DVC Scouting Trip - UPDATED 6/9

[Opie100]

I'm thrilled to report that our first Disney World trip is just over a week away! As you will see, our itinerary is a bit nuts, with a 5yo DD and 3.5 mo. pregnant DW. However, this is my chance to convince DW that DVC is for us. Here's the itinerary:

Sat 5/16 - Drive to Disney (9 hours) - stay one night at Marriott Village
Sun 5/17 - Typhoon Lagoon (with friends) - stay in Kissimmee (Wyndham)
Mon 5/18 - Magic Kingdom - stay in Kissimmee (Wyndham)
Tue 5/19 - Hollywood Studios - stay one night at BCV!
Wed 5/20 - Epcot - stay one night at BWV!
Thur 5/21 - Epcot - first night at Kidani!
Fri 5/22 - Animal Kingdom - second night at Kidani!
Sat 5/23 - Cry and drive back

My point of posting is to collect any advice you have before we head out. I've rented points from some really nice owners for our DVC stay - all in standard studios, savannah view at Kidani. I already bought 7 day park tix (Under. Tourist) so I think we're set there. I'm starting my Ridemax itineraries now (they worked well during our one and only day visit to DL). We do plan to take a break and hit the hotel pools on 5/19-5/22 park days, as well as utilize the free luggage transportation deal between villas. We are not doing meal plan since table service availability was nil once we got around to calling (this was a late developing trip after our awesome Disney cruise this March). We do have ressies to do BBB at MK and for a character lunch at Crystal Palace.

Any tips before we go? Will our studio visits be enough or should we get the "official" DVC tour at Saratoga as well?

 

[disneynutz]

I'm thrilled to report that our first Disney World trip is just over a week away! As you will see, our itinerary is a bit nuts, with a 5yo DD and 3.5 mo. pregnant DW. However, this is my chance to convince DW that DVC is for us. Here's the itinerary:

Sat 5/16 - Drive to Disney (9 hours) - stay one night at Marriott Village
Sun 5/17 - Typhoon Lagoon (with friends) - stay in Kissimmee (Wyndham)
Mon 5/18 - Magic Kingdom - stay in Kissimmee (Wyndham)
Tue 5/19 - Hollywood Studios - stay one night at BCV!
Wed 5/20 - Epcot - stay one night at BWV!
Thur 5/21 - Epcot - first night at Kidani!
Fri 5/22 - Animal Kingdom - second night at Kidani!
Sat 5/23 - Cry and drive back

My point of posting is to collect any advice you have before we head out. I've rented points from some really nice owners for our DVC stay - all in standard studios, savannah view at Kidani. I already bought 7 day park tix (Under. Tourist) so I think we're set there. I'm starting my Ridemax itineraries now (they worked well during our one and only day visit to DL). We do plan to take a break and hit the hotel pools on 5/19-5/22 park days, as well as utilize the free luggage transportation deal between villas. We are not doing meal plan since table service availability was nil once we got around to calling (this was a late developing trip after our awesome Disney cruise this March). We do have ressies to do BBB at MK and for a character lunch at Crystal Palace.

Any tips before we go? Will our studio visits be enough or should we get the "official" DVC tour at Saratoga as well?

Move your own luggage since you have a car. That is a very aggressive schedule for a small child and a DW in her condition. Please don't over do it and don't get over heated. It's better to take it slow and enjoy yourself than to go commando style and feel the pressure to get it all done.

 

[Disney_Daddy]

I think you should definitely take her to Saratoga and go on the tour.

My wife was SOLD when she saw the 1 Bedroom model with the king size bed, large bathroom and jacuzzi tub.

She couldn't believe it was possible to stay on Disney property and get a "suite" for less than $500 per night. With DVC, it is possible!

 

[Crystal_27]

Any tips before we go? Will our studio visits be enough or should we get the "official" DVC tour at Saratoga as well?

If it were me, I would absolutely do the tour at SSR. Besides getting VIP FastPasses (which are fabulous for park touring) you will get to tour the model rooms and find out the "nuts and bolts" of the costs associated with DVC. For most, DVC sells itself and, since you are trying to convince your wife to buy into DVC, my guess is that once she sees the presentation, she will be sold. And, just as an FYI, your VIP FastPass cards are good for 3 days so make sure to take the tour early enough so that you can use them to your advantage.

I guess one other piece of advice would be to get a member referral so you can get all the DVC incentives available to you if you take the tour. For example, right now if you buy 200 points at BLT, the standard DVC incentive is an $8 discount per point, but if you have a DVC member referral, you will receive a $16 discount per point *or* a $8 discount per point plus a free cruise. The per point discount actually gets better if you buy at SSR or AKV too!!

Either way, I hope you guys have a fabulous vacation!! Take care!!

 

[AllisonG]

I think you should definitely take her to Saratoga and go on the tour.

My thoughts EXACTLY! Don't leave WDW without taking the DVC tour.

 

[Tara]

My first thought is that I'm tired just from thinking about all the hotel changes!

I agree with the others - do the tour! It's easy to arrange and very informative (and will probably do more to convince your wife than anything else).

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally, I would HATE moving resorts every day. You will lose a lot of time in that process. Be prepared that you may not have time to fit everything in that you want to do at the parks by the time you get there every day. Just the whole packing up, checking out, moving, checking-in thing is going to shoot your mornings. Since you have to check out by 11:00 there's no guarantee when you go to your next resort that your room will be ready before 4:00. You won't have time to "land" and relax at all so I think all of this moving around is going to make it a harder sell. I agree that the DVC tour is nice but IMO I am not sure I would be trying to cram one more thing, place or spot or anything else into my days. I agree with Tara. I'm tired just reading your itinerary. If you DO go on the tour I would at least ask about getting some free fast passes to help you get thru the parks. I've read where sometimes you can wrangle some of those.

We don't do split stays 'cuz I don't like to move. Or we haven't yet. And if we DID I would plan for at least 3-4 nights at each place before having to move. JMO tho. I hope it goes as planned for you but you really do have a crazy schedule planned. Not sure it's going to make the best impression on DW if she never has time to relax & enjoy it. Good luck - hope you have fun!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Other than good luck! No, no tips. Most people try out all of the resorts after they become owners, however, I see that you are taking a different approach! I can't say that ever, in my lifelong travels, I've ever stayed in 5 different hotels in one week!

My only concern for your family is how much time will be wasted checking in/out and waiting for rooms! But hey, everybody vacations differently, Have a great time.

 

[Opie100]

Thanks for your responses. It is a bit much but it was the best I could do with not a lot of lead time.

Question: Do I actually have to "Check Out"? Usually in other hotels we leave the keys in the room and take off (we don't use incidentals).

For instance, on Wed morning, I plan to call the bellhop, he comes gets our luggage (to move it to BWV), and we directly head over to Epcot. Then we come back in the early afternoon to BWV to relax (hopefully the room will be available after lunch). Does this make sense?

 

[Lynne M]

For instance, on Wed morning, I plan to call the bellhop, he comes gets our luggage (to move it to BWV), and we directly head over to Epcot. Then we come back in the early afternoon to BWV to relax (hopefully the room will be available after lunch). Does this make sense?

You really can't assume that your room will be ready after lunch. DVC resorts run at high occupancy, and villas take longer to clean than regular hotel rooms. You may get lucky and get your room that early, but you need to assume that you won't be getting into your room before 4 PM.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Opie100 Be sure to report back and tell us how it went and what you thought of each resort etc.!

 

[krmlaw]

OH MY ... Im pregnant and cant imagine and scheudule like that ... let alone with a small child in tow.

Make sure DW gets lots of water and rest. Tell her keep her feet up as much as possible!

And congrats on the little one!

 

[rkwier]

]My first thought is that I'm tired just from thinking about all the hotel changes![/B]

I agree with the others - do the tour! It's easy to arrange and very informative (and will probably do more to convince your wife than anything else).

My thoughts exactly! I would need another vacation to recover from that one! Personally, I would pick one resort as my home base and then go from there. You can always take ME to go visit the other resorts.

I agree, take the tour. Once she sees that one-bedroom, she will be hooked. The last time that we were there, I ended up getting sick. I could go to bed and rest in the bedroom and DH could watch tv, make a snack or whatever without disturbing me. We are totally sold on one-bedroom villas now! I can't imagine how much more convenient it would be with little ones.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Five hotels in seven nights???? If I were your wife, I'd be smacking you upside your head when you made me move out every day or every other day.

Are you crazy?? There is no way she is going to want to ever return to WDW after this trip. I really hope she isn't suffering from morning sickness.

 

[Opie100]

I hear y'all loud and clear - it was actually more of a function of availability than intentionally planning to stay so many places. There wasn't one resort available to stay at the same place for four nights in a row. Since checkout isn't required, I think the main inconvenience (since Disney will move our bags while we are in the parks) is that we can't come back to the room between 11-4 on most days. I still plan to come back and just hang out at the pool or restaurant or whatever on site each day, since I don't think we can be at the park all day every day. Perhaps I can call in to see if a room is available earlier while in the parks?

 

[mecllap]

If it were me, I would absolutely do the tour at SSR. Besides getting VIP FastPasses (which are fabulous for park touring) you will get to tour the model rooms and find out the "nuts and bolts" of the costs associated with DVC.

Are they still doing the VIP fastpasses -- I haven't read about anyone getting those lately?

OP -- Especially with your killer itinerary, seeing the one-bedroom on the tour would be a good idea. That's a very ambitious itinerary with a 5yo in very hot weather (which could be a problem also for your wife, but maybe not, we don't know that). I guess, as someone said, doing all that moving from one studio to another could make one really excited about the idea of being able to stay in a one-bedroom for several nights! With a growing family, you might want to consider OKW and SSR (and do look at the resale market -- info above and others). With a studio, you won't have the laundry in unit, which is very handy with kids. Also, no full kitchen (lots of people say they refuse to cook on vacation, but, esp. with kids, it's great to have the kitchen).

Hope you have a pleasant, successful trip!

 

[Crystal_27]

Are they still doing the VIP fastpasses -- I haven't read about anyone getting those lately?

We did the tour in March, 2009 and were given 6 VIP FastPass cards. Each card had 3 FastPasses on it, so we had a total of 18 FastPasses.

 

[lizziepooh]

I would move your own luggage since you have a car. You have to be in the room when the bellhops pick up your luggage and sometimes there are longer waits for them to come if they are really busy. (We once waited 45 minutes past the time they told us the night before because they were super busy.) If you do happen to get a room early, your luggage won't be available as it is usually delivered to the new resort later in the afternoon.
Good luck. I hope you have a great time.

 

[Opie100]

Thanks for the advice. Can we take our luggage to the porter downstairs and leave it with them for retreival later? Should we walk our luggage from BCV to BWV and leave it there? Do cars park far from BCV or close by?

 

[Liljam]

Sounds like you have a wild tripe planned but each family is different and each woman is different when pregnant. I could have never done it, pregnant or not, but I need to relax. I also adore SSR as my home resort and others prefer AKL or BLT. You may find this will be fine for your family.

I would absolutely do the SSR tour because your wife needs to see the other models (1 BR, 2 BR, GV.) Not sure where you're looking to buy but I love the grounds at SSR and the location being so close to DTD. Plus THV are there too if that's your style. If not, remember that you can buy anywhere else too, but only AKV, BLT and SSR offer incentives. And definitely as for the fast passes because you'll need them.

If you're going to be mostly at the pools, if you haven't already, get the no expire option on your tix when you leave and don't use the parks so much this trip. Plan to go three days or so in the parks and just relax the rest of the days at the resorts you'll be traveling to. There is so much to do at the resorts alone and it would give you one more reason to return (unused park tix.) I would do the SSR tour one of the first days on site though and use it as a non park day, then plan to spend as much time there as possible. Eat at Turf Club or head to DTD, check out the spa and other stuff SSR has to offer, and head to your first resort for the day. THEN go to a park the next day. Just a different way to look at things.