DVC villas help...which is your favorite?

[princessmomma]

I am looking into renting a 2 bedroom villa December 19-28, 2007 for my family of 4, my sister and her son (who are coming down from Canada).

Right now they only have Saratoga Springs and Old Key west 2 bedroom villas available. I really wanted BCV. Does BCV fill up quickly or are they offered at a later time? If you were to book now, would you choose Saratoga or Old Key West?

We have two rooms at Polynesian booked with a code and I am hoping to switch it over to a DVC resort.

TIA,
Colleen

 

[TEK224]

Colleen,

For marathon weekend, I stayed in a 2BR at OKW. It was huge. There were six women in the unit and we were not tripping over each other or fighting over the bathrooms at all. There was plenty of room. I haven't stayed in any other 2BR except BWV and that was a 1BR and connected studio. Not as big as OKW.

Good Luck!

Terri

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Colleen--We've stayed at BWV (5 times), BCV 2 times), SSR (2 times), and VWL (1 time).

My hands down favorite is BWV, it's a gorgeous resort and you can't beat the location. Actually, that's what makes it my favorite DVC resort, being so close to my favorite park: Epcot. There's nothing better than walking out of a virtually crowd free International Gateway after Illuminations and walking into your villa about 10 minutes later.

I also really like SSR, the only downside to SSR is that it's not in Epcot resort area! It's very pretty there and the ambiance of the resort is so relaxing. It feels like you are a million miles away from the parks. The spa is nice and the exercise room is awesome, they have about 5 treadmills, 3 bikes, a couple of stair climbers, and 3 rows of free style weight machines, plus medicine balls, the big exercise balls, and free weights. I really loved the exercise room. The pool is nice too, it's not huge (reminds me of the pool at WL) and I love the zero-depth entry as I only use the pool to cool off after laying out in the sun. It's nice to just get your feet wet and totally not submerse yourself in the water. The pool bar is nice too. Another plus for SSR is that you pick out your room when you check-in, as opposed to having one pre-assigned to you. So if you are able to get there early in the morning, then you have a good chance of getting the location you want. We're staying at SSR in May and I am so excited!!

Hmmm, maybe SSR is my favorite DVC resort!!!

 

[DianeL]

Colleen,

For marathon weekend, I stayed in a 2BR at OKW. It was huge. There were six women in the unit and we were not tripping over each other or fighting over the bathrooms at all. There was plenty of room. I haven't stayed in any other 2BR except BWV and that was a 1BR and connected studio. Not as big as OKW.

Good Luck!

Terri

AHhh-HA!!! YOUR the one I sat next to on the bus from the Half Marathon! Am I right?

I have been driving myself nuts trying to remember the screen name of the lady who I sat with.


Hi Colleen! Good luck getting your 1st choice DVC but OKW is lovely we've been there 3 times now but have been to SSR once and it was enjoyable too. SSR has a nice walk to DTD. I think there is one from OKW but we've never tried it but the one from SSR is a nice enjoyable stroll.

Have fun planning your trip

 

[Kristi1357]

Colleen,

I would pick OKW for 2 reasons:

1. Cheaper points!
2. MUCH larger rooms!

We own at BCV, and as much as I love it - I think we've stayed at OKW more. The sq. footage of a 2 bedroom there is bigger than my house!

 

[princessmomma]

Thanks for your responses.

I was thinking BCV or BWV all along because we love the Boardwalk and the short distance to Epcot and MGM.

We will be there over Christmas so I wanted to have a place close to the parks.

Then Krista's explanation of SSR had me and then I read Kristi's OKW comment about the large rooms...oh, you are not making it easy on me!

 

[chimera]

And the new Animal Kingdom Villas may be available by then. We just got a preview in the mail...supposed to have large rooms!

 

[Kristi1357]

Then Krista's explanation of SSR had me and then I read Kristi's OKW comment about the large rooms...oh, you are not making it easy on me!

Then again, we LOVE being able to walk to MGM & Epcot from BCV!

Have I confused you even more now?

We stayed at OKW this year for the marathon. On that trip, we decided we want to do BCV for this year's marathon for ease of walking to 2 of the parks.

You know what? No matter what you pick, you will have an amazing time!

 

[miranda1979]

I love the BWV we own points there actually my "parents" own points there and we are so spoiled staying there.

 

[windwalker]

What are you guys talking about. Please excuse my stupidity but I don't have a clue. Points? Owning a room?

Dave

 

[miranda1979]

What are you guys talking about. Please excuse my stupidity but I don't have a clue. Points? Owning a room?

Dave

Disney Vacation Club! owning points on disney villas (rooms that have all the stuff you need. its a one bedroom hotel room with a living room and a kitchen with a washer and drier) and i don't know about other rooms but boardwalk has a hot tub.

 

[princessmomma]

OK guys, DH really wants to be on the Boardwalk, but we can only get a two bedroom unit at BWV for December 19-25th. We need it for two more nights. Should I book those 6 days and hope the other two open up or should I just keep my 8 day reservation at Poly (we have 2 rooms booked there) and wait until I can get all 8 days at BWV??

I am not using points. I do have a 40% code attached my reservation at Poly that I hope I can use at BWV when I switch over my reservation.

 

[NCRedding]

My favorite is OKW for the huge layout, laid back feeling, etc. I love the location of Boardwalk and BCV, especially at the time of year you are going. Boardwalk two bedrooms are combined studios and one bedroom accomodations, so the second bedroom will have an exterior door, kitchenette and one queen bed, and one double sofa bed.

I don't mind switching resorts if I have our own car. I've never tried doing it using the Disney transfers, but people here say they are convenient. I would definitely book BWVs and see if you can get the additional nights later.

 

[princessmomma]

Boardwalk two bedrooms are combined studios and one bedroom accomodations, so the second bedroom will have an exterior door, kitchenette and one queen bed, and one double sofa bed.

Oh, that is interesting, so we would have 2 queens and 2 sofa beds in the suite? Doesn't the BCV have the king bed and two queens in the two bedrooms and then a sofa bed in the living room?

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

Colleen,

The 2 bedroom at BWV is a lock-off as NCRedding described. It is basically a one-bedroom unit connected to a studio unit. So, you have the one-bedroom unit which has a bedroom with a king-sized bed, the bathroom with whirlpool tub etc, the laundry area, the kitchen, and the living room with sofabed. The studio unit will connect to the 1-bedroom unit with a door that can be closed/locked on each side or left open as desired. The studio has a queen-sized bed, sofabed, bathroom (no whirlpool tub in this one), and a small kitchenette (small fridge, sink, microwave). Since the studio can be used as a stand-alone unit, there will be a door to the hallway from the studio as well.

Some of the other DVC resorts (e.g. VWL, BCV), offer what is called a dedicated 2-bedroom unit. These have 2 queen beds in the second bedroom, no sofabed, no kitchenette, no exterior door. We prefer these with our kids as they can each have their own "real" bed and no worries they'll walk out the door at night However, the lock-offs are fine too as long as people are okay with sleeping on sofabeds.

Hope that helps!