Resort only stays

[quandrea]

For one week, I answered five. That’s mostly true. With APs it might be more. We have also done no park trips. This winter, we will spend 40 nights on-site for the first time. If APs don’t resume, I’ll buy a U.K. 14 day ticket and use it along with some water park visits. The rest of the trip will be resort only.

 

[sethschroeder]

I somewhat agree, but for me it’s more about the theming and taking me away from reality.
I stay in hotels probably way more than most here, and a nice Marriott is, well, a nice Marriott.
It’s not a themed experience.

I will spend likely less money and go to Hawaii or Jersey Boardwalk or cabin. The exception to this would be AK as you are not finding that anywhere and going on an Africa safari would be much more costly and time consuming.

Yes they are themed but they are themed after real world locations which I could visit instead then. Plus everyone's gripe is that the hotels are becoming less themed.

Heck I can drive a couple hours and find just as nice but with better pool/waterpark attached resort compared to Wilderness Lodge (and that is a great resort).

 

[TraderStitch]

Yup. Didn’t see it hiding out down there.

It has 4 Votes so I think the issue is on the end user side. Sorry.

 

[Genie+]

We never take a day off from the parks. Always go to a park on checkin and checkout day And every day in between.

 

[howardlee2]

It used to be more but I think we are planning 3 days for a 5 night stay in Feb. The high cost of tickets/other fees for rides will cut the number of days for sure.

 

[Simba's Mom]

It used to be more but I think we are planning 3 days for a 5 night stay in Feb. The high cost of tickets/other fees for rides will cut the number of days for sure.

Yes, when I could get an AP for a discount with DVC, going to a park for 4-5 hours wasn't so bad. But at regular ticket prices, 5 hours in a park just isn't worth $25-$30/hour. And my 70 yo self just isn't up to much more time than that. So I'll take a ride on the Skyliner, visit the animals at AKL, resort hop, etc. for no added cost.

 

[sethschroeder]

Yes, when I could get an AP for a discount with DVC, going to a park for 4-5 hours wasn't so bad. But at regular ticket prices, 5 hours in a park just isn't worth $25-$30/hour. And my 70 yo self just isn't up to much more time than that. So I'll take a ride on the Skyliner, visit the animals at AKL, resort hop, etc. for no added cost.

Maybe it's a difference in age but for us if we need to buy regular tickets and APs are not an option moving forward we will just sell DVC.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

Yes, when I could get an AP for a discount with DVC, going to a park for 4-5 hours wasn't so bad. But at regular ticket prices, 5 hours in a park just isn't worth $25-$30/hour. And my 70 yo self just isn't up to much more time than that. So I'll take a ride on the Skyliner, visit the animals at AKL, resort hop, etc. for no added cost.

Your plan sounds similar to my own plan at this time. I'm still hoping there will be annual passes available by the time we go in January 2023, I'm also looking at other ticket sources to see what it will cost that way. I'm just not sure that there is that much that I actually want to do in the parks to make it worth the expense that the tickets will cost (other than annual passes). The train still isn't open at the MK, that is so disappointing to me and just crazy that it's been down for five years. Taking that into consideration along with the crowds and the rides that go down I just don't know if it's worth the cost.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

It would be interesting to see a chart on non-park days, partial days and how long people have owned their DVC; like a line chart.

 

[DeeBee3]

It would be interesting to see a chart on non-park days, partial days and how long people have owned their DVC; like a line chart.

Chop, chop. Somebody with quick graphing skills work this up!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

So we bought direct in 2005 when DD was 5. We had AP up until the Great Refund. Fast forward we went in Feb 21 with UT multidays. We’re going in Dec after our cruise for 3.5 days, doing only Mickey’s Christmas party. In Feb we are going for 5 days after my parents memorials — only planning on resort and spa activities at this point.
Like others have stated, I’m taking a wait and see attitude— I am open to renting for a couple of years to see if the tide turns. The only costs I have to cover are dues, and I can theoretically cover those through renting.

 

[E2ME2]

When staying 10 days or less, we would wage a daily assault on the parks.
When we stay longer, we plan in days to just hang at the resort and enjoy the pool.
We have even done a couple "Resort-Only" stays, prior to COVID, but luckily we acquired APs in 2020, and have kept renewing them. I have run into too many fellow DVC-ers who had to buy LOS Passes, or skip the parks, over the last couple years.

 

[BL2020]

I think this is a moving target with all the changes Disney's made the last few years. We used to do every day except when flight times made it impossible. Now our kids are grown and we bought our first DVC resale summer 2020 and are finally going this October. We have six days planned for a seven night visit, with a six day hopper ticket. When we bought I envisioned getting APs but not an option now, though not sure it would have been worth it either way as its likely we'll only go once maybe twice a year. Its not worth using all our vacation funds for one place, as recent retirees we also camp and visit national parks, like ocean/river cruises and having been to Europe a few times in the last five years can appreciate EPCOTs theming, but the real thing is still much better. So while I want to keep Disney in the mix it is nice to have other options and the recent changes in APs and other programming are not driving me towards spending more time in Disney.

 

[ehh]

For WDW, we go to the parks every day except days where we board a cruise later that morning. We've tried to squeeze in some park time prior to the ride to Port Canaveral but have decided it's just not worth the hassle.

But there are days where we do very little in the parks, sometimes even zero attractions. We have APs and have for the entirety of our DVC membership.

For DL+VGC, we usually drive down and arrive in Anaheim fairly late, 10PM or so, so we rarely visit on the first day. There were also those 3 days that DL was closed due to COVID but VGC was open, we didn't go to the parks those days. But otherwise, we're everyday-ers at DL+VGC as well.

For Aulani, can't say we usually go to a park when visiting Though one time we did go to DL on the same day we left Aulani.

 

[DisneyFan5404]

We have owned DVC since 1998 and have always visited the parks each day we were there. We are lucky enough to have annual passes. I would love to be one of those people that can just sit back and enjoy my vacation but when I get to Disney I feel I have to rope drop most days. I will turn 60 in October - hopefully then I will learn to relax!

 

[Rochester Disney Fan]

We would normally go to a park or water park everyday. This will change on our next trip if we can't get annual passes.We would only be in the parks for a few hours a day and hang around the resort. We like the pools.

 

[Lunchbox66]

We just bought last year, but we try to do 1 week long trip and hit every park atleast once. Then use points for smaller resort only/Disney springs sleep arounds. Once a year to do a ride is enough for me.

 

[SL6827]

Can't imagine having a good amount of points to visit Disney a couple times a year without an AP. Would the cost of normal tickets not eat into the savings of a DVC purchase?

Or would you need like three park trips a year for that?

 

[Brian Noble]

We are once-a-year-or-less visitors, and usually stay for a full week. The marginal cost of an extra day or two is low enough that we typically have tickets for every full day, plus arrival day if we are landing before, say, 2PM or so. We typically do not get park tickets for departure day.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We don’t usually go into parks on our first day, nor our last day.