Just sitting here planning future vacations! Trying to squeeze in a short stay (for nites) But would have to do a studio. (never enough points) Only stayed DVC one time so far but in a one bedroom . With two small children it was so.... much better than our previous visits to "regular hotel rooms" Of course we all know this--that's why we are DVC'ers!! Anyway, what is the popular opinion of all you one bedroomers that might stay in a studio every once in a while to save points?? I just dont want to be really dissapointed!! (how can i be this spoiled already after only one trip home!) Thanks for any input!
if you want more trips - studios are the way to go - we have not had a problem - of course when I get a 1-bedroom I feel spoiled - so who knows how you will feel. kept in mind that there is more room in a studio at OKW than most of the hotels - (exceptions are Poly, Cont) - so you should be just fine. Plus you have the microwave and refrigerator - no more having bring an ice chest.
yes you can. The thing to think about is not that you will be missing the full kitchen and jacuzzi from the one bedroom, but that you are gaining a microwave and a small fridge over a regular hotel room, and extra space.
... but we haven't even made our first trip "home" and I don't see anyway we could possibly do any less than a 1 bdrm unless it was just DH and I. With DD we're going to want that door to close between us and the full kitchen.
WE always stay at our OKW home. A few years back, we did a studio trip with just DH and myself for 6 days. We vowed never to stay in anything smaller than a 1 bedroom after that trip, and we never have. We usually reserve a 2 bedroom for 1-2 weeks and then try to get folks to come down with us for a free room. We have no takers yet for our January trip, but we never have any trouble changing to a 1 bedroom in the last month or two. I just can NOT go without the jacuzzi and laundry room.
After staying in a OKW 1 bedroom we just can't make ourselves go back to a studio. I know it would mean more trips or longer stays, but oh those relaxing bubbles in the ja oooooooh. Sorry had OKW flash back(lol).
Not without hearing our kids whine the entire time! LOL! Seriously, we have 5 in our family. Two of us like to get up and go. Two like to sleep until they wake up. The baby has her own schedule from day to day. It is not just the extra space to roam, plus the washer & dryer. It is being able to let each family member enjoy their vacation. I didn't realize how stressful mornings were on vacation until we had the extra room and extra bathroom space. Going back to a studio would have to be a last resort (pardon the pun!)
It's really difficult to go back to a studio after staying in a larger unit. Even when I go solo I prefer the larger unit. The space and convenience is well worth the point cost. Having your own laundry and jacussi can't be beat. I have stayed in studios several times but always follow that with an upcoming 1-bedroom stay. I'd rather take fewer vacations but have more comfortable stays with my points.
We've gone back to a studio on the occasional night to save points, but our limit is one night. The larger villas do spoil you for anything else. Having said that, the studios are very nice indeed. However, I really love the ability to cook breakfast and soak in the jacuzzi and the studios can't accommodate those preferences (although I have cooked bacon in the studio microwave) the way the larger rooms can. I know we've been spoiled.....thank goodness we are members and can keep on being spoiled for years to come!
panfan - hi, how was your recent trip? We were going about the same time (end of May.) Ours was wonderful. My thoughts on your subject. Well, we usually stay in a studio, but I have stayed in a 2 bdrm and will be in a 2 bdrm in Feb. I have a dd (6) and a ds (2). I know that someone mentioned that the OKW studio is larger, but if your 2 yr old sleeps in a pack and play then do not stay in OKW. We usually stay at BWV and there is a wall that separates the bathroom sink from the beds and we put the pack and play there and ds sleeps and we can have the tv on. At OKW there is no divider and a baby in a pack and play can see everything that is going on, which would mean no tv for adults after baby's bedtime. I think the other studios are set up like BWV, but just look at the room layouts in the book. We love the studio. With small children it is perfect. I do make the bed everyday and set the one bed up as a couch and we have plenty of room. We really don't eat many meals in the room, cereal for breakfast. The small fridge is fine for bottled water and juice bags. We do just fine. The studio is much nicer than a regular room.
panfan, we usually have a least one vacation in a 1br or 2br, then followup shorter visits with studio (on the shorter it's usually, DH, DW, & DD). Staying in a studio gets us anxious for the larger unit on our future trip. Hey, the way we look at it is we can have some extra times in Disney, even if we have to spend a few nights in a studio.
We also have two small children (1 and 4) and stay in a studio more often than not. I think there is plenty of room for now. Eventually we will have to upgrade to a 1 bedroom as they get bigger but at the present I'd rather take more vacations! We love the one bedroom and are actually reserving a 2 bedroom for spring break and inviting my parents but we look at that as a splurge and not a regular occurrence. We also never do Fri and Sat nights!
We usually stay in the one or 2 bedroom units and this will be the first time I am staying in a studio with my sister and two small nieces. Of course, I would prefer a 2 bedroom but we are all out of points (doing the cruise in November) so it's a studio or nuthin'. This is a trip to introduce my nieces to Mickey so will be spending the majority of our time at the parks or the pool. My thinking is the smaller quarters won't be so bad. At least that's what I hope! Next year, it's definitely back to our 2 bedroom at Hilton Head!
We actually prefer a studio at VB (actually an inn ocean view room or a studio) and we have no desire to stay in a 1br or bigger at VB unless it was the beach cottage. Anywhere else, we probably just couldn't handle a studio unless we were really trying to save points. The studios at all of the resorts look awesome but we just need more space when we travel to Florida.
the "popular" opinion is not always the "right" opinion. I think for only four nights, somehow one can manage to live without doing laundry and without a jacuzzi (there are hot tubs at the pools!) I think actually the longer you are staying, the more important the bigger unit becomes as you tend to be more leisurely and spend time in the room. If it's a choice between a studio and not going, I would pick a studio any time. Before I bought into DVC I just dreamed about a unit the size of a 1br. Remember, thousands of families put 5 people in a room the size of a studio at many of the deluxe hotels and pay a lot of money to do so. A little perspective goes a long way! We frequently stay in studios and also sometimes choose 1 bedrooms as a splurge and we love them all. Lisa
okw can be set up a little different - some times there is room over behind the TV area - inbetween the beds and the table - at other places - this is not there - just depends upon which type of studio you get. also you could also generally set up in the closet area - there is enough room and it might be quieter for the baby.
It's usually just my DH and me. We have stayed in a studio everytime except once when we were upgraded at BWV. We stay in a 2 BR when we have the GC. The only thing I miss in the studio is the W/D and I can live without it. Don't miss the kitchen at all; perfect excuse to go out and eat.
We always stay in a 1 bedroom, but if we are going for a short stay a studio is fine. When the kids were lttle is was eaasier, but now that they are 10 and 12. Yes it is crowded. But we know that going in to the vacation and plan on spending as little time in the room as possible. We stayed for a week in a studio at spring break this year and we were concerned because the parks close early and we would have to spend some time in the room, but we used our extra time to visit DTD, enjoy the amenities at OKW and other resorts. I was surprised about the room that we had. I even made dinner one night. Ifg it is a choice of go in a studio or not go at all. I chose the studio...
We have stayed in a studio with just the 2 of us and once with our oldest when she was a baby. Since then we have stayed in 1-bedrooms for the 4 of us and 2 br when Grandpa comes along. That being said, I have a studio reserved next month and now Grandpa wants to come again! My husband says that we have to get at least a 1br (our youngest is still a baby so we will be legal). However, I can't find a 1br anywhere but OKW and DH wants to stay where the action is. I know though that we can live with the studio for the time that we are there because we won't spend much time in the room. And as others have said, studios are not that bad. I miss having the washer and dryer but can do without the jacuzzi (I have nightmares about all of those nasty body cells from others -does anyone have the cleaning recipe that was on here awhile ago?). So a studio it will be and I will love every second of it because afterall I am at Disney!
The one place I wouldn't stay in a studio is at OKW! Mainly because that's the only place that doesn't have a sofa in the studios, so your only option when watching TV is to sit on the bed, and that reminds me too much of a hotel room (aren't we spoiled?). On solo trips I happily stay in studios-1 BR would be too much for me, but on trips with DH and myself, we always stay in 1 BR. Used to stay in a studio, but boy did we learn-"once you stay in a 1 BR, you'll never go back."
