How Much Time do you really spend in the Room

[gibbow]

My research has swayed me in the ways of purchasing into DVC resale.

I have always done shorter trips, 5 days maximum and always rush and am constantly going. Now that I will be working with a significant income, we have decided, while we can fiscally afford it, and have savings for an emergency, to watch the market for a ~50pt BLT offer. BWV is another option, but we are thinking a smaller contract at first and go every 3 years. If we want to go more often we can buy more points later...


Now that I am convinced to buy in, and will hopefully be making longer trips 7-8 days with possible non-park spa/golf days, I am wondering how often do people spend in the hotel rooms?

As stated I normally have not spend much time in the room with the shorter trips, and therefore would not mind the relatively "sterile" look of BLT that we saw as we walked through it as compared to the more "homey" feel that the SSR resort had. The hotel room is a place to sleep at night for us, and at first we do not plan to cook much. I used to always stay at the CR and must say the walking distance to the MK and the Monorail are amazing attributes when combined with the dining options amongst those three resorts.

Do those who spend less time in the room really notice the decor that much, and does the decor both those who spend more time in the rooms?

Just a question which popped up as I look at the option of location.

BTW by DGF and I are not too fond of the bus system, especially as it was when we visited in May.



Sorry for the long post! and Thank you for your responses, I look forward to reading them all

 

[dbs1228]

Now that we are DVC owners we do spend more time in the room/at the resort. I love BLT decor and all, but most of all I like the convenience of strolling over to MK and hoping on the monorail to Epcot. We find we come back to the resort in the afternoon then head back over to the park in the evening its easy! When we stay at SSR once we leave the park we leave for the day and spend our evenings at DTD.

 

[crisi]

Not that much. We still only go every other year, and if we aren't at the parks, or a restaurant, we are by the pool.

But I do notice the decor. And it does make a difference. Even if I don't spend "that much" time in a room, I'd rather spend time in a room I enjoy the aesthetic of.

 

[OKW Lover]

We find we spend probably half the day in our room. That's counting sleeping, breakfast in the unit, and a mid-day break.

 

[disneynutz]

My observation is that the more you vacation, the less important it becomes to visit the parks. Not much changes and after years of the same you start to wonder why fight the crowds for a 4 minute ride?

We select park days based on crowd projections, spend more time at the resort and in our room. We don't rush anywhere, we are on vacation, we sleep in if we feel like it. When we get home we are relaxed and realize that anything that we missed, we will do next time.

DVC owners tend to vacation more often and for longer stays.

We bought VWL and VGF for MK vacations and BWV for Epcot and DHS stays.

Buy where you love to stay, you will be glad you did.

Bill

 

[bwvBound]

We spend lots of time in our "villa" units. FWIW, we rarely visit the Theme Parks but will spend our days enjoying downtime in/around the resort, walking about, attending a conference, shopping, swimming, etc. We do a considerable amount of cooking/dining in our unit, as well.

 

[Missyrose]

We spend more time in our villa and at the resort in general than we did when we first started going to Disney. As you're making a decision about where to buy, I'd think about when the time comes that you'd like to spend more time at the resort and use that to help you choose.

 

[Minniesgal]

More and more with each visit, in room or in resort.

 

[mdsd8700]

We have only owned DVC for three years but we have been going to Disney at least once a year since 1997 and for us our day remains the same. In general mornings at the park, a mid day break for swim/relaxing for 4-5 hours and then out for the evening. Although we do have WP or non-parks days as well. On those days we probably spend less time in the room. We have yet to cook a meal in our villa. Decor isn't important as much as how we feel about the resort.

 

[jodifla]

We spend a fair amount of time in the rooms. We eat every breakfast there, some lunches, and a couple of dinners as well.

We often have friends with us as well, and do happy hours on our balcony.

 

[kim532]

We spend a good amount of time in our room. We almost always go back to our room for and afternoon rest. Then eat dinner in our room before heading back out for the evening.

Kim

 

[Deb & Bill]

We will spend an entire day in the villa. We'll watch television, take a nap, eat a little lunch. We might hit the park for a few hours in the morning and in the evening and the rest in the villa (maybe a hour or two at the pool).

Once you get an AP or PAP, you don't mind just spending the day in the resort and villa. When you are paying by the day, you want to get your money's worth out of that ticket.

Our trips are usually seven to ten nights.

 

[brmillsy]

Could not agree more with most of the previous posters. As time goes on we spend more and more time in the resort than in the parks. When we first started going to Disney many years ago it was all about the parks. With DVC in particular it has, over time, really become all about the resort.

Just returned from 10 days at the VWL and I have to say that once in the parks in morning I find myself really looking forward to getting back to the resort.

Even when in the parks you wind up doing them in a very different way. With annual passes and the fact that we are always coming back there is no sense at all in killing yourself at the parks. I love the atmosphere of MK, the railroad line, the vanilla smell in the ice cream shop and heck even the boat ride over from the lodge is often one of the more enjoyable parts of a park day.

For us at least the whole reason we have DVC is for the 2BD accommodations at the resorts (even though it is only the 4 of us). There is something truly special about the themeing, attention to detail, quality, proximity and for us some history that makes the resort experience itself the biggest part of our vacation.

So my guess would be over time you will spend more and more time at the resort so choose it wisely.

 

[RebelSoul]

We usually do at least 2 trips a year. We do tend to spend time in our resort/room. On our longer trips (10+ days), we'll even take days off from the parks just to relax at the resort. We also like to utilize the kitchen and cook meals, take afternoon breaks and such.

 

[CarolynK]

We've been DVC since 1999, and have had annual passes for almost all of those years...right now, our kids are 17 (just graduated HS and starting college in the fall) and 16 (almost jr. in HS). We always go to WDW for spring break and xmas OR NYE as well as some summer trips thrown in. We're kind of tired of the parks, but view WDW as a relaxing resort vacation so we go with the idea that we will spend an hour or two in a park but we're really there to enjoy the resort (mostly BWV, occasionally BCV) and just relax!!
Our kids are old enough now that we vacation to other places - last month, Italy and Paris - but we look forward to our DVC vacations as "relaxing" because WDW is familiar in a good way!
If WDW is your "once in a lifetime" trip, you probably do not need DVC!! But, if you are DVC, after a while- parks get old and you start looking for other things. A first for our last trip (in March) - our APs had expired (!!) and we found other things to do.

 

[VrBchJ]

I probably spend half my time in the room or around the resort. We will go to a park for rope drop and by noon we're done. I own at BWV and BLT so we can walk back and forth. So if we want to go back in the evening for Wishes or Illuminations it's very convenient. During Food and Wine we'll spend more time at Epcot because there is so much going on.

 

[JustTinking]

We've been DVC members for about 10 years, own at VWL and AKV. We do still go to the parks, but we also golf, lay by the pool, take in the holiday decorations in the resorts, and enjoy trying the restaurants. We do coffee and danish each morning in the room, which is a huge advantage, as we don't feel rushed to get out and find coffee. So a slow start, which sets the pace for a relaxed vacation. The decor in the room is important, but more important is the extra space that a DVC villa gives us.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned - the views from the balconies, especially at places like BLT or AKV (savannah) are a huge draw, and we find we spend time just relaxing on the balcony with a glass of something.

 

[gibbow]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

It's really helpful to hear everyone's different method of utilizing their DVC investment.

Now that you have all shared your perspectives, I can truly see how important it is to select the right home resort.

disneynutz - I have seen you post a lot, "Buy where you love to stay" and now it makes even more sense.

I'm thinking now I may want to rent points a few more times and try out different resorts, especially BWV or BCV.

I do like the idea of have points at 2 resorts for the different parks, as the buses are my least favorite part of my past visits. Being able to walk to parks would be nice, or even the ferry.

There is a lot more to picking a resort than I primarily thought.

Then once I pick it's waiting to catch a good resale with the right amount of points

 

[nalajms]

It will most likely take you years before you spend a significant amount of time at the resort. Our neighbors have had DVC for years and they still spend as much time as they can in the parks. They go 2 weeks a year plus long weekend trips!

We started off spending only a few hours at the parks and staying outside. I purchase DVC hoping we'd go to the parks more since we can quickly go back for naps and head out. That hasn't really happened.

And I would also consider the surroundings and amenities in addition to the room decor unless you truly cannot stand it. BWV/BCV rooms look older compared to BLT, but you can't beat the boardwalk or the short distance to World Showcase.

 

[Minniesgal]

I think it is more a personality thing. We bought DVC last year and had our first trip in February and already spent a lot less park time. We return in August and have cut back our park plans significantly