I was in a similar situation when we bought two years ago (1.5 YO). Now we have another so we are a family of 4. When we bought we weren't sure where we were going to land with kids (4 or 5 person travel party). So here is my thought process and where we landed:
- We are a younger family and did not want any of the 2042 resorts (no OKW, BCV, BWV, BRV)
- Since we were unsure on size of our family, we needed studio and 1 BR with 5 person capacity. (no CCV)
- Wanted a resort with 1 BR and 2 BR alternatives. (no POLY)
- Wanted access to parks without the need for a bus (ugh strollers). (no SSR, AKV, OKW)
That being said, we quickly boiled down our options to BLT, VGF and RIV. Based on cost, length of contract and point chart, we felt more comfortable buying RIV direct than VGF resale, which would have been a similar cost. So we were down to BLT and RIV.
Then we looked at the points charts and uniqueness of our visits. Like you, we wanted to travel every other year. We had a tough time choosing between BLT and RIV but the tower studio pushed it a bit over the edge. We like 5 or 6 night stays and with young kids we can travel during school times now. We do have my parents come with us some times which would make our travel party 6 when the youngest gets over 3. Also, when the kids get older we do plan on doing longer stays in studios. While we would never stay in the Tower Studios, it was a perfect room for my parents. For less points than a 1 BR we can get a standard studio and a tower studio. Our family can stay in the regular and my parents can stay tower room.
On to the number of points, this is our biggest regret. We only bought 100 points because the banking and borrowing would give us plenty of points for our 1 BR for 5 - 6 nights every other year. I wish we would have bought 150 or 160 points. Also, when I bought a few years ago the price was $188/point. We are probably going to add the extra 50 or 60 points this year after our October trip. If (or when) we go to every year trip, I would probably need 250 points total to be more comfortable.
As far as booking, I have not had issues finding preferred view or standard view 1 BR for RIV yet at the 11 month mark.
I totally agree with this reasoning, and I would only add that Skyliner handle strollers just fine. We bought RIV and love it and only do one bedrooms. The studios are beautiful, but we love the king bed, privacy, laundry, and kitchen. Plus, we have very tall b/g and sharing a bed isn’t working anymore.
Something that doesn’t get mentioned is the layout of the resort pool. I think RIV setup is IDEAL for kids, especially littles. There’s great sight lines all around, and the preschool section is fenced off but RIGHT next to the bar, bathrooms, hot tub, slide for older kids, and life vests. There's a veritable SWAT team of lifeguards there due to all the right angles/blind spots inside the pool.
We really love the small/compact footprint of the resort with everything on the interior of the place so you don't have to be outside in FL monsoon rainstorms to grab a bite to eat. Everything is on one level for scooters and strollers or accessible with elevators, and the one-bedrooms have a nice stroller area inside. Buses are horrendous, so Skyliner wins every time in our book, although you are dependent on buses in bad weather and for AK/MK, which we really dislike.
We picked RIV, among other reasons, because Epcot and HS are our favorite parks. Plus, our daughter hates fireworks noise, but when they (fireworks) come back, we can see HS/Epcot fireworks from Topolinos and higher floors in quieter surroundings.
I think the Tower Studios for grandparents or, hopefully, solo adult trips later in life, are great! They're literally the closest rooms to the Skyliner station, which is great for older folks with mobility issues.
We, personally, didn’t care for BLT rooms/layout/size, and with little kids, you DO spend a lot of time in the room, necessitating a good view/higher points for fireworks. I mean, if you’re going to be right there at MK, with littles in jammies and parents exhausted, won’t you want to get the view and avoid the crowds and scary bangs for little ears? BLT
point charts are still kind of high.
Which parks do you prefer? AK is the best bang for the buck and can be purchased direct with perks for using that as a home base. I hear wonderful things about it, but its remoteness is a nonstarter for us. I would still like to try staying there for a split stay sometime though
While MK is the quintessential park for littles, our kids at 7 and 8 have kind of graduated to been there, done that. We're good with one, tops two days there per week trip. Slinky Dog Dash and Galaxy's Edge is where it's at for them at this point.
Proximity to favorite parks, pools for littles, great dining options, and luxurious, large accommodations have us very happy at RIV. It IS a high point chart, but I think that's going to be the trend for all future DVCs. I think they're doing a reset on all future resorts to warrant the higher price. I don't necessarily mind if all future DVC properties are as luxurious and well laid out as RIV, just with different theming. Definitely grab more than you think you need NOW, while prices are as low as they're going to be. Resale is up 6+%, and direct prices are going to be crazy for the new DisneyLand DVC. That one IS going forward, and you can bet those will be well over $200pp to start out right away. I would not be surprised if DL DVC hits $250 direct by the end of its sale until it sells out.