Family Disney vacation on and off property

[Shankilicious]

So, let me start by saying that I have only been to Disney once, my wife and her family have been regulars their whole life, and I have searched the first three pages for answers to the questions I'm about to ask, if I missed it, my bad.

• The set-up, in September of 2021, 7 of us will be going to Orlando with the focal point being on Disney and my in-laws 40th anniversary. 5 adults and two kids under 6.
• Here's my plan: Get a true 3 bedroom unit off property at either Orange Lake or the Reserve at Summer Bay for the bulk of us and family time. Get a 1BR, hopefully at Boulder Ridge (SSR would suffice I suppose) for mid-day breaks and hanging out on property that my in-laws would primarily occupy.
• I would think that I could check in at both resorts and avoid the GC fees but I have Platinum with RCI so no that bad anyway.
• Is it an issue for us to use the amenities at Boulder Ridge such as the pool and other restaurants besides Whispering Canyon? Not talking about cheating the meal plans or anything like that.
• What's the worst that could happen? Kick us out?

Thanks for the help.

 

[jlp879]

Your plan to have two resorts stay dates overlapping won't be any kind of a check in problem, especially since the resorts are not affiliated and you would be able to use all the Boulder Ridge amenities including the pools and all of the restaurants.

While I applaud your plan of taking mid-day breaks from the parks, I couldn't help but thinking that those might be the most expensive naps ever taken if you're only getting DVC for breaks!

If it was me and my goal was lots of family together time, I'd want everyone staying at the same resort. If I wanted to have major park time and then relax and enjoy the wonderful Disney theming found at the deluxe hotels and villas, I would consider an off property/on property split stay.

But in answer to your question, RCI will let you get two weeks at the same time and check in to them both.

 

[Shankilicious]

Thanks for the reply JLP. My mother in law is fairly insistent that the only way to do Disney is to stay on property. I think the kids would enjoy it, at least I KNOW my then 5.5yo would (she is Disney through and through) but I can't justify spending over $10k just on accommodations.

A 1BR on property through RCI is only gonna cost me half my MF+EF+RF. So around $1200ish at most $1500. I can handle that compared to paying over $400/night. And if we can get one on the monorail then that takes care of parking and getting in and out of the kingdoms easily. But I'm pretty sure SSR does shuttle buses directly to the kingdoms as well?

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[jlp879]

Staying on property is very enjoyable, but keep in mind if you and your family are off-site you are effectively doubling your travel time each day. You're driving to the DVC property, parking and then waiting for and boarding internal transportation (be it bus, boat or monorail). While you are close enough to nap, it still takes a good 40 minutes each way to get out of the Magic Kingdom and back to the resort. SSR and OKW are the two resorts that pop up the most frequently in RCI, and are both the farthest flung from any of the parks. Both of them offer bus transportation to the parks and relaxing boat transportation to Disney Springs.

 

[Shankilicious]

Good points. I think throughout a week long stay, we would only go into the parks on three maybe four days.
The break would be necessary to maintain sanity as my in laws do not get around extremely well and my soon to be second child will be just over 2yo and need a nap. I could see myself and my then 5.5 yo going back in after taking a break when no one else would or they might join later for dinner and fireworks.
I toured wilderness Lodge and it is by far my favorite as far as resort styling and appearance, although the grand Floridian is a close second with it's southern charm.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[paxsarah]

You might need to decide if you would be willing to rent a villa at Boulder Ridge to ensure that location vs. the fairly ubiquitous SSR via RCI exchange. There have been a tiny sprinkling of sightings for non-SSR locations including Wilderness Lodge, but they’ve been the textbook definition of few and far between. And you should put your ongoing search in place now, if it’s not already.

 

[Lisa P]

Other options:

1BR at SSR and 2BR at Lake Buena Vista area offsite, such as Wyndham Bonnet Creek or Vistana Resort, or a 3BR at Cypress Pointe. All 3 of these resorts offer nice pool areas and indoor activity rooms for kids and families. Any of these resorts would require a MUCH shorter drive to/from SSR than the drive between Boulder Ridge and Orange Lake or Summer Bay. Driving from onsite to Wyndham Bonnet Creek, it does not even feel like you are leaving WDW.

Try for two 1BRs at SSR. Your plan for a September trip offers good timing for the possibility of getting multiple units at SSR. Make sure both units are either "preferred" or "standard" so you can get rooms close together. Request a water view, especially for the in-laws who may enjoy that.

Either way, in advance, contact DVC to list 4 of your 5 adults (car drivers) as SSR/BRV guests. Those drivers will have the onsite stay linked to their MagicBands (MB). This means they will be able to scan their MB to enter the SSR gate as well as parking for free at the Disney parks.

 

[Shankilicious]

You might need to decide if you would be willing to rent a villa at Boulder Ridge to ensure that location vs. the fairly ubiquitous SSR via RCI exchange. There have been a tiny sprinkling of sightings for non-SSR locations including Wilderness Lodge, but they’ve been the textbook definition of few and far between. And you should put your ongoing search in place now, if it’s not already.

Can only enter an ongoing search as far out as 2 years max. I've got ongoing searches for Sept of 19 and 20 to see what pops up. The Boulder Ridge unit is still up as of now SSR is down from 28 to 23 now. Both 2BR units at SSR and OKW are still up.

 

[TheHolleys87]

If you’re anticipating registering everyone as a guest at the DVC resort (for purposes of onsite perks such as free parking, free MBs, 60-day FP booking, and using the pools), even though they’re not spending the night there, keep in mind the limits on number of guests that can be registered in a given room. For instance, a 1-BR at SSR and at Boulder Ridge is limited to 4 guests plus one under the age of three, so 2 members of your party would be left off the room registration. The only time that might cause a problem would be if the pool is crowded and the CMs check MBs, to exclude people not registered there. For parking, as long as one person in the car has a MB that shows them as being a registered WDW resort guest, you’re fine, and as far as eating, shopping or walking around there, no problem!

We had a similar family trip a few years ago. Reserved a Grand Villa at BWV, which sleeps 12 people, so we registered our son, granddaughter, daughter, and son-in-law, and my dad, sister and brother-in-law as well as ourselves. Everyone had onsite perks, but my dad, sister and brother-in-law slept offsite in another TS.

 

[Shankilicious]

If you’re anticipating registering everyone as a guest at the DVC resort (for purposes of onsite perks such as free parking, free MBs, 60-day FP booking, and using the pools), even though they’re not spending the night there, keep in mind the limits on number of guests that can be registered in a given room. For instance, a 1-BR at SSR and at Boulder Ridge is limited to 4 guests plus one under the age of three, so 2 members of your party would be left off the room registration. The only time that might cause a problem would be if the pool is crowded and the CMs check MBs, to exclude people not registered there. For parking, as long as one person in the car has a MB that shows them as being a registered WDW resort guest, you’re fine, and as far as eating, shopping or walking around there, no problem!

We had a similar family trip a few years ago. Reserved a Grand Villa at BWV, which sleeps 12 people, so we registered our son, granddaughter, daughter, and son-in-law, and my dad, sister and brother-in-law as well as ourselves. Everyone had onsite perks, but my dad, sister and brother-in-law slept offsite in another TS.

Thanks for that information. I hadn't even thought about magic bands or fast passes. That's all my wife's side stuff as I didn't grow up a Disney kid like she did. We'd mostly use it for the parking, and pool/restaurants on breaks from being in the park. On chill days we'd prolly just hang at the off site resorts that have plenty to do there for much much less/free.
But you and Lisa P have given me the idea of grabbing a Boulder Ridge and maybe a two bedroom SSR or OKW or something like that. There are SSR one bedrooms for only 90k points, which would equal roughly $500 worth of MF for me.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Thanks for that information. I hadn't even thought about magic bands or fast passes. That's all my wife's side stuff as I didn't grow up a Disney kid like she did. We'd mostly use it for the parking, and pool/restaurants on breaks from being in the park. On chill days we'd prolly just hang at the off site resorts that have plenty to do there for much much less/free.
But you and Lisa P have given me the idea of grabbing a Boulder Ridge and maybe a two bedroom SSR or OKW or something like that. There are SSR one bedrooms for only 90k points, which would equal roughly $500 worth of MF for me.

We haven’t stayed at SSR yet but have visited several times, and I think we’d like it. Like OKW, it seems removed from the hustle and bustle but is close to DS (we love the boat ride) and only a bus ride or short drive from the parks.

We stayed at CCV in January and loved the location and architecture and liked the boat ride to MK more than taking the monorail from VGF! We’d book BRV for a family group, though - larger units.

 

[Shankilicious]

My MIL LOVES to shop. And my wife hates crowds. So I feel like OKW or SSR would be good for them and we could all be together. I don't know what all the abbreviates are except BRV, I can figure that one out lol! The other thing my in-laws love to do is eat. Seems like DS and Epcot have quite a few food options.
But, since I'm betting you can answer this question, as long as we all stay at a Disney Resort, say a 2BR at SSR and a 1BR at BRV, we would all get magic bands and be able to enjoy the perks of any resort?

 

[rickandcindy23]

September should be easy trades into the 3 bedrooms. Too bad Hiltons are all doing the $25/day nonsense fee. I see why people pay $190 for Disney onsite, but those are perks you cannot get at Hilton.

The Boulder Ridge probably won't come through, but it's worth a shot. SSR is going to be easy to get in September, so you might enter your ongoing search strictly for Boulder Ridge, hoping that comes through first. Then if you get within 3 months, you should switch the search to SSR or OKW. I would personally love having OKW over SSR, but maybe it's because we have stayed so much at SSR that it's become old hat. And besides, OKW is harder to get, and the 1 bedrooms are bigger and even include a sleeper chair in the living room. You could also try for AKL. Those haven't been impossible. I see people renting exchanges there on Redweek and other websites, all of the time.

 

[Shankilicious]

September should be easy trades into the 3 bedrooms. Too bad Hiltons are all doing the $25/day nonsense fee. I see why people pay $190 for Disney onsite, but those are perks you cannot get at Hilton.

The Boulder Ridge probably won't come through, but it's worth a shot. SSR is going to be easy to get in September, so you might enter your ongoing search strictly for Boulder Ridge, hoping that comes through first. Then if you get within 3 months, you should switch the search to SSR or OKW. I would personally love having OKW over SSR, but maybe it's because we have stayed so much at SSR that it's become old hat. And besides, OKW is harder to get, and the 1 bedrooms are bigger and even include a sleeper chair in the living room. You could also try for AKL. Those haven't been impossible. I see people renting exchanges there on Redweek and other websites, all of the time.

The Boulder Ridge that is available now is for Sept 6-13. And OKW two bedrooms are 300sqft bigger. So that's definitely a strong point for that one.
And I have no doubts about getting one of the offsite resorts that would fit the bill for this trip.

 

[paxsarah]

I think what people are trying to say is that even with the special access afforded by Welk, the existence of Boulder Ridge and 2BR exchanges is the exception, not the norm. I would formulate a plan that doesn’t count on those coming through for your dates. Then if they do, it’s a bonus.

 

[TheHolleys87]

My MIL LOVES to shop. And my wife hates crowds. So I feel like OKW or SSR would be good for them and we could all be together. I don't know what all the abbreviates are except BRV, I can figure that one out lol! The other thing my in-laws love to do is eat. Seems like DS and Epcot have quite a few food options.
But, since I'm betting you can answer this question, as long as we all stay at a Disney Resort, say a 2BR at SSR and a 1BR at BRV, we would all get magic bands and be able to enjoy the perks of any resort?

BRV = Boulder Ridge Villas, the new name bestowed on Villas of Wilderness Lodge when Copper Creek was announced. They’re two separate condominium associations so had to have distinctive names. Online you’ll often see BRV referred to as VWL still.

And yes, as long as you all stay at a Disney resort (or all of your names are registered as staying at a Disney resort, even if you don’t sleep there), you’ll all get free MBs and can enjoy the perks of any resort — except the pool. Pool hopping is not allowed except for DVC owners and even then we can’t hop to all pools, just some of them. That said, some pools are more tightly controlled than others, with gates and CMs checking MBs to confirm that guests are registered at that hotel.

PS OKW would be a great choice for your family too. The largest DVC villas on property, just a boat ride away from DS. Downside is many buildings have no elevators and the quick service restaurant is very limited. You might want to check out the DIS board re DVC resorts (can’t remember whether I’ve “seen” you there before or not): https://www.disboards.com/forums/dvc-resorts.187/.

 

[Shankilicious]

Thank you @TheHolleys87 for all your helpful information!

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk