Help me choose!

hakunamomtata

Disnerd Extraordinaire
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Next fall we will be traveling to WDW with my parents for their first trip!

Our party will be : My husband, myself, our 2 sons, my mom and my dad. (4 adults, 2 kids)

We are planning to rent DVC points... and have narrowed it down to the following resorts. The cost of these has already been weighed and they all basically balance out.

* I know we are doing a 2BR Villa for sanity's sake *

Animal Kingdom Lodge, standard room
Boardwalk, standard
Old Key West, standard
Saratoga Springs, standard


We are renting points through Davids Vacation Rentals, so any comments regarding experience with them or the like are really appreciated! Also any tips, comments, etc about renting DVC points are welcome. Thanks a bunch!
 
One comment.
You are pricing and counting on Standard. - the cheapest option. It is very likely they will not be available to rent. Since the require fewer points, owners scoop them up and they never hit the rental market. There is also way fewer of them to begin with. You may find it at OKW or SSR but highly unlikely at BW or AK.
You are looking at DVCs busiest time of the year “ Fall Frenzy” If you are thinking of next Fall you should book soon
 
Is there a reason u are going sith a villa? Are you planning a lot of time in the room?

If not, have u considered 2 rooms at a value or moderate resort instead?
 
Next fall we will be traveling to WDW with my parents for their first trip!

Our party will be : My husband, myself, our 2 sons, my mom and my dad. (4 adults, 2 kids)

We are planning to rent DVC points... and have narrowed it down to the following resorts. The cost of these has already been weighed and they all basically balance out.

* I know we are doing a 2BR Villa for sanity's sake *

Animal Kingdom Lodge, standard room
Boardwalk, standard
Old Key West, standard
Saratoga Springs, standard


We are renting points through Davids Vacation Rentals, so any comments regarding experience with them or the like are really appreciated! Also any tips, comments, etc about renting DVC points are welcome. Thanks a bunch!
It appears like you are seeking the "cheapest" villas. All BWV 2BR villas are composed of a studio + 1BR. Studios go very quickly and standard studios are extremely hard to get, which means that at BWV, 2BR villas also disappear. I would either scratch BWV off the list or budget for a Pool/Garden View villa.

OKW and SSR are the most likely to result in a successful rental. There are more owners and the resorts have more villas. Of the two, I would choose OKW because it is just finishing a renovation. The 2BRs are also larger that other resorts and they have full-size washers and dryers. The 2nd bedroom has two Q beds instead of 1 Q and a sleeper sofa. SSR will be beginning renovations in the spring of 2019. You are likely to get a villa that appears to need some TLC rather than a freshly redone unit.

As for AKV, a standard view 2BR at Kidani will have 3 bathrooms. That's a nice plus. The 2BR villas in Jambo House do not have a 3rd bathroom. Also, make sure that you are looking at the price for Std. and not Value villas. The Value category is hard to book, all Value 2BRs consist of a studio + 1BR (so, the same availability issue as BWV) and are smaller than other AKV 2BR villas. But the resort has recently had the pool area at Jambo House redone and there are a lot of activities for the kids.

DVC owners have been discussing how it appears that a lot of owners are "walking" fall reservations in order to get what they want next fall. Brokers won't take those steps to acquire a villa for a rental. Regardless of what resort you choose, you should jump on it soon. Owners are currently able to book stays that begin on Oct. 9, 2019. If you're looking at a fall stay that starts before that date, you're already behind the curve.
 


As was mentioned, don't assume you will get the room you want. Have a backup plan. In 2016 we rented points for a BWV studio room 11 months out and got it through another points broker. That one offered cancellation insurance which was not the best but the overall experience was perfect.
 
Boardwalk is the clear winner for me. But to get a standard view, and the lower rate, you better request soon!
 
I would recommend, in order:

Boardwalk - standard view
Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House - standard view (guaranteed pool view)
Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani - standard view
Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House - value view (smaller villa, fewer points, could be any view)
Old Key West - no difference in "views". No elevators in most buildings.
Saratoga Springs - standard view - probably my least favorite resort but the easiest to get into.

If you're looking at Fall 2019 and you want one of the cheaper standard or value views you will want to find a DVC owner with points at your preferred resort NOW. BWV standard view and AKV value view are already sold out for the last week of October.
 


I would recommend, in order:

Boardwalk - standard view
Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House - standard view (guaranteed pool view)
Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani - standard view
Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House - value view (smaller villa, fewer points, could be any view)
Old Key West - no difference in "views". No elevators in most buildings.
Saratoga Springs - standard view - probably my least favorite resort but the easiest to get into.

If you're looking at Fall 2019 and you want one of the cheaper standard or value views you will want to find a DVC owner with points at your preferred resort NOW. BWV standard view and AKV value view are already sold out for the last week of October.

Given that we are only in the first full week of Nov., and that owners can only book their first night 11 months in advance to the day, and that they can only book 7 nights at a time right at 11 months, there is no way that the last week of October 2019 is booked up at any DVC resort yet. At best, the latest week that could possibly be booked up would be October 9-16, 2019.

Are you sure that you didn't mean the last week of September?
 
Given that we are only in the first full week of Nov., and that owners can only book their first night 11 months in advance to the day, and that they can only book 7 nights at a time right at 11 months, there is no way that the last week of October 2019 is booked up at any DVC resort yet. At best, the latest week that could possibly be booked up would be October 9-16, 2019.

Are you sure that you didn't mean the last week of September?
Whoops. Yes, I meant September into October.
 
What about a Treehouse Villa? It has 3 full bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is really unique...not sure if they are a lot more expensive than a standard SSR 2 bedroom.
 
What are your priorities for the trip / will you focus on any park(s) in particular? Assuming availability, I’d pick Boardwalk... but a fall trip for us would likely be centered around the Epcot Food & Wine Festival & the ability to walk into World Showcase would be key. There are pros and cons to each resort.
 
just a note... we actually booked a 2-bedroom at OKW through Disney back in the spring. Then, when discounts were released in the fall, I called and got one applied to our reservation... we're paying $4200 for the week but to rent points would have cost us $4500. And all we had to do was pay upfront was 1 night, not the whole thing like renting, and we get daily housekeeping (essential, in my mind, when you have 8 people in one space). Of course, there's always a chance that discounts aren't released, or are not available, but I had done my research and was pretty confident I'd be able to snag one. It wouldn't have worked to our advantage if we'd stayed in any other resort, as even with discounts, the price through Disney is still pretty high.
 
Next fall we will be traveling to WDW with my parents for their first trip!

Our party will be : My husband, myself, our 2 sons, my mom and my dad. (4 adults, 2 kids)

We are planning to rent DVC points... and have narrowed it down to the following resorts. The cost of these has already been weighed and they all basically balance out.

* I know we are doing a 2BR Villa for sanity's sake *

Animal Kingdom Lodge, standard room
Boardwalk, standard
Old Key West, standard
Saratoga Springs, standard


We are renting points through Davids Vacation Rentals, so any comments regarding experience with them or the like are really appreciated! Also any tips, comments, etc about renting DVC points are welcome. Thanks a bunch!

I loved Boardwalk
 
If you're going to spend a lot of time at EPCOT / HS then I'd say Boardwalk, hands down. We loved the convenience of our stay there. If the kids are younger and you're planning more time at AKL and MK it's still good (monorail access through EPCOT) but personally I liked Kidani @ AKL - It has a great pool and was quieter for us. We are taking our 7 year old in May and just booked a 1BR at Kidani - we're excited to go back!
 
If the kids are younger and you're planning more time at AKL and MK it's still good (monorail access through EPCOT)
Honestly, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You're walking an extra mile you don't need to (not as if this would be your only physical activity all week :D) to get to transportation to get you to the TTC, then transfer to the MK monorail.
 
If your parents are like me and my wife, they would probably prefer OKW. Bigger rooms, boat to Springs and way more of a laid back feel. We actually love the bus service here as all you have to do to get to the Hospitality House is hop any bus as they all stop there eventually before leaving the grounds. Plus, all the rooms will be updated by the time you leave for your trip.
 
Honestly, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You're walking an extra mile you don't need to (not as if this would be your only physical activity all week :D) to get to transportation to get you to the TTC, then transfer to the MK monorail.

Honestly, we get a rental car and drive for every trip, but once or twice we meandered through EPCOT and then decided we wanted to go to MK and hopped the monorail, so it was convenient (and my daughter was obsessed with the monorail on our last trip). If i was relying on Disney Transportation I'd prefer that plus the convenience to EPCOT/HS than relying on buses for all 4 parks (that said, the couple times we took buses from Boardwalk, it was a nightmare so my experience may be skewed!!) We're pretty relaxed park goers, so that played a role for us too.
 
Honestly, we get a rental car and drive for every trip, but once or twice we meandered through EPCOT and then decided we wanted to go to MK and hopped the monorail, so it was convenient (and my daughter was obsessed with the monorail on our last trip).
But this is very different from one's destination being Magic Kingdom.

any individual can, of course, choose their own routing. It's simply my opinion that advising someone else to walk a mile, board a monorail, exit that, board another monorail, and exit at the destination is more circuitous and time-consuming than simply boarding one bus directly from Point B to Point M.
 
But this is very different from one's destination being Magic Kingdom.

any individual can, of course, choose their own routing. It's simply my opinion that advising someone else to walk a mile, board a monorail, exit that, board another monorail, and exit at the destination is more circuitous and time-consuming than simply boarding one bus directly from Point B to Point M.

That's fair, I wasn't telling you that you were incorrect, just mentioning that for us, BW was still good for making it to MK. We found it to be convenient when we wanted to go to MK, other's opinions may vary. She hadn't asked specifically about MK, so I just mentioned that for us, it was something that was good to have as an option to get to MK. Certainly wasn't my intention to mislead or indicate that it was the most direct route. :confused3
 
We have rented at Kidani and Boardwalk and both are stunning. Renting standard at Boardwalk is the most popular/in-demand location and those rooms go quick. We have always requested 11 months out to get it so keep that in mind. Beach Club is another option to consider. - it's what we chose for next November. Epcot and HS are within walking distance of Boardwalk and BC and Sarasota Springs is right next to the Springs. OKW has bigger rooms and it's really pretty... so you have a lot to consider. Think of your group and call the rental agent - they have been so helpful to us and they will give you a lot of info based on your needs and availability.
 

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