Which 2BR for late August trip? Snowy Friday poll

[kboo]

We are bringing another family of 4 - first timers to anything Disney, Europeans - in late August. Currently booked in a BLT standard but it looks like we won't have any chance at a refurbed room. This may still be ok, since I'll make my room requests to see the fireworks, the 3rd bathroom is a big help, and nothing beats walking to MK. If I ask them, they'll just say "whatever you pick will be great with us" and they will mean it. The kids will be 8-13 years old and we plan on hitting ALL the parks, and doing ALL the rides....

That said - I took a quick glance at 2br availability for roughly the same amount of points - would you move? We are doing a split stay with the second half at Riviera in a 2br there. BLT fireworks from the room has a WOW factor, and our friends are not likely to notice or care the room isn't refurbished (until they get to Riviera, lol).

 

[bobbiwoz]

I think BLT’s location, so close to MK, plus the third bathroom would make that an easy choice for me.

 

[DeeBee3]

How long is the trip? That would influence my split stay opinion.

 

[CarolynFH]

I agree with @bobbiwoz !

Easy access to MK, then easy access to Epcot/DHS — a great overview of WDW!

 

[10CJ]

How many people total? I am leaning towards BLT because I would want the third bathroom. Plus being able to walk to MK.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I think your current plan is perfect.

 

[kboo]

it’s 7-8 nights and pretty evenly split. Family of 4, (8 people total) so either the other parents will be in the LR or our kids will be in the LR. I’m generally leaning toward BLT but have slight FOMO.

 

[pineapplepalms]

I would do RIV for the whole stay, but we have a preference to only do split stays if we have at least 5 nights in each resort. For a first-time family, it might be nice to just settle in and make the most of the week instead of spending any time packing up and moving. We do also have younger kids though, and packing up and moving is always a pain for us. I also think the bed situation in RIV is more ideal for more people due to the 2 Murphy beds in the living room.

During Christmas week we went up to TOTW to watch the fireworks because it was so packed in MK, and there was a ton of space up there despite showing up maybe 10 minutes before fireworks during a holiday week. So you could still bring them up there for that view even if you don’t end up staying at BLT.

 

[kboo]

I would do RIV for the whole stay, but we have a preference to only do split stays if we have at least 5 nights in each resort. For a first-time family, it might be nice to just settle in and make the most of the week instead of spending any time packing up and moving. We do also have younger kids though, and packing up and moving is always a pain for us. I also think the bed situation in RIV is more ideal for more people due to the 2 Murphy beds in the living room.

During Christmas week we went up to TOTW to watch the fireworks because it was so packed in MK, and there was a ton of space up there despite showing up maybe 10 minutes before fireworks during a holiday week. So you could still bring them up there for that view even if you don’t end up staying at BLT.

Yeah, our minimum is 3 nights for a split stay. This trip is a little bit short - we usually like to do 5+5. We will definitely do laundry, and we all fly with carryons only, so it's not too hard to move. (also our kids are big enough they don't even notice or care) I figure with the 4 kids probably wanting to be park commandos, this may enable parents to switch off evening chaperone duties (who am I kidding; it will probably be me... ) with a pretty easy commute back to the resort.

I also polled my kids (8, 12) and this was their response:

12yo: I like the Grand! or Riviera.

8yo: How about the pirate slide? or the one with the animals. I like seeing the castle too.

I do feel like there is something special about walking in to your room and seeing iconic Disney World (Space Mountain, Cinderella Castle) out the window.

 

[TCRAIG]

When I do a split stay - I like to stay at an Epcot/HS resort first, then move to a MK one…
I’ve stayed at pretty much all the DVC resorts - my favorite Epcot/HS one is Beach Club - so I would recommend that.
For MK, I would go with CCV/BRV or VGF…while the 3rd bathroom at BLT is great - the pools are kinda meh and in August, you’ll want a great pool.
I might consider AK in lieu of an Epcot/HS resort because of the animals and great pools…
I stayed at RIV, NOT a fan…lobby small, pool small and August has to potential for lots of evening downpours, making the Skyliner useless.
As far as WL a BW view at BWV , 2 bedrooms would be very difficult since they’re all really Sudio/1 Br combinations…there are no dedicated 2Brs at BWV.

 

[kboo]

As far as WL a BW view at BWV , 2 bedrooms would be very difficult since they’re all really Sudio/1 Br combinations…there are no dedicated 2Brs at BWV.

yup - we've lucked into fulfilled waitlists (pre-refurb, to be fair) in 2br standard and BWV. And that was the reason we didn't buy BWV back when ...

When I do a split stay - I like to stay at an Epcot/HS resort first, then move to a MK one…
I’ve stayed at pretty much all the DVC resorts - my favorite Epcot/HS one is Beach Club - so I would recommend that.
For MK, I would go with CCV/BRV or VGF…while the 3rd bathroom at BLT is great - the pools are kinda meh and in August, you’ll want a great pool.
I might consider AK in lieu of an Epcot/HS resort because of the animals and great pools…
I stayed at RIV, NOT a fan…lobby small, pool small and August has to potential for lots of evening downpours, making the Skyliner useless.

I generally prefer that, too. the "problem" is that since we are finishing up at Riviera, I wanted the posher accommodations at the end. I'm also being a points miser so we are in a 2br standard at BLT...

 

[pineapplepalms]

it's not too hard to move. (also our kids are big enough they don't even notice or care)

I know in reality this isn’t that many years away for us, but right now we’re definitely still in that stage of life where the 3yo is creating messes all over the place while we’re trying to pack up the room. Our oldest is 7yo and super easy and helpful in comparison. Our youngest is also one of those kids that likes to go around putting things in random corners and drawers and we have to check every single one before we check out. So yeah… split stays are kind of exhausting for us but we still do them sometimes because it is nice to move closer to different parks.

I do feel like there is something special about walking in to your room and seeing iconic Disney World (Space Mountain, Cinderella Castle) out the window.

For sure! We stayed in a TPV 2BR at BLT a couple years back over July 4th and it was so, so good. We left the park around 9pm and still made it back to our room in time for the fireworks from our balcony.

 

[kboo]

I know in reality this isn’t that many years away for us, but right now we’re definitely still in that stage of life where the 3yo is creating messes all over the place while we’re trying to pack up the room.

I have definitely been there! We would put the kids to bed early the night before move day, do laundry and pack while they were sleeping. Early AM, check out, drop luggage, go to a park. It's even easier now that the kids pack their own stuff and carry their own bags!