Families of 5....what do you do?

[Lesley]

Okay, I know there are only so many options for DVC families of 5....so I'm wondering which ones seem to work best for those of you out there who are in this situation. Also, I'd like to know how those of you who joined DVC as a family of 4 or less handled the transition to a family of 5? Did you add on? Do you take less trips? Less weekends? Disney hotels instead of DVC rooms on points? Of course, I mean the transition after that 3rd person is over 3....since it doesn't make a difference beforehand.

I don't want to go into room occupancy issues here...I'm aware of the rules and know that Disney allows some folks not to follow them. Not my point in this post at all. I'd just like to know what y'all do...

 

[spiceycat]

I though BWV had a 5 person studio - the ones with the extra day bed???

how many points and what are you currently staying in? a studio or a 1-bedroom?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Lesley
Okay, I know there are only so many options for DVC families of 5....so I'm wondering which ones seem to work best for those of you out there who are in this situation. Also, I'd like to know how those of you who joined DVC as a family of 4 or less handled the transition to a family of 5? Did you add on? Do you take less trips? Less weekends? Disney hotels instead of DVC rooms on points? Of course, I mean the transition after that 3rd person is over 3....since it doesn't make a difference beforehand.

I don't want to go into room occupancy issues here...I'm aware of the rules and know that Disney allows some folks not to follow them. Not my point in this post at all. I'd just like to know what y'all do...

We purchased enough points to cover our needs for a two bedroom.

 

[Lesley]

Just posing the question in general...

how many points and what are you currently staying in? a studio or a 1-bedroom?

 

[KyBill]

DD, her DH and 3 kids get a 2 BR. They have been using my points but they have recently bought 160 points at BCV. Their kids are 16, 12 and 8. The only way to go. I think the reason many of us joined DVC is to have lovely spacious accomodations. If you wanted to jam everyone up in a hotel room it defeats the purpose. The obvious long term solution is to buy enough points to be comfortable in the coming years on your WDW vacations.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We started with 4 people, but now are 5. We always get a 2 bedroom. Even if it is just 4, we like the 2 bedroom.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Without getting into the room occupancy debate as the original poster asked, I think alot depends on the age and genders of your children. Do what's right for you and you feel comfortable with. If they were three big burly older teenage boys, or older boys and girls, I'd definitely go for the two bedroom for the extra bathroom, or perhaps if trying to save points, two studios. Little ones in diapers you don't want to leave alone in another strange non-childproofed unsupervised hotel room with an accessible balcony, perhaps that's a different story. Having enough points helps provide options.

 

[Friend Owl]

We always stay in a 2 bedroom. We bought enough points to handle that. Our kids are getting older (16, 13, 8) and they are all girls. If they had their way, they'd opt for a 3 bedroom!

 

[rbuzzotta]

Now that our 3rd DD no longer falls in the under 3 category, we have a 2 BR. We pay cash for the weekends and keep our stay about the same.

I need more points though................

 

[oshun]

Before we bought into DVC we stayed at the Contemporary, Boardwalk Inn, Beach Club, and had gotten 2 bedrooms at Port Orleans and Coronado Springs. The best thing we did was buy in DVC. Our youngest son was getting a little long for the day beds and my teenage daughter and son did not like having to sleep with mom and dad. We love the 2 bedrooms. Our home resort is OKW and they have brought friends and we have taken family members also. I think buying into DVC when there is 5 in a family and if you are Disneyholics like we are is a smart thing to do or you'll spend thousands renting rooms for a week twice a year (which is what we used to do).
We love our DVC!!!!

 

[llp479]

We have enough points for a 2bdrm on both contracts. So far, we've never stayed just the five of us. We've always brought either the au pair, in-laws or my parents with us. Eight at BWV gets a bit cozy, but at OKW it's no problem.

Having dd number 3 made our decision to buy DVC a no-brainer. Now we cringe when we have to stay in a "hotel" room - no matter where we are!

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Your options may or may not limited once you have five in your family. More than anything else, it really depends on your own comfort level. I've personally discussed this topic with MS and am satisfied with the choices that are out there. I'd be happy to go into more details with all interested DVCers, but that will require another communication venue.

Johnnie

 

[Tomskatt]

I'll volunteer! We bought 150 points when our 2nd son was 9 months oldand we were "done" havinga family. Exactly one year later I had to cancel our Hilton Head trip due to the fact that I would be delivering our daughter!!!! So we are in the situation where we have a 5, 3 and 1 year old and 150 points just doesn't cut it! Personally, we are looking into combining camping and DVC to extend our vacation time and still pay for 3 college educations!
grrrrrrrrrrr wish someone would drop an extra 100 points in my lap!

 

[Poorman]

Originally posted by Friend Owl
We always stay in a 2 bedroom. We bought enough points to handle that. Our kids are getting older (16, 13, 8) and they are all girls. If they had their way, they'd opt for a 3 bedroom!

And you would be in a studio!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lesley]

Thanks for the replies, folks! Well, I'll come out now and let you all know that my suspicions have been confirmed....#3 is on the way (geesh, haven't even told my parents yet!). Our biggest concern was our DVC vacations...LOL. This was quite a surprise to us...as we felt our family was complete with our 8yo ds and 3yo dd. I guess not!

Anyway, to answer the earlier question...we have 200 points total and we try to go to WDW any chance we get! So we do like to maximize our points. But as it happens, when baby turns 3 our older children will be 12 and 7.....so I think this gives us a little less leeway. I guess I'll worry about that in 4 years!

We have actually been planning to add more points eventually anyway....but this gives us more of a timetable to work within. We've recently been dealing with the sticker shock of an annual pass for our 3yo.....so this was even more of a stunner! That we'll have to make that 5 passes instead of 4 in a few years! Thank goodness we already have a minivan!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Lesley
Thanks for the replies, folks! Well, I'll come out now and let you all know that my suspicions have been confirmed....#3 is on the way (geesh, haven't even told my parents yet!). Our biggest concern was our DVC vacations...LOL. This was quite a surprise to us...as we felt our family was complete with our 8yo ds and 3yo dd. I guess not!

Anyway, to answer the earlier question...we have 200 points total and we try to go to WDW any chance we get! So we do like to maximize our points. But as it happens, when baby turns 3 our older children will be 12 and 7.....so I think this gives us a little less leeway. I guess I'll worry about that in 4 years!

We have actually been planning to add more points eventually anyway....but this gives us more of a timetable to work within. We've recently been dealing with the sticker shock of an annual pass for our 3yo.....so this was even more of a stunner! That we'll have to make that 5 passes instead of 4 in a few years! Thank goodness we already have a minivan!

Well, let me be the first to offer my best wishes on the blessed event.

 

[mmmcq]

I had my 3rd DD when the older two were 11 and 9 and yes...it was planned. We were at WDW when I was 3 mos pregnant and not feeling well at all when we bought into DVC (that's my excuse...what's yours!!) We bought 170 pts at BWV then because it seemed like a lot and enough.

Last summer we stayed on holding pts at the YC and had a wonderful room. But we were in ONE room and very cramped and surrounded by luggage. Luckily the laundry room was just across the hall...so we fared well. But we knew we had to consider some more points. I think the teen years bring on the privacy issues and the need for more "personal space".

This past April, practically 3 yrs to the date of when we first joined.....we added on. We've now got 200 pts each at BWV and BCV. This will allow us to stay 5-7 nights every 2 years at each resort. Works for us. On this next trip, however, we'll be in a 1BR. Then next April we graduate to a 2BR. Wow that will feel like a ton of space.

You have plenty of time to add on....so don't rush. Enjoy the pregnancy. WDW's not going anywhere, neither is DVC!! But I will warn you as I'm sure you've heard....the third child changes everything. They are faster and smarter and sometimes crankier....but oh so much fun.

 

[Pa@okw95]

We were a family of 5 so we rented a 2 bedroom every time. I did not buy into DVC as if it were a savings however like most do on this board now. When we bought the prevailing thought was that it should never be thought of as a savings but an expense. Now you have people buying points that are just barely enough to squeak out a 5 day studio vacation. If I were you with 5 people just make sure you purchase enough points so you can have a 2 bedroom for each vacation for some time. Now we only need a 1 bedroom because the children have flown from the nest, well not always, they do come back to the nest to vacation, then we go to a 2 bedroom. I think some day people on these boards will begin to realize that DVC is not a savings but an expense and you should have more than enough income to afford to buy DVC without a problem of 1, 2, or GV rental if it is necessary. With attendance down at WDW there should be plenty of deals out there where you can rent condos off property for good deals that have 2 and 3 bedrooms. Some of these places are sometimes listed on this site. Give them a try if you need to rent a 2 bedroom. I am going down before my DVC 5 day week and I am renting a 2 bedroom off campus for $107.00 then on Sunday we move to OKW to spend more time with a 2 bedroom. The point is using off campus properties with DVC properties can sometimes make for a nice combination and will stretch your points for longer stays at bigger accomodations.

 

[TnRobin]

Congratulations Lesley.

 

[melk]

Congratulations!!! We too are a family of five with 200 points. Right now our youngest is still in the pack and play so it is a non-issue. Our plan (hopefully) is to add on some more points in about a year or two so that we can upgrade to a two-bedroom on our vacations.