Which Villa??

[greeneggs1082]

We have "evolving" plans for a trip to WDW sometime this year. Originally, we were going to stay at POR in early August. Then, it was moved to September, and now it looks like it may be later than that, possibly even in December (after the 11th, as I have finals from the 5-11). We thought that we were going to have help my mom out big time with getting the roof on her house fixed, but it looks like we won't be needing to help as much as originally thought. Sooooo, I'm now kind of wanting to stay close to Epcot in a 1 Bedroom Villa (which will definitely make DH happy, lol). My question:

What is your favorite Villa, even if it isn't close to Epcot? If you have any pictures to share, that would be great, too.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We've stayed at all the villa properties except Bay Lake. I have to say the most beautiful villa was Kidani, the largest villa was Old Key West, my least favorite villa was Saratoga Springs, and Boardwalk and Beach Club both fall somewhere in the middle. They are in good locations, close to Epcot, etc. VWL is OK too, but not very close to anything. I guess I vote Kidani.

 

[chalee94]

...now it looks like it may be later than that, possibly even in December (after the 11th, as I have finals from the 5-11)...Sooooo, I'm now kind of wanting to stay close to Epcot in a 1 Bedroom Villa (which will definitely make DH happy, lol). My question:

What is your favorite Villa, even if it isn't close to Epcot? If you have any pictures to share, that would be great, too.

november and december are extremely popular among DVC owners, so i wouldn't count on renting pts from a DVC owner for anything other than one of the larger resorts like SSR or OKW. many owners started booking at 10-11 months out, so not much else is available at this point.

disney may still have rooms available through CRO, but that is always hard to figure.

my favorite resorts are AKV (great theming but a long way from MK - BTW, jambo house has more impressive christmas decorations/kidani 1BRs have 2 bathrooms) and OKW (good central location and large rooms) but BCV and BWV are great options that are near epcot (and a longer walk from DHS.)

there's a whole forum devoted to pics and videos of the resorts:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=164

here are some great threads with disney resort christmas decorations:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1676426

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1852086

 

[MMS1125]

unless you are stuck on Villa, I think the regular room at Beach Club would be fantastic. It's my 2nd favorite resort after the Poly and with just you two and the little ones if they are going there's plenty of room.

 

[RMulieri]

november and december are extremely popular among DVC owners, so i wouldn't count on renting pts from a DVC owner for anything other than one of the larger resorts like SSR or OKW. many owners started booking at 10-11 months out, so not much else is available at this point.

disney may still have rooms available through CRO, but that is always hard to figure.

my favorite resorts are AKV (great theming but a long way from MK - BTW, jambo house has more impressive christmas decorations/kidani 1BRs have 2 bathrooms) and OKW (good central location and large rooms) but BCV and BWV are great options that are near epcot (and a longer walk from DHS.)

there's a whole forum devoted to pics and videos of the resorts:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=164

here are some great threads with disney resort christmas decorations:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1676426

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1852086

AGree with this..I have stayed at BCV many times, but had to pay cash thru CRO and that was booking 10 months out.There was nothing available for rental of points except at SSR and OKW.

 

[magicLAL12]

Just a word of caution: if you are looking to get a villa for this coming December (2012) you may be out of luck- they book surprisingly fast, especially during the holiday season!

We just returned from a week-long stay at AKL Kidani, where we had a 1-bedroom villa. It was incredible! You can see pictures/read about it in my June 2012 TR- link below.

Good luck!

 

[Pakey]

I have owned at BCV since it opened and have stayed in all DVC except BLT.

This close to December, if you are wanting to use/rent points, I'd take what you can get. My two trips this year I decided to book after the 7 month window opened so I'm paying cash to stay at GF and then BWI and banking my points because I couldn't get anything in the Epcot area or at AKV.

My favorite one bedroom villa would be Kidani-Savannah view. I love the resort, love the rooms, love the savannah and I don't even grumble too much about the long bus ride to MK.

 

[TaraPA]

I agree with the others - if you mean this december- your best bet is to see what's even available, if anything at this point, and go from there. Don't get your heart set on a villa that may be booked solid for December!

My favorite villa is Kidani, hands down.

As far as the 1BR villas go - keep in mind that only Kidani & BLT have 2 bathrooms, the rest only have 1. There are also only three 1BR villas that have the sleeper chair, if you need that - Kidani, BLT & OKW.

Good luck & let us know what you decide!

 

[Goofy24/7]

We are members of DVC and love The Boardwalk Villas. Love the nightlife and watching the fireworks from EPCOT.

We have also stayed at AKL. Nice but not a big fan.

 

[J&J]

Book now both the boardwalk or beach club you will be happy with. We have stayed at both many times. Love the firework view from the boardwalk.
You may have to go on their wait list. These are both near ecpot. I have many pictures. Also deb wills site She has pictures.

 

[spiceycat]

you can walk to Epcot from both BWV and BCV - both have very nice 1-bedrooms.

like BCV a little better because it is that much closer to Epcot. it is maybe a 5 minute walk to Epcot from BCV.

the problem with the Epcot resorts is getting back and forth to the MK - the bus can share and if it does it takes longer.

AKV is beautifully but it is long way from MK or Epcot - and it is only bus transportation.

BLT is walking to the MK and monorail to Epcot. It is my favorite - but it is not to everyone taste.

 

[PrincessAlways]

I love BLT.....being able to walk to MK, watching Wishes from the walkway!!! They are really "modern" in design.

You can't beat OKW for the space it offers!! They are the largest units. Never had a problem with buses. Like taking the boat to DTD.

SSR is nice. However, stayed there twice & had bus problems each time. Now it may have gotten better since then.

Convenience to DHS & Epcot....either BWV or BCV. Epcot is a short walk away! Stayed at BWV & liked it very much.

If you like to watch animals, Kidani is your best bet!! The units are very nice! Bus rides do seem a little longer than other resorts.

You can't go wrong with any of them!! It's which will fit what you're looking for in a villa!! Let us know what you decide!!

 

[greeneggs1082]

I appreciate all of the input from everyone. I guess I should say that whatever we do decide on, we'll go the cash route for (instead of renting points, because I have heard it is super hard to do "last minute"). We stayed in a 1 Bedroom at SSR in May of last year and then we stayed in a 1 Bedroom at BLT earlier this year (for one night only....it was a real spur of the moment thing...we were going for the day to MK and DH said he wanted to stay overnight, lol). We really loved both places. I liked the monorail access at BLT, but the quietness of SSR was wonderful also.

Oh, and postponing the trip to December is apparently a "last resort" (as DH told me last night). I really wish men wouldn't be so wishy-washy sometimes, lol. So, we are really hoping to be able to go in early September. Does that change possible availability?

 

[Lynne M]

I appreciate all of the input from everyone. I guess I should say that whatever we do decide on, we'll go the cash route for (instead of renting points, because I have heard it is super hard to do "last minute"). We stayed in a 1 Bedroom at SSR in May of last year and then we stayed in a 1 Bedroom at BLT earlier this year (for one night only....it was a real spur of the moment thing...we were going for the day to MK and DH said he wanted to stay overnight, lol). We really loved both places. I liked the monorail access at BLT, but the quietness of SSR was wonderful also.

Oh, and postponing the trip to December is apparently a "last resort" (as DH told me last night). I really wish men wouldn't be so wishy-washy sometimes, lol. So, we are really hoping to be able to go in early September. Does that change possible availability?

Possibly. Cash inventory is different from DVC member inventory. It's the part of the DVC resort inventory that Disney owns, plus villas that are being used to pay for member exchanges. I wouldn't expect that to be impacted too much by DVC member busy seasons.

The third way that member inventory gets to be available for cash reservations *might* make it easier to find availability in September than December. Villas that have not been booked by members by 60 days out from the check-in date become available for cash reservations. That's called 'breakage inventory'. I wouldn't expect to see a lot of that for December reservations, just because Dec. is so wildly popular with members that there are waitlists a mile long.

September is not quite so busy, so you might see some unbooked villas in the cash inventory in July.

I'd make a decision quickly, both on your dates and resort.

 

[spiceycat]

Oh, and postponing the trip to December is apparently a "last resort" (as DH told me last night). I really wish men wouldn't be so wishy-washy sometimes, lol. So, we are really hoping to be able to go in early September. Does that change possible availability?

if should - Sept unless their kids are out of school is not a busy time for most DVCers - it is hot and DVC resorts on points does not get the free dinning - which is generally offered in Sept.

it is probably the least crowded time of the year.

you might just appreciate all the pools you have access to at BCV - plus walking to EPcot.

really think if you liked SSR - you might just love OKW - it is alot like POR - well really like CBR. It has some of the same things - a lovely landscape, boat to DD (bus too as well as you can walk), nice restuarant, the bar is small but nice. It also has some stuff that POR does not. a gym, small but has just about everything. a community hall with activites. both have boat and bike rental.

 

[greeneggs1082]

I'd make a decision quickly, both on your dates and resort.

Unfortunately, we can't make final decisions right now, as we don't have the money available yet. We are helping my mom get a new roof on her house, and don't know yet how much that is going to be. Also, we have to wait for our tax refund (I sent it out late, because there were some "issues" and I just didn't get around to it, since there is no penalty for sending it late if you are owed a refund.). Once that comes in and the roof thing is taken care of, we'll be able to make more solid plans. I'm just one of those people who likes to make spreadsheets, and make them way early, comparing the prices for different resorts. I really really wish Disney would release the AP discounts for the remainder of the year, so I could get a better picture of what it is going to cost!

 

[mariamouse]

We are staying DVC for the first time this January (BCV), so cannot really provide advice regarding which villas are best-- just wanted to say, though, that if you do end up having to postpone until December, you should absolutely try to book into the villas at the Wilderness Lodge. The resort theme and decorations are so well suited to that time of year. The runner-up if the WL is not available during that month (highly likely) would be AKL since its decorations are also quite impressive.

If you do end up being able to get to WDW in September, I would opt for whichever resort theme/location looks most appealing to you. Given that you are interested in being close to Epcot, it sounds like either the BCV or BWV would be a good choice (depending on whichever resort theme you prefer.. the villas are apparently quite similar).

Good luck with your decision (and finding availability)!