Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Whether you are a long time owner, considering a purchase, or just looking to rent points, choosing to stay at a Disney Vacation Club Resort is a great choice especially when traveling with young children. Here are six reasons why.
#1 – Space
Staying at a Disney Vacation Club Resort gives you the option to stay in a one bedroom, two bedroom, or even a grand villa. If you are traveling with a little one who needs quiet to nap, having a separate room you can keep dark to put your child to sleep can be priceless, providing you with a separate area to hang out and relax without disturbing the little one. Even if staying in a one bedroom or larger does not fit your family’s budget, staying in a villa studio over a standard hotel room can provide better use of space when traveling with an infant as there is a table and eating area as well as a fold out couch instead of second bed. As a family with only two adults and a young child, this works well for us as it affords us some extra floor space for our child to play and move around. When our child was an infant, we found the extra space useful for spreading out a blanket to allow our little guy some floor space to have tummy time and play.
Kitchen in DVC Villa at the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
#2 – Access to Kitchen or Kitchenette
Another advantage of staying in a Disney Villa is the available amenities in the room. All Disney Vacation Club villas have either a kitchenette (in studios) or a full kitchen. This can be a huge convenience with young children as it allows you to make meals for a young child who may not be ready for all table foods and to more easily prepare and clean bottles. For a young child who is a picky eater, this can also be a great convenience as it affords you to store and cook foods that you know your child will eat as opposed to having to order meals.
When we travel to Disney, we either opt to get groceries delivered from a delivery service like Garden Grocer or we rent a car and make a trip out to a nearby grocery store. There are also many taxi services that will allow you one stop on your way from the airport to your Disney resort so you can stop and pick up some groceries this way as well. And although perhaps not always as cost effective, you can also try ordering a shipment of grocery items from Amazon Prime Pantry or Amazon Prime Now.
The view from the bridge to Disney’s Bay Lake Tower
#3 -Location
Disney Vacation Villas are all considered in the deluxe category of resorts at Walt Disney World and along with this comes certain conveniences. One such convenience is the location of resorts. The DVC villas located at the monorail resorts (Disney’s Polynesian Village, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, or Bay Lake Tower) give you quick access to the Magic Kingdom. This is awesome when traveling with young children because Magic Kingdom is one of the parks with the most for young children to do. As an added plus, because you can take the monorail from all three resorts, you do not have to fold and unfold your stroller. You can even walk directly to the gate from Bay Lake Tower. If you stay at Disney’s Boardwalk Villas or Disney’s Beach Club Villas, both Epcot resorts, you have easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. You can either walk to both parks or choose to take a boat, neither of which would require you to fold your stroller.
Saratoga Springs and Old Key West Resort are both in close proximity to Disney Springs (you can walk from Saratoga Springs or take a boat from either). Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, although not walkable to any Disney park, are a short bus ride to Animal Kingdom Park.
#4 -Best Bang For Your Buck
Although staying at a Disney Vacation Club resort can be more expensive than staying at a value or moderate, the option to stay in a Disney Villa can end up being the best bang for your buck. Of course, if you are a regular visitor to Disney World and a DVC owner, there are definite cost benefits over time (especially if you bought through the resale market.) However, if you are not an owner, you can save money by renting points from a DVC point rental service, such as David’s Disney Vacation Club Rentals, or directly from a DVC member which is much more affordable than booking direct through Disney. If you stay in a DVC studio, what you pay to rent points can be close to the same cost as staying at a moderate resort. This means you can have all the benefits of a deluxe resort for a moderate price. Plus, with the added feature of a kitchenette or kitchen in your villa, you can prepare some of your meals in your villa which can offset the cost of eating at a quick service or sit down restaurant for every meal where the cost of kids meals can be close to $10 each. Even if you are not big on cooking during vacation, it can be helpful to just have some items for a quick breakfast such as cereal, fruit or granola bars, some snacks for down times, and some drinks such as soda or even beer or wine. Especially when traveling with young children, this can be very cost effective as you have the option of providing meals that are the appropriate portions for your child and can be less expensive and healthier than what you can find in the parks.
The Splash Pad at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas – Kidani House
#5 – Kid Friendly Splash Areas and Wading Pools
Another benefit I have come to value now that my baby has grown into a toddler, are all the activities and amenities at the resort itself. I have found that most if not all DVC resorts have a special splash area for children that can be great for young children who may not be able to swim on their own yet. In addition, many of the pools at DVC resorts feature gradual entry which allow children to wade into the pool up to their comfort level with you close by instead of you having to hold your child the entire time. Some of the splash areas and pools I love the most at DVC resorts are the splash area at Kidani Village and the pool at Jambo House. We also greatly enjoyed the splash areas at the Saratoga Springs Resort. In addition to pools, you can find small play areas with climbers at most DVC resorts that allow your child another great space to play and get out some energy.
Disney Vacation Club Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
#6 – Ambience
Lastly, one of the top reasons my family chooses to stay at Disney Vacation Club Resorts is the ambience that each of the resorts have. Disney does an excellent job of creating ambience and atmosphere through all the details, sights, sounds, and even scents of their resorts. Now that I have a young child, details such as these have become more important to making a vacation with a little one truly feel like vacation. Having a young child has caused us as a family to adopt a more relaxed touring speed and activity level. We can’t tour the parks ‘commando-style’ all day like we used to so having the extra Disney touches and atmosphere really ‘makes the vacation’ for us as we spend more time at our resort. For us, the extra cost when we can swing it is worth it. There really is nothing like staying on site, especially at a Disney deluxe resort and if you choose to stay in a deluxe DVC Villa, you get all the ambience, amenities, and touches of a Disney resort with more space and greater convenience.