BCV or BLT 2 BR?

[mousefan1972]

I need some advice. We are a family of four (son age 7 and daughter age 9). When they were younger we stayed in studios, now we book a 1 BR.

Our home resort is BLT and we love the extra bathroom, modern decor and master bath. The shower is to die for! We also love BCV for the pool and location, but don't care for the decor (feels dated to us), the smaller 1 BR size, and the not so nice master bath.

Our dilemma is we have invited friends to stay with us on our points this summer, so we will need a 2 BR. They are also a family of 4 with kids the same ages/genders as ours who are BFFs. They have gone to WDW twice and stayed at the Poly both times, which they loved. They thought BCV would be nice to try the Epcot area, and their kids will love SAB, as do ours. But, there is 1 less full bath at BCV vs BLT and the 2 BRs at BLT are a bit bigger.

To compound the issue, we are still in the home resort booking window and I do have a dedicated 2 BR booked at BLT. So they would have 2 queens in the second BR and a private full bath. Our 7 month window will arrive in January for a mid-August stay. Likely only a lock off would be available at BCV, if anything at all is.

So... opinions? Again, we've stayed at both places in 1 BRs but never in anything bigger. We definitely want our friends to be comfortable and know they would be at BLT in a dedicated 2 BR, but wonder if the pros to BCV would make it worth trying to switch.

If it matters, we invited them and will not be expecting/accepting any compensation from them. We have plenty of points and are happy they can join us. Thanks for your help!

 

[fflmaster]

I have a couple of suggestions:

1. Any chance you would consider Kidani Lodge? You would get three bathrooms and the views are spectacular. Plus the pool is the 2nd best in my opinion.

2. I would stay at BLT due to the size difference, bathrooms, and monorail to MK.

I also belong at BCV and found Kidani Lodge to have a better setup with a pool almost as good. Yes BCV still has the better location, but if you have a car then Kidani is better located in my opinion.

Kidani is only 10 min drive to downtown disney and about 20 min drive to MK

If you are using the Disney Bus Transportation then AKL does have its own stop. No need to wait till a bus comes from another Hotel or is too crowded.

After our last stay my family ranked the DVC Villas:

1. BLT
2. AKL
3. BCV
4. BWV
5. WL
6. SSR
7. OKW

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would go to BCV, wait list for a dedicated 2 bedroom with 2 queens in the second bedroom if not available at 7 months. For me, SAB in August is worth the loss of the third bathroom. However, I love BCV, the decor works for me.

Bobbi

 

[drusba]

Obviously, you should keep BLT for now just in case you decide not to change.

BLT gives you the extra bathroom and more space on the 1BR side. However, BLT's second bedroom is quite a bit smaller than the second bedrooms at BCV, which would hold four more comfortably than BLT. Personal view is that I would probably take the advice above and get AKV Kidani which would give you the larger second bedroom plus the three bathrooms. If not that, I would likely stick with BLT to have more space in the living room for mingling and the third bathroom.

In any event, do not rule out the possibility of getting a dedicated 2BR at BCV with second queen. Last half of August is a lower DVC demand time and it may still be available at 7 months although that is iffy. If not, it is likely another 2BR will be open (lock-offs were this year for that time even a week past 7 months out).

 

[mousefan1972]

Thank you for the replies!

Kidani is out as an option because we stayed there this past summer. While we liked the 1 BR villa and the view of the savanna, the bus situation stunk. We don't rent a car, and we prefer to be closer to the parks.

drusba, thank you for the info that the BCV 2nd bedroom is larger than the BLT 2nd bedroom. I didn't know that.

Question: where is the second bathroom in the dedicated BCV 2 BR? Is it attached to the bedroom or in the common area? I wouldn't want our friends to have to come into the common area to use the bathroom. Thanks!

 

[dvcterry]

Thank you for the replies!

Kidani is out as an option because we stayed there this past summer. While we liked the 1 BR villa and the view of the savanna, the bus situation stunk. We don't rent a car, and we prefer to be closer to the parks.

drusba, thank you for the info that the BCV 2nd bedroom is larger than the BLT 2nd bedroom. I didn't know that.

Question: where is the second bathroom in the dedicated BCV 2 BR? Is it attached to the bedroom or in the common area? I wouldn't want our friends to have to come into the common area to use the bathroom. Thanks!

The second bathroom is in the second bedroom, not in a common area.

 

[DizBub]

Our home resort is BLT and we love the extra bathroom, modern decor and master bath. The shower is to die for! We also love BCV for the pool and location, but don't care for the decor (feels dated to us), the smaller 1 BR size, and the not so nice master bath.

But, there is 1 less full bath at BCV vs BLT and the 2 BRs at BLT are a bit bigger.

To compound the issue, we are still in the home resort booking window and I do have a dedicated 2 BR booked at BLT. So they would have 2 queens in the second BR and a private full bath. Our 7 month window will arrive in January for a mid-August stay. Likely only a lock off would be available at BCV, if anything at all is.

So... opinions? Again, we've stayed at both places in 1 BRs but never in anything bigger. We definitely want our friends to be comfortable and know they would be at BLT in a dedicated 2 BR, but wonder if the pros to BCV would make it worth trying to switch.

Oh, I feel your pain. I have had this same exact struggle for the last few years, so much so that we bought a BCV resale. Already had my BLT 2br booked at 11 months this year (just like the last 3 years) and decided to switch to BCV. Again. Just can't beat the location.

You make very good points about the queen beds, 3rd bathroom, locations and SAB. This year I was on the waitlist for the full 7 months to get the 2 queen beds in the second br at BCV and it never came through. To be fair, it was for the opening week of F&W and I don't think there are that many dedicated 2brs w/2 queens at BCV.

IMO, I think the 2br at BLT with the extra bathroom and guaranteed 2 queens is bigger. I've stayed at both. With kids you may enjoy being closer to MK.

Honestly, you cannot go wrong at either place. Good luck deciding, I know I can't.

 

[runmommyrun]

We've taken 2 different families and I swear by BLT for the 2BR with two families. While I love BCV, the rooms are tough to beat at BLT. We've done both the dedicated and lock-off when we've brought another family and found benefits to both. The only thing that would really sway me to do the 2 BR at BCV is if we planned to spend significantly more time at Epcot and DHS. Then maybe I'd think it through differently. Either way, I'm sure you'll have a great trip. Both are great places to stay!

 

[Sunshine22]

I would probably prefer BLT due to 3rd bathroom and walk to MK, but would select BCV if SAB and Epcot are high priorities. If children were teen DDs, the 3rd bathroom would probably be a better choice.

 

[butsy113]

It doesn't hurt to try at 7 months. All that can happen is you not get it, but you also might. We got BCV 2 bedroom with 2 queens for the second week of May at the 7 month mark. It is possible. I stayed optimistic, it will be our first stay at BCV, and we will be celebrating my DS birthday! Good Luck!!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Now again, this is tonight, but August 10-18 has a 2 bedroom two queens available. None 19-20-21 and then available the rest of the month.

I've never stayed in the BCV 2 bedroom, so can't compare with BLT which I have stayed in 2 bedroom, two queens...which I got at the seventh month mark (only needed one night). Theme park view. We loved it...never did use the third bathroom. Four adults two kids, so no one was on the pull out!

I know people complain about the view, but it's the only view I would book. We had a WONDERFUL studio on the 11 floor last month, we watched the fireworks from the balcony, walked to MK for EMH until 1am, walked home and sat on the balcony watching the castle turn colors until 2am. Breakfast with room service with the balcony door open and piled our table to the open door.

We spent the week before at BCV studio, which I love, except the balcony was noisy, but we could see the EPCOT fireworks....

 

[cvjw]

We've stayed in both, and much prefer the BLT dedicated 2 bedroom for our larger family trips. I agree with PP who think that the BLT dedicated 2 bedroom is larger than the BCV dedicated 2 bedroom. I thought the 2nd bedroom and bath were about the same size in both villas - I would not have guessed that the BCV 2nd bedroom is larger.

For us, it just comes down to having the 3rd bathroom and the sleeper chair. Our boys won't sleep together, so having the sleeper chair is a real plus. Also, the 3rd bathroom for 8 people is priceless.

We own at BCV, and decided not to book there for our upcoming June trip with another family of 4. We waited until the 7 month mark and reserved a dedicated 2 bedroom at BLT. We will give up SAB for the extra space.

 

[Atchley]

We are staying at AKV next year for just this reason. We need the extra bathroom. We are taking our family of four plus two extra kids. We are going to need the extra bathroom.
We have stayed at BLT and although I am not a fan of the decor, I love, love, love the location. We had a dedicated two bedroom with Magic Kingdom view. Going to sleep every night looking out at Cinderella Castle was beyond magical.
I would go with BLT for the location. The pool there is not bad either. Kids just want to swim. They don't really care much about the pool. They do have a pretty awesome pool slide at BLT.

 

[mousefan1972]

Thanks again for the feedback. I am still not sure what to do. We are getting together with our friends next weekend and will show them pics of each resort and see what they think. They are very much "you guys know what's best and we are fine with anything" but we still value their opinion. Even though we are booking with our points, it is their vacation, too!

I think if the BCV dedicated 2 BR is available at 7 months, it will be really tough to decide. If it isn't, then the decision is easy: BLT. The ONLY thing that might sway me is that our friends have only stayed at the Poly, so it would be nice to show them the Epcot resort area. But, they love the MK area. So either way, it's win-win.

Thank you for all of your opinions! Keep them coming!

 

[mousefan1972]

I thought of another question. Is the front desk able to put 2 credit cards on our folio so the 2 families can keep their charges separate? I know in the past this was called a "share" and that not all front desk CMs knew how to do it. I thought I read that when the new system was rolled out, this was more easier to do and thus done more routinely upon request. Thanks.