Fold up beds?

[jbekf]

Hello MO's!

I am fence sitting on purchasing DVC, either through resale or direct through Disney. I am leaning towards OKW, and need a little helpful advice. May I ask how many of you like or dislike the queen sofa beds in the DVC Studio or 1br villas. This is of course presuming you have family members that sleep on them. I am concerned with buying anything other than OKW since it is the only DVC resort that has the 2 queen beds in the studio. I worry about two things with respect to the folding beds: 1) comfort and 2) the pain in the *** of folding/unfolding each day. What do y'all think?

Also the early expiration of OKW is keeping us from going ahead with a purchase or OKW, but I stop short of buying SSR because I worry about this bed question and I really don't like the look of the rooms in SSR.

Thanks

Bev

[glypnirsgirl]

My Dh and I used to sleep in separate beds because of my shake the walls snoring. I slept on the fold out sofa at SSR in February. I had no problem going to sleep, the mattress is comfortable and it is set up in a way that the platform beneath you is solid rather than having bars - really good for a sleeper sofa. I am LARGE and in bad physical shape. On top of that, I have insomnia --- terrible insomnia and I could still sleep on this bed. The caveat is that I slept so soundly and the bed was so firm, I would wake up sore. I think that this would not be a problem for people in good physical shape and especially no problem for children. I did not mind the small amount of effort in closing the bed back up to regain the floor space and the sitting surface.

In May, we stayed in a studio at OKW. For many years (since 1994) OKW has been my favorite resort. I thought that I would be thrilled to have the two separate beds. I wasn't. I found that I really missed having the couch to sit on that we had at SSR. And we spend no time in our room to speak of except for sleeping and getting ready to go. The beds at OKW are so high it is difficult to sit on them to put on your shoes!

Just information, not really a recommendation for either - I love both.

Elaine

[JimP]

Hello MO's!

I am fence sitting on purchasing DVC, either through resale or direct through Disney. I am leaning towards OKW, and need a little helpful advice. May I ask how many of you like or dislike the queen sofa beds in the DVC Studio or 1br villas. This is of course presuming you have family members that sleep on them. I am concerned with buying anything other than OKW since it is the only DVC resort that has the 2 queen beds in the studio. I worry about two things with respect to the folding beds: 1) comfort and 2) the pain in the *** of folding/unfolding each day. What do y'all think?

Also the early expiration of OKW is keeping us from going ahead with a purchase or OKW, but I stop short of buying SSR because I worry about this bed question and I really don't like the look of the rooms in SSR.

Thanks

Bev
I beleive that all studios at OKW have two queen beds. I didn't personally try the sofa bed there. My DD's BF did... but he always had it put away before I woke up. I didnt want to upset his future FIL LOL

The new sofa beds at BWV and SSR are very comfortable. No "bar pressing into your back". It is more like a platform bed that folds.

/Jim

[rnawiz]

Hello MO's!

Also the early expiration of OKW is keeping us from going ahead with a purchase or OKW, but I stop short of buying SSR because I worry about this bed question and I really don't like the look of the rooms in SSR.

Thanks

Bev


Currently, Disney is selling OKW contracts with an expiration of 2057.
Only the OKW resales expire in 2042.

[jbekf]

Currently, Disney is selling OKW contracts with an expiration of 2057.
Only the OKW resales expire in 2042.

Yeah, but buying OKW from Disney is so much more expensive than buying SSR or AKV since there are no incentives, so from a cost basis I can only justify OKW if I buy it at ~$70/pt from resale, and have to deal with the early (er) expiration date. If I decide I want the longer contract then I'll buy SSR or AKV direct from Disney, hence the bed question. Also I really don't like the looks of the rooms at these resorts, they are dark whereas the rooms at OKW are light and breezy looking. I have never toured any of these resorts, but I get this impression from looking online at the DVC website. We have stayed our last two trips at POR and are wondering if we should get DVC since we can imagine going every year for quite a while, we have 6 yo twin girls.


Thanks

Bev

[glypnirsgirl]

HI Bev - i completely understand about the dislike of dark interiors - it is my biggest beef with BWV (that and the long hallways are almost a deadheat). I did not experience the SSR room as dark at all. All though the furnishings there are a little darker - its mainly the wood, the decor is actually light. Pale greens and corals. I love how light OKW is - it is one of the biggest attractions to me about the resort.

I have enjoyed POR several times. I find the rooms at Alligator Bayou to be darker than either SSR or OKW. Magnolia Bend rooms are just slightly darker than the SSR rooms.

If you are concerned about how dark things are, I would definitely stay away from AKV --- even people that do not complain about BWV have complained about how dark AKV is

As I said earlier, I own at both SSR and OKW. OKW is still my favorite, but I do not know how much longer that will be true. I really loved our stay at SSR and now my DH and I are able to sleep together (thanks to diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea, I am no longer snoring) so I think that I might enjoy having the one bed and a sofa to sit on. BUT in your case you really need two beds. It will be a long time before the girls will need anything other than the sofa bed. So, how much do you hate folding up the sofa bed?

Or how about this analysis

Figure out the week that you will most likely vacation for while the girls are in school. Take the point count for that week for both SSR and OKW. Multiply the point count by the cost per point then the number of years on the contract remaining. See what the result is. Your girls will be 36 when the points expire on a OKW resale. They will be 51 when SSR expires.

My husband and I are both 53, the expiration was not a big factor for us. Our children are all in their 20s, so they will be our age when the OKW contract expires. Really not much of a consideration. For you , it is somewhat different.

Elaine

[jbekf]

Thanks Elaine for your great analysis! When we stayed at POR we stayed in Alligator Bayou and I never minded the "darkness" here, so maybe I wouldn't mind SSR. As for your analysis, I did as you suggested and I'm not sure what it means. I took OKW (we would go during Easter week for the next 12 years I'm sure) so premier season (or whatever the most expensive time is called) is 147 points/week, times $70/point and divided that out over 33 years gives me $312 per year. The same calculation for SSR is 163 points at $94/point over 45 years comes out to $340 per year. So what does this tell me? That it is still cheaper to get OKW, but that for an extra $28/yr I can give my kids an extra 12 years of vacation? And a slight correction, the girls were born in 2002 so they will be 39when OKW expires and 51 when SSR expires. We are both 41 so we will be ~75 and 88! Obviously we are looking at expiration dates for our kids and not us.

What do you think will be the state of DVC when my kids are 40?!

Bev

p.s. I'm glad you got your sleeping troubles fixed and are no longer snoring! I've heard that makes great deal of difference in getting a good night's sleep!

[glypnirsgirl]

Thanks Elaine for your great analysis! When we stayed at POR we stayed in Alligator Bayou and I never minded the "darkness" here, so maybe I wouldn't mind SSR. As for your analysis, I did as you suggested and I'm not sure what it means. I took OKW (we would go during Easter week for the next 12 years I'm sure) so premier season (or whatever the most expensive time is called) is 147 points/week, times $70/point and divided that out over 33 years gives me $312 per year. The same calculation for SSR is 163 points at $94/point over 45 years comes out to $340 per year. So what does this tell me? That it is still cheaper to get OKW, but that for an extra $28/yr I can give my kids an extra 12 years of vacation? And a slight correction, the girls were born in 2002 so they will be 39when OKW expires and 51 when SSR expires. We are both 41 so we will be ~75 and 88! Obviously we are looking at expiration dates for our kids and not us.

What do you think will be the state of DVC when my kids are 40?!

Bev

p.s. I'm glad you got your sleeping troubles fixed and are no longer snoring! I've heard that makes great deal of difference in getting a good night's sleep!

Yep - that is what it tells you. It makes it clear what the price differential is. Otherwise, because of the difference in point use between the two resorts, it is hard to tell what the real cost is.

I bought at OKW in 1994 - fourteen years ago - I bought in June on a trip when I was staying in POR - Alligator Bayou with my son and his friend. I occasionally get tired rooms at OKW - but usually they are just fine even if it looks like the bedspreads should have been replaced. I think that DVC has been doing a pretty good job about consistently refurbishing the resort. But 40 years is a really long time. We stayed at Poly about 4 years ago and the resort was about 40 years old and the room we were in had just been recently refurbished. It was nice. Then last September we stayed at the Contemporary and it was REALLY NICE - I think that they did a better job on the refurb than they had done on the original rooms. It rocked!]

So now you have your real comparison for $28 per year and folding up a sofa bed, you will gain 12 years of DVC that you will not care about but your children and grandchildren might care about. Because the $28 is so minimal, it really comes down to folding up that bed and decor.

(And it is wonderful to be able to sleep well. I have been sleep deprived for several years - I had gotten to the point that I was actually afraid to go to sleep. Now I just lie down and I am out in a few minutes - its wonderful!)

Elaine

[JimP]

HI Bev - i completely understand about the dislike of dark interiors - it is my biggest beef with BWV

Elaine,

I must be missing something here. I just looked at my pics of BWV and the living room is pastel blue, with white wood accent wall, and white wood cabinits. The MBR is a light green pastel.

Are we talking about the same BWV?

/Jim

[glypnirsgirl]

Hi Jim - I have not stayed there in a long time. The last time I stayed there in a 2 bedroom, the living room was hunter greeen with red accents. The cabinets in the kitchen were painted rather than stained wood -- and I think that they were a sage green. I don't remember the bedrooms at all! Our room was a ground floor room waaaaayyyy down the hall, through oneor two mini-lobbies. I called my sister to verify my color memory - she didn't remember anything except that she was shocked by how dark it was. Have they lightened it up? That would be the best if they had. I have never tried it a second time because of the aversion to the color scheme.

I just went to dvcmembers.com and checked the website for views of the rooms. They have painted the walls a creamy white and painted the kitchen cabinets too. It is MUCH lighter than it used to be. I can still see remnants of the old color scheme in the TV cabinet and sofa --- but the overall ambiance has completely changed. MUCH NICER.

Elaine

[JimP]

Hi Jim - I have not stayed there in a long time. The last time I stayed there in a 2 bedroom, the living room was hunter greeen with red accents. The cabinets in the kitchen were painted rather than stained wood -- and I think that they were a sage green. I don't remember the bedrooms at all! Our room was a ground floor room waaaaayyyy down the hall, through oneor two mini-lobbies. I called my sister to verify my color memory - she didn't remember anything except that she was shocked by how dark it was. Have they lightened it up? That would be the best if they had. I have never tried it a second time because of the aversion to the color scheme.

I just went to dvcmembers.com and checked the website for views of the rooms. They have painted the walls a creamy white and painted the kitchen cabinets too. It is MUCH lighter than it used to be. I can still see remnants of the old color scheme in the TV cabinet and sofa --- but the overall ambiance has completely changed. MUCH NICER.

Elaine

Elaine,

The first time we stayed in BWV was in 96... so I don't know the history. I'm glad they made it lighter... cause I really like it now.

When I read your post, I was trying to figure out which one of us was halucinating... glad to see that it was neither of us. LOL

/Jim

[OL60]

I have slept on the couch fold out bed on the last three trips to AKL lodge I have made. I have never thought they were uncomfortable at all. I find them nice enough.

As for putting them up - it took around 2 minutes and most of that was finding the pillows and turning them correctly - though towards the end of the trip we just left it out since we never have sat on the couch for anything anyway.

We were at Disney - we were either in parks, in pool, or on balcony watching animals (savannah view)

BTW - I am 6' 2" 370 pound male

[Deb & Bill]

My son has slept on all the sleeper sofas. He liked the ones at BCV more than the ones at OKW and SSR. BCV and BWV have the ones that the cushions stay on the bed when you open it. OKW and SSR have the memory foam with removable cushions. I have slept on the older ones with the bars underneath and they were not uncomfortable, especially after a busy day in the parks.

What I disliked about BWV was the long, endless corridors. I like the open walkways of SSR and OKW best.