What is the Issue with Studio's????

[k3chantal]

We just bought into the VGF last week, and ever since then all I've been hearing is how we will not be happy with just a Studio, and we should have bought enough points for a 1-bed. I don't understand this AT ALL, as we walked the Studio's, and LOVE them. They are bigger than any deluxe resort room we would stay in, and have capability to sleep 5. I think the room is more than big enough for our family--and has much more room than most (f not all) the resort rooms we've stayed in previously. The 1-beds are beautiful, but that is alot of points to use--hence our decision to buy enough for standard/lake view Studio (195).

Am I missing something? I know there are not alot of Studio's at VGF, but I plan on using the 11mos window to the exact day we plan on checking in. I personally just don't see the need to have excessive points for a 1-bed if we really don't need to use it? We spend ALOT of time at the resort--but not a bunch of time in the actual room. We LOVE the GF, so we figured Studio was the way to go to buy into the resort.

For me, its about the laundry! I love tossing a load in right when I wake up and by the time we are ready for our day, placing it in the dryer. It is great to not have to pack so much for our family of five and to not worry about it in the 'public' laundry rooms. I love not having loads of dirty laundry to take home. When we arrive back home, the clothes are ready to be placed back in the drawers or closet. Keeping on top of it is part of the enjoyment of the vacation for me. It feels luxurious to have a Master bedroom and to have the children in their own space.

We stayed at the Grand Californian in a studio with our family of five when the youngest was just 9 months old. Even then, it felt tight and she was in the pack and play to sleep. Now with my boys being 13 and 10 and that baby is now 4; having the ability to spread out and to gain some privacy is well worth the extra points.

However, to answer your question, nothing is wrong with studios.

 

[Minniesgal]

Personally there is no way I would stay in a VGF studio or any other studio as a family if five in fact if we can't afford a 2 bedroom we will go elsewhere or stay offsite. We bought DVC to stay in 1 or 2 bedrooms, to have a lounge area a kitchen and a washer dryer not to squeeze 5 into a studio. For me the stress of my family all in a studio would take away from my holiday but we wouldn't stay 5 in a hotel room either. In my opinion studios are for couples only and even then I would prefer to book a 1 bedroom.

Now that said it is a very personal thing. If your children are still little the studio may be fine for you for a while. I think it changes once they hit puberty my two boys won't share a bed and we all need our own space now my kids are 18, 15, and 10 privacy is an issue. My husband and I also want the king master to escape into for a while.

Don't let people put you off everyone has their own experience but for me the point of DVC was to get out of a hotel room and into more space and for that reason the studios do not mAke sense to me

 

[Disneyaddictz]

We started the opposite, staying off property for more space and to save money, then moved on property and brought so much food, now we are more obsessed with the dining side that all we care about is where we will eat!!! We are not typical dining out people either we literately spend about 45 min in our rooms aside from sleep! Ill squeeze in a room if the resort is in an area close to the parks

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[crisi]

For us its a privacy thing first and foremost. I didn't think I'd cook in the room, but we almost always have breakfast, and it does often involve the stove. I didn't think I'd do laundry, but with it there, we throw in a load every day. But for me, the big thing is the privacy. For me, there is no value in a DVC studio - in a hotel room I want two real beds if I have my family with me and someone who comes in every day to make them.

 

[CarolMN]

We just bought into the VGF last week, and ever since then all I've been hearing is how we will not be happy with just a Studio, and we should have bought enough points for a 1-bed. I don't understand this AT ALL, as we walked the Studio's, and LOVE them. They are bigger than any deluxe resort room we would stay in, and have capability to sleep 5. I think the room is more than big enough for our family--and has much more room than most (f not all) the resort rooms we've stayed in previously. The 1-beds are beautiful, but that is alot of points to use--hence our decision to buy enough for standard/lake view Studio (195).

Am I missing something? I know there are not alot of Studio's at VGF, but I plan on using the 11mos window to the exact day we plan on checking in. I personally just don't see the need to have excessive points for a 1-bed if we really don't need to use it? We spend ALOT of time at the resort--but not a bunch of time in the actual room. We LOVE the GF, so we figured Studio was the way to go to buy into the resort.

If studios work for your family and you are happy with the accommodations, there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying in studios.

That said, I also have come to prefer the 1 bedrooms for the two of usfor all of the reasons mentioned above plus a few more. If you & your family ever get to that point, you can borrow points for a few years and then if necessary, buy more points.

 

[missycj96]

We're at vgf with 2,adults and 2 small kids. The room itself is plenty spacious- at least compared to a regular hotel room. The one thing to be aware of is that there is very limited drawer space. I dont know what the 1 br has in comparison, but that is the only issue for us. There are 2 huge drawers under the bed. One drawer only opens part of the way due to the nightstand. The nightstand has 2 small drawers- and that's it. My girls are sharing the one big drawer. I took the drawer that doesn't open and my mom used the nightstand drawers. It turned out completely fine but i was concerned when we first arrived. Interestingly, there is lots of room for suitcases, including under the bed and a good sized closet and entry. Also, kitchenette area storage is limited. So dont overpack. The actual living and sleeping space is great and feels much more spacious than blt.
I also choose studios because i like to come often and stay on longer trips, and it works for me. We think the VGF studio is great and will choose it again.

 

[boxer]

We're at vgf with 2,adults and 2 small kids. The room itself is plenty spacious- at least compared to a regular hotel room. The one thing to be aware of is that there is very limited drawer space. I dont know what the 1 br has in comparison, but that is the only issue for us. There are 2 huge drawers under the bed. One drawer only opens part of the way due to the nightstand. The nightstand has 2 small drawers- and that's it. My girls are sharing the one big drawer. I took the drawer that doesn't open and my mom used the nightstand drawers. It turned out completely fine but i was concerned when we first arrived. Interestingly, there is lots of room for suitcases, including under the bed and a good sized closet and entry. Also, kitchenette area storage is limited. So dont overpack. The actual living and sleeping space is great and feels much more spacious than blt.
I also choose studios because i like to come often and stay on longer trips, and it works for me. We think the VGF studio is great and will choose it again.

GLAD to hear you like the VGF--we cannot wait until we stay there next fall. We also noticed the minimal storage space, BUT we found lots of little nooks that we can store our luggage/clothes. Glad to hear those drawers under the beds are big, cuz that is what we planned to use for the adults. We have NO interest in cooking while on vacation, so mornings will be 'pop tarts' which do not take up much kitchen space, lol.

How close are you to the laundry? I understood that to be free, but I was not sure of the location. Gotta say I'm jealous you are there--but have a great trip!

 

[boxer]

Thanks for everyone's replies--and that is what I kinda figured would be the reason for changing out of the Studio's (the 1-beds being nice). At this point, we have ZERO interest in cooking while on vacation--as that is one of our biggest draws to Disney for the dining/resturants. I also understood the laundry to be 'free'--although you have to walk to the facility--which is no big deal, as we plan our laundry days at the pool.

We just don't spend enough time at the actual room to warrant the extra (100pts+) to buy into a 1-bed. Maybe someday we will try a different resort, but at this point we want to enjoy the VGF. We spend alot of time at the resort itself, so we are happy with the space/finish of the VGF Studio's--especially considering the time in the actual room itself.

Maybe someday we will change to a 1-bed, but that is ALOT of points to an already expensive contract.

 

[LSchrow]

If studios work for your family and you are happy with the accommodations, there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying in studios.

exactly
pre-dvc, we went from off-site (once was enough) to mods, to deluxe resorts, to concierge/suites at the deluxes. once we bought DVC, we stayed in 1bdrm (& occasionally 2bdrm) - as a family of 4. the larger accommodations were important as our children grew, & we spent more time at the resort.
now that we go as two - DD & i, or DH & i, studios are perfect we don't understand the "you'll never want a studio after a 1bdrm+" theory - we do, quite happily
simply, we have no use for a full kitchen while eating out (mostly off-site), or in room laundry just to maybe do 1 load of clothes (while we lay by the pool, or chat with strangers), or a jacuzzi (yuk) - we prefer the lack of humdrum, "real life" reminders in our room. what really matters to us are a bed and separate couch, no views of real life (cars, streets), and a balcony to watch what we would never see from our windows at home.
while we won't have more than 2 in a studio or 4 in a 1bdrm, that's our personal preference. people's preferences and priorities are different - do what fits you & your family

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for everyone's replies--and that is what I kinda figured would be the reason for changing out of the Studio's (the 1-beds being nice). At this point, we have ZERO interest in cooking while on vacation--as that is one of our biggest draws to Disney for the dining/resturants. I also understood the laundry to be 'free'--although you have to walk to the facility--which is no big deal, as we plan our laundry days at the pool. ...

Unfortunately, the free laundry facility isn't at the pool except at the DVC resorts that are only DVC resorts (OKW, SSR) because the other guests will use them and our dues pay for them. It's in the building. And you need to be on top of your clothes. So when the washer is finished, you need to be there to pop the clothes in the dryer. And when the dryer is done, you need to be there to remove your stuff. Otherwise, someone else will remove them for you. The DVC laundry rooms are not that big since only the studios need them.

 

[Sammie]

Everyone's situation as to what they like and need are different. Many are very pleased with studios.

For us personally we bought DVC for the larger accommodations and especially the full size kitchen, living room, and laundry.

We would not have bought for the use of a studio, we would have continued to book deluxe resort rooms.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm probably just repeating what others have said but your own preferences, patterns and outlooks will definitely change over time.

Our kids were 2 yrs old and 6 mos when we bought. Today they are 12 and 10. Soon they'll be teenagers. To a certain point, you can get by sharing a single room with young kids. But that may end someday.

Personally I never liked staying in Studios regardless of the kids' age. I'm a night owl and the idea of having to shut the lights and TV off at 9pm so the kids could get some sleep just doesn't jive with my concept of a "vacation." I want the privacy of a bedroom where my wife and I can unwind and spend some time together.

Also one's attitude toward the parks tends to change over time. There's no great urgency to fly out of the room at 8am for EMH and stay until closing once you've ridden Space Mountain for the 50th time.

The in-room laundry facilities are great. Throw in a load at any hour.

The kitchen is very useful. Eating restaurant meals 2-3 times per day for a week is very demanding, in my experiences...particularly with young kids. I can understand people not wanting to cook on vacation, but I'm not sure I would call it "cooking" when you're boiling spaghetti noodles and heating up a jar of sauce.

Everybody has their own take on Studio vs. 1B. In my experiences, we find our vacations to be much more relaxing when we are surrounded by the amenities of a One Bedroom as opposed to a Studio. Even though it means spending more points or shortening the trip.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

I think studios and regular hotel rooms are nice for vacations when it is just the four of us. When the girls were little all they wanted was to be with us all the time. If they got to sleep in the same room, that was just the highlight of the trip for them. A larger unit would have been a waste.

Now that they are older, we hardly see them at home as they are locked away in their bedrooms doing homework or chatting with friends on their computers. While on vacation, staying in studios brings us all back into one room again as a family. We may all four be on our computers at the same time but we are in the same room

Having said that, staying in larger units is nice especially at BLT for the added bathroom but we are all equally happy in studios.

 

[crisi]

The kitchen is very useful. Eating restaurant meals 2-3 times per day for a week is very demanding, in my experiences...particularly with young kids. I can understand people not wanting to cook on vacation, but I'm not sure I would call it "cooking" when you're boiling spaghetti noodles and heating up a jar of sauce.

And the appeal of Disney restaurants starts to wear. We aren't nearly as frequent visitors as many DVCers, but I've eaten almost everywhere I WANT to eat (we still haven't tried 50s prime time cause the kids like the Sci Fi and haven't been to Saana or Victoria and Alberts - those are the only things on the "we should do that sometime" list). Several years ago we switched to mostly signature dining, having had far too much less than great food at Disney, and signature is still often less than great, but at least its almost always a notch above good. Because we've haven't been as much - we still want to fly out of the door to ride Space Mountain, but there is almost no reason to bother with a Le Cellier reservation to eat an overpriced mediocre steak - we've had that experience three or four times, and are pretty much done with it.

We still prefer lunch and dinner in restaurants - my food preferences are beyond boiling noodles and dumping a jar of sauce over the top of it and I don't want to take vacation time to do more. But breakfast in the room is a must - I can do breakfast in the room faster and better for a LOT cheaper than I can get it at Disney without it being a lot of work and with it being on a time schedule that works for us.

 

[DisneyMim]

As others have said everything depends on YOUR family's vacation style. Everyone is not alike. We bought into DVC in October 1991 with the intention of having more room than just a hotel room. We are going next month and are staying in a 2 bedroom with 3 people. For us the point of buying into DVC was to have more room for everyone, more bathrooms, more bedrooms, a kitchen (even though I have NEVER used the stove!! LOL!! Good for breakfast and getting everyone around the table), washer and dryer (LOVE that. I do a wash almost every night). My husband and I were at WDW this past August and because it was just the two of us we stayed at the Poly in a standard room. We had a great time but always realize that when our kids are with us one room would not work. Again it just depends on what you want/need. The other thing about studios (we stayed in one one time and said never again), is that I felt the need to be very quiet and not bother the people on the other side. Not that my family is loud, but we noticed that just normal talk goes through that darn connecting door. To be fair, this also happens in regular hotel rooms too. The worse we ever encountered was at the Beach Club in a club level room. It was connecting and we heard every word from the people in the next room. We have learned to never take any kind of connecting room unless we actually want it (and the irony is the one time we did want one we didn't get it!).

At the end of the day you have to find out what works for your family. Again I say everyone is different, but since you asked I just gave my opinion.

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I have always felt that buying into DVC to stay in a studio makes NO SENSE AT ALL. First of all, it's a timeshare and as such, it should be like a vacation home. It would NOT be a vacation for me to share my bedroom with children. I love having the extra room to "get away", and I love having the laundry in the room (this would be especially important with little ones). I find we pack far less and enjoy our trip much more if we have the extra space. If I was only going to stay in a glorified "hotel room", I wouldn't bother to pay maintenance fees for it. It just wouldn't be worth it to me.

FYI, we are an "older" couple and it's often just the 2 of us, but we always stay in a 1 bedroom unless we have someone with us...then it's a 2 or 3 bedroom.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

For us it's either a studio or a 2 bedroom.

If we're there alone (just the two of us), it's always a studio. We don't mind the absense of the kitchen or laundry machines. We've learned over the years how to make restaurants and the studio kitchenette work for us. We've never been overly inconvenienced by doing laundry in the laundry room, either. Now, if there was anything that might possibly drive me to spending the extra points for the one-bedroom some day, it might be the king-sized bed or the jacuzzi tub. So far, though, I've been able to get away with using the poolside hot tubs to soak sore muscles after a long day in the parks. And those sharp "nudges" in the middle of the night when I'm taking up too much of the studio's queen-sized bed usually don't leave too bad of a bruise, either.

If there's anyone else traveling with us, we always get a two-bedroom. I don't want to be tippy-toeing around someone asleep in the living room, and I don't want to feel oblighed to go to bed when everyone else is ready.

 

[Andrew015]

I may be in the minority here, but unless my party is going to exceed the maximum occupancy limit of a studio, I see absolutely zero benefit in jumping up to a 1-bedroom. When I go on vacation, I don’t cook or do laundry. If those items were part of the agenda, I wouldn’t call it a vacation. For me, the room is simply a place to rest my head at night, shower and get ready for the day, and the studio allows me to do just that while getting all of the “on property” benefits that DVC has to offer (transportation, proximity, resort theme, etc.) for the lowest cost possible. If I wanted to spend significant amounts of time in a hotel room while on vacation, it could be done A LOT cheaper off-site. If the cost / point differential between a studio and a 1-bedroom wasn’t so drastically different, sure, I might consider it. But for me, it’s a huge pill to swallow for minimal added benefit. For some, the room plays a much bigger part of the vacation experience than it does for me, and those are the people that a 1-bedroom caters to.

For the record, I’ve stayed in a 1-bedroom, and while very nice, I had absolutely no qualms about returning to a studio. The only reason for my 1-bedroom stint was a 5-person party on my recent May trip.

 

[disneynutz]

I may be in the minority here, but unless my party is going to exceed the maximum occupancy limit of a studio, I see absolutely zero benefit in jumping up to a 1-bedroom. When I go on vacation, I don’t cook or do laundry. If those items were part of the agenda, I wouldn’t call it a vacation. For me, the room is simply a place to rest my head at night, shower and get ready for the day, and the studio allows me to do just that while getting all of the “on property” benefits that DVC has to offer (transportation, proximity, resort theme, etc.) for the lowest cost possible. If I wanted to spend significant amounts of time in a hotel room while on vacation, it could be done A LOT cheaper off-site. If the cost / point differential between a studio and a 1-bedroom wasn’t so drastically different, sure, I might consider it. But for me, it’s a huge pill to swallow for minimal added benefit. For some, the room plays a much bigger part of the vacation experience than it does for me, and those are the people that a 1-bedroom caters to.

For the record, I’ve stayed in a 1-bedroom, and while very nice, I had absolutely no qualms about returning to a studio. The only reason for my 1-bedroom stint was a 5-person party on my recent May trip.

Age a available points may be a factor. Our adult children don't mind a studio and the spend all day in the parks.

Us older folk sleep in, go into the parks once in a while, eat most of our meals in the villa and do laundry to reduce the amount of packed clothes. We consider our room and resort like a vacation home but because it's at WDW we get better landscaping, better theming, more restaurants to pick from, convenient free transportation and theme parks.

Bill

 

[dsneygirl]

For me.....I loved doing laundry when it was convenient....it allowed me to pack light. The tub was wonderful after standing in lines.....and it allowed for some romance with the private bedroom. When our son was young, we did the studio with the food plan.....when he was older....one bedroom and we made breakfast in the room.

Yep. We always did studios when we were 2 and 3, now as a family of 4 we are 1 bedroom people. I don't "cook" but I love having a fully stocked fridge with breakfast, wine and others. I love the room of a full table and breakfast bar in most as opposed to crowding around a little studio sized table for breakfast.

Like others we spend a lot more time in the room/resort now and like the amenities of a bigger room.

I have 2 boys and a 6'2" husband we will not even fit in a studio in a few years.

Never say Never