Don't need more points....just more vacation days!

[kenziesmamaw]

Okay, now that I have my PIN and can make our reservations for our first trip home, I'm finding out that I am going to have to ration my vacation days as carefully as I ration my points!

We're thinking about our first trip home to SSR for Memorial Day week, probably Mon-Fri. How are the crowds that week? We have a day left on our park hoppers from a couple of weeks ago, but may want to go ahead and get more hoppers for a trip later in the fall.

Also, thinking ahead to Thanksgiving 2005.....We're looking at taking our grown children and two grandbabies for the week. Would I be better off to try to get OKW with two small children or is SSR just as good a spot. One won't be able to give an opinion...it will just be 9 mo old, but the other will be 3 1/2 and we want her first trip to be very memorable.

Reading here would make me think the safest course is to book SSR at 11 months for Nov. 21-25, 2005, and then if we really want OKW, try to get it at 7 months. I guess we would then cancel the SSR? Just when I think I may understand how it all works, I get confused again!

In the middle somewhere, I want to try BWV, but who knows if the vacation days will last that long! Wonder if my boss would let me buy some extras .

 

[Beca]

I understand completely!!! We actually had to rent out some points this year because we couldn't get off work enough to use all of our points. Of course...this didn't stop me from buying another contract!!!!!

I guess in the big (or even NOT so big) picture...there are a LOT worse predicaments to be in!!!



Beca

 

[spiceycat]

I think either OKW or SSR would be fine.

You get more room in the villa at OKW.

you make the reservation at SSR - then at 7 months you change to OKW - tell MS that is what you want to do.

then you have decide if you want to wait for the whole time (this may happen) or you want to change a day by day (this will probably happen).

they will cancel one when they make the other.

 

[eva]

DH and I always thought that we had our future all planned out. I used to be a high school math teacher and we had always planned to stay in our original home and spend the extra money on points and all kinds of other travel options. Then I left the public school system and started teaching technical classes for a computer training center. Now I have very little vacation time and we have a bit of trouble using our 400 points each year. But we do manage! We then decided to build a new house and make it our "vacation retreat". We modeled it a bit after an OKW GV. Now my husband will say something like, "Let's take off to ____ for a short vacation". And my answer is usually, "Why? The place that we stay at won't be as nice as home (meaning DVC and our new home)". I guess between DVC and my new house I am totally spoiled!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Don't need more points....just more vacation days!

I feel your pain.

This year I left a lower paying government job for a higher paying private sector job. The money is nice but I sure do miss the 5 weeks paid vacation time!

 

[kenziesmamaw]

Oh well......we'll just have to manage. The sad thing is that I don't work on Friday so it's a bummer that points are higher on the weekends or we could make more trips. That may be the incentive to buy more points when we can!

 

[beccasmom]

I can relate. I used to have four weeks paid vacation until I changed jobs and now I have only two! Bummer! In a couple of years, that will increase to three weeks, so that is something to look forward to! Happily, I can work a flexible schedule, so we manage! Our points are always used, though!

 

[Starshine]

I understand completely!!! We actually had to rent out some points this year because we couldn't get off work enough to use all of our points.

We had to do the exact same thing. DH works retail, so not only does he not get much vacation time, he can't take vacation days between October 15 and January 15.