Cypress Pointe G.V Spoiled Us...

[FayeW]

Our one and only trip to WDW, and we stayed at CPGV with RSG on skyauction. Since then we have stayed in a regular hotel room twice ( 1 night each time) and cannot even comtemplate staying onsite when we go to Florida again next year. We went away overnight on the weekend, and we ended up pulling the chairs out of the hotel room to sit outside the door so the kids could try to go to sleep. The very idea of the four of us crammed into one room for a week horrifies me. There cannot be enough Magic in the Kingdom to put ourselves through being so cramped and uncomfortable.The only way my husband agreed to even let me entertain the idea of a trip next year was if we use skyauction again; he was so completely blown away by our accomodations!

I would love to stay onsite just for the experience, and to take advantage of the transportation, but after our experience Friday night, we realized that it was out of the question for us. For those of you who chose to stay onsite, or offsite in the regular 1 room units, why do you do it?

 

[26555]

I do both. I'm a huge advocate of condos (CPGV's 3 times) when staying 4 or more days. I have time to stock the frig, etc. When I'm going for only 2 nights, I don't find its worth all the planning and time to stock the frig, etc. And, its not until the 3rd night that sleeping with the kids bothers me. When its just 2 nights, its all about family time. When we have more time, we work in a little more of the "relaxing" part of the vacation. On short trips I like to check out the theming of the hotel and I try not to think of the condo I could have gotten for the same price. We spent 3 nights at POFQ and the kids loved the slide, boat ride to DD, beignets, bike ride to POR, etc. It was just fun to experience some of that for the first time. I am looking forward to the next trip with 4 nights at Cypress Pointe (although it kills me to think even with the great hotelkingdom rate I could get 7 nights at CPGV during that time for less money thru skyauction). I can find the deals, just can't find the time for a weeklong stay!

 

[DisneyFreak43]

We have done both, off-site and on-site over the last 11 years. Sometimes both in the same trip. We absolutely prefer on-site, probably because we don't spend much time in the room. Even if we go back in the afternoon for swim and rest, we aren't there very long and manage just fine. I think it's also that "Disney Feeling" when you are at one of the resorts. There's nothing better than walking back to your room at the Boardwalk from Epcot or MGM! Then, as night falls, all the lights come on around the lake, and you stroll back to Epcot for dinner and Illuminations! How many more days do I have to wait to be back in "The World"?

 

[FayeW]

I guess the question I should have asked was not " Why do you do it?" but rather, "How do you stand it?"

I totally get the idea of staying onsite for convenience sake, and if the one bedroom DVC units were in our budget, I would do it. Most of my disagreements with DH on holiday stem from his complete lack of willingness to ask for directions, EVER! I would love to take driving out of the equation by just staying onsite. I am considering renting some DVC points to stay a couple of nights in a studio; please tell me they are not just like the regular hotel rooms, except with a kitchenette!

Now, specifically for you folks who stay offsite in just the regular 2-double bed hotel rooms, why do you choose that over, say, a 1 bdrm somewhere through hotelkingdom, skyauction, etc?

 

[disneymom3]

Originally posted by 26555
(although it kills me to think even with the great hotelkingdom rate I could get 7 nights at CPGV during that time for less money thru skyauction). I can find the deals, just can't find the time for a weeklong stay!

Y'know, just for the record, you don't have to stay the whole week! We have rented through Sky Auction and stayed 4 nights for exactly that reason. Plus that way, we could leave in the evening after DH got a nap and not feel like we were "wasting" a night we had paid for. (Welll, we had paid for it, but at like $35 a night, who cares?)

 

[madelyn]

For a long stay, I don't think I could do without the kitchen and washer/dryer and extra space in a condo since I have kids ages 5 and 2. My husband is the type that likes to have "off-days" at the resort to relax so we do spend more time at the hotel. Last year's stay was at Old Key West in a 1-bedroom unit and this year we stayed at OKW in a 1-bedroom again, followed by a few nights at the Dolphin. We don't own DVC and don't want to pay the rates direct through Disney. The DVC Rent/Trade board is great and last year we were able to purchase a timeshare exchange week at OKW from a posting there and this year I was able to exchange a week at my sister-in-law's Cancun timeshare through Interval International. Even though we got great deals, the Rent/Trade Board is not as cheap as Skyauction would be, but the advantages for us to stay on-site are worth it to us. I can understand why it isn't worth it to others though. It just depends on how you vacation and what is important to you. I did stay in an Old Key West studio for my honeymoon about 8 years ago. The studio there is a room with two queen beds, a bathroom and a small refrigerator and microwave. There are no separate sleeping areas so it is more or less a regular hotel room. There are free w/d facilities by the pool. I believe, the other DVC properties have one queen bed in their studio rooms and a sofa bed, also both in the same room. It would be hard for me to stay in a studio unit with my kids for an extended period of time.

 

[26555]

I was wondering about how it would go to use less than a week on a Skyauction week. Could you use less on the front end? For example, the required checkin date is Sat but I could not get there until Tue night. Would they allow that?

 

[Gillian]

Originally posted by FayeW
I am considering renting some DVC points to stay a couple of nights in a studio; please tell me they are not just like the regular hotel rooms, except with a kitchenette!

They are. Except for OKW, they have 1 queen bed and a double or queen sleeper sofa. The kitchenette is a small under the counter fridge, a small sink, toaster, coffee maker and microwave. They are about the size of a normal hotel room, depending on the resort.

The reason we like DVC studios is that our kids are still very small. One sleeps in a pack n play, the other has been sleeping on the floor most nights (he's a little nutty), so the sofa bed gives us more floor space. They often run less $$ that a regular room at the same resort. We like a balcony for a little sanity, which limits us to deluxes.

It is hard to manage onsite in one room after being in a house or condo. We don't hang out much in the room when we are onsite though. In a condo we tend to relax there, cook a little, watch tv, etc. Onsite we focus on Disney activities much more. As long as we can sit outside for a little while each evening to wind down, we are fine.

 

[disneymom3]

Originally posted by 26555
I was wondering about how it would go to use less than a week on a Skyauction week. Could you use less on the front end? For example, the required checkin date is Sat but I could not get there until Tue night. Would they allow that?

I know that one of the times we had a Saturday check in and could not get there until Sunday and that was fine. I would call the resort and check. Just tell them you are doing an RCI exchange but will be checking in late and want to make sure your villa will still be available.