Help me choose a DVC resort to rent points at!

[BreanneT]

I’m looking to rent points for our next Disneyworld vacation. Any pointers for best resorts/rooms for a family of 5 (kids 8, 6, 3)? I’d rather not be completely cramped. Also, information regarding vicinity/transportation to parks, as well as another other “good to knows” would be great!

 

[holden]

It really depends on what type of resort you want. If you are concerned about having a large room, go with a 2 bedroom unit at Old Key West. You'll have lots of space for everyone. If you don't need a large room, a 1 bedroom at Old Key West is the most spacious 1 bedroom of all DVC resorts. Transportation to parks will be by bus or you can request a Minnie Van/Uber/Lyft (you can request these from any resort). Old Key West is a large resort and has an internal bus with many stops.

If you want proximity to MK (based on your kids ages), I'd recommend a 2 bedroom unit at Bay Lake Towers (with 3 full baths!). You can walk to MK from there and take the monorail to Epcot. Other parks are bus transportation. Bay Lake Towers is right next to The Contemporary resort.

If you want to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, look at Boardwalk or Beach Club. Buses would take you to MK and AK.

If your kids love animals, maybe Animal Kingdom Jambo/Kidani is for you. Kidani has an extra bathroom in the 1 and 2 bedroom units. Transportation to all parks would be via bus.

With kids your kids' ages, I'd stay at Bay Lake Towers in a 2 bedroom unit.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

For our family of 5 (kids were 5,5,5), the only way we could afford to rent points was a studio. Any 1 br or up were outside of our price range. Our other option was going to be two rooms at Pop and hoping that they'd be connecting.

We were in a Boardwalk studio for 9 nights and would do it again in a heartbeat. Walking to EP and HS was incredible since we were completely on our own schedule and didn't have to worry about buses/boats/monorail at all. A big part of it was not having to manhandle our double jogger and single umbrella strollers on buses, but also not waiting for transport to come, worrying about how full it would be, etc.

It was cramped, but not as bad as I was expecting, to be honest. All of our luggage fit in the closet and on the space between the queen bed and the wall. The double jogger could stay open in the entry area. There was space next to the TV to push the extra chairs and coffee table aside and we left them there for the duration of our stay. Even with the sofa bed and the Murphy bed open, we had plenty of room to walk without bumping into furniture. When we were up after the kids went to bed or before they woke up, the balcony afforded us a good spot to talk, mess around on technology, etc without waking the girls. And, when the girls were getting rammy and the adults were trying to prepare for the day, we sent them onto the balcony with breakfast to get out of our hair. We weren't hanging out in our room, though. We were sleeping and showering in our room and otherwise at a park or the pool.

If given the choice between more space at a resort that's buses to all 4 parks or being a little jammed up but at BWV or BCV, I'd pick a studio on Crescent Lake every time. If you can afford both the space and the location, even better!

 

[Marionnette]

I’m looking to rent points for our next Disneyworld vacation. Any pointers for best resorts/rooms for a family of 5 (kids 8, 6, 3)? I’d rather not be completely cramped. Also, information regarding vicinity/transportation to parks, as well as another other “good to knows” would be great!

If you don’t want to be “completely cramped” then you will want at least a 1BR villa that sleeps 5 with sleeping surfaces for all 5. Some 1BRs will allow 5 people but they only have sleeping surfaces for 4 (king bed plus a sleeper sofa). The occupants have to supply their own linens (including towels) for the 5th person in addition to figuring out where that person will rest their head at night.

Five will fit in some studios. Those studios are in high demand because you can cram 5 people in but that doesn’t mean it will be comfortable for you. If you choose to do a studio, then I recommend skipping BWV, BCV, and BRV. Those studios were originally built to be occupied by a maximum of 4 people. Instead, look to Poly and VGF. Those studios are much larger and you will be less cramped in them.

 

[Donna M]

The OKW 1 bd would have the largest living room if you can't swing the 2 bd, and It sleeps 5 without having to bring your own bedding.
That living room is great, definitely worth it, and the points are the lowest for 1 or 2 bd regular units.

 

[Deb & Bill]

It also depends on when you plan on going to WDW. If it is anytime within the next six to ten months, you might be shut out of the one you finally decide you want to book.

Realize, too, that larger villas with lots of space tend to cost more than a hotel room. Especially if you want to be close to the MK resorts.

 

[Minniemoo15]

When we rented, a studio was the only room type in the budget. We LOVE love love BCV and rented there several times. We are a family of 4, but we could have made it work with 5. The pulldown bed is a great addition there.

We loved renting so much that we bought into DVC ourselves. We bought at the Poly and are very much looking forward to our first stay there next year. I worry we will miss Beach Club, but poly looks pretty awesome too! I think it would be another good choice for a family of 5 with the pull down bed and split bathroom.