Tips for new owners?

[Girlstar30]

Just move on. You have no obligation to invite them at all and they should be grateful you invited them even once. If you didn't ask for money for preplanned excursions, it is unlikely you would every see it, right?

Like I've said, our son and DIL meet us at WDW most trips and we provide a DVC studio for them. Sometimes we are at the same resort, sometimes not. We meet for ADR's and park visits. We enjoy our visits as expectations are known and we travel well together. They travel overseas with DIL's family frequently. Our son and DIL are done traveling overseas with friends for the same reasons you mentioned. The friends basically had "tour guides" in Paris and other European cities but were appalled at hotel and meal prices even though they were clearly explained ahead. These are top earners, so no excuses here...I guess it is human nature!

Oh I have, just annoying to get the "am i not invited anymore" texts here and there that I've clearly just ignored and changed the subject since last May, but I know it will eventually turn into a full, possibly friendship ending conversation. I'm OK with that. You're smart to do the seperate rooms, I will definitely never share space with family and friends again. Things like the heater on/off and people not having the sense to tell their children to be quiet and shut off their devices after midnight is just wild to me. Lesson learned! And yes the price complaining or the "i don't understand why I have to pay for LL to guarantee I'll go on guardians, I already paid for my ticket bla bla bla" like I somehow set the rules. Then im "mean" when I'm like look you don't have to pay but I'm just telling you that you may not get on, that's the rule, and we are paying." Ugh never again! Lol

 

[Brian Noble]

I know it will eventually turn into a full, possibly friendship ending conversation

Then it wasn't a friendship. It was a business arrangement.

I've traveled with extended family. It does seem to work best when we (a) stay in separate rooms and (b) plan relatively few "things we will do together".

 

[eticketplease]

You're smart to do the seperate rooms, I will definitely never share space with family and friends again. Things like the heater on/off and people not having the sense to tell their children to be quiet and shut off their devices after midnight is just wild to me. Lesson learned!

Just remember if you get a 2 bedroom lock-off there are 2 thermostats, 1 for the studio portion and 1 for the 1 bedroom section.
If you can settle for the couch/murphy instead of two queens in the 2nd bedroom (except for BWV) this might help as you with the heating/cooling situation and you can still take advantage of the full kitchen and laundry.
Not sure about how to handle the devices and not being quiet other than to talk with the parents.

 

[Girlstar30]

Then it wasn't a friendship. It was a business arrangement.

I've traveled with extended family. It does seem to work best when we (a) stay in separate rooms and (b) plan relatively few "things we will do together".

Amen!

 

[Girlstar30]

Just remember if you get a 2 bedroom lock-off there are 2 thermostats, 1 for the studio portion and 1 for the 1 bedroom section.
If you can settle for the couch/murphy instead of two queens in the 2nd bedroom (except for BWV) this might help as you with the heating/cooling situation and you can still take advantage of the full kitchen and laundry.
Not sure about how to handle the devices and not being quiet other than to talk with the parents.

OH I see, this is very good to know, so the living room portion with Murphy bed is the one that has control of the thermostat? I would definetely do that, but I'm still going to hear the "it's too hot" whining from the other room Does the dedicated two bedroom only have one thermostat?

 

[eticketplease]

OH I see, this is very good to know, so the living room portion with Murphy bed is the one that has control of the thermostat? I would definetely do that, but I'm still going to hear the "it's too hot" whining from the other room Does the dedicated two bedroom only have one thermostat?

Yes dedicated only have one and the 1 bedroom units for the lock-offs have it in the living room area.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I just like to get up and have my coffee at 5 am or 4 am or whatever! We can turn the a/c up or down when we want. We can use the bathroom without waiting in LINE! Most important!

 

[Girlstar30]

Yes dedicated only have one and the 1 bedroom units for the lock-offs have it in the living room area.

Darn I kind of wish it was in the king bedroom, oh well!

 

[Girlstar30]

I just like to get up and have my coffee at 5 am or 4 am or whatever! We can turn the a/c up or down when we want. We can use the bathroom without waiting in LINE! Most important!

Exactly I need my space ! Too old to deal with people's issues lol

 

[alex33x]

Three pronged for sales
1) harder to move a larger contract as fewer can afford it / want to add that many points.
2) as a result it will usually sell for less per point
3) if let say you have 300 points and decide you want less points at that resort but not zero points at that resort, you can’t just sell part of your points - you have to sell them all.

Yes, this is what I was told and read about my self. So, then the only draw back is the sales aspect should I ever need to sell then. I honestly don't think I'll try to sell at least not anytime soon. Maybe when i only have like 20 years left and it's time to get a newer contract.

 

[alex33x]

2) We realized later that Disney is amazing without kids! LOL. We literally "just" got home this afternoon from our first couple-only trip and it was AMAZING. So easy and romantic. This confirms my secret dream to be DVC snowbirds once the kids are grown.

My wife and I did Disney before we had kids, we are doing it now with kids, which adds to the fun. So, we will do it again when they are out of the house, and if able hopefully with grandkids one day. I don't think you can put an age as to when or not you should do Disney.

 

[CarolynFH]

Maybe when i only have like 20 years left and it's time to get a newer contract.

LOL, maybe when you compare the price of that newer contract to what you have now, you might not want to trade it in! 20 more years is a long time!!

 

[Knight0221]

New member here so still learning. Is there a way to see the differences in discounts between the soercers pass, being a direct dvc member and having the premier visa disney credit card? Are all the merchandise, food discounts etc all the same throughout the 3 or does one carry better discounts. Thank you for any input.

 

[eticketplease]

For the most part DVC and AP are equal in amount and where accepted. Visa card doesn’t get much and not too many places give a discount.

If you go out west to Aulani or Disneyland only DVC and a few places you can use the Visa.

Mouseperks.com has discounts listed based on program but it doesn’t appear to have been updated in a while.

 

[Girlstar30]

New member here so still learning. Is there a way to see the differences in discounts between the soercers pass, being a direct dvc member and having the premier visa disney credit card? Are all the merchandise, food discounts etc all the same throughout the 3 or does one carry better discounts. Thank you for any input.

We just tell the cast members where we are that we have dvc, d23, chase visa and now dvc direct soon and they can pick which one has the best

 

[Knight0221]

We just tell the cast members where we are that we have dvc, d23, chase visa and now dvc direct soon and they can pick which one has the best

That's great. I wish I knew if one was better than the other just to know lol

 

[CarolynFH]

That's great. I wish I knew if one was better than the other just to know lol

Because it varies from time to time and also from place to place, we do the same as @Girlstar30 - we tell them what we have and ask them which has the best discount!

 

[Girlstar30]

That's great. I wish I knew if one was better than the other just to know lol

Yeah like I noticed a lot of the hotel restaurants do not take chase visa discount, they always asked if we were dvc. The ones that did take it, it was 10%off. Pretty sure the dvc discount on merchandise is the best at 20% but don't quote me on that because I don't have a wdw AP. If it's like Disneyland then the different passes have different discount amounts too, that's why it's kind of hard to answer the question of which is better

 

[RickNJane]

1) The vibe of a resort is an intangible that really makes or breaks our trips. We did a December split stay Riviera/VGF, and we REALLY disliked VGF because of how crazed the lobby/restaurants/shops were. Yes, the lobby is magnificent, but it was SOOOO crowded, really left a poor taste that surprised us. Riviera gets so much hate for its uninspiring lobby, LOL, but we love how quiet it is!

1b) We "settled" on a split stay at OKW after hearing it's in the middle of nowhere and only having buses and boats -- and we LOVED it. Again, as a family, I think we get peopled out in the parks and really need a relief valve of quiet to come back to.

2) We realized later that Disney is amazing without kids! LOL. We literally "just" got home this afternoon from our first couple-only trip and it was AMAZING. So easy and romantic. This confirms my secret dream to be DVC snowbirds once the kids are grown.

3) That buying DVC doesn't save you money the way you expect. We spend so much more on more trips/APs/more dining out, but it has enriched our family's lives so much. I just did a boy's trip with just my son at AKJ and let him plan the day. We did ONE day at AK, one day at Wild Florida doing gators and air boat ride, and a ton of loafing in the hot tub. I did our couple's trip this weekend. Next up is a girl's trip with our bougie daughter at RR/VGF and water parks.

3b) Take the DVC spreadsheet nerds with a grain of salt. I love and appreciate the work they do, truly, but at the end of the day, if you want a resort with restrictions or AKJ/AKK despite higher dues for the animals, buy what makes you happy. It's too expensive to just always go by "value."

3c) Speaking of which, 1Bs are supposedly not a good "value," but they make our trips one billion percent better; laundry, locking bedroom door, full kitchen, room for spreading out, good storage -- it's just really nice.

Really second the 1br. Makes it feel more like a vacation home and not a motel room.

 

[eticketplease]

Pretty sure the dvc discount on merchandise is the best at 20% but don't quote me on that because I don't have a wdw AP.

They are the same. During special times they will sometimes increase the discount for AP holders