We're With the Band: When/How Should I Book a 3 Bedroom Villa for 3 Generations?

[Nancyg56]

I would find out what the deal breakers are for you family members. WE booked a 2 bdrm villa at OKW and it was a good arrangement for our family. If the boys stay with the band, and I bet you a buck they will need to and want to, the 2 bdrm can work if two of you are willing to use the sofa bed in the great room. Even if not, the boys could stay in the queen room with you, and the grands figure who gets the kind room and who gets the sofabed room.

 

[Little E]

@Nancyg56 that's good advice, and I probably need to ask more questions about other aspects of the trip, for sure. Already, I know the dealbreaker for both sets of grandparents is that they want their own rooms/space. No one (besides my boys) would be willing to sleep in the family room on a sofa bed. Everyone wants their own room/space/bathroom.

What we might be able to make work is getting a 2 bedroom villa plus a regular hotel room in the same resort. That way, can use the villa as "home base" and everyone still has their own room/bathroom.

Thanks so much for helping me think things through!

 

[Nancyg56]

@Nancyg56 that's good advice, and I probably need to ask more questions about other aspects of the trip, for sure. Already, I know the dealbreaker for both sets of grandparents is that they want their own rooms/space. No one (besides my boys) would be willing to sleep in the family room on a sofa bed. Everyone wants their own room/space/bathroom.

What we might be able to make work is getting a 2 bedroom villa plus a regular hotel room in the same resort. That way, can use the villa as "home base" and everyone still has their own room/bathroom.

Thanks so much for helping me think things through!

That would be a good idea. I will say that for us, the sofa bed area was fine, and there was plenty of place to isolate personal belongings so no one needed to keep anything in the common room.
I would look into the additional studio though, and that way you could all be together but separate. WE do this when my oldest and his wife join us. The rest of us travel together and share space well. Not Donny! LOL!!! He and his spouse get their own room on whatever level we are staying so we all have the same amenities, but they can escape us and we can escape them!LOL

 

[Little E]

@Nancyg56 I'm totally cracking up! It's ALL about the escape, isn't it??

I don't even know if we need a studio, per se, in addition to a 2 bedroom. I'm wondering if a two bedroom villa plus a regular resort room would meet our needs? Then, whoever is in the room, can just come and hang out with us in the villa? When we had the 2 bedroom villa when my folks went with us in 2014, we ordered from WeGoShop and had breakfast and snacks in our villa and then ate out in parks/other resorts for the rest of the time. I'm thinking we'll do this again, and whoever is in the regular room could come and eat breakfast with us in the villa?

Disfriends, what am I not thinking about if this is "plan B" for us? I want to make sure my logic is sound.

Thank you!

 

[sponica]

@Nancyg56 I'm totally cracking up! It's ALL about the escape, isn't it??

I don't even know if we need a studio, per se, in addition to a 2 bedroom. I'm wondering if a two bedroom villa plus a regular resort room would meet our needs? Then, whoever is in the room, can just come and hang out with us in the villa? When we had the 2 bedroom villa when my folks went with us in 2014, we ordered from WeGoShop and had breakfast and snacks in our villa and then ate out in parks/other resorts for the rest of the time. I'm thinking we'll do this again, and whoever is in the regular room could come and eat breakfast with us in the villa?

Disfriends, what am I not thinking about if this is "plan B" for us? I want to make sure my logic is sound.

Thank you!

The only thing I'm thinking is you'd want everyone's names on the 2 BR so that everyone could get magicbands tied to that room, unless the people sleeping in a regular room would be only there when the 2 BR occupants are there. Or bringing old MBs down to act as extra room keys.

 

[BLLB]

Not a band trip, but my DH coaches a basketball team (Varsity and JV total group of 27, far less than a marching band). The team stayed onsite at POP. I really can’t imagine the logistics of people staying on and offsite. But you say it has been done before , so obviously it works!

 

[Little E]

@sponica I never even thought about magic bands and the need to get in our villa. I was thinking of the villa being "home base" for breakfast and times when we're all at the resort? Do "old" magic bands work for entrance into a current resort room?

@BLLB I don't know how the logistics work. We have never been part of the Disney band trip before, so this all new territory for me. I just know that other families have stayed on property while the band has stayed off property before. I'll definitely have to chat with the band director.

 

[sponica]

@sponica I never even thought about magic bands and the need to get in our villa. I was thinking of the villa being "home base" for breakfast and times when we're all at the resort? Do "old" magic bands work for entrance into a current resort room?

@BLLB I don't know how the logistics work. We have never been part of the Disney band trip before, so this all new territory for me. I just know that other families have stayed on property while the band has stayed off property before. I'll definitely have to chat with the band director.

Yeah any magic band tied to you in MDE will work as a room key in whatever room you are in.

 

[Searc]

Hi all! I'm not sure what the rules are regarding our DSs and the band. Historically, the band stays off property and has charter busses that transport the kids from the midwest, where we live, to WDW and then transport kids to the parks. My DH, folks, and in laws and I are NOT interested in that. You make a good point...I guess I'll have a chat with the band director regarding the rules. I know that other families have stayed on property in the past, even though the band stays off site. I assumed the boys would be able to stay with us and just meet up with the band and their friends as needed throughout the week. While I'm sure they will want to be with their friends, I also know how much they like staying on WDW property.

I know that villas for cash bookings are going to be crazy expensive. While I don't like it, this is truly a unique, once-in-a-lifetime trip. Most likely the only trip for my in-laws. The only time both boys will be in band together AND at Disney, my oldest's senior year, and potentially my folks' last trip to WDW (both sets of parents are in great shape, but all are currently in their late 70's). So, it sort of feels like the right time to splurge. Especially knowing we'll split the costs.

I'm still trying to figure out which scenario will suit us best, and I'm starting to see from everyone's info above that the worst case scenario may have us in three rooms instead of a villa. That will be OK, as long as we can be at the same resort. We don't even need connecting rooms. Any way we cut it, we'll be at Disney. I just really wanted some advice regarding securing a villa(s) for cash booking at potentially very busy times during the year.

Does anyone have experience with having their kids play in a school marching band at WDW? If so, where do they play, exactly?

Your children will be required to stay with the band. They won't be allowed to stay with parents.

 

[Searc]

Yeah any magic band tied to you in MDE will work as a room key in whatever room you are in.

Old Magicbands will only work for guests registered to that room.

 

[MainMom]

My parents stayed in a 2 bedroom villa with my sisters family and my family was in a studio down the hall. I thought I would be over there making breakfast, but honestly it was a pain so I stopped doing it and just had breakfast in my room. We are early risers and rope drop people so that probably played into it. If you’re going to take your time in the morning it may work out better. Just my experience.

Also, if you’re in a villa and they are in a regular room, at some resorts these are quite far apart.

 

[Allison]

Any band trip through our school requires the students stay with the band. It doesn't matter where the family is staying. The students also tour the parks with their fellow band members and are assigned a chaperone.

 

[Little E]

@MainMom that's helpful information. I didn't think about the distance between villas and regular rooms.

@Allison it sounds like I definitely need to have a chat with the band director. I'm thinking maybe we count our boys out of our accommodation equation? Where do marching bands play, exactly, at WDW?

Thanks so much!

 

[bigbabyblues]

They march in a parade down Main Street. From a TR I read on another board last year, the kids were almost always required to be with the band/their group/chaperone. They have some park time but a lot of time tied up with the band also. They arrive at the parks late. Most of the time, they don't get their park tickets until right before the trip or sometimes after they arrive.

 

[mom-2greatkids]

DD marched with the band at WDW a couple years ago. The band marched down Main Street and I have an awesome picture of the band with the castle lit in icicle lights.

In terms of logistics, they stayed at ASMu and were put into groups with a chaperone. I think they ended up having about 2.5 park days, but had to stay within their groups. Initially we were going to go to WDW and watch them perform, but in the end we decided not to go along. Unless we were chaperones we would never have seen DD.

Hope this helps!

 

[Best Aunt]

I don't even know if we need a studio, per se, in addition to a 2 bedroom. I'm wondering if a two bedroom villa plus a regular resort room would meet our needs!

Not sure what you mean about not needing a studio. If the occupants are a couple who will share a bed, and a studio costs the same as a regular room, consider the studio. As someone mentioned, it would be closer to the 2 bedroom. I like the couch and kitchenette of a studio.

 

[Nancyg56]

@MainMom that's helpful information. I didn't think about the distance between villas and regular rooms.

@Allison it sounds like I definitely need to have a chat with the band director. I'm thinking maybe we count our boys out of our accommodation equation? Where do marching bands play, exactly, at WDW?

Thanks so much!

I do not own DVC so some of the terms baffle me still, however please remember that OKW has all DVC units. It is not a "regular" resort with DVC villas added on. I have no idea if there even is a difference between regular room and studio, so when booking a room there for one couple, book the least expensive category, whatever it is called.

Also please consider that this is a huge sprawling resort and there is no guarantee that your 2 bdrm villa will even be in the same area as the "regular" room, so bouncing back and forth thte home base may be a logistical nightmare.

When I booked OKW it was on a FD promo, and for my crew the savings added up to more than $4300. I knew all the compromises we would need to make and felt that we could buy a lot of uber and Lyft transportaion for that money, and we did. But we were all in the same villa, so coordinating was easy. Please, when you make your decision, be sure you are prepared for the logistical challenges you may experience because this resort is a Member centric resort. I was chatting with a member about the CS challenges and he was pretty honest about why it is what it is. They want it that way and members do not want to pay for what they have no need of. They use the resort as home.

We made adjustments in how we generally roll, but my DH, the man who always says he would be happy in a "Motel 6 and eating a salami sandwich" whined all week. He loved the space and he loved all of us in the same space, but he really is a Princess who wants Deluxe on themonioraul line so he can stroll to the CS for a hot meal, hop on convenient transportation and be at a park, head back for a nap, stopping for snacks along the way, and head back out as easily as pie. He thought the savings were worth it when my DD and I forced him to watch youtube videos of al the 2 bdrm villas available, and then compare costs, but he was not really prepared for the reality.

Make sure you all are on the same page in terms of sharing the space and the compromises you may need to make in order to stay at this gorgeous resort. You may find that your group would prefer to book moderates and have less of the comforts of home and more of the resort amenities.

 

[Hopefully]

@Nancyg56 I'm totally cracking up! It's ALL about the escape, isn't it??

I don't even know if we need a studio, per se, in addition to a 2 bedroom. I'm wondering if a two bedroom villa plus a regular resort room would meet our needs? Then, whoever is in the room, can just come and hang out with us in the villa? When we had the 2 bedroom villa when my folks went with us in 2014, we ordered from WeGoShop and had breakfast and snacks in our villa and then ate out in parks/other resorts for the rest of the time. I'm thinking we'll do this again, and whoever is in the regular room could come and eat breakfast with us in the villa?

Disfriends, what am I not thinking about if this is "plan B" for us? I want to make sure my logic is sound.

Thank you!

@Nancyg56 touched on some of the issues
I am a DVC owner. Very few DVC resorts have convenient "Just hotel rooms" close to 2 bedroom Villas Most are in different buildings. AKL Jambo and CCV at WL are an exception.
I believe you want a 2 BR and a studio. Then note "Traveling with" on each reservations so they will at least be near each other = no guarantee of that.

 

[Little E]

@Hopefully and everyone else, thanks so much for the info. We stayed in a 2 bedroom at OKW with my folks in 2014 and loved the villa experience there. We did not love how large the resort is, and we did not love the CS options, so I don't think we'd stay there again. I think we'd like to explore a new-to-us resort. I was thinking of resorts specifically that have both regular rooms as well as villas, but I understand I probably won't have a ton of options. A studio and a 2 bedroom also sounds very workable. I just thought it might be a little cheaper to do a 2 bedroom villa and a regular room, although I did not consider how far apart regular rooms might be from the villas. You all have helped me think a lot of things through...thank you so much! This is what I love about the Disboards!!

I'm also coming to terms with the fact the my boys might not be able to stay with us. I'll just have to see what unfolds with the parameters of the band's accommodations, and we'll go from there.

Thank you, thank you! And, if you think of anything else for my sort of unique situation, by all means please share!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

A studio and a 2 bedroom also sounds very workable. I just thought it might be a little cheaper to do a 2 bedroom villa and a regular room

Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House.