Best 2 Bedroom Option

[NYC2Disney]

Thinking ahead (to winter 2023), I’m trying to decide our best option on where to stay. It will be my husband and me, 4 kids (ages 2-10) and Grammy (maybe an aunt too). We will rent points for our stay. Because of the 2yo I’d love a place where we can come back midday for a nap. Also she won’t need a bed and will likely be in either a crib still or blow up air mattress so we’d only need beds for the older 3. Where should I be looking?

ETA: I think BLT and that class (is there a ranking?) is too pricey for us. I’d probably want to stay in more of the BWV/AKL/OKW price point but I just don’t know the benefits or drawbacks and which is the best fit for our group.

 

[bruhl1j]

Some DVC resorts have 2 bedrooms but only one bed in each room. Boardwalk for example has a bed and sofa bed in one room, a sofa bed in the kitchen/living, and a bed in the master. Animal Kingdom Lodge has two beds in the extra room plus an extra bathroom (Kidani only). You will have to look at each resort to check the layout. Also, BW is a great location so scarifying a bed might be worth it. There are plenty of options. Good luck.

 

[cellomom]

BLT
3 full bathrooms
1 king-size bed, 2 queen-size beds, 1 queen-size sleeper sofa, and 1 sleeper chair to accommodate up to nine guests (dedicated 2br)
Easy walk to MK (and back for naps), take monorail to MK & Epcot or to Poly & GF for more dining/shopping options
Short walk to Bus stop, firework viewing areas, easy resort to navigate

Edit: just saw your note about BLT, still think it‘s a great choice for your family for the reasons above
BWV/AKL/OKW are all wonderful choices too. AKL & OKW are a bus ride to all parks. BWV walk/boat to Epcot or HS
A dedicated 2br at AKL Kidani has 3 full bathrooms. OKW rooms are huge

You may wish to have a resort near the park your family will visit the most.

 

[appletidefan]

Agree with cellomom 100%.

We’ve done the 2 bedroom at BLT 2 or 3 times now and it is excellent for all of the reasons stated.

we did Kidani this year with 2 bedrooms and it was also nice. A bit dated and getting anywhere is totally bus dependent which can make the nap thing a little more tricky.

Riviera would also be a choice for that many people and the size will be a welcome plus for 8 folks.

don’t know the other resorts well enough to comment.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The 2BR at BWV is very difficult to get in December, especially if you are pricing Standard. (And everyone who talks about price then mentions BWV is pricing Standard.)

 

[NYC2Disney]

The 2BR at BWV is very difficult to get in December, especially if you are pricing Standard. (And everyone who talks about price then mentions BWV is pricing Standard.)

Oh no we are going probably end of January/Early Feb.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Oh no we are going probably end of January/Early Feb.

Still can be pretty hard. All 2BR at Boardwalk are lock offs, and people book the very limited inventory of Standard studios quickly, leaving only 1BRs. If you price BWV assume you will be paying for Preferred/Pool and Garden.

 

[CraigInPA]

I don't understand why BLT is "too pricey" when you're renting points? Yes, there is a point premium at 11 months from many of the rental companies, but it's only going to add maybe $300 to the total cost of the room. Compared to the total price of this trip, that's virtually nothing.

BLT would have been my top choice for you. A dedicated 2 bedroom has 2 queen beds in one room, a king bed in the other room, a fold out sleeper sofa and a sleeper chair in the main room, and THREE bathrooms! It's also a short walk to MK and a monorail ride to Epcot, which is very convenient when you have youngsters in strollers. AKL and OKW are bus-only transportation, which is hardly a "magical experience" with strollers. BWV can walk to Epcot and Studios, but you're on the bus elsewhere.

 

[Marionnette]

Thinking ahead (to winter 2023), I’m trying to decide our best option on where to stay. It will be my husband and me, 4 kids (ages 2-10) and Grammy (maybe an aunt too). We will rent points for our stay. Because of the 2yo I’d love a place where we can come back midday for a nap. Also she won’t need a bed and will likely be in either a crib still or blow up air mattress so we’d only need beds for the older 3. Where should I be looking?

ETA: I think BLT and that class (is there a ranking?) is too pricey for us. I’d probably want to stay in more of the BWV/AKL/OKW price point but I just don’t know the benefits or drawbacks and which is the best fit for our group.

Usually when I see someone list those 3 resorts as their targeted resorts for a stay, I get the impression that they are looking at the lowest point villas. Those would be BWV standard view, AKV value view and anything at OKW. Of those 3, your best chances are at OKW. It's a large resort and every villa falls in the same point range regardless of location. I would categorize the other two as difficult (BWV std view) to next-to-impossible (AKV value view) to rent.

If having 3 bathrooms is important, then BLT and AKV-Kidani are your best choices.

If being near the MK is a priority, then CCV or BRV have a lower points chart than BLT but you will not be able to walk or monorail to the MK. (Convenience comes at a price).

 

[RoseGold]

I agree with @CraigInPA. Either spend a few hundred bucks on BLT or rent a car and stay offsite. If your goal is spacious and nice hotel rooms over location, that’s going to be offsite.

OKW meets your price goal, but not your location goal.

 

[NYC2Disney]

BLT
3 full bathrooms
1 king-size bed, 2 queen-size beds, 1 queen-size sleeper sofa, and 1 sleeper chair to accommodate up to nine guests (dedicated 2br)
Easy walk to MK (and back for naps), take monorail to MK & Epcot or to Poly & GF for more dining/shopping options
Short walk to Bus stop, firework viewing areas, easy resort to navigate

Edit: just saw your note about BLT, still think it‘s a great choice for your family for the reasons above
BWV/AKL/OKW are all wonderful choices too. AKL & OKW are a bus ride to all parks. BWV walk/boat to Epcot or HS
A dedicated 2br at AKL Kidani has 3 full bathrooms. OKW rooms are huge

You may wish to have a resort near the park your family will visit the most.

I think your response posted right before I edited my post. After you wrote I started to research BLT more. It looks like for 5 nights it’s not as crazy expensive as I thought. I’m going to add this to the list and research more. Thanks for really bringing my attention to it. I feel like the bus to and from the parks might be too intense with the young kids and stroller.

 

[NYC2Disney]

Thank you all so much! When I originally started looking to book this trip I think I was looking at categories and just ran by price. But after breaking down our desired travel time and rough point breakdown (based on 2022 at least), it really isn’t that much more for BLT. Since you all seem to unanimously agree that fits our needs best, I’m going to concentrate my search there. This was so helpful.

 

[justadreamaway77]

SSR has all real beds....no pull out couches!

 

[Donna M]

OKW has a very large living room with two couches that we find great with active kids or lots of people.

 

[MBTigger]

With younger kids BLT will be an awesome location. Points may be a bit more than BWV, OKW, AKV, etc, but when your room is 10 minutes away and has an extra bathroom, I doubt you will regret the upcharge.

 

[skippytx]

Like others have said, BLT is awesome when you have smaller kids. Location is the reason we bought there. Being a 10 minute walk to MK is priceless when you're dealing with afternoon naps.

Our first trip it felt like we spent 1/3 of our vacation riding the bus, walking to the bus stop, or waiting for the bus. It sold us on buying at BLT. We bought before the new walkway to Grand Flo and Poly, so those are viable options now as well.

 

[CarolynFH]

I feel like the bus to and from the parks might be too intense with the young kids and stroller.

I know you're going to concentrate on BLT now, but I just wanted to mention that Swan and Dolphin have their own park buses now, which I believe are the large tour buses rather than the commuter buses Disney uses. Not only do they let guests out in the charter bus area for each park, I can't imagine wrangling a folded double stroller up the steps into those buses. If you keep those hotels on your list, you can get more information from the Swan & Dolphin thread.

 

[DebbieB]

Some DVC resorts have 2 bedrooms but only one bed in each room. Boardwalk for example has a bed and sofa bed in one room, a sofa bed in the kitchen/living, and a bed in the master. Animal Kingdom Lodge has two beds in the extra room plus an extra bathroom (Kidani only). You will have to look at each resort to check the layout. Also, BW is a great location so scarifying a bed might be worth it. There are plenty of options. Good luck.

You have to watch out for lockoffs. A lockoff 2 bedroom has a studio for the second bedroom. Except for OKW, the second bedroom in a lockoff has a Queen and sofabed.