DVR Rental -- First-timer

[purplebelle]

Hi everyone:

I am seriously considering renting DVC points through David's Vacation Rental but I have a few questions..........

.......(preferably Grand Floridian, Polynesian or Bay Lake Tower (Contemporary). .........


Question 1: I've been watching YouTube videos on the DVC studios to get a feel for the area, but I still am unsure of one important detail: Is there a privacy curtain between the bathroom area and the bed area? If there is not, does anyone know if the Pack 'n Play will fit in the bathroom vanity area? Perhaps that sounds odd, but my toddler may not sleep if she can see me in the bed area. We once stayed at All-Stars Music and she slept behind the curtain in the bathroom vanity area and it worked wonderfully!

Question 2: How likely are we to get con-joining studios?

Question 3: My mom may join us on the trip but shaving off a day at either end. Would she be able to join in my existing reservation since I would be the only adult in the room? (Obviously that would mean we don't go over the maximum adult allowance if there is one)

Thanks!!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1. Not a curtain. A door. The only bathroom a pack and play will fit in is at the Polynesian studios.

2. There are no adjoining studios anywhere on property EXCEPT at the Polynesian.

3. Yes.

FWIW, you are unlikely to get a VGF studio via rental, as there are only 47 of them and they require home resort points at 11 months, often exactly at 8AM depending on time of year. If you want to fit a pack and play, do NOT try to get a BLT studio. Those studios are teeny tiny. Polynesian is likely your best option, but odds on being able to rent a studio there depends on time of year. It is extremely popular for rentals, and most agencies have many more requests than ability to fulfill those requests with DVC points for Poly.

 

[cvjw]

I bet you could put a pack and play in the small kitchen area in a BLT studio - that area seemed pretty roomy.

There are 2 bathrooms in the Poly studio, one being large enough for the pack and play.

Boardwalk villas also have studios that are right next to each other. The are not connecting like the Poly studios are, but they are convenient if you are reserving 2 of them.

 

[hakepb]

1) the Poly and GF studios have split bathrooms, seperated with doors. I'm not aware of any DVC with curtains like mods and values. The laundry room in an OKW 1BR works well as a "nursery"

2) most DVC units only connect a studio with a 1BR to make a 2BR lockoff villa.
only Poly has connecting studios, it's a request, not a guarantee...but there are only a few studios that do not connect
(So I've not heard of the request being honored)

 

[supersnoop]

The "accessible"rooms at VGF have one large bathroom which would accommodate a pack-n-play.

 

[hakepb]

A lake view BLT 2BR (and standard view 2BR) is less points than a Poly lake view. There are also potentially cheaper BLT standard view 2BR (they book quickly)
A 2BR is basically the space of (3) studios. At BLT, you would have (3) bathrooms, a great master suite, full kitchen, washer/dryer....
And with a 2BR you are guaranteed the rooms connect

 

[drusba]

Adding to the above, you mention that your mom will not put you over the "maximum adult allowance" for the room. DVC studios' maximum occupancy is not based on number of adults but on total number of persons. The VGF and Poly studios allow 5 (plus a child who is under three years old), and the BLT studios (which are significantly smaller than either Poly or VGF) allow 4 (plus a child under three)

 

[purplebelle]

1. Not a curtain. A door. The only bathroom a pack and play will fit in is at the Polynesian studios.

2. There are no adjoining studios anywhere on property EXCEPT at the Polynesian.

3. Yes.

FWIW, you are unlikely to get a VGF studio via rental, as there are only 47 of them and they require home resort points at 11 months, often exactly at 8AM depending on time of year. If you want to fit a pack and play, do NOT try to get a BLT studio. Those studios are teeny tiny. Polynesian is likely your best option, but odds on being able to rent a studio there depends on time of year. It is extremely popular for rentals, and most agencies have many more requests than ability to fulfill those requests with DVC points for Poly.

Thank you for all of your comments. I appreciate hearing what the likelihood is, and it sounds like the monorail studios are a shot in the dark. Wonder if the likelihood is stronger for Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, etc.

 

[purplebelle]

Adding to the above, you mention that your mom will not put you over the "maximum adult allowance" for the room. DVC studios' maximum occupancy is not based on number of adults but on total number of persons. The VGF and Poly studios allow 5 (plus a child who is under three years old), and the BLT studios (which are significantly smaller than either Poly or VGF) allow 4 (plus a child under three)

Thank you! With just myself and toddler, and then my mom joining us later, we should be well under your figures.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Thank you for all of your comments. I appreciate hearing what the likelihood is, and it sounds like the monorail studios are a shot in the dark. Wonder if the likelihood is stronger for Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, etc.

For any of them, it really depends on the season. BLT isn't so much a shot in the dark as "you really don't want to be using the bed, the sofa bed AND a pack and play in that studio." It's just too small. VGF is a shot in the dark. Poly, it depends on season, and with wanting two it gets harder.

I agree with the others that you ought to look at a 2BR rather than 2 studios, especially if you want this during a high demand time (September-January, any holiday or runDisney event period).

 

[purplebelle]

For any of them, it really depends on the season. BLT isn't so much a shot in the dark as "you really don't want to be using the bed, the sofa bed AND a pack and play in that studio." It's just too small. VGF is a shot in the dark. Poly, it depends on season, and with wanting two it gets harder.

I agree with the others that you ought to look at a 2BR rather than 2 studios, especially if you want this during a high demand time (September-January, any holiday or runDisney event period).

September - January is high demand? High demand for DVCers but not crowd-wise? I had thought October meant fewer crowds.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

September - January is high demand? High demand for DVCers but not crowd-wise? I had thought October meant fewer crowds.

It is high season for DVC. And, realistically, it is no longer a low crowd season across the board.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

The "accessible"rooms at VGF have one large bathroom which would accommodate a pack-n-play.

Please do not book an accessible room if you do not need a roll in shower. These are like gold dust for us wheelchair users.

 

[purplebelle]

Please do not book an accessible room if you do not need a roll in shower. These are like gold dust for us wheelchair users.

Right, I wouldn't go so far as to request a room like this. Not a need for our family.

 

[purplebelle]

It is high season for DVC. And, realistically, it is no longer a low crowd season across the board.

Wait, whaaat? No longer a low crowd season? When did this happen? I thought weeks like those in September, October and early December are low crowds based upon my past experience and crowd calendar predictions. What am I missing? I'm not expecting completely empty parks, but not full capacity either. I was at Magic Kingdom on Sept 1st last year and it had a very low crowd.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Wait, whaaat? No longer a low crowd season? When did this happen? I thought weeks like those in September, October and early December are low crowds based upon my past experience and crowd calendar predictions. What am I missing? I'm not expecting completely empty parks, but not full capacity either. I was at Magic Kingdom on Sept 1st last year and it had a very low crowd.

The week after the week of Labor Day can be somewhat quiet, as can the first 2 weeks of December. October is no longer by any definition "lowest crowd," due to the shift of many schools to fall breaks, plus the Columbus Day weekend. November also has Jersey Week, the Wine & Dine runDisney event, and Veteran's Day weekend.

However, the entirety of fall is high season for DVC. The first weeks of December are in the top-demanded weeks of the year. Food & Wine books the monorail and Epcot resorts pretty heavily in the 11-month booking window. If you are renting DVC in the fall, good rules of thumb are that 11-month bookings are essential for monorail resorts and Epcot, and if you are trying to get a booking at the 7 month mark, an 8AM login is essential and your success may depend on if your computer is faster than someone else's. This year, for much of October, the 7-month booking window was quite fierce.

 

[supersnoop]

Please do not book an accessible room if you do not need a roll in shower. These are like gold dust for us wheelchair users.

Apparently they aren't often needed. I didn't realize they had put me in one until I complained about the strange bathroom setup.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Apparently they aren't often needed. I didn't realize they had put me in one until I complained about the strange bathroom setup.

How strange we often have issues booking one!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Right, I wouldn't go so far as to request a room like this. Not a need for our family.

Thank you! Very kind.

 

[purplebelle]

The week after the week of Labor Day can be somewhat quiet, as can the first 2 weeks of December. October is no longer by any definition "lowest crowd," due to the shift of many schools to fall breaks, plus the Columbus Day weekend. November also has Jersey Week, the Wine & Dine runDisney event, and Veteran's Day weekend.

However, the entirety of fall is high season for DVC. The first weeks of December are in the top-demanded weeks of the year. Food & Wine books the monorail and Epcot resorts pretty heavily in the 11-month booking window. If you are renting DVC in the fall, good rules of thumb are that 11-month bookings are essential for monorail resorts and Epcot, and if you are trying to get a booking at the 7 month mark, an 8AM login is essential and your success may depend on if your computer is faster than someone else's. This year, for much of October, the 7-month booking window was quite fierce.

Thank you so much!

To everyone, really. I am so pleased by the thorough and helpful responses I am getting on here.