Dealing with the high weekend DVC points?

[Simba's Mom]

We're recent DVC members, and we knew about the much higher DVC point values on weekends. Just wondering what people do about them. Do you go to a hotel on weekends (but only at the beginning or the end of your vacation)? Or if you want to stay 6 nites, does it seem to make a difference whether you "move down" (go, say, from a 1-BR to a studio) at the beginning or end of your trip? Do you try for member cash at the DVC resort? Do you simply not stay any more than Sunday through Thursday? Or do you "bite the bullet" and just pay the higher point values on Friday and Saturday? I'd just appreciate others' ideas of what they've done. Thanks.

[RoutemanDan]

We bite the bullet and pay the higher point value.:D

I hate the hassle of switching rooms.

[Pinnie]

We end up just biting the bullet, so to speak. With my teaching job, we really don't have much choice but going on weekends and in the more pricey seasons. That's one reason we bought as many points as we did and just added on another 50 today!!!!


pin
remember the magic
DVC/BCV 2002

[Richyams]

You look at it in whole week or longer blocks. So many points for a week, or my usual twelve night. I do make those twelve nights from Sunday till a week from the following Friday to minimize weekends. There is no way in the world that I would move in the middle or any time in my stay.

I just couldn't be bothered.

[MdmMim]

I bite the bullet, too. I look at the points (as Rich suggests)--in whole weeks or blocks. I purchased adequate points to cover weekends.

[4greatboys]

We are looking into the dvc and I got got my packet today in the mail. I have gone from thinking I will need 150 min to about 300, lol. We are a family of 6 so we can only stay in the 2 bdrms and like most of you I dont want to move during my stay. How many points did you start out with simba?

[SnowWitch]

I guess I'm in the minority. Although we bought plenty of points , I'm cheap! For 1 Friday night at VB in a 2 bedroom, I can have 5 nights in a studio at the BWV's. So here is what we do: When we stay at Disney, we drive so we like to book a weekend at a deluxe, pay cash, and relax. Last summer we spent 3 nights at the AKL, enjoying the resort. Then we moved on to the BWV's for 6 nights. Next summer we are going to VB again we will pay cash for the weekend nights and points for Sun-Fri.

We still enjoy staying at other Disney deluxes, so we get to enjoy other resorts and relax. And maximize our points!!!

We live in Ga and tend to take 2-3 trips a year anywhere from 5-9 days each. We still bank 150-200 a year. If I could only take one longgggg trip a year, I would probably bite the bullet and use points on weekends.

[Dean]

We're only 4 hours away so go Sunday to Friday, that's the perfect length of time for us.

[Laurabearz]

We bought enough points to cover any weekend worries....

[Peterd]

We do both. We now stay at one of the Universal hotels on the first weekend, go to the BW for either 12 more days or on the middle weekend go back to Universal. We love the perks they offer there. They give the AP holders and resort guests so much more, and we love the front of the line option. The BW IS fun on the weekends with the D.J.s, excitement, and other stuff, but to go to a park on the weekend and not worry about lines, can't beat it. We sometimes get two or three rooms at the other Disney resorts on the first weekend before our check in at DVC., and it's a nice change.
It seems we're doing a family reunion every year now, and we wind up with 7 to 8 rooms, last year with help from a fellow DVC member from Chicago, had 11 rooms (thanks again Patty). So the extra points for the weekends, would probably cut off one family, so some decide to pay on the weekends or go to Universal with us. This next trip, we've set up camp at both Universal and Disney. We have a GV for 13 days waiting for a few more days, and ressies at the same time at the Hard Rock.

When we do the mods on weekends, we like the CBR pool at night with the band, the Coronado is great, love the contemp., GF, and WL. It's fun to sample the other resorts once in awhile. Once every two years we do a full two weeks at our resorts in DVC, but it's tough with all Universal gives their guest lately. It would be nice if DVC members were treated like they were a little more special than 10% off some restaurant's lunch menu, (drinks and tip not included):rolleyes:

[Lesley]

We switch resorts a lot during trips.....but not usually to save weekend points. But we are getting pretty borrowed out....so we may do it in the future! Our trips tend to snowball....we start with a week, add a few days at the beginning, a few more at the end...then a few more at the end again! Our last trip was over a weekend and we stayed on cash at POR.....no more points to use if we want to go in 2003!

So far we've booked studios for over weekends....but our upcoming trip has us in a preferred view 2br for a whole week. Out of 4 weekend nights on this trip....3 are at DVC.

I guess my point is.....until we add on again, we may have to avoid weekends for a couple of years until we're not so borrowed ahead. No problem for us though! We like trying all the different resorts and switching rooms isn't really a problem....the luggage can be sent from one resort to the next. The only downside is being roomless for several hours.

[Eeyore2U]

We bite the bullet also. Maybe as we do more adults only trips we'll do Sun-Fri but right not we just go.

[timC]

For our trip next summer we intend to avoid the high point cost for weekend stays by taking a 3 day cruise :rolleyes::teeth:

[Regina]

One of the biggest surprises when I first found this board was finding out that members move or pay cash on weekends.

We've never done this.

[DebbieB]

Before joining DVC, our trips were usually 5 nights, Thursday to Tuesday. Since that would be 2 weekend nights, we thought we would do Sunday-Friday. But airfare is horrible if you don't stay over a Saturday night, so we usually go Saturday to Friday, the extra night on a weekday isn't bad for points and gives us more time. I figured that all out before I joined DVC and based my point buy on 5 or 6 nights twice a year with 1 weekend night.

[ncligs]

We always go down in Feb(President'sWeek) for 6 days, Friday through Thursday (DW -teacher). When we go in summer we always stay a Saturday- thursday(6 nites).
We always fly down so we have to stay a Saturday to get a cheap fare.We have never stayed off-site to avoid weekends. Thats also why the Marriott by DD has that special for $25 night, it is only for Sun-thurs:( , I would consider there since it is basically on WDW property and we always rent a car anyway. If it would have included a Friday or Saturday, that would be the only place we would have tried to avoid the weekend pts.

:rolleyes:

[DaisyDebbie]

I haven't moved yet. It really is a hassle, especially with kids ;)

But I never say never. :)

[Mickey527]

I have never stayed at a DVC on a weekend.
I plan my trip so I have a few days at US and off property so I can do all the Orlando stuff, like shopping and seeing the sites, like Old Town, etc...
Then I go onto disney property from Sunday till check out on Friday. I usually stay somewhere off property for the night and get a fresh start in the am if I am driving home, and if I am flying I get 1/2 day to do more shopping on Saturday before my flight.
the last time I stayed at BCV I just couldn't leave,but had no more points left for Friday night. So I called downstairs and with my member discount I paid $410 to stay in my 2 bedroom for another night. Definately worth it, the 2 bedrooms are so spacious, but not something I can do every time. Peggie

[DeeP]

I do both, sometimes I stay at a DVC resort for Fri & Sat and sometimes I check into a non DVC WDW resort for those nights and sometimes I book the trip arriving on a Sun night to avoid the weekends, it vairies from trip to trip. I greatly enjoy staying at other WDW resorts besides DVC resorts so moving is no big deal to me, it has given me a chance to stay many times at every WDW resort but 2 and I really enjoy it. There are several non DVC resorts that I would rather stay at then some DVC resorts, so if I can not get into a DVC resort I prefer, I would much rather stay in a non DVC resort that I like than waste points to stay in a DVC resort that I really do not enjoy. I have always been lucky and am able to get a good rate at a non DVC resort for the cash nights and I am much happier being in a resort that I enjoy than one I do not care for just for the sake of using pts. My situation is different from a large family though because my trips are usually myself and another adult so a room at resort/location I prefer is perfect and much more to my liking than being in a 1 BR in a location/resort that I do not care for.

[DVC Grandpa]

Living 1,200 miles away and always driving, we stay an extended period of time each time we visit WDW. Last February, after 10 years of rejecting the thought of buying into DVC, we took the plunge and bought two contracts at BCV. (The second contract was to be assured we had enough points for our extended weekend stay without having to change locations or travel to other offered resorts). We will find out if our strategy is correct or if we should sell the second contract. Only time will tell. :confused:

[lsutigger2]

More bullet biting here. We usually go once a year (although I have loose plans for three this year! How did that happen?) and just use our points to make us happy. That is one of the wonderful things about DVC is the flexibility. Something for everyone!


:p :p :p :p

[cgcw]

We just shortened our Christmas trip in order to stay in a 1 bedroom rather than a studio and not be staying Saturday night because of the points needed. We checked into a cash night and it was way too pricey. What we might end up checking into is a night someplace in Orlando before heading home Sunday. When we go to HH, we have enough points to stay Sunday-Saturday....those Saturday night points there are killers so unless we can get a cash night there, we won't be staying.

[Paul in CT]

We don't let the extra weekend points bother us. We just plan our vacations on the days we can get away and on the best airfare. For example, I just found that I could save $25/ticket on Delta if I changed our departure day from Monday to Tuesday or Wednesday so I used the savings to pay for nearly another night at POFQ. I know it will cost us a little more, but it's an extra night at a resort I would like to try. :)

Changing resorts does not bother us, but we still don't try to avoid weekends at DVC. We even paid the "freight" for the Millennium NYE which was prohibitive, something like 75 points if I recall correctly. It was worth it!!! :D

[PamOKW]

I bought DVC to enjoy DVC. I also bite the bullet and very often end up staying three or more high-priced nights.

The weekend rates jump out at you but, if you look at the rest of the chart, you are sometimes paying the same to stay in a studio as to stay in GV, depending on time of year. I just work with my points to get what I want. I might consider staying somewhere else to stretch points or try another resort but I hate spending "more money" for something less than what I've already bought. ;)

[gracelrm]

Add one more to the list of bullet biters! We bought what we thought would be enough points, but as you all know - there is no such thing! We added on once and now feel like we have enough for a week every other year during the summer on site and a few days at Vero and a few at HH during our school breaks. We're both teachers and have a very small vacation window due to DH's extended days so we just plan for a week at VWL and use our points. We also drive, since DH won't fly, so we go for the long haul. I think it would be great to be able to fly down for a few days and be particular about what days we stay, but we can't so we just enjoy it this way.

[Caskbill]

We have family living in Clearwater, FL so usually visit them for the weekend. This works out best for us because 1) We don't have to spend weekend points to stay at WDW. 2) We get to see family while we're in Florida. 3) We're not at WDW on the weekends when the crowds get larger.

At other times we have taken our RV to WDW and stayed in DVC Sun-Thur and then stayed in the RV at Ft. Wilderness for Fri-Sat.

One time we did move off property and stayed in an Orlando hotel for the weekend. It was nice, but too much of a hassle. So don't plan on doing that again. However, we are considering to spend some weekends at Universal. I've heard so many good things about the hotels there, and front of the line access on a weekend would make visiting the Universal parks a lot nicer.

We have spent some weekends at DVC, but since 1993, probably averaging less than 5% of our points.

[dlr25]

We fly in on a Saturday and go to the Kennedy Space Center, Seaworld or some other one day thing. We spend the night in the cheapest, clean chain hotel (i.e. Best Western) we can find. The next morning we're within a short drive of WDW and arrive rested and excited to start our real vacation.

We do this because we are cheap! We only have 150 points so those weekends could really kill us. Also, I hate the idea that if my flight is delayed or some other delay beyond my control I will arrive at my DVC resort just in time to sleep. It just seems like a waste to me.

I understand not wanting to move and if you have plenty of points you don't have to. Frankly, we're thrilled with what 150 pts does get us: Sun-Thurs in a fabulous DVC resort.

[SamSam]

Having our own business and with both our children grown and out on their own, we find that 3 & 4 day weekend trips work best for us. We bite the bullet and spend the extra points for weekends! Hopefully, at some point in the 'not so distant future' we'll be able to take a week and take advantage of the lower weekday rental points. Until that time, we are just pleased that we finally realized that DVC was the way to go!!!:bounce: :bounce:

[trishy]

Coming from California, we do long vacations and split the time between resorts. This last time we did Sun - Thurs at VWL; Fri - Sat at AKL; Sun - Thurs at BWV - followed by a cruise. Done this the past 3 times and didn't find it a hassle at all - even with the 3 kids (6, 9, 12). Looking forward to doing a weeklong OKW or BWV GV one of these years though :p - wouldn't want to split that up ;) .

[dmadman43]

We have schedule around kids school vacations. We also live in Seattle so we prefer to not sacrifice our rare beautiful summers up her for time in hot, muggy Fla. So, we go during mid-winter or spring school breaks. So, we typically leave on a Sat and return the following Sat. It takes ALL DAY to fly from Seattle to Orlando. You can rarely get in before 5:00 pm if you are lucky. The first The first time we went we "bit the bullet" and stayed the Sat night at OKW. I then thought: what a rip! The next time we did as peterd does...stayed the weekend at Universal, on property. That worked out great. Two days was plenty for Universal for us. We then checked in on Monday at OKW. Will likely do something similar this coming April. I've concluded I do not like spending points on the first night I arrive in Orlando when all we end up doing is going to dinner, grocery shopping, upacking, then going to bed. But, that's mainly as to due with the time it take us to travel from Seattle to Orlando.

[musical2]

Well here is what we are doing this December. We are arriving to OKW on Sunday, Dec. 1, and leaving on Friday Dec. 6. We drive down to my sister's home in West Palm Beach on Friday and visit with them for the weekend then return to WDW on Sunday Dec. 8. at BCV and stay until Friday Dec. 13. This way we stay only on night that take weekday points and still get an almost 2 week vacation in Florida using only the weekday points. If we stayed the one weekend it would be almost twice as many points.

Bart

[RweTHEREyet]

I like to stretch my points as far as they will go. We have not used points for a Friday or Saturday yet. Having said that, I will be using them for a Friday and Saturday for an upcoming stay at BCV, but only for a studio. We have not minded changing resorts, but there are no little people involved either and that might make a difference.

I have always found when we decide to change resorts, it is best to start at the bottom and work your way up. Start with a regular hotel room and then move to DVC or start with 2 studios and then move to the 2 bedroom. Moving the other direction is usually a downer.

Good luck with your decision.

[OKWKirt]

This will be our third year in a row for two trips, a nine day stay in June and a four day weekend in Dec (2000), and Oct last year and this year. We bought our points to use and would not move or pay cash. The short trips do take up points for a two bdrm Thur, Fri, and Sat.

[Towncrier]

When we first joined DVC in 1995, we paid cash for weekends on the advice of our DVC sales rep (taking advantage of the 25% discount off of rack rate). This way we could stretch our vacation from 6 days on points to 9 days with a combination of points and cash. We had 210 points to spend, and a 2BR at OKW was 30 points a night during the week. So we did 5 days on points, 2 days on cash, then 2 more days on points.

Since we purchased a 230 point resale in 1999, we just use points for everything. I divide the total points needed by the number of days we stay, and I came to the same conclusion as Richyams.

Least expensive: Stay 5 nights or less, avoiding weekends
Next best: Stay 6 nights (1 weekend) or 12 nights (2 weekend)

Everything else causes the average points needed per day to increase.

We just happen to have (almost) enough points to stay 12 nights a year at OKW in a 2br, so our cash paying, room changing days are over.

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate all the comments. The problem is that we only have 175 points and are really trying to conserve. But, I feel the "need" for an add-on a'comin'!

[mickey7861]

We stay Sun-Thurs at DVC and then do the WDW deluxe stays (or family visits) on the Fri-Sat. This year we tried AKL....wow it was wonderful. I love to resort hop, always have even before DVC.

[zurgswife]

We switch and only stay 6 nights.....

[OKW91]

I guess we are lucky, my sister in law lives in Tampa, so we spend the weekends with her! We have stayed for 7 and 9 nights in the one bedroom, but only when we have banked some points from the previous year. We usually do the Sunday thru Thursday night routine, having family near by is a big advantage!

[vernon]

Pretty much all of the above at different times. I will always try to avoid usinging points over a weekend, but have done so because it made sense ( or was too much hassle not to).

If I was to fly in on a Saturday, I'd book a motel for the night and go to WDW EARLY the following day. For one night I'd pack clothes for the following day in a travel bag and not unpack the rest of the stuff.

If I planned to spend time at US or BG I'd book a couple of nights in accommodation there in the middle of the trip, if going up to HH I'd make sure I spent at least one night in a motel on route and again arrive at the DVC resort EARLY the next day to make the most of the facilities, and at times I've paid cash for weekends when I found the $$price made that a viable option.

It's really a question of what makes the best sense on each trip and what other plans I have for those trips. IMHO the biggest factor is I plan to be doing "off site stuff" like visit other parks etc then I don't find it easy to justify paying the premium of Disney service if I don't get the benefit because I'm at Universal.

[sumessefui]

We look at the points on a per week basis and never move. We took weekends into account when we bought our points and use them. Besides, if everyone avoided weekends, DVC might change the point schedule and raise the weekday points.

[Pa@okw95]

I stay at the Hilton on Friday and Saturday then move in OKW on Sunday. I like it this way, it gives us a chance to stay other places then enjoy our home way from home.

[BrianBWV]

We purchased our points expecting to go for a full week, so it's already factored in. However, if we were to do an 8-day stay, it certainly wouldn't be Fri-Sat. We would do Thurs-Fri to eliminate a third weekend day's worth of points.

BrianBWV

[dianeschlicht]

We have always looked at it as a week of timeshare. That includes the weekends, and we purchased with that number in mind. Of course, now we tend to go for more than 1 week, so we like to fly in early mid week and fly out on a Friday so we don't have to use 2 weekend's worth of points!

[POLLY ANN]

Hey, that's a great idea going to visit relatives on the weekends! Now I just wish I had some relatives living in Florida to visit!! lol

Seriously, we bought our points planning to stay weekends, too. I guess I'm stingy with my cash, instead of my points! ;)

[EmptyNester]

I'd rather spend my 'cash' elsewhere... :)

We haven't even used our points yet, but we purchased enough points to allow for weekend stays. Too much hassle (for us) to unpack, repack, move, unpack again...

[PrincessMom24]

:earsgirl: We are planning to make our first trip "home" since becoming DVC members this September. Although we will be going Sunday through Tuesday, when I sat down to figure out the rest of the year I realized I would be taking my school-aged children out too many days. I tried to plan it around school days off that are not national holidays, like teacher planning days etc. and then just maybe missing one day and using points for one weekend night. I am trying to get the best use of my points while working around everyone's schedules. Quite a challenge, but I'm up for it.
Princess Mom to Four

[yesdisneyfool]

Bite the bullet as few times as possible. We need to plan around DD school schedules so we must include weekends. We all love being in Disney so we just completed a small addon in April 2002 that will let us spend more time in the magic. Just booked a few days Christmas week. This will be our 4th stay in Disney for 2002. :bounce:

Now, 2003 may be another challenge...so far we have one trip booked and working on another. :bounce:

[DVC1996]

Originally posted by Simba's Mom
Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate all the comments. The problem is that we only have 175 points and are really trying to conserve......


I understand exactly how you feel, because I initially had the same concern. We originally bought a small contract and the first couple of years we did primarily stay at the DVC resorts during weekdays and avoided the high weekend pts. In recent years we have added on more pts and have flown down a few times for extended weekends. I would suggest just following your instincts on how to best utilize your points for a particular vacation. It's just nice knowing that with DVC you have the flexibility to enjoy many options. :D

[Disney Doll]

We have either paid cash for the weekend, rather than use points or we have stayed at a regular hotel for the weekend and moved to the DVC property for the week.

[doubletrouble_vb]

So far I've just stayed Saturday night leaving Wednesday or Thursday.

However i really like the Universal/Not Disney idea and will be looking into that in the future....but not for a short trip!

[colleen costello]

We moved rooms this summer, but it was not to save points. We got 3 nights at BCV when it opened, then it was full so we moved to OKW. We did save a few points, but here is what I found. The move was very stressful. Not to my husband or kids, who just go along happily, but to me, MOM, responsible for all the repacking and unpacking and "Did we leave something behind?" With 2 children we have a lot of STUFF and I felt like the Beverly Hillbillies when the bellman took all our junk! He was so sweet and assured me other families have just as much crap as we do!

I wanted to come down a day early and so we DID just add on a cash night. I would do that again. I picked the resort that happened to be "on sale" -- Coronado Springs -- and we spent one night there. As it was the first night and we were moving the next day, I barely unpacked. The next morning we had the bellman pack up everything and send it to BCV. This is a way to add-on a night and save weekend points. For $114 I got a night at Coronado -- where we had never been and which we just loved -- and then I checked in to my DVC on Sunday. We always stay a full week or more regardless of points, but the extra-night at Coronado was an extra-treat!

[mickeyc]

This year the flights from Newark to Orlando have been cut back unless you want to pay high prices for direct flights. As a result we booked a flight mid-afternoon on Saturday and we did not arrive in BCV until 8:00pm. We were accustomed to arriving early in the day. It seemed like a waste of points to check-in and go to dinner then back to the villa. In the future if we have to take a late flight we will stay either at the airport and check-in the next day at WDW.

We met other DVC members who had 300pts and they advised us they avoid week-end points on a regular basis in order to get 4 to 5 weeks a year at WDW. They advised us they usually stay one or two nights at the value resorts then move to the villas. It sounded like a plan to me in order to maximize the use of points. Whatever anyone does it is great to get away. Enjoy!

[mjs805]

We just bought DVC this year and based our purchase on approximately 10 nights per trip including weekends. For our first trip we are staying Tuesday to Friday for 10 nights and don't want to deal with the hassle of moving out and back in to save points.

We live far enough away that we won't be making more than 1 trip per year, so I just want to settle in and enjoy myself. When I think of a relaxing vacation, I don't think of changing hotels twice during a trip. A Disney vacation is hectic enough. I want to unpack on day 1 and not worry about packing again until it is time to leave the World.

That said, if our trip ended on Sunday, I would consider moving to another Disney resort on Friday, since we would not have to move a second time. Plus, I'm gonna miss staying at Coronado Springs, Dixie Landings and the Polynesian. ;) I will never stay off-site again.

Maybe when our sons are older, the idea of moving around will seem more appealing, but for now I'll just settle into my home away from home.

Mike

48 Days Until our first trip "home"

[mtdewhead]

We've decided to book Sun-Thur at DVC, usually that's enough time if we're driving down, because the trip down lengthens our vacation. However, since we're flying in December, we've decided to come in on Friday night and stay at the HOliday Inn Family Suites (kidsuites) until checking in on Sunday. For us, the day spent traveling consumes the day. This way we can get the most out of our day Sunday at DVC, when we transfer over earlier. Also, it's like two vacation in one: we have a rented car so we can go see some sites around Orlando on Saturday, shop, etc, and still have a great "step up" to look forward to on Sunday!