Deluxe Monorails or Vacation Villas?

[dtripli]

Well we are jumping for joy - we are expecting a baby in February and planning our next Disney vaction for September 08. Our children are 13, 10 and 8 and we have stayed at the Poly, Contemp, Beach Club and Dolphin on our past trips. We always stayed on the monorail when the kids were smaller just for conveniece. By September the baby will be 6 months and our family have grown from that of 5 to 6.... My question should we stay at one of the monorail resorts because we'll have a stroller again (they will allow us 6 in a room because one is an infant) or stay at one of the vacation villas for the space. I have been wanting to check out Saratoga Springs. So please feel free to weigh in. We would love to know your favorite disney villa resort and why you like it. Also if you think we are better off on monorail? We have pleny of time to plan, but would like to put our trip deposit down as soon as we do decide (for those meal reservations!)Thanks to all! :

 

[simonkodousek]

I vote for a DVC resort for the space. I think 6 people in one room would be REALLY hectic.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I strongly recommend a two bedroom vacation club reservation. I do not see how five people + one infant + one bathroom = vacation.

 

[kgc07]

I also vote for a DVC villa. We tried to vacation with 5 in a deluxe room (at GF) and it was not a lot of fun. Our next trip we have a 2 bedroom villa at AKV reserved. Plus, you have the added bonus of an in room washer and dryer. With 4 children, I could see it coming in handy.

 

[spiceycat]

deluxe room has 2 queen beds and a day bed.

DVC resort 2-bedroom has a king bed in the master, livingroom - queen sleeper sofa, 2nd bedroom has either 1 queen bed and double sleeper sofa or 2 queen beds.

vote for DVC resort 2-bedroom.

that say SSR might be too far from the action for your family.

now I love OKW but since it is far as SSR can't recommend it for your family. OKW is that much bigger.

MK - right now has only VWL. (hoping for CRV)

Epcot - has both BCV and BWV - if you liked Dolphin you might consider one of them especially BCV - because of that swimming pool.

AKV, the new one, also has a chair sleeper in the livingroom. (the new section when it is finally build will also have another bathroom in the 1-bedroom and up - so a 2-bedroom would have 3 bathrooms - sometime in 2009)

 

[deide71]

The 2br at OKW is heavenly!

I highly reccomend it.

 

[mericletwins]

Well we are jumping for joy - we are expecting a baby in February and planning our next Disney vaction for September 08. Our children are 13, 10 and 8 and we have stayed at the Poly, Contemp, Beach Club and Dolphin on our past trips. We always stayed on the monorail when the kids were smaller just for conveniece.

I absolutely vote for a villa. We have stayed at OKW and BCV and have loved them both. The space at OKW is huge and the pool at BCV, plus the location is fabulous. I don't think you need a monorail resort at all. Since the baby will only be 6 months old, they will just be going where the rest of you go. Unless you spend almost all your time in the MK, you won't really need to be right there. BW and BC are much more convenient locations I think. As fas as getting on and off busses, etc. with a stroller, I never thought it was a big deal and we had three in strollers at once. You also have all those helping older kid hands. It will be a piece of cake. Pick whichever resort theme appeals to you the most.

I also can not say enough how wonderful it is to have the washer and dryer right in your room. It allows you to pack less and come home with clean laundry. I just throw a load in the washer when I go to bed and into the dryer when I get up in the a.m. It is also great to have the kitchen. We would get some simple groceries: drinks, snacks, breakfast items, fruit. I knew that my kids had something healthy before we hit the parks and we kept our water cool. For the adults there was beer and wine when we got back to the room.

 

[PEANUT1]

as much as I love the poly and the monorail is wonderful....that is way too many people in one room. The baby will be needing naps and quiet so the villa would work better. I think you will need a 2 br villa which can be very costly if you book right through disney. Maybe you should try to rent points from someone and then it could be much more affordable.

Good luck..disney with all of those kids. I am nervous about taking 2 this time

 

[Hopefully]

I would also recommend the 2 bedroom at OKW. Yes it is a bit removed but the added size of the rooms would be worth it to me.
Will you have a car? It might be easiest to drive to the parks - other than the MK- with all the little ones, strollers etc.
With the 2 bedroom villa you will have a washer and dryer - great with throwing in a load of clothes and you can pack less.
With the full kitchen you can prepare as many or as few meals as you like. We always had breakfast in. We also had drinks, juice snacks etc. We really saved a lot of money on just these things and the convenience was wonderful. We ordered groceries delivered from wegoshop.com and were very pleased with their service. The delivery fee was $11 I think and we easily saved that over shopping in the gift shops.
Have a Great Trip.

 

[dtripli]

Thank you for all the feedback. You all confirmed what I was thinking...It was mentioned that I might try renting some vacation points to save some money. How would I go about doing this? Also what is OKW? Looking forward to your responses again.

 

[fla4fun]

Thank you for all the feedback. You all confirmed what I was thinking...It was mentioned that I might try renting some vacation points to save some money. How would I go about doing this? Also what is OKW? Looking forward to your responses again.

OKW = Old Key West Resort

 

[spiceycat]

bcv = beach club villa
bwv - broadwalk villa
akv - animal kingdom villa

here is stuff on them all
http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/guest/resorts/resortOverview?id=ProspectsResortsOverviewPage

you can rent points from this website.

go to DVC rental/trade points - be sure to read the FAQ at the top of the page.
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29

okw and ssr points should be a little cheaper than the other points. plus with OKW the villa themselves will cost you less points. - AKV also has this benefit.

bwv standard view is also less points - but unless you are talking about next year - won't count on them.

 

[esk]

At OKW, the bathroom area where the tub is, a pack and play fits perfectly in there, and you can close it off from the toilet room, the master bedroom and the living room. For a nap

We've also stayed at WL villas and BC Villas with an infant and they are truly a lot smaller. Although you still can get that pack and play into the master closet. Not that you would, not that I ever did, but in searching for a quiet area.....