BLT 1BR Question for a Family

disrunner9

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 6, 2018
I'm working with DW on planning a trip the last week of April and trying to figure out the best rooming situation. We have six people travelling: myself, DW, DS age 2, DD 7 month, FIL, and friend of FIL (they are helping with childcare).

I had figured the options would be to either get 2 rooms at a resort hotel or find a DVC villa.

After doing some research, the sweet spot I've seem to found that works from a value and logistics perspective would be a 1BR villa at BLT. My reasoning is that there are enough distinct beds for the adults. (I wouldn't expect FIL and his friend to share, so they would take the pull out sofa and pull out chair). Plus there are 2 separate full bathrooms, which will help for getting ready in the morning.

Has anyone else had a party like this and used BLT for it? Or any other suggestions for resorts and/or DVCs that have a good mix like this?

Thanks!

Jason
 
We own at BLT I think with the ages of your kids you should have more than enough room for everyone. The BLT studios are small but I find the 1BR and 2BRS to have ample space. Our nephew usually gets the pull out chair and "he says it's pretty comfy (he's 5'11")

I'm assuming that with kids that age you will spend a decent amount of time at MK. The ability to walk to the park is huge....especially at the end of the night or for a midday nap. From BLT to MK entrance is roughly 10 minutes.
 
I'm working with DW on planning a trip the last week of April and trying to figure out the best rooming situation. We have six people travelling: myself, DW, DS age 2, DD 7 month, FIL, and friend of FIL (they are helping with childcare).

I had figured the options would be to either get 2 rooms at a resort hotel or find a DVC villa.

After doing some research, the sweet spot I've seem to found that works from a value and logistics perspective would be a 1BR villa at BLT. My reasoning is that there are enough distinct beds for the adults. (I wouldn't expect FIL and his friend to share, so they would take the pull out sofa and pull out chair). Plus there are 2 separate full bathrooms, which will help for getting ready in the morning.

Has anyone else had a party like this and used BLT for it? Or any other suggestions for resorts and/or DVCs that have a good mix like this?

Thanks!

Jason
Sounds like a tight fit. Is the 2-year-old going to co-sleep in the king bed with you? Where do you plan to set up the pack n play for the baby? Do you regularly travel with your FIL and his friend? And share living space with them?

Personally, I wouldn’t do it. I would try to get two connecting studios at Poly instead.
 
If FIL and friend don’t mind being in the LR, then the 1BR is great. With 2 little kids, having laundry and a full kitchen in the room is really convenient.

FWIW, we slept with both our kids in the BLT MBR when they were little. We had an inflatable toddler size mattress for our 4yo and a pack and play for the baby.
 


I think those units are pretty small for your group. And FIL and friend are better sports than me if they are willing to sleep on those sofa beds for the whole trip! 😂
 
I just came back from a BLT 1 bedroom trip last weekend with the same set up. Myself and spouse in the master bedroom, 4 year old on a toddler-sized inflatable on the floor between the balcony sliding doors and the master bed, 2 year old in a crib in the master bathroom (sink and tub area), one adult friend on the sofa sleeper in the living room, and second adult friend (besties with first adult friend) on the chair bed in the living room. We were fine. I didn’t think it was cramped and I didn’t feel like we were on top of one another. But we did warn them when we first invited them to join us that they would be in the living room and what the available sleeping accommodations were. They were fine with the living room given it was free accommodations for them, and also the fact that they would have their own bathroom. I don’t think the setup would have been successful if we all had to share a bathroom. I wouldn’t have invited them if we were staying anywhere else but BLT or AKV-Kidani, the two resorts with two bathrooms in the 1 bedroom.

I will say though, the friend who originally took the sofa bed switched after the first night to the chair bed because she found the sofa bed incredibly uncomfortable. The friend who switched to take the sofa bed didn’t seem to mind it.
 
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I think the 1BR only works if the adults being put on living room sofabeds are fully aware of what they're being siogned up for. They aren't real beds, and reports of their comfort are widely varied.
 
Depending on the age of your FIL and his friend, they may find the sleeper sofa and sleeper chair horrible. I wouldn't do a night on a sleeper sofa, but the sleeper chair is a bit better. I'm 69. Old and grumpy. With two little kids and four adults, you need more room than a BLT one bedroom has. Two Polynesian studios might work better like Marionnette suggested.
 
I love my family and helping with the kids- but no way would I sleep on a sleep sofa with my friend on the sleeper chair for a vacation where I hoped to be worth something during the day. I am fine with many accommodations, but not that. I'm in my mid 50s, and no way could my body do that.

However, if they are good with it, then of course it's fine.
 
Housekeeping has eggcrate foam for the sleeper sofa. It wouldn’t hurt to request it as soon as you arrive...
 
Housekeeping has eggcrate foam for the sleeper sofa. It wouldn’t hurt to request it as soon as you arrive...
This is pixie dust, not a guarantee. They pick up foams that were left behind by other guests.

I would not book assuming this would be available.
 
You might even consider two studios at Old Key West. They have two queen beds in each room. That way there are enough actual beds for everyone.
 
Put the toddler on a toddler air mattress in the master bathroom. Pack and play by the window. Use the second bath at night if you need to. FIL and friend in living room. Though the chair bed isn’t that long so how tall are they both?
 
Put the toddler on a toddler air mattress in the master bathroom. Pack and play by the window. Use the second bath at night if you need to. FIL and friend in living room. Though the chair bed isn’t that long so how tall are they both?
The sleeper chair has worked fine for my over 6' tall son (maybe 6'2" or 6'3"). But that is really crowded for four adults and two little kids. Especially if the FIL friend isn't used to living with little kids in the same space.
 
We have done 5 adults and a 2 year old in a BLT one bedroom. It was fantastic for us (2 year old slept in pack n play in the master with us, the other 3 adults in the living room. On a later trip (2 bedroom, more people) we actually fit 2 PNPs in the master for my twins to give you an idea about floor space.

I think this only works when you are close enough with your traveling party where you know you’ll be happy sharing the space, and you know the living room people are 100% willing. Also look at everyone’s sleep habits, if the master people are awake and the living room people aren’t it kind of traps them and restricts them from hanging out in the living room or using the kitchen.

The really nice part of the 1 bedroom vs 2 rooms elsewhere is the in room laundry and the guarantee you’ll be connected. Space wise I think it’s a great choice and you won’t be cramped, you just have to think about if the rest works for your party.
 
We have done 5 adults and a 2 year old in a BLT one bedroom. It was fantastic for us (2 year old slept in pack n play in the master with us, the other 3 adults in the living room. On a later trip (2 bedroom, more people) we actually fit 2 PNPs in the master for my twins to give you an idea about floor space.

I think this only works when you are close enough with your traveling party where you know you’ll be happy sharing the space, and you know the living room people are 100% willing. Also look at everyone’s sleep habits, if the master people are awake and the living room people aren’t it kind of traps them and restricts them from hanging out in the living room or using the kitchen.

The really nice part of the 1 bedroom vs 2 rooms elsewhere is the in room laundry and the guarantee you’ll be connected. Space wise I think it’s a great choice and you won’t be cramped, you just have to think about if the rest works for your party.
You also need to know if you are an inside one bedroom or an outside one bedroom. They are different in layout and size because of the curve in the building.
 
How does it differ?

Bay Lake Tower is a horseshoe shaped building. The even numbered rooms are on the outside of the building (facing the parking lot and MK) and the odd numbered rooms are on the inside of the building, facing the pool and lake. The even numbered outside rooms curve wide at the living room and bedroom, making for a wider area in those two rooms. The odd numbered rooms curve wide at the entry, laundry, and bathroom(s), making for a wider area in those parts of the room. Nearly all the floorplan images you see online are for the even numbered rooms. There really aren't any differences for studios. The differences are more for 1 bedroom and, to a limited extent, 2 bedroom units. For examples of differences, the laundry room in an even numbered room (where it is most narrow in that part of the room) is the stackable washer and dryer that just fits inside a closet. In an odd numbered room the laundry is in a big walk in storage room/closet. The even numbered rooms have stools at the kitchen island, the odd numbered rooms do not have stools and the islands are a bit smaller. The even numbered rooms have noticeably large living rooms. The odd numbered rooms have living rooms of a more normal (but still comfortable) size.
 
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