Great thread, thanks to all who have contributed and helped prepare us for our upcoming trip. I'm sure I missed it somewhere in here but I have a couple questions:
1. We are two families staying in a 2 bedroom unit. 4 adults (2 couples), 3 teens and a 7 year old. What would be the best layout/location to request?
2. We will have 2 cars. Can we park more than one car with only one reservation?
I would suggest taking a look at the villa layouts at
https://www.vistana.com/destinations/sheraton-vistana-resort/villas/100#two-bedroom-villacascades (scroll left to right to see the options) to see what you think will work best for you. With 8 people, you will be using every available sleeping surface, and some will be sharing beds/space. There are only 3 layout choices in a sleeps 8 configuration, only 2 of which are likely to be offered. The lockoff configurations (2 King masters, 2 sofa beds) you see in the layouts is probably not an option as these are most often locked off into the component 2*1BR units; 2 rentals is better than one for the resort/renting owner. You can request a LO, but it is a hard to get configuration. So that leaves the standard 2BR configurations in Spas, Palms, Springs, Cascades, Lakes and Fountains; or the upper townhomes in Courts. The former is the most prevalent villa configuration at Vistana, with a king in the master, 2 queen(ish) sized beds in the 2nd and a sleeper sofa. Courts is closer to a 3BR with a king master, 2 long singles in the 2BR, a sleeper sofa in the loft and a sleeper sofa in the living room.
From the comfort aspect, you will have more "real" mattresses in the standard configuration, but 4 people will be sharing 2 beds in a single room. From a privacy viewpoint, the Courts upper has a bit more private space, but 4 people are on sofa bed mattresses. Also take a look at bathroom configurations; Courts has direct access to the master bath from the hall; Spas, Springs, Palms all have access very near the master bedroom door, so you aren't walking through the master to share that bath; Cascades, Lakes, and Fountains have you walking right through the master bedroom to reach the master bath (making it harder to share that bath).
Consider requesting a housekeeping linen change mid-stay (fee) and swapping some beds around to spread the "discomfort" of the sleeper sofa. The sleeper mattresses are reportedly pretty good
for a sofa bed, but there is only so much you can do with the classic 3-4" mattress that spends most of its life folded in half. I wouldn't want to be the one drawing short straw for a full week on one.
There is no problem with having 2 cars at Vistana, and IIRC there is no charge for a second vehicle. First vehicle is always free.