Hey everyone, it's Jacqueline for Pixie Dust PhD and in today's video we'll be doing a
little bit of a niche topic around Disney Vacation Club. In the fast facts series
where I'm going over all of your basic need to know information about the various home
resorts located at Walt Disney World I am trying to remember to include the various
square footage of the villas. However, if villa size is particularly important to
you you may want to be able to easily compare the various home resorts based on villa size.
That comparison's a little bit hard to do when watching all the fast facts home resort videos,
so in today's video we are going to go ahead and list all the villa sizes for the various home
resorts at Walt Disney World for Disney Vacation Club and we will be ranking them. Stay tuned!
Before we get started I want to extend my thanks to you for being here;
whether you're a new viewer or a loyal viewer and subscriber I really appreciate you. If you do
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and consider subscribing--ring the bell icon to receive notifications whenever I post new videos.
And if you find this or any other videos on the channel that you check out helpful,
please go ahead and hit that thumbs up button to "like" the video. Similar to my Disney Vacation
Club inventory video. This is a little niche and it's not something you necessarily need to know,
however villa sizes may absolutely influence your decision of where to stay or where to
buy as a home resort. Therefore, in this video I'm trying to present this information on villa
sizes in an easily understandable and digestible manner. We will be focusing only on those home
resorts at Walt Disney World. And also all this information is sourced from external sites,
so not from Disney Vacation Club directly. As always, I will leave links in the description
below. Occasionally there are discrepancies between various external websites on the square
footage of certain villas--when that was the case I went with the square footage number that I found
listed most frequently. Ultimately this niche Disney Vacation Club topic may be interesting
to you because really not all villas are built the same and there is quite a range in square footage.
If you have a larger travel party or you know you simply just want more space to spread out while
you're on vacation this certainly could help you pick your resort. Whether that be for purchasing a
home resort or just staying if that's on your own points, rented points, or on the cash rate, I hope
you find this helpful. We will begin by breaking things down by villa's size. So let's start with
the studios. The smallest studios are really their own class--it's those tower studios over at the
Riviera Resort. These only sleep two people and come in at 255 square feet. Next, unsurprisingly,
we have value rooms over at the Animal Kingdom Villas. These are all located on the Jambo House
side of things. And they are sort of their own separate category--a value category that does
cost less points because they are smaller rooms. In 12th we have these studios at Copper Creek,
and in 11th we have the studios at Bay Lake Tower. For all intents and purposes these are essentially
the same square footage you're not really going to notice a difference. Next, and this is the
smallest of what I would consider the average range of studio size for Disney Vacation Club,
is Saratoga Springs coming in at around 355 square feet. Nearly identical to that we have Boulder
Ridge and Beach Club at 356 square feet. Also in practical terms feeling the same is the BoardWalk
coming in at 359 square feet. Standard deluxe studios over at Animal Kingdom Villas on the Jambo
House side are 365 square feet, so quite a lot bigger than those value rooms. And on the Kidani
side of Animal Kingdom Villas it's basically the same. Personally I think ranks 5 through 10 are
going to feel about the same to you. Yes, they do span about a 10 square foot difference in the
room and that might be slightly noticeable, but generally speaking in my opinion I think you're
going to find the same amount of feel of how big the room is at all these resorts. Moving into the
top four we have the Grand Floridian coming in at 374 square feet. This is the first studio I
would say will actually start to feel a little bit roomy. Old Key West is third at 390 square feet.
And now we start to get to studio villas that feel quite big. The deluxe studios at the Riviera
Resort--so those proper deluxe studios, not the small tower studios meant for two people,
but the standard studios--are 423 square feet big. And then those studios at the Polynesian are 447
square feet. Discounting the value rooms at Animal Kingdom Villas as well as those tower studios in
Riviera, you can see within the ranks that there's over 100 square feet difference between the
smallest and the largest studios. Most of them, however, are in that 350 to 360 square foot range.
Next we have one bedrooms. In last place again are those value rooms over at the Animal Kingdom at
629 square feet. Copper Creek one bedrooms come in at 675 square feet. One bedrooms at the BoardWalk
are about 712 square feet, and one bedrooms over at Saratoga Springs are very close to that at
714 square feet. The Beach Club villas will also feel similarly in my opinion at 719 square feet.
Same with those Jambo House Animal Kingdom Villas at 720 square feet. Sixth we have Boulder Ridge
at 727 square feet. So between ranks 6 and 10 you have a spread of about 15 square feet. Personally
I call these one bedroom villas at the resorts ranked 6 through 10 essentially average sized
feeling. Under [7]00 feet for one bedroom feels a little small to me, especially if you want to have
several adults in there. And by pure rank wise of course this is not average--these would be below
average. But I don't think you would feel too squished in any of these places. Ranks five and up
start to feel a little bit larger and make quite a jump in square feet. Bay Lake Tower comes in
at fifth with 803 square feet, so that's over 70 square feet different from rank six. As discussed
in the Animal Kingdom Villas fast facts video, the differences in room size between Kidani and Jambo
can be significant and this is a clear example: Kidani Village one bedrooms are about 807 square
feet and are ranked fourth. Coming in at third we have the Riviera Resort at 813 square feet.
Next, we have another jump in total square feet although not as dramatic as this previous one,
but in second we have the Grand Floridian coming in at 844 square feet. Personally I believe that
once you get to about 30 square feet you can actually really feel the difference in the
room size. Finally the largest one bedroom villas are over at Old Key West. I don't think that's a
surprise to any DVC fans, and those come in at over 1,000 square feet. That's a massive jump.
If you really value space and you're looking to book one bedrooms Old Key West may be a great
option for you. And similarly if you're used to staying in one bedrooms at Old Key West probably
every other resort is going to feel absurdly small to you. Next we have the two bedrooms,
and as you may have guessed Animal Kingdom value villas come in in last place at only 945 square
feet. For context as we just saw that's actually smaller than one bedrooms over at Old Key West.
Standard Copper Creek two bedrooms come in at around 1,051 square feet. And next, which is 12th
on the list, is Saratoga Springs coming in at 1,070 square feet. Just one square foot larger
totaling 1,071 square feet are those two bedrooms at the BoardWalk. Ranks nine and ten are 1,075
square feet, so still very similar to BoardWalk and Saratoga Springs, and that is going to be
Beach Club as well as Jambo House at the Animal Kingdom Villas. Eighth is Boulder Ridge, which
is situated in 1,0[8]3 square feet. Seventh we have those bungalows over at the Polynesian resort--if
you have that many points for Disney Vacation Club that you want to spend--and those are two bedroom
accommodations, although they are those really beautiful over water bungalows, and they come in at
just under 1,100 square feet. So thus far of these ranks 7 through 14 most of these are what I would
consider standard two-bedroom rooms--that is ranks 8 through 13. Those Bora Bora Bungalows
at the Polynesian as well as the value rooms over at Animal Kingdom Villas are sort of in
a class of their own. The difference in size between ranks 8 and 13 is about 30 square feet;
however, ranks 9 through 12 are really only about 5 square feet different and essentially these are
going to feel absolutely the same. Moving on to the top half of the list. Bay Lake Tower comes in
at number six at 1,152 square feet. Number five is those Kidani Village villas at 1,173 square feet.
Next we have sort of a special type of room: these are those cabins over at the Copper Creek,
and those break 1,200 square feet. These are two bedroom accommodations, but again I would
consider those sort of in a class of their own. But if you want to splurge and spend the points,
but maybe not quite as many as a Bungalow, the cabins at Copper Creek may be a good deal for you.
Moving back to standard two bedrooms, next we have the Grand Floridian coming in at 1,232 square
feet. Coming in second by size of the two-bedroom villas for Walt Disney World Disney Vacation Club
home resorts is the Riviera Resort coming in at 1,246 square feet. And just like the one bedrooms
we have Old Key West coming in at first. The two bedrooms at Old Key West clock in at almost 1,400
square feet. So again there's quite a big jump between Old Key West and all the other resorts.
And overall for two bedroom villas there is quite a large spread in terms of difference
of square footage between the top ranks and the bottom ranks. Lastly we have three bedroom grand
villa accommodations. Many Disney Vacation Club home resorts do not even have grand villas, so
this is going to be a smaller list with only 10 total options. In last we have the treehouses
over at Saratoga Springs. Again I would consider this sort of a special type of room that maybe
should be in its own category, but they are three bedroom accommodations. These treehouses come in
at under 1,100 square feet and they managed to pack three bedrooms into that space. If
you recall from the discussion just prior to this about the two bedroom home resort accommodations,
many two bedrooms are actually larger than these three bedroom treehouses. It's certainly a unique
experience though. Of what I would consider these standard grand villas, and not a special category
like the treehouses, in last place we have Bay Lake Tower coming in at just over 2,000 square
feet. Next is Saratoga Springs at just over 2,100 square feet. About 30 square feet bigger than
that, next is the villas over at the BoardWalk coming in at 2,142 square feet. The first grand
villas to break 2,200 square feet are those over at the Animal Kingdom Villas on the Kidani Village
side. Three bedroom accommodations over at Copper Creek measure to be about 2,237 square feet.
Putting the treehouses aside for a second, you can see that in the bottom half of this list between
these resorts there is already a 200 square foot difference. If you are looking for space to spread
out in, which if you're renting a grand villa I think might be the case, the square footage
really may impact your decision. On to the top half of the list. In fourth we have the Animal
Kingdom Villas on the Jambo House side coming in at 2,349 square feet. Third is Old Key West at
2,375 square feet. Breaking 2,500 square feet at 2,530 square feet we have the Riviera Resort. And
finally the largest three bedroom accommodations for Disney Vacation Club home resorts located at
Walt Disney World are those Grand Floridian grand villas coming in at 2,800 square feet.
Now, these lists have been great if you want to compare resorts within a single villa category.
However, I know a lot of folks bounce between different villa types. Maybe you book studios when
you're just traveling with your partner, and you book one or two bedrooms if you're traveling with
your extended family. Therefore let's go ahead and look resort by resort at the ranks as well as the
square footage. First up we have the Jambo House side of the Animal Kingdom Villas. Unsurprisingly
those value category rooms rank-wise come in close to dead last every time, as they are very
small and that's why they're value category. Of note there are no value grand villas. Jambo
House Villas are going to feel fairly average size throughout most of the villa categories,
with the exception of those grand villas which are on the larger end. On the Kidani Village
side of Animal Kingdom Villas again it's going to feel relatively average in most of the villa
categories. When comparing to Jambo House those studios through two bedrooms are a little bit
bigger on the Kidani Village side, and in contrast the three bedroom accommodations on Kidani are a
little bit smaller than those on the Jambo side. There are no grand villas at the Beach Club,
and all the other accommodations are going to come in a little bit low on the ranks. Overall,
these tend to be a little bit on the small side. Bay Lake Tower offers all the accommodation sizes
and generally is going to feel either average or small. Studios and grand villas here are
definitely on the small end. Like Beach Club, Boulder Ridge does not have grand villas and the
other accommodations are going to be a little bit on the small end. These aren't dead last in ranks
by any means, however, you will be able to feel a difference in larger accommodation sizes of some
of the other resort options. BoardWalk offers all the accommodation sizes and again is going to be
average to small feeling. The Copper Creek Villas for the studios to two bedroom accommodations are
going to feel on the small size. However, those grand villas are actually relatively roomy.
Grand villas here are average rank, but coming in at over 2,200 square feet--I hope you will
have enough room to spread out. If you want to splurge for a Copper Creek cabin, which is a two
bedroom accommodation, that will feel pretty dang spacious. If you're looking for a resort where all
the accommodation sizes are not only available but also very large, Old Key West might be your winner
here. Old Key West is not number one in every accommodation size, but generally speaking these
are very spacious rooms. The Polynesian only offers studios and those Bora Bora Bungalows,
which are two bedroom accommodations. There are no one bedrooms and no grand villas. The studios
here are absolutely massive coming in at almost 450 square feet. The size of those bungalows
is pretty average--it's nothing to write home about--but if you're going to rent one of these
bungalows it's really for the experience of being on that lake and having those Magic Kingdom views,
not to have all the space in the world. The Riviera Resort, which for now is the newest Disney
Vacation Club property at Walt Disney World, does pretty well in the ranks. Those tower studios are
tiny and in my opinion absolutely abysmal, but all the standard rooms--so your normal deluxe
studios all the way through your grand villa three bedroom accommodations--are pretty spacious. All
the accommodations at Saratoga Springs come in at the bottom of the pack. Saratoga Springs contracts
are often highly regarded for the value in terms of the price you pay: your initial price as well
as the amount of points that you need to stay. However, if you do choose to use your points to
stay here you may be sacrificing some space in order for that other value. Like Old Key West,
villas at the Grand Floridian are also all highly ranked. The lowest rank we have here is fourth and
those are for those studios. If you're looking for a truly luxurious day and you're fine with
splurging, those three bedroom grand villa accommodations coming in at 2,800 square feet
at the Grand Floridian sure are a dream. Back to comparing all the resorts to each other in a more
digestible format: let's look first at studios. You can see the Polynesian, Old Key West, and
Riviera Resort for those standard deluxe studios are all the largest. The two smallest of course
are the tower studios over at Riviera as well as the value accommodations at Animal Kingdom.
Of standard deluxe studios though you're going to feel the most cramped at Bay Lake Tower,
Copper Creek, and Saratoga Springs. Moving on to one bedrooms. Again, Old Key West and Riviera come
in at rather large accommodations. In [second] place this time we have the Grand Floridian. And on the
small side of things again we have those value rooms at Animal Kingdom, and then the standard
one bedrooms at Copper Creek and Saratoga Springs resort. Another one that may feel small to you in
the one bedroom category is BoardWalk Villas. For two bedroom accommodations we have these same top
three winners, although in a different order. Again, that's Old Key West, the Grand Floridian,
and Riviera Resort. And we've got the value rooms at Animal Kingdom Villas, Saratoga Springs,
the BoardWalk, and Copper Creek on bottom. For the three-bedroom grand villa accommodations there
are less resorts to choose from; however, we can still rank them and have a top and bottom. On top,
coming in at the largest again, is Old Key West, the Grand Floridian, and the Riviera Resort. The
crowd on the bottom is a little bit different this time with the addition of Bay Lake Tower. And then
we have familiar players at the bottom over at the BoardWalk Villas, as well as at Saratoga Springs
resort--both the standard grand villas as well as those treehouse accommodations. So all in all
if villa size matters to you the winners here really are Old Key West, the Riviera Resort,
and the Grand Floridian. And the losers across all the villa sizes are going to be the BoardWalk,
Copper Creek, as well as Saratoga Springs. How do you feel about villa sizes? Do these factor
into your decisions at all? And were you surprised to see the spread of the total square feet between
some of the resorts? I know I certainly was. Of course colloquially we all know Old Key West is
huge, but comparing it directly to all the other resorts really makes it stand out. And even if we
take Old Key West out of the running there is still quite a big spread for some of the villa
categories. I can't wait to hear your thoughts in the comments down below! And if you want to
chat about any other niche or general Disney Vacation Club topics, or Walt Disney World,
really anything Disney, you can find me in the comments on YouTube or you can also find me on
Instagram and Twitter @PixieDustPhD. Interacting with you all is one of my favorite parts of doing
this and really is what makes it worth it. I genuinely do love to hear your thoughts! When
I decided to make Bay Lake Tower my home resort I did know that the studios were small. However,
I find it really interesting that the one bedrooms are actually pretty average or
maybe even a little big. Maybe every few trips we can splurge and get a one bedroom instead. I
hope the rest of your day is absolutely magical, and we'll see you real soon at Pixie Dust PhD.