Disneyworld Question: Club versus DVC villa?

[lala]

In that situation of definitely go for one bigger Villa for the kitchen & to hang out in and then another studio or 2 as needed.

The kitchen & space would be more valuable even though I wouldn't do a ton of cooking.

[curbsideprophet]

We went for a week. My parents joined us so there were 4 adults and 2 kids.

Not sure we ever cooked a full meal but we did use kitchen. We certainly used the washer/dryer.

We were staying at BLT with a theme park view so we could see the fireworks from each room.

[redheadk]

It's not the kitchen that I like in dvc, it's the washer and dryer!

[ilikedonuts]

We have never cooked a meal in our kitchen (we only stay in 1 bedroom dvc villas). We basically 1. love having a separate sleeping space from our kids 2. wash a lot of clothes on vacation!

We have stayed club level twice at AKL ore-kids (so basically it was just the lounge for snacks because there are no fireworks to see) and it was nice, but I didn't love it enough to spend $$$$ to stay at GF or Contemporary club level.

[thebulldog]

That is ALOT of theme park time. Have you done this many days in the parks before?

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[auntie]

For that period of time, you want the washer/dryer.

I like having a kitchen so I can have tea before I get cleaned up for the day.

[ssmjlm]

The fridge and washer dryer were helpful for us. We had a decent amount of snacks and milk and keeping our water bottles cool.

We had a 2bd villa and the third full bath was a huge help. E slept in the bathroom in our room so we could pee/shower without bothering her.

[curbsideprophet]

Jan 23, 2016 23:58:47 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Jan 23, 2016 23:16:48 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

That is ALOT of theme park time. Have you done this many days in the parks before?

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The most we've done is 6 straight without breaks and all adults, no children, pretty much 9am until 8pm.

With kids, we figure theme park time is actually only about 3 hours a day with most of the rest of the time at the pool or relaxing in our rooms.

This will also be the only time my family will go to Disneyworld. It's just not worth the cross-country trip. So we want to make the most of it.

Why do think only 3 hours a day in the parks? I think adding in breaks is good but I would certainly plan to spend more than 3 hours in the parks on any given park day. I would consider dropping your total park days to have more rest days if you are concerned about too much park time.

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jan 23, 2016 23:58:47 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Jan 23, 2016 23:16:48 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

That is ALOT of theme park time. Have you done this many days in the parks before?

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The most we've done is 6 straight without breaks and all adults, no children, pretty much 9am until 8pm.

With kids, we figure theme park time is actually only about 3 hours a day with most of the rest of the time at the pool or relaxing in our rooms.

This will also be the only time my family will go to Disneyworld. It's just not worth the cross-country trip. So we want to make the most of it.

If you really think you're only going to do 3 hours/day at the parks, I'd do the villa b/c that means you're spending a lot of time in the hotel room, and you'll want the extra space. I'd also do whatever hotel is closest to the parks. For 3 hours/day, I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time commuting back and forth.

FWIW, we're at Disney now, and we've generally done 9am-5pm each day with three little kids (and one day did 9am-9pm to see MK fireworks). We've been here since last Saturday (and were supposed to leave yesterday but we're "stuck" here b/c of the snow in DC). DS2 sleeps in the stroller, and the 5-year olds have been fine to just push through. I've found that Disney with little kids takes a long time to get through (wait times, slow walkers, bathroom trips, etc.), and time flies...it takes us a few hours just to find our groove.

[lala]

I agree that 3 hours is super low. I'm a big fan of taking a break, kids or not. We get there 30+ min before opening and stay until 1ish - so thats 4-5 hours usually. Then we go back over between 4-5 and spend a few hours in the evening, catching evening shows, etc.

[Deleted]

So if you are going to be there for 10 or 11 days it MIGHT be beneficial to look into an AP for one person in order to capture an AP discount on rooms. & meals & look into whether or not you could save some $$ that way. Have you looked into Grand Villas or Tree House Villas? Those often accommodate larger groups.

I have stayed I a 2 bedroom twice & have never cooked a full meal, but it is very possible. It's also a HUGE luxury to have the washer & dryer & to be able to pack for a shorter trip & do laundry.

[nsl]

Another vote for staying in a villa close to one of the parks. Last time we went DS 1 was four (DS 2 didn't come because he was a baby), and we stayed at the Dolphin. Our daily schedule involved 3-4 hours in the morning at a park, then back to the hotel for a nap and pool time, and then walking to Epcot or Hollywood Studios for another hour or two of activities. I felt like we really got our money's worth from our tickets because we did those extra hours in the evening.

[ilikedonuts]

Jan 24, 2016 9:00:30 GMT -5 lala said:

I agree that 3 hours is super low. I'm a big fan of taking a break, kids or not. We get there 30+ min before opening and stay until 1ish - so thats 4-5 hours usually. Then we go back over between 4-5 and spend a few hours in the evening, catching evening shows, etc.

this is exactly what we do as well with our kids. and we still napped most days on trips without kids!

[bronxgirl]

I have no experience with either option, but I would take the one with in room laundry.

[curbsideprophet]

Jan 24, 2016 11:09:31 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Jan 24, 2016 8:23:44 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Why do think only 3 hours a day in the parks? I think adding in breaks is good but I would certainly plan to spend more than 3 hours in the parks on any given park day. I would consider dropping your total park days to have more rest days if you are concerned about too much park time.

I'm not concerned about too much par time. The poster I was responding to was.

That was really in response to only spending three hours a day in the park. That seems like a waste of money to me, but if it works for you, go with it. I did not think your overall number of park days sounded bad, especially if you have some break during the day for at least some of the park days.

[lala]

Honestly, if you want to limit your wait times (and who doesn't!) getting to the park before it opens and following a plan is the best way. Not every day all day, but definitely a few magic kingdom mornings at least. I won't even wait 30 min unless it's a brand new ride situation.

Also you might have luck with the younger kid and maybe even the 5 year old falling asleep in the stroller at night. We always do in Disney even though it's unlikely normally.

[bronxgirl]

Which resorts are you considering?

[ilikedonuts]

If you want to see the fireworks from your resort, Poly, GF and BLT DVC all have rooms that have fireworks views and/or have fireworks viewing somewhere at the resort.

If you plan on a lot of afternoons at the resort along with some off days + having kids that will go to bed early enough where someone will be hanging out in the room while they sleep, I think a villa is a better choice then a club level regular room.

[ilikedonuts]

Also stuff like this really does happen at night at Disney. DH and I played the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game at MK for about 2 hours one evening while the kids slept. We then caught the 11pm Main Street Electrical Parade on the way out. DD2 (2 years old) woke up and got out of the stroller to watch and dance and then climbed back in and went back to sleep for the walk back to our room at BLT.

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[hymen]

We didn't cook in the kitchen but definitely benefited from a full fringe, dishwasher, and the washer and dryer. We stay exclusively DVC now just for that.

Beware, not all two-bedroom villas have 3 separate bathrooms. So if you have a family in each bedroom and then a family in the living area, depending on the resort a family may have to share (typically the master has a separate bathroom entrance). Same for a one-bedroom villa (only 1 bathroom so if you get two people will have to share). However, I know BLT had 3 bathrooms in 2-bedroom, as well as Kidani Village at AKL. Not sure about the other monorail resorts.

[hymen]

Jan 24, 2016 19:00:04 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

If you want to see the fireworks from your resort, Poly, GF and BLT DVC all have rooms that have fireworks views and/or have fireworks viewing somewhere at the resort.

If you plan on a lot of afternoons at the resort along with some off days + having kids that will go to bed early enough where someone will be hanging out in the room while they sleep, I think a villa is a better choice then a club level regular room.

BLT has top of the world lounge which is a great fireworks viewing area but only available to DVC members. So if you are renting points you won't have access to that. When we stayed there my MIL had to show them her DVC membership card to allow us access to that floor.

[ilikedonuts]

Jan 24, 2016 19:31:49 GMT -5 hymen said:

Jan 24, 2016 19:00:04 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

If you want to see the fireworks from your resort, Poly, GF and BLT DVC all have rooms that have fireworks views and/or have fireworks viewing somewhere at the resort.

If you plan on a lot of afternoons at the resort along with some off days + having kids that will go to bed early enough where someone will be hanging out in the room while they sleep, I think a villa is a better choice then a club level regular room.

BLT has top of the world lounge which is a great fireworks viewing area but only available to DVC members. So if you are renting points you won't have access to that. When we stayed there my MIL had to show them her DVC membership card to allow us access to that floor.

The Contemporary has a 4th floor outside viewing area which is literally at the end of the sky bridge walkway between BLT and Contemporary.

[ssmjlm]

Jan 24, 2016 19:31:49 GMT -5 hymen said:

Jan 24, 2016 19:00:04 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

If you want to see the fireworks from your resort, Poly, GF and BLT DVC all have rooms that have fireworks views and/or have fireworks viewing somewhere at the resort.

If you plan on a lot of afternoons at the resort along with some off days + having kids that will go to bed early enough where someone will be hanging out in the room while they sleep, I think a villa is a better choice then a club level regular room.

BLT has top of the world lounge which is a great fireworks viewing area but only available to DVC members. So if you are renting points you won't have access to that. When we stayed there my MIL had to show them her DVC membership card to allow us access to that floor.

We rented points and had no trouble going up to the lounge this past May.

[ilikedonuts]

Jan 24, 2016 20:41:34 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Jan 24, 2016 19:31:49 GMT -5 hymen said:

BLT has top of the world lounge which is a great fireworks viewing area but only available to DVC members. So if you are renting points you won't have access to that. When we stayed there my MIL had to show them her DVC membership card to allow us access to that floor.

We rented points and had no trouble going up to the lounge this past May.

They are supposed to be checking for member cards. I've always seen them checking when we've stayed there.

ETA: Cut off my last line. Nice surprise for you guys. I just don't want people to get upset if they get turned away if they rent points.

[curbsideprophet]

Jan 24, 2016 20:47:50 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Jan 24, 2016 20:41:34 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

We rented points and had no trouble going up to the lounge this past May.

They are supposed to be checking for member cards. I've always seen them checking when we've stayed there.

ETA: Cut off my last line. Nice surprise for you guys. I just don't want people to get upset if they get turned away if they rent points.

We were renting points and my parents debating trying to get up there one night, but in the end decided not try. I am curious to know if they would have gotten up since I have always heard you need the member card.

[hymen]

Jan 24, 2016 20:55:54 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Jan 24, 2016 20:47:50 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

They are supposed to be checking for member cards. I've always seen them checking when we've stayed there.

ETA: Cut off my last line. Nice surprise for you guys. I just don't want people to get upset if they get turned away if they rent points.

We were renting points and my parents debating trying to get up there one night, but in the end decided not try. I am curious to know if they would have gotten up since I have always heard you need the member card.

We went up a few times that week and every time they checked. PP was lucky.