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Has the value of staying onsite diminished, or are our kids just no longer seeing as much value in staying onsite

noreenkate

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@montygz - I gotta disagree on that - right after the reopening while the 24 hour cancellation policy was in effect yes you could pickup cancellations in the parks but what I have found that since the switch to 2 hour cancellation window- APR at resort restaurants specifically were difficult.

Olivia’s at OKW had 1-2 hour waits for walk ups prior to the reopening you rarely of ever needed a ADR
 

frytard

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Turns out that my kids don't care one bit about staying onsite. I still am enamored with the idea of being on Disney property, and I cannot explain it, except that I worked hard and spent money to acquire that ability to get Disney and by golly by gosh, I am going to stay at Disney.

Even when I have offered a 2 bedroom at OKW, our son and his wife are, "Meh," on staying at Disney. Our son didn't love the bus service after standing in line for almost an hour at the end of the night for a bus last year on 5/2. It was our granddaughter's birthday celebration with fireworks and dessert party. We said, "Oh, take the bus to Magic Kingdom, it will be easier than parking and driving." People in the line were irate as bus after bus came for other resorts, but OKW's line was very long and no buses.

When I tried to tell the kids that early admission was a good value, they dismissed it as, "We cannot get out of the unit that early." No more dining plan, not that it's a value. What other benefits of staying onsite for our kids and their little ones? Staying up late is not in the cards for them, either, not with babies who will only be 17 months old on the next trip.
Your Kids just have been blessed with the opportunities you have given them with the timeshares and i think they take it for granted. at the beginning of the month with my wife to AKL. both my wife and I never attended disneyworld until we were adults. (we had disneyland though an hour away or less). We were at ropedrop with a 15 month year old everyday for the 4 day pass. It helped us get to a ride that didnt have to do lightning pass for (ratatouille at epcot, Mickey Minnie railroad at Studio, Peter Pan at MK, and Avatar at AK. This helped free the rest of our day with lightning passes and being more relaxed. One thing i disagree with is taking the bus vs driving i love having a car for the convenience. With parking being free staying in the bubble + combined with rope drop we were always able to get great parking and skip waiting an hour bus line and whatnot.
 

cbyrne1174

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They love Lakeshore Reserve, I do too, but they also really love Grande Vista as well for the unit size. The dedicated three bedroom is a very nice size. I can get them a 3 bedroom at GV easily enough.

The townhouses are incredible at Lakeshore. The 3 bedroom is very much like the Grande Villas at Disney for size. Two-stories on the interior, master on main level, two full bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, bigger kitchen, huge dining room. Lakeshore seems far from Disney but really isn't via the highway and I-4. I personally love Marriott's Cypress Harbour for us. I didn't love any of the Marriott Palms (Sabal, Royal or Imperial). Royal was next to the highway and a lot of noise but we have white noise in our room, so no big deal. The unit was nice enough. I haven't actually tried Imperial, but I am going to book it for the kids sometime, to see what they think. The Palms are close to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, especially compared to Lakeshore.
LOL, I'm probably close to your kids' age (I'm 33) and I prefer Lakeshore over any of the DVC locations. They heat the pool really well so you can still use LR when it's colder out. My kid can't tell the difference either. I only have 50 DVC points because I just can't see the value in it past staying 1 night. I have 4 single night DVC stays booked this summer to make use of the extended evening hours at MK and Epcot. I mainly bought DVC for pool access in the summer time and extra hours without crowds. I can't stand being in a theme park mid day during the summer, so 2 days of pool access right outside the theme parks is worth it to me. That's the biggest value I see in it. It's something to do for a day or two if you live close by.

It's hard to justify a DVC room when you are completely aware of what that same amount of money gets you at Bonnet Creek. I've been so spoiled with how cheap it is, I get sticker shocked when I see how much a DVC villa costs in comparison. I'm even more shocked at hotel rates. Just look at how expensive it is to stay in Clearwater on the hotel side of the Wyndham Grand. Those Presidential units that cost roughly $245/night in maintenance fees cost $1600/night on the hotel side for the 1 bedroom hotel room. Wyndham and Marriott often have a much larger gap between paying cash vs buying resale. Since DVC has a high buy in cost and expires, you have to add $3-$5 to the annual dues amount to figure out how much the stay is actually costing you over the course of the deed. That's what I love about Marriott and Wyndham, The accommodations are often 20-25% the retail price.
 

pedro47

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What is going on at Disney World with the old Disney Board members and the new appointed Board members appointed by the Gov. of Florida ?
 

frytard

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LOL, I'm probably close to your kids' age (I'm 33) and I prefer Lakeshore over any of the DVC locations. They heat the pool really well so you can still use LR when it's colder out. My kid can't tell the difference either. I only have 50 DVC points because I just can't see the value in it past staying 1 night. I have 4 single night DVC stays booked this summer to make use of the extended evening hours at MK and Epcot. I mainly bought DVC for pool access in the summer time and extra hours without crowds. I can't stand being in a theme park mid day during the summer, so 2 days of pool access right outside the theme parks is worth it to me. That's the biggest value I see in it. It's something to do for a day or two if you live close by.

It's hard to justify a DVC room when you are completely aware of what that same amount of money gets you at Bonnet Creek. I've been so spoiled with how cheap it is, I get sticker shocked when I see how much a DVC villa costs in comparison. I'm even more shocked at hotel rates. Just look at how expensive it is to stay in Clearwater on the hotel side of the Wyndham Grand. Those Presidential units that cost roughly $245/night in maintenance fees cost $1600/night on the hotel side for the 1 bedroom hotel room. Wyndham and Marriott often have a much larger gap between paying cash vs buying resale. Since DVC has a high buy in cost and expires, you have to add $3-$5 to the annual dues amount to figure out how much the stay is actually costing you over the course of the deed. That's what I love about Marriott and Wyndham, The accommodations are often 20-25% the retail price.
Can you explain the bonnet creek comparison? Not familiar with the whole area. does it get you rope drop access or free parking?
 

elaine

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Can you explain the bonnet creek comparison? Not familiar with the whole area. does it get you rope drop access or free parking?
No WDW benefits. BC is a very nice, large TS resort with 8 bldgs around a lake. It is next door to WDW Caribbean Beach resort. If driving, location is equal to being onsite at many DVC/WDW hotels. BC has a shuttle to WDW (fee). No cost effective if you have 3+ persons vs driving or Uber. We prefer DVC, but have stayed using RCI and liked it fine. BC pools, esp. lazy river get very crowded in summer. For the location it's our 1st choice after DVC. For ambience and units, HGVC and Marriotts are our 1st choice after DVC, but location is not nearly as good as BC.
 

noreenkate

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Can you explain the bonnet creek comparison? Not familiar with the whole area. does it get you rope drop access or free parking?
- jumping in here if its ok, Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek is on Disney property but it is a Club Wyndham owned and operated- different timeshare system altogether. it's definitely close to other DVC units .. so no free parking at Disney parks, unless you are an AP holder, and no extra rope drop or late-night hours...
 

cbyrne1174

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Can you explain the bonnet creek comparison? Not familiar with the whole area. does it get you rope drop access or free parking?
You don't get any onsite benefits, but this room in the video below costs $700-$1400/week, which is the same price as a studio when you calculate cost per point per year. Are onsite benefits really that beneficial?

 

frytard

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You don't get any onsite benefits, but this room in the video below costs $700-$1400/week, which is the same price as a studio when you calculate cost per point per year. Are onsite benefits really that beneficial?

I did an exchange with a studio marriott for a DVC so cant answer that (I can get a 2BR Saratoga or Old Key West for a studio marriot in the II as well). I found it beneficial due to the early rope access and saving myself 1-3 hours worth of waiting in line. Due keep in mind that Disneyworld is a once every 3-5 year thing for me so I try to maximize it.(my wife does more than me i just tag along). Although this time around i liked the lightning/genie pass thing and we didnt have to wait in line in rides at all.
 

elaine

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We have DVC points (and also traded in 10X with RCI). Absent that or a (now II) trade, I'd go with BC 100% of the time if I'm WDW-based. If SW or Univ., then HGVC or Marriott.
 

cbyrne1174

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I did an exchange with a studio marriott for a DVC so cant answer that (I can get a 2BR Saratoga or Old Key West for a studio marriot in the II as well). I found it beneficial due to the early rope access and saving myself 1-3 hours worth of waiting in line. Due keep in mind that Disneyworld is a once every 3-5 year thing for me so I try to maximize it.(my wife does more than me i just tag along). Although this time around i liked the lightning/genie pass thing and we didnt have to wait in line in rides at all.
You did it smart. The underlying cost for a 2 bedroom at SSR is about $2500-$3k/week. You paid half that. I wanted to get a Grand Chateau lock off for that very reason.
 

frytard

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You did it smart. The underlying cost for a 2 bedroom at SSR is about $2500-$3k/week. You paid half that. I wanted to get a Grand Chateau lock off for that very reason.
Oh to be fair i got a AKL Studio this time around. I was mentioning i could get a 2BR SSR for a studio or 1BR (although they say it may have changed recently with buying power but back in October 2022 I saw the 2 BR SSR in Jan/Feb with a studio). But yea buying DVC directly (as you mentioned previously) I most likely wont do at today's prices. However if i get get my hands on a decently priced Grand Californian it will be tempting in sort of the way you do things of 1 night here and there.
 

cbyrne1174

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Oh to be fair i got a AKL Studio this time around. I was mentioning i could get a 2BR SSR for a studio or 1BR (although they say it may have changed recently with buying power but back in October 2022 I saw the 2 BR SSR in Jan/Feb with a studio). But yea buying DVC directly (as you mentioned previously) I most likely wont do at today's prices. However if i get get my hands on a decently priced Grand Californian it will be tempting in sort of the way you do things of 1 night here and there.
I bought mine resale for about $7k. Jan/Feb is the lower TDI season (apart from week 7), so if you deposit a high TDI Chateau week, you'll see the 2 BR inventory in Jan/Feb and Sept/Oct.
 

frytard

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I bought mine resale for about $7k. Jan/Feb is the lower TDI season (apart from week 7), so if you deposit a high TDI Chateau week, you'll see the 2 BR inventory in Jan/Feb and Sept/Oct.
Makes sense - my 1Br right now sees 2 BR Saratoga in June so thats good to know i can go during peak season as well.
 

cbyrne1174

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Makes sense - my 1Br right now sees 2 BR Saratoga in June so thats good to know i can go during peak season as well.
I have to book a FL club resort at the 6 month mark just to see DVC inventory since mine is in Orlando. That's why I want GC. My GV week can pull more than GC can during the highest TDI weeks, but its region blocked for DVC.
 

PhilaMom

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How does that work? Don’t you need to reserve one year out? We’re interested in Disney too!
 

Deb & Bill

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We've been DVC members since 1997. Owned five contracts, now back to just our original contract. The other four were sold for more than we originally paid. We used to go four times a year when we lived in Louisiana. Now we live in SW Florida and go about once a year for our anniversary. We haven't been to the parks in years since ticket prices are so high, but we enjoy the restaurants. If we did buy tickets, we would get the weekday Florida resident pass. We had a four-night stay at OKW recently and our son and his fiancé joined us for two nights. A friend of his from his Disney days stayed with her fiancé for one night. We still have the Disney VISA card, so we got 10% off of most meals (or we used our temporary DVC card - we refuse to get that digital ID). Dining at least twice a day with two or four or six was a little expensive, but that was all we spent the entire trip. Plus, we enjoyed every meal we had. We used Open Table for at least one reservation and the Disney website for the others. Some we changed while we were there - got lucky.
 

rickandcindy23

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Our trip at the end of May for two weeks, 5/20-6/3, we are staying at Wilderness and OKW, and our kids are at Bonnet Creek in a 3 bedroom with the first week discounted and upgraded. The 2nd week, no 3 bedrooms showing in the discount window. Watching often, but I do have a 3 bed booked at full points. I figured I should book it so they won't have to move units. If they offer an upgrade to a presidential unit for that week, they might do it.
 

jjking42

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We just got back from OKW. I have to say I was impressed. The unit was large, everything worked liked new, and they cleaned our room daily. I cant tell you how much my wife appreciated coming home to a clean unit with towel animals on the bed. I travel all the time for business and we have stayed in a lot of timeshares and cant remember the last time we got daily house keeping. We did not take any kids with us. We enjoyed the Disney transportation in the mornings but not so much in the evening. We did early hour which is really only 30 minutes but critical to getting that big ride you want at rope drop. We had 7 nights via an II exchange but only stayed for 6. We did not rent a car and had groceries delivered from the Publix. I only went to the parks twice (Epcot and MK )because I was also working while in Orlando. My wife had a three day park hopper and she had a good time on her own as a single rider. The flower festival was nice and we got to see a Don Felder concert (from the Eagles) at Epcot.

We have been to Orlando many times mostly staying at HGVC properties and renting a car. I think with the little kids having the car is nice. We would get up early and drive to the park, go back to HGVC for lunch, nap, and pool time and then return to the park around dinner time. If I had little kids I don't think I would like waiting inline for buses and would still rent a car even if I was staying at DVC. For adults and teenagers the bus is great if you're not in a hurry.

FYI the Gaurdians of the Galaxy and Tron rides were awesome.
 

rickandcindy23

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@jjking42 They cleaned your room daily? That's not our usual experience.
 

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Curious too about the daily cleaning (unless one pays for it). They do take trash out daily - is it different if one exchanges?
 

dioxide45

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Curious too about the daily cleaning (unless one pays for it). They do take trash out daily - is it different if one exchanges?
We've done an exchange. We were usually in the room during the day (working) and they always came knocking every day to take trash or do a room walkthrough.
 

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