Long range family plans

[bobbiwoz]

We spent a wonderful weekend near Boston visiting family, including our 3 DGC, 2 3/4, 1 3/4, and 3/4 years old. These visits are not frequent and this was the first where the 2 oldest did seem to recognize us from day to day and were excited about seeing us, reading to them, enjoying each others company. This is what it's like to be Grandparents!

One thing we did was go Halloween Costume shopping for a MM costume . Now that makes me think that the day will come, when they will be joining us at WDW.

So, those of you who travel with grandparents/grandchildren. Do most of you share a villa? A 2 bedroom would work fine, but part of me thinks everyone would be happier with their own place. I think children do melt down a bit with the excitement of WDW. Isn't it easier on everyone to say "goodnight" and wish sweet dreams. But I couldn't see getting them a 1 bedroom and us a studio, together it's fewer points, and if they're going to have a 1 bedroom, I sort of want one as well. When their children are teens if they come, we would get them their own 2 bedroom, but that's too far away for me to think about.

Does the type of accomodations you get depend on whether you or your parents own DVC? DH says it would be OK to do an add on. I would like to know if it's necessary, what to expect. When there's young children, (under 8) how long do you visit WDW? Are 1 week trips truly the minimum for the fuss and expense for making the journey? When we went with just our sons in the '80s, we only took 5 night vacations, leaving the last weekend for DH to chill out at home before going back to work.

Our family circumstances have changed just a bit because DH's company filed bancruptcy this week, and our planned move to Orlando in '07 will probably not take place. If we're lucky, DH will be working until '10, so what we had planned, weekends in our house in Orlando, followed by DVC trips with them won't happen. I do not think we will move to Orlando at all.

Well, I even took the Vacation Planner to the doctor's office with me this morning, looking to see just what we can do with the points we have.

Thanks for your help.

Bobbi

 

[littlestar]

Bobbi,

You kind of sound like me with my thinking cap on about our points. We originally got studios and usually stayed 6 nights as we liked to come home on Friday to relax, go to the store, and get ready for Monday and going back to work.

Now it seems our kids usually go with us for part of the time every trip. We go three times a year. We have found that six nights at Disney works out pretty well for everybody. But half of the time, not everyone stays that long with work commitments and so on. We like the 2 bedroom lock-offs. Our niece and her four year old, and our daughters and son-in-laws were with us on our September trip. We had a two bedroom lock-off and a studio. Our niece just locked the studio door whenever she needed privacy or was trying to get the little one to sleep. It worked out pretty good.

We are investigating an off-site option for our May trips. (see my post about Marriott's Cypress Harbour). That way we could definitely get 2 bedrooms for the on-site trips to Disney the rest of the year. We thought about an add-on, but I really don't want to worry with the extra dues to tell you the truth.
Good luck with whatever you decide. Sometimes you just figure stuff out as you go along. We don't have grandchildren yet, so who knows what the future holds.

 

[crisi]

My kids are six and seven. They took their first Disney trip at 2 1/2 and 3 1/2, another at 4 and 5, and we leave on Saturday for their third.

In my mind there are two schools of thought regarding kids and Disney. My first belief was that the "fly down" was good - particularly for the tot age....you arrive, get in a ride on Dumbo, a character meal, some photos, and get out before everyone is tired and cranky. I still believe this is great if your goal is to have quick vacation and get some pictures. But what we ended up doing was the full week - which enabled us to pace ourselves. My co-worker just said "how can you spend a week in Disney" I said "spend three hours a day in the pool - goes really fast!" Personally, longer than a full week - even with the washer and dryer and kids in a different room - I'm ready to go home to my own house. But I'm not the Disney fan others are.

My kids have been fine on the couch, and we need to get this trip and the next out of them on the couch. We took my MIL last trip and she stayed in the lockoff studio, we had the Master bedroom and the kids slept on the pullout. But I think a lot will depend on what vacation you want and what resources you can put to it. Putting all the kids in their own bedrooms sounds like a great luxury - the kids on the hideabed meant my husband and I retreated to the Master Bedroom a little earlier than ideal. I do think grown ups need their own rooms - I'm past the point where I'm willing to share a room with my husband and MIL (but people do).

 

[spiceycat]

I let my family use my points.

when it is just me and mother I get a studio. We fight but nothing too bad.

my nephew and my niece forever FIGHT big time. because of this I get my brother a 2-bedroom.

if the kids get along well together - get them a studio and you one.

if there are ages problems or fighting - then get them their own 2-bedroom.

believe me after staying with them in a 2-bedroom - I was more than ready to go to MY studio.

but hey everyone is different.

do what is right for you.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks, what I'm learning is that offering them up to a week should be fine. DS and DDiL don't get that much vacation time, they have both just begun new jobs, so longer visits won't even be possible or even desired. No one wants to use all of their vacation time with parents!

I also get the sense that lock offs are OK, young children get the sofa bed pull out, we'll take the studio part (with the option of using the jaccuzi once) and we'll try that. DS and DDiL get the master bed and maybe the pack and play in there.

Who knows, maybe one of the children will take the sofa bed in our room, then for sure, I would want to be attached to their parents unit somehow.

DS and I had a chat this Sunday about how when we went, we would take our time, do things and even without DVC our boys always took a nap. We usually stayed at the Poly often without a balcony, and DH and I would sit on the steps in the hall playing rummy or something while the children slept and we listened. It will be easier for our family!

Thank you all for listening. I don't want our lives to fly by, but this weekend was just soooo wonderful for me, and it was raining like the dickens all weekend, I can imagine what fun we'll have in WDW together!

Bobbi

PS. spiceycat, it could never be just me and DM. We two would need a "time out" room. Always have, it's just the way it is.

 

[bub]

I think your plans sound good. We have taken our DS and DD for both shorter and longer visits. I find with lots of family going, shorter is better. The focus then becomes spending some quality, not quantity time together. For our immediate family, we enjoy weeklong visits, which allows some time to relax. We once spent 12 nights in a studio at BWV when the kids were 2 and 4 - oh, my gosh, this was far too much time in too small a space. It might have worked in a 1-bedroom. My kids have never minded the sofa bed, though now that they are getting older we bring an aerobed for one.

Enjoy exploring Disney with your grandkids! (And don't worry if everything isn't always perfect - one of my favorite childhood memories is of my family - my siblings and I were teens by then - having a meltdown in World Showcase at Epcot - we learned some valuable lessons that day, and now it makes for a good laugh.)

 

[tiffany123]

We took 2 daughters and sons-in-law and 5 grandchildren all under the age of 5 to HH for a week in June, 2004. We used our points for a grand villa and having everyone under one roof was wonderful because the adults could take turns staying in at night with the kids(grandkids in our case) while others went out. We are taking the same group to WDW in June, 2006 (this time the 5 little ones will be 6,5,4,3, and 2 and once again we are all in a grand villa. We want our married kids to be able to go out and enjoy WDW at night after the kids are settled from exhausting days. With everyone under one roof we can babysit without having to leave our own unit. The only night we're requesting out is our 36th wedding anniversary which will fall mid trip!

Plus the 5 cousins love playing with one another and would spend anytime that we're at the resort with each other anyway.

 

[spiceycat]

Tiffancy - your family sounds great - would you like to trade.....

 

[wintergreen]

Thanks, what I'm learning is that offering them up to a week should be fine. DS and DDiL don't get that much vacation time, they have both just begun new jobs, so longer visits won't even be possible or even desired. No one wants to use all of their vacation time with parents!

I also get the sense that lock offs are OK, young children get the sofa bed pull out, we'll take the studio part (with the option of using the jaccuzi once) and we'll try that. DS and DDiL get the master bed and maybe the pack and play in there.

Who knows, maybe one of the children will take the sofa bed in our room, then for sure, I would want to be attached to their parents unit somehow.

DS and I had a chat this Sunday about how when we went, we would take our time, do things and even without DVC our boys always took a nap. We usually stayed at the Poly often without a balcony, and DH and I would sit on the steps in the hall playing rummy or something while the children slept and we listened. It will be easier for our family!

Thank you all for listening. I don't want our lives to fly by, but this weekend was just soooo wonderful for me, and it was raining like the dickens all weekend, I can imagine what fun we'll have in WDW together!

Bobbi

PS. spiceycat, it could never be just me and DM. We two would need a "time out" room. Always have, it's just the way it is.

Coming at this from the other side: We are the DVC owners with the (2) kids. We've had grandma and grandpa come with us to WDW twice. Both times we stayed in a two bedroom. DH and I took the master, grandparents took the studio, and the girls slept in the living room on the sofa bed. We really liked being in the same unit (can't speak for grandma and grandpa, but I THINK they had a good time). We liked being able to eat meals together in the kitchen and sit up chatting after the girls went to sleep (put them to sleep in our bed, then moved them to the sofa when we were ready to go to bed). Both visits lasted for about 4 days (about all of the time all of us can take without grating on each others' nerves).

Good luck, and have fun! These two trips were some of the best Disney memories that we have.

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

Hy husband and I have 5 children DD10, DS8,DS8, DS5, and DS3. We stay in a 2br with my parents on each trip. My children love WDW, but they probably love the time they get to spend with my parents more. My parents only live 5 miles down the road, but being able to crawl into bed with them or have Grandpa make pancakes one morning, is probably what they remember most about the trips.

We are not park "commandos" and spend a fair amount of time at our "home". My Mom usually bring simple plastic canvas projects they can work on with her.

We do not expect my parents to take care of our kids, but my parents will normally take the kids back one night for us. We have also been know to "sneak" out after the kids are asleep either to the pool or to DTD. My parents don't necessarily stay with us during the day, but we are usually in the same park. If we run into each other, they will take 1 or 2 kids on a ride or two.

We bought into DVC with my parents with enough points to do this every other year. My guide and legal knew there were 9 of us total, so no flames please. That is for another thread.

 

[jarestel]

We've done many trips with our grandchildren, both with and without their parents. When everyone goes, we get a dedicated 2BR for a week. The 2 queen beds in the dedicated 2BRs are more than roomy enough at this point for DD, DSiL, and the kids since the grandchildren are still young. We leave the living room area available for a common room, and DW & I sleep in the master BR.

We've done this maybe 10 times so far and it's always been great! We enjoy having everyone together and is actually one of the reasons we bought DVC in the first place.

Good luck!

 

[CharlesTD]

We plan trips with our family members when my mom comes she stays with us when my dad comes he gets his own room for himself and my little sister and brother. When my inlaws come they get thier own room.