Bigger is Better?

[DonaldD]

Hi All,

We're considering the merits/benefits of becoming DVC members and one of the questions I've not been able to find answered is this:

If you have a family of 5 (or more) is the savings of being a DVC member that much better than if you were a family of 4 or smaller. RE: Considering room sizes and number of beds required.

Any help is appreciated, or if you need clarification on what I mean please let me know.

[greenban]

Hi All,

We're considering the merits/benefits of becoming DVC members and one of the questions I've not been able to find answered is this:

If you have a family of 5 (or more) is the savings of being a DVC member that much better than if you were a family of 4 or smaller. RE: Considering room sizes and number of beds required.

Any help is appreciated, or if you need clarification on what I mean please let me know.

Hey DD!

The answer is yes and no.

A family of 5 can sleep in certain POR rooms (smaller than a studio, with a pull out trundle bed that blocks the exit door when in use. We did it (before DVC) and it was so cramped as to be funny. Lines for the toilet, lines for the sink, lines to get out of the room. If you commando style the resorts, don't want a relaxing vacation and enjoy Motel6/Super8 sized rooms, then you will save lots of money the POR way.

But.....

After our first 1 bedroom stay as a family of 5, we have been spoiled for all hotels, vacations, etc. We only book suites for our non Disney stays (or if desperate connecting hotel rooms). That costs $$$$$. And now that we have done 2 bedrooms, forgetaboutit! My family insists on 2 bedrooms, noting less at WDW.

Now I made the mistake of booking a GV at OKW in July of 2007. What a mistake! This was just for my family of 5 (I had points to burn...;) ). My kids will now only stay in GVs or Beach Villas at VB now, so the financial savings are gone (compared to hotel rooms that is!)

But.....(again).....

We have slowed down. For our last 10 day trip we hit the parks for only 4 days, and three of them were because of dinner reservations! We have a truly relaxed and relaxing vacation experience and return refreshes not stressed!

I also feel like a millionaire when returning to my GV or 2BR accomidations. I feel spoiled, and guess what, I like that feeling!

So WRT CRO costs, I get much more for much less.

When we started 5 in a 1 bedroom (very nice at OKW), but spoiled by 2 bedroom, plus with me, DW, DD15, DS12 and DD7 we really need 2 Bathrooms!

That is one reason I love AKV. When Kidani comes on line (excluding values, and I don't know if values will be built at Kidiani - I think not) you'll get 2 bathrooms with a 1 Bedroom Villa and 3 bathrooms with a 2 Bedroom Villa, making these the best value (so far) IMHO for families of 5 and 6!

That's another great DVC perk (still, not yet taken away :( ), flexibility!

Enjoy!

-Tony (a.k.a. WebMasterFrog!)

[DonaldD]

Thanks for the information Tony. It certainly provides some more insight. We're considering AKV as our home resort so that news about Kidiani is great! Perhaps one more q to throw out there. My wife teaches so we'd be travelling at peak times MB, Christmas, etc. B/C we would have to use more points, do you still get as much "bang for your points/buck"?

[Colorado Belle]

Weekends and high season vacations use up a lot more points than staying in hotel rooms which are often not as seasonally 'adjusted' (tho I've read that Disney will start charging more for weekend hotel room stays if they haven't already.)

While some schools schedule vacations only during high season times, and while some schools seem to start in August and end mid June, lots of schools are now experimenting with scheduling vacations to take advantage of lower seasons. My DD had a 'fall' break that fit in lovely with Disney's value season.
And sometimes 'spring break' was scheduled in late April or May when rates are also a bit lower. And some schools now have Xmas break into January.

Perhaps if you are thinking of only the $$$ savings, it might be hard to justify DVC. In my case however, I rent out enough points to pay my maintenance fees, so if I forget about buy in costs, the remainder of my points are FREE!!

Good luck with your decision. remember, that until you make up your mind, you can always rent points and experience DVCwithout the front end load!

[DonaldD]

Thanks Belle. I certainly realize there's a lot of benefit to DVC beyond just the financial, I'm just trying to look at this with my head instead of my heart before we make the commitment. We're a young family with a 4 year old and 9mth twins, so the reality is that finances are a factor.

If you or anyone else could explain, how you rent out your points yet take your own vacation I'd appreciate it as well.

[greenban]

Thanks for the information Tony. It certainly provides some more insight. We're considering AKV as our home resort so that news about Kidiani is great! Perhaps one more q to throw out there. My wife teaches so we'd be travelling at peak times MB, Christmas, etc. B/C we would have to use more points, do you still get as much "bang for your points/buck"?

To maximize your points, many people avoid Weekends (Friday & Saturday Nights) and peak times (when you will visit because of DW's schedule).

But there becomes a point (IMHO) of diminishing returns, multiple hotel moves (with early AM check-outs, and possibly late PM check-ins) that you also have to figure the money value of your time as well as the time value of money.

I'm now of the mindset, that , "Hey this is a DISNEY vacation, I expect alot, so I'm gonna pay more than a Great Adventure Vacation, or a Motel 6 stay!"

Renting is very easy. Over at the DIS, $10.00 pp seems normal, here at MOs, $12.00pp is the normal with some of us charging $14.00 pp (others even more for spec booking, which most of us feel is wrong/abusing the system).

One way I do save money via renting, is I often rent out the number of points I would have used for a weekend stay (high point requirements) and use the cash to pay for a Member's Cash Discount rate for those days (25% of rack rate when available). I usually 'make enough' to pay for the DDP (Back when it was cost-effective) with the rental proceedes.

Renting is very easy, albiet nerve racking for first timers (both sides of the transaction, BTW).

There are some good renting threads here, I see if I can locate them.

DVC Mike has also done a good job of combining the best of many Owners post's into a renting guide as well.

-Tony

ETA: My rental primer as posted on MOs ==> http://www.mouseowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10373&highlight=rental+primer