DVC without the parks.

[goodanu]

I was just wondering if any DVC'ers use their points at WDW and stay out of the parks. Though I'm new to DVC, I often wondered if it could be done. I know you could stay at VB, HHI or Alauni for a relaxing trip with points. But I was just curious if any of you have done WDW for a relaxing trip, exploring all the resorts and other things Disney offers outside the parks. Things you would otherwise not do when most of your time is spent in the parks.

I kinda know how this is going to go, because I'm pretty sure I couldn't.

 

[celticfan]

We are going down in June for a week and don't plan on going to the parks at all. There is a group of 7 of us staying at SSR and some of us will play golf and others plan to use the spa and relax by the pool. We may decide to go to a water park for one day, but other than that we won't go into the 4 main parks at all.

We are really looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the others things available at the resort while saving the money on the park tickets!!!! Between the golf, spa time and enjoying a great meal everyday I am pretty sure we will have a full and relaxing trip.

 

[celticfan]

We are going down in June for a week and don't plan on going to the parks at all. There is a group of 7 of us staying at SSR and some of us will play golf and others plan to use the spa and relax by the pool. We may decide to go to a water park for one day, but other than that we won't go into the 4 main parks at all.

We are really looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the others things available at the resort while saving the money on the park tickets!!!! Between the golf, spa time and enjoying a great meal everyday I am pretty sure we will have a full and relaxing trip.

 

[slappy magoo]

I can imagine trying that.




I can also imagine failing at trying that.

 

[bgraham34]

I know several people who own at OKW and don't visit the parks. They just relax at the resort and go out to dinner or cook in their villa.

 

[goodanu]

We are going down in June for a week and don't plan on going to the parks at all. There is a group of 7 of us staying at SSR and some of us will play golf and others plan to use the spa and relax by the pool. We may decide to go to a water park for one day, but other than that we won't go into the 4 main parks at all.

We are really looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the others things available at the resort while saving the money on the park tickets!!!! Between the golf, spa time and enjoying a great meal everyday I am pretty sure we will have a full and relaxing trip.

I can see myself wanting to do a trip like this. Especially the golf for me and the spa for the wife.

 

[bethymouse]

Wish I could afford DVC!

Well, we looked into DVC, and almost had us convinced. The annual fees is what got us! If I was a millionnaire, I would certainly be a DVC member. I wouldn't be able to just stay and relax and not visit the parks. I guess I could do w/o the dining, but I don't like to cook on my vacation!:ROFLOL: Bottom line DVC is a timeshare w/ a few perks. I can't afford to buy into the number of points I'd need to go on a cruise or Hawaii. So sadly, I can not see DVC as an option for me.

 

[ScoutN]

We use our DVC points and go to SWO, BGT, DISpeedway. There is plenty to do in the area without having to visit the parks. At 22 I have my own account and it makes taking quick trips with friends so simple.

 

[tjkraz]

It's certainly possible.

I think it is more common is for folks to buy 10-day non expiring passes and only use a couple of days per trip. With that approach you can spread a theme park ticket over many years worth of trips.

 

[jpittore1]

You don't need to cook

"I don't like to cook on my vacation!:ROFLOL: Bottom line DVC is a timeshare w/ a few perks. I can't afford to buy into the number of points I'd need to go on a cruise or Hawaii. So sadly, I can not see DVC as an option for me"

The are several great restaurants not at the parks...Animal Kingdom Lodge has three great restaurants, The Grand Floridian, Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk, etc...you won't need to cook. You can get to the other resorts using the Disney transportation and then take time to explore the resort.

There are several DVC member rooms at various resorts that will have games you may borrow and enjoy in the room. During non-busy times you are allowed to pool hop, too.

Did you know you can bank and borrow your DVC points to have approximately 3 years of points you could use on a Hawaii or cruise?

The yearly dues is less than what we would pay for a week's stay in our home resort. Just make sure you look at the years in the future you'll have to use the resorts. If you look at just ONE vacation, it won't be worth it.

 

[Blueliner]

It's certainly possible.

I think it is more common is for folks to buy 10-day non expiring passes and only use a couple of days per trip. With that approach you can spread a theme park ticket over many years worth of trips.

This is exactly what we have done. We bought 10 day park hopper/water parks and more/no expiration last fall. For a 5 night trip just before Thanksgiving last year, we spent 3 days in the theme parks, 1 day at Typhoon Lagoon, and an afternoon at Downtown Disney (including a visit to Disney Quest). Last month, we went on a four night Disney Cruise out of Port Canaveral, followed by 2 nights/3 days at Beach Club Villas. Some of us went to La Nouba one night, and we all went to Blizzard Beach. We spent a lot of time at Stormalong Bay and otherwise just enjoying the Epcot resports. We did not go into the theme parks at all (although I ran crescent lake and the pathways to DHS and the International Gateway just to get a little glimpse from the outside). It was awesome. This Thanksgiving, we'll do the same 5 night trip, with three days in the Disney theme parks, one day at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, and possibly one day at a water park.

Before we owned our points at the Boardwalk, I would not have been able to imagine being that close to the theme parks without going in. My mentality has changed (in my opinion, for the better) since we bought our points.

 

[erasure fan1]

I know several people who own at OKW and don't visit the parks. They just relax at the resort and go out to dinner or cook in their villa.

Depending on how things work out, we have been thinking about doing this as well. Not next year but the year after depending on financials. We would instead of doing the parks go to universal for a day (wife loves Harry Potter) hit sea world... and the closest we would get to a Disney park is a water park. We would visit the other resorts to swim and try their restaurants, all that good stuff.

 

[goodanu]

Depending on how things work out, we have been thinking about doing this as well. Not next year but the year after depending on financials. We would instead of doing the parks go to universal for a day (wife loves Harry Potter) hit sea world... and the closest we would get to a Disney park is a water park. We would visit the other resorts to swim and try their restaurants, all that good stuff.

And may I suggest Discovery Cove. Though expensive, it was a great experience and very relaxing. It's all inclusive, food and drinks (beer, wine and a few cocktails too.) and also includes admission to SW. We did this last summer.

 

[Coach81]

Not sure my wife would ever let us do this... perhaps down the road... but I doubt it

 

[toolsnspools]

Since buying into DVC, I've kept a list of things to do without park passes. We went in Feb and tried the Uni parks for the first time, so we took the rest of the week to try a bunch of stuff on the list. We went indoor skydiving at iFly, we spent a day at DisneyQuest, went to Arabian Knights, went putt-putting at Winter-Summerland, and spent a few days just bumming around. We even spent one day just riding Disney transportation and checking out the resorts. It was one of the most relaxing, and fun days we've spent at WDW.

I missed going to the parks some, but it was really nice to spend time doing all the other things. I'm planning on going with the 10-day non-expiring from now on. That way there's no pressure to spend as many days as possible in the parks, and there's still a lot of stuff on the list that we haven't gotten to yet.