Does anyone buy DVC to stay in studios only?

[molly2004]

Hi, there! Not a member yet, but actively saving $$ towards it (we want to pay cash). We plan to buy a small contract and stay only in studios. How realistic am I? I just figure that we stay in studios now when we travel (even with the kids) and stay in hotels. Why get a 1+ bedroom and spoil it for other vacations (what other vacations?) Besides, we don't cook when we're on vacation so the full kitchens will just be taking up space.

Do you think I'm kidding myself? Will I regret a small contract? Did anyone plan to do this and later realize it didn't work out and get frustrated? I don't want to regret my decision to buy in. And I really don't want to buy more points later.

What has your experience been?

Thanks!

 

[deedeetoo]

We are looking at buying right now and actually considered this briefly but then decided against it. If we can't buy enough points to stay in 1 BR we don't want to do DVC. You're right that a studio is more like a regular hotel room but there is one big difference, at least to us. There is no washer/dryer in the studio and there is no daily housekeeping. If I don't get daily housekeeping, I want to be able to wash and dry the towels. I want to be able to clean the sheets if DS wets the bed (hopefully we'll be over this soon ).

I know studios can use laundry facilities outside the rooms but that reminds me too much of my college days (putting in the laundry, running back to put in the dryer, having to wait around in case someone else takes it out) Yuchh. Not what I want to be doing on my vacation.

 

[spiceycat]

I have been a member since 93 - 95% of my stays are studio generally OKW....

the 5% have been a 1-bedroom twice, 2-bedroom 3 times.

it depends upon you.

if you are happy with a studio - then why even go for a 1-bedroom.

if I though I wasn't going to happy with a studio I would probably not have even gotten DVC. I am not close to begin rich by any means...

dvc is great, you can do what works for you.

at both OKW and SSR the washer/dryer are near the pool - so washing my clothes or the towels aren't really a problem... I do it often.

 

[Deemarch]

We bought at 50 years of age...No more kids, just the two of us. If I was going to pay rack rate for a room at the Boardwalk, Beachclub, etc. it would cost me alot more than prepaying for the studio. We have stayed in a DVC resort 4 times, so far, and all have been in a studio. We are going to be going on a family trip in Oct. and with borrowed points, we are staying in a 2bd & 1 studio...Hoping for a GV!!! The studio stay allows us 2 - 1 week vacations each year...

I'm not sure if I'd feel the same way if we had kids, it's nice for mom & dad to have privacy on vacation! But if you'd stay in a single room with your kids at a deluxe resort...

JMHO

 

[vascubaguy]

We are fairly young and I originally purchased a very small (40 pt) contract at OKW, which was just enough for 5 nights (Sun-Fri) in a studio at OKW in October. Of course we then added-on when we figured we'd start going earlier in the year too!

We only intend to stay in studios as we don't need the full kitchen and, though the washer/dryer and the jacuzzi tub would be nice, I don't think they are worth using the extra points for just the 2 of us. Now if we had kids, that might be different (depending on many things - age, etc).

That said, if you only want to pay cash and start with a small contract, that is a reasonable goal. You can take advantage of the vacations now, and if you decide in the future that you want more points you can always do an add-on.

So, to answer your question directly... yes we purchased to stay in studios only. (But we might try a 1-br someday if we take other folks with us and want to blow a few points).

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

Our plan was to stay in a studio BUT then we stayed in a 1 bedroom and cant imagine going back With that said, I would DEFINITELy buy what you can afford and go with it, DVC has been wonderful!!!

 

[mikesmom]

To be honest, I'm not sure it's realistic to buy in with the intention of ALWAYS getting a Studio. You have twins. When those twins become pre adolescent you may need a bit more room as it will be like having 4 adults in a hotel room. As a matter of fact, eventually the 2 bdrm may be the way to go - gets you an extra bathroom. I have traveled with 2 teen boys. A Studio would not have been comfortable.

If your children are small, I imagine the Studio is just fine for now. You can always add on.

 

[Hollymom1229]

DH and I bought with the intention of staying in studios when it's just the two of us. If anyone else joins us we upgrade the size so that we still have privacy. I've done the 4 people in one hotel room thing, now I want my space when travelling.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I've stayed in a studio twice and in a 2BR twice. I've never done the 1BR. And it's always been at OKW. We do not have children.

Our first trip down was in the 2BR and there were 6 of us so we needed the accomodations that a 2BR provided. I loved having the washer and dryer. I didn't use the kitchen at all but the other people in our party did quite extensively. They made full breakfast in the mornings and dinners of baked zitti and meatloaf and the like. Now that's not to say I didn't eat what they prepared but had it just been myself and DH I can't say that we would have used the kitchen.

My second trip down was with my girlfriend and her two small children and we stayed in a studio at OKW. This is when we REALLY could have used the accomodations of at least a 1 BR. She needed to do breakfast in the room w/ her two little ones and it was difficult trying to "cook" egg beaters in the microwave. She also needed to wash clothes for her family and to be quite honest with you it was a pain trying to lug the laundry down to the free laundry facilities and wait for our clothes to wash and dry. We were quite a bit a way from the laundry and we also had to dedicate time to washing the clothes because the W&D weren't in our room. You know, we couldn't put a load in and go do something and then when we felt like coming back transfer them into the dryer. Because there is no mousekeeping, we ran out of towels with the 4 of us so they had to be washed even if we didn't have clothes that needed to be.

My third trip down with DVC was just myself and DH. We stayed in a studio and this was perfectly fine for just the two of us. Because we don't use the full kitchen facilities we made out terrific with the little kitchenette with the sink, microwave and fridge. We were provided with plates, glasses and utensils so we had all we needed to keep snacks in the room or to heat up a meal that we had brought back. We didn't need to wash clothes so not having a W&D right in the room was also not a problem. Now I will say, if it were there I would have done a load or two but it really didn't matter one way or the other. Again, I say with just the two of us, the studio met our needs perfectly.

On our fourth trip down we were again a group of 5 so we did need the 2BR accomodations again but that's because our group was so big.

Hope this helps give you some ideas of how the accomodations have worked for other people. Maybe you could see yourselves in one of the examples given and you could say, "Hey, that's me. We definately can go w/ just the studios in mind." or, "We definately need at least a one bedroom."

Either way, I will say that DVC is the best investment we have made and if a studio was all I could stay in then I would still do it. Definately worth it in our book!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our sons were growing up in the '80's so DVC wasn't an option, and it never dawned on us to stay off site. We gravitated to the rented trailer homes at Ft. Wilderness. They were wonderful. They only had 1 bathroom, but the bedroom/sleeping arrangements gave us some privacy and the boys some time without us right there.

I don't consider myself extravagent, but I definitely think the extra room was worth it.

Plus, when they were young, and we had the one room, DH and I would camp in the hallway with our ears to the door while they took naps. To think that you could have a 1 bedroom now, and not take it?? I know I would want the 1 bedroom, sooner than many of you, I guess.

We've been members for 3 years now, we're empty nesters and have just taken our first 1 bedroom at OKW trip, and there will be more of them, for sure .A studio still "does it" when we have been to BCV,BWV, VWL and SSR. I'm not sure that will change.

Bobbi

 

[jblb1020]

I just bought into DVC in April and bought what I could afford which was 150 point contract. For right now I am fine staying in a studio with my husband and two children ages 3 & 5. I just recently took my first trip home in May and stayed in a studio at SSR and was very happy with the room. I don't plan to cook on vacation either so a room without a kitchen is just fine with me. Of course I'm afraid if I ever do stay in a 1 bedroom I might never go back to a studio. SO for right now What I don't know won't hurt me!! Good Luck!

 

[dvc at last !]

We just purchased DVC this year. We will be in a studio in October,
our son is using a studio in January, but we have a 1 bedroom planned for next July.
I do not always plan to cook, but the 1 bedroom with kitchen will come in handy
next July and so will the washer/dryer. If I need to do wash while in a studio it is very easy to use the washer/dryer near the pool. It all works !

 

[d-r]

We always stayed in studios until we had kids. We bought our first add-on sort of thinking about how many days in a studio we'd have. Now that we've had kids (and a couple more add-ons later) I really wouldn't want to stay in a studio. The space is a big deal. I don't know how people stay in a hotel room with kids. I'm serious. We don't really cook, but the dishwasher is great for sippy cups and bottles, and the fridge is a must. The big tub is important, too. The washer and drier is crazy useful. We could stay in a studio if we had to, but the bigger rooms are nice. The great thing about DVC, though, is that you aren't locked in to a specific type of room. If you find out studios work for you, great, go with it. If not, add-on more points or book and bank. The warning is, though, if you start staying in bigger rooms you won't go back.

Oh, one thing about the kitchen and it just taking up space is this. I don't know how old your kids are. But as far as I'm concerned, the kitchen in dvc rooms is a life-size (well, maybe 1/2 scale) play kitchen for toddlers. Disney is so over the top in theming that the fridge and dishwasher actually work, and you can actually use them if you want. But its mostly just a place for toddlers to open and shut cabinet doors without being limited by the child-proof locks like at home. You have to be a little careful though, because they are so good at theming they actually put stuff like dishwasher tabs in the cabinets - real ones! So you want to clear that stuff out before you let the kids enjoy the play kitchen.

 

[sean-1966]

Yep, that's what we thought. But then we caught add-on-itis. Mind you our next trip we decided to stay in studios and stay longer.

 

[bpmorley]

That's all we've stayed, but it is only me and the wife. Even when we have a child we'll be doing the studio. I don't think it's unrealistic at all.

 

[bcvillastwo]

We've stayed in studios, 1 bdrms, and 2 bdrms so far. In each case we made our choice based on the circumstances at that particular point in time. This flexibility is one of the things I like most about DVC. We utilize it to meet eet specific needs/desires at specific times. For people who go to WDW regularly and prefer to stay on site at "moderate or better" resorts it's the cat's meow.

So, to the OP if you think a studio will work for you then I say go for it. It took us over 3 years to decide whether DVC was right for us. In hindsight I have no regrets as the time was used to carefully consider how many points we wanted, how to pay for the points, and considering many points use scenario's.

Reading the advice given by others is a wise move but after all is said and done everyone's circumstances are different so weight the advice, consider the options, and make the best decision you can for you particular set of circumstances.

 

[littlestar]

We use studios a lot. In the fall we are doing 6 nights in a studio for me and my husband, 5 night studios for each daughter and son-in-law. Plus, that way we each get to stay at our favorites resorts and have privacy.

So yes, I think studios would work if you usually stay in a hotel room.

 

[byoung]

We bought last June 200 BWV points, usually stay in the studio's. In fact with my 200 points we got 19 nights in studio, with points left over this year.
Not bad for a timeshare.

 

[Inkmahm]

My husband and I just bought into the DVC this year. We've stayed one night in a studio. All future reservations so far are in one bedrooms. We already added on twice so we have enough points for one bedrooms.

So much for staying in studios...

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

we bought enough points for the 1br while the two boys are still at home.after thatthe paln is to us points towards studios to strettttcccchhh those points. we can now do from 10 - 14 days depending on time of year and resort. My goal is to be able to get 1-month total in a studio (multiple trips)