VDH availability

I don't fault them for the design. DLR tends to have shorter stays, which means the kitchen/laundry are less important, and studios more likely to be sufficient. What's more, I'd rather have a little more storage than cram another sleeping surface in every sqaure foot.

At the same time, if I were a family of five, the building is not a good fit.
 
I don't fault them for the design. DLR tends to have shorter stays, which means the kitchen/laundry are less important, and studios more likely to be sufficient. What's more, I'd rather have a little more storage than cram another sleeping surface in every sqaure foot.

At the same time, if I were a family of five, the building is not a good fit.
On top of all that, they had a ton of data showing that 'modern DVC buyers' want Studios.
 
I don't fault them for the design. DLR tends to have shorter stays, which means the kitchen/laundry are less important, and studios more likely to be sufficient. What's more, I'd rather have a little more storage than cram another sleeping surface in every sqaure foot.

At the same time, if I were a family of five, the building is not a good fit.
I live in CA and have been to Disneyland--without exaggeration--hundreds of times. The absolute longest I've ever stayed is three nights. And if it's three nights, one of those days is spent at the pool. Two nights, I'd say, is ideal.
 
I live in CA and have been to Disneyland--without exaggeration--hundreds of times. The absolute longest I've ever stayed is three nights. And if it's three nights, one of those days is spent at the pool. Two nights, I'd say, is ideal.
We like to go for 5 nights. I don’t even settle into vacation until day 3….

But, we also don’t live in CA and are happy to do some off property things during the day on days 3 and 4.

My wife also grew up in SoCal and don’t seems like we have someone different coming to visit us on various days. Nice to have a spot they can crash if needed. So, 2BDs are ideal.
 
TBF to Disney…. there are a lot less families of more than 4 there used to be…. still… they could have designed the studios with a small pulldown OR allotted more 1BDs….
I think maybe the "problem" with that is it encourages people to book studios and then Disney can't sell as many points. Often we see studios booked up completely while 1BRs go unused and it makes sense because it's nearly half the amount of points and with the same capacity in many of the older resorts but with the studios holding 4 and the 1BRs holding 5, there's a legitimate reason to need a 1BR. But now that people actually need the 1BRs, they've greatly decreased the relative number of 1/2BRs compared to studios 🤷‍♂️
 
I think maybe the "problem" with that is it encourages people to book studios and then Disney can't sell as many points. Often we see studios booked up completely while 1BRs go unused and it makes sense because it's nearly half the amount of points and with the same capacity in many of the older resorts but with the studios holding 4 and the 1BRs holding 5, there's a legitimate reason to need a 1BR. But now that people actually need the 1BRs, they've greatly decreased the relative number of 1/2BRs compared to studios 🤷‍♂️
My family of 4 would not want to ever sleep in a studio. Each kid needs their own sleeping surface…. and Mom & Dad want a separate bathroom and door…. Studios work if the kids are little, close to the same age, and aren’t wiggily sleepers.
 
it's nearly half the amount of points and with the same capacity
I know this is how a LOT of DVCers feel, but this absolutely grinds my gears. I cannot fathom the idea of cramming 3-4 people into a studio for more than a few nights, tops. It's not just about sleeping surfaces, but space, comfort, and amenities.

But, I'm weird. I get that. I don't view the room as Just A Place To Sleep. At all.
 
My family of 4 would not want to ever sleep in a studio. Each kid needs their own sleeping surface…. and Mom & Dad want a separate bathroom and door…. Studios work if the kids are little, close to the same age, and aren’t wiggily sleepers.
Studios that sleep 5 work for our family of 4 (so each kid gets a sleeping surface) but a 1 BR would obviously be preferable, if not for the higher point cost.
 
My family of 4 would not want to ever sleep in a studio. Each kid needs their own sleeping surface…. and Mom & Dad want a separate bathroom and door…. Studios work if the kids are little, close to the same age, and aren’t wiggily sleepers.
I know this is how a LOT of DVCers feel, but this absolutely grinds my gears. I cannot fathom the idea of cramming 3-4 people into a studio for more than a few nights, tops. It's not just about sleeping surfaces, but space, comfort, and amenities.

But, I'm weird. I get that. I don't view the room as Just A Place To Sleep. At all.

I think we're all on the same page, but I don't think we're average DVC owners. I think we're all well above average in terms of the number of DVC points we own. I know Astro owns like half of Aulani but for the average family that owns 150 to 200 points it's a pretty big pill to swallow paying twice as much for a 1BR for the same number of sleeping surfaces vs. extending the vacation to be twice as long in a studio.
 
I just purchased my first direct DVC contract - 150pts at VDH. I logged onto the DVC portal for the first time to see availability for the rooms that can accommodate family of 5. I was shocked to see there is basically nothing for the next 11 months and am seriously considering walking back the purchase. I reached out to my guide who indicated that as more contracts are sold, more availability will follow. Is that a thing? I would have thought it can only get worse. Obviously they are incentivized for me to not cancel.

I agree with those advising you to rescind. As Brian mentioned, given the small number of rooms what sleep 5 it will be super competitive. And I won't even get into the long term prospects on the "equity value" of your purchase with those resale restrictions in place.

My personal experience as a non-owner in California is that getting a 1BR in the summer at VGC at 7 months is not impossible as long as you are maybe a bit flexible on dates and book right when the window opens. Studios at VDH seemed even easier to book at 7 months with our direct WDW points but we opted for the 1BR at VGC for the sleeping capacity. We were looking to go in late June but it seems like July and August night be even easier to book at VGC (1BRs for sure - maybe even studios can be snagged) due to the higher point pricing.

You can probably get a resale Aulani contract for about half the price (and similar dues) and use it for SAP at VGC if you tend to go during times when 1BRs are available at 7 months which is about 26 weeks during the year (check availability tables - https://www.dvcfieldguide.com/availability-tables).
 
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I think we're all on the same page, but I don't think we're average DVC owners. I think we're all well above average in terms of the number of DVC points we own. I know Astro owns like half of Aulani but for the average family that owns 150 to 200 points it's a pretty big pill to swallow paying twice as much for a 1BR for the same number of sleeping surfaces vs. extending the vacation to be twice as long in a studio.
For the record, I own .00824% of Aulani.
 
I just purchased my first direct DVC contract - 150pts at VDH. I logged onto the DVC portal for the first time to see availability for the rooms that can accommodate family of 5. I was shocked to see there is basically nothing for the next 11 months and am seriously considering walking back the purchase. I reached out to my guide who indicated that as more contracts are sold, more availability will follow. Is that a thing? I would have thought it can only get worse. Obviously they are incentivized for me to not cancel.

Can you travel the same time each year? You could get a fixed week to lock in a room.

Thread here
 
We own 306 points at Disneyland hotel which gets us a week in the summer in a 1 bedroom. You pretty much have to plan your trip 11.5 months in advance at Disneyland Hotel. Start getting online a week or two early and get the room booked and start rolling it. The inventory level is very low for 1 and 2 bedrooms and is only made worse by the lack of adjoining studios and by the only 4 person studios as many families have 3 kids like ours. It will also get worse once the declared inventory all gets sold as right now there is additional grease in the system so to speak.We wanted to buy Disneyland back last Spring when incentives were good at the 300 point level and wanted some direct points for direct benefits. You have to commit to that long term planning. My wife really wanted Disneyland Hotel in the summer for the better weather than Florida. Also a great stopover on a Hawaii trip. Grand Cali has great inventory levels of 1 bedrooms as I think almost all units are 1 bedrooms that lock off with a studio to make 2 bedrooms. We also own some resale at Grand Cali and it is a wonderful resort. Higher points chart many times of the year but cheaper dues. Personally I would have to consider if I got much value out of the direct benefits of having bought direct and if not I would cancel and buy a Grand Cali resale. There are some on the market that albeit more expensive are good buys.
 
Can you travel the same time each year? You could get a fixed week to lock in a room.

Thread here
If only you could use a portion of your FW. Not many people want 7 straight days at DLR. WDW possibly 7 days is fine.
 
We own 306 points at Disneyland hotel which gets us a week in the summer in a 1 bedroom. You pretty much have to plan your trip 11.5 months in advance at Disneyland Hotel. Start getting online a week or two early and get the room booked and start rolling it. The inventory level is very low for 1 and 2 bedrooms and is only made worse by the lack of adjoining studios and by the only 4 person studios as many families have 3 kids like ours. It will also get worse once the declared inventory all gets sold as right now there is additional grease in the system so to speak.We wanted to buy Disneyland back last Spring when incentives were good at the 300 point level and wanted some direct points for direct benefits. You have to commit to that long term planning. My wife really wanted Disneyland Hotel in the summer for the better weather than Florida. Also a great stopover on a Hawaii trip. Grand Cali has great inventory levels of 1 bedrooms as I think almost all units are 1 bedrooms that lock off with a studio to make 2 bedrooms. We also own some resale at Grand Cali and it is a wonderful resort. Higher points chart many times of the year but cheaper dues. Personally I would have to consider if I got much value out of the direct benefits of having bought direct and if not I would cancel and buy a Grand Cali resale. There are some on the market that albeit more expensive are good buys.
Are there DVC properties with adjoining studios?
 















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