How did you decide what was the best length trip for your vacation/family?

[TheLyinKing]

W

I planned to buy 6 day tickets I should price out additional days

We did park hopper last trip and really did not use it so I may not add it this time

Each additional day is like $20 haha. Which is def worth it for us, though depends on how many people in your party.

 

[fumanchu2488]

Each additional day is like $20 haha. Which is def worth it for us, though depends on how many people in your party.

Yes. I find with younger kids longer is better. And once you get past the 6 day park hopper ticket the cost per day is really low.

We have 5 and 3 and we found that 8 days was good. Lets us relax on travel days and also with younger kids our park days are pretty easy. We have early risers so we are a rope drop until noon and then pool/nap and then parks/dinner from 5 - 8 pm. The more days we have the less we stress in our limited park hours. We like "we can do it tomorrow" or "we can do it in a few days". Also, as others have said, DVC lets us already have our next trip planned so we can always catch it next time.

 

[tom1944]

We booked the first half of our 9 days stay. We will be at BLT- Lakeview in a 1 bedroom for 5 nights. Up until the last minute there was a 1 bedroom standard available. When we go, I will have to show my wife where the standard rooms are to see if she would want to save the points. I think I would have saved 25 points for the 5 days.

That will help us decide if we should make our second purchase at BLT to have the 11-month window.

On Tuesday I will go in and book the next portion of the trip at a 2 bedroom. Where we book will depend on what is available.

 

[5kidsmommy]

We are not long vacation people. Generally just my husband and I go now. We own a business and have pets so it's just hard to get away. We are also limited when you can go. Basically the second have of January, first part of February, and September and early October. Thats about it. Two four nights trips a year works best. We just got back from a week trip with our 21 year old and that was tough on him.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We started at a week years and years ago and slowly progressed (and added points to get to) two weeks. This gives us 3 days in MK and 2 days in each of the other parks snd a few rest days to visit the other resorts and DS. This way we’re not so rushed in the parks and can slow down a bit and take in the details. The kids have to ride everything each trip and this length of trip helps with that. Plus, there’s 7 of us so airfare is a lot and we like to pack a bunch of stuff to bring with us so we drive (15 hours) to get there so it’s nice to stay a bit longer before we do the drive home.

 

[tom1944]

After this trip I will ask my girls if-

Did you like doing a split stay
Are you okay with a 1 bedroom as long as it's with 2 bathrooms?
Did you like the 7 day or 9-day trip best?
Would you rather stay at BLT in a lakeview or save points with a standard room?
How many park days do you want?

Once I know those answers I can decide how many and where to add points

 

[tom1944]

We are not long vacation people. Generally just my husband and I go now. We own a business and have pets so it's just hard to get away. We are also limited when you can go. Basically the second have of January, first part of February, and September and early October. Thats about it. Two four nights trips a year works best. We just got back from a week trip with our 21 year old and that was tough on him.

My nephew and his wife own a bakery in Maryland, and it is very difficult for them to vacation.

 

[Jayunit09]

Mentioned a few times, but I like 7 days, Saturday to Saturday. If we have do Sunday I still want to come home Saturday. Having that last Sunday before school/work to get back into reality is huge mentally for us. Kids are 7 and 3

 

[Brob2132]

Haven’t been with any children (coming in April), but six nights has nearly always been perfect for us. Allows for a morning and a night in each park, a midday break every day, and then some pool/water park days.

As with everything else, we’re planning to do things very differently with a little one in tow.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

We like 7 night stays every other year. Split stays are great for us to minimize busses as my spouse has mobility impairment and requires scooter. This has changed greatly during our pre-dvc days and landed here. Flying in from New York, renting mobility device, and park hoppers all work best for us.

August travel for high schooler and future teacher. I love the heat.

I bought the dvc contract I felt we could afford. We would be happy to pad our small contract with cash rooms if needed at moderates. If money was less of a concern I wouldn't hesitate to buy more! Good luck with your decision.

 

[tom1944]

My wife and daughter want to do 2 park days followed by a rest day so that is why we are trying 9 days this trip.

We do not go to the park the day we arrive or the day we leave. We like 2 days each at MK and Epcot and 1 each at HS and AK although my daughter would not mind if we skipped AK.

I look forward to seeing how the 9 days will work.

We did okay with the heat on our August 23 trip.

 

[crisi]

We get bored at Disney after more than five nights or so. We still commando - and like it that way, can usually see all we want to see in five park days with a few half days. I'm not a "sit by the pool" person or a "take a mid day break" person. We are there at or shortly after rope drop, we go until everything on the list is checked off or the park closes. We once did seven nights and said "never again" - but because we have to fly, it isn't worth it to go for less than about five. (We did four once at Disney once, but it also included two nights at Universal. We got everything we wanted to get done in the parks with four nights at Disney).

 

[Cfabar1]

We live only a couple hours from the parks, so we tend to do 1, 2, maybe 3 night stays. Sometimes we even just go for the day and then come home. The hardest part is finding pet coverage.

However, this year we are booking a 6 night stay just to give that a try. It will be interesting to see how that goes. Having DVC is really key to this, so that we have room to spread around in our villa. I can't imagine being a park commando the entire time, or also being in a small hotel room. Glad to also have a full kitchen. We bought at VGF, but if the long vacation thing works out for us, I could easily see us becoming OKW people.

 

[intamin]

Mentioned a few times, but I like 7 days, Saturday to Saturday. If we have do Sunday I still want to come home Saturday. Having that last Sunday before school/work to get back into reality is huge mentally for us. Kids are 7 and 3

This is us too. We typically leave early Saturday morning and are usually having breakfast on property by 930-10. Typically leave late on the following Saturday and it gives our feet a day to rest at home and maybe grab some groceries for the upcoming week before work.

This next trip though originally we had 2 nights at AKV and then 3 nights in a Beach Club studio and 2 nights at a Boardwalk BW view studio and then the third night popped up for a Boardwalk view studio on Saturday night and I couldn't resist

 

[bakerworld]

Our sweet spot is 5N/6D - 4N/5D works but feels short - 3N/4D is too short and anything longer than 6D seems like forever, even when we're enjoying ourselves.

 

[sheilafri]

This isn’t probably going to be the most helpful, but we also like to go several times a year for fewer days. We qualify for the PD AP so staying 4 nights during the week works for us. We go for the parks and prefer cooler weather and lower crowd levels.

 

[I Run Long]

We're an outlier as we typically go at least 14 nights. This September we'll be there 16 nights (we fly from Vancouver Island), but we go every other year and will always do a split stay. We don't go into the parks every day and always sleep in, roll into the park, leave when it's too hot and maybe go back in the evening. It's just me and my DH since the kids have flown the coop - so we take it at a leisurely pace, combined with resort visits, hanging out at our resort, going to Disney Springs. We treat it like a resort holiday that just happens to be in Disney World. So no help at all to you.

 

[tom1944]

We're an outlier as we typically go at least 14 nights. This September we'll be there 16 nights (we fly from Vancouver Island), but we go every other year and will always do a split stay. We don't go into the parks every day and always sleep in, roll into the park, leave when it's too hot and maybe go back in the evening. It's just me and my DH since the kids have flown the coop - so we take it at a leisurely pace, combined with resort visits, hanging out at our resort, going to Disney Springs. We treat it like a resort holiday that just happens to be in Disney World. So no help at all to you.

That was my original thought when I thought it would be my wife and I. Except the last half of January not September

 

[Unclelude]

We originally bought as a 'value' proposition for a trip to Hawaii - lol on that, since we've added on twice since then.

We added on, not for length of stay persay... instead we switched from 'studio' dwellers to 1BR/2BR... esp when we have kids ( 3 )

As for length of stay, we still try to squeeze value, and typically shoot for Sunday - Thursday nights. We also have been mostly doing targeted park days ( i.e. Mickey's Halloween, moonlight,... One day in Epcot etc... ) vs commando.

I think what you have going sounds great for lots of park days.. planned resort days etc... sounds fantastic.

Since the parks aren't main focus, we are ok with split stays and actually enjoy the change of pace.. if parks were more in focus, we probably would rather not do split stays...

Good luck!

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

We are a family of four who flies from the Northeast. We bought 100 when the kids were 5 & 6 and we thought a studio every other year would be amazing!

Welcome home trip at Riviera during Covid, we did a studio for one night — which was beautiful — but my husband sweet talked the front desk and they pixie dusted us to a one-bedroom. OMG. That night we added on another 200 points and will only do 1B/2B.

We hit WDW/DVC hard with cheap Covid airfare, “bonus year” added 200+200 point purchase, remote learning/unlimited sick days in elementary school, and no extracurricular activities to have to work around.

We did two weeks each year, Saturday-Saturday most trips, always wanting to do more things/restaurants/festivals/holidays/weather.

Then we started bringing my cousin in 1Bs, meeting up/planning trips with other DVC families with the same school breaks, and then did a big family trip in a 2B with sister/BIL/niece and LOVED it, again always a week.

We are now doing eight days/2B over Thanksgiving, Friday late night flight after work/school before Thanksgiving, and coming home Saturday afternoon after Thanksgiving. I know it’s a massive waste of points for that Friday night, but we have owners lockers to unpack, grocery orders to settle, alcohol orders to get, scooter delivery that night — I just like to pull a late night and be settled and then wake up Saturday “home,” ready for action.

The travel days tire/stress me out with the kids bouncing off the walls excited when we arrive underfoot, everyone hungry immediately, needing to unpack and get deliveries settled, wanting to hit the parks/pool/gift shop ASAP, luggage and lockers everywhere — I hate that.

We had one eight-day trip in our previous Covid cluster years where we got in the night ”before” because airfare was cheaper for that leg, and I swear it made all the difference to be able to be settled and hit the ground running the next day (Saturday morning.)

I think Saturday-Saturday is fine for our family of four 1B, because we hit the parks hard 2020-2023, but the bigger family trips in 2B onward, traveling with folks coming every few year, definitely doing the 8/7.

I am on my first girls’ trip now with my friend in a studio and it’s totally fine our five days, but I miss in-room laundry (NBD, did laundry yesterday outside pool machine,) and we’re trying the dining plan since we can’t cook much in the studio.

Long weekends without the kids, eating out every meal, studios are fine for me, but DH only wants 1B. We also are probably done with split stays. Too much work and hubbub.

MY dream is extended family 2B every Thanksgiving and one week 1B April or February vacation just us, but that’s 600 points with borrowing, and we’re at 300. The math ain’t mathing, LOL, and now our 11 YO son is bored with WDW and just enjoys chilling with the family at the resort. Our 10 YO daughter is a future Cast Member/DVC rep/college program member at this rate, and she wants to do everything, everywhere. I think there may be Poly 2.0 points in our future, depending on cost/trust BS/whatever weirdness DVC does with its business model going forward, but if it’s moving to a typical timeshare system like was speculated about, we’ll hold as is and move on to additional pastures.