What kind of "points" spender are you??

[quandrea]

We have 860 points and always stay in one bedrooms. There are five of us so we go akl or blt. Like the two baths. I wonder if we will move to a two br as the kids age. We spend about thirty nights a year at wdw. Usually book savannah view but our next two trips are a standard view so I can get out of my borrowing cycle. Seems crazy that even with 860 points I'm still short. On the one trip dh and I took alone we stayed in one bedrooms at gf and ssr. The king bed is great,as is the full kitchen. So I guess we splurge for the most part, although making a jump to a two br will be huge.

 

[edk35]

We have 860 points and always stay in one bedrooms. There are five of us so we go akl or blt. Like the two baths. I wonder if we will move to a two br as the kids age. We spend about thirty nights a year at wdw. Usually book savannah view but our next two trips are a standard view so I can get out of my borrowing cycle. Seems crazy that even with 860 points I'm still short. On the one trip dh and I took alone we stayed in one bedrooms at gf and ssr. The king bed is great,as is the full kitchen. So I guess we splurge for the most part, although making a jump to a two br will be huge.

How old are your kids? Ours are 23,20 and 15 now. So....we pretty much have to have 2brs. We tried the studio thing with 4 people last year...probably won't ever do that again.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

We have only 100 AKV points, so we have to be frugal. Our first trip to AKV, we banked and borrowed and stayed one night in a Club Level studio + 6 nights in a Savanna View 2-BR. Wow! That trip was amazing, but cost us big time in points. The next time we went to AKV, it was just two of us so we tried the Value Studio. Loved the points savings. So the next time the whole family went, we stayed in a Value 2-BR. I have a Value Studio booked this October for my DH and me. I will probably stick with the Value rooms from now on unless there is something special we want to celebrate and then we'll splurge and get the Savanna View again.

 

[quandrea]

How old are your kids? Ours are 23,20 and 15 now. So....we pretty much have to have 2brs. We tried the studio thing with 4 people last year...probably won't ever do that again.

My twins are four and my oldest daughter is just about ten. The girls share the pull out couch and ds is in the sleeper chair. Not sure how long that arrangement will work. When I travelled with my parents and my three siblings the kids always shared beds right through adulthood. Even as adult sibs we shared when travelling. Hoping my kids will do the same.

My gut says though that as the kids age we will crave that extra space. Guess we will have to shorten our trips because I can't see doing an add on from 860.

 

[edk35]

My twins are four and my oldest daughter is just about ten. The girls share the pull out couch and ds is in the sleeper chair. Not sure how long that arrangement will work. When I travelled with my parents and my three siblings the kids always shared beds right through adulthood. Even as adult sibs we shared when travelling. Hoping my kids will do the same.

My gut says though that as the kids age we will crave that extra space. Guess we will have to shorten our trips because I can't see doing an add on from 860.

Yeah I would milk that for as long as you can. Once you start getting 2brs. there is no return.

 

[michellev]

We only have 160 points and travel during high season, so we try to be frugal. We have a family of 5, so do the 1 bedrooms without the view. I would love to book a 2 bedroom, but would definitely need more points. We do, however, choose the resort we want regardless of the points.

 

[brertoad]

It's just DH and me.

We are a little of both, spenders and savers. But in the scheme of things definitely savers since we only stay in studios!

I light to splurge for certain things like birthdays, but DH usually wants to stay at OKW or AKL.

I was talking about doing a Treehouse Villa (so we could invite some friends or family) for his 40th birthday and he was like "uh, isn't that over 40 points"...yeah definitely a saver.

 

[johde]

I tend to be a saver. I have 60 point and tend to travel solo. So I normally stay in a studio at OKW (my home resort), AKV std or value, or BWV std view. And I tend to travel low season. I have splurged on occasion. The trip to Disneyland staying at VGC and staying in a 1 bed room for one night on my last trip. But on that one I had to make a last minute change because of work and had points that would have went into holding status. I also stayed New Years Eve at high point costs.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

When I first became a member, with one contract and a limited number of points, I only booked value studios at AKV. Now, with four contracts and several hundred points, I am far less conservative. Although I am frequently banked and borrowed out, I am not afraid to use what I have available.

Last summer, we stayed in one of the Pirate-themed rooms at Caribbean Beach, because we wanted to feel like we were spending the night in Adventureland. We had a magical time and were glad we went for it.

 

[Rochester Disney Fan]

I am in the splurge category, If it's just my wife and I( only 1 trip was without kids) we get a 1BR. When we go with our twins it's a 2BR. This year I am even doing Theme park view at BLT. I could not imagine not having the washer/dryer. I am also always in borrow mode.

 

[AdamsMum]

I started out as a frugal 60 point owner intending to stay every other year in a studio. That didn't last long. 3 add ons later I now have 180 points and I'm all tapped out for my 2014 use year. Need more points. I agree with the other posters, I bought DVC for a better, more comfortable vacation experience. I haven't been disappointed.

 

[LSchrow]

funny.....many say they didn't buy into DVC to stay in a hotel room; we didn't buy into DVC just to see traffic

for us, it's all about the view - we'll save on certain things, but an amazing view is non-negotiable (else we could stay a lot cheaper elsewhere).

we go twice a year, 11-14 days each time, two people in a (fantastic view ) studio. we prefer certain times of year - april/may (beautiful weather, F&GF), and sept/oct (meet up with friends, F&WF).
our comfort level is max 2 ppl in a studio (a full kitchen and whirl tub are worthless to us).

400 points, and still in perpetual borrowing mode (6 points left in our aug 2015 UY)

 

[awilliams4]

We spend around 400-450 points per trip. 8 nights in a 2 bedroom. 4 of us. The relaxing space has become a very big part of our trips.

The washer and dryer are huge bonuses as well.

 

[gibbow]

I have rented points twice and both were studio rooms for about 50pnt vacations.

I just sent in my closing documents for a 50pnt BLT resale...I'm single and only 23 so for now I'm more aimed on banking and borrowing to treat my siblings to some reunion vacations since we love across the country from each other.

I can see myself buying more points in the future. ..but for now I think this'll do

 

[Brian Noble]

I got into timesharing so that we'd have the space to be comfortable. I consider a 2BR to be more or less the minimum size for the four of us. But, I also have more timesharing assets than I can use right now.

 

[ppony]

Like you, OP, we like the space, even though it's just us 2 adults and the 2 kids (ages below). We LOVE a 2BR but can do fine in a 1 BR. We only go every other year w/o our 160 points so that allows us to do that pretty well and avoid a studio. Usually. This year is an exception, so we'll try the studio for us for 5 days (as we'll be on a 5 day cruise before that), but I'm not jazzed about it and it won't happen again. DH and I in the smallest of the small studios at BLT was insane to me. I hate tripping over each other of the bed moving around. For us, our accommodations are just as much a part of our trip as the parks are. But, as I said, it's 2 adults and 2 kids. In the OPs situation I would want MORE room and not sardine-ing more adults into a room. Nope. Not our style. We like s-p-a-c-e! Also in borrow mode every time.

 

[ppony]

If I was going to stay in studios, I wouldn't have purchased DVC, because it just is NOT the true Home away from Home experience.

Same. If we didn't want the real home away from home experience that a 1 or 2BR has to offer, we wouldn't have bought in. And DANG can you get spoiled! I almost considered just getting a regular room OOP since our points are tied up in our cruise and we hadn't really planned on needing them, but we can' go for the cruise alone, and I hate the idea of not being in a villa, so we'll do the studio ad rent the points. This. Time. ONLY. I'd MUCH rather be in a studio villa at BCV for $200 a night than a regular room at a moderate for similar. that doesn't mean I won't be crabbing on the inside as I pine for the oxygen of a 1 or 2BR.

PS: Hello MN neighbor.

 

[ppony]

We also never spent the points for theme park view at BLT. That is until our most-recent trip, when the grandkids joined us for the first time. I've always been perfectly happy with the lake view, before. Now I've seen how the other side lives. I was the one sitting at the window every night watching Wishes from our living room with a nice drink in my hand. Don't know if I can be un-spoiled.

Yep! Us in reverse. We started w/ a TPV 2 BR for the 4 of us, then when DH and I went solo for 5 nights, we did a LV studio (inner crescent side). YUCK! I was so crabby! Spoiled? Yes! It only takes once. THAT sounds familiar.

 

[lovin'fl]

We are a fam of 5 and started out using our DVC in a 1BR. That was when the kids were young. Now that they are all in HS, we get a 2BR when it's all of us. But I do like to conserve points and our eldest (DS-17) prefers to take a pass on any upcoming WDW trips, so we can do 1BR or even studios. I have a studio for my 2 DDs and I in Aug and, after DH and I did a studio last Oct for F&W, I like the studios just fine. We tend to do shorter trips though.

 

[Chuck S]

They are your points. Enjoy them however you wish. A few years ago, I splurged and got an OKW 1 bedroom just for me. It was heaven.