I feel that DVC has missed the market for this family make-up -- a 2 bedroom requires a lot of points, so many can not afford this size contract, at studio for 5 is too cramped, so to build a resort and only have a 1 bedroom that can only accommodate 4 is a let down. This is what limited our list of DVC contracts that fit our family of 5. Hopefully with a completely new build at Riviera will bring a different occupancy limits.
This scenario might be ok for a shorter visit, but a week in a studio with 2 adults, 2 12 yo boys and a 4 year old would get pretty cramped pretty quickly. Not that people spend too much time in their room, but it is nice to know you can go back to your room, spread out and relax and not be on top of each other.
I would like to point out that we are also a family of 5 and Poly owners (in case you couldn't tell lol), and to me, Poly is the PERFECT resort for a family of 5. For less than the points of a 1 bedroom at VGF, (a comparable monorail resort) that only sleep 5 and have 1 shower, you can get 2 CONNECTING studios at Poly. The kids have one room, the parents have one room, we each have two showers. Its perfect. Open the door for family time. Close it for privacy. I'd much rather be in that setup than a 1 bedroom for more points. And a 2 bedroom? Out of the question at any resort except BWV, SSR, AKV, and OKW because of the extreme amount of points. At VGF the cheapest you can get a 2 bedroom is 340 points for the week! 340!!! And thats for 1200sq ft and 2 bathrooms. For 236 points you get 1000 sq feet and 4 bathrooms at PVB.... Im sorry but I think thats a much better deal and a better situation for a family of 5. Granted, we are over packers and don't do laundry on trips, and my wife is not the one to cook on vacation so we don't miss those added amenities.
But once again there is more to the story than only studios. The whole story is PVB has the largest studios by far with 2 bathrooms and great theming and is the ONLY DVC resort that pretty much guarantees connecting room. For my family 5 we would take the value we get out of 2 connecting studios at the Poly vs a 1 or 2 bedroom for more points elsewhere any day. Add to that the PVB is the ONLY DVC resort you could reasonably fit 5 if you really wanted to save points gives Poly great flexibility. With the 2 showers and extra space it may not be comfortable to fit 5, but it certainly is doable. All the other studios that sleep 5 are much smaller, have 1 shower, and as a result are not viable options for 5 adults IMO. The value of having virtually guaranteed connecting studios is HUGE, and Poly is the ONLY DVC resort that offers that luxury, but somehow it always gets dismissed, overlooked, and swept under the rug.
Here is how I see our 50 years going. When the kids are young, til' the oldest is 12 or so the 1 studio with 2 showers is perfect. When they become teenagers we get 2 CONNECTED studios, one for kids, one for parents. When they move out and we are empty nesters we are back to our nice, big, perfect studios. If friends want to come we get connecting studios. If we REALLY, REALLY want a grand villa or 2 bedroom we stay at a different resort, one with a lower
point chart. Lets face it, the point chart for 1 and 2 bedrooms at PVB would be up there with VGF and that is just too expensive for my blood. If I am getting a 2 bedroom it will be at a resort that requires less points per night, period. So the fact that PVB has only studios is not even a negative in my eyes and is actually preferable for my situation, because I am confident that is all I will ever want/need at that specific resort.