Ideal Resort stay within budget

[Wayland10]

I really love doing ten days. The last few trips have been split stays- AKL Kidani/ Beach Club, Copper Creek/ Poly, but I don’t really like split stays, I’ve decided. So ten nights at AKL Jambo or Copper Creek, two days at each park and two rest days.

 

[tidefan]

Our longest WDW trip has been 6 nights in a 1 BR... We love staying at VGF... I could see us in a couple years reaching the point it was a maximum of 9 nights, and as our family changes we already know 2 BR units are on the horizon soon...

Anything longer, we might choose to go a different way - maybe a stay at BWV to have access to more walkable locations and more varied food options for example. Or, might go completely the opposite way and stay at SSR or OKW - likely OKW because of the size of the units, and make it a true "vacation home" for a longer stretch - use the kitchen, relax by the pool, etc.. Split stays are not for our family.

Absolute longest I could imagine us going at WDW at once would be two weeks, even that seems like a stretch.... Getting time off work that long would be hard, longer in most instances impossible... To me, given the high cost, as much as we like the Disney bubble, there's better places to go if you're not going to use the parks for a good percentage of the visit (maybe say 40ish percent at a minimum). I'd rather save those points for another trip...

We have fallen into a pattern where we go over Labor Day weekend for MNSSHP. Then, it seems like we alternate years between going to Aulani and WDW.

 

[crazydad123]

My family--wife and I, son and fiance, daughter and spouse and 2 grandsons--just copleted a week at OKW in a grand villa.It was 100% great! We've done longer stays, but never better! Each couple had their own bedroom, the boys slept upstairs for their earlier bedtime. We got a grocery delivery the first day, had park reservations planned, resort days, and special times (my son proposed at Star Wars Land). We had a car and rode the buses, and it worked for all. OKW is so laid back and easy, and the rooms are so large, everyone felt at home right away. My wife and I stayed over 2 nights at a Copper Creek Studio and felt like we'd been stuffed in a shoe box!

We have stayed as long as 14 days, but it gets to be tiring as we tend to do parks (and Universal) every day. 9 days is about our limit, since we have a 4-6 hour flight each way as well.

 

[Chili327]

I really love doing ten days. The last few trips have been split stays- AKL Kidani/ Beach Club, Copper Creek/ Poly, but I don’t really like split stays, I’ve decided. So ten nights at AKL Jambo or Copper Creek, two days at each park and two rest days.

10 days split into 4 resorts?
That does sound rough, I think 3 resorts sounds about max, but that includes only a couple nights at AKV, then 3-5 at Epcot resort then 3-5 at MK resort.

 

[Wayland10]

10 days split into 4 resorts?
That does sound rough, I think 3 resorts sounds about max, but that includes only a couple nights at AKV, then 3-5 at Epcot resort then 3-5 at MK resort.

No, one trip was a week at Kidani, three days Beach Club, then the next trip was 5 nights at CC, 5 nights at Poly! 4 in 10 days would kill me!

 

[Chili327]

No, one trip was a week at Kidani, three days Beach Club, then the next trip was 5 nights at CC, 5 nights at Poly! 4 in 10 days would kill me!

Ahh, yea 7/3 or 5/5 sounds much better.

 

[Isabelle12345]

We are doing our longest trip this summer (in less than 40 days!!): 3 nights beach club, 3 nights poly (both studios) and then 2 nights BWV in a standard view 1BR.
We are APs for the first time and will enjoy taking the parks at a slower pace - which will be necessary with the heat
The kids asked for the resorts and we were able to book all of them without an issue

We love love love split stays (have done multiple 2-2 or 1-2-2 nights stays), we have unpacking and love just living off our suitcases - weird, I know! But it works for us

And since Dd7 has been asking about Pop regularly for the past 4 years (it was our first resort before we were DVC but we haven’t gone since - and now she wonders why we can’t afford Pop ), we were able to extend the stay and add one night at Pop in the beginning!
(Hopefully she will change her mind about her favourite resort after that )

So excited!!! Can’t wait to be there!!!

 

[zackiedawg]

It's a lazy answer but true - I pretty much already do my ideal resort stays within budget! Being a Florida resident, around 3 hours' drive door to door, having an annual pass and DVC, most of my Disney budget is already covered by those regular expenses annually, so I only need consider time off of work, gas to get there and back, and food & drink costs around the parks.

Most years, I go 4 times - roughly every 3 months (Jan/Feb, Jun, Sep, early Dec)...some years I may squeeze in a 5th trip in March/April when it coincides with a work conference in the area. I usually aim for my home resort of Boardwalk, because of the overall convenience of walking to Epcot and DHS, and having so many other resorts to access by walking or Skyliner. But as in the other thread of favorite to least favorite DVCs, I do prefer to mix up the resort choices different times of the year sometimes.

Ideal trips are 4-5 days. I can take a Friday, Monday, Tuesday off of work, plus the weekend in the middle, and 4 trips only cost me 12 vacation days at work, leaving me plenty more for a longer annual trip such as a cruise. I stay in a 1-bedroom lately, close to 100% of the time...when I had more family around, I'd sometimes mix in a 2-bedroom, and counter it with a solo trip in a studio at another time of the year - not as much family around anymore with my parents passing, so now my trips are either solo, with a friend or two, or with siblings. I love to have at least 1 solo trip each year to do things at my pace and on my schedule - I mix in a lot more time resort hopping, starting late mornings, etc, and not as much park time as when going with friends who want to spend all their time in parks.

Looking back, I've had a few years where all my stays were at Boardwalk for the year (this year, I've had a Saratoga in January, followed by Boardwalk in June and for Sep and Dec coming)...other times I've had different resort stays each time (OKW, Saratoga, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge).

When I retire, I might start looking at longer trips to Disney, but the shorter 4-5 day trips every 3 months or so works out pretty well, giving me little doses of Disney getaways throughout the year...so I might just stick to that idea!

 

[Jack Kerouac]

We are now under contract for a total of 395 points (just need to close on the two resale ones) so my ideal trip is more likely within reach each year. Ideally, we would stay in a 2BR for ten days during the boys’ summer break. Having the 2BR for the five us is awesome, plus the kitchen and w/d make it feel a bit more like home. I would prefer a split stay between either BRV or AKV for five or six nights and then book the remainder at a resort we haven’t stayed at before. I really like experiencing new resorts, even if it’s for two to four nights. Our three visits as DVC members have all been split stays by design. But my wife said 2025 will not be a split stay vacation. We had a pretty good run…

 

[Tigger's ally]

Absolute longest I could imagine us going at WDW at once would be two weeks, even that seems like a stretch.... Getting time off work that long would be hard, longer in most instances impossible... To me, given the high cost, as much as we like the Disney bubble, there's better places to go if you're not going to use the parks for a good percentage of the visit (maybe say 40ish percent at a minimum). I'd rather save those points for another trip...

That has been my feeling. But as retirement approaches (5 years now for me) and grandkids at three different schools, I could see us maybe spending three weeks down there with the grandkids visiting together or separate weeks. Oh the opportunities.

 

[Mle8308]

We usually do 12 nights on property, 13 nights total. We arrive late on a weekday night and spend that with family who live in Orlando. We get up not too early the next morning, go to Publix for some groceries and subs, then make our way to whatever resort we are at. It's usually 12 nights in a 1BR at the WL (cash, as I don't currently own DVC - probably not so smart because I could have bought a contract with what we paid for 2 years of trips!). This year we are trying a spilt stay, 6N at Poly in a studio, then moving over to the WL (my favorite) for 6. First split stay, we'll see how it goes. I like not worrying about getting up early to get into a park if I don't want to, and spending time relaxing at the pool. I lived in Orlando for about 15 years, so it's nice to have time to visit friends, too.

 

[kboo]

Not sure you'd call this productive procrastination but ...
ideal stay would be 10-14 days, 2 resorts or 3 max. We have done a lot of split stays to be closer to particular parks, but for a longer stay I may want to be a little more relaxed and try to do some real cooking in the room.

Super curious about Poly tower, if not that then I'd start at an MK resort (VGF in a 1br if it's just me or me + DH). Then move to Riviera although I have to find a solution for the lack of grill situation there.

 

[Chili327]

Based on the “rate the resorts” thread. I thought it would be interesting to see what people would pick for their ideal trip (split stay or not), within budget.

On my only WDW trip, I started with 2 nights at AKV, then I went 3 nights at BWV, then 5 nights at BRV, but I did spend multiple days checking out other resorts to see what I might like, with that said, i now own AKV, BWV & BLT, so I think my ideal trip is about 9 nights starting with 3 nights at AKV, then 3 at BWV, and finishing 3 at BLT (or could be CCV)

What's your ideal trip itinerary length and resort(s) within budget (otherwise we’d all pick theme park views, cabungalows, grand villas, etc)

I wanted to touch on this again, because my mind went wondering (and wandering) about buying a large amount of SAP, or maybe winning the lottery, can't remember how i got here. lol

But in my "notes" i have Ideal trips listed as:

9 Day Trip

• Sat-Sun - 8 Nights (2 weekends)
• 2 AKV / 3 BWV / 3 BLT
• 7-8 Day Hopper

13 Day Trip

• Sun-Fri - 12 Nights (1 weekend)
• 2 AKV / 5 BWV / 5 BLT
• 10 Day Hopper

20 Day Trip

• Sun-Fri - 19 Nights (2 weekends)
• 3 AKV / 5 BWV / 5 BLT / 6 OKW
• 14 Day Hopper

Resorts could and would change based on whatever i had available (& if i won the lottery or not. lol), but i know some people do these kinds of long trips (especially when looking at a 3 week trip) & i wonder if 4 resorts is just too much, i mean I'm pretty new to WDW, but i seem to love split stays & I'm thinking with a 14 Day hopper, there is plenty of resort days built in as well as possibly some Universal or whatever else. I assume once you've stayed everywhere and have your favorites it probably starts to make more sense staying in one place, or maybe just split between 2 resorts?
This is strictly for fun & dreaming (for me personally/20 day), so don't get too hung up on if i can afford it or whatever other "reality" issues I may encounter.

What's your ideal long trip? (more than 2 weeks)

 

[stat]

Our first DVC trip was 2/3/5 like yours. But *gasp* the first two nights were at Universal (Royal Pacific) to get the unlimited express passes. Followed by 3 AKV and 5 BWV. Such a wonderful trip!

As confirmed by subsequent trips we've found 9-10 nights is our sweet spot. For WDW I'd like to try 4 BWV or RIV + 3 PVB + 3 AKV.

On the West Coast, I'm hoping to plan a DL + Aulani and make it a little longer. Something like 4 VGC + 6 AUL + 3 Hyatt.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

We’ve done 8-9 days before and loved it but for me, I think ideal is 2 weeks in 2 resorts so 7/7 split (or more, I’d never say no to more lol). We don’t like doing all our Epcot/HS days v. MK days in a row so it doesn’t really matter strategically to do an Epcot resort for one half and a MK resort for the other. That being said, I think it would end up being something like that anyway so ideally RIV or BCV 1bdrm followed by VGF or Poly 1bdrm. That’s for 2-3 people. If it’s 5-6 people, same resorts but in a 2bdrm.

Only thing I’m not sure of is if I’d rather 1 long trip a year or multiple medium/shorter ones. So far, we usually do 4-5, 3-5 day trips a year with a long one every other year or so. But I’m about to move from the NY to SoCal so that’ll make frequent short trips more difficult and surely change how we do WDW. It’s actually one of the things that makes me saddest about moving lol

 

[Chili327]

Our first DVC trip was 2/3/5 like yours. But *gasp* the first two nights were at Universal (Royal Pacific) to get the unlimited express passes. Followed by 3 AKV and 5 BWV. Such a wonderful trip!

As confirmed by subsequent trips we've found 9-10 nights is our sweet spot. For WDW I'd like to try 4 BWV or RIV + 3 PVB + 3 AKV.

On the West Coast, I'm hoping to plan a DL + Aulani and make it a little longer. Something like 4 VGC + 6 AUL + 3 Hyatt.

Yep my "9 day" trip is basically all i will be planning for the near future. Hope to be able to do longer ones some day, but we'll see.

Aulani is on my list, but not with DL (probably makes more sense if you don't live on the west coast)

We’ve done 8-9 days before and loved it but for me, I think ideal is 2 weeks in 2 resorts so 7/7 split (or more, I’d never say no to more lol). We don’t like doing all our Epcot/HS days v. MK days in a row so it doesn’t really matter strategically to do an Epcot resort for one half and a MK resort for the other. That being said, I think it would end up being something like that anyway so ideally RIV or BCV 1bdrm followed by VGF or Poly 1bdrm. That’s for 2-3 people. If it’s 5-6 people, same resorts but in a 2bdrm.

Only thing I’m not sure of is if I’d rather 1 long trip a year or multiple medium/shorter ones. So far, we usually do 4-5, 3-5 day trips a year with a long one every other year or so. But I’m about to move from the NY to SoCal so that’ll make frequent short trips more difficult and surely change how we do WDW. It’s actually one of the things that makes me saddest about moving lol

My most "realistic" plan is to do 2 trips per year every other year, so like an Oct-Dec, then another Jan-March, to make use of an annual pass, then on the off years DLR & Aulani.

Where in SoCal, close enough to not need any VGC/VDH?

 

[Boopuff]

We're doing a grand 10 day trip in a GV at OKW. Love it!! We can't wait to just sit and relax, throw in a bit of park time, pool time, bar time... bonus!!

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

My most "realistic" plan is to do 2 trips per year every other year, so like an Oct-Dec, then another Jan-March, to make use of an annual pass, then on the off years DLR & Aulani.

Where in SoCal, close enough to not need any VGC/VDH?

Ugh skip a year?! You ask too much! We’ll have to see what this next year looks like to see how WDW trips will pan out going forward. Alas, it will mean a few less trips for sure, at least for the next year

Yep, about 25 mins from DLR. I don’t really see DLR as a place I’d really need more than a night or two every once in a while, if that. I’m really looking forward to being a local there but it doesn’t hold the same appeal for me for a longer stay where I need any priority.

 

[NVDISFamily]

When we go to WDW we like to stay for about 2 weeks. Next trip is 15 nights. We like to try and not resort hop more than twice and once is preferred. We'll mix it up trying to find a good mix of value/location/size. We try and keep the split even and find that at least 4 nights between jumps is what we go for. We are also mixing in stays at Universal premium resorts for the express passes there. Next trip is a bit weird as we had to move dates around to get a good deal for the discount at US.

3 nights poly studio.
4 nights at Royal Pacific - King Suite
8 nights at OKW - 2BR near HH

Our first stay at each of these resorts

 

[Chili327]

3 nights poly studio.
4 nights at Royal Pacific - King Suite
8 nights at OKW - 2BR near HH

Interesting, so do you go to Universal on split days? Or how do you spend those 2 travel days?
I guess you have to check out and go (with luggage), so you spend your afternoon/evening in the new destination/parks?

And 3 or 4 days in Universal parks?
I’m going to let Epic Universe get good and broken in before I check out Universal at all. (I’ve been to Universal Hollywood)

8 nights at OKW sounds great, get some good use of the kitchen, & within walking distance of HH.!!