A question

[sleepyone]

We're looking into DVC, and I have a question as to what would be appropriate for our family and how many points we need to look into. There are 5 of us: myself, dh, dd8, dd3, ds1 1/2. Would type of room would we need? How many points would we need? We would like to stay at least 7 days. I know there is a studio and villa but, which one would be comfortable for us? We would need at least 2 beds; one for dh & me, one for girls, and a crib for ds.

 

[cymomtx]

It also depends on how often you want to go. We are a family of 5 and we purchased 150 points as that would allow enough for us to go every other year. We booked a trip at Thanksgiving and it is ~243 points for a Fri - Thur at SSR for a 2BR.

 

[Dean]

For the entire family over the next 10-15 years you should assume a 2 BR. That's 300-350 points per trip for most times of the year for 7 nights. More for xmas and Easter, less for some times of the year. But you might be able to get by with less points if you go less, do 5 or 6 nights on points rather than 7 and the entire group doesn't go very time. I'd say a min of 220-270 points per visit (based on 1 BR costs in Magic time) and depending on the destination resort of choice.

 

[sleepyone]

I'm using Birnbaum's guide to WDW as my source. It reads 2 BR Villa at SSR sleeps 8. Well, there are 5 of us; could we bring a guest? Is there an extra charge if you bring an guest? Is this allowed? If We had enough points to stay at SSR in a 2 BR is there an extra cost or does it use more points? I hope this makes sense.

 

[Dean]

I'm using Birnbaum's guide to WDW as my source. It reads 2 BR Villa at SSR sleeps 8. Well, there are 5 of us; could we bring a guest? Is there an extra charge if you bring an guest? Is this allowed? If We had enough points to stay at SSR in a 2 BR is there an extra cost or does it use more points? I hope this makes sense.

The official occupancy for the studio and 1 BR is 4 and DVC will allow you to add one additional under 3. They have recently be allowing 5 in a 1 BR but you can't guarantee that will continue.

All 2 BR units at DVC sleep 8 but some do so more comfortably than others. There are no additional charges to add more people up to the allowable limit of the unit so you could invite guests with your party size. It's likely you will be able to get by with a 1 BR for much of your trips but not all as they kids grow.

 

[jaysue]

8 in a DVC 2BR is shall we say cozy

You would have 2 in the Master Bedroom in a King bed, 4 in the 2nd bedroom with a Queen Bed and a rollaway sofa bed (some have 2 Queen beds) and then 2 in the Living Area with another rollaway sofa bed. Some faced with this bedding situation have brought aerobeds along for some of the 8 guests to get more comfort

Enjoy
jaysue

 

[dianeschlicht]

The number of points not only depends on time of year, but also which resort you buy at. Right now, SSR is the resort being sold by Disney, but the other DVC resorts could be purchased as a resale at what should be a reduced price. The hitch is that Disney is able to excersise a right of first refusal, and if they think the contract is too cheap, they might by it back instead. The 1 bedroom villas at ANY of the DVC resorts would all be similar in bed accommodations. There will be a king plus a pull out sofa and a pac-N-play for a child under 3. The 2 bedroom villas will either have a queen bed plus a double pull out sofa in the second bedroom, or 2 queen beds in the second bedroom. There will also be a pull out in the living room like the 1 bedroom models. OKW has 2 queen beds in the second bedroom. The other resorts have most rooms with 1 bed and the pull out, but some of the resorts have a limited number of 2 bedrooms with 2 beds in the second bedroom.

Since you are a young family, you likely will get lots of use from the added years on the SSR contracts, so it is probably your best deal. Your annual allotment of points should be planned by the season you are most likely to travel plus the size of accomodations you will likely need. Remember that as your children grow and reach their teens, they are going to require a bit more room and may want to bring friends with, so a 2 bedroom is what I would plan for right from the start, even though you don't think you will use it right away.

 

[DrBond007]

We would need at least 2 beds; one for dh & me, one for girls, and a crib for ds.

Have you checked out the point carts listed on this web page? They could be a big help. You need to think about the time of year and which resort you want to stay at most often especially at peak times.

We have 5 in a one bedroom with our smaller children and are very comfortable. As the boys grow older, we'll want to graduate to a 2 bedroom and to have 2 bathrooms. Right now a one bedroom suits our needs very well.

I know you may see SSR touted because of the extra years, or OKW because of the lower point requirments, but picking your home resort is really about picking the resort you want to be able to get into most often, the one you prefer to stay at, IMHO. A deal isn't a deal if you feel like you invested in the wrong resort and would rather be closer to the parks. Vacation time is so precious, no sense waisting any of it on a second preference because of a percieved deal down the road. Just my $0.02.

 

[Disney Doll]

Officially, a studio or a one bedroom unit will sleep 5, if one of the 5 is young enough to sleep in a pack & play...effectively age 3 or younger.

That being said, as your family ages, you will need a 2 BR, which will sleep 8. It has a master BR with a king size bed, a second bedroom with 2 queen size beds, and a pullout sofe which is queen size as well. 2 people in each bed=8. With oyur fmaily of 5, you can bring 3 more guests, if they don't mind sharing beds in some combination...sort of like each kid could bring a friend and the child and their respective friend sleep in the same bed, and you & DH sleep in the master BR. There is no charge for # of people...you are charged points for the size unit.

To make a long story short (and it's probably too late! ) buy enough points to stay in a 2BR for as many days as you think you'd want to stay in a 2BR.

DH & I started out with 200 points. To maximize our points, we would arrive on a Friday r Saturday and stay the 1st 2 or 3 nights in a reguar hotel and move to the DVC property during the week, when the point cost was cheaper. That's just one hint for point maximization. And it worked for us for a lot of years!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just did 9 nights at OKW with 8 of us - 4 adults and 4 kids (3, 5, 7, 11). We had a great time because we got to show the other family just how to do it. We were not that crowded, partly because OKW has the biggest rooms around. I don't think I would have done this group at any of the other DVC resorts.

5 plus one is very doable at the DVC resorts in a two bedroom. If DVC continues to allow 5 in a one bedroom (two adults and three kids), you still only have sleeping spaces for four - one kingsized bed and one queen sized sleeper.

DVC points pay for the lodging. You can bring as many as will fit in the unit (4, 5 or 8) with no extra costs. No extra costs for extra adults over 2.