Would love some advice about where to try to stay

[MomToGandB]

Hi there.

I am a Disney newbie. I am hoping to go to Disney with my family (me, my husband, my sister and two kids -- 2 and 4) in early December. Some folks on the resort board suggested we try to rent points because we want a 2 bedroom place. So, I'm about to embark on that process (and I know I may be too late for some places) but am still conflicted about what resort to try for.

I realized a few days ago that most of the fireworks/light shows are pretty late, even in December. So, the opportunity for my kids to see them once or twice will likely have to come from an in-room viewing or on-site viewing -- 10pm and then a trek back for 30 minutes will just be untenable. My research seems to have narrowed it down to BLT, Wild Kingdom or VGF. Am I missing any others where we could potentially see Wishes or the water pageant? If those are the only ones, what types of views do I need to request? Can I even make those requests as a point renter? In particular, at Wild Kingdom, there doesn't seem to be the opportunity to choose a room view.

Any help would be most appreciated. I apologize in advance for the newbie nature of this question -- it's just so hard to figure this out with all the options and the wealth of information out there!

Thank you!

 

[MomToGandB]

One other point -- if it's going to be useless (from your experience) trying to get a 2 and 4 year old to stay up for 10pm fireworks, I'm open to other non-fireworks resorts. AKL seems really cool too, and perhaps they'd enjoy seeing the animals more.

 

[robndani]

Not all of the fireworks/night shows are that late. You have to wait until the 2015 Crowd Calendars come out, they will have the show times. As far as what the kids will be up for, that depends on your kids. There are lots of 2 & 4 year olds up and running around until 10:30 at Disney. There are some 6 & 7 year olds who have to be asleep by 8:00. You may not even be able to decide until that day. I would suggest an easy morning/afternoon if you plan on staying out late with them.

We just stayed at BLT and we had a 1BR lake view, which was actually a theme park view. We could see the fireworks from our room.

Also, you can see them from the beach at the Poly. The Boardwalk and Beach Club have walking paths to Epcot where you can see Illuminations.

Our home resort is AKL and we've stayed in a 2 BR savanna view, which is awesome too! Have fun!

 

[CraigInPA]

If you're looking for BLT or VGF in December 2015, you should be aware that a 2br MK view might be a difficult booking to obtain at this time. Before you get your hopes up, you should contact one of the points rental places and ask them to check availability for you. If you're looking for December 2016, you should get your points rented in January 2016 so that it can be booked at the start of the 11 month window.

 

[rlovew]

If you are looking for Dec 2015 you should expect that all of your chosen resort rooms are probably already gone. You may have luck trying to get a 2 bedroom at Animal Kingdom, Old Key West, or Saratoga Springs. Early Dec is the busiest time for DVC resorts and many rooms are sold out almost immediately at the 11 month window. BLT and VGF are probably already sold out and have waitlists just with home resort people.

 

[Gillyrose779]

If you can be a bit flexible on dates and are not going a full week you may have a better chance of the ones you have chosen. Otherwise you may just want to research AK, SS, and OKW as they will most likely be the only ones available.

Either way find a company or member to rent one soon for greatest chance of availability.

Of the three I mentioned we enjoy AK and SS. AK for the atmosphere and food and SS for the DTD view and the ability to walk to DTD with my kids when the parks get to be overwhelming or we just need a break- my kids could go to the Lego store in DTD all day and build/race cars.

 

[MomToGandB]

Thanks everyone, this is very helpful, including the reality check on getting what we want. The good news is we are pretty flexible, so that will hopefully help.

Thanks again!

 

[davidl81]

Fyi dec 13-19 is still open at BLT for a 2 bed room park view. 320 points for the 7 nights. That's the only open week in dec.