Why studios?

[Buzzw0rthy]

Finally, and those who work for themselves can probably attest to this, it can be very easy to let a year or two, or more go buy without taking a vacation. Having DVC (or any time share for that matter) kinda forces you to take one, and that was of value to me.

This! My wife runs her own small business and we went years without a vacation because something always came up or we were to busy to plan something out. With DVC we can now plan 11 months in advance and she can schedule work around vacation! How great is that!

More on topic of studios, we started with a small contact so that we could introduce our kids to the Disney bubble. We are starting to enter our "prime" Disney years with them in the next couple of years and hope to add points to move towards 1 or 2 BRs.

 

[luckygirl0100]

I appreciate all the replies and they all make sense.

We are looking at a potential trip in August and it looks like I can get a one bedroom preferred at Saratoga Springs for $444 a night, with the new promotion on the website, compared to $267 a night for a preferred room at Coronado Springs. That rate also looks to be cheaper than renting points, so I am seriously considering it.

I just looked and I'm seeing $618.33 a night for a 1 bedroom preferred at SSR. Where are you seeing the discounted rate?

 

[bobbiwoz]

For comparison's sake, by the way, after buy in costs and yearly dues, I am paying less, for a studio room at a deluxe resort than I would be paying for a room at a moderate resort. The biggest perk that I enjoy in the studio rooms that moderates do not offer is the balcony, second to that is the nice locations that they come with, and then I also love the kitchenette area.

The balcony! Yes!

 

[JH50]

I just looked and I'm seeing $618.33 a night for a 1 bedroom preferred at SSR. Where are you seeing the discounted rate?

I wonder what the catch is? I searched from Aug 22-29.

 

[luckygirl0100]

View attachment 463985
I wonder what the catch is? I searched from Aug 22-29.

Ahhh I see it now... read the fine print. Only two adults allowed in the room or an additional fee will apply, only a select # of rooms available for promotion (aka book quickly) and it restricts booking/ traveling dates.

 

[DisneyDad0315]

I've become a big fan of the DVC show, even though I have never considered purchasing (we've been to DW 4 times). The one draw for me, however, would be to have a separate bedroom away from my kids (as they are getting older), more room in general to spread out, and having a kitchen to cook a few meals, especially breakfast.

My question is why would someone want to stay in a studio vs. a regular non-DVC room? There is a small kitchenette, but the studio rooms don't seem much bigger than a moderate room.

My family and I own at Aulani and when we go, we eat out every meal. We have family in Hawaii, so they take us out to eat to catch up or we go to their homes to eat. There is only 3 of us, so it's not a big deal to go out to eat for us. We have no intention of cooking.

 

[TCRAIG]

I bought DVC specifically because I wanted something other than a hotel room - 10+ years and we’ve only stayed in a studio 1 time for 2 nights (just husband and myself) and did NOT care for it...it is significantly more points to stay in a 1Br versus Studio but to us, it’s worth it. To me, Mods have better quick service dining options than DVC and can have better Disney theming...plus I’d love the chance for free dining...but I’d rather have my 1Br DVC with kitchen and laundry

 

[JH50]

I bought DVC specifically because I wanted something other than a hotel room - 10+ years and we’ve only stayed in a studio 1 time for 2 nights (just husband and myself) and did NOT care for it...it is significantly more points to stay in a 1Br versus Studio but to us, it’s worth it. To me, Mods have better quick service dining options than DVC and can have better Disney theming...plus I’d love the chance for free dining...but I’d rather have my 1Br DVC with kitchen and laundry

It's funny you mentioned this. We watched a Saratoga Springs youtube video last night, as I was telling my wife about the differences between DVC and the regular resorts, and my son said it didn't "look like Disney". I also brought up the lack of QS options. I'm not a fan of the sit down meals, as I feel like they cut too much time out of your day (we are the go all day type crew), so the dining options have to be taken into consideration. I was thinking Saratoga due to proximity to Disney Springs for more dining choices. Still though, you can't beat the size of the DVC villas. By the end of a 4+ day trip it definitely gets claustrophobic in those hotel rooms!

 

[jerseyduke]

(we are the go all day type crew)

For me, this is the biggest change that DVC has brought about in me. Surely not the same for everyone. Knowing (assuming lack of major life event) not only that you will be back, but often already knowing the exact dates, I myself, feel less pressured to go all day.
I tend to still kinda do that.
Before DVC - never at a disney pool. Rope Drop - park close. GO GO GO
Now -enjoy the pool and resort a good deal, little more lax at when my day starts, enjoy the restaurants more, the vacation is much less 'gotta get it all in'. I have my 'must do' items, but a lot now are, well, if I dont get it, Ill get it next time. But I still hit just about everything anyway.

DVC MAY change your Disney behavior. Of course, if it does, its one of the beauties of buying resale, there tends not to be any significant depreciation of the contracts. If you do change, and your home resort doesn't work for you any more, sell and buy a different one.

 

[DaveNan]

In the early days DVC was marketed as more space. Villas, "Welcome Home", the option to have 1BR, 2BR, GV, were key themes. While those benefits are still available and drive some members' decision to buy, more recently there has been an added focus on saving money. The kiosks in the park advertise both "space to relax" and "over 50% savings". DVC has also lowed the minimum buy in for direct owners from in the 200's to 160 to 100 or less. The marketing push coupled with the lower buy in have led to a significant number of owners who are buying with the intent of staying in studios. I am not saying the lower point minimum attracts a "worse" customer base. I am saying it opens the door to guests that want to stay on studios for one week per year. When the minimum is 160 to 200, someone just wanting studios to "save" money over hotel rooms is forced to buy more points than their travel patterns need. With a minimum at 100 points, their needs align with the contract size.

Plus, many folks just want to save points. They want maximize how long they can stay on the points they have. They can stay for 2 weeks in a studio, or 1 week in a 1BR.

Finally, the expanding rental industry has an emphasis on saving money. You can stay in a studio for $240 a night ($17.5*14 points), while the hotel room costs $350. Plus extra adults are free, you get free parking, and don't pay sales tax.

Over time the pressure on studios has steadily increased. (just makes my 1BR's easier to get).

 

[skier_pete]

So, for us the reason we bought into DVC was to save money in the long run. We are a family of only 3, and for myself, DW and DD, we just don't feel the need to have a 1-bedroon unit. They are typically slightly more than twice the "price" and they still only give you a single bed, forcing DD to still sleep on the couch. The kitchen is nice, but other than breakfast we don't cook in the room. The costs for our studios are typically $100-$200 a night while staying at Deluxe resorts. (Our upcoming stay at AKV in a value room is only costing $920 for 8 nights. ($115 a night). Even with a larger group, I am more likely to get two studios - as I can sleep 5 or 6 more comfortably in two studios than I can in a single one-bedroom for roughly the same price.

There's nothing wrong with wanting more space and spending more money for it, but not everyone cares about that. There's plenty folks that are more interested in the cost savings, as the studios are clearly the most popular of the room categories.

 

[Gary Carter]

For comparison's sake, by the way, after buy in costs and yearly dues, I am paying less, for a studio room at a deluxe resort than I would be paying for a room at a moderate resort. The biggest perk that I enjoy in the studio rooms that moderates do not offer is the balcony, second to that is the nice locations that they come with, and then I also love the kitchenette area.

Balcony is important for us too. We will always have a soft spot for All Star Music (it was the first place we ever stayed on property) but we were very disappointed once when we paid extra for a water view at coronado springs. The external hallways and lack of a balcony meant we usually had the blinds pulled for privacy (we were close to a bus stop, which by itself is a good thing, but the hallway in front of our room was very busy).

Mathematically, DVC studios work out cheaper than moderate rooms for us and the balcony is a huge value.

 

[DebbieB]

I originally bought DVC in 1999 for my mom and I and wanted a 1 bedroom to spread out. We planned to alternate between OKW and BWV (home is BWV). We stayed with that pattern until she passed away in 2005. At first, I did trips with my friends and still did 1 bedrooms. Here's what changed - as new DVC were built, they required more points and I wanted to try them all. We have stayed at all but CCV and SSR at WDW. Have done VGC many times. Doing Riviera in April. The points requirements for the new resorts are much higher. Which means staying in a studio. For example, our Riviera preferred studio for 6 nights in April is 160 points. A BWV boardwalk view studio is 111 points for the same nights. This is another reason for people to book studios.

 

[beccasmom]

We don’t often book studios now, but when we did it was to save points. And when we did, it was almost always with just two of us in the room. And when I was younger I didn’t mind it as much, but now comfort and more space is more important.

 

[Ben E N]

We don’t often book studios now, but when we did it was to save points. And when we did, it was almost always with just two of us in the room. And when I was younger I didn’t mind it as much, but now comfort and more space is more important.

I figure to transition the same way you did. 6 days at the park outweigh relaxing in the room too much right now, but after we have been in the parks for literally hundreds of days, I'm sure our priorities will change.

 

[crisi]

That makes sense. I really liked our room at Coronado Springs, and thought the price was reasonable, but it definitely isn't the Poly or like other deluxe's.

Honestly, neither is a DVC studio. You get (at some of the resorts) better park access and finer dining options. Maybe better transportation. But unlike a regular deluxe room, DVC studios are a bed and a pull out couch. There isn't daily housekeeping. No roll away beds, no late checkout, no club level access (except for a few rooms at VAKL). Rooms are refreshed less often and are sometimes a little shabby.

 

[holden]

We've owned our DVC for approximately 7 years. We've never stayed in a studio. If we are going for a week, we'll get a 2BR. For a short trip, a 1BR. Our next trip will be the first in a studio, but we got 2 of them at the Poly so we can have some extra space.

DVC has really spoiled us because of this. We find that when we travel to other destinations, we get two rooms or a larger room because we have come to love the extra space.

We also spend more time enjoying the resorts at Disney than we did before. We used to go hard core touring all day. Not we build in some pool/other activities days (like archery, etc.). It's nice too now that the kids are older, they can go to a park by themselves and DH and I can relax.