-and-takes, OKW arguably has the worst bathroom configuration for those who are sleeping in the living room.

I wouldn't steer you away from any given resort. Look at all of the pros and cons (including things like theme, transportation options, amenities, etc.) and decide which are most important.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I didn't realize the THVs only have parking for one vehicle. That's really inconvenient. We will definitely have 2 vehicles, and we'll be using them at least some of the time.

Can they guarantee connecting studios at PVB? It would ruin the feel of the vacation if we were far apart.

The connecting studios at PVB is a request, not a booking category but supposedly it's supposed to be as guaranteed as a request can possibly be.