Now that you own DVC are your trips more relaxed?

[kenny]

We recently purchased our DVC ownership and are planning our first trip.

I remarked to my DW that I am looking forward to all our trips now since I will be more relaxed. Knowing we will be going every year now, I won't feel the pressure to do EVERYTHING every trip. If I don't ride Peter Pan 200 times (only 100 now :rotfl: ), it is ok. I will get it next trip.

I just feel like now we can relax more and take our time. Really make it a true vacation. In the past we always tried to schedule some down time, but it was few and far between. Maybe we'd have a drink while swimming for an hour, but never just a lazy day to recoup, etc.

My DW doesn't believe me. She still thinks once I am there I am going to get my itch to go commando again! :lmao:

I was wondering what all the long time owners think. Do you find yourself more relax and just "flow" during your trips, or are you still go go go.

Thanks

[OlderMan]

Our trips to WD are now MUCH more relaxed.

We rarely even visit the theme parks now.

DD's prefer the pool(s), Community Hall, etc. to the parks.

[dianeschlicht]

After 11+ years of ownership, we still go to the parks every day, but we no longer do commando touring. We just take in the few things we want to do that day. The other thing we do is not plan every minute. We definitely do more "fly by the seat of the pants" type touring. We use our knowledge of crowds at Disney to determine where we go and when. If it gets crowded, we just head to a different park. We ALWAYS take some down time in the middle of the day, and we never feel rushed to do anything. If we miss it, we pick it up a different day. We just returned from an 11 day trip. The last day we knew we had several things we still hadn't done that we wanted to do, so we ended up going to 3 of the 4 parks on our last day. Never felt rushed for any of them either, since we know we'll be back. It is SO much more enjoyable the DVC way!

[starbox]

Our first year of membership, we still read the guide books, did the parks pretty much commando, and had a schedule ahead of time.

Last year, we ended up coming back to the resort and swimming almost every afternoon.

I'm going again in two weeks - and aside from the PnP party and making a couple of dining reservations and buying a new book to read by the pool - I have nothing pre-planned! :rotfl:

So we've totally changed.

[PEANUT1]

We have only had our DVC for a year and our second trip is in May. I think that after a few trips we will be more relaxed and feel more like going to disney is like going home...but for now, we still have lots of stuff planned.

I don't think I will feel the need to see everything bc I know we will be back very soon (like a couple only trip in October). Life is good.:)

[eliza61]

Way more relaxed! I rarely if ever get to the parks at rope drop and I'll go into the parks for an entire day and possible only ride 1 attraction. What's funny is that I'll still come back home saying what a fabulous trip I had.

[lwilliam]

more relaxed
in fact, our family actually LOVES the fact that we don't have maid service every day - we were there during the Christmas holiday and actually cancelled our trash/towel service so we didn't need to worry about someone coming into room - we had the washer/dryer - why do we need service?
Had a 21 yr. old with us, this way he could sleep as long as he wanted.
We DID stop the commando and started to relax.

[jimmytammy]

::yes::

Definitely!! Our 1st trip home was a bit hectic cause it hadnt sunk in yet that we would be returning again and again. But we caught on pretty quick after that. DVC resorts are a great place to relax on those rainy days.

[dairyqueenmom]

I am so hoping for a more relaxed style of touring. We have been doing the commando style for years, and I come back home needing a vacation from our vacation. I still have some early morning reservations, I just can't stand the thought of getting started too late.:rotfl: But I think I will be more relaxed about taking a mid-afternoon break. We also are doing a couples only trip in September and I am really looking forward to just strolling around Epcot enjoying all the sights with my DH.

[Tinkerdreams]

Our first trip home will be this December and I've actually told the kids they can sleep in. In years past, we would get up early and head to the parks and do as much as possible so that we felt we got our money's worth.

We also never did any of the extras - such as taking out the boats, going miniture golfing, or even enjoying the pool at the resort. Now we will actually take the time to do these things and not worry about making sure we do everything in the parks. We'll be back August 2009!! :banana: :cool1:

[edk35]

I am so hoping for a more relaxed style of touring. We have been doing the commando style for years, and I come back home needing a vacation from our vacation. I still have some early morning reservations, I just can't stand the thought of getting started too late.:rotfl: But I think I will be more relaxed about taking a mid-afternoon break. We also are doing a couples only trip in September and I am really looking forward to just strolling around Epcot enjoying all the sights with my DH.

It is a s l o w go for us as far as relaxing but we have only been members a year. We have stayed DVC twice so far and I have to say we did enjoy our trips with more down time than usual. We usually never do the down time thing. For years and years we were all about getting up at zero dark thirty, staying late and getting it ALL DONE. We noticed on our very first trip...we were at the pool far more than we ever thought we would be, we were at DTD a lot too. Oh and did we ride a surrey bike???? Yes we did!!!!! So it is a slow process for us but it is HAPPENING. :thumbsup2 We are lucky that our kids actually like to stroll around the countries and EC. They are fine with a slower day too.

WE can't wait til our 12 night trip this July. This will be our longest trip ever and we KNOW there will be plenty of time to relax and really enjoy our trip without being exhausted when we get home. At least that is the plan. :yay: WE are also going back in Nov for 7 nights and because it is crowded Thanksgiving week....we know already that the plan will be to focus on the atmosphere of the holiday, take in the decorations and just have some nice family time. We plan on doing less park time on that trip.

[starbox]

Our first trip home will be this December and I've actually told the kids they can sleep in. In years past, we would get up early and head to the parks and do as much as possible so that we felt we got our money's worth.



I will say that we continue to get up early - but only because it pays off with minimal crowds (we travel in summer - so that probably makes a difference). We are usually done with the parks by lunch and then don't go back till after dinner.
:thumbsup2

[a Really Bad Egg]

...but our trips are way more relaxed these days; Not sure if for any one reason or one of many...

...we've been enough times to have done all the 'must-dos' many times
...we've finally perfected our family's 'touring style' and plans
...the DVC resorts relaxed nature entices one to slow down and enjoy
...knowing we will return many times

So maybe for us owning DVC was more of a natural transition as we began to feel the need for more laid back treks to WDW.

:thumbsup2

[nhdisnut]

We are certainly more relaxed! We still tour the parks almost daily, but because we now visit so often (we've averaged 3 visits a year over the past few years), we no longer feel that we have to do or see everything in the parks. We pick and choose. Often we find ourselves saying "Ok, we'll skip, whatever ride and catch it next time!" Sure beats our first trip back in 2000 when we didn't know we would be visiting so often and we did everything all day.....talk about exhausting!

Now we take pressure-free breaks each day, do some extras (rent boats, play tennis,etc.) that we would not have ever done before, and really take time to relax.

I had someone at work today make the claim that WDW is not a true vacation (with relaxation built in). Before DVC I might have agreed to a certain extent. Now I can happily disagree!:goodvibes

[tink4ever]

We have been owners since 2001 and it did take us a couple of years to learn how to relax. Our kids are now in their 20's so they just want to sleep and go to the pool and eat at all of the restaurants. We go to the parks for the sights, to go on our favorites and then just play it by ear. We have learned to truly enjoy everything about Disney. We went 4 times in 07 and we have 2 trips planned for 08 so we know we will not miss anything. But without DVC this would not be possible. It has truly helped us enjoy Disney much, much more!!!:cheer2:

[AKV707]

Not a veteran owner, DW and I have had only one DVC trip so far. But even on that trip, we were way more relaxed. AS th op said, we know we are coming back, so no need for commando.

We did really feel a sense of "home" at OKW on that trip.

We already know that our next trip, this time to or home AKV, will be very relaxed. We are planning on lots of time at the resort.

[bobbiwoz]

I really don't think I ever did commando, but the difference DH feels is that he's no longer sad when we have to leave, because he knows he's coming back. I'm still sad when we leave:confused3

The difference for me is that we nearly always go over to VWL during our trips to ride the bikes to and around Ft. Wilderness. That area, the lake, the area by River Country and Discovery Island were part of WDW that I always liked, I felt away from the multitudes, and now we always take the time to do that, so I enjoy my vacations even more now. What we haven't done in a very long time is ride the mini boats around the lake. Maybe this next trip!

Bobbi:goodvibes

[CarolMN]

Way more relaxed.

We leave for our next trip in about 6 weeks (first time for Flower & Garden Festival) and I haven't even made any ADRs yet. :)

[LoveTheWDWMagic]

Our trips are more relaxed. We still go to the park/waterpark/or DTD, but if we miss a certain ride or show, it is "ok" since we can ride or watch it next year.:) With both our kids in school, we go during the summer months and we usually go back to our room (BWV) during the hottest time of the day and either swim in the pool or hang out in the community hall.:woohoo:
Congrats on being a new DVC member and enjoy your trip!! :cool1:

[delmar411]

It's good know that a lot of ppl get more relaxed. I'm having a hard time w/ our Dec trip because the park hours are shorter and the commando in me is freaking out! LOL Hopefully after a few more trips I'll chill out. ;)

[dgaston]

OK so sort of in the minority here. I live the thrill rides and so does DH. That means we have to get up early to get Fastpasses for Everest or Space or
Soaring or RnR or ToT. And we are 57 and 60!:lmao: We do take an afternoon break, but we are not yet able to enjoy the resorts as much as I think we should be able to. In July we have AKV concierge and safaris planned, so maybe it'll work out.

[DeeCee735]

Oh yeah! No more commando style park touring for us. There are days when we just go into a park to ride a couple of coasters, eat a meal and be done with it. One of my fav things to do while there is resort hop. I just love checking everything out, even if I've done it all before.

We usually (especially when I'm with a friend, not the fam) take a day to hang out by the quiet pool, have a couple of frozen drinks and relax.

It's awesome.

Enjoy!

[Tink-n-Belle]

Much more relaxed. Here's what we did on our Trip in Feb 08

Tues- arrived at 8:00 pm watch illuminations from our BW view balcony:lovestruc

Wednesday- was at Epcot at opening- toured Epcot Future world and was back at the BW for lunch at 1:00. Left there to go to DHS and left there at 6:00 pm to go to Germany for our 6:30 reservation -- however, we missed the boat and didn't even get back to the BW til 6:45 so we just decided to eat at Spoodles. (See no rushing to get to Germany-- I'm sorry we missed it but Spoodles was great and we didn't have to rush)!! Then we went back to Epcot about 8:00 and rode a few rides and watched illuminations and walked back to the BW

Thursday-- slept in and the kids went to the community hall(it was too cold for swimming) and then had lunch on the BW at the Big River Brew then we headed over to the P&PP for 4:00 at the MK and stayed there until 12:00 midnight!!

Friday- slept in again!!!!! Rented Mice boat and toured Cresent lake, got hair wraps, went swimming and just soaked up the atmosphere at the BW

Saturday-- went to DTD from 11-3 then check into the AKV-- went swimming and enjoyed the resort- watched the animals from our Balcony, went to Boma's for Dinner and participated in the AFRICA parade and dance in the lobby (fun!) had Characitures done on the kids and toured the different viewing areas for the animals.

Sunday -tuesday -- we really relaxed because we went to VB

It was a great trip and I'm glad we got to finally go to DTD and AKV to check it out.

[sajetto]

Our trips are definitely more relaxed. We sleep in, stroll around the parks, go back to the resort for frequent breaks, swim in the pool, and get plenty of rest. We still see most of the attractions we want to, but that is because we now take longer trips than we used to.

[Juliet25]

Yep, definitely more relaxed. We try to add a new thing to every trip to keep it fresh. For our December trip, we explored Fort Wilderness with DD and took advantage of the awesome pony rides there. IN November, I'm planning on just two parks even though we'll be there for 6 nights. We may even try SeaWorld or US next time.

Also, as someone else mentioned, I no longer get all depressed about leaving...knowing I'll be back soon enough.

[ccigliano]

Much more relaxed but before I was purchasing park hoppers tickets and I felt I needed to get the most out of my day at the Parks to maximize their value. We were in at rope drop and out after the fireworks with dinner in between. Now with DVC annual passes and knowing that I'll be back in a few months or even if it is a year later I take it easy. Now we'll just go to EP for dinner at Le Cellier and Illuminations fireworks. I even went one week without park tickets just to do all the things you never have time to do when touring the parks. We rented boats, rode bikes, hiked on the nature trail, did the Hoop De Doo and relaxed by the pool. Have fun and WELCOME HOME!:woohoo:

[fireman17]

Funny you posted about this. We bought into the DVC last Aug.:banana: SSR being our home resort and we had our first DVC stay this past February at OKW.
I said to my DW::MinnieMo on our third day I had noticed how relaxed we all seemed to be and the kids seemed to be really having a great time and they also seemed to be calmer too. We weren't rushing to get to any of the parks and when we did get there we just enjoyed ourselves so much.
I still talk to this day about the difference we noticed after staying at a DVC instead of cramming all five of us into a room at any other Disney resort.
Can't wait for our October trip which will be our first stay at our home resort two bedroom and the kids are just as excited seeing we'll have our new baby with us.

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Things are the same for us. We like to be on the go while at Disney. It's what we enjoy doing. Sitting around while at WDW would not be fun for our family. We always find some down time in the day to use the pool or Community Hall at the BWV. And we either stay up late or get up early and go to the parks. Never both. We have always done it that way so DVC ownership for the past seven years hasn't changed us.

HBC

[DVC Mike]

Our trips are definitely more relaxed. We sleep in, stroll around the parks, go back to the resort for frequent breaks, swim in the pool, and get plenty of rest. We still see most of the attractions we want to, but that is because we now take longer trips than we used to.

I could have written those same words to describe my wife and I. :thumbsup2

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We've been twice since joining.

We were with my sisters and their families in April and tried to absolutely hit every attraction in 6 nights. It was exhausting! It didn't really dawn on us that we would be coming back really soon. I kept trying to make everything perfect and my newbie relatives kept throwing me curve balls.

HOWEVER, in January everything was soooo nice. We only stayed 4 nights. If we missed an attraction it wasn't a big deal. We totally skipped AK so that we could go back to Epcot and ride MS, TT, and Soarin. It also helped to fly and have the ddp.

So for us, the 2nd trip was more relaxed, not because we knew we were coming back, but because we knew that we had seen everything 8 months earlier.

[disney54us]

I think you will feel more relaxed:thumbsup2. Depending on logistics and how often you can visit, you will still have the feeling 'don't worry', we'll catch it on the next trip'. Many don't know when there next trip will be, when you become a DVC owner, most did so for the reason that they could be at the world more often then if they were to go w/o dvc.
So, relax and enjoy your 40+years to come:goodvibes.

[disneymom8589]

DH and I are going on our 2nd DVC trip in 2 weeks! :yay: We are looking forward to a more relaxing trip and hope to tour a few resorts. We have some ADRs at some fun and romantic restaurants. Knowing that we'll be back in July will keep the park commando from kicking in (I hope!)

[corpcomp]

After 10 years of visiting the parks with my DS12 and after buying at BCV two years ago, we realized we are no longer in a hurry to do anything. We go to SAB every day for about two hours (we almost never got to visit the pools in the regular resorts.)

We take our time, hit all the parks and the rides we want to go on and if it is crowded we just leave early and enjoy SAB. We go back later when it tends to be less crowded

It was a great decision, and buying Disney visa to get all our food free was the 2nd best.

[dairyqueenmom]

Way more relaxed.

We leave for our next trip in about 6 weeks (first time for Flower & Garden Festival) and I haven't even made any ADRs yet. :)

We also will be there during Flower & Garden, I think I would have to be dead to not have made my ADR's already.:rotfl: :rotfl:

[PinkTink63]

Well...yes and no!:rotfl: My husband, who is a 47 yr. old child has to spend about every waking moment in the parks!:hyper: :rotfl: Not really, but if it were up to him, we probably wouldn't even go back to swim in the middle of the day!

We definitely stay longer and this is how I trick him into slowing down our pace, so he doesn't even realize it!:ssst: :laughing:

[Coach81]

We had our first trip home this past Feb. I must say we still did a bit " Commando", but there was a more relaxed attitude. The great news is.. we are returning in a few months. The fact that we knew we were coming right back in May made the ride home a bit less depressing. I forsee us becoming much more laid-back in our future trips to Orlando. We are planning on checking out Seaworld & Aqatica in addition to visiting Disney in May. The other great news is we will be making our February reservations at the end of this month for our home resort SSR! :banana:

I can see us developing a relaxing, easy pace in the future of our DVC.

We are very happy with our decision to buy into DVC, and we are looking forward to many more magical memories at Disney!!!

[BWV Dreamin]

Our first trip home (BWV) is in April. All of my family will have park tickets for the length of stay. After this trip, the next 3 I have planned, we will visit NO parks! There is plenty to do without ever setting foot in a park. And really looking forward to the "relaxed" vacation!:goodvibes

[BroganMc]

Our first multi-trip year when we got APs (and pre-DVC), we did a marathon commando tour. It was comical because we counted the number of times we rode things in one trip, then one day, etc.

The next trip it felt like a letdown because we burned ourselves out the trip before. There was precious little new or forgotten. We also got sick the first week so were just glad we had a second week to recover. It wasn't a wasted trip.

Now we plan our trip days around meals and special events rather than rides. If we're up early, it is to stroll around our resort. I'm not at the point of checking out for a day to read a book (mostly because I'm a binge book reader and don't want to give up 6-8 hours on it). I do enjoy plugging in my headphones and just strolling through the parks watching all the other commandos stressing themselves out.

The biggest relaxing agent is reminding yourself "I'll be back to catch that later". It helps to have another trip reserved when you go on the current one.

[Kathi OD]

We're absolutely more relaxed. One of the things we love the most about our DVC ownership is that if we don't get it done this time, no biggie, there is always next time. We KNOW we're going back and it probably won't be 3 or 4 years down the road!

We still plan certain things to do, like MVMCP or and Illuminations cruise, but we don't try to squeeze them all into the same trip. We actually go home feeling like we've been on vacation, something that was unheard of pre-DVC.

[dsneygirl]

Absolutely. We always say "well we'll just do that next time" This past Dec we went for 7 days and averaged 1 ride per day. We also have a toddler and work on his schedule. We seem to like the special events, MVMCP, PnP, MNSSHP etc more than just the same old attractions.

We also take time for afternoon naps and swims more.

[TinksDH]

Very much so. Combining DVC with AP's makes it much more enjoyable and relaxing. If we don't get to it this trip, no big deal, we'll try again in 6 months! However, even after 13 trips to WDW since 2000, we STILL haven't gone to any other theme park except WDW! No Sea World, no Universal, no Wet-n-Wild (is that even there anymore?), etc. Just can't bring ourselves to try anything else!

[beccasmom]

We take it much easier unless family or friends are with us. We visit the parks two days tops and then enjoy the pools, shopping, eating....there are tons of other activities! We love DVC and just enjoy it so much. :love:

[justloveit]

Our trips are more relaxed without a doubt. DD just went to WDW on her senior trip and stayed at a value resort, with only half days at the parks visiting 2 parks a day. She was exhausted, and everytime we talked to her, she said she liked our vacations better! Knowing you will be back eliminates the need for racing to squeeze it all in, making it much more relaxed.:thumbsup2

[rangermom]

I'm looking forward to more relaxing vacations. The next two will have family members coming with us, so I know I will still be a little commando. When we wnet to DL this last Nov we took it easy because we had already decided to go there every two years.

[mommylibrarian]

More relaxed here too! And we've added kids into the equation.

We do get up for rope drop, mainly because our kids are up anyway, AND we prefer the lower crowds. It also lengthens our day, so we have time to return to the resort, nap, hit the pool, and then enjoy something in the evening.

Just having the kitchen makes life easier too. We have more room to move around and we have a nice stock of supplies (frozen water bottles, snacks, etc.) And we spend less money, which lowers our stress level as well!

[Deb & Bill]

We still make plans so we know where and when we are going to eat our meals. And we get up early so we can hit the MK or the other parks when they open so we can get our favorites out of the way. But, we'll head back to the resort when others are streaming in at 10:30 or 11AM and go for a swim. Heck, we even take naps every afternoon for a few hours.

And we will deviate from our plan all the time. We might even stay in some nights and just watch TV or play a game.