AoA Cars suite or BC villa studio - pros and cons?

[Melissa R]

We are a family of four - husband, me, and two sons aged 20 and 15. We are trying to decide between a cars suite at AoA and a studio villa at the Beach Club. We have found that the boys really prefer having their own beds, and we really do love having two bathrooms to help speed up getting ready in the mornings. We have never stayed at either and are looking for help in compiling pros and cons for each so we can decide.

Here's what I think are the pros and cons for each so far. Please correct me on anything that I'm wrong about and add your own pros and cons for each, along with any advice in making our decision.

FYI - I don't really want to do a split stay. We also don't want to do two rooms because my understanding is that we cannot be guaranteed to be connected. We have so little time together as a family anymore that we really want to make sure we have time together. We ideally would have wanted a villa with two bathrooms but as far as I can tell, that would require a two bedroom villa and those are just way more than we are looking to spend. Our trip falls over New Years so we are also limited by what is still available.


AoA Cars Suite
Pros:
More space
Two bathrooms
Immersed in Disney theming
Larger food court with many more options

Cons:
Noisy and more chaotic? (Since we haven't stayed here we are assuming this...is it chaotic and noisy? Our last stay at Pop century years ago left us feeling a bit overstimulated. We switched to POFQ and really liked the feel of that property, although the main reason we moved was that we just weren't doing well sharing the smaller beds at Pop)


BC Studio Villa
Pros:
Ability to walk to Epcot! I think this is the biggest draw for us
More upscale feel
Amazing pool area - although we will be visiting in December/January so this won't come into play probably except for the fact that there are hot tubs

Cons:
Much smaller space for us to share
One bathroom
Less counter service food options

Som what else do we need to take into account? Anything I'm wrong about? What would you choose?

 

[Wood Nymph]

There are a lot of differences between a value resort and a deluxe resort. The BC studio will have a queen bed, a sofa bed and a Murphy bed. It will also have a balcony. The bus stop is very close to the villas building. There is a quiet pool at the villas building and a pool table in the Drawing Room of the villas. It is a totally more upscale resort than Art of Animation. You'll be able to walk to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. ESPN Club and the other Boardwalk entertainment areas is just across the lake. While it is true that the counter service options aren't as varied as they are at a food court, you can walk into Epcot for food. And you would be able to walk back to your resort after the Epcot fireworks, which is a great benefit.

The studio will have a microwave, refrigerator, toaster and coffee pot, which would be handy.

Art of Animation is a value resort and is very cute but has a whole different vibe. If you preferred POFQ to Pop Century than I can't help but think you would find AoA to be a bit overstimulating, too.

 

[trishadono]

I was surprised that AoA was not crowded and noisy. We had stayed at allstars and pop many times for comparison.

It costs a little more but I did like the central convenience of the Nemo section. It was close to main pool, lobby and bridge to pop over to POP!

I was with 3 20 something girls and we all loved the space.

Lately I have been staying at deluxe and often cl but I really enjoyed that trip.

Busses were quick too.

My only down side was not being adjacent to any park. I am sort of used to that but overall we loved the room so much is was a worthy trade.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You really have to decide what is most important to you - space, an extra bathroom or being within walking distance of DHS and EP. If you are going over New Year's, I would seriously consider sacrificing space over convenience. We stayed at BWV during a Christmas week trip and it saved our vacation. The traffic is horrendous that week and busing everywhere was a nightmare. Even the boats were super crowded. Simply being able to walk out of a park and get to our room was priceless.

 

[Lewisc]

Are you going this year? Availability is tight. Your choice may be limited to what's available, maybe neither.

Are you going next year. Plan on renting points. You'll need to book shortly after the 11 month window opens.

NYE. Id go with location over space.

 

[Deb & Bill]

With the BCV studio, plan on the two boys sharing the double sleeper sofa. That murphy bed is small, unless your 15 yr old is pretty small, too.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Have you compared the prices between AoA, BWV and then 2 separate rooms at Pop or even POFQ? You can request connecting rooms ( although not guaranteed )

It would give you space and the 2 showers, but not the microwave and toaster in the room.