August Traveller - which resort to buy into with 5 people?

[armsk]

Being from the UK we usually do 3 weeks every 2 years.

Last 3 trips we stayed in POR.
This year we are doing 2 nights studio GFV, 2 nights studio BC and 15 days 1 bed OKW.
There are 5 of us, me, wife and 3 teenage daughters.

I do plan to purchase resale following our trip and using this trip to checkout some of the other resorts also.

As wife works in School we can only take August holidays, and the plan is to get enough points to do 2 weeks Year1,2,4,5,7,8 and get annual passes to use last 2 weeks of Aug Year1 and first 2 weeks of Aug Yr2 and then have a year off.

To limit points we would do 1 week studio and 1 week 1 bed but it looks like GFV is the only place that sleeps 5 in a studio and 1 bed.

any advice?

 

[kboo]

Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom Kidani and (I think?) OKW all can sleep 5 in a 1 BR. I think AK- Kidani can also accommodate 5 in a studio? I am not sure. You *should* be ok in late August getting 1BR at these resorts, so maybe look at the most affordable points at a home resort where the studio accommodates 5. Since you'd have to move rooms anyway, you could/should do a split stay, and studios are harder to get than 1BR.

Also do the $ calculation if you got enough points at SSR to stay in 1BR all the time. It may not be that much over the long run.

 

[hakepb]

In August, booking a 1BR 7 months out should be fairly easy.

Actually any 1BR (except the smaller AKV Value 1BR category) will let you sleep 5, but you need to bring/buy an air bed and bedding for the 5th)
The best 1BR for 5 are BLT, Kidani (2 full bathrooms), then VGF, OKW and Jambo with official capacity for 5.

VGF and Poly are the best studios for 5 due to the split bathrooms. But BRV, BWV and BCV also have studios that sleep 5. (And I think BWV resale may be a good choice, also)

 

[gmboy95]

I would go for OKW all day and every day, just because of the space....BWV being a close second

 

[southerngirl528]

I don't believe that the 1 bedrooms at BWV sleep 5.....

 

[hakepb]

I don't believe that the 1 bedrooms at BWV sleep 5.....

It’s at a “5th Guest can be accommodated, but please note no additional bedding, linens or towels will be provided” level.
I mostly suggested BWV for studio stays

But looking at the point charts, OKW and AKV, Standard 1BR, and BWV standard 1BR would need ~215 points to stay (2) weeks a year 2 out of every 3 years...all in the same, large 1BR

VGF would need ~250 points to split that stay in a Studio for a week then a 1BR for a week (on the 2 out of every 3 years level).

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Studios that sleep 5: Boulder Ridge, Poly, Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Boardwalk.

1BRs that sleep 5 natively (provide beds for everyone): OKW, Grand Floridian, AKV, BLT

There are a couple 1BRs that are BYOBed, but I don't know that they would be workable or appealing for you coming from abroad and having to provide an inflatable each trip. Your frequency would not make an owner's locker cost effective.

 

[armsk]

It’s at a “5th Guest can be accommodated, but please note no additional bedding, linens or towels will be provided” level.
I mostly suggested BWV for studio stays

But looking at the point charts, OKW and AKV, Standard 1BR, and BWV standard 1BR would need ~215 points to stay (2) weeks a year 2 out of every 3 years...all in the same, large 1BR

Thanks @hakepb but wouldn't i need ~266 points to do 2 weeks 1BR ?(on the 2 out of every 3 years level)

 

[hakepb]

Thanks @hakepb but wouldn't i need ~266 points to do 2 weeks 1BR ?(on the 2 out of every 3 years level)

Yes, sorry
I made the mistake in my spreadsheet to have 2 weeks * 2 years/ 4 years (instead of 3 years)

But I’m seeing closer to 285 since Aug has (2) seasons. If you go the 2 late weeks (cheaper points) then 2 early weeks (more expensive points). Unless you can go early sep the late Aug.

 

[kboo]

I would +1 going late August if you can - the points costs go down quite a bit. (We met lots of visitors from the UK when we were there last August (second half of August) and the parks weren't crowded at all. Although it was super hot then, it was a good tradeoff for us considering how "cheap" in points a stay was, and how uncrowded the parks were.

How many points would you need if you broke up into studio/1BR for the 2 weeks?

 

[armsk]

I would +1 going late August if you can - the points costs go down quite a bit. (We met lots of visitors from the UK when we were there last August (second half of August) and the parks weren't crowded at all. Although it was super hot then, it was a good tradeoff for us considering how "cheap" in points a stay was, and how uncrowded the parks were.

How many points would you need if you broke up into studio/1BR for the 2 weeks?

Around 10th of August for 3 weeks is our usual visit time so aware of the heat. But we are going a week earlier this year because mnsshp seems to be getting earlier and annoys me that it closes down MK early.

1 week in studio BCV + 1 week in 1BR OKW would be 213 points. week 1+2 of Aug shows as around 10% more points than weeks 3 and 4.

 

[Firepath]

With 3 teenage girls, I would buy enough points for AKV Kidani or BLT 1BR for the entire stay. That second bathroom would be a must with three girls. We've stayed in studio using an air mattress and also the pull-down with 2 teenagers and wouldn't do it again.