Studio vs. 1br dilemma/rant

[Brian Noble]

What do you do?

We stayed in a 1BR at OKW when the kids were quite young. That stay convinced us that our minimum size unit for the four of us was a 2BR. I think @crisi has some good ideas. I would rather do a WDW trip two out of every three years and do something else on the third, and as the kids got bigger, the extra space became more and more important. Even with just one of the (now adult) kids, a 1BR for three adults seems a little cramped to me now.

the original DVC, the designers were trying to wow buyers which they did including us!

I have a slightly different view--the OKW units were very much like the other "name brand" timeshares in Orlando at the time, and Disney realized their customer base cared less about the room as a place to spend real time.

 

[tjkraz]

I have a slightly different view--the OKW units were very much like the other "name brand" timeshares in Orlando at the time, and Disney realized their customer base cared less about the room as a place to spend real time.

Isn't there another Orlando area timeshare which pre-dates OKW which looks like its twin? Someone took me there once and explained a bit of the history, but I cannot remember the name.

 

[Genie+]

My issue with the 1BR is most of them only have one bathroom. 2 bathrooms is more important to us than kitchen. It’s a pain in the butt for 4 people sharing a bathroom in the morning.

When it comes to 1BR we’d only go with BLT or AKV-K because they have 2 bathrooms, and all the other resorts we’d only do 1BR as a splurge for the 2 of us. If 4 of us are going we’ll do 2 studios or a 2BR.

 

[Brian Noble]

Isn't there another Orlando area timeshare which pre-dates OKW which looks like its twin?

I think Marriott Grande Vista looks pretty similar, but that one opened later IIRC. Orange Lake and Sheraton Vistana both are earlier, but have vaguely Mediterranean vibes.

 

[genebean203.5]

Anyone else or just me? What do you do? This has made it so difficult to choose the resort and room for my family as the kiddos get older and no longer want to share a bed. We’ve always preferred the space of the 1 br and full kitchen/wd but now we will have to sacrifice those amenities for extra bed and book a studio or either splurge on a 2 br which is really not an option based on our points every year. I realize they are other worse problem we could be facing

The issue my family will have to start facing soon is that there are zero options for a 6 person room. Studio/ 1bdr only go up to 5 and then 2bdr options are 8-9. If me/my DH want to go with sister/brother in law and their two kids, we suddenly have very few options for us to all stay together within reasonable points/ price. A 2bdr is kinda overkill when 2 of the 6 are still little humans (under 10). Our current saving grace is that the youngest is an infant, so 5 person still works, but that won't be the case for long.

Honestly, the best layout/option is an Art of Animation Suite. I wish that there were any options at a DVC that had the 2 full baths, the separate bedroom area, easily sleeps 6, and the "Disney" theming.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

The issue my family will have to start facing soon is that there are zero options for a 6 person room. Studio/ 1bdr only go up to 5 and then 2bdr options are 8-9. If me/my DH want to go with sister/brother in law and their two kids, we suddenly have very few options for us to all stay together within reasonable points/ price. A 2bdr is kinda overkill when 2 of the 6 are still little humans (under 10). Our current saving grace is that the youngest is an infant, so 5 person still works, but that won't be the case for long.

Honestly, the best layout/option is an Art of Animation Suite. I wish that there were any options at a DVC that had the 2 full baths, the separate bedroom area, easily sleeps 6, and the "Disney" theming.

The CFW almost fulfills this. Not sure if the bunk beds in the bedroom make a difference but it sleeps 6, just 1 Bathroom though :/

 

[crisi]

The issue my family will have to start facing soon is that there are zero options for a 6 person room. Studio/ 1bdr only go up to 5 and then 2bdr options are 8-9. If me/my DH want to go with sister/brother in law and their two kids, we suddenly have very few options for us to all stay together within reasonable points/ price. A 2bdr is kinda overkill when 2 of the 6 are still little humans (under 10). Our current saving grace is that the youngest is an infant, so 5 person still works, but that won't be the case for long.

Honestly, the best layout/option is an Art of Animation Suite. I wish that there were any options at a DVC that had the 2 full baths, the separate bedroom area, easily sleeps 6, and the "Disney" theming.

We did four in a two bedroom - and once four of us in a Grand Villa. It wasn't overkill at all to have the kids sleep in a different room, and us in a different room, and have the living room available to be a living room - even when the kids were pre-schoolers. Personally, I thought the time we had six in a Grand Villa it was a little crowded.

And as my kids got older, they really didn't like sleeping in the same bed.

And yeah, I know that gets point expensive, which is why we did six night trips every other year rather than trips every year.

 

[genebean203.5]

The CFW almost fulfills this. Not sure if the bunk beds in the bedroom make a difference but it sleeps 6, just 1 Bathroom though :/

We have our fingers crossed that the new DVC component will work for us. The tricky part about that resort is definitely the transportation. But after recently staying at OKW and dealing that dang internal loop, I think we would be ok! Haha

We did four in a two bedroom - and once four of us in a Grand Villa. It wasn't overkill at all to have the kids sleep in a different room, and us in a different room, and have the living room available to be a living room - even when the kids were pre-schoolers. Personally, I thought the time we had six in a Grand Villa it was a little crowded.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. We would not be opposed to extra space or a dedicated living room area (don’t have to twist my arm! Haha). The thing that makes it feel like overkill at this point in our lives is that we fit well in a lot of the 1bdr options, so to go from that price point to the 2bdr to accommodate the 2yo turning 3 is where we wish there were options for 6 people. Like it would be nice to have more space in the room, but we’d rather have less room and spend less points/money and get to stay longer/more often.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We stayed in a 1BR at OKW when the kids were quite young. That stay convinced us that our minimum size unit for the four of us was a 2BR. I think @crisi has some good ideas. I would rather do a WDW trip two out of every three years and do something else on the third, and as the kids got bigger, the extra space became more and more important. Even with just one of the (now adult) kids, a 1BR for three adults seems a little cramped to me now.


I have a slightly different view--the OKW units were very much like the other "name brand" timeshares in Orlando at the time, and Disney realized their customer base cared less about the room as a place to spend real time.

We never stayed in the other timeshares at that time. In 1996, OKW wowed us. We did stay in the 3BR, 2 BR and 1 BR and not studios through the years.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The CFW almost fulfills this. Not sure if the bunk beds in the bedroom make a difference but it sleeps 6, just 1 Bathroom though :/

And that one bathroom is on the other side of the cabin, so the little ones have to walk by whoever's asleep in the Living Room, walk by the kitchen all the way to the opposite end of the cabin to use the bathroom.