HELP: My sister thinks I'm ripping her off, am I?

[reneesam]

This has been one of the best threads I've read in a long time....

I've been so impressed by how we DVCers speak from the gut...how much we love the luxury of DVC an how we can't understand why others don't see the light! It's more unifying than anything I've seen...

Wow, I wish your sister had at least had one visit to WDW before making these assumptions. If, like most of us, she had spent a night at the "flea traps" and thought the Houlihans or the Steak and Ale on I-Drive was the be-all-end-all of Orlando, she'd be open to something better. If she had even looked at WDW deluxe resort rates, she'd have a clue.

However, I do have to say that the All Stars are the fly in the ointment. For the first time, there are large amount of relatively cheap rooms on property. they have become the price standard for first timers. All Star goers have no idea what rack rates are at the GF or the Poly, nor do they care. They can't estimate the value of a washer and dryer in your suite until your kid pukes through three different outfits within the first hour at AK...as we can, as DVCers. There are so many threads on this board comparing DVC to the ASRs...it's like comparing apples and...I don't know...satellites...

Best wishes to you. I can't ever forget the "Wow" that slowly slipped from my lips, and the lips of every guest we ever brought to our OKW home. I hope things work out and that you have the chance to share the magic.

 

[JonHM]

but here are a few links with pictures (first interiors, then exteriors):

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/BeachClubVillasRooms/index.html

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/BeachClubVillasCommonAreas/index.html

 

[Kay1]

Best of luck on reasoning with your sister and I hope you'll let us know how things turn out for you.

 

[dvc guy]

Let her do the math....Breakfast for her and the kids for 7 days on site. Time spent to eat....It all adds up.
We also pack lunch PB&J for the kids
10& 6 and that saves us a bundle. I can't tell you how much food I have tossed away because they did not like it or were not hungry.

These units are great, best thing in the world for families with kids

 

[mmmcq]

By now you've probably had way too many discussions with your sister and this advice won't mean a thing....but...

We've stayed onsite at Caribbean Beach with two young children and the rate was really good, but we were so cramped I said I'd never do it again. The next year we stayed offsite because we had a free timeshare week....and during that stay we ended up buying into DVC at Boardwalk. It was one of the best decisions we've made in 20 years of marrriage. And I have a really cheap husband who has 2 brothers and a sister who refuse to join us at WDW. How sad for the kids.

Our kids are 13, 11 and 2 and we all love being near Epcot, the restaurants, the boats to MGM and the pools. BWV has not only the space in the rooms which are wonderful, but the whole area gives you a sense of space. We like being able to walk through Epcot and get onto the monorail. We don't use the bus system at all ever since our bad experience at CB.

Yeah, there are lots of deals out there if you have the time to find them, but the DVC rooms (especially a 2 BR) are the best rooms WDW has to offer. As a non DVC member you couldn't find anything else that would be better - except a smaller room at a cheaper price.

One of the great things about the DVC rooms is the kitchen and the ability to have breakfast there instead of in a restaurant. You can even come back to the room for a late lunch and then head to the pool.

And someone else made a hint in this vein....maybe the real problem is that if your sister were to book this vacation on her own or with your through a travel agent she'd be able to use a credit card. Maybe coming up with the cash for you and then the rest of the expenses is just too much for her right now and she doesn't know how to tell you that. I hope you can work this out or use the reservation on your own. Best of luck. Families are never easy.

 

[legalsea]

I wish we could hear from the sister before condeming her as being irrational.

Perhaps she did not realize that the vacation proposed by her brother was going to be a week long. It's possible that she thought that her brother was going to be down there for a week, and that she could stay with him for two nights.

Perhaps she is a single mother with two young children, and it turns out that she simply can't afford it.

Perhaps she doesn't want to spend a whole week at Disneyworld. After all, her statement that all her children would want to do is to visit MK seems very reasonable. Children under five would not understand or appreciate Epcot, plus the distances involved would quickly wear them out. I doubt that they would like MGM, since most of the rides would be off limits to them. She may have figured out that there is simply no reason to stay at Disneyworld for a whole week. I realize that while I, an adult, may enjoy being away from home for a week at Disney World, the same may not hold true for children. One must avoid projecting their joy, etc., onto their children.

Perhaps she does not scream with joy at the thought of having to cook and clean for herself, her two children, her brother and HIS two children, all while paying $200.00 per day. Maybe she was looking forward to treating herself to some meals out.

Who knows? It sounds to me like the brother has dug in his heels. Anyhow, I do wish we could hear her side of the story.

 

[zulaya]

Not to throw a fly in the ointment here, but while my kids then, 4 and 5, didn't grasp all there is at Epcot, they did have fun seeing all the different things and doing the kidcot stations. Can you stay and entire day with kids 5 and under - now way! At least we couldn't - thankfully we have the convenience of the DVC resorts a walk away from Epcot. Yes, the monorail resorts are nice - I am staying at the Polynesian this year - but space wise and amenities wise...ah well, I am preaching to the converted here.

I hope that kidzrus will post how things turn out.

 

[Desperado]

OK, there are five pages of replies. The big question is....

Have you talked to your sister yet? Was the info here any help? How'd it go?

 

[DVC1996]

Originally posted by Desperado
OK, there are five pages of replies. The big question is....

Have you talked to your sister yet? Was the info here any help? How'd it go?

I would like to know too Here's my 2 cents on the topic: After having taken relatives and friends on trips with us, I've come to the conclusion that some people just don't love Disney the way I do and just don't want to pay alot of $$$$ to visit an amusement park ( their words not mine, of course). That's why I like to hang out here and visit with other Disney lovers when I'm on vacation.

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

Kidzru,

I am so sorry that your good intentions are being turned into something else. I do agree that it sounds like perhaps there are side issues that are affecting your sister's frame of mind that should probably be brought out into the open before this can all be sorted out. I wish you luck at working this out and hope most of all that your family relationship can be preserved.

Legalsea,

Firstly, perhaps I am wrong, but I got the feeling that kidzrus is a woman and that this would be 2 moms traveling with their kids. Therefore, I don't see the sister being asked or expected to take care of and/or cook for the other family members. Also, having a kitchen doesn't mean you have to cook and clean yourself to death - just means you can have some quick and easy meals in your room and save some money to boot.

As for the issues of kids enjoying the other parks, I think your observations may be true for your family but they are not for mine. My dd (almost 2 during our trip this year) thoroughly enjoyed every park during our visit. She loved the Playhouse Disney Show, the Little Mermaid Show, the Beauty and the Beast Show and the Muppet Movie at MGM. She enjoyed the Living Seas, The Land, Spaceship Earth, the dancing fountains, the WS performers, etc. at Epcot. There is plenty to do for kids of all ages at each and every park - you just have to get past the idea of "rides" and focus on attractions as well as the intangible experiences (people watching etc.).

I too wish we could hear from kidzrus sister if only to help her better understand the situation at hand. If she is indeed in a difficult situation (single mother with financial woes etc.) I sure think kidzrus would have known and would have factored it into her initial plans. It seems to me more of an issue of uninformed Disney "experts" giving poor advice which for whatever reason the sister is accepting over that provided by her sister.

Good luck Kidzrus - I hope you have a wonderful Disney vacation with or without your sister!

 

[Lesley]

Children under five would not understand or appreciate Epcot, plus the distances involved would quickly wear them out.

It seems that you don't know the capabilities of most children under 5, or don't know Epcot all that well. There is plenty that little ones can understand and appreciate about all areas of Epcot....if its not assumed that they can't. My 2yo loves the live music throughout World Showcase and her horizons are being expanded by the fact that this is music that she might not otherwise hear. When my ds was 4, I can remember him mentioning things he learned at Epcot for months after the trip. Preschoolers are amazingly receptive to knowledge and all kinds of fun. My kids have actually never played in the water areas at Epcot.....but they sure do look like fun too!

Also, with the under 5 crowd you generally are using a stroller at WDW. The distances at all of the parks tire them out.

The original poster has already mentioned a brother in law...I don't think we're talking about a single mom struggling to support her kids on her own. And I don't think anyone would expect a mom in that postition to be spending $1200 on a vacation...particularly her sibling. (I had assumed a sister.....but perhaps that assumption was incorrect). Yes, perhaps both siblings had different ideas about what this trip would involved.....but they do need to talk to work it out, and in no way was the original poster taking advantage of the sister by offering this deal.

I do hope kidzrus lets us know how it all worked out!

 

[sgtdisney]

Last year, my then four year old, loved both EPCOT as well as Disney-MGM.. He found rides in each that he really liked. When we went down this year, we only planned on doing MK as it was short trip and we were travelling with a 5 month old and didn't want to push it with her. My son kept asking why we weren't going to Epcot and Disney-MGM because there were specific rides in each park he liked and wanted to go on again. Not every young child is bored at the other parks at WDW.

 

[JonHM]

Just out of curiosity, do you have kids? If so, did you take them to WDW when they were under 5? You just seem awfully convinced that they couldn't enjoy Epcot and MGM, and at least for our DS, who was 19mos when we last went 'home', nothing could be further from the truth.

We went to MGM on our first afternoon there, and had a lovely late lunch at Brown Derby. Towards the end of the meal, DW and I realized that the Stars & Motorcars parade was about to start, so we left the grandparents and aunt and took DS outside to see it. Because we hadn't gotten a space beforehand, we were about 6 or 7 rows of people back from the curb. Once the parade started, he was absolutely transfixed. Then, once he started recognizing characters, like Mulan and Buzz and Woody, he started getting extremely excited and pointing and waving his arms (he was up on my shoulders so he could see) - but the kicker was at the end of the parade, when the Playhouse Disney car came through. Oh my god, when he saw Bear and Treelo on that car, he got *so* excited and started ecstatically screaming so loudly that ALL 6 rows of people in front of us all turned around and stared, smiling, at him for the next few minutes while he let loose his joy. After that, that same day and again several days later, he loved wandering around MGM studios. He liked the rides he went on, but just enjoyed being there.

And honestly, I think if we had let him he would have spent HOURS in Epcot simply staring at the dancing fountains, listening to the music, and playing in the interactive fountains.

Surprisingly, the park that he responded to the least was actually the MK - Oh, he liked it, don't get me wrong, but there were no defining moments of joy that we had in the other parks. My mother, though, kept insisting that he would only enjoy MK and made us spend more and more time there, at which point he just crawled into his stroller and slept for a few hours.

I'm not knocking MK, I would never consider bringing him to WDW and not go there, but no sooner would I consider keeping him away from ANY of the parks. He loved them ALL, and Downtown Disney to boot.

We are excitedly awaiting our October trip, during which we will attend MNSSHP for the first time. We can't wait!!!

To get back on the subject of the thread, I too am extremely curious as to how this situation has evolved. Hopefully everyone is on good terms.

 

[crisi]

It doesn't make any difference if she can afford it or not.....this may not be where she CHOOSES to spend her money. Even if she saw the pictures, visited the resort, and agreed it is a very nice place - she may still not choose to spend money in this manner. Also, you don't really know someone elses finances - even if her sisters family has a high income, they may be reeling from stock market losses, saving for a new home, or giving a lot of money to charity.

We all bought DVC because we value nice accomodations and enjoy Disney. But when someone comes onto this forum and says "should I buy, I'm happy at the All Stars?" few of us tell them DVC is a good value for them. Likewise, even if you are just renting points - renting isn't a good deal if you are happy at the All Stars.

We love Disney, but there are plenty of people who want to let their kids ride Dumbo, take a picture of the kids with Mickey Mouse and check Disney off their list of experiences they have given their children. Not the way I choose to live my life, it isn't a crime to never get your kids to Epcot or MGM or even the Magic Kingdom - regardless of whether they'd enjoy it - even regardless of whether you can afford it.

As far as eating in the room, hate to break this to people, but we did that in a standard hotel room for years growing up. You do get sick of Pop Tarts and Peanut Butter Sandwiches, as well as keeping the cooler full of ice from the ice machine down the hall for milk -- but you don't need to spend money on DVC style accomodations to save money on food. Even now that I'm an adult with ample income to afford breakfast, our Disney schedule generally includes Pop Tarts or cereal bars and juice in the room (bought on the way to WDW from the airport) and no breakfast out - and no need to ever use a kitchen.

This has been a really wonderful thread about understanding and communicating with your Disney co-travelers - especially Disney newbies who may not really understand all they are getting into (the expense...but also the scale of four amusement parks, the restaurants and clubs, the recreation opportunities - plus everything else the Orlando area has to offer). Let's not turn it into a "if you don't see it our way, you are just wrong" thread.

 

[crisi]

(And Legalsea, my two and three year old were bored silly at MGM. They couldn't see the stage at Playhouse Disney, were scared of The Muppet Movie and no one enjoyed The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. They did like "Honey I Lost the Kids" - but the adults all thought it was a bad idea at that age. They enjoyed certain things at Epcot - especially the parade and that darned Mexico boat ride (six times!) - but did spend a lot of time bored -and enjoyed it not nearly as much as MK and AK. They'd have been happier spending more time at MK and AK.)

 

[Desperado]

this may not be where she CHOOSES to spend her money

Well.....

There's probably a very big difference between your sister calling you up and saying your accomodation plans are more expensive than she expected, can you both scale down to save money as opposed to making the claim your ripping her off.

I've heard of other people acutally eating food in a normal hotel room, certainly we haven't done anything like that (at least since our last vacation). Two words - Washer / Dryer. Boy does it hslp with small children.

So, has the information helped you mend fences??? Your sister convinced?

Too bad you went to all the trouble you did to wind up with her unfounded acusations.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by crisi
It doesn't make any difference if she can afford it or not.....this may not be where she CHOOSES to spend her money. Even if she saw the pictures, visited the resort, and agreed it is a very nice place - she may still not choose to spend money in this manner.

This is very true.. People assign value to things very differently. Disney Hotels are not for everyone.. I think why everyone is responding as we are to this post, is not because the sister has said that she can't afford or doesn't want to spend 200.00 a night for a room. I can appreciate that. I know a lot of people who just don't want to spend that kind of money and I say more power to them.. I wouldn't spend 400.00 a night for room myself, that is why I got the DVC in the first place. The difference here is this sister is calling the poster a thief and saying that the price being quoted to her is a rip off for just a room 'with a common area.' Also she is making claims about things that as far as I am concerned are coming from a lack of knowledge, not a lack of financial resources.

 

[DVC1996]

Originally posted by crisi
It doesn't make any difference if she can afford it or not.....this may not be where she CHOOSES to spend her money.

Excellent point and I totally agree with you. This was what I was trying to say in my earlier post but you articulated it so much better Believe it or not, there are many people who prefer to stay in the $29 rooms on 192 because accomodations at Disney is not a priority with them. I'm thinking.......I got flamed on the boards for stating that I thought ( based on the April Member Cruise) that the Member Cruise is a good deal despite the increased points. Well......I also get flamed by friends and family all the time because I spent so much money buying into DVC. This is just life! People have different priorities and views on how they want to spend their money

 

[DVC1996]

Originally posted by sgtdisney
The difference here is this sister is calling the poster a thief and saying that the price being quoted to her is a rip off for just a room 'with a common area.' Also she is making claims about things that as far as I am concerned are coming from a lack of knowledge, not a lack of financial resources.

Oops! I agree with you too If it was my sister I would quite frankly tell her in my "big sister" voice that I was not ripping her off and that I resented her even thinking I would do such a thing. I would also print up this thread for her to read. Finally, I would just plain tell her to make her own reservations at the hotel/motel of her choosing.

 

[legalsea]

We still have no idea what the sister's position actually is.

That reader's children, even as young as 19 months, enjoy the treasures of Epcot is irrelevant to the issue at hand.

The original writer wanted to know if he/she was, unknowingly, ripping off his/her sister. We heard the writer's viewpoint of what he/she believed his/her sister's viewpoint is, and his/her opinion that said sister arrived at her opinion after listening to friends. However, we just don't know.

The most sensible advice I've read on this thread is: talk to your sister. Get it all out in the open. Compromise.

The least sensible advice: she's crazy; she's irrational; my children love Epcot; she must be entering "the change"; etc.

For all we know, the sister may not want to stay in the same place with a newborn child.

The sister may have initially suggested just a very short stay at a place convenient to both, so that the cousins could get to know each other, and the whole thing spiraled into a week at WDW. I know I have been guilty of such conduct towards my sisters (since I make more than them, I tend to suggest dinners, family vacations, etc., than they cannot readily afford; they would sure be upset if I offered to treat them, as the writer's sister did).

Anyhow, I have a feeling that the original writer of this thread has left the building. It was a good read and served its purpose.