So excited!

[cfry06]

New DVC member and have already booked our first two trips!! And #3 planning is underway!! I'm incredibly excited to spend my first year as an annual passholder with three trips to the World.

We bought into BLT via resale and couldn't be happier with our deal and ease of purchase. Yes, it took longer than if we went direct , but the 45% savings in price was WELL worth it!

Interested if anyone has any advice for a first time DVCer. Any 'must pack' items?

Thx in advance for your help!

 

[olinecoach61]

Congrats! We have kicked around the DVC idea for awhile now, hopefully someday.

 

[Mr.Skunkape]

Just have fun and enjoy your trips

 

[bgraham34]

Welcome Home... Being a DVC member has been great. I only wish I had more points.

 

[okw2006]

WELCOME HOME! Hope you and your family enjoy DVC as much as we do!

 

[WithAnX]

My wife and I are new members as of June and we took our first trip in June and the second one is, sadly, not until February. We bought directly from Disney, but got a pretty good deal with the 20th anniversary bonus points. Congratulations!!

 

[DVCOwner]

Welcome home and have a great time on your WDW vacations. My only advice is try to plan early so you can get the rooms you want.

 

[cfry06]

Thank you for all of your responses! We may be new to DVC but we love it already!

 

[Funfy]

New DVC member and have already booked our first two trips!! And #3 planning is underway!! I'm incredibly excited to spend my first year as an annual passholder with three trips to the World.

We bought into BLT via resale and couldn't be happier with our deal and ease of purchase. Yes, it took longer than if we went direct , but the 45% savings in price was WELL worth it!

Interested if anyone has any advice for a first time DVCer. Any 'must pack' items?

Thx in advance for your help!

Welcome Home!!!!
Here are my tips:

Coffee:
If you drink coffee, they have a coffee maker but the coffee packs in the room are not great nor enough. I make up "coffee packs" and put in a sandwich bag and then all in a gallon zip lock bag. So, in a kit: I grind the beans for a 12 cup pot. I include my coffee filters for each pack of grinds. We usually drive and just take a Coffeemate, but, this could also be put in a quart bag. I make one pot for each day and I add 2-3 extra. Sometimes you might like some in the evening or one isn't enough if you are lollygagging around. We also buy the disposable coffee cups with lids to take that last cup of coffee with us to the bus stop. When we drive we also take 3-4 gallons of water-taking Megabus this next trip-so will probably have to buy large waters in the gift shop.

Laundry:
They provide detergent, but, not enough. And no fabric softener. For whatever reason I like doing laundry there (probably because it is free!). I found some Purex all-in-one sheets (detergent and fabric softener) that I am hoarding. I haven't found any more. Once gone, I will probably start taking the small detergent gels that are out now, but put them in a ziploc bag and a bag of dryer sheets.

Miscellaneous:
Ziploc bags-all sizes-more than you think you might need.
Wine opener if so inclined.
Wine-see above
We take one bottle of Gentleman Jack-drinking in parks gets really expensive
pop up laundry baskets-keeps it tidy
If driving--good chef's knife

There is a list of everything in the room on the DVC member site. If something in your room is missing, they will be glad to replace it.

 

[cfry06]

THANK YOU for the great info Funfy! Your tips will definitely help as we plan our trip. I'm a big coffee fan (and wine -so good tip on the opener!) and I certainly love the idea of having ready-to-go coffee packs. I'll look for the Purex sheets too!

 

[Shannon109]

I am a new DVC member as well, and everything is just in the future for me, but I actually can't wait for it! Can't wait I can share my joy with the others just like you, guys! But my warm congrats for you!


________________
free checkers game

 

[Funfy]

I am a new DVC member as well, and everything is just in the future for me, but I actually can't wait for it! Can't wait I can share my joy with the others just like you, guys! But my warm congrats for you!

Welcome Home to you too! There are so many intangilbles that you can't put a dollar amount on that you will enjoy being a member. As I stated above, I would recommend going out on the website and looking at what is included in the rooms.
It is the best decision we have ever made. We have our vacations planned out through 2018!

 

[MousingAround]

Welcome Home!!!!
Here are my tips:

Coffee:
If you drink coffee, they have a coffee maker but the coffee packs in the room are not great nor enough. I make up "coffee packs" and put in a sandwich bag and then all in a gallon zip lock bag. So, in a kit: I grind the beans for a 12 cup pot. I include my coffee filters for each pack of grinds. We usually drive and just take a Coffeemate, but, this could also be put in a quart bag. I make one pot for each day and I add 2-3 extra. Sometimes you might like some in the evening or one isn't enough if you are lollygagging around. We also buy the disposable coffee cups with lids to take that last cup of coffee with us to the bus stop. When we drive we also take 3-4 gallons of water-taking Megabus this next trip-so will probably have to buy large waters in the gift shop.

Laundry:
They provide detergent, but, not enough. And no fabric softener. For whatever reason I like doing laundry there (probably because it is free!). I found some Purex all-in-one sheets (detergent and fabric softener) that I am hoarding. I haven't found any more. Once gone, I will probably start taking the small detergent gels that are out now, but put them in a ziploc bag and a bag of dryer sheets.

Miscellaneous:
Ziploc bags-all sizes-more than you think you might need.
Wine opener if so inclined.
Wine-see above
We take one bottle of Gentleman Jack-drinking in parks gets really expensive
pop up laundry baskets-keeps it tidy
If driving--good chef's knife

There is a list of everything in the room on the DVC member site. If something in your room is missing, they will be glad to replace it.

Funfy: great idea about the coffee! Thanks.

Cfry06: congrats & welcome home! We bought DVC (BLT is also our home) in February and had our first trip in April. We are absolutely thrilled with our purchase and in fact have bought more points since. We look forward to years of enjoyment. Hope the same for you.

As for the must haves.... I also love the Purex sheets. I like doing laundry there and appreciate being able pack less because I can was stuff while there. I also bring the plastic baggies. Both of which were already covered. A few things that I bring that haven't been mention: liquid hand soap (don't care for bars) and Clorox wipes (I like to clean out the bath tub-just in case).

I have a check list that I uses for all vacations that includes items we need for the parks..... Backpack, antibacterial wipes, rain ponchos etc. helps me stay on top of things and minimizes stress.

I'm going to try ordering groceries (not from DVC) next time we go. I like to have breakfast options and bottled water for my room. Last time we had a rental car and went shopping. Next trip we don't have a car. It will be interesting!

For me, the trip starts long before we go. I love planning and anticipating our needs. It makes it even that much more special!!

Enjoy!

 

[GoofGoof]

Welcome to the club. Bring your camera and plenty of memory space or film (do they still make film?). The views from BLT are amazing. Coffee is a great suggestion and easy to fit in your bag. If you are flying and not renting a car and are interested in stocking your fridge while you are there I started a thread a little while ago about grocery delivery to your room:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/advice-on-groceries.840694/

A lot of people spoke very highly of garden grocer.
http://www.gardengrocer.com/pages/home

They have beer and wine for delivery too!!! You do have to fax them a copy of your ID to prove you are over 21. I have never actually used this service, but it got good reviews and i plan on using it for my next trip. The prices are a little higher than your average grocery store and they charge $12 for delivery unless you spend over $200 then it's free (min $40 order), but they deliver right to bell services who will keep the frozen food in a freezer and the fridge stuff in a refrigerator until you call down to have them bring it up to your room. Can't beat that for convenience and if you are flying in and not renting a car seems like the most practical way to get groceries.

Someone else suggested taking the bus to downtown Disney and walking to the gas station mini market across the street and buying some groceries and/or beer and wine. That is another option. DVC also has their own service which is basically just what is available on site at the store at the resort. Prices are pretty high, but they will stock your fridge for you.

 

[toolsnspools]

We used the Disney food service and they worked great as well. The food was a little pricey, buy we were only planning on Breakfast and snacks in the room, so we had a relatively small order. The food was delivered neatly to the villa kitchen and was ready when we arrived.

 

[foreverbelle]

As many have said. Congrats and welcome home.

The first few times are always so exciting-ok every time is exciting. But the whole realization that it is actually happening is pretty incredible. Here is to many many more years of planning and Disney enjoying for the future!!

 

[Funfy]

Funfy - could you elaborate on this?

" So, in a kit: I grind the beans for a 12 cup pot. I include my coffee filters for each pack of grinds..."

We just bought into WL Villas. The HOTEL now has "Pod" machines. I hate 'em. What size filters are you packing? #4? I would rather have the somewhat older coffee makers that DVC has.

Yes, I will be glad to. They have regular sized 10-12-cup coffee makers in the room. Wilderness lodge states 10-cup, but, all the ones I stayed in were 12. For WL, I would make up the kits for 10-cup and pack an extra-extra one in case it is 12.
Is #4 the pointy ones, because it is not those. I use the traditional, flat bottom filters-(10-12 cup)-not sure of the number-sorry.
And yes, in each "kit", I include the ground beans-usually in foil so they don't taste like plastic in a few days-and I double filter-so two per. I also include about 5 extra filters in a ziploc bag in case I drop one, etc.

In case you didn't know, there is a list of everything included on the DVC member website-under accomodations.

 

[Mammymouse]

We've been DVC since 1997 and love it! We agree with those above about the coffee - usually only one pod has been in the unit, so definitely take or buy extras for each day you plan to eat at the room. We also take dryer sheets and some extra detergent depending on how long you are staying, especially if any little ones are with you. The only other thing we run short on is towels. In a one bedroom unit we've generally had hubby and me, daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter, who is now 8 years old, so the towels run out quick. With us three girls needing 2 towels each (one for hair and one for body) we find that washing them on the second day helps because there are only 2 days per week that DVC replaces linens and towels, etc. Unless, of course, you can call and order the "extra service" from DVC for a fee. Congrats and have a great time - we always do!!

 

[GoofGoof]

Conflict....

I see "They have regular sized 10-12-cup coffee makers in the room" from previous posts. I now see "Pods". Folks, does this vary by facility? If not, which is it? Filter machine or Pod machine?

At BLT the coffee makers were standard 10 or 12 cup makers (cant remember which size) that will take regular flat bottom filters. They provide you with a filter pack of coffee which is basically the coffee and filter in 1 that fit into a regular coffee maker. If you bring your own coffee make sure you bring filters since they didn't provide any regular filters.

 

[ScoutN]

Conflict....

I see "They have regular sized 10-12-cup coffee makers in the room" from previous posts. I now see "Pods". Folks, does this vary by facility? If not, which is it? Filter machine or Pod machine?

When they say "pods" they mean ground coffee within an enclosed filter. In order to utilize your own coffee you need to bring standard coffee filters for the machine.