Best DVC for 2 Dad Families

[jacec]

Considering DVC purchase and wanted to get any perspective on the best home resort for a 2 Dad family with 2 kids (girl 7 and boy 3). Considering Aluani but fairly open

 

[Wild4Walt]

They say buy into where you want to stay. From a comfort level, I think you'll be comfortable at any of the DVC. If it was me, I'd look at OKW for convenience and room size ( these rooms are slightly larger than the other DVC resorts ) or AKL for being off the beaten path some and how beautiful it is. I mean, it has it's own zoo! For me, that's all I'd need.

 

[jacec]

Really good point. Probably don’t want to pay $10-$14k every year on top of the DVC cost to go the Aulani

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

I feel you would be comfortable at any resort. The big factor is what size room you are looking for. If you think you want to purchase just enough points for a studio or 1 bedroom you need to ask yourself how long your kids will be ok sharing a bed as well as how difficult it will be for 2 parents and 2 future pre-teens/teens/adults to share a bathroom. There are studios and 1 bedrooms that sleep 5 and have 2 showers or even 2 full bathrooms. For me, that would rule out SS & OKW completely as their studios and 1 BR only sleep 4 and have one bathroom. If you want to one day think bigger like 1 or 2 bedrooms that also rules out Poly.

We're a family of 5 but for now we are happy with our VGF and AKL contracts- VGF studio (sleeps 5, 2 showers) and 1 or 2 bedroom at AKL that we get every summer (Kidani has 2 bathrooms in the 1 bedroom, Jambo only has 1). When we can get it we also love the 1 bedroom at BLT- sleeps 5 and has 2 full bathrooms.

 

[jacec]

I feel you would be comfortable at any resort. The big factor is what size room you are looking for. If you think you want to purchase just enough points for a studio or 1 bedroom you need to ask yourself how long your kids will be ok sharing a bed as well as how difficult it will be for 2 parents and 2 future pre-teens/teens/adults to share a bathroom.

Good point and I think even at this age of 7 & 3 we feel more comfortable going on vacation with a 2 bedroom, this would allow both kids to sleep in different areas and Dads to have their own private room.

I'm thinking with their ages DVC is a good investment now as we'd likely use it every year for the next 8-10 years.
For now it's about resorts that offer Kids Club so we can have some fun time as they get older I'm sure it will be all about the parks.

You all have me leaning towards something in FL now as it will be easier to transit to from Chicago.
I assume we can always splurge early to get to Aulani with points.

Given school and jobs our trips will almost always be over Spring Break or Christmas/NewYears.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

In pre-covid times AKL had the most activities for kids. All DVC main pools have activities in the afternoons. As far as a "Kids Clubs", they used to have fee- based drop-off babysitting/activity centers at a few resorts but they closed 3 years ago. There are Community Halls at several DVC resorts, they offer crafts, videogames, board games and activities you can do there or take back to your room but children have to be supervised in Community Halls by an adult (until age 14 I believe). My kids are 12, 9 & 6 and we spend about an hour or 2 per week of our stay in a Community Hall doing crafts. I'd say a few hours/week is the max a child would enjoy spending time in a Community Hall (unless they are just there to zone out and play videogames).

 

[jacec]

That's really good to know. Does Aluani have kids care?

I'm leaning towards buying something like 300 points at SSR and then booking into 2br villas across all DVC properties. I think for this trip coming up Dec 31 - Jan 7 might look for someone renting points to try out the DVC experience.

 

[holden]

If you plan to keep your DVC for a long time, think about when the kids are older. We bought at BLT because of the extra bathroom in the 1BR and 2BR. We also like the short walk to MK. We always stay in a minimum of a 1BR but most often stay in a 2BR.

When we do stay at other DVC resorts, we choose Kidani most often (again, for the extra bathroom). We have also stayed at OKW, BC, SSR, GF and Poly but found we keep returning to either BLT or Kidani.

Ultimately, buy where you love to stay. Everyone says that because it's true.

 

[jacec]

If you plan to keep your DVC for a long time, think about when the kids are older. We bought at BLT because of the extra bathroom in the 1BR and 2BR. We also like the short walk to MK. We always stay in a minimum of a 1BR but most often stay in a 2BR.

When we do stay at other DVC resorts, we choose Kidani most often (again, for the extra bathroom). We have also stayed at OKW, BC, SSR, GF and Poly but found we keep returning to either BLT or Kidani.

Ultimately, buy where you love to stay. Everyone says that because it's true.

I love to golf so I think we are going to start at SSR. Figure we can always use the DVC points at other resorts as we’ll also be looking for 2BR. The SSR recently renovated 2BRs are super nice.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

That's really good to know. Does Aluani have kids care?

I'm leaning towards buying something like 300 points at SSR and then booking into 2br villas across all DVC properties. I think for this trip coming up Dec 31 - Jan 7 might look for someone renting points to try out the DVC experience.

Aulani has Aunty's Beach House which is included in the cost of your stay, they have a few upcharge events as well.

For this December 31st-Jan 7th several DVC resorts don't show full availability for 2 bedrooms: Jambo at AKL, Copper Creek, BLT, Boardwalk, Boulder Ridge and Beach Club aren't able to be booked for the full stay. If you wait much longer there's a good chance VGF will be booked that week too. If you do plan on buying DVC and staying during peak times you need to book at or near the 11 month mark. As a side note, SS and OKW almost always have availability.

 

[Chuck S]

I own at OKW, of course, that was the only DVC Resort at the time. It is laid back, relaxing...a place for kids and adults to wind down after a busy day at the parks, yet close to Disney Springs. But, with young kids, I'd be looking for an extended contract at OKW that expires in 2057 and not 2042.

 

[jacec]

Thanks for the all advice. Went for a direct purchase at SSR for 300 points with a $10 reduced point incentive and 2020 points thrown in. Now I’m on the hunt for a SSR resale for December use year

this strategy with DVC points is highly addictive

 

[Chuck S]

Welcome Home!

Just remember, booking resorts at 7 months can occasionally be problematic. I'd book at your home resort at 11 months, then try to switch, if possible, at seven months. This year, especially with all the banked points from the closure and the upcoming 50th anniversary of WDW, is difficult to book anything at 7 months.

 

[jacec]

Good idea. No penalty to change reservations around, right ?

for my second resale contract I may try to get BLT

can you combine points between contracts ?

 

[Chuck S]

Yes, there is no penalty to change reservations as long as the original reservation is not changed within 31 days of check in date. If you change at 30 days or less, any points from the original reservation not used for the new reservation would go into "holding status" and would need to be used for booking reservations 60 days or less from check-in date.

You may combine points at 7 months for a reservation, as long as the points are under the same membership number, meaning they would need to be the same use year. At 11 months out, only points assigned to a resort may be used. Also, at 7 months you can not swap points (using points at 11 months, then swapping the same reservation for a different resort's points). For instance, you could not book SSR at 11 months, then swap that SSR reservation to BLT points, as that defeats the purpose of the 11 month booking window. IF your points are different use years, you would either need to book it as two reservations, or call Member Services and transfer points from one contract to the other...

If you have more questions about points and DVC resorts, I invite you to the DVC Forums here on the DIS. You'll find it a very knowledgeable and helpful group of people.

 

[jacec]

Yes. You are all so helpful. This place is an amazing community. Thanks for your help

 

[LovesTimone]

Before you buy, I would rent some points and stay a couple of different spots, Davids DVC rentals has a good reputation here... and try out a couple of different ones... Right now while your family is young, in 10 short years you will have teenagers on your hands, and they need some space for sure, a PP mentioned looking at the bathrooms, would be on my radar for sure... When they are little you can throw them in the same bed, when they hit double digits that all stops, so something else to think about...

You might love it, or maybe you will realize that its not for you.. Find what works for your family...

 

[jodybird511]

Not a 2 dad fam, but a 2 mom fam. We own at Aulani and BLT. We love the convenience of BLT when at WDW, b/c you can walk to Magic Kingdom--I can't recommend this highly enough! If you haven't been to Aulani, I also highly recommend. Our kids are older now (11 and 17), but Aunty's is awesome when they are younger. For our fam of 4, we usually end up spending about $10k in addition to Aulani accomms--that includes airfare, food, and staying a few days on another island.

 

[ford91exploder]

I love to golf so I think we are going to start at SSR. Figure we can always use the DVC points at other resorts as we’ll also be looking for 2BR. The SSR recently renovated 2BRs are super nice.

I was going to ask whether golf was important if so SSR is your resort, Now you could try for THV the treehouse villa's which are also part of SSR but are AMAZING for adults and 10x so for kids and they are very private as well. A THV is techincally a 2BR but in feel lots closer to a GV.

If you are animal lovers AKL is a great choice, When we owned DVC we had AKL, BLT and THV so I can recommend them ALL, BLT's greatest advantage is access but it has incredible views at night - meh in the daytime but at night....

 

[Lee Matthews]

My husband and I have recently bought into 2 DVC resorts.

AKV for our main WDW trips and also Vero beach for well… beach holidays when we want to relax.

we wanted a resort that just offered some to big different to the parks and what we have here in the UK and AKV is just that.

our son is 6 now just we think for relaxation, food options and activities AKV will be perfect or us. Will have to request rooms where we can though as we don’t want extensive walks to our room.

eventually we would love to meet some same sex families on our trips too and hang out. Our son would love it it would be great for him to make like minded people