What we''ve learned after several trips as DVC members

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We've been on 5 DVC trips (2 using Aunt's points before we bought in) in the last few years and have learned a LOT from when we originally purchased.

Know how when you are first buying in people say- your intentions on using the points now aren't necessarily how you will want to use your points in the future? For us that rang true on the 4th trip.

Our kids are now 8 and 10 and have stayed at awesome deluxe resorts (yet still bring up the one time we stayed at AOA when they were younger). We've had many park days, only a few resort days.

We were complete commando rope droppers before DVC.
We rarely spent time in the room, but when we were there did enjoy the extras (kitchenette)
My kids LOVED staying at a resort with a water slide
We have been to many of the TS restaurants and didn't think twice about the money we spent on food.

Somewhere during the fourth trip, something clicked and changed for us.

We no longer feel the urge to spend every second in the park. People think we are crazy when I tell them we typically are in the parks from 9a-11:30a and then back to the resort for rest of the day. Sometimes we go back to the parks for night activities, but if we miss the fireworks- no biggie

We like lounging in the room and love sitting on the balconies- soaking up some quiet and relaxation when surrounded by the hustle of Disney

Water Slide? last trip the kids preferred to skip the crowded poly slide and spent all free time at the Oasis quiet pool- we couldn't convince them to move to the other pool so we gave up and sat in a cabana all day (we loved it too)

Food Budget? I cringe when i think about how much we spent on food. I used to think we would stay in studios forever, because we don't mind the smaller space and who wants to cook on vacation? Well, I want more space, and I WANT to cook for my family, even on vacation.

I am now completely ok taking a resort only trip (no way would I have considered this four years ago)

Our thinking has switched- YES we still love the parks, but DVC helped us realize its not just the parks that makes us love Disney vacations.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Yeah. That is one of the things I wonder about as new PVB owners take multiple trips -- if the kitchenette will be enough forever.

Kitchens spoil you.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

It didn't take many trips, like 2, to realize that we didn't need to spend every waking moment at a park.

We still don't eat in the room. At least not very much. But a big part of our vacation is eating out. We don't go out much at home. And I have Celiac disease, so eating out is a pain, unless I am at Disney. When I get on Disney property and every eating establishment can handle gluten free? I just have to partake.

 

[beccasmom]

We feel the same way about enjoying the resort. We love the theme parks, but don't feel the need to rush to one every day. Our home resort is so relaxing, we enjoy the peace and quiet. One of my friends is planning to do the same on her October trip. She has plans for the Halloween party and dinner shows, but she is really looking forward to lounging by the pool!

 

[onestitchloose]

We've only just become DVC members last year, but prior to that we too would only spend mornings in the parks. This is partly cause our 2 kids are pretty young and to avoid unleashing the terror in them, an afternoon nap was essential. Going back in the evenings when it's a bit cooler is something we've started doing more and more.

We like eating out when we're away too, but mid way through the holiday it can get too much so we often cook or occasionally just skip a meal to try and cut down on the volume of food we have consumed.

 

[kniquy]

We are new dvc members our next trip isn't until 2018, but I can already tell that the planning process will be much less demanding because we know we will be heading back in another 2 years. I can't wait to have a relaxing disney trip without the need to be park comandos from 9am to 10pm. When you don't know when you will be back again you really feel forced to pack in so much park time. I think we spend a total or 4 hours at the resort (not including sleeping) on our last non dvc trip. Really that isn't what I want my vacations to be like.

 

[bbn1122]

We too have learned to take it slower....

We had only been to WDW about 4 times when we had be DVC members in 2010. We had recently stayed at Poly and WL, as a family of 5 and enjoyed the deluxe resorts. We too were doing maybe too much, especially with our young kids, where we needed a vacation after our vacation.

We have now been to WDW 4 times since joining DVC and have done the parks only twice. We love just staying at resort and relaxing. Both stays had a Disney cruise booked after our resort stay. This summer we will be at SSR for the first time. We are only going to the parks for 2 days out of our 5 night stay and then heading to VB for 4 nights.

We are looking forward to once again spending time in DTD now Disney Springs. We go bowling and take in a movie. We love DS restaurants. And now I see there is plenty more to do and see.

We love eating breakfast and lunch in our Villa. We usually do one night of dinner in the room. The space and the resort amenities are amazing.

We love being able to do spend half our vacation at WDW and the other half at the VB. This will be our 2nd time splitting our stay between the two. VB is very relaxing ....completely unwinding....

Enjoy your future trips. We have about 57 days till our next trip!!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Same boat here. Couple of hours early in the day in the park, maybe a few hours in the evening, and a large chunk of the day at the pool, and viewing animals from our deck at AKL. We just did a 3 day trip with no park time at all, and think we may do another before year end. With cheap flights to Orlando, the room paid for, magical express, and a full condo, it's a nice break for little money.

 

[DougEMG]

We just spent 4 weeks at WDW and while my daughter and I went to a park every day, usually spending 3-6 hours in the park, my wife probably entered a park 3-4 times. She spent most of her time either at the gym, pool, in the room or just going for a walk. I'm pretty sure she never even went on a single ride.

 

[vandy]

Yep. Agree with the OP. Vacations are now truly vacations after buying DVC.

 

[Disneypapa]

My own personal experiences show a pattern of going to WDW every other year. While my adult children still go to every park every trip, my wife and I are more selective and spend less time at the park, choosing to relax more. Grandchildren are getting older, but still love going to Disney. All want to do Disney Cruise when they graduate HS as a special treat.

We generally eat breakfast in the room, pack a lunch and take a cooler into the parks. Dinner is usually a TS, but the prices are just out of sight. The quality of food is often not IMHO that great and I am not wowed by all of the exotic dishes and what seems to be fewer (limited menus). What is wrong with just having regular food choices.

Spouse and I are in our mid 60's and while in Florida recently, we went to Orlando and spent 3 days at Bay Lake Towers and visited only two parks on an adult only trip for the two of us.

 

[Micca]

Great post Alli! We spend a bit more time in the parks than you do, but usually after 4-5 hours we're ready for something different. We don't do much actual cooking in the room, but we love to hangout and have snacks and drinks(When The Mouse charges 7-8 bucks for a beer, the beer cooler at Publix starts lookin' real attractive.) We actually enjoy making a stop at Publix on arrival day to get goodies to stock the the room. A midday turkey sandwich with fresh ingredients is a nice break from 11 dollar burgers...and there's no line to stand in!
Might sound a little strange, but we also love having the laundry facilities in the room. Between Owner's Locker and the ability to "wash/reuse" clothing, our days of schlepping a bunch of luggage through the airport are over. The great thing about DVC is that you can enjoy the parks at your leisure knowing that you'll be returning sooner rather than later.

 

[MrPTato]

We had our first DVC trip in January (lake view) and then just got back from AoA last week. I can tell you that I am ready to take days off from the parks and spend them at the resort. I felt like at AoA I had to keep going, but at the Poly, I could sit on the balcony, watch the fireworks in the MK, and not care about the time. I enjoyed our afternoon naps and I even took the little ferry from Poly and took to MK and then to GF. Time just seems to pass a lot slower at the Poly.

 

[Sammie]

I love how different we are all about how we DVC. We have never stayed in anything smaller than a 2 bedroom and I have never cooked a meal. We use the kitchen for leftovers, snacks and beverages. We too also never rush to a park. We haven't done an opening in years. We much prefer to go later and stay until closing.

We love the larger villas for the living area which we do not sleep in and I love having a washer and dryer. We bring so much less clothing now that we can laundry whenever we went and we never go home with dirty clothes.

 

[ToddyLu]

Is it horrible when the co-works ask "what did you do in Disney this year?"... "ummmm, we discovered Alaska State Troopers on Nat Geo"...true story...awesome trip

 

[bristowe]

As a newbie waiting for my member number, thanks for this thread. We are going in August via free dining not our 2016 sept use year points that we are waiting on for BWV. I am already building in down time for August. Last time we went Aug 2014 - we came home shell shocked and unsure of what had just happened to us! We spent every moment in the parks. Never even went to see the animals at our own resort! I'm really appreciative of this post as it reinforces I need to go back and ensure we have down time to hang on the balcony, roast some marshmallows, walk the grounds, etc. THANKS!

 

[Disn3yVision]

It's funny, we are also new members but as so cal locals have been going to Disneyland forever and for years have been packing backpacks and strollers full of snacks to take into the park and save money. Only problem is every time we did this we barely ate the food we bring and just buy all the yummy Disney food. After years of this I finally decided that part of the joy of the experience is enjoying those unique Disney snacks/meals you can't get elsewhere. Now I have sworn off bringing our own food and/or cooking in the room. We only go to Disney once a year, might as well use that time to indulge in all the delicious snacks we can't get anywhere else all year long. Plus my wife is cooking for 3 boys everynight at home, I can't imagine her ever wanting to spend hours in the kitchen slaving over a meal that we have to clean up after on vacation and I can't blame her.

 

[ScubaCat]

My dream is to take a solo trip to our home resort BCV in a studio and rotate between walks around crescent lake, SAB time, and binging various TV shows on my Roku stick in the villa. For food it'll be a rotation among the on property restaurants and Publix cake for dessert.

 

[ThisIsJason]

We have taken three DVC trips, only one being to WDW and we figured out real quick we didn't need to be on the move park open to close. One day we had been in Magic Kingdom for about four hours and we left, went back to AKV and swam for a good two hours and then watched the animals for our balcony for an hour or so. We didn't miss the parks because we knew we would be back sooner than later. Sure, this year we went to Aulani and are taking a cash trip in October but even without that we knew we would be back in 2 years with the October trip. Taking is slow is the biggest thing I have learned.

 

[ziravan]

I was researching DVC to rent a reservation. What struck me was how people talked about how being DVC members changed the way they do Disney.

I wanted that.

I'm still a park commando. My DD8 rode 27 rides in one day last June, most of them E tickets (that includes repeats of the same ride).

Being a DVC member means I go often enough to learn enough secrets to do a 4 park, 27 ride mid-summer day!

http://www.disboards.com/threads/live-report-4-park-roller-coaster-day-the-sequel.3419002/

It also means that I've learned that all the tour pros are right: rope drop, swim, nap, evening park (usually a different park) is the best touring strategy.

Now. We look forward to what's different this trip, F&W, Christmas, etc. We broke a rule and waited over an hour for Joy and Sadness this past trip. I'll probably make the Epcot lounge my new home in the next (my DD8 loves figment so we might see how many times we can ride figment between free cokes in the lounge).

DVC didn't change us from being park commandos but it sure made us far better park commandos.