do most people do this booking a full week??

[karrit2000]

It isn't worth it to me to have to move just to save points. We normally stay in a studio so it's not as big a cost as a 2BR for the weekends. There are also a lot of people especially during F & W who will stay in a 1BR during the week & move to a studio for Fri & Sat to save points and they stay for several weeks moving each weekend. We had to move 2 times during our 2 week trip 2 years ago & the moving days were totally wasted days to me.

 

[MrsNick]

I've done the moving thing, and it's a hassle (and DH gets crabby). So we don't really move.

That said, I have a contract on the smaller side, so sometimes I will pay cash for a room on a weekend night, but I reserve the same room type at the same resort so we don't have to move. This is how I stretch my points (so I can resist addonitis, lol).

Of course, this trip I have one night at the Yacht Club followed by six nights at VB. I just needed a Disney fix before we headed to VB (where I used points for my weekend night). DH didn't mind this move since I booked concierge at YC, and the day of arrival always ends up being a wasted day anyway because of travelling, so no real loss of beach time.

 

[cobbler]

Most of the time we do book a full week (7 nights) when we vacation unless it is an extended trip after a cruise or whatever.

I guess to be quite honest we actually do both, book the full week and the 5 night stays. It just depends on our time off, vacation plans and whatnot.

We bought enough points to stay a full week.

 

[cogero]

we just bought in and when we were buying our points we bought enough for a week at Christmas in a 1br.

 

[goalie5hole]

NO moving for me. I bought enough points to accommodate my Weekend trips. That was the whole point of DVC for me. A nice spacious 1 bedroom villa to enjoy while at WDW with my DH.

I agree. I can't see spending more cash for a room after buying DVC, it will add up quickly.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I agree. I can't see spending more cash for a room after buying DVC, it will add up quickly.

It really doesn't, particularly when you can get a good AP or other discount. We usually go for one of the Values or Moderates. Spending two weekend nights there is far cheaper than using our points for a villa and it helps our points go further, which means more trips!

 

[WolfpackFan]

We've never stayed a full 7 nights. We usually check in on Sunday and checkout on Friday or Saturday. But we also usually drive down the day before and spend the first night either off-site in St. Augustine or in Pop Century.

 

[goalie5hole]

It really doesn't, particularly when you can get a good AP or other discount. We usually go for one of the Values or Moderates. Spending two weekend nights there is far cheaper than using our points for a villa and it helps our points go further, which means more trips!

Spending an additional $100-$150 (give or take) per night for weekends after paying for DVC makes no sense to me. I can see your logic for getting more trips but why not buy more points to cover weekends?

 

[southtexasmom]

We usually move to the Nick Hotel the day before we fly home, my kids love the pools there. We do not move to save points, just to enjoy the pools at Nick.

 

[shellybaxter]

Once we check into the DVC resorts we usually stay there. We stay anywhere between 10 and 15 days. We travel from the west coast - so no long weekends for us. When we bought in we intended to stay on fridays and saturdays. We will occationally stay at a value or moderate of the first few nights before checking into the DVC. We really like DVC and always stay in a one bedroom or higher so moving from a DVC to a regular hotel room would feel like a BIG down grade so we just don't do it.

 

[mgilmer]

We always move. We actually enjoy it. We usually stay Sun.-Thu. in one DVC resort, spend the weekend at a non-DVC resort and then spend Sun.-Thu. in a second DVC resort. That way we get to experience different DVC properties plus one of the others. We have used points on the weekend a couple of times, and will be doing so for this year's Dec. trip, but usually we move.

We just bought at the BCV and we plan on duplicating your plan on our every other year trip or just Sun-Thurs if we go every year. On Fri and Sat we will either move to another on property resort or move to a studio unit from our 1 Br unit.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Spending an additional $100-$150 (give or take) per night for weekends after paying for DVC makes no sense to me. I can see your logic for getting more trips but why not buy more points to cover weekends?

We actually have enough points to cover weekends, but by doing it the way we do we can actually get a whole extra trip in each year. We've gone to Disneyland and Sedona, AZ on the points we've saved by not using them on the weekends at WDW.

We actually like staying at some of the other resorts so our system allows us to do this. Sometimes we'll go up to a hotel by Universal for the weekend and spend a couple of days in those parks. Sometimes we'll go to the beach for the weekend. It allows us to mix up our vacation, which we really enjoy.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

There was a time when we lived closer and went to WDW and stayed at DVC 3 times a year or more... Sigh.... Still, I never even thought paying to stay at another resort to save points was an option for us. I understand why others feel it's to their benefit, but I feel that I pay my money to Disney for my DVC. Why should I pay them extra to stay somewhere else under the guise of making it a "value" to me. Sure I can go to another resort and use a AAA discount (only a DL AP holder, so no WDW AP benefits for me), but why? It just complicates passes, dining plan package, etc. leaving one "Key to the World" card and starting up another.

For us, it compares to double paying my vacation. I consider my annual dues to be what I would normally save and pay for an annual vacation, since I surpassed my original cash outlay in the savings I achieved by 1997. To save points, I check to see how many I need for my DL stays per year and then choose my WDW resort according to what I have left of what I want to use or borrow and what season I'm going. If we really want to stay somewhere specific at WDW - we check the needs for that allotment first and then go from there for the rest of our DL needs. We may adjust there based on what's left. That means DLH instead of GCH, lately!

Now, we book 7 nights, Saturday - Saturday, since we live California and usually take red-eyes on the outbound trip to FL. Our 250 points get us through that - no problem. We even have leftovers to stay at DL about 3 nights a year, too.

The only time we've ever changed resorts is when we couldn't get all the nights we needed. I wouldn't do that again, especially with small kids in tow. We had to do that last year - went from 1BR @ AKV for 5 night to 2 in a studio at OKW. Packing up and moving was enough of a pain, but add 2 kids under age 3 who never adjusted well to the time change due having had a day flight on the outbound instead.... Recipe for special moments on a vacation!

That's how we roll! What's good for us may not be good for everyone.
Nancy

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We just joined last May and have not a chance to stay at our resort. But we scheduled our stay Sunday and Checking out on Saturday. We will driving and getting in sometime on Saturday. So we wouldn't use the points we have reservations at a non-dvc resort. But before we joined our vacations were normally Sunday - Friday. We use the weekends to travel. We will see how we do on moving to a different resort, but we are just planning on one small bag for the first night so don't have to unpack everything.

We travel on weekends too!

When we stay offsite for a Saturday night, we pack our overnight bag so that we don't have to go into the big suitcases.

I don't think I would like packing up all of my stuff after 4 or 5 days and then starting over.

 

[edk35]

When we initially purchased our points, we purchased enough for a 2BR during Magic Season (316) at SSR. We did this knowing that we probably wouldn't use all those points in one year. We have always stayed in a 1BR for 7 to 10 days. We're from NY and with the cost of travel its easier to go for one long period rather than 2 or more shorter periods. I find it relaxing to know that once you unpack you're there for the duration of your trip. To move for only 1 or 2 days seems very disruptive and unrelaxing.

That was so smart. We just went with 300 and now I wish we had at least 350.

 

[florep1]

I'm planning a 2 week trip in June of next year for ds and I in a studio. I'm torn between staying the whole time at SSR or booking a week there, and another week at another undetermined resort, whichever has an opening. My plan is to book two one week stays at SSR and link it so I don't have to switch rooms but I can cancel a week in case I change my mind, without cancelling the whole reservation, then at 7 months, try for another resort for the 2nd week. Is this doable or too much trouble? I'm worried ds will get bored with whatever resort after 1 week.

 

[njmeisje]

Nope, once we are unpacked.....nothin's gonna move us out. We stay the full week in one resort, and enjoy it so much.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I'm planning a 2 week trip in June of next year for ds and I in a studio. I'm torn between staying the whole time at SSR or booking a week there, and another week at another undetermined resort, whichever has an opening. My plan is to book two one week stays at SSR and link it so I don't have to switch rooms but I can cancel a week in case I change my mind, without cancelling the whole reservation, then at 7 months, try for another resort for the 2nd week. Is this doable or too much trouble? I'm worried ds will get bored with whatever resort after 1 week.

You do not need to book two separate weeks. You can cancel days off your reservation without canceling the whole thing.

We also like to stay at 2 different DVC resorts each trip (we usually go for 2 weeks) so I, personally, think your plan sounds great!

 

[dgaston]

We use weekend points for a studio during F & W, but other than that we use strategies to minimize point use:
stay at AP rates at a value
visit Universal and stay at Royal Pacific or Hard Rock
use Priceline
use member's cash discount for a Saturday night

We don't mind moving, actually enjoyed our 3 nights at VWL and 3 nights AKV Concierge. Seemed like the best of two hotels.

 

[Brian Noble]

It all depends on what you want, but my take is that the weekend nights aren't at a (significiant) discount, but weekday nights are. For example, an OKW 2BR costs 73 pts in peak season, and the rack rate of that room is $790+tax. If you value your points at $10 per, your still a tad less than paying cash, unless a nice AP discount comes out. (In 2008, Peak Season weekends were not discounted for AP holders, but weekdays were.)