Reality of five in a studio

[TinkB278]

Hi All!

We are a family of four (with a 3.5 year old and baby) but are considering having a third child. Right now we have enough points for about a week in a one bedroom at our home resort of riviera but I prefer to do studios for at least some of our trip to stretch our points so we can go multiple times per year. I know when our kids are little we would be fine with five of us in a studio, but I’m wondering if a studio for five is actually realistic once kids are middle/high school age? Are bigger kids actually comfortable in the pull down bed under the tv? I’d like a small AKV resale contract to stretch our points further but as of right now their studios only accommodate four, I’m assuming with their next refurb this will change hopefully. Any thoughts or experiences are appreciated.

 

[SLThomas318]

So we are only a family of 4... 2 boys who just turned 6 and 8. We are already discussing wanting to go to 2 bedrooms once they are bigger so my advice is to add on We will do a studio for a couple nights if we want to save points, but we really prefer having the living/kitchen space. I think 5 would be cramped, but it depends on how you vacation and use the room.

I also don't think they can just up the studios to 5 with a refurb... I believe the room capacity has to do with codes, but I could be wrong.

 

[Bayoumomof3]

We are a family of five and have always stayed in studios. Right now, we have DS 18, DS 16, & DD 14. We prefer to stay in the studios that have 2 real beds instead of sofa beds. DD 14 fits nicely on the fold down twin bed. It is a little tight in the studios with 5, but we are a close family and don’t mind. Never stayed in a 1 BR (yet!). We only have 100 points, all we can afford is the studio. I’m not sure the boys would like sharing a full- size sofa bed, so we are limited in the resorts we try to stay at. We recently stayed in a Resort Studio at VGF and loved it!! So, bottom line, if your family gets along, a studio can work.

 

[Stargazer65]

Five of us (Me, spouse, and 3 teens) stayed in a Poly studio for 9 nights. Everyone was comfortable in the beds including the pull down. It was fine, we didn't expect a lot of privacy lounging around in the room, it was like a slumber party. We had a lot of plans and spent a lot of time doing things outside the room.

 

[FrannyFrogs]

To add the other perspective... Our family (2 parents 2 teens) travels much more harmoniously when we get two bedrooms. Everyone gets a real bed, some privacy, and easy access to a bathroom. At this point in our lives I will downgrade hotels or shorten the trip to make it happen! I'd never have thought about that when the kids were little!

 

[supersnoop]

More things to consider: flight prices and school schedules. When you're a family of 5 and paying for five plane tickets, it might make more sense to limit yourselves to a single trip, especially if you're working around school breaks.

 

[TinkB278]

More things to consider: flight prices and school schedules. When you're a family of 5 and paying for five plane tickets, it might make more sense to limit yourselves to a single trip, especially if you're working around school breaks.

The thought of paying for an extra annual pass and plane ticket are the two biggest thing holding me back from wanting a third

 

[CarolynFH]

I also don't think they can just up the studios to 5 with a refurb... I believe the room capacity has to do with codes, but I could be wrong.

That’s what I thought too — until they added the single Murphy beds to BWV & BCV studios! And later started letting DVC points bookings for 5 in a 1BR as long as the guests provided their own bedding etc.

 

[robinb]

Hi All!

We are a family of four (with a 3.5 year old and baby) but are considering having a third child. Right now we have enough points for about a week in a one bedroom at our home resort of riviera but I prefer to do studios for at least some of our trip to stretch our points so we can go multiple times per year. I know when our kids are little we would be fine with five of us in a studio, but I’m wondering if a studio for five is actually realistic once kids are middle/high school age? Are bigger kids actually comfortable in the pull down bed under the tv? I’d like a small AKV resale contract to stretch our points further but as of right now their studios only accommodate four, I’m assuming with their next refurb this will change hopefully. Any thoughts or experiences are appreciated.

I am the queen of booking studios. I love to get more bang for our buck. We only have one child and a studio was pretty darn crowded when she was a teen. We are planning a trip with her and her boyfriend in September and we booked at 1 BR. You *might* be OK in a Polynesian studio which has 3 beds and a tub and shower.

 

[Pens Fan]

Once kids hit the teen years, I think things just go smoother if everyone has a little bit of privacy and space. Before we bought into DVC, we'd book a connecting room for our teenage son most of the time when we travelled. Everyone just seemed happier . Five in a studio sounds kind of awful to me, but obviously from the responses not everyone agrees. Our son is an adult at this point, but when he's with us we book 2BR's. Heck when it's just my husband and I we book 1 BR's. I guess our family really needs space from each other .

 

[sethschroeder]

For me I wouldn't even do a studio for an annual trip with my 2 kids let alone 3 kids. I want some privacy on the parental side during the trips.

We might do a studio for a single night somewhere when traveling and such but not for a week long vacation. I would rather stay off site at that point or simply vacation somewhere else.

 

[BillPA]

Well you can fit 20 in a VW bug.... (the world record) so 5 in a studio is almost nothing. But there is NO WAY I would try it.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

My wife does it all the time Her, three kids, and Au pair..... kids are 13, 10, 8

I thinks she is nuts....

She thinks it is prefect.....

what your expectation of vacation are and what someone else are are to completely different things...

My rule, if the teens and adults don't have a real bed it is going to be a horrible vacation

 

[tjkraz]

Generally speaking, teenagers will not be pleased having to share a bed IMO. Most of the studios only have full-size sofa beds. That's not much personal space. Given that sleep quality is pretty important to having a relaxing vacation at WDW, I think you're asking for trouble there. One kid being grumpy because he's spent multiple days getting kicked or elbowed by a sibling is going to make everyone miserable. There's also the possibility of someone in the room snoring, wanting to stay up later than others, waking up earlier than others, etc.

The pull-down twins are fine for pretty much anyone who is comfortable in a normal twin. They're a couple inches shorter. Not a huge difference. Main thing is larger people need to watch that they don't hit their head when standing up. The top shelf hangs out over the bed a bit.

 

[lorimt]

For us, it’s not just about beds. Two bathrooms has become more essential now that the boys are older. I don’t want to share one bathroom with my husband and our 10, 15 and 25 year old boys. We limit ourselves to BLT and AKL one bedrooms for the extra bathroom.

 

[RoseGold]

I'm not sure I'll be able to plan WDW at all in that age range. I'm not going to miss out on dance or sports meets or whatever, and that stuff seems to conflict with going to Disney. Especially with 3 kids, this could be hard to plan.

 

[PatMcDuck]

A lot depends on the kids, we had 4 and booked 2BRs. The teen boys would not share a bed, the one girl would not share with one of her brothers. We kept the special needs son in the primary room on a mattress. At one point the other 3 kids used a 2nd air mattress in the 2nd BR, or the oldest took the pull out couch. Yes, we had a few trips using 2 air matresses. HA.

For a non DVC trip, we once had 3 of the kids with us, so 5 in a hotel room at Cedar Point. The one bathroom was a problem, the boys were using a bathroom in the lobby sometimes, lol.

Poly is a weird layout but has a little more space at least. And I use the fold down under the TV myself sometimes on trips, I am 5'5"

 

[cvjw]

We purchased DVC so our family of 4 could have more space on vacation. Not the same amount as the Disney hotel rooms we were staying in. When our boys got out of elementary school, regular hotel rooms were out for us. A studio with 5 grown people in it does not seem like a vacation for us.

 

[kboo]

Two bathrooms has become more essential now that the boys are older. I don’t want to share one bathroom with my husband and our 10, 15 and 25 year old boys.

That sounds .... crowded.

We have 2 girls, 7 and 11 for now. They would prefer we stay in a studio still!! If we are going to stay in a studio, it needs to be with a Murphy bed, and preferably 2 showers (Riviera and VGF). When using our BLT points we will stay in a 1BR although the kids have complained about the sofa beds. Ironically, the bathroom layout is better for 4 or more in a studio than it is in a 1br at RIV or VGF.

If your question is about the murphy beds - yes, adults can and do fit on them and they are so comfortable. MY 80 year old dad slept on the single one in a VGF 1BR last year for a week. The sofa beds are not great (my kids will sleep on them because, hey, they're at Disney), but if you're thinking of adding on at AKV, I'd consider saving and using those points for a 1br. Thankfully, if the 3rd child is only a gleam in your eye, you have ~4 years to think about a resale contract and a lot can happen with prices during that time....

 

[Minniesgal]

Personally I would choose not to go before I would do 5 in a studio. The reality is the best of DVC for families is the one bedrooms so you can put the kids to bed then still have a room for mum and dad to have an evening