Got some villa questions!

[ppan77]

We are considering a villa for our next stay. Our children will be 3 and 9 months on our trip and we will need to nap midday. Does anyone rec the villas for this reason? That way kids can go to bed while parents can relax in living area. We were considering Poly otherwise. We just did CR and DH would go workout or shop while I napped with DS2. We know most of our stay will be at MK so I was wondering if anyone has stayed at WLV or has any other opinions on the others.

 

[vicki_c]

That's a good idea for your purpose, and for evenings as well, so everyone isn't stuck sitting around the dark hotel room waiting for the littler ones to go to sleep (been there, done that).

We just stayed at VWL and I thought it was very nice - we had a studio, but you would need at least a 1 BR for what you describe. We liked being near the WL for the amenities there, and the Villas pool was nice and calm and not that crowded last month while we were there.

For an MK-centered visit, I think that would be a good choice.

 

[iteachlit]

That way kids can go to bed while parents can relax in living area.

FYI: If you get a 1-bedroom villa, the bedroom will have a king-sized bed.

If you put the kids to bed in that bed, are you planning to move them to the sofa bed when you are finished in the living area?

We had at 2-bedroom earlier this month at Hilton Head Island. The second bedroom in that villa has either two queen beds or a queen bed and a sofa sleeper.

The 1-bedroom villa is ideal for a family of four, but it's not that great if mom and dad want to stay up a little later, as you have to do the kid shuffle when you want to go to bed.

However, the master BR does have a TV and that awesome jacuzzi tub... that's pretty relaxing!

 

[ppan77]

FYI: If you get a 1-bedroom villa, the bedroom will have a king-sized bed.

If you put the kids to bed in that bed, are you planning to move them to the sofa bed when you are finished in the living area?

We had at 2-bedroom earlier this month at Hilton Head Island. The second bedroom in that villa has either two queen beds or a queen bed and a sofa sleeper.

The 1-bedroom villa is ideal for a family of four, but it's not that great if mom and dad want to stay up a little later, as you have to do the kid shuffle when you want to go to bed.

However, the master BR does have a TV and that awesome jacuzzi tub... that's pretty relaxing!

Thanks! I was actually thinking about just nap time that we would enjoy the living area. The bathroom sounds nice too! Keep going back and forth on whether to stay at a villa or be on the monorail with small kids.

 

[eliza61]

Thanks! I was actually thinking about just nap time that we would enjoy the living area. The bathroom sounds nice too! Keep going back and forth on whether to stay at a villa or be on the monorail with small kids.

We were actually in the opposite dilemma. When my sons were little, we loved the monorail lines but you're right when it was nap time we basically had to creep around quietly or one of us would go downstairs while the other stayed in the room with the kids. All of a sudden my sons started growing like weeds. Now they are both teens over 6 Ft tall with size 13 shoes, no way can we comfortably fit in a standard room for 9 days We are totally spoiled by the villas. The full kitchen (even if I don't cook much) and washer dryer are a plus.

 

[wrighter]

I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed staying in villas. On our first trip, our children were 3.5 and 17 mo - we got a one bedroom. On our second trip we got a two bedroom and it was even better!

We love villas for many reasons: first and foremost, space and sanity! It is so nice not to feel claustrophobic. We are not the commando types - we try to take it easy and let the kids be our guides. The laundry room is a huge bonus - especially considering the new baggage restrictions the airlines are imposing. We can bring fewer items of clothing and just wash them if we need to. We also love having a full kitchen - we order groceries from gardengrocer. There is always fresh produce on hand, as well as an occasional drink or two. We don't, however, do the dining plan. So this works well for us. We all get a "normal" breakfast in the morning, have lunch at the parks, go back for a nap/rest/swim, have a "normal" albeit early dinner, then head back to the parks if we're doing a nighttime thing. It saves a lot of money on food, and we eat much healthier than if we did the dining plan. And fewer instances of upset stomachs!

Truly the only drawback to the villas is that there isn't one on the monorail - but if you stayed at the wilderness lodge you are so close to the MK it wouldn't be that big of a deal at all. Feel free to PM me if you have other questions about staying off-monorail with little ones. We found the villas to be the best choice for us.

 

[sheryl0521]

...All of a sudden my sons started growing like weeds. Now they are both teens over 6 Ft tall with size 13 shoes, no way can we comfortably fit in a standard room for 9 days We are totally spoiled by the villas. The full kitchen (even if I don't cook much) and washer dryer are a plus.

Same story here...we love the villa's so much that it is hard to book only 1 hotel room when we travel elsewhere. We recently stayed at the Swan and had to book 2 adjoining rooms for the space!

 

[kim_d]

Villas are wonderful when you have small children. We have been DVC members since early 2002 and my children are 5.5yo and 3.5yo and we have always stayed in a one or two bedroom villa. Having the extra space especially at nap and bedtime was great, we didn't have to tip-toe around in a dark hotel room for hours.

Also the washing machine and dryer are great with little ones and their messes. While we don't cook a lot on our trips we also love the kitchen. It let us keep drinks and some snacks for the kids, we have used gardengrocer as well and been very happy.

We are going in December this year and the majority of the trip will be in a DVC villa, but we wanted to try to stay at a monorail hotel while my kids are still young and love MK. So we are staying the last three nights at the Poly.

 

[Mrs D]

We are staying a 1bdrm at VWL in 2 months! In our 1 bdrm we will have Me, DH, DS 3, DD 14 months and my Mom.

DS 3 is transitioning from a crib to a twin as we speak. We took a trip to Nashville 2 weeks ago and just returned from a weekend in Wisconsin where I took an inflatable "sleeping bag" (called ready bed) for him. It comes with a foot pump, but DH found it easier to blow up by mouth. It's slightly longer than his crib mattress. He did great in it! and loved his special blow up bed.

DD will be in a pack n play (they come standard in all villas).

Here is how I have it planned out. DD's pack n play will be in the walk in closet in the tub portion of the villa (you can check out room layouts at Mouse Owners.com We will re-arrange some of the extra furniture in the master bedroom to put DS's ready bed against a wall. At almost 3, can sleep through us coming into the room.
HTH.

 

[jennji]

We are staying at SSR in October, in a 2 bedroom villa (rented points from a DVC member and got a great deal!). Like you, I was worried about not being near a monorail, especially because DS (Age 2) is a train freak, but we are traveling with the grandparents, and need the space. I decided that we could indulge him by riding the monorail from the MK to other locations for a treat. The monorail, after all these many years and visits to DW, is just still the coolest thing!