What's life like in the studios . . . comment here if you have 100 points or less

Mickey of the Villages

Can't have nice things
Joined
May 6, 2019
My family's reason for buying DVC was to get larger accommodations on site. We bought points for 2 bedroom villas and the occasional grand villa at OKW. We've got 2 boys (tween and teen) and want space for them and other family for years to come (fingers crossed). I'm sure others do the same but based on what I've read it seems that many folks are more interested in studios (I could be totally wrong about this).

If this is true how can so many folks looking for studios find enough rooms? I own at CCV and I believe the cabins create a larger pool of points for the resort to sell but it seems unlikely to me that these points are purchased by those interested in cabins. I believe that they're purchased by folks looking for studios (again I could be totally wrong about this) but where are all the studios for this demand?

So how does it all work? Do folks with smaller contracts find what they're looking for, maybe only find it at 11 months in their home resort? Or is there disappointment out there and folks have to get 1 BRs, or rent points?

Please comment here if you have 100 points or less.
 
Up until October I had less than 100pts at each resort(AKV and BLT). I only travel with one other person consistently and a third person comes usually once every few years. We spent more time out walking not always at parks we once spent eight hours wandering around AKV just looking.
I've never had to many issues booking home resorts as long as i know when I want to stay more than 9 months out, we're flexible enough though that we can say oh well we'll go a week later than normal if something books up. We started to go less often for longer in 1 Bdrms for one trip and studios for our shorter trips. So more points have been acquired
 
I have 150 between BW and BC. I'm definitely one of the 11 month out crowd. It becomes very competitive. Last December I booked at 10 mths because I was waiting for vacation approval and had to split my stay between the two resorts. 1 bed at BWV for the first 3 nights (I wanted Boardwalk view), and studio at BC for the rest of the week.
 
If this is true how can so many folks looking for studios find enough rooms?

I don't have less than 100 points, but the difficulty with booking studios as you alluded to has been a well discussed area of concern. During the home booking period, it depends on the specific resort. CCV apparently is particularly bad due to the low numbers of studios and the high point cabins.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/ccvc-studio-availability.3753276/
The general observation is that it has been getting more and more difficult to book studios at 7 months and even 11 months due to the following factors:

1. Increasing DVC prices leads to more smaller contracts (and small contracts typically only book studios)
2. Old DVC rules apparently required larger minimum point contracts
3. Creation of premium rooms like the Poly bungalows and the CCV cabins - virtually no one is buying contracts with the intention to stay at CCV cabins every year, so more people are buying with the intention of staying in studios but the studio capacity is inadequate

More controversial theories include:
1. More renting leads to more higher demand
2. Flooding the market with points at less popular resorts such as SSR and AUL resale that are purchased by people with no intention of staying at SSR creates more competition at other resorts at 7 months

These are the main issues that I've heard.
 


We have 100 points 50 BLT 50 VWL I have 2 sons 10&13 and a DH. We have only booked studios up to now and are completely fine with that size of room, though we prefer rooms that sleep 5. I haven’t ever had problems but I do typically book right at the 11 month or 7 month window and I like hopping resorts at least once in a longer trip as it feels like a different vacation or park access changes.

We bought resale in early 2011. For me, there’s no justification for today’s prices - I couldn’t convince myself to shell out that kind of $ to add on points to move to 1 bedrooms. Maybe that will change if I have difficulty booking rooms in the future.
 
Own 150 at Poly. Its just 3 of us and I don't cook on vacation so kitchen is not huge draw for us right now. The little is 4 and still sleeps with us so space is a non issue right now lol. Hoping to add more points through the year as our needs change.

We book some at 11 month at poly but have booked lots of studios at 7 months. Have stayed at saratoga springs (1), old key west (2), animal kingdom lodge (1), grand floridian (1), boardwalk (1), and hilton head (3). We are flexible with what's available and are not opposed to split stays but have only done one!
 
We own 75 points, intending to use them to stay every other year in a studio. However, I am now addicted to space and in-room laundry, so we're looking at more like very 3 years in a one-bedroom. I have heard that 1BRs are easier to get at WDW anyway. We have been thinking 1BR for our 2020 trip, but are also considering studio and AP so we can add a 2021 trip.
 


We actually have 300 points - at BRV, direct from Disney.
But we are a retired couple. We don't cook, we don't do Laundry, and a Studio is perfect for us :). We really LIKE Studios :).

So what happens with the 300 Points? INSURANCE. If we get "stuck" during a hurricane? We have points. If the kids want to go that year? We have points. Trouble getting a Studio at 11 months? - go for a 1 bed, we have points.

Too many points? Bank (we do this every year) - or rent 'em out through an AGENCY, if we have too :).

Just us - we LIKE having options :).
 
100 at the Poly. We book at the 11 month mark at a resort with a lot of studio inventory, and we generally try to avoid the busier "Magic" and "Premier" seasons when we plan our vacations unless we have to book outside of our normal late summer trip.
 
we own 100pts and book home resort at 11 months out, we only stay in studios and have so far not had a problem swapping out at 7 month mark right at opening. Last 2 years swapped to BRV and CCV, before that have swapped to AKV std, and BWV std, and BCV. We tend to travel in April.
 
We own 100pts at Poly and are a married couple with a little one on the way. We are not the type to cook during vacation so a studio works great for us and is just the right amount of points for a 4 night trip for us. Any time longer is too long for us. We start to really miss our pup and home. However, we are planning on adding on via resale with a 60ish point contract at BLT so we can bank/current/borrow for bigger size rooms when we want to bring the grandparents. We are ones that tend to book at 11 months but have not had problem switching at the 7 month window. So far, we have stayed at our home resort LV/Standard (2), BLT TPV (1), BWV Standard (1), AKL Value (1).
 
We actually have 300 points - at BRV, direct from Disney.
But we are a retired couple. We don't cook, we don't do Laundry, and a Studio is perfect for us :). We really LIKE Studios :).

So what happens with the 300 Points? INSURANCE. If we get "stuck" during a hurricane? We have points. If the kids want to go that year? We have points. Trouble getting a Studio at 11 months? - go for a 1 bed, we have points.

Too many points? Bank (we do this every year) - or rent 'em out through an AGENCY, if we have too :).

Just us - we LIKE having options :).
This is us-300 points BCV, but our last two trips as a retired couple we stayed in a studio and loved it. A toaster is all the cooking I want to do and the fridge holds a bottle of wine for our evening cocktail on the balcony. I had no problem reserving at 11 months (BCV and AKL, savanna view). Like Dean, we use extra points for family trips in larger units.
 
We just bought 100 at OKW (direct) to dip our toe in DVC life. We love Disney. We've taken many trips over the last 5 years which included renting many times from someone else. Instead of paying someone else's dues we decided it was time to finally pay our own & have something long term for our kids. We do typically stay in studios for now. Our sons are 10 & 3. We are not picky people and travel a ton for hockey in normal hotel rooms. We found the space at OKW to be perfect for us with the kitchen area. We are hoping to be able to add another contract when we find another resort we love (AKL, BLT, Poly) resale down the line in a few years when we see where we are with sports & school. We just booked our first stay on our own points for next May in a studio at OKW. It felt great!
 
We have 100 points at AKL. We have only owned for just over a year. We booked our first trip when our points were available in our account less than 7 months out - studio at OKW for 7 days, no problem. We have also booked 2 days in a studio at BCV less than 7 months out. Studio at OKW for 3 nights at 7 months. Value Studio at AKL for 3 nights at 11 months. And our upcoming trips, 2 studios at AKL for 6 nights over Christmas break at 11 months, and last minute 3 night studio at SSR at one month out. SOOOOOOO, either we have been super lucky or we go at easy times, or don't care where we stay or it's not as bad as people think, OR a little of all the above.
Anyways, we have LOVED our short time as DVC owners, as you can see. Currently looking for another small contract to give to my daughter as a wedding gift as she wants to continue going to Disney with her hubby for years to come. BTW, we've used all of our points from now til Dec 2021. AHHHHHHH, what to do?
 
I do not have less than 100 points, but I am all about Studios. It is usually a party of 2, sometimes 1. The 1 and 2 bedrooms are beautiful, however, I have a severe allergy to cooking and doing laundry while on vacation. So FOR ME, a lot of what the bigger accommodations offer is not much interest to me. That, and I am never in the room. If I do not go to the parks, I am still at the pool, or a lounge, I'm not in the room.

All this being said, I originally bought at the VGF with the intent of staying in a studio the first weeks of december. This was a mistake. I should have gotten a fixed week. It quickly became clear to me that it was going to be hard to get consistently. So I got another contract at Boulder Ridge. Now I use that for Dec, and my VGF for a September trip.

At this point in time I am very interested in Refelctions. If that holds, and I buy there, it WILL be a fixed week, week 48 or 49. That way I always have that week guaranteed.
 
I've been posting for a long time that there is a competitive element to booking DVC and that ownership works best for those who can book early and buy where they are happy to stay.

That's what I do. I book early and waitlist at 7 months. Worst case is being "stuck" at OKW. No problem.

I may eventually burn extra points to stay in a 1BR but generally when I need the extra space, I trade my non-DVC timeshare for a 2BR offsite.
 
Worst thing about trying to book studios is availability at 7 months. It’s terrible.
Very true.
And even the value studios can be difficult at 11 month.
But we also travel during F&W so we know thats a very full time for DVC.
 
Until recently we had 100 points at HHI. We alternated with our other timeshare on HHI to go every other year. We predominately stayed in studios which worked fine for the 2 of us. I'd rather take more trips than stay in a bigger unit. We've never had issues getting studios but then we've had to be more flexible at the 7 month window and just went when we found availability. The last few years though, we've been using our points for family trips with our grown kids to go to WDW. We just added on 150 points at BRV resale and 30 points at HHI direct. We now have enough to do a 1 bedroom every year....if we want.
 

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