How often do you travel with your DVC, and do you have AP's?

[Dsnygirl]

Just wondering how often most people go, and for how long, and whether people have AP's if they're more in the range of one trip/year...

Now that we're really into the "considering" stage (again... ;)) I'm finding myself running the numbers more closely, and am beginning to wonder about the whole thing again.

We (try) to travel to Disney once a year - but it could be more like once every 18 months, as my DH only gets 2 weeks off right now, and to burn through 75% of his vacation time for one trip (we like to go for 10 days or so, with airfare being what it is, and park tickets being cheaper for a longer stay...) is a bit tough.

There are also other places we'd like to visit with our girls as they get older, so we have to factor those trips in.

We could, of course, go for two long wknds... but then you get into the whole airfare cost thing... and the increased price of those park days.

So -- just wondering if people actually go for a lot longer than 10-12 days every year or so -- b/c to me, the annual cost of dues for where we are considering buying is actually quite close to the annual cost of a room (not a deluxe, mind you - a moderate) and seeing as an AP doesn't really pay for itself until you're there 12 or more days, buying one for a 10 day trip, or two 5-6 day trips, doesn't really save you any money, except for the TiW discount it gets you, which we have used and thought was great. (I had an AP one year, as I went with some gf's and thus was there about 22 days within 10 months. Sigh.... :blush:)

I guess for us it will come down to a purely emotional decision, and also an acceptance by my DH if we DO buy that the girls and I will probably go an extra time w/o him, just b/c we can. :D

anyway -- any input would be appreciated -- for me, this was probably just an excercise of "getting it out of my head and onto paper" to make it seem more clear.

Guess I'll always be looking for a reason to be sure buying in makes "perfect" sense, instead of just accepting that it is also largely, for us, a desire to have a place of our own at Disney, regardless of how perfectly it makes sense... ;)

[laprana]

We've only been DVC members since 2008, so I don't have a whole lot of experience...yet! :D But, we seem to be falling into a pattern, even after just a couple years, of taking 2 trips per year every other year, and then 1 trip per year every other year. For example, we took our first DVC trip in May 2009 for 11 nights and then took another trip in December 2009 for 5 nights.

This year, we've taken just one trip in May for 11 nights and don't plan to take another. In 2011, we're taking another 11-night trip in May and then plan to go again in December for probably 5 nights. I think we will probably rotate years like that, as long as we are able to do it.

I'm with you on the airfare cost...I'd rather take a long trip once a year and only have to pay for airfare once than to break up that long trip and take 2 shorter trips and have to pay for airfare twice.

We do have APs, which we've been really happy with so far. We first got them in 2009 and then renewed them this past May. Getting the 15-month renewal really sealed the deal for us on getting APs again this year because we won't have to purchase tickets for our May 2011 trip. I don't know that we will always purchase or renew our APs, though. I think we'll look at that on a year-by-year basis.

Best of luck with your decision on buying DVC! It's a tough one to make, but from my experience, it's one of the best decisions we've made!

[VWL Mom]

an AP doesn't really pay for itself until you're there 12 or more days, buying one for a 10 day trip, or two 5-6 day trips, doesn't really save you any money, except for the TiW discount it gets you, which we have used and thought was great.



Keep in mind the DVC discount on AP is $100 so the AP will run about $420 with tax and two 5 day trips with park hoppers would be about $300 tax incl each so $600.

We take one weeks a family and a few days with just myself and the boys (age 15 & 18). Works out great for us!

[Dsnygirl]

Keep in mind the DVC discount on AP is $100 so the AP will run about $420 with tax and two 5 day trips with park hoppers would be about $300 tax incl each so $600.

We take one weeks a family and a few days with just myself and the boys (age 15 & 18). Works out great for us!

Good point on the two trip thing... certainly raises the ticket prices doing them separately!

I'm thinking we'd have a similar situation, with my DH's work schedule... but he also pointed out that he might want to use points at HH for a "guys golf getaway"... so I guess I'm not the only one thinking about going away on my own with our points!! ;)

[DVC2004]

2X's per year usually and one year we had APs.

[pox24]

My wife and I have 300 pts. We use them for 4 or 5 long weekends a year. Usually during value season and from Wed nite to Sunday, but most often Thurs Fri and Sat nights. Fortunately for us we are only a 2.5 hour drive away. Last Sept, we stayed 10 days at Kidani with the whole family in a 2BR on the Savannah. That was great but not what we usually do. We carry the Fla seasonal AP. Although we have blockout dates, they are during times we avoid going anyway. So it works well this way.

[dlpmikki]

We try to get 2 trips in a 12 month period. As we come a long way they tend to be for a couple of weeks or so each time and the DVC discount on APs is great for us. Oh, and with the AP we can get Tables in Wonderland which can be good value if you are planning on eating at Disney table service much in your trips - pays the tips at least.

[MinnieMommie]

We have averaged 2 Disney vacation a year for the past 3 years. I like to visit more than once a year but I understand your point that more than one trip adds an additional air expense. I am vigilant about checking airlines when we are planning a trip and usually can find decent fares.

In '08 we visits twice. One trip was a 2 bedroom and the other was a 1 bedroom. In '09 we visited once in a 1 bedroom. This year we stayed in a 1 bedroom for 10 nights, DD stayed in a studio for 3 nights and we have a vacation planned in the fall in a 1 bedroom for 6 nights. We already have two tentative trips planned for 2011.

How frequently we visit depends on many life/work variables and personal preference. The size of room you will need and whether you prefer staying in a delux rather than a value or moderate resort will all come into play when you decide whether or not to buy into DVC. :mickey:

[DonLefNY]

2 or 3 times per year to WDW for about 20+ days total. Yes, we always have AP's.

[madi47]

We travel down 2 times a year and we do have the annual passes...usually we go for 7 nights each time!

[TheDuckRocks]

As a relative newbie to DVC here's what we have done since we bought at OKW in August 2009:
Oct. 2009 - Disney's HHI in a 1 bedroom for 4 nights.
Dec. 2009 we took a preplanned trip with my sister and BIL for 10 nights at POFQ (non-DVC). Converted our MYW tickets that were included with the package we had to DVC member AP.
Jan. 2010 purchased more points at HHI as we loved it so much.
April 2010 took our adult son to BWV for 7 nights in 2 studios.
In Nov. 2010 just the 2 of us are going to OKW for 10 nights in a studio. This will be our final trip with this AP and will have used about 27 days in the parks, some just to pop in and eat dinner, which we wouldn't do if we were using the basic MYW tickets.
In FEB. 2011 we will be going to HHI with our daughter and SIL for 4 nights in a 2 bedroom unit.
In Oct. 2011 we will be going to OKW with my sister and BIL again for 1 week in 2 studios. We will then be driving up to HHI for 1 week in a 2 bedroom.
Not planning on purchasing AP as we don't have any trips to Disney planned for 2012.
God willing, we will be taking everyone to WDW for our 50th Anniversary in Jan. 2013. Don't know where or what kind of rooms or how long yet, all that will depend the final headcount.
My grand daughter has put in a request for her 16th birthday a visit to WDW for a week at AKV in a room with a savannah view and because we've spoiled her rotten we'll more than likely be doing this also in 2013.
The only downside for us in now having a DVC owership is the fact that we didn't do it a lot sooner.

[mdhiggin]

Well, we bought into DVC in November, took a trip in Nov-long weekend, Dec-7 nt, (Jan-4nt with only DH and myself), March-long weekend, May-9 nt and are booked for Sept-long weekend, Dec-6 nt and (Jan-4nt only DH & me) in future. Of course, we live only 4 1/2 hours away and drive. A big part of our trip is staying at different resorts and since joining, we've stayed at BLT, BWV, BCV, SSR and OKW, THV coming up next. We do have APs. We go so often that when we go to the park, we may only stay a few hours and would hate to waste a regular ticket. So far, we're loving DVC. Of course, this is the only place we really travel to for vacation and has been for the past few years, our trips steadily increasing since we began going with our then 5 year old 10 years ago. We've added two more to our family and now have a 15, 10 and 5 year old who love Disney just as much as we do. I guess they were bred that way.:D DH and I actually take our "no kids" trip at Disney and love it. I don't even bother telling people I'm going to Disney anymore. I just say we're going out of town. They know where I'm going.:mickey:

[chefmickey3]

We go for about 10 days every year - but we plan our trips so we go about 11 months apart and get two year's trips from our AP. This winter we are flying for a long weekend (usually drive) to surprise the kids but we normally only travel in the summer. Airfare can be prohibitive with 3 children - when driving is so much cheaper. We are considering other trips - CA, Cruise, Hawaii. I think that DVC opens more trips. We loved POR - but when my third son was born - we outgrew those accommodations. Good luck with your decision.

[Tinkermom]

We have been members since 2001 and we average about 2 trips per year. We usually get AP's as we try to make those two trips fall into the 12month (or 15 month) window.

We are taking a break from WDW now though (sigh...) as we are trying to save both points and airfare costs for a trip to DVC Hawaii in 2012. We are currently booked to take a Disney Cruise (on the new DREAM!) next summer 2011 but will probably not do the parks. Of course I say that but being so close it might be hard to stay away! :mickey:

[PinKy]

We go for about 10 days every year - but we plan our trips so we go about 11 months apart and get two year's trips from our AP. This winter we are flying for a long weekend (usually drive) to surprise the kids but we normally only travel in the summer. Airfare can be prohibitive with 3 children - when driving is so much cheaper. We are considering other trips - CA, Cruise, Hawaii. I think that DVC opens more trips. We loved POR - but when my third son was born - we outgrew those accommodations. Good luck with your decision.

This is almost our exact situation as well.

We have APs - we try to go 11 months apart so that we get 2 uses from them. We stay 10-11 days per visit in a 1 bedroom. We were careful to buy the number of points needed to stay that number of days in the time of year that we usually travel (spring or summer) with a 1 bedroom so that barring any crazy changes with their point system we would always have this approximate stay. We were also careful to buy at a home resort we wouldn't mind staying at every single visit - just in case we couldn't get in somewhere else. Cost issue is something we think about because we need to fly and we have (now) 3 children. Also - for us a lot of the decision to buy was that with kids - the accommodations are SOO much more comfortable with DVC than in a regular hotel room. We have a microwave, refrigerator, etc and at least 2 "rooms" and 2 bathrooms if not 2 bedrooms so that we're not so squished. We have 3 children under 5 though so if your children are older, you may not feel the need to have the whole "set up" when vacationing.