So Has DVC Changed You?

[javamom]

I am curious if buying into DVC has changed your touring style. Do you still go commando, or do you relax a bit more knowing that there is going to be another opportunity to do most things again.

I have my first DVC trip planned for June, and I am thinking about what I want to accomplish. Mostly I find myself thinking of the things that we missed in December, and our family favorites. I did go ahead and sign up for another go around with TGM, but I think that I am going to worry less about when I do or don't go to Epcot.

So, has DVC changed the way that you tour???

 

[MinnieFan]

The knowledge that we will be able to return soon has definitely changed our style. While we still spend a great deal of time in the parks, we make sure to take at least one day out of every trip for a "down" day, just to enjoy the resort, or let the kids spend the day swimming, or something else that we might not have done if we felt the pressure to do it all because we would not be returning for a few years. For instance, this December we will definitely spend a day touring the resorts.

Before we bought DVC, we were much more rushed. As a family we all enjoy our trips even more now, because the pressure is off and we know that we will be planning another trip in the near future.

Enjoy your trip and welcome home!

 

[DVC Mike]

Yes, I am going to WDW a lot more often than I was before I joined DVC!

 

[drakethib]

we go more often yet are able to somewhat "relax" a little more.

 

[mouseclick1]

We definitely spend more time at the resort than in the parks. We don't hurry and we don't bum out if things don't go quite as planned because we know we'll be back.

 

[bpmorley]

It has definitely changed the way we do WDW. We go at least twice a year now. We don't do parks every day. And when we do go to the parks it's much more relaxed, no rushing to get on everything.

 

[mjy]

It has made all the difference in the world for me.

Being on a somewhat limited income, this has made vacations affordable for me and, therefore, I go twice a year.

Additionally, the perk of $100 off for the annual pass is quite nice. I time my visits so that I get three weeks out of one annual pass. That way, if I come in during the afternoon, I don't feel as if I have "wasted" a day's ticket by going into the park for dinner or for the fireworks.

It has made it very easy, comfortable, and relaxing for me to go and simply enjoy instead of having to get my "money's worth" by super cramming each day.

For me, thus far, there has been no downside to DVC.

 

[edk35]

Well we have always been commando and we just took our first DVC trip in Aug. We did 5 nights at SSR and 3 at BWV. I did a trip report if you want to look at it and what we did each day. I felt we had a nice balance except when I got the wild idea to stay at MK til almost 2:00 in the morning on an EMH night. NEVER AGAIN. I can totally see us with a more relaxed touring type trip from now on. WE enjoyed both resorts and felt we spent some quality time there.

 

[wildernessDad]

With the weather as hot as it is now, a slower touring style is needs for us

 

[JimMIA]

It hasn't changed us as much as I'd like, but it does matter that we're going more often.

DW is an incurable Type A, so if I build "free" time into the schedule, she goes nuts. Now however, she is learning to put it to good use -- if I take DD5-going-on-25 to the pool, Mommy goes shopping!!!

(That IS a good thing...right? )

With each trip, however, we are starting to build more and more down time into the schedule. We have a growing list of "must do's" but we're also getting some relaxation time in.

And, we were commenting on our last trip that we haven't even begun to really explore WDW yet. None of us have ever been to a water park, despite the fact that DD swims like a fish. We've never played miniature golf. We've only seen "La Nouba" once, and that's not nearly enough.

We also have not yet begun to explore the offsite restaurants. We have not ever been to Universal, and haven't been to Sea World in years. Those offsite options will get done on our next couple of trips. We've used DDP previously, but without DDP we'll branch out more.

That's one of the really nice things about DVC ownership, you're not in a big rush to see everything because this is your only trip, or your only trip for 10 years.

The other thing I've noticed about going more regularly is you get MUCH more efficient. You know where things are, you know how to get from Point A to Point B, you know how long things take -- and that really speeds things up without rushing. Our 5 year-old knows MK like the back of her hand. Last trip, she guided us (flawlessly, I might add) from Aladdin to Goofy's Barnstormer...which Type A above could not have done, BTW. So we get a lot more done in a shorter time period than we used to.

 

[Granny]

It has made all the difference in the world for me.

Being on a somewhat limited income, this has made vacations affordable for me and, therefore, I go twice a year.

Additionally, the perk of $100 off for the annual pass is quite nice. I time my visits so that I get three weeks out of one annual pass. That way, if I come in during the afternoon, I don't feel as if I have "wasted" a day's ticket by going into the park for dinner or for the fireworks.

It has made it very easy, comfortable, and relaxing for me to go and simply enjoy instead of having to get my "money's worth" by super cramming each day.

For me, thus far, there has been no downside to DVC.

I think Mike's comments here most closely echo my own. Between the combination of DVC and buying the AP, our commando touring days are over. I agree completely that it is great to be able to visit a park for an hour without worrying that we used up a day on a ticket. That is especially important when we stay at BWV and can duck into EPCOT or MGM for an hour.

 

[Boardwalker]

At the risk of ruining my reputation as a nice person....
... what DVC ownership did for me was to take away the irritation that I used to feel if a ride was down or the crowds were too large for us to get to do all of our favorite things.
I no longer get crazed when I have to wait for someone to wake up and get going in the morning. That was always the worst and would have me biting my lip.
I am commando by nature, and I take total responsibility for everyone getting to do everything that they want to... I usually go with friends and extended family. Knowing that I can do it my way on the next trip mellows me out so much people actually like to travel with me now.
And I used to feel a real let down the day before we had to return, so much so that it affected my last days... now I feel like there are no last days!

 

[IndianaMouseLover]

At the risk of ruining my reputation as a nice person....
... what DVC ownership did for me was to take away the irritation that I used to feel if a ride was down or the crowds were too large for us to get to do all of our favorite things.
I no longer get crazed when I have to wait for someone to wake up and get going in the morning. That was always the worst and would have me biting my lip.
I am commando by nature, and I take total responsibility for everyone getting to do everything that they want to... I usually go with friends and extended family. Knowing that I can do it my way on the next trip mellows me out so much people actually like to travel with me now.
And I used to feel a real let down the day before we had to return, so much so that it affected my last days... now I feel like there are no last days!

The above OP sounds like me to a "T". I would have to say that our first trip home this past July we were commando, as all trips before and before we became DVCers. Now we have come to realization that we will be back once or twice every year and slow down. We still hit all of the parks but do not spend a full day at them. When we go it is usually for 8 or 9 day trips. So we have many days to spend at DTD, at SSR (home resort). We even take a full day to visit all of the other DVC resorts to browse, shop, eat. That is really fun.

We hope to utilize what SSR has to offer more in the future such as crafts, the spa, family movie nights, etc.

 

[leanne2255]

DVC has definitely changed us. We're arriving this Friday, with no plans except to sit by the pool and relax for the week-end.

No parks, no ADR's, no plans. We'll be back again in December, so we'll do the parks then.

 

[mjy]

I think Mike's comments here most closely echo my own. Between the combination of DVC and buying the AP, our commando touring days are over. I agree completely that it is great to be able to visit a park for an hour without worrying that we used up a day on a ticket. That is especially important when we stay at BWV and can duck into EPCOT or MGM for an hour.

Woo Hoo . . . the great and wonderful Granny validated my post! Gosh. And validated the Boardwalk as well. I'm on a Disney high!

 

[jekjones1558]

Our style has changed, but mostly when we don't bring guests. We revert to commando when we bring friends/family along. This thread has reminded me that we need to do more visits WITHOUT guests. Also, staying in a 1 bedroom rather than a studio greatly changed our habits because it feels like home rather than a hotel room.

 

[disneymom8589]

Last July was our 1st trip "home" to SSR. We were with a group of family and friends, so we did the "commando" route. DH and I are going at the end of March for 5 days and this time I would love to relax a little more. The joy of DVC is that you can plan different types of vacations to suit you. I've told DH that I would love to take a trip sometime and just walk around the different resorts and try their restaurants.

 

[Longhairbear]

We no longer go commando at the parks. We relax at least one entire day at our DVC, and depending on which one we are at, we explore the grounds and amenities. That day at home usually ends with a great home cooked meal.

 

[newholidayx2]

Kinda both
I now only go to MK, MGM and AK for half days

However since joining DVC I found Off Kilter! many many many of my afternoons are spent behind bench #2 on the left side
and thats "where I wanna be"

 

[Claire L]

Not too sure yet as we became DVC members in July, our first visit home is in October. Our last visit was in January and even then as we had planned to return in October so our touring was alot more relaxed. We skipped alot things as we were only there for 11 nights and knew we would be back for at least 14 nights in October. I can see us probably going to Vero Beach in the future for our last few nights on longer stays. Mind you we plan to take friends who have never been sometime in the nest couple of years so to give them an experience of most things it will be more commando style!

Claire