Where should I stay?/Favorite resort?

[Ashlotte]

I am not a DVC owner, but I am trading into DVC through RCI (I own at WorldMark/Wyndham). We currently have a request in to trade the last week of August (although wondering if this is a crazy time to go due to hurricanes and heat). Anyway, we have only been to WDW twice- one pre-kids when we stayed at Pop Music, and in 2009 when we stayed at BWV. I have been offered a room at BWV again and need to make a decision on it. I liked BWV a lot, but kind of wanted to try Animal Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge. Are these hard trades to get due to popularity among DVC members? I am just not sure if I should turn down BWV, which is lovely, just for a new experience. Any advice? What is your favorite resort? We don't go to WDW often because of distance (we live in Oregon, and I hate flying), so we want to make sure we have the best trip possible.

 

[hakepb]

For DVC owners, AKV is usually more available than BWV...but RCi can be a different animal. If I were trading in this "late" I would probably take BWV if you are risking only getting SSR (very lovely but it lacks the park proximity)

I've heard some people like the end of Aug. Many schools start by then so crowds are much better than early Aug.

 

[Ashlotte]

Oops. I just double checked. It is Old Key West that is available, not BWV. Any experience with that one?

 

[hakepb]

You have not mentioned what unit size.

OKW studios are the only DVC studios with 2 Queen beds, but no pull-out couch.

OWW 1 and 2 BR units are the largest DVC Villas. The balconys are also the largest and have a table with seating for 4. They now have a pullout chair and pullout couch which may improve sleeping arrangements.

OKW is a great way to "get away" and you are in a lush tropical landscaping, but everything is very spread out. Also, most OKW buildings do not have elevators, so you may be dealing with a flight or 2 of stairs.

OKW bus transportation has several internal stops before leaving for a park.

It's largely personal preference if the OKW style matches your family.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1375743

FYI, there was a former poster /OKW fan/owner who joked that his first BWV stay was great because while he was sitting on the BWV balcony, he could reach into the room and grab another beer from the fridge (mocking how much smaller BWV felt)

 

[Ashlotte]

The room is a two bedroom. There would only be four of us going, so I guess although big is nice, it isn't essential. More important would be theme and travel time to the park. OKW is near BWV, correct? What are the closest to Magic Kingdom?

 

[drusba]

OKW is a very large, spread out resort with a lot of buildings that is not close to BWV. It is close to Downtown Disney and Sarasota Springs Resort. Also be aware that most of the buildings (which have three floors of rooms) do not have elevators and thus if you have any physical issues with stairs you should request ground floor, building with elevator, or an HA room. Transportation to parks is via bus and there are multiple stops within the resort.

The 2BR's, as noted above are the largest 2BRs of any DVC resort. In fact they are huge, about 1400 sq. ft. Many of the units look out at a golf course (Disney's Lake Buena Vista course) and others have wooded areas, ponds and generally a calm and pleasant atmosphere.

The closest DVC resort to MK is Bay Lake Tower (at the Contemporary Resort area) from which you can either take the monorail or walk to MK. The second closest is Villas of Wilderness Lodge for which you take a boat to MK, busses to other resorts.

Animal Kingdom Lodge has the furthest DVC units from the parks except for Animal Kingdom which is only an 8 minute bus ride away; the others are about a 20 to 25 minute ride. It has two very large resort buildings, Jambo and Kidani, and only two bus stops (one at each building), making its long trips in miles to the parks easily tolerable. It has the second largest 2BRs in the DVC resorts at its Kidani building, and those 2BRs at Kidani have three bathrooms (only Bay Lake Tower also has 3). Those are very nice units and if seeing animals on the savanna is a desire, it is the place to stay and is often open even four months out for DVC members, though I do not know how that translates into RCI availability..

 

[hakepb]

You might want to consider a 1BR at BLT or AKV Kidani (not Jambo). Those 1BR units have 2 full bathrooms and 2 beds (couch and chair) in the living room.

2BR generally book quickly in DVC, and are more rare in RCi:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3042401