Which villa?

[kvand423]

Planning a vacation for 6 adults in August 2015, not a DVC member but we want to stay in one of the villas, 2 bedroom villa, must have 2 bathrooms! We have stayed at Bay Lake Tower, a one bedroom studio, and loved it! But now we need one with a bigger space! We are very interested in the villas that are closer to the parks but would appreciate any input about any of them! Thank you!

 

[Msmithmd]

Biggest rooms and less expensive: OKW.
Fanciest and most expensive: VGF.

And so on and so forth. You need to figure out which property you wish to stay at, by reviewing the huge wealth of information available about them online. Every single property will have its' fans within this DVC board. You'd be better selecting for yourself which one suits your style and preferred location.

Other thoughts- are the six adults okay with sharing bathrooms? Are they okay sharing a bedroom, or with two of them sleeping on a couch, or both?

Bottom line; if it is two parents plus four adult siblings, it should work fine. If it is less than that type of relationship, I think a two bedroom DVC villa could prove uncomfortable for six adults. For sure would be better than any non-DVC on property accommodation, but for this traveling party, I personally would consider a 2BR plus a studio, or potentially a 3BR.

 

[kvand423]

We are stuck between villas at wilderness lodge or bay lake tower,, we are a family of 6, we have stayed at bay lake and loved it! Any info on wilderness lodge villas? How about Saratoga villas?

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Doh, nevermind

 

[magicaldisney]

BLT will offer you an extra bathroom and the sleeper chair for extra sleeping.

VWL has the lowest number of villas between the three resorts you are thinking of. You should be prepared to book at 11 months out for this resort. There is boat service to MK. It has a quiet pool for the villas. You share the main themed pool with the main lodge. Dining and shopping are at the main lodge. I believe size wise, VWL has the smallest rooms.

SSR has outside entries to your villa (more of a condo feel than a hotel feel). It is a bigger resort with a number of bus stops. It has very nice pool areas. Some rooms have a view of DTD, which is beautiful at night. It is walking distance (or a boat ride) to DTD.

 

[DenLo]

BLT and AKV Kidani are the only resorts that have 3 bathrooms in a two bedroom. With 6 adults I would think that might be important especially when getting ready to go to the parks in the morning or out to dinner at night. So I would say BLT might be the better villa for your group.

However, the ambience at WL is wonderful and like others have stated they are a ferry ride away from MK. And there is a separate ferry boat that travels between CR, FW and WL, so if you want to dine at a restaurant at one of those places it is easy to get there.

 

[kvand423]

Thanks guys for all the info!! Is it true you can only book villas 9 months out?

 

[DebbieB]

Thanks guys for all the info!! Is it true you can only book villas 9 months out?

Are you booking with points or through CRO? With points, owners can book their home resort at 11 months, others at 7 months. CRO is variable, it depends on when DVC releases rooms to CRO.

 

[kvand423]

Not a member of DVC,,just using the regular booking process. We were told we could not book a villa until 9 months out. Is that true?

 

[Judique]

Not a member of DVC,,just using the regular booking process. We were told we could not book a villa until 9 months out. Is that true?

Villas that become available through Central Reservations to non DVC persons such as yourself come from various sources. Unsold inventory is one source. Another is a Member who has used their points for a non DVC stay or booked a cruise.

Members get priority booking at 11 and 7 months. Some time in there CRO gets rooms. No one knows for sure.

So, I just went to the Disney.go.com site.

I tried to book a villa at Wilderness Lodge Villas for Sept 7 to Sept 13, 2015 - no go.

So I backed it up to July 30 to August 5, 2015. Studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms were all available.

So it looks to me as if once the 11 month window opens, CRO could have rooms. It mostly depends on what Members do with their points. Also DVD retains some points (small percentage) and they go to CRO.

I would check the website at 11 months out.

 

[Judique]

Planning a vacation for 6 adults in August 2015, not a DVC member but we want to stay in one of the villas, 2 bedroom villa, must have 2 bathrooms! We have stayed at Bay Lake Tower, a one bedroom studio, and loved it! But now we need one with a bigger space! We are very interested in the villas that are closer to the parks but would appreciate any input about any of them! Thank you!

BCV and BWV are nice in that they are in walking distance to Epcot and the Disney Studios.

BLT and GFV are close to Magic Kingdom and have easy transportation - boats and monorail. Poly is coming soon.

 

[kvand423]

Ok will do! We are about 11 months out now, so I will definitely check now! We have decided and we want BLT if everything works out, if not maybe VWL or something else. Our dates will be August 7-16th, 2015.

 

[Deb & Bill]

BCV and BWV are nice in that they are in walking distance to Epcot and the Disney Studios.

BLT and GFV are close to Magic Kingdom and have easy transportation - boats and monorail. Poly is coming soon.

BWV two bedroom villas are all lockoffs - combination of a studio (one queen bed, one double sleeper sofa) with a one bedroom (one king bed, one queen sleeper sofa). No sleeper chair in the living room and only two bathrooms.

BCV has dedicated two bedroom villas with two queen beds in the second bedroom, but there are only 25 of them. Very hard to get with cash. So plan on getting a two bedroom lockoff at BCV as well through Disney Reservation Center. No sleeper chair in the living room and only two bathrooms.

Planning a vacation for 6 adults in August 2015, not a DVC member but we want to stay in one of the villas, 2 bedroom villa, must have 2 bathrooms! We have stayed at Bay Lake Tower, a one bedroom studio, and loved it!

There is a difference between a one bedroom villa and a studio. One bedroom villa has a full kitchen and good sized living room with a washer and dryer. Studio only has a kitchenette and no separate bedroom. Access to the laundry room, but no washer and dryer in the villa.