170 pts...need "old-timers" advise on best use

[trampslady]

Hey all you well-seasoned, Disney lovin' DVCers! My husband and I purchased BCV sight unseen shortly after returning from our very first visit ever to DisneyWorld. Call us crazy, but we fell in love with everything Disney and look forward to many more years of fun! It's just the two of us and I am fortunate enough to work for the very best airline in the world, which affords us the opportunity to fly free!

We purchased only 170 points and banked this year. We will be visiting DisneyWorld again in December, but staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge with my mother and grandmother, as we wanted them to experience the resort.

Question: With all this talk about adding on before the points go up, I'm a little concerned that our 170 points will fall short. I realize that the number of points a family needs is a very personal thing and depends on the size of room and/or what time of year you prefer to visit. However, I was hoping that some folks out there who have 170-200 points could shed some light on how they make the most of their points.

Thanks!!!!!

ps....our first visit "home" (besides a peek in December) will be next September if we can wait that long!!

 

[robinb]

I had just 230 points for 5 years. The way that we stretched points was to never stay on a Friday or Saturday night. You use just as many points for a 2 day weekend then the 5 week nights. The other way we stretched points is to stay in a 1 BR (or 2 BR) one stay and a studio the next. We also trade off between extended family trips where we rent a 2 BR plus extra studios and nuclear family trips.

Good luck!

 

[ZerasPride]

We are 170 points owners and even though I'd like more points, I think we'll do just fine with what we have. We should be empty nesters in a couple of years so we will be able to travel in low point season. Our home resort is Hilton Head and we plan to stay 10 days each December which will use 126 points in a one bedroom (a bargain, I think). We plan on banking the extra points for a couple of years and then every third year spending a week at OKW in a one bedroom unit and a few days at Vero in a one bedroom unit and we should still have a few points left over.

I would like to add on but I like the deluxe hotels at Disney (and Universal's Portofino too) and want to spend some time at those resorts plus there are other places we want to go and I don't want all my vacation eggs in one basket, so to speak. Reading these boards and getting an e-mail from Disney and a letter telling you the price is going up can give you the "need more points" fever but we'll survive on what we've got (and actually I'm grateful we were able to buy into DVC at all) .

Have a wonderful time dreaming of ways to use your points!

 

[PamOKW]

The original minimum purchase for DVC was 230 points. This amount makes trading out for other timeshares (which is done in weekly blocks) easier. However, 170 points is still above the current 150 minimum and gives you lots of options with DVC resorts and the Concierge Collection.

Sounds like you've been bitten by the WDW bug and plan to return more often now. Think about how often that might be, for how long, and what times of the year. Also, do you think you'll plan to stay most often in a studio? Or, will a 1-bedroom be the norm? How about other folks....will you usually travel with other people and maybe need even more space? 2 studios, a 2 bedroom, a GV? All things to consider. Also, are you planning to always stay at BCV or will you mix up the DVC resorts from time to time? OKW and BWV standard view are lower in point requirements.

Now, take a look at the point charts and see whether you've got roughly what you need for points. If it's close you're probably fine. If it's way off, you might want to think about adding on. My letter about the price increase also said that your guide could help you determine whether or not you've got the right amount of points. You could have a your guide take a look at your results and see whether he/she agrees.

 

[Scoootch]

Initially, we bought just 150 pts (our home resort is OKW)and that was 5 yrs ago. We Came down every year in Sept. for at least a week and sometimes again for another week in May. Being that Sept. is one of the lowest point times of the year (and great time as far as crowds) it worked out great for us. If we were only coming down for the Sept. trip we would do a just under a week in a 1 bdrm - if we wanted to get 2 trips that year we would do just a week in a studio for 80pts. and then get that 2nd trip in because we'd have the extra pts. to do so. How many pts you will use really depends on how often you will want to visit and what times of year as well as if you will want a bigger size unit or a smaller size. For us, we bought into DVC because we used to come down every year for at least a week and we'd stay at the moderate resorts and DVC was just such a great value since we go every year. So to just get a studio when we went worked out wonderful. Now that we are members and have become somewhat spoiled with getting to stay in a much bigger unit without it being so much more expensive (cash wise), we like to stay in the bigger size units and have since added on. Plus we now have a child which adds to the convenience of having the kitchen. With a 150 pts you can really get a good week or 2 out of your stay if you go at the right times of the year and don't need to have the biggest size unit. Now that we have moved to Florida (we used to live in N.J.) we go too often - lol .so as long as you don't get spoiled like we did, you should do just fine. Of course, if you are considering getting more pts now would be a better time to do it than when they go up even more. Best of luck! Hope you enjoy!

 

[crisi]

We aren't old timers, although we are old timers to Disney - we are new DVC members.

We own 150 points. I've discovered that I don't really want to go to Disney every single year - its a little like having fudge cake for dessert every night. My sister and I discovered this while we were in college - every year at Disney gets boring. (Note, this is not true for everyone, there are plenty of people here who could gladly spend weeks every year at Disney and still want more).

So we are planning to use our points every other year. 300 points puts us in a two bedroom for a week in October (our preferred travel time). In our non-Disney years, we will visit other places.

Like ZerasPride, I'd still like to try some of the other hotels, do a weekend at Universal - there are plenty of other destinations on my list - at Disney, in Orlando, and worldwide - so I don't think I'll feel point poor (unless we start looking at hosting a lot of family and friends).

 

[erikthewise]

I'm new at this game, too, with 155 points. Here's some suggestions.

-- Don't use your points for anything other than staying at DVC resorts. Everything else is cheaper if you use cash. It's fine for people with several hundred points to use some of them in other ways, but not for us.

-- If you want to use points for more than five or six nights a year, plan to stay in studios.

-- Don't use points for more than one weekend night per year.

-- Split your stay between a DVC resort (during the week) and a non-DVC resort (on weekends). There are plenty of great resorts at WDW and there's no reason to give them up entirely.

-- As already mentioned, try to go during Adventure or Choice seasons.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We bought 175 points recently so I'm afraid I can't give you any tips. Just very interested in listening to the responses. But I wanted to say "Welcome home" to a fellow Texan DVC member.