DVC with a Baby

[colten.c]

My wife and I are disney fanatics. We honeymooned at Riviera right before the pandemic. We looked into DVC once we got back but decided to put it on hold. Now we have a baby girl due in July and disney with kids will be upon us real soon. That being said what are your experiences with babies/toddlers at Disney? Does having DVC make the experience more enjoyable/easier? How old were your kids before you took them for the first time?

 

[Sandisw]

I took my kids when there was just two of them and my DD was only 18 months and DS was 5.

We didn’t own DVC but enjoyed the trips almost yearly for 15 years until we bough….and had a third child by then who went when she was just 15 months old.

I think it would have been great to have been in 1 bedrooms with the 5 of us, especially for the washer and dryer!

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I definitely would have loved to have that laundry, kitchen, and space for our trips to Disney when she was little. We didn’t buy until she was 5. Being able to put her pack and play in a quiet place would have been amazing!

 

[MinBz]

We love our DVC 1 bedroom stays. Took my daughter to Orlando for the first time when she was 6 months old but she stayed at the resort with the grandparents. Grandparents (in a separate room) loved the resort stay while hubby and I hit the parks. First time my daughter actually went into the parks was a year later at 1.5 years old. Some people say it’s too young but I disagree… seeing her eyes light up and the huge smile and giggle when seeing Mickey and Tinkerbell will be a memory I cherish forever. She did get scared and cried during Scar’s song at Festival of the Lion King but that’s another amazing memory too. The DVC one bedrooms are so great and convenient for us (even with just one kid). Congrats on the upcoming arrival of your little one.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

DVC definitely made life easier. Having a separate space from baby, access to fridge/freezer, laundry, etc. in the one bedroom.

Technically you could pay cash for a DVC one bedroom which is what we did for our first trip but if you’re disney fans already, no reason not to buy in!!

 

[RoseGold]

DVC isn't for everyone. It has some major limitations, like flexibility, lack of housekeeping, I'd argue it isn't up to the standard of what I would expect of a deluxe hotel in many ways. The website is terrible, a lot of the beds are fold out sofas. It requires booking months in advance, and its cancellation is harsh. I don't think DVC makes sense unless you plan to visit every year and you would spend more than AoA/Swolphin rates, can pay cash, and can plan waaay in advance. Even then, Swolphin can come out ahead and there's laundry there too. Heck, the Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation is one of the cutest on property, and that's a value resort.

And you don't have to buy DVC to use it. You can rent points and get the perks of DVC without buying a timeshare. I rented three times before buying. I have no regrets, as it helped me decide what I did and didn't want in what I finally bought -- which wasn't what I wanted on paper.

It depends on what your goal is. I bought DVC because I really wanted hotels walking distance to a park. If your goal is cheap, or stay as long as possible on X budget, or last minute, or luxury, DVC might not be what you are looking for.

 

[Zach197]

DVC made our lives easier and is great for younger kids and babies. Like others have said the variety of rooms and laundry/kitchen makes the little things much easier. We have two children and have had DVC since my boy was a baby. Being on the monorail line or walking distance from resort to park and back is very helpful at midday when the melt downs begin. Being able to book a two bedroom or two separate studios for us and grandma to tag along with was great too. We go twice a year sometimes more, but always once with the kids and once without the kids. When we go with the kids we do the kid rides and kids shows etc, which we love. When we go no kids we focus on dining and get to slow down and take everything in.

 

[taaren]

We purchased when our resort opened, our son was 2 on his first trip to DVC although he'd done a couple of trips to the parks prior to that. I took my daughter to Disney for the first time when she was 8 weeks old. Is having a washer/dryer at Disney when you have a baby more magical? Yes. Is the proximity to the parks something you'll be ridiculously grateful for (esp at BLT/BCV) with a baby? Yes.

That being said, the flip side of that coin is that:
Babies are insanely expensive, which makes purchasing more difficult (we'd saved up for several years before our first contract). Every kid is different. And kids change over time. There can be many not-magical parts of travelling and Disney with kids, too.

My DS15 was/is a great traveler, easygoing, napped anywhere. I have so many amazing pictures of him as a baby at the parks and at the resort. My DD4 ... well, she was okay as an infant, but as a toddler, oy. Let's just say she won't be going on any more DVC trips (or cruises) with us until she develops some more prefrontal cortex. Kids are individuals and don't always behave the way you'd expect, so even though we expect that taking them to the parks and to the resorts will be a magical experience ... it may not always be, and that's okay too. I'll still enjoy my DVC and plan on taking them both again when DD matures a bit more.

Maybe that's the best part of owning DVC with littles ... there will always be more trips in our future, more memories to be made. I take the same pictures of DS and my niece and nephew every trip on the balcony of the room, its become a tradition, its really cool to see the progression as they've grown (along with the trees in the background).

 

[pianomanzano]

Took our daughter for her first birthday a month after we joined DVC (luckily there was availability for a 2BR two weeks out from our trip and we were able to bring grandparents!). We also have another one coming in July and plan to bring for her first birthday as well! I have lots of tips/suggestions for bringing a baby/toddler to Disney, such as making use of the baby care centers, having an easy-to-fold light weight stroller, a comfortable baby carrier with shade, and so on), feel free to PM me for more details about park visits! I know there are others who wouldn't agree with bringing a baby/toddler but I think it's totally worth it. Seeing my daughter's face light up and smile and wave at Mickey the first time she was him will be a memory I'll never forget. Not only that, there's several rides babies/toddlers can go on like small world, runaway railway, toy story mania, remy's, people mover, and more.

As for DVC, it helps a lot being DVC because there's no need to do rope-drop to closing because you know you'll be back. You can choose some of the resorts that are walkable to MK, something that I know I never could've afforded (or at least stomach paying for one trip). Also, are you're considering DVC, consider enough points to have a 1BR. We did a trip last month during president's day weekend as we stayed in a studio and it was kind of an awful experience compared to our first stay in the 2BR, since we basically had to turn off all the lights and stay super quiet when our baby went to bed. Studios and babies/toddlers don't go well, unless you're in one of the deluxe studios where you can put a pack and play in one of the bathrooms. We plan to stay in 1BR for the next couple of years until both girls will be able to sleep with us shuffling around, then we'll stretch the points out longer in studios again!

 

[Bluemystique]

We passed on the opportunity to purchase DVC when VGF first came out. It was a combination at the time of the guide not really selling us on the idea and it not being a good fit for our resort style at the time. We only had 1 child then and we didn’t mind doing All-Stars resorts and Pop Century so financially it wasn’t any better for us. There were some times when it would have been nice (like laundry or having pack n plays in the rooms without calling for a crib each time) but we managed fine with our preferences at the time. Now with 3 kids and DH not wanting to stay at a value resort ever again, DVC is more of a fit for us. You can always rent DVC points and see if it’s worth it for you guys before buying. But our personal experience was we could do Disney with kids just fine without DVC until our 3rd kid hit 3 years old.

 

[stwaldman]

I'll just piggy back what others have said here, we bought as we were trying to start a family and our first trip was when our daughter was five months.

The pace of the trip was much easier knowing we were coming as much for the resorts as we were for the parks and we're coming back soon. The hotels with walking access to parks made it much more attainable to do a few hours in the park and a few hours out, as schedules at that age are a pain. The laundry saves a ton of stress on packing (even if it's communal because you're in a studio, you're going to have down time during naps ). also just generally, the property is super accommodating to young families and I find people very understanding, which is nice when everywhere outside the Disney bubble, going out with a baby is...not accommodating.

 

[sethschroeder]

Does having DVC make the experience more enjoyable/easier? How old were your kids before you took them for the first time?

Having a 1BR or 2BR makes it easier since you have other rooms to put kids for sleeping and getting alone time.

Earliest we took a kid was 6 months old and it went well. I will say we have traveled with grand parents though as well which makes it a little easier. It was 2 1/2 before we did a solo trip on any vacation (but that was mostly because of the pandemic).

 

[jodifla]

We have owned DVC since 1996. Our first child was born in 2001. He was 5 months old on his first trip. Having DVC 1 bedrooms made traveling infinitely easier. Much more of a vacation for mom and dad than all being stuffed in a 1 bedroom.

 

[pineapplepalms]

Congrats on the baby! I definitely believe DVC has improved our Disney trips. The combination of location plus room size and amenities is key. We typically stay in 1 or 2BRs for our family of 5. Since we’re in CA, our kids’ first trips were always to DL, and first WDW trips were around 14 months (except for our youngest… due to the pandemic we haven’t flown with him yet but hoping to this year). DL trips were when they were around 1 except for my youngest - we took him last summer when he was 8 months since we had so many points saved up from 2020. We did a long stay at VGC in a 2BR to use our points and it was amazing.

We first bought DVC a few years back when my oldest was almost 2, and have added on a few times since. Our first DVC stay was after he turned 2 and it really confirmed that DVC was the right choice for us. Having the kitchen and laundry plus the separate bedrooms and living room make it so much easier. We typically order groceries and it’s nice to have breakfasts in the room and also make simple veggies for the kids, since when they’re little they don’t always do well with the veggie selection in the parks. We also don’t have a sense of urgency to do everything since we know we’ll be back, so we can go at a more relaxed pace. With 3 little ones everything just takes longer, so it’s nice to not feel stressed about not getting enough done at the parks and take time to enjoy the resorts.

I think overall DVC can be a great choice as long as you know you love going to Disney, it makes sense financially for your family, and you go in with eyes wide open about the differences compared to hotel stays and how benefits/rules may change over time.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

OMG, grab DVC before you're broke doing daycare and possible baby #2. Totally an amazing help if you're planning to do Disney anyway. Having a fridge for bottles and baby gruel, microwave for heating the stuff up and your meal leftovers, good coffee that can be made in the room, and space for a pack and play in another room/area for the kids to nap, balconies for the parents to have a coffee or cocktail in peace after bedtime, privacy for the parents, larger bathroom to spread out the gear, access to Owners Lockers to keep toiletries and baby stuff if you don't want to pay to schlep it on a plane, the ability to heat up crappy frozen pizzas and nuggets in the room later on versus paying $20 in the park for crappy nuggets and frozen pizzas that the kids only eat a bite of and fill up, space for the grandparents to tag along or a babysitter -- DVC is a godsend!

 

[hhisc16]

My wife and I are disney fanatics. We honeymooned at Riviera right before the pandemic. We looked into DVC once we got back but decided to put it on hold. Now we have a baby girl due in July and disney with kids will be upon us real soon. That being said what are your experiences with babies/toddlers at Disney? Does having DVC make the experience more enjoyable/easier? How old were your kids before you took them for the first time?

Just bought DVC in 2021 and took DD1 when she turned one.
We love having DVC bc it makes it easier for transportation at WDW to be near the parks for naps/etc.
There are many other positives of owning DVC with a kid, but that is the biggest reason for us. (we live in driving distance to wdw)

 

[Matty B13]

Being a young family, make sure your personal expenses are well taken care of before you start in with DVC. DVC villas are nice to vacation in, but you will now have a yearly commitment to Disney which is getting more expensive every year (much faster than inflation).

That being said, We are a family of 5 and have enjoyed our DVC/Disney Vacations a lot, but that was when DME and Luggage Service was available. Those 2 services made bringing very young and infant children very easy while flying in to MCO. This April will be our first trip without those 2 services, luckily our children now are 5, 8, and 10 years old so this shouldn't be a problem.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I will note that as kids age their schedules get insane. Since DVC is a long term purchase, don't get starry eyed about teens having flex schedules.

I am currently enjoying the 10 days in the next 6 months my 14 yet old doesn't have athletics, Scouts, or marching band.

 

[Marionnette]

My wife and I are disney fanatics. We honeymooned at Riviera right before the pandemic. We looked into DVC once we got back but decided to put it on hold. Now we have a baby girl due in July and disney with kids will be upon us real soon. That being said what are your experiences with babies/toddlers at Disney? Does having DVC make the experience more enjoyable/easier? How old were your kids before you took them for the first time?

We were at Disney in December with our daughter, son-in-law and 6-month old granddaughter. Having a 2BR villa was a game changer. I don't think that we would have attempted it if we stayed in regular hotel rooms. Having a kitchen and laundry in the villa made all the difference.

My husband and I used to vacation at the shore every year from the time that the kids were infants. At first we stayed in hotels and those trips were exhausting! Everyone in one room, battling for washers and dryers in the communal laundry room, itty bitty refrigerators with microwaves sitting precariously on top. We eventually shifted to renting condos for the week and life became much easier on vacation. It was that move that spurred us to consider DVC seriously.