Studios as family of 4

[holyrita]

Where do you store luggage for 3-4 people in a studio? Depending on the resort there doesn't seem to be a ton of extra floor or flat surface space, especially with the couch pulled out into a bed.

Are most people unpacking their stuff into the dressers, condensing luggage and shoving them in a closet? This has been one of my DVC drawbacks as I've researched.

 

[hlhlaw07]

We stay in 2BRs as a family of 4, and my kids are only 3 & 6. We will “rough it” sometimes in a 1BR since the girls are so small and can technically share the sofa bed. Everyone (me, mostly) always sleeps so much better when they have their own sleep surface and bedroom/bathroom. So, I cannot imagine actually sleeping 4 in a studio, mainly because I would get no sleep in that scenario. But I am probably one the world’s lightest sleepers. Space wise, I don’t think a studio would bother me with 2 children, but growing up my family always stayed 4 to a hotel room on vacations. I was better sleeper as a child.

 

[cmarsh31]

Where do you store luggage for 3-4 people in a studio? Depending on the resort there doesn't seem to be a ton of extra floor or flat surface space, especially with the couch pulled out into a bed.

Are most people unpacking their stuff into the dressers, condensing luggage and shoving them in a closet? This has been one of my DVC drawbacks as I've researched.

Packing cubes - same as on a cruise ship. I do them by outfit, not type of clothes, so we'll take out 4 cubes, leave the rest in the closed suitcases (stored under bed or in closet), put dirty clothes back in suitcases, etc. Kids tend to put their cubes in the dresser drawers. I have to work a little harder to make sure everyone picks up their stuff... but we make it work.

 

[Lorana]

Packing cubes - same as on a cruise ship. I do them by outfit, not type of clothes, so we'll take out 4 cubes, leave the rest in the closed suitcases (stored under bed or in closet), put dirty clothes back in suitcases, etc. Kids tend to put their cubes in the dresser drawers. I have to work a little harder to make sure everyone picks up their stuff... but we make it work.

Seconded for the packing cubes! We put them in the drawers, but leave them in the cubes.

 

[igrsod]

I think it depends on the individual family. We do 4 adults in a studio with no problems. We really only use the room the sleep and shower in, as we maximize park time at Disney.
I can see how it wouldn't work with some families though. Only you can determine what will work.

 

[Steph01002]

How many nights do you all typically do? We usually do 6-7 nights

We have done 8-11 night stays. Last year was an 11 night stay.

 

[crisi]

Its hard to tell when your kids are young. Because you really don't know if their pre-teen (and it starts that early) and teen years will be emotionally difficult for everyone, or if you will breeze through it. For a lot of parents, there is a period of time when its really difficult to like your own children (you still love them - but sullen, difficult 13 year olds who don't want to get up at Disney and would rather sleep 18 hours a day are not very likable - fifteen year olds who spend the entire trip whining about how you dragged them away from their friends/boyfriend/girlfriend - also not fun to be around)....in which case it isn't about physical space, but emotional space. You don't know how much separating your kids will end up doing as they gain independence. Will they be keeping your schedule or shift - sleeping in instead of joining you for rope drop, but not making it back to the room until 11pm or later because they stayed for the last set of fireworks.

 

[kevtlas]

Our youngest (just turned 11 end of April) absolutely refuses to sleep in a bed with her sister (newly inducted teen at beginning of March). We do a studio anyway. Is the youngest chooses not to sleep in the bed, she gets a makeshift bed on the floor. And to be honest, she is usually just as comfy there as in a bed.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

Growing up, my family of 6 would always squeeze into a single hotel room. I don't think we did as much travelling as I (oldest) got older (probably 15+). Before that, I would share a bed with my dad and brother, and my mom shared a bed with my sister and youngest brother.

 

[Minniesgal]

Bad I wouldn't do it.

We occasionally if our points don't work out round do a studio for a few nights but it is just the three of us now and I always don't mind it at first but end up hating it. 4 nights is our limit.

We do 1 bed for 3 or 4, 2 bed for 5.

 

[Jaguar Skills]

Our youngest (just turned 11 end of April) absolutely refuses to sleep in a bed with her sister (newly inducted teen at beginning of March). We do a studio anyway. Is the youngest chooses not to sleep in the bed, she gets a makeshift bed on the floor. And to be honest, she is usually just as comfy there as in a bed.

how do you make a bed up on the floor?!?

 

[Lorana]

how do you make a bed up on the floor?!?

We’ve done it by using the cushions from the sleeper sofa to make the “bed.”

 

[DisMomKY]

Tha kn you all! We decided to get 200 pts to start with so we can do 1 bedrooms 1 time a year and may add more later

 

[pineapplepalms]

I think you'll love staying in the 1BRs! We've been staying in 1BRs with 1 and 3 year olds and love the ones with a Murphy bed in the living room for the older one and asked for a crib for the 1 year old. For the ones without a Murphy bed, we bring an inflatable toddler bed since we prefer it to the sofa bed (very comfortable, easy to bring, takes up very little space, and easy to move aside during the day while still keeping the sofa as a sofa). We've stayed in hotel rooms elsewhere with all of us in one room and it's definitely doable, just not our preference especially for a long WDW trip where we're staying for 10+ days. Since we stay so long and our kids are little, we spend a decent amount of time in the room and at the resort and having the kitchen and washer/dryer are just so convenient. It's nice to be able to make some simple food for the kids (especially for breakfast) and request a high chair so we can all eat together at the dining table. It's also great to not have to pack 10+ days worth of clothing (especially since the 1 year old can go through multiple outfits in a day), and when we stayed at Poly it was a pain to lug our stuff down to the shared laundry room and wait around for a machine since half of them were out at the time and there were a lot of people waiting.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We do two bedrooms with a family of five and still feel squished. I would cry if we were all in a studio. To each their own though.

 

[kevtlas]

how do you make a bed up on the floor?!?

We’ve done it by using the cushions from the sleeper sofa to make the “bed.”

That is exactly what we do.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We’ve done it by using the cushions from the sleeper sofa to make the “bed.”

Some of the cushions from the sleeper sofas aren't flat on both sides. Many have an overhang that fits on the back side of the sofa. And the newer sofa sleepers like at Riviera and SSR, won't have removable cushions at all.

We've stayed in mostly one bedroom villas since we bought in 1997. We do sometimes stay in an OKW studio from time to time, but most of our trips are shorter trips now (only three or four nights versus the seven to 10 nights we used to do when we lived in Louisiana). We liked having the washer and dryer right in the villa so I didn't have to find a time when the laundry room wasn't busy to wait for a washer or dryer. Having the full sized refrigerator has always been a plus, too. When our son was little, just having the extra space was worth the points.