Purchasing for a family of 5

[karalecia26]

We are now seriously looking at purchasing a resale contract at either AKL or Poly. Both look amazing so we are just looking to find exactly what we want in points and use year and are not really in a huge hurry at the moment to put offer in (we will travel again in either summer or winter 2021 as a family). We are okay with a studio, but would also love the 1 bedroom units, which AKL have that have sleeping space for 5. If we would choose to try and stay in a 1 bedroom that we would have to bring bedding for, is it a big deal for other families that do this or is it more of a pain to do? I feel that a 2 bedroom, although would give us more space, is a little over kill for our family unless we have additional family members or friends come along. Any suggestions or help from any other families of 5 and what they do would be amazing!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If we would choose to try and stay in a 1 bedroom that we would have to bring bedding for, is it a big deal for other families that do this or is it more of a pain to do?

If you drive it's easier than if you fly.

Keep in mind that AKV is not the only 1BR with actual sleep spaces for 5. OKW, VGF, BLT and Saratoga (when it's done) also have sleep space for 5 in a 1BR. RIV does as well, but would not be a booking option with a resale contract.

If you buy for studios, it is essential to buy somewhere with a sleeps 5 studio. They're one of the hardest gets at 7 months nearly year round. A 1BR is far easier, especially if you are okay with Saratoga or OKW. Saratoga's refurb is making the 1BR native to sleep 5 - no BYOBed - and it is a lovely resort. OKW gives you ginormous 1BRs.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We own at AKL, and we find it much more flexible than Poly. Poly is beautiful, but you either can stay in a studio, or spend mega-points to stay in the 2BR bungalows. The 1BR units at AKL are really nice, and would probably meet your needs most of the time. Not only can you sleep 5 fairly comfortably (it's still a pull-out sofa and pull-out chair for 3 of the folks, but you also get the washer/dryer option - which we find very helpful. It means we can pack less when traveling!

I'm not clear what you are saying about bringing your own bedding? Sheets, pillows, and blankets are available for the sleeper sofa and chair in the room.

AKL points will also likely be cheaper for you to purchase. Good luck with your decision! We bought in 93 and it was a really good decision for us - so many trips and memories.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We are a family of 7 but travel with my parents which makes us a group of 9. My parents and Dh and I are both DVC (we both own at Poly, among others) The past few years we’ve stayed at Poly in 2 studios, 5 in one and 4 in the other. It can get a little cramped with 5 in a studio but it’s really not too bad. We LOVE Poly, especially for the theming and location. AKL is beautiful too and the 1 br would be nice, but it’s just so far from everything. We’d pick Poly over AK any day.

 

[karalecia26]

If you drive it's easier than if you fly.

Keep in mind that AKV is not the only 1BR with actual sleep spaces for 5. OKW, VGF, BLT and Saratoga (when it's done) also have sleep space for 5 in a 1BR. RIV does as well, but would not be a booking option with a resale contract.

If you buy for studios, it is essential to buy somewhere with a sleeps 5 studio. They're one of the hardest gets at 7 months nearly year round. A 1BR is far easier, especially if you are okay with Saratoga or OKW. Saratoga's refurb is making the 1BR native to sleep 5 - no BYOBed - and it is a lovely resort. OKW gives you ginormous 1BRs.

Most of the time we will drive. We have a long drive (1500 miles) but a lot of times is it a lot cheaper to drive than fly and my kids are great in the car and we have done it many times. I did not know that Saratoga was getting the 5th sleeping space! That opens up a whole new option for us! I was looking at that as an option but didn't look too much further because of only 4 in both studio and 1 bedroom! Thank you!

 

[MaoriWhoLovesDisney]

We own at AKV and BCV - and we went through this exact question before buying at AKV instead of Poly because of the 1BR.

The AKV 1BR at Kidani feels gigantic - and you get an extra bath (we've not stayed at Jambo, but I know you don't have the extra bathroom). Yes, the other bed is a pull out, but I think it is entirely possible that in a full refresh, the couch will be replaced with a Murphy bed ala SSR.

We imagined that staying at Poly with teenagers would be a no go, but that's us - when our gigantic personalities get tired, we need a bit more space than a studio provides.

I realize that AKV is far from the parks, but since we usually have a car we don't mind the distance, and room choice is definitely a plus.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We have found the location of AKV is only somewhat 'remote' if you're spending most of your days at the MK. It's really not that far from the other theme parks, or Disney Springs. If you spend a lot of time at MK, then the location of Poly is great (obviously). But for EPCOT, HS, and AK, AKL is just as convenient. Remember, it's just as far to go from Poly to AK - if that's a park you frequent.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We are now seriously looking at purchasing a resale contract at either AKL or Poly. Both look amazing so we are just looking to find exactly what we want in points and use year and are not really in a huge hurry at the moment to put offer in (we will travel again in either summer or winter 2021 as a family). We are okay with a studio, but would also love the 1 bedroom units, which AKL have that have sleeping space for 5. If we would choose to try and stay in a 1 bedroom that we would have to bring bedding for, is it a big deal for other families that do this or is it more of a pain to do? I feel that a 2 bedroom, although would give us more space, is a little over kill for our family unless we have additional family members or friends come along. Any suggestions or help from any other families of 5 and what they do would be amazing!

If you are talking about bedding for a one bedroom, I'm guessing you mean BRV, BWV and BCV since they only have beds for four in the one bedroom villas. You also need a bed as well as the sheets and blankets, though you might be able to get an extra blanket from Housekeeping. And that person is sleeping on the floor on your own airbed or cot. If your kids don't mind about that, you should be fine. If they will fight over who has to sleep on the floor instead of in sleeper sofa bed, it might be an issue for your family.

The other thing to consider is what happens when your family of three small kids becomes two adults and three teens. A one bedroom can be tight if one of the kids is on the floor. OKW, AKV-KV would be okay, I guess. BLT might not be good if you are in one of the one bedrooms villas on the inner side of the building instead of on the outer side of the building. There is a big difference between those two living rooms, like five foot of width by the window.

Unless you have a whole bunch of points or don't plan to go every year (and once to you go once a year, it soon becomes twice a year), I wouldn't plan on bringing other people on the trip unless you book them their own villa/hotel room using cash. Sometimes family/guests will burn you when it comes time to go. Or they become the cheap family who want to plan your trips for you when they can go.

 

[karalecia26]

We own at AKL, and we find it much more flexible than Poly. Poly is beautiful, but you either can stay in a studio, or spend mega-points to stay in the 2BR bungalows. The 1BR units at AKL are really nice, and would probably meet your needs most of the time. Not only can you sleep 5 fairly comfortably (it's still a pull-out sofa and pull-out chair for 3 of the folks, but you also get the washer/dryer option - which we find very helpful. It means we can pack less when traveling!

I'm not clear what you are saying about bringing your own bedding? Sheets, pillows, and blankets are available for the sleeper sofa and chair in the room.

AKL points will also likely be cheaper for you to purchase. Good luck with your decision! We bought in 93 and it was a really good decision for us - so many trips and memories.

what I meant by own bedding is the the 1 bedrooms that you have to bring a sleeping space for the 5th person. Thank you! We are excited about this!

 

[karalecia26]

We own at AKV and BCV - and we went through this exact question before buying at AKV instead of Poly because of the 1BR.

The AKV 1BR at Kidani feels gigantic - and you get an extra bath (we've not stayed at Jambo, but I know you don't have the extra bathroom). Yes, the other bed is a pull out, but I think it is entirely possible that in a full refresh, the couch will be replaced with a Murphy bed ala SSR.

We imagined that staying at Poly with teenagers would be a no go, but that's us - when our gigantic personalities get tired, we need a bit more space than a studio provides.

I realize that AKV is far from the parks, but since we usually have a car we don't mind the distance, and room choice is definitely a plus.

I stayed at AKL in Jambo house before with busses and we didn't have issues with the distance. Most of time we will have our own car but DH hates driving anywhere on property, so we will stick with busses. We did a tour of the DVC units in Kidani and loved all the space

 

[karalecia26]

We have found the location of AKV is only somewhat 'remote' if you're spending most of your days at the MK. It's really not that far from the other theme parks, or Disney Springs. If you spend a lot of time at MK, then the location of Poly is great (obviously). But for EPCOT, HS, and AK, AKL is just as convenient. Remember, it's just as far to go from Poly to AK - if that's a park you frequent.

We are a family that loves all the parks so we really don’t have a specific one we go to all the time. My DS does like to hop over to MK every day though to get his pack of cards from the firehouse and do a portal. We are looking to spend more time at the resorts now also so that is a draw for AKL for us so the “remoteness” of it is kind of an appeal!

 

[karalecia26]

If you are talking about bedding for a one bedroom, I'm guessing you mean BRV, BWV and BCV since they only have beds for four in the one bedroom villas. You also need a bed as well as the sheets and blankets, though you might be able to get an extra blanket from Housekeeping. And that person is sleeping on the floor on your own airbed or cot. If your kids don't mind about that, you should be fine. If they will fight over who has to sleep on the floor instead of in sleeper sofa bed, it might be an issue for your family.

The other thing to consider is what happens when your family of three small kids becomes two adults and three teens. A one bedroom can be tight if one of the kids is on the floor. OKW, AKV-KV would be okay, I guess. BLT might not be good if you are in one of the one bedrooms villas on the inner side of the building instead of on the outer side of the building. There is a big difference between those two living rooms, like five foot of width by the window.

Unless you have a whole bunch of points or don't plan to go every year (and once to you go once a year, it soon becomes twice a year), I wouldn't plan on bringing other people on the trip unless you book them their own villa/hotel room using cash. Sometimes family/guests will burn you when it comes time to go. Or they become the cheap family who want to plan your trips for you when they can go.

Our family is already a family of 2 teens and a ten year old and we are used to tighter quarters and the kids are pretty good at sharing space. My 13 year old DS I swear has no bones as he sleeps folded in half a lot!
We don’t plan on bringing people a lot, but we have that in the back of our mind for every once in a while. We did an extended family trip a couple years ago and I about went nuts with my younger sister and her kids who were always “bored” (How can you be bored at Disney World!)

 

[rg35]

We bought resale at AKV in 2012. Family of five - me, wife, triplets. They are 11 years old now. We bought AKV specifically because we wanted to stay in 1BR units with 5 people. We have also stayed at Old Key West on about half our stays, because we really enjoy that resort.

AKV 1BRs are nice because there is an extra bathroom, even though the rooms at Old Key west are larger overall.

I do have to say though that we skipped 2018 so we had enough points last year to stay for almost 2 weeks in a 2BR. The kids having their own bedroom to sleep in was a lot more enjoyable than having them sleep in the living room. I'm an early riser, so it was a real boon to have somewhere to go instead of being stuck in bed trying not to disturb my wife. On park days this doesn't really matter, but we had a bunch of non-park mornings last year, and the 2BR worked out really well.

AKV is very close to AK, DHS and Epcot. About 10 minutes by car. It's farthest from MK, but really an insignificant amount of extra travel time. We personally think that being on a monorail resort is overrated so buying one of those resorts never really was a consideration for us.

 

[karalecia26]

Thank you all for your awesome help! We still have some research to do but we are so excited to be able to do this! I wish we had looked into the sooner! We love all the Disney resorts and DS wants to be an electrical engineer and work for Disney someday so I think we are hooked!

 

[clayfolks]

We own at AKV, Poly, and RIV. I have to agree with rg35. Being on the monorail loop is grossly overrated. The trade off of lousy transportation for AK, HS, and DS is not worth it to me. The extra bathroom in the one and two bedroom villas at Kidani make all the difference in the world when it comes to maxing out occupancy. Also, the points go much further at AKV.

 

[limace]

Ply if you’re comfortable with Lyft or Uber you can get anywhere on property pretty cheaply.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We own at AKV, Poly, and RIV. I have to agree with rg35. Being on the monorail loop is grossly overrated. The trade off of lousy transportation for AK, HS, and DS is not worth it to me. The extra bathroom in the one and two bedroom villas at Kidani make all the difference in the world when it comes to maxing out occupancy. Also, the points go much further at AKV.

OKW is about the most centrally located DVC resort to all the theme parks and Disney Springs.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

OKW is about the most centrally located DVC resort to all the theme parks and Disney Springs.

And the option to take the boat to DS is a huge plus - much better than driving or taking the bus!