better or more stays?

[flipflopmom]

OK, we are fairly new owners, bought in Sept. Quickly made reservations for BLT in June, and HHI for NYE. Didn't really understand fully the system, but wanted to get those in.

Now we are actually exploring point charts, coming up with possibilities for future stays. We are fairly points challenged, in comparison with most (200), and will add on at some point. We banked our 2009 points, and are trying to carefully spread those out for a few years first. For the time being, I wonder:

Do most of you plan for better/longer stays/view/room while you are there (i.e. MK view at BLT, bigger rooms) or whatever is the least amount of points so you can get more stays in? We drive from VA, so unless something strange happens, we will only be in the world once a year, with a trip to HHI at some point. I know BLT is the most points intensive, but that's where we want to be, for now. Hope this makes sense?

 

[Chuck S]

Vacation criteria vary greatly from family to family, and individual to individual. For us, we prefer a one bedroom at OKW. Others think a Savannah View studio is heaven on earth.

The only person who can really answer the question of what type of DVC vacation fill your needs the best, is you.

Generally, we make 2 trips of 8 or 9 nghts per year (sometimes longer) and alternate between an OKW one bedroom and a studio to conserve some points.

With DVC, the possibilities are basically limitless for a WDW vacation, determined only by the number of points you own. They are your points, use them in a way that makes you happy and brings you magic.

 

[cvjw]

We would rather spend less time at Disney in a nicer and bigger room than more time in a tiny room. A studio does not work for our family - it is just too small for us. We have decided to use our points to stay in a 2 bedroom for the 4 of us, and really enjoy our space and time at Disney. We bought into DVC to enjoy larger rooms. If we wanted to stay in a small room, we could stay at POFQ (our favorite moderate) for alot less money!!

 

[ToddyLu]

Like the PP...it is just DH and I, no children. He wants to stay in a 1 Br at AKV but with a studio we get a SV that he loves. So we walk to the laundry but get to see animals off the balcony. I am the one who plans the point stays. This year MIL will accompany us and will have her own studio with SV. For this I banked 48 points into 2010 (DecUY-210 points). It was cheaper points wise than doing a 2 br SV. SO thi swill work for us and hopefully allow us to sometimes take 2 trips a year when it is just DH and I.

I would love to see my brother purchase points. He has 5 children ages 16 to 1 1/2 yrs old. He would always basically need 2 hotel rooms. A 2 Br timeshare would be so much better on property. But they have always made spur of the moment trips which would not really work in DVC. So we are all different. DH and my brother are at opposite ends of the personality spectrum---so sharing with them isn't really safe or fun for my SIL or me.

 

[dallastxcpa]

We have to have a two bedroom as there are five of us and we always bring some family. We are point poor, only 150. But it is amazing how creative you can get. One option is to get the bigger room and then us your DVC or an AP discount to book the room on cash for the weekend.

 

[HsvTeacher]

Like others have said, I think it varies from family to family. My DH and I love to stay in studios, because they are the perfect size for us. For our situation, we found that a 1-bedroom was a waste of points. If we had kids, I'm sure we would prefer a 1 or 2-bedroom.

Since we stay in a studio, we can afford to go on longer trips more often. We can fit in at least two weeklong trips. We are also able to get good views, and just this morning, I was able to book a club level room. (And we are not points rich by any means!)

You'll find what works for you and your family.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The only person who can really answer the question of what type of DVC vacation fill your needs the best, is you.

Well said! DH has a pretty stressful job, and he can only take one week of vacation at a time (no 2 week vacations for us!). So we always relax in a one bedroom at OKW even if it's one of the highest point seasons of the year. Once he retires, however, he'll be more flexible and have more time for trips to WDW, then maybe a longer trip in a studio will be OK. So needs may change.

 

[Sandisw]

We will be going each year and for us, we will spend points for a bigger room vs. the view at BLT.

I plan on doing the SV rooms every trip, with an occasional MK view when I rack up the extra points.

The other piece is that we do fly and right now, the direct flight arrives at 7:00 pm in the summer when we travel. Our plan is to book a studio for the 1st night or two if need be, unless there are more than 4 of us going. With DS in grad school and DD going off to college in the fall, we will be done from 5 to 3 for most trips from now on.

But I would rather go for more nights with the SV view than to spend the points to get an MK view.

 

[wdrl]

Here is another factor to consider: Some members who have Annual Passes try to schedule two trips during the lifespan of their APs, such as having one trip in July 2010 and a second trip in June 2011.

Like you, we are new members and our first DVC trip will be in March. Our approach to our DVC membership is that it is a long-term commitment (BLT expires in 50 years; AKV in 47 years; and I'll expire way before then!), so we have plenty of time to try out different accommodations, resorts, seasons, etc. We have a BLT MK view studio booked in March, and we have a BLT 1-bedroom Standard View booked in September. Perhaps after that second trip to BLT we'll know whether we want/need an MK view or a 1-bedroom, or if the smaller Studio and cheaper Standard View are just fine for us. I know for some planning a vacation is a burdensome chore, but my wife and I enjoy planning trips and counting down the days. Hope everything works out well for you!!!

 

[bbluvsdis]

Hello fellow Hokie Fan! We have been DVC members since 2006. After staying for the first time in a one bedroom we have never considered anything smaller. I love having a separate living room and the big bathroom is wonderful. We added on after our first DVC stay and still want more points! Since we don't have to go on the school calendar anymore we try to visit at times when it takes fewer points. Since 2007 we have visited during Food and Wine, Garden festival and in early December. Last year we used the Concierge collection for a trip to San Francisco to celebrate our anniversary. This year we are taking our son and his friends in May to celebrate his college graduation. Every year is different for us and that is the fun of DVC!

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We've had 200 points since 1998. It seems like we mostly tried to get more trips out of our points early on, but lately we are tending to stay longer and go less frequently. Part of it may be because we are now empty nesters (relatively speaking) and we also want to visit more national parks and other places we've never been to.

 

[arthur06]

We are very point poor too...only 155 for us! We have 3 boys under 9, so for us we take the bigger accomodations and less stress, rather then trying to shove us all in a small room... not much of a vacation if the kids dont nap, and we have to go to bed at 830! Momma and I need some time to watch some tv in bed and relax and a studio does not provide that...

 

[rlovew]

Right now there are just 2 of us and we really use our membership for DH to take classes in Orlando - I visit the parks while he is in class and then we enjoy the evening together. Since that is our main use of them for the next couple of years (till he finishes school) we use the lowest point studio avialable for most of our stays but once he is out of school I expect that to change and we will be more likely to stay other places and use larger accomidations at times.

 

[AirGoofy]

I guess it depends on what you prefer and where you stay. At VB, we would want a 1 BR. However, when we stay at WDW resorts, we usually do theme parks most every day with DDs (8,5) so studio is what we go with. We only have 120 points and will do an add on in the future, after we stay at all the different resorts and figure out which one we want.

 

[bnk1120]

With only 150 points I want to get as many days as I can. So that means only studios and roughly nine days in either one long or two short trips. As my DD gets older I anticipate that we will want a 1 bedroom. At that point we will add on. Right now we're happy with studios. It's also fun trying to figure out the best use of the 150 points!