DVC rental vs regular rooms?

[Karenj2]

Hi all - we're going to WDW next summer and we'll have 4 adults, a 12yo, 1 8 yo, a 3yo, and hopefully a 3month old. We usually stay at the Beach Club (not DVC), but we were hoping to possibly save money by staying at a DVC and having some meals at the villa.

We'd LOVE a 3br DVC, or could it work to rent a 2br and a 1 br to be able to stay at Beach Club? Or can you recommend a 3br DVC?

Do you think we could save money renting DVC instead of two regular rooms at the Beach Club (and getting the Dining Plan)?

What do you normally do for meals?

 

[Donna M]

A great DVC 3 bd villa is at Old Key West. The living room is the largest of all the villas at Disney and it uses the fewest points. We've stayed there a few times and love it. It sounds like you are staying on cash; I don't know what the prices are. Many people recommend renting points from a member. By renting from someone who owns at OKW, you have the home advantage which gives you more of a chance of securing the 3 bd. You'll have to check into the renting prices on the renting site; I've never rented.

We eat lots of meals in our villa and save quite a bit of money. Most people will eat breakfast at 'home' and some will go back for lunch and a swim. We only go into the parks once or twice a trip, so most of our meals are in the villa.

You can stay in the 1bd and 2bd at BCV too. If you have two different families that may get on each other's nerves, that might be a real good idea!

 

[Deb & Bill]

The OKW grand villa is two story - the master bedroom downstairs and the other two upstairs.

You could also do a studio for one couple and a one bedroom for the other. Then you could join up for meals and sitting around.

 

[zavandor]

If you are going to book a 3br renting points from a member, you should plan far in advance. Probably 7 months in advance, 11 months in many resorts.

If instead you are going to book a cash room though CRO you can book with a shorter notice, but I don't think you'll get significant saving.

 

[LSchrow]

a grand villa (3 bdrm) at OKW, which costs less points, runs 428pts (8/16-8/31) -477pts (8/1-8/15) for a week.
an OKW 2-bdrm runs 269-296pts for the same timeframes, 1bdrm 199-222pts.

at the BWV (across the lake from the BCV, and our absolute favorite resort), a grand villa would be 675-800pts, a 2 bdrm 280-350pts, a 1bdrm 206-271. BWV has different view categories or villas other than GVs (all are BW view), so a larger range of points needed. BCV does not have GVs.

there are only a few grand villas in each DVC resort, and they go quickly. if you decided to try for one, you would need to find an owner with a significant amt of points at that resort, who could book right at the 11 month mark. finding that one owner (or renting thru a 3rd party) might be difficult, and i would expect to pay min $12-13 per point.

another consideration would be a 2bdrm (fits 8-9 ppl) and studio (4ppl), as the studio ususlly costs a bit more than half of a 1 bdrm. if you do decide a combination of different villas, there is no guarantee that the rooms will be near one another. in the larger resorts (OKW, SSR), it is very possible to wind up in entirely different buildings.

btw, BCV has a few dedicated 2 bdrms with "real" beds in the 2nd bdrm(rather than lock-offs - which are a combination of 1 bdrm & studio with sofa bed), that might fit your needs best. again, these are popular, and you would need to find an owner soon, to book at the 11 month mark.

hth

 

[HayGan]

Out of curiousity, why do you want a 3 BR? Do you not want to share a kitchen/common area with the other adults? The kids could easily sleep in either the living room or in the parents rooms. The living room has sleepers sofas and some of the resorts also have sleeper chairs. Dedicated 2BR units typically have 2 queen beds in the 2nd bedroom.

If you definitely want BCV, you are going to have to find someone soon so that you/they are ready to book as soon as the 11 month window opens up. If your heart isn't set on BCV, I would suggest trying out some of the other great DVC resorts. We have enjoyed all of our DVC stays and there isn't a resort that I would say stay away from although some are more of our favorites than others.

I have to say that we can't imagine doing Disney anymore without DVC. We love the room and the availability of a kitchen. We save so much money over eating in the parks or even in restaurants off-site. Plus we like that we can eat what we want to eat and not be constantly eating mediocre prepared foods. There a lots of threads on the DVC- Misc. board about what to eat in the villas. Meals range from simple salads to full blown Thanksgiving feasts (no - I'm not kidding!) You can make your meal plans as simple or as elaborate as you would like. We typically fall into the more simple end of the spectrum We know that we are eating healthier most of the time as opposed to eating in the parks. Plus we spend as much on groceries for a week as we would on just 1 or 2 sit down meals in the parks.

 

[Karenj2]

I was originally thinking 3br so that the kids could have a place to sleep outside of the adult's rooms, but I hadn't really thought of them being able to sleep in the living room area...

Another thought I had was that DH and I could get a 1br BVC, and my sister could get a regular room at BC, and then they could just come over in the AM for breakfast, etc.

Thank you for your advice! I'll go check out the "what to cook" thread!

 

[HayGan]

I was originally thinking 3br so that the kids could have a place to sleep outside of the adult's rooms, but I hadn't really thought of them being able to sleep in the living room area...

Another thought I had was that DH and I could get a 1br BVC, and my sister could get a regular room at BC, and then they could just come over in the AM for breakfast, etc.

Thank you for your advice! I'll go check out the "what to cook" thread!

Our kids ALWAYS sleep in the living room. I can't bring myself to spend the points on a 2BR when my kids are just fine sleeping out there. Last year we had my two boys and my nephew in the LR and it worked out perfectly.

You might find it far more economical to get a 2 BR at BCV than a 1BR and a regular room but sometime distance can be priceless so that is up to you You might also want to consider your sister renting a studio. They might enjoy it more than just another hotel room plus I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper to rent points per night for it than a room at the BC. There is a door from each fo the bedrooms into the common area that locks so people could always lock the other one out if you want.