The problem w/ DVC, help me decide! WDW or out West?

[FreeTime]

The problem with DVC is having to plan 11 months out. So help us decide please. We have been debating about driving out west, flying to DL, or getting AP's and going to WDW in March, July, and Dec. The AP route would be the cheapest with uncertainty of how much airfare and or gas will be (although this uncertainty is always there). We are itching to try a new vacation but think that our kids might be a bit young (6 & 7) to enjoy riding around for 2-3 weeks in a car. Regardless of what we decide we will use DVC points (DL and a Lake Tahoe resort, etc).

So what would you do? Go for the ole' reliable WDW or head out on an adventure? Any ideas as to what to do and where to stay if we had out west? How about a budget? I was thinking around $4K not including LAs Vegas money, and staying on points.


Thanks for your help friends!

 

[Bojo]

What types of activities does your family enjoy? What do you see yourselves doing if you drive west? That's a lot of driving with a 6 & 7 yo. Smaller trips to WDW may be a better experience than one mega-trip.
Having said all that, we love to do both vacations and will be taking a 2 week trip to Glacier, Yellowstone & Grand Tetons in June. Have fun whatever you decide to do!

 

[JimMIA]

When my now-adult daughters were small (10 & 6), we took a 5-week, 8,500-mile mega trip "out west." To be truthful, they tolerated it better than we did. It was an amazing trip and they still talk about it. We went Miami-Atlanta-St. Louis-Denver-Rocky Mountain National Park-Ft. Laramie Natl Historical Site-Grand Teton-Yellowstone-Glacier-Custer Battlefield-Devil's Tower Natl Monument-Mount Rushmore-Wall Drug-Badlands NP-The Corn Palace (Yes, there is one), and finally home.

If you want to start to explore America's natural granduer with the kids, Bojo's itinerary would be a great "starter" trip! It includes two of our most beautiful National Parks (Glacier and Teton are surpassed only by Yosemite, IMHO), and Yellowstone offers an expansive wilderness with incredible large (and therefore easily-appreciated) wildlife (elk, moose, deer, bison, etc, etc).

For your National Park stays, do what you do at WDW -- stay ON-SITE! All of the larger national parks have excellent lodging, including budget lodging, right in the middle of everything.

For anything for our national parks, go to www.nps.gov and then look for either a specific park or look at a whole region. The links on nps.gov will take you to that individual park page, and on that page you will find three key links -- For Kids, In Depth, and Plan Your Visit. Click Plan Your Visit and you will find a "Lodging" link.

Wherever you go in any National Park, ask about the Junior Ranger program. Your kids will love it -- I guarantee it will make their vacations!

Bojo...if you need any specific info for Glacier, Teton, or Yellowstone, please let me know by PM.

Ranger Jim

 

[igitur]

We're thinking about a trip out West next summer with our kids (They'll be 7 and 9 by then) and our plans including flying into Phoenix, staying for a few days at the AZ Biltmore on Disney points, driving up to the Grand Canyon from there, booking someplace in Sedona or Flagstaff for a few days and then driving back to Phoenix and staying a few more days at the Biltmore before flying back home. The Biltmore is a lot cheaper in June because it's so hot that time of the year. I don't think it'll end up costing anywhere near $4K for us. If we can get a good deal on airfare, I think we could do it for about $2K if we're lucky. It'll be a welcome challenge But then again, I'm only thinkiing about 10 days, not 2 -3 weeks.

Deb

 

[igitur]

BTW, Ranger Jim, we did a similar trip like that with my parents when I was about 12 and my brother, about 14. I remember my parents wanted to strangle us because everytime we stopped at one of the historical sites, my brother and I just wanted to stay in the car because we "weren't interested."

Looking back, gosh do I regret having that kind of attitude. I do remember going to the Corn Palace though. Funny what things stick in your memory.


Deb

When my now-adult daughters were small (10 & 6), we took a 5-week, 8,500-mile mega trip "out west." To be truthful, they tolerated it better than we did. It was an amazing trip and they still talk about it. We went Miami-Atlanta-St. Louis-Denver-Rocky Mountain National Park-Ft. Laramie Natl Historical Site-Grand Teton-Yellowstone-Glacier-Custer Battlefield-Devil's Tower Natl Monument-Mount Rushmore-Wall Drug-Badlands NP-The Corn Palace (Yes, there is one), and finally home.

 

[johde]

I not sure what to tell you but one thing that would give you more time to decide is to go ahead and book the March trip to WDW (assuming you won't need to borrow points) now. The same thing in July for the June trip. You can cancel those trips without any problems until 1 month out. If you decide to go out west instead. Cancel WDW and book DL or anywhere else you want to go. That will give you the most flexibility for down the road.

I ended up doing something similar 2 years ago except it was all at WDW. My initial plan was that I might want to go to WDW in early December if I could get cheap airfare. I book the room in January at my home resort because I knew early December was a popular time at the DVC resorts. After having that reservation for several months, Southwest had a wonderful price to Orlando for September. So I canceled December and booked September.

So I would say book WDW now and then change it later if you want to do something else.

 

[bub]

After doing WDW every year for about 6 or so years (beginning when our kids were about 3 and 5), we've started switching off with WDW one summer, then a trip to the West the next. Three years ago we went to Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Our kids were 9 and 11, and had the stamina to do some hiking. The next summer, we went back to WDW, then last year, we did San Francisco and Yosemite. I don't think the kids ever appreciate the natural beauty of the West and the historic sites as much as the adults do, but they do enjoy the adventure of hiking. I think the exposure to other parts of the country is valuable, as well. My kids also enjoy cities (they both loved Vegas and San Francisco).

I found that as much as we all love WDW, going every summer was making us take it for granted. And the trips out West were amazing. The switching off also gives us more points for when we do go to WDW - we're actually using points to stay for a weekend this year, in addition to M - Th.