Studio worth it?

[southerngirl528]

DVC changes the way you vacation at WDW. I used to stay offsite and pack as much park time as possible from rope drop to park close.
Now I'm much more relaxed, go for rope drop, use a few FP late afternoon then have luch somewhere nice and leave to enjoy the resort in the afternoon. Back for night entertainment.
This is much more enjoyable because of DVC:
- you don't NEED to cram every possible attraction every trip because you know you'll be back for the next 30-50 years
- deluxe resorts offer so much more than value and moderates
You might start with a studio and then evaluating later if/when upgrading to a 1B. Beware, 1B are full of germs, of a disease called addonitis. It seems that people staying there contract the disease and go back home with the impulse to buy more points to always stay in 1B or bigger rooms.

I very much agree with this. WDW trips become much more enjoyable IMO. And I have talked to countless fellow members that do this very same thing. They tend to enjoy the resorts and non-park things as they don't feel the pressure to "do it all".

 

[apple9117]

Studios through DVC have always worked for us!

 

[bakerworld]

The only time we've booked a 1br for just the 2 of us is the Jambo Value 1br - it's less points than a studio at BC. I'm still not cooking or doing laundry because I'm on vacation.

 

[Dan1]

For us it's length of stay.

When DW and I go without the kids (all grown up now), if we stay for a week or less then a studio is great since we'll be always out at the parks or relaxing for a few hours by which ever pool is at the resort where we are staying.

However, if we go for say 10 days to two weeks, then a studio can seem cramped. After we have visited each of the 4 parks once in a stay then the novelty & adrenaline of being back 'home' since our last visit will wear off. Thereafter, our preference is more for a relaxing vacation, making more meals (especially breakfasts) in our room, being able to do laundry in our room, etc.

Sure, we still invite the kids every now and again to stay with us and for that a studio won't really do.

It's really a personal thing.

 

[kristenrice]

As far as cost goes, I have 100 points at AKV. I purchased the contract resale (cash) back in 2008 so, since then, I am only paying MF's each year. That means that my lodging costs each year are basically just my annual dues. This October, my daughters and I stayed in a standard studio for 4 nights and a studio at OKW for 3 nights which cost me 86 points. I could have opted to stay 9 nights in the standard studio at AKV which would have used up exactly 100 points. My 2018 annual dues were $675.65. So, the way I look at it, my DELUXE room at AKV cost me about $96 per night...you can't even get a VALUE room for that price!

Now, let me extrapolate a little further...let's say we use our 100 points to stay 5 nights (Sun-Thur) in a 1BR Value at AKV, which is another room category that I love to book. It is exactly 100 points to book those 5 weeknights in October, which also happens to be our preferred time to travel. So now, our lodging still costs the same $675.65, but since it's only 5 nights, our average cost is now $135.13....but that is for a 1BR villa which includes a full kitchen, a living room, a washer and dryer in the room and a jacuzzi tub! You won't find that deal anywhere on property either.

When I bought, my plan was to stay every other year in a 1BR. I didn't think DVC would be "worth it" if we were just going to use it for studios. Now, I am finding that we do just fine in the studios and I want to go every year. I find that I would rather go every year and stay in a studio than every other year in a 1BR. The problem is that park tickets and airfare are getting so expensive, it is taking me longer and longer to save up enough money just to get to Orlando in the first place. It's not the DVC contract that gets you...it's all the other stuff that you end up buying...AP's, TIW, food, transportation, etc.