1 Bed OKW vs 2 Bed Cypress Harbour in July...Which to Choose?

Weimaraner · Mar 20, 2015

The problem with having both an Interval and RCI account is that there are so many great options. Right now I have a mid July match for a one bed at Old Key West and am also considering a late July 2 bed Marriott Cypress Harbour (which has a perfect 5 star rating in II).

If you were going, which would you prefer? I don't have any plans in particular and would stay on property quite a bit so would really want to make use of resort amenities, restaurant(s) and activities. I'm taking my 8yo DD and would be joined by her grandma. Maybe go to Disney water parks, maybe Seaworld, maybe Legoland Busch Gardens via bus - just a good time together. I want to go to Disney World in morning or night but we are used to going in Fall when crowds are light. We spent a week at HGVC last July at Seaworld and didn't have a problem with the 88-90 degree temps and had Quick Queue so no line or crowd problems - and we loved every minute.

Any comments to tip the scale one way or other! Thank you
,

piyooshj · Mar 20, 2015

How many people going?

Weimaraner · Mar 20, 2015

Just 3...me, DD age 8 and grandma

Chicagoshannon · Mar 20, 2015

I would go with Cypress Harbour since you won't be going to Disney. You'll have more room and no one will have to sleep in the living room.

elaine · Mar 20, 2015

I am a big DVc fan and my family of 5 would choose DVC every time. But, in your case, I would do the Marriott. All the Orlando M's are very nice resorts, fun things for kids to do, nice pool, etc. Grandma and DD can have the 2nd BR or even the master with the King bed to share (I think all Cypress 2BR have a queen bed). You will have a great time @ the Marriott. Elaine

Weimaraner · Mar 20, 2015

One thing I don't like about OKW is the fact the bathroom is in the master suite. Not a big deal for "the girls." But I bet it's awkward for moms and dads with kids and extended family. I feel so spoiled with 2 bedrooms.

Southerngirl528 · Mar 20, 2015

Virtually any 1 bdrm villa with any TS is only going to have 1 bathroom and it will be connected to the Master bdrm.

A fact not usually known by non-DVC OKW members is that if you were to book the 1 bdrm, ask for "Phase 2" which is the back 1/2 of the resort (further from Hospitality House but no big deal because there's an internal bus that circulates, plus you can always hop on ANY bus heading to any theme park on property and it will make it's last stop right up front at Hospitality House). Reason being is the in the Phase 2 One and Two Bdrms there is entry into the bathroom both from the Master bdrm AND through the laundry room! SO anyone sleeping in the LR does not have to go through the Master to get to the bathroom! :whoopee: And yep, OKW has laundry "rooms" with full sized W/D's! Yay!

But I do agree with Elaine on this that in your vacation scenario I would choose a 2 bdrm at the Marriott. If OKW had a 2 bdrm, I'd say go for it! OKW remains one of my family's favorites at WDW.

bnoble · Mar 21, 2015

With that travel party, I'd go with the 2BR so that no one has to share a bed, and neither adult is on the pull-out.

Weimaraner · Mar 21, 2015

Thanks everyone! I released the OKW. It's a beautiful resort and I hope we'll get there another day when we do an all Disney trip.

piyooshj · Mar 21, 2015

Related question are the bathrooms in SSR via the master as well?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Southerngirl528 · Mar 21, 2015

Hi Piyooshj,

Hmm, I've only stayed at SSR 2 or 3 times tops since it opened but I believe there is a separate door into the shower/toilet side of the bathroom in a 1 bdrm villa there.

All DVC resorts that are 1 bdrm or larger have what I call "compartmented" bathrooms, in other words, there are 2 separate areas. In almost all master baths there will be the jetted tub and a sink in one part and the toilet and a shower in the other. This configuration can vary a bit resort to resort of course, but typically 2 separate areas in a Master Bath.

Does that help? I'll log on and see if I can double check the floor plans for you.

Southerngirl528 · Mar 21, 2015

Not sure this link will work, but here goes:

https://dvc.disney.go.com/media/dvc...ions/saratoga-springs/Rooms/dssr-1-1-bdrm.jpg

It does appear the bathrooms at SSR are as I described in a 1 or 2 bdrm.

bnoble · Mar 21, 2015

are the bathrooms in SSR via the master as well?

For every DVC resort *other than* OKW, the bath in the 1BR has a second entrance via the living room. For OKW, half do, and half do not---buildings 30 and higher do have LR access, buildings 29 and below do not.

BLT and AKV-Kidani have a second bath in the 1BR units, and three bathrooms in the 2BR units.

Weimaraner · Mar 24, 2015

Jus saw the same July week show up at Saratoga Springs - 1 bedroom - yesterday was 45 TPU. My OKW was 45 TPU. Looks like they bumped up the TPUs. Today the SSR it is 53!!!!!

mdurette · Mar 24, 2015

I know you already released - but just a thought since you mentioned taking a bus to LEGOLAND possibly.

If you are NOT going to rent a car. DVC may be better as they will take you to/from the airport and also cart you around to places on their property.

Cypress Harbor is on a bus route and also a quick taxi ride or a bit of a walk to SeaWorld/Aquatica and Discovery Cove.

Personally....with an 8YO on the trip - I would try for a 2BR at Marriott Harbor Lake which is right across the street from Cypress Harbor.

piyooshj · Mar 24, 2015

Southerngirl528 said:
Not sure this link will work, but here goes:

https://dvc.disney.go.com/media/dvc...ions/saratoga-springs/Rooms/dssr-1-1-bdrm.jpg

It does appear the bathrooms at SSR are as I described in a 1 or 2 bdrm.

Awesome, thanks.

jmpellet · Apr 2, 2015

All this bathroom talk makes me think about the maze of those compartmentalized bathrooms at all the DVC resorts. I never know which door will lead to which location. This is even true at the Hilton Head resort

Southerngirl528 · Apr 2, 2015

LOL, jmpellet! It's just part of the Disney "magic"! :rofl:

icydog · Apr 3, 2015

Southerngirl528 said:
Virtually any 1 bdrm villa with any TS is only going to have 1 bathroom and it will be connected to the Master bdrm.

A fact not usually known by non-DVC OKW members is that if you were to book the 1 bdrm, ask for "Phase 2" which is the back 1/2 of the resort (further from Hospitality House but no big deal because there's an internal bus that circulates, plus you can always hop on ANY bus heading to any theme park on property and it will make it's last stop right up front at Hospitality House). Reason being is the in the Phase 2 One and Two Bdrms there is entry into the bathroom both from the Master bdrm AND through the laundry room! SO anyone sleeping in the LR does not have to go through the Master to get to the bathroom! :whoopee: And yep, OKW has laundry "rooms" with full sized W/D's! Yay!

But I do agree with Elaine on this that in your vacation scenario I would choose a 2 bdrm at the Marriott. If OKW had a 2 bdrm, I'd say go for it! OKW remains one of my family's favorites at WDW.

Southerngirl528 said:
Hi Piyooshj,

Hmm, I've only stayed at SSR 2 or 3 times tops since it opened but I believe there is a separate door into the shower/toilet side of the bathroom in a 1 bdrm villa there.

All DVC resorts that are 1 bdrm or larger have what I call "compartmented" bathrooms, in other words, there are 2 separate areas. In almost all master baths there will be the jetted tub and a sink in one part and the toilet and a shower in the other. This configuration can vary a bit resort to resort of course, but typically 2 separate areas in a Master Bath.

Does that help? I'll log on and see if I can double check the floor plans for you.

See Bnoble's quote below. Disney's Old Key West was designed by a loopy architect. As soon as the buildings started to be used members complained about the trek through the master bedrooms to the bathrooms. But those buildings are better located to the feature pool and the Hospitality House which make them more desirable. I like to stay diagonally across the street from the store in the newest buildings with elevators.
The worst compartmentalizations are found at the Beach Club. Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, Disney's Bay Lake Towers Resort and the Grand Floridan have two baths in a one bedroom villa and sleep 5.

bnoble said:
For every DVC resort *other than* OKW, the bath in the 1BR has a second entrance via the living room. For OKW, half do, and half do not---buildings 30 and higher do have LR access, buildings 29 and below do not.

BLT and AKV-Kidani have a second bath in the 1BR units, and three bathrooms in the 2BR units.

jmpellet said:
All this bathroom talk makes me think about the maze of those compartmentalized bathrooms at all the DVC resorts. I never know which door will lead to which location. This is even true at the Hilton Head resort

I don't remember either Hilton Head or VB having that configuration. I guess I wasn't paying attention or I'm used to it already.

bnoble · Apr 4, 2015

Disney's Old Key West was designed by a loopy architect.

The sense I get is that DVD initially expected most 1BRs to be occupied by couples, and most families would be booking 2BRs. That's certainly what we do. We stayed in a 1BR with the four of us only once. It was our first-ever DVC stay, in the larger OKW 1BR, and when the kids were very young. Even that felt cramped. Even for parties of two, that second bathroom door can be handy. My son and I check in for a week tomorrow in a 1BR, and I've requested the second entrance door because I'm not about to share the King with him.

Since that first stay, I've never booked anything less than a 2BR DVC unit for the full family, and if I can't get it, I'd rather stay offsite at Bonnet Creek than cram into a 1BR. I keep thinking we could potentially try a 1BR at AKV-Kidani or BLT, with the second bathroom it could almost work, but I've never been able to pull the trigger on it. For non-DVC destinations, I'm starting to book 3BRs for the four of us. We have a 3BR at Royal Dunes on HHI this summer, and one of our two Hawaii weeks for next summer is a 3BR penthouse at Lagoon Tower.

It does seem as though the DVC Membership in general wants to cram into the smallest unit in which they could possibly fit. Witness the growth of the fold-down sleepers in the studios giving them a capacity of five. I can't even fathom putting five people in a glorified hotel room, but plenty of people seem to prefer it.

malyons · Apr 9, 2015

bnoble said:
The sense I get is that DVD initially expected most 1BRs to be occupied by couples, and most families would be booking 2BRs. That's certainly what we do. We stayed in a 1BR with the four of us only once. It was our first-ever DVC stay, in the larger OKW 1BR, and when the kids were very young. Even that felt cramped. Even for parties of two, that second bathroom door can be handy. My son and I check in for a week tomorrow in a 1BR, and I've requested the second entrance door because I'm not about to share the King with him.

Since that first stay, I've never booked anything less than a 2BR DVC unit for the full family, and if I can't get it, I'd rather stay offsite at Bonnet Creek than cram into a 1BR. I keep thinking we could potentially try a 1BR at AKV-Kidani or BLT, with the second bathroom it could almost work, but I've never been able to pull the trigger on it. For non-DVC destinations, I'm starting to book 3BRs for the four of us. We have a 3BR at Royal Dunes on HHI this summer, and one of our two Hawaii weeks for next summer is a 3BR penthouse at Lagoon Tower.

It does seem as though the DVC Membership in general wants to cram into the smallest unit in which they could possibly fit. Witness the growth of the fold-down sleepers in the studios giving them a capacity of five. I can't even fathom putting five people in a glorified hotel room, but plenty of people seem to prefer it.

I was just getting on trying to find some opinions on this point exactly. Just returned from a trip to Orlando, have 3 kids, ages 3,6 and 9. we stayed at Vistana where we own in a 2BR, but visited some friends staying at the Grand Floridian in the Villas building there. They were staying 5 people to what I would call a studio unit. I really like the idea of being on property (we took a few hours one day and swam at their pool to cool down and then headed back to the park, which we enjoyed), but can't decide if it is worth it to be crammed into a 1BR or Studio just to be on property. For me I think I'd prefer the space over the on property convenience. It's too bad they don't seem to deposit 2BR's anymore. Would be curious to hear other opinions on this. Assume that during a 1 week stay we'd do 4-5 days at the disney parks.

pnappleprincess · Apr 10, 2015

Bonnet Creek

Depending on your budget and which parks you are visiting - it is really hard to go back to cramming. Even in a studio.

With little ones still in strollers - the monorail resorts are the most convenient. So we just save up and try to rent a 2BR at BLT and get the best of both worlds. Which is awesome!!! But you are paying dearly for that convenience AND the space.

Our go to offsite for Disney is Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It next to Disney's Caribbean Beach resort and not too far from the Boardwalk. You don't have the amenities of being on property - but you have the space without being too far. And you have a lazy river!

bnoble · Apr 11, 2015

I really like the idea of being on property (we took a few hours one day and swam at their pool to cool down and then headed back to the park, which we enjoyed), but can't decide if it is worth it to be crammed into a 1BR or Studio just to be on property.

This just comes down to personal preference. But, my take is that having done both onsite and off several times, I've found the two "kinds" of vacations to be more alike than different.

So, for the four of us, I'd rather have a 2BR at Bonnet than a single 1BR at a DVC.

Mickey is great, but he's not *that* great---particularly with Bonnet's location. My son and I are staying at OKW in a 1BR as I type this, and we often drive *past* Bonnet to get to where we are going!

JimMIA · Apr 12, 2015

pnappleprincess said:
You don't have the amenities of being on property - but you have the space without being too far. And you have a lazy river!

I would argue that you have different amenities, not less, maybe more -- and it depends on what you call amenities.

To me, "amenities" refers to the resort features which add to the vacation experience -- like food outlets, pools, activity centers, etc.

To me, location is important, but not something I would consider an "amenity." It's a different category -- for me. With the onsite monorail resorts (BLT, VGF, or Poly), you have location, location, location. And a lovely resort.

With WBC, you have a great OFF-site location (better actually than most Disney Mods and any Disney Values), and vastly superior resort features which fit into my definition of "amenities."

At WBC, you have SIX pools, not one. You have TWO lazy rivers, not one or zero. You have free mini-golf. You have live entertainment. You have free huge gas BBQ grills and picnic tables. You have cabana availability at several locations. You have full access to the restaurants and spa at the Wyndham Grand Hotel on property. Etc, etc.

pnappleprincess · Apr 14, 2015

@JimMIA Totally agree! And the cost difference on the Monorail Resort Cabana versus Bonnet Creek's will blow you out of the water.

1 Bed OKW vs 2 Bed Cypress Harbour in July...Which to Choose?

Weimaraner

piyooshj

Weimaraner

Chicagoshannon

elaine

Weimaraner

Southerngirl528

bnoble

Weimaraner

piyooshj

Southerngirl528

Southerngirl528

bnoble

Weimaraner

mdurette

Sighting Expert & TUG Review Crew: Expert

piyooshj

jmpellet

Southerngirl528

icydog

TUG Review Crew: Expert

bnoble

malyons

pnappleprincess

bnoble

JimMIA

pnappleprincess