Very new to DVC - what resort would you recommend?

[Nicsjtp]

Im currently planning our trip from Australia for next May 2011 - and thoughtwe would have to stay at POR with 2 standard rooms HOWEVER have just stumbled across DVC and think this may be a better option for our family (considering the size!!)
So its DH and myself, our kids who will be 8,6 and 2 at time of travel and grandma! So a total party of 6 however the 2 year old isnt "counted" in room occupancy.

So firstly Im after recommendations on resorts best suited to us - we plan on going to all of the parks but given I have young kids we will take a break and come back to the hotel and stay by the pool when needed - so I need a good pool/waterslide in the resort. We are planning on doing the dining plan so not too concerned on food options. Oh and must be on site...

ARRGGHHH now the planning/researching has to start all over for WDW!!!

 

[chalee94]

if you can afford to rent a 2BR at the bay lake tower, it would be a great choice for groups with younger kids. it's a short walk from the magic kingdom and has a nice (if small) pool.

 

[schewy]

If you stay at Bay Lake Tower or Kidani Village you get 2 bathrooms with a one bedroom (my wife loves this feature). The one bedrooms sleep 5. They have a master bed (king size) a sofa sleeper in the living room and a chair that converts to a bed. Plus, they have a full kitchen and washer and dryer so you dont have to bring as much clothes with you.
The two bedrooms at these same resorts sleep 9 people ( master bedroom with king size- sofa sleeper in living room- second bedroom with a queen bed and another sofe sleeper- and a chair in the living room that converts to a bed) and they have 3 bathrooms along with the same stuff as the one bedrooms.
I personally like the Kidani Village (Animal Kingdom) compared to Bay Lake Tower. Bay Lake Tower is on the monorail though.
If your kids love the pool the will have more fun at Kidani Village (in my opinion, my wife says I am 40 going on 3) than Bay Lake Tower. It has a water playground, with squirt guns, slides, and climbing area for kids of all ages.

 

[ToddyLu]

Many will also suggest BCV for Stormalong Bay which is the largest resort pool on property. It is a sand bottom, great pirate ship slide and lazy river. You have to stay there to use this pool. We own at AKV and enjoy Kidani. Nothing against BLT, but keep in mind you have to leave that resort, get to the sky bridge, walk into the CR, then up the escalator to the monorail. I would think walking to MK from there would be just as easy. Let us know what you decide. Have a terrific time!!

 

[drusba]

It sounds like you intend to rent a DVC room. There are two ways of doing so, through Disney, which is expensive, or through a DVC owner (see DVC Rent/Trade board on this site), which is more reasonable (but you do not get daily maid service unless you pay extra at hotel for it and it is not cheap). I don't know your budget, but ideally you would be looking at a 2BR although you could squeeze into a 1BR at Bay Lake Tower or Animal Kingdom Lodge which sleep five plus a child in a crip under 3 (other DVC resorts are 4 in a 1BR plus a child under 3). Most comfortable would be the 2BR. As far as cost for renting from an owner, you are probably looking at $2500 to $4,000 for a week in a 2BR in May depending on DVC resort and price charged per point. SSR and OKW would be the least expensive and BLT the most, with Villas at Widerness Lodge, Beach Club Villas,Boardwalk villas, and AKL villas being in between and fairly close to price to each other. If you went with a 1BR at AKL or BLT (the ones that sleep five plus a child in a crib), you would probably pay about what you would pay, or only a tad less than what you would pay, for a 2BR at SSR or OKW (the two condo-like resorts with numerous buildings spread out over large area). That would be room rental only and would not include park tickets or meal plan, which you would need to purchase separately.

As far as what you describe as your needs, any of the DVC resorts would meet them (all are on site, all have pools with slides). With SSR, OKW, your buidling/room can be far from the main pool because they are spread out resorts. With others, the main pool is close to the rooms. As far as ease to parks: at BLT you can walk or take monorail to MK and take monorail to Epcot, busses shared with other resorts go elsewhere; with SSR and OKW, it is all busses and they make a number of internal stops within the resort; with BWV and BCV you can walk or take boat to Epcot and Studios and busses go elsewhere and BWV shares with Swan/Dolphin, BCV with YC and sometimes all those share busses together; with AKL, everything is bus but there only two stops at the resort; with VWL, you have boat (or bus) to MK and busses elsewhere with bus sharing with other resorts.

If you want to rent through an owner, best to do it ASAP because you are now 10 months out and you are more likely to find what you want the further out you reserve.

 

[Eeyorerocks!]

I definitely agree with the recs for BLT c

We are DVC members, and have stayed at BLT twice. We have three kids (2 tweens and a toddler). So convenient to be on monorail (easy transportation to both MK and Epcot - or you can walk to MK). The BLT location is also great for resort hopping - Poly, GF, WL (you can ferry over).

Have fun planning!

 

[schewy]

I concur about the walk to the monorail. Depending on where you are at the resort, you may be able to walk to MK faster.

 

[javamom]

With the kids being young, I would suggest renting a 1 or 2BR at BLT.

 

[Nicsjtp]

thanks for the replies so far.. after having a look I think we would do a 1br villa (2 br would be great but we are trying to keep costs down - and as long as we have 2 bathrooms it will be fine!)

So have narrowed it down to either BLT or AKL... I know my kids would love either - which is best transportation wise? We will be getting a park hopper and from what I can see - given my kids ages their fave park will be MK so whilst we will visit all 4 parks - I am guessing we will want to see MK more than 1 day (so that monorail would come in handy).

So how do I go about finding out cost now? And how id I know if someone is reputable or not??? Obviously I dont want to get ripped off or worse still get there and find out we dont have a reservation!

 

[javamom]

My personal opinion is that AKV will mean lot of long bus rides. It's the least centrally located of all the DVC villas.

 

[hakepb]

I completely understand the BLT draw due to proximity to MK.
I still lean AKV Savannah view, though . How many places in the US offer a full African theme with real safari animals outside. As long as your kids love animals (those are great ages!) The room becomes its own attraction. - thought that might be a nice novelty, but it is so much more and I fell for AKV.

That said BLT has better proximity and that can be easier to quantify.

 

[Inkmahm]

I own at AKV and I've stayed at BLT. Either will be great for you. I'd go to the rent/trade board and see what you can get. AKV might be a bit cheaper but transportation back to the villa for afternoon breaks would be easier at BLT. Especially if you are going to spend more time at MK than other resorts.

Any of the DVC resorts are great though, especially compared to a hotel room. You'll love the one bedroom villa no matter where you stay! You're smart to be thinking this far ahead and should have plenty of time to arrange a rental through a DVC owner.

 

[Gowahoowa]

BLT or VWL for sure with young kids. I know that we spend more time at the MK than any other park. We are there at least 4-5 times per trip vs. a day each in the other parks. The boat from VWL is so easy to/from the MK and the kids love it. We stayed at BLT over Christmas and it was great, too! We always walked to the MK (about 5-10m depending on how fast). I'm sure AKL is nice (we are staying 2 nights there soon), but it is a bus ride everywhere. Good luck.

My personal opinion is that AKV will mean lot of long bus rides. It's the least centrally located of all the DVC villas.