We Survived--6 in a 1BR

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Please note: This is NOT intended to be a debate on occupancy.

We are a family of 6 (parents, DD13, DS11, DD5, DS2), and when we booked AKL, we were inadvertently put in a 1BR, versus the 2BR we would have preferred. Waitlisting got us nowhere, so we were "stuck" for three nights. Since occupancy becomes a heated topic here, I figured I would give my opinion on how it worked out for us, so people would understand the logistics of trying to push the occupancy limits.

What worked for us: There were plenty of towels and storage space. We liked the king bed. All sleeping arrangements were comfortable.

What we didn't care for: It WAS a tight fit! More than one bathroom would have been handy, especially since DS11 is a "sitter". The lack of privacy got old.

Other thoughts: Our biggest immediate issue was the difference in sleeping habits. There really isn't a lot of quiet space, so it seemed like we spent a lot of time tip-toeing around sleeping people. Seriously, this gets old, and should be considered by anyone wanting to push the occupancy envelope. It may not have been so bad if all were adults, but even then you have your morning people and not so morning people. We did have the crib in the bedroom, but the other kids were out by the kitchen area--as soon as Mom was up, their sleep time was limited.

After our AKL stay, we moved to a BCV 2BR. We liked the layout better, and found that the extra room did a lot of good for family relations. All 4 kids were in the second bedroom for sleeping, and could watch TV or whatever in the living area. We didn't feel so on top of each other, and it seemed like everyone's mood improved significantly. Yeah, it might have been Disney magic, but mind you, we were there last week, with Fay camping out, so it was quite damp and soggy all week.

We did like AKL, but would never consider scrimping on points to stay in a 1BR. Really, the family harmony alone is worth the 2BR.

 

[alldiz]

Glad it worked out for you.....tiptoeing over sleeping people is NOT fun.
Did AKV CM's give you a hard time for 6 in a room?
Kerri

 

[henri + katie's mum]

Funny, when I was little my family of five used to vacation all together in one little hotel room. We survived, but I'm glad for DVC!


Info states that "most" AKV one bedrooms sleep five. The child of two doesn't count for occupancy, so there should be no debate there.

 

[irishbacker92]

Actually, I think you were within the limits. A AKV 1 bdr should sleep 5 plus a chlid 3 or under in a crib which is what you had. A 1 bdr anywhere else would have been over the limit but with the sleep chair at AKL it should have been fine.
We are sleeping 10 in a 2 bdr in march. 4 adults 2 @ 8, 1 @6, 2 @4, and 1 at 2. It should be cozy but it will be much better than hotel type rooms.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

No, we were definitely within their limits--I think that's why the reservation got messed up in the first place. I wanted a 2BR, but got a 1BR. We weren't trying to hide a kid or anything.

Irishbacker92--FTR, DS11 said the pull-out chair was quite comfortable. We had that out, as well as the couch--you could maneuver around both to get to the balcony, but it was a little tight. We put the crib in the MBR (between the desk and the bureau), but maybe you'd be better off having the little ones in the second bedroom. We had more than enough storage in the 2BR--not sure how different the configuration is for AKL vs. BCV, but lots of storage, including a walk-in closet we didn't use. The other thing that just kind of annoyed us a little was, we were on the construction side of the hotel. On Day 2, they removed the animals from the savannah, giving us technically a savannah view, but nothing to view! And another caveat: One night, we had all 4 kids on the balcony, and DS2 managed to crawl under the wooden divider and on to the balcony next door! He thought it was a game, but all we could think was, he's unsupervised and 5 stories up! His siblings didn't bother to tell us for a few minutes, either (we were finishing our dinner, Dh and I). He did crawl back before we dialed security, but that kind of killed the whole balcony thing for me.

 

[spiceycat]

then you are due back some points - one for getting a 1-bedroom and two - it should be standard since they removed the animals.

did you confirmation from DVC say 2-bedroom?

didn't think the resort had the right to change DVC.

Anyway glad that your trip went okay even with the problems at AKV.

your family will probably love the new 1-bedroom - it has 2 bathrooms - so a 2-bedroom will have 3-bathrooms.

don't know how you do it - going to disney with 2 kids is enough work - but 4 kids...

 

[WolfpackFan]

I think back to when I was growing up (a long, long time ago). I had four brothers. Whenever we traveled, my mother and father could have cared less about sleeping problems. It was always 2-3 in a bed and when the first person woke up, all had to get up . Plus my father was big into camping. He couldn't see spending good money on a hotel room, when he could pitch a tent instead. How things have changed.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I don't understand the "we were inadvertently put in a 1BR, versus the 2BR we would have preferred". Did you reserve a one bedroom or a two bedroom? Prefer is not the same as reserved. Unless you paid cash for this stay and did not use points, you should have gotten what you reserved. And, actually, you should have still gotten what you paid for.

 

[LisaS]

The other thing that just kind of annoyed us a little was, we were on the construction side of the hotel. On Day 2, they removed the animals from the savannah, giving us technically a savannah view, but nothing to view!

Are you saying they removed the animals and they never came back? Perhaps it was due to the storm.

They do remove the animals from each savanna for about 2 hours each day so they can clean the savanna. If you were on the Sunset Savanna, I think they bring the animals in at 9am.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Okay, here's how the reservation went: I originally reserved nights at BCV, where we own. At the 7-month mark, I switched to AKV. I thought I was clear that I still wanted a 2BR, but when the confirmation came in the mail, ti said 1BR. I called and was put on the wait list, which never came through. I was charged points for a 1BR savannah view. I'm sure she told me how many points I was using during the phone call, but I had run several different scenarios, including the 1BR, so I didn't catch the error during the phone call.

As far as the animals go, at first we thought they removed them for maintenance reasons, but they never came back. We also speculated about the storm, but many other animals were on savannahs during the same time frame--just not on the savannah facing the new construction. When DH inquired, he was told they were moved due to construction noise. We were there 8/17-8/20--it got rainy, but it was actually worse after we moved over to BCV. We realized the animals were gone for good ~ Mon. night, and since we were checking out Wed., it didn't seem worth them trying to move us. Remember, we had 4 kids, plus were going to BCV for a while--we didn't want the trip to be an endless series of packing suitcases and schlepping all over creation. We probably should have been in contact with management, but I figured they would argue that we could, in fact view the (empty) savannah, and couldn't possibly accomodate everyone who might like to move. So, we didn't want to waste vacation energy fighting about it. But it left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths--particularly DH. We had been considering adding on there, but now he says no way. Oh, well.