How many of you joined DVC because you became a family of 5?

[ecatesby]

Hi! Just want to say what a great site this is - I've been lurking for a long time and I'm amazed by the knowledge here....DH and I just learned that baby #3 is on the way. We took our first "with kids" trip to WDW back in November - loved it even more than we thought we would, and kind of realized that this will be such a great vacation spot for us - e.g., pretty easy with little kids, lots to entertain every age group, plenty "new" stuff and old favorites to enjoy for each trip. Anyway, we'd love to go at least every other year while all the kids are at home, so we've started gathering some info on DVC. We're still a way off from making the plunge - we really want to have cash in hand and not finance it - but we're wondering if a lot of the allure to DVC is that the accommodations are easier for 5. Not sure if we'd be able to buy enough points for a 2-bedroom, but even the AKL that sleeps 5 seems more comfortable than cramming everyone into a regular WDW hotel room.

Just wondered if others had been "drawn in" to DVC for this reason and - more importantly - how has it worked as a family of 5?

 

[MomDad&2boys]

Wow! I could have written your exact post. We have three young boys & finding any vacation that will accomodate all of us is proving difficult. We love how well-behaved our boys are at Disney b/c there is just so much for them to see & do! We have yet to buy but I'm 100% convinced this is the way to go (now I just have to convince my other half). Good Luck.

 

[culli]

We are a family of 5 (5, 2 and 1 also bring my Mom frequently) and made the plunge in Dec after returning from our November trip. Similar situation that you mention about wanting to return at least every other year so I gathered info. Well when I called the guide and saw the incentives (not in effect now) I pulled the trigger. Wife and I went in Feb we have a family trip in June and another in Nov. The incentive pts allowed this plus I also bought an add on last month. The other motivating factor is it always seems to be a bad time to leave work for vacation. This forces me to get it on the schedule and do a vacation, wanted to make sure the family gets time away together.

I saw how hectic, fun but hectic, our Nov trip was - trying to see everything and eating etc. I think we will save a lot by having the kitchen. We stayed at SSR in Feb and I can't wait to bring the kids - what an awesome place. Good luck with your research

 

[rnorwo1]

The family of 5 thing actually did it for us. We usually stay at moderate resorts, but my understanding is that the average hotel does not accommodate 5 over the age of 3... if I'm correct, and I may be mistaken, I think Port Orleans was the only moderate one that had a particular room that would hold 5. Also, now that my oldest son is in the 1st grade and we have to travel during the holidays or summer, I thought that having a nicer room would be better as we may need more breaks from the crowded and hot parks.

I also waited until we could pay cash... I'm frugal and do not want to waste money on interest, so I think that's very smart. I lurked on these boards and Disney's website for two years before making the plunge, but I must say that I already feel more relaxed about our WDW vacations, and we haven't even used our first point yet! I think there is no better place for vaction for young children, and it just makes financial sense to buy if you are going to be going often anyway.

 

[DebIreland]

It's definitely one of the main deciding factors for us. We're not DVC members yet but hope to be before the end of the year. Paying cash, even if we were to stay in a value resort (which we've done when our youngest was 2 and it was fine) we'd need 2 rooms now that our youngest is 4 and anyway our 2 older boys definitely won't want to be in the same room as their mom, dad and sister much longer! So I priced out 2 value rooms (week nights) and it comes to 250 per night including tax (even more for 1 all star music suite) so even comparing dvc with the cheapest Disney cash accommodation, for us dvc seems like a much wiser option. The AKV 2 bdr value is a reasonable 28 points a night sun to thurs and okw 2 bdr is 30 pts a night sun to thurs (and they've been letting 5 occupy the other dvc 1 bdr villas too - albeit unofficially - but it's another option). We're gonna use the weekends to visit the west coast of Florida and also Universal studios so the expensive w/k points won't be a factor.

Good luck!

 

[pjzkent]

Totally the kicker for us. We rented points Sept 06 and stayed in a 1 BR OKW with DS ($4) and DD&DS(2). We had the BEST time. In Sept 07, kids now 1 year older, stayed in Port Orleans Riverside (all in 1 room), probably the WORST vacation we have ever taken as a family. Too crowded, no privacy, too much time in the same room with kids, you will be able to know this feeling when baby #3 comes

We just sent in our paperwork for our first purchase (OKW) from Disney. We felt like the money spent on this would make a great way to vacation at Disney and have a little bit of space. We bought enough points for 1 BR for 1 week per year, and eventually will add on enough to get a 2 BR. Right now, the kids are small enough to make do with the sofa sleeper and loveseat in an OKW 1 BR. MS will let you book 5, they will not provide extra bedding

BTW, we have also had a lot of difficulty booking hotel rooms in a lot of places. Most only allow 4 occupants, but we are getting pretty good at finding accomodations on rental websites and even Craigslist that are reasonable and have enough room for all of us

 

[dhluvsDisney]

Family of 5 here, and it played a really big role in making our decision. Accommodations for 5 on Disney property was hard to come by and was limited firstly to the Deluxes. If we didn't get an AP rate, it just would have been too costly. For that price, we decided to put the money into DVC. As well, as the kids are getting older (DS now 19, DD just turning 18), they would get charged as Adults in the room with the extra charges. With DVC, it doesn't matter.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Hi and welcome to the DIS! We limit occupancy related discussions to This Thread so feel free to join in there to continue your discussion!