Best hotel option - extended family Xmas

[kermit116]

Which of the following lodging options would you choose for a Christmas week trip to WDW? Here's our info:

--We are 6-8 adults (3-4 couples - ages ranging from mid-20s to 60s)
--Want some common area to be able to eat (take out, cook, or room service) & open a few presents on Christmas morning
--Strongly prefer to stay on property
--Want family time but also some privacy

We've never done Christmas at WDW, but we are working on planning now in hopes of doing a Christmas/family reunion trip in the next couple of years.

Hotel options we're considering at this point are:

~3 Bedroom Villa (rent DVC points)
~3 Bedroom Villa + 1 additional studio at same resort
~Cabin at Fort Wilderness (concern about close quarters & little privacy)
~Treehouse Villa (although after reading Pete's review I'm not inclined to do this)
~2 Bedroom Villa + 1-2 additional rooms (for the other 1-2 couples)
~We have enough "family togetherness" at the parks, everyone just get their own room

If you have other ideas besides what I've listed, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[KevGuy]

If you can afford it, I would say the best bet is the 3 bedroom grand villa. It gives you eveything your looking for abeit a very high price.

 

[dvcHammer]

We rented a Grand Villa for a large group and afterwards I wish we had rented two 2 BR Villas so that everyone had a door that closed.
For 3 couples the 3BR would be fine. For 4, someone gets the sofa bed and lack of privacy. Early risers woke up the couple on the sofa bed.

The GV are a hard rental at some of the properties. They go fast.

 

[vicki_c]

There aren't that many GVs in the big scheme of things, and you just missed the opening of the home resort booking window for Christmas 2011. So it's possible that would be hard to come by.

In any case, I picked 2 BR GV + additional rooms. I think the GV might miss the privacy thing anyway - too much togetherness. Depending on the budget and the relationships of the parties involved, I think the 2 BR + other rooms would work well.

You will have a large space for common gatherings and if you have between 4-6 adults in there (although they hold 8 in most cases), you would have a fair amount of privacy, and the remaining folks could have their own studio room. I would try to work it so no one had to sleep on the sofa bed in the common living room area if it was me. So that leaves 2 in the master BR (king bed), and 2-4 in the 2nd BR, with the others in separate rooms.

 

[kermit116]

Thanks for all the tips. We are looking to go Christmas 2012 or 2013, just in the very very early planning stages since I know it's really hard to book for larger parties during the holidays. These tips help clarify some things for me.