Studio suggestions needed for Dec trip

[ImagineerM]

My wife and I are brand new DVC members - we bought in while on th Disney Magic back in Oct. Haven't even traveled on our membership yet.

We are making our first trip home to AKV Jambo House in July.

We currently have a kidani studio for our trip from Dec 18-23. But we were thinking of trying to find someplace different at the 7 month mark. Looking for suggestions.

Our travel party includes myself, my wife, and our aunt. We were looking at OKW because of the 2 queen beds. But wanted to hear some expert opinions on christmastime at DVC.

Appreciate any input.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'd do OKW if you are stuck with a studio for 3 adults, but in reality, I'd not do ANY studio for 3 adults....I'd do at least a 1 bedroom.

 

[dvc deernut]

WE HAVE BEEN MEMBERS SINCE 98. OUR HOME RESORT IS BW BUT WE NEVER HAVE STAYED THERE. WE PREFER OKW OR AKL BUT WE LIKE JAMBA HOUSE. ITS ABOUT A 10 MINUTE WALK FROM KIDANI TO JAMBA HOUSE. WE USUALLY GET A 1 BEDROOM OR 2 IF WE ARENT GOING ALONE. WE LIKE HAVE THE KITCHEN FOR BREAKFAST. BUT WE HAVE STAYED IN STUDIOS. THE STUDIOS AT OKW ARE A LITTLE BIGGER. WE LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE AT OKW. THE BUS TRANSPORTATION IS BETTER THERE THAN AKL. THE BUSES GO RIGHT THRU THE COMPLEX THERE ARE I THINK 5 STOPS. wE GO EVERY DEC bUT WE GO first 2 WEEKS IN DEC LESS BUSY. LAST SEPT WE STAYED IN JAMBA HOUSE AFTER THE DVC MEMBER CRUISE FOR A WEEK. THEY ARE VERY NICE. OVERLOOKING THE SAVANNAH. ONE OF OUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS IS BOMA. THE POOL AT JAMBA IS NICE EASY TO GET INTO. THE WEATHER IN DEC CAN BE IFFY. WE HAVE BEEN THERE AND HAD TO WEAR cOATS AT NIGHT. USUALLY ITS HARD TO GET INTO mOST OF THE DVC RESORTS WHEN YOUR GOING ONCE YOUR INTO 7 MONTH WINDOW. WE PUT OURSELVES ON THE WAIT LIST.
BY THE WAY SUN THRU THURS IT COSTS LESS POINTS SO TO STRETCH OUR POINTS SOMETIMES WE PAY CASH FOR FRI AND SAT. SAME PRICE FOR CASH EVERY NIGHT. ANYMORE QUESTIONS I ENJOY TRYING TO ANSWER.

 

[DenLo]

Here's the square footage for the studio villas at each of the WDW DVC resorts. OKW pretty much beats them all for size. Except for the small studios at BLT or a Value at Jambo House, they all seem to be pretty reasonable in size. Of course, most of them are probably bigger than any of the 2-bed hotel rooms at a Moderate or Value resort on the Disney Property. Or maybe I should say I know they are all bigger than the Moderate resorts we have stayed in at WDW.

AKV Kidani - 366
Jambo - 365 (316 for Value Studio)
BCV - 365
BLT - 329
BWV - 359
OKW - 390
SSR - 344
VWL - 356

As you can see OKW has the largest studios by far and like you said you get two queen beds.

As some of the other posters suggest a 1 BR is much bigger with two separate rooms and at AKV Kidani (not sure about Jambo House, values do not though) or BLT there are two bathrooms, one off of the MBR and one off the living room.

The one bedroom villas rank in size is that OKW is number 1, Kidani #2 and BLT #3. Here is the square footage for 1 BR's:

AKV Kidani - 807
Jambo - 710 (629 for a Value 1 BR)
BCV - 726
BLT - 803
BWV - 712
OKW - 942
SSR - 714
VWL - 727

As you can see these villas are much larger than a studio. But the points per night really go up too.

I have to admit that if you are really serious about a studio the larger OKW with 2 beds would be best. Note some of the other resorts have dedicated studios that also have two queen beds. BWV has quite a few (97) and I believe BCV and VWL have a smaller number of them. Not sure about the others. However, the extra bathroom at AKV or BLT would be a nice touch of privacy for your aunt.

It might be difficult to get into at the 7 month mark at any resort in December. It never hurts to try. You can wait list for another resort and you will still have your AKV reservation in case the WL doesn't come through. Here's some pixiedust to help you get the villa and resort of your choice.