Do you use points for Friday and Saturday night stays?

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We also go for 9 nights usually. That is a full week and two weekends. We have started to stay one weekend at WDW and the other weekend at Universal.

In December we will be there for two weeks with a trip to Universal right in the middle. I really don't want to spend 106 points per night for a two bedroom so we go do something else. There are a few people on the boards who are doing the exact same thing as us.

HBC

 

[MAC3]

Hi,

We usually plan to stay @ HRH for 2/3 nights and it has turned out to be on the weekends. Works for us.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

We usually stay for 7 nights so for us we stay on the weekends. I want to relax and moving is just too stressful for a vacation for us.

 

[Richyams]

We would never move for the weekend, its just way, way too much trouble. I do like to start my vacation after the weekend and end it before the second weekend, but I would never move in the middle of a vacation.

 

[JulesMom]

This will be our first DVC trip. We are using points for one weekend and staying the next weekend at Universal.

We plan on staying Fri and Sat at DVC on about half the weekends.

 

[MELSMICE]

This is somewhat of a debate in our house between DH & I.

We are going in Nov. & arriving on Friday evening. I have made ressies for 2 nights at the BC then we will move over to OKW for the remainder of the week, leaving on Sat. so we will use 1 weekend night. My kids love the BC, especially SAB so that's not a big deal. We did this last year also & enjoyed it.

In April, however, during peak season we will be there for 2 weeks. I made ressies at another on-site hotel for the first week, moving on Sunday of the 2nd week. I could not justify spending 100 extra pts. for one night. We will already be spending 100 for the last Friday we are there, but I didn't want to move for one night & I know DH would not want to. He wanted to know why we weren't moving on Friday or Saturday. He always says, we bought it to use it, but................... because we will not be spending the 100 pts. at Easter of 2004 we have been able to plan a trip for just DH & myself in Oct. at the BW in a studio. We will use 70 pts. for this, still "saving" us 30 pts. After I explained this to him he was a little more understanding of why we aren't moving on Sat. instead of Sun. in April. He likes the spaciousness of the 2BR.

I don't have a problem using the weekend pts. if it's within reason, but if it's not a hassle to move at the beginning or end of the trip then I see nothing wrong with it. I wouldn't go to a DVC resort mid-week, move for the weekend & then go back. That would be too much hassle for me.

 

[jmminarik]

I'll agree with the folx who think there should have been a 'Sometimes,sometimes not' answer.

We usually wind up with one night on the weekend if not two if only because we're hosting people. We're hoping to stop down in December and that will be a weekday only trip assuming we decide to do it soon and OKW still has studios available.

As to moving in mid-trip, we just tried doing that in early May. We stayed at FW in a cabin until our friends checked into the BCV...for us, its definitely not worth moving. The only exertion we want to make is in the parks, not between rooms.

-Joe

 

[sgtdisney]

We tend to plan our vacations around our schedule. If it works out that we are there for a weekend, so be it. When possible we will work around it and do one weekend night or none if we are only there for 5 nights and it fits into the schedule, but we will not specifically avoid a weekend stay because of the points. We did this once or twice when we first bought in at the DVC and decided that the hassel of moving simply was not worth it. Actually the last time we did this we made the mistake of checking out of OKW and going somewhere else for the last night (a Friday.) This was a big mistake (for us.) What a downer going from a 2 bedroom at OKW to 2 hotel rooms. It was then we decided to not do that again.

 

[MikeSquared]

We both felt that moving out of DVC on weekends to save points was not worth the trouble and purchased what we needed for our planned two trips a year.

 

[OKW91]

I voted "NO" but in reality we have stayed once or twice on the weekend, but for most trips we stay Sunday thru Thursday! We would rather save the points for more visits during the year, then just one long stay.

 

[DeeP]

I usually try to avoid using Fri and Sat pts but I have occasionally bit the bullet and paid the ridiculous Fri and Sat pts. I always travel with adults so moving resorts is not a problem at all and we really enjoy staying at the other WDW resorts. I usually plan my trips so that I arrive on Fri and leave 9 nights later on a Sunday. I stay the first and last 2 nights at a non DVC WDW resort with the 5 nights in between at a DVC resort. I just got back Sun and we started our trip at the Poly then went to BWV for 5 nights and ended our trip at the YC. We really enjoyed staying at all 3 resorts enjoying the very different atmospheres, restaurants and pools. Disney makes changing resorts very easy and it is amazing how much farther your pts can go when you eliminate Fri and Sat nights. I just bought an additional 100 pts and I will still avoid Fri and Sat nights because I can get more trips per year to WDW and also because I really enjoy staying at the non DVC resorts for a few days every trip.

 

[luckytso]

I think I will be the rare one about how I use my points. We have little kids and we don't like to move resorts or use weekend points while we go mostly for 4-5 days with the weekends right in the middle. So for most of our trips, we ended up staying at other deluxe resorts by renting out my points.

The only time that I would use my own points is when we go at peak holiday or Easter time when there is no discounts at other WDW resorts. I like having such flexibility knowing I will always have a place to stay on-site whether WDW offers discounts or not.

As my kids get older, we may stay at DVC resorts in a bigger unit so that we can have more space. For now, we are happy exploring all our options.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I usually try to avoid using Fri and Sat pts but I have occasionally bit the bullet and paid the ridiculous Fri and Sat pts. ...it is amazing how much farther your pts can go when you eliminate Fri and Sat nights.

Maybe I'm just a little confused because it is late and I am tired but I bought into DVC to save money. You know, pay on the "trip" all year so that when it was time to go down alls I'd have to pay for would be my flight, food, tickets and such. I wouldn't have to come up with another $1200 to stay in a room for a week. How much are you spending in terms of money to stay at a non DVC resort or even off site? I'm new at this, in fact haven't even used our DVC yet, and I hadn't thought about doing this. Maybe this is something I should consider. When most people go and stay at another resort or even off site, do you rent a car or do you get a cab or take Mears Transportation? When we fly down, we take Mears to and from the World. That's like $100 for the two of us just in transortaion. How do you get to Disney from an off site hotel and if you stayed at say All-Star will Disney transport you to your DVC accomodations? Like I said, I'm tired so sorry if this doesn't make sense. I'm just trying to figure out if this would be worth it.

 

[DeeP]

I NEVER stay off site, I almost always stay the first 2 and the last 2 nights at WDW resorts with the remaining days from a 10 day trip at a DVC resort. I have not payed rack rate for a WDW room in many, many years, there are many discounts for WDW rooms out there. I am eligible for AP, FL resident and DVC discounts and generally the best discounts are always AP or FL resident discounts. I spend alot less for the 4 Fri & Sat nights at a non DVC resort than my pts would be worth if I chose to spend them. The savings in pts for Fri and Sat nights easily gives me at least one and most times 2 more trips per year and like I said before I really enjoy staying at not only the DVC resorts but also all the other amazing non DVC WDW resorts. WDW has some of the nicest and definitely most themed resorts you will ever find anywhere.
As for transportation, I do it all from renting a car to a shuttle to a limo to having someone pick me up from the airport. It all depends on the trip. When I am in FL for business I always have a car, if the trip is solely for pleasure it varies.
I am probably not a good example because I own a home in FL, I go to FL for business on a regular basis and I spend approx 40-50 days per year in the land of Mickey. This is defintely what works for me. YMMV.

 

[SamSam]

I'm sure we are in the minority, but we usually take several short trips a year and prefer to stay in one place. I know it's not the best use of points, but it works for us.
Our children are grown and on their own, so it's just the two of us and we usually get a studio.
We have our own business and find it easiest to take several long weekend's rather than one longer stay, so that usually means weekend points.

 

[StevenTheGeek]

Same here...

Though we haven't yet...when we make our 1st DVC ressie, I plan on staying the through one weekend. I don't want to deal with moving out then moving back in elsewhere. To me, moving out ruins a 12 day vacation.

 

[disny4ever]

When my DW and I decided to buy into DVC, the reasons were simple. We wanted to stay at our home resort. I can understand that some want to stretch their points, but that's not how I look at it. The weekends are no different to me then a weekday, use my points and enjoy my trip.

 

[dbkelly]

We prefer moving then using our points for a 1 or 2 bedroom. We usually book a studio for Friday and Saturday nights and use only half the points we would use if we stayed in the 1 or 2 bedroom.

The move does not bother us at all.

D. B. Kelly

 

[mbhoxsie]

We usually go for 7-12 day stays when we go to WDW.. When I plan the trips, I try to only get caught with staying onsite for one full weekend... (IE. Fly in on Sunday, and have that be our first night...) That way we don't burn too many points on those weekend days..

That being said, we have never switched resorts just to avoid Friday and Saturday night stays.. With two young kids, moving just wouldn't be worth it..

 

[kathleena]

Since you didn't have an option for "Both" I checked "Yes", but I have done both. It depends on the situation. I will always do the Fri/Sat if staying in a studio. I planned to get studios most of the time, and it's just a hassle to move.

But, this October, we are staying at Holiday Inn Family Suites for Thu/Fri and then moving to BCV in a 1 br, so I'm splitting the weekend off and on. I got a "Senior Saver" rate, so we were happy to stay offsite for two days at a good rate while we do the non-Disney parks.