Member with Families I need your thoughts...

[jane of the jungle]

Well with the upcoming price increase it is yet again time to petition the DH to see if it's time to invest. Here is the senario:

DH:22 ME:28 1st Baby: due in April
we now own 150 at vero & 100 at BCV never rented,banked or borrowed
Every year with out fail I must have my Disney fix!
As it stands now DH and I spend Sat to Sunday 9days at the World TWICE a year.
Yes that even includs this year as you can see by my countdowns.

So here are my questions with our Disney Future in mind:
1. When do those of you with family find that you vacation the most? With the children in school I imagine your choices are limited.

2. How hard is it to book within those limitations? We usually visit in May, Oct or Feb. I have never had a problem booking at all.

3. How many points do you have and how often do you visit? Do you find that you have plenty points or do you struggle to make it work?

4. With the increase in points each year, does anyone know the average increase each year? So that in 10 years I can make sure I still have what I need to get my Magic fix. Any guesses in 30 years what the point structure will look like?

5. Is there a point when the kids say enough of Disney let's do something else? Do the adults use the point for more relaxing times? At what age will kids stop sleeping in the same bed? Do you find yourself getting the larger facilities as the kids get older and want to bring friends etc.?


Thanks in advance for any views you have on this. I just would so much rather bite the bullet and invest in the points we need now and not have to worry about having enough in the future. At $80 a point it sure beats what ever price increase the future will bring us.


Ok so I realize there are a ton more than four questions, but any help would be appreciated!
Pixie Dust to You!!!
Jane

 

[dvc guy]

You have a few years before school becomes any issue.

Depending on your child you may not be so interested to travel to WDW 3 times per year. Trust me packing up a new born/infant is not pretty( think packing the house)

My DD 10 and DS 6, we cheat and take a day on one end of the vacation to take advange of cheaper air fares. We go over Christmas, I know, don't say it very crowed and tons of points.
Up side is 2 weeks off, and we get out of the cold ( we hope).

When you are a DVC member you can tour at your pace, and don't have worry about missing stuff.

I have a feeling when the kids don't want to be with us, they will still want to go to WDW. My plan is to let them tour on their own and meet us for dinner, etc.

My kids will no longer share a bed, it's that boy/girl thing.

The question usually comes down to $$$$$. If you can afford it, what's the down side. Children change things, and those changes are good.

Good LUCK

 

[jane of the jungle]

Thanks for your quick reply dvc guy! Pack the house~ scarry thought! I still have boxes still packed from our last move. You have some good points. Any other thoughts out there?

 

[kem330]

Regarding point #4: Point usage does not change Year to year. Disney had the right to reallocate point costs from season to season or between weekdays and weekends, but the total # of points/year can not change- if they raise somewhere they have to lower somewhere else. Premier season always floats with the Holidays:Two weeks surrounding Easter and Dec 24 - 31. Thanksgiving always falls in Magic season.

 

[jane of the jungle]

Wow Kem~
I really didn't know that. I guess everytime I have chosen a date the points had gone up, so I hadn't noticed that they have gone down in other areas. Blessings! That will really help me make a decision!! Yipee- wondering how I missed that?

 

[colleen costello]

We have 390 points that we share with my parents. My kids are currently 8 and 4. School is an issue, so we will probably always go in March for Spring Break. DH works at the University so his break from work matches with the kids' school break. And off to WDW we go! Mom and Dad fly down and meet us. It's not too hot and not too crowded.

I haven't worried much about the children not wanting to go. I ALWAYS wanted to go, even as a teen. My family went a lot, and our accomodations were not as nifty as DVC! When the children are older they can swim or go off a bit on their own. To this day I recall smooching a cute boy I met! We were at the Poly and it was very romantic! I was all of 15...

I digress. If we are careful and have some points left after Spring Break, I can sneak down again in June or July with dh and the kids -- too hot for the grandparents. We did that this past year and that extra week was a real treat. We stayed at OKW to save points and the studio room seemed large enough. We swam a lot and overall it was a "budget" trip but we had a ball. This summer I hope to wrangle a night or two at Hilton Head.

The flexibility of the point system is wonderful. I can't imagine EVER wanting to bank or rent out points, but you never know! If you are open-minded about when you go, you can probably keep up your "twice-a-year-or-more plan. I think if you make reservations as early as possible and are flexible about where you stay, there will always be a room somewhere! I look forward to a Christmas trip, someday when the children are older. It's a joy to leave winter behind, if only for a week!

 

[Disneyaholic]

I wouldn't let the upcoming price increase cause me to purchase more points unless I was already willing/wanting to do so...

I truly don't think that the points can continue to increase at the pace they have been. Early purchasers got their points for around $50 each, and they've already had ten years to use them! If they continued at that pace, in 2012, points would cost $110 each and there would "only" 30 years to use them.

My guess is that the cost of points will taper off at some point and/or there will be a new generation of DVC with an expiration date later than 2042.

Since you have until your kids reach school age to have to worry about working your vacations around their schedules, I'd take the risk of seeing how you feel about it then.

But, of course, if you really REALLY want those points now...

 

[wdwnut]

hi: our kids are 15, 22,and 24. the 15yo is a bit "disneyed" out right now after going twice a year most years for the last 10 years. he'd like to do something a little different. (europe, hawaii, or california being on the list) once the kids hit high school it is much harder to plan vacations, especially if they are into sports at all. when the kids were younger, we didn't have a problem with just taking them out of school for a week at a time. the schools/teachers weren't always the most pleased, but they could deal with it. our top two months for vacations at wdw have been may and september, with the odd trips in oct.,nov., and march thrown in. do the adults use the points? dh and i are sneaking down to wdw on monday for a few days to celebrate our 25th. we also have a "ladies only" trip in the works. we have 360 points, so it can be a little trying to stretch them, especially if my son and dil want to use some for their own vacation.

 

[fkj2]

When the niece and nephew went with me, I took them during the school year. They either got assignments before we left or did them upon return. WDW provides educational opportunities also (at least that's what I said) but it really does and I'm a believer, as I get older, of live today, tomorrow might not be there.

 

[Sharper]

We returned yesterday from a week-long trip. Our school system has a spring break (late March) and a fall break (mid-October) neither of which are prime point periods, but work great schedule and weather wise. Before this trip I made a comment about my 14-year-old daughter probably not wanting to go with us to DW and she emphatically said that she would NEVER be too old to go to DW, with or without us! We have visited six times in 10 years. I think all of us would be a bit "Disneyed out" if we went every single year -- as much as I adore Disney most people would want a little diversity, perhaps seeing the actual countries represented at Epcot, etc.

This is my personal opinion, but I think infants have no business on an extended Disney trip. Having just returned yesterday, I think our only negative experiences were involving children too young to handle the grueling, intense experience which is Disney. I don't mean a loud child or a crying child (they do that, duh!) but children who were hysterical, sunburned, heat exhausted, generally exhausted and otherwise miserable. Mom and dad seemed oblivious. It broke my heart. Couldn't tell you the number of little ones we saw passed out in strollers at midnight at MNSSHP. I am just a big believer that your children's comfort takes priority over your desires. Tackling Disney with very small children should be done on a limited basis -- it is magical in small doses, but too taxing for those longer times. The point of that is that you may well bank some points for the couple of years after your baby is born, then you can stay a longer time and take things more slowly than you probably do as a couple. Good luck with your decision and with the baby!

P. S. I think my thoughts on children's comfort changes a bit as they get older. We stayed in a one-bedroom at OKW (incredibly roomy!) and my 14 year-old daughter and 7 year-old son shared the sleeper sofa bed. I am not going to pay that much more for them to have separate beds, and they didn't begin to question it.

 

[gmboy95]

our kids are still young (3 years and 4 months old)...but my wife is a teacher....we find it most appealing to travel the last two weeks of august for 2 reasons. Cheaper points, and less crowded...Yes the heat is oppresive at times, but we structure our day to combat this. Mornings in th park, middle of the day for pools and naps, and then back to the park at night where we catch illuminations or fantasmic or fireworks.

We use approximately 150 points per year. We stay sunday through saturday in a one bedroom (old key west keeps the point total under 150, slightly higher at the other resorts)....we usually arrive on a saturday and stay at a cheaper room (all star or off property)...the first day is usually a wash, and you can spend some time doing food shopping for the week, and maybe bouncing around downtown disney for awhile.

It sounds as if you have plenty of points right now to soend a week each year in a one bedroom. the only problem you will have is if you try and travel during april school break you may run into a problem with the 7 month window....my suggestion would be to avoid april like the plague. it is packed.....although it is hot in the late summer, I would argue it takes less out of you then fighting the crowds and spending the excessive points does in late april,

 

[gmboy95]

Sharper, i must respectfully disagree with you....In my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking an infant to disney, the experience is only gruelling to the adults that make it so....most of us out here always place our childrens comfort first, but it must be said that babies are excellent at letting you know when they are uncomfortable....a baby sleeping in a stroller and not crying IS a comfortable baby....kids that age certainly do not know how to "suck it up", and "take one for the team"....If they are uncomfortable they most certainly will let us all know

 

[Sharper]

I mentioned children passed out only to point out that a one-year-old all twisted in a stroller for hours trying to sleep is not enjoying Disney. The heartbreakers were the small children who were doing that pitiful, jagged crying whine constantly, obviously needing to go to bed, but mom and dad (I am sure meaning well) tried to push them to go, go, go. Even my kids noticed that and asked "Why don't their parents let them go home?" Not that it was bothering us, but it was pitiful to see parents determined to take advantage of being at Disney when the kids could only enjoy a couple of hours and desperately needed a break. If you took an infant to Disney and feel the experience was more positive than negative then that is great. I am not saying that that is not possible. But having just seen the negative scenerio repeatedly, I wanted to point out to the prospective mom that just because people take babies does not mean that your touring plan will remain unchanged from that of a young couple to that of a family with an infant. I think if your child is very young you have to have a different attitude and just plan on visiting the parks for a few hours at a time (don't plan on staying from opening to closing), pay attention to when the child has had enough, and quite possibly postpone the whole thing until they are old enough to appreciate the experience.

 

[gmboy95]

well said....i also believe that we have the advantage of being dvc members....especially staying in a one bedroom....we where down in august with a 3 month old, and we always spent from 1-5pm in the room napping and going swimming, we then went back to the parks for dinner and then a show....having the seperate bedroom is WONDERFUL....your children can sleep, and adults can be adults (Playing cards, watching a movie, having a beer on the balcony).....If you dont do commando, you can bring a new born without problem.

 

[jjohns]

Jane - First off, we have two children: DS is (now) 7, DD is (now) 5.

Ever since DS was born, I was waiting for him to be 5 so we could go to Disney! Then, DD was born so had to wait another two years!

Our first trip they were (just turned) 4 and 6. We went in May, so took DS out of Grade 1 for 1 week.

Second trip they were (just turned) 5 and 7. Again in May, again took them both out of school for 1 week.

Last trip they were 5 and 7. This time in October, again took them out of school (Grade 1 and Senior Kindergarten) for 1 week.

As far as school goes, my attitude is (and will be): so long as they continue to work hard and get good grades, 1 week or two isn't the end of their world. As a child I was in competitive sports and missed many Fridays/Mondays for competitions - and turned out just fine, IMHO! My tune probably won't really change until DS is in high school.

We own at WLV but have always stayed at OKW - love the space of the 1- and 2-bedrooms, and love parking the car in front of the unit. So, we've always booked at 7-month window with no problem - although for this past October OKW 2-Bedroom trip it was a close thing!

As far as how many points - you need to decide how much you'll vacation, approximately when in the year, and buy points to fit. Remember that, as the kids age they may need/want separate beds - but you can always add-on points if/when that happens! Another points thought... We are in the middle of a series of "Grandparents' Trips" - we are taking the Grandparents to Disney with the Grandkids now, while everyone is young enough to truly enjoy it and participate... THAT has affected our points a lot (can you say BORROW?)!

How much WDW is enough... hmmm... YMMV. So far, I believe an 8-day visit, with 5 park days, 1 off day and 2 travel days is 'perfect'. That said, the kids don't really need the last park day to be full - they're very happy to spend 3-4 hours and then have time for a swim! (I, however, can always find time for one more run on Space Mountain or Rock 'N Roller Coaster LOL!)

HTH, Jeff

 

[DisneyLodgerz]

My kids are in high school and college now, but they still look forward to our annual trip to WDW. Having a villa at the Lodge just enhanced the experience for us as a family. We use it as a home base to explore all of Disney and Orlando.

I worried about the kids getting bored as they got older, but so far that has not happened (and they have been to WDW over 10 times). Their tastes changed over the years, but they still love Disney. We spend more time at Epcot and MGM (T of T rules!) than MK now, but they share our love of all things Disney.

Taking them out of school was never a problem. Our school district allows 5 days for "educational travel." As long as they had good grades, it was not a problem in my mind. The crowds were much easier to handle in October or the first three weeks of December, when we usually go.

I look at DVC as place that can handle our vacation needs now and for years to come. I have enough points to accommodate trips with my kids and THEIR children someday. I look at it as a family tradition that my kids can pass on to their kids.

Sometimes we visit other places in the summer, like the shore, but our best vacations have always been in WDW. We do different things each time we go. And there is nothing like the anticipation of our next trip as it draws closer and closer.

I have friends and relatives who wonder how we can go to the same place every year and not get bored. Yet those same people go to the mountains or the shore every single year. I think we have a lot more options with the choices we made, but they are entitled to their opinions.