Good idea to stay off-site to save weekend points? Or NO WAY!

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Retired & finally have the luxury of TIME!

Trying to create longest possible stay without borrowing or renting points. My new OKW resale pts don't go as far as they did when I first considered buying. (And PLEASE don't talk me into adding on before I've even made my 1st trip "Home." )

Is it worth staying off-site every weekend?

Won't have a car so a shuttle service would be nice.

No kids & small suitcase this trip.

Anyone else do this? Am I crazy?
Thoughts????

 

[Donna M]

It would not be worth it to me for every weekend, but maybe every other. I am thinking of something like that. For us it could be a week at DVC, weekend at one sister´s, back to DVC, weekend at friend´s, back to DVC, weekend at other sister´s. If I had to stay at a different hotel off site, then I wouldn´t do it. You can give it a try and do something different next year.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Thx. Just starting research....Prices on-site (I don't mind split-stays) are

Hilton in DS area is less than any of them for my dates w/ free shuttle.
So....Maybe

 

[AdamsMum]

Sometimes the hotel shuttles aren't as frequent as you would like. I stayed in a DS hotel once, and the park shuttle went at 8 am or 1 pm. The return to the hotel at the end of the day was a nightmare. We waited in a long line in the middle of the bus parking lot. The bus was full and we waited a long time for another to come. With 2 little kids it wasn't a good scene. That might just have been our experience. The hotel used to be called The Grosvenor, I I think its a Wyndham now.

 

[Dizzydizney]

We do this sometimes. Friday night and Saturday nights are very point heavy. The Marriot Village adjacent to I - 4 and not too far from Disney Springs (not Hotel Plaza rd.) used to have pretty good AAA rates and you get a free breakfast. They have 3 of their hotels right in the same parking area. Not too sure how the shuttle works though...they do have one. Not sure if you have to pay for it. If you do a Friday and Saturday night off property, remember that you can stay at your resort for the whole day Friday. Or you can leave your bag with bell services, hop on a bus to a park, come back later to get your bag and call an Uber to bring you to offsite hotel. I’ve gotten a room for $99. But you have to be careful because some are kind of sketchy. The Marriott Village is pretty secure.
Saturday you can have a nice breakfast and take their shuttle to a park or call an Uber.
Saturday evening you can hang around Marriott Village (they did have restaurants nearby...not sure if they all reopened or not) or do Disney Springs. Sunday morning have another nice breakfast, get an Uber and check in to your DVC resort. Bell services can hold your bags and you can go off to a park.
Another option is to see if you can pay cash for a resort room or use the one time use points....I think they are $20 or a bit more.

 

[ldo]

I’d also look at the values that have been renovated. Sometimes rates are quite low. Hilton at DS is very convenient and very nice.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

I’d also look at the values that have been renovated. Sometimes rates are quite low. Hilton at DS is very convenient and very nice.

Thx. There are 2 Hiltons. They say they are walkable to DS...Only one offers frequent shuttles. Checking them out. They both look really nice.

 

[Dizzydizney]

I’d also look at the values that have been renovated. Sometimes rates are quite low. Hilton at DS is very convenient and very nice.

Lol forgot about the values....although they have gotten a little pricey too, but at least the luggage could be transferred and no money wasted on Uber and no time wasted on shuttles.
We used to get a Pop Century for $79. You can sometimes get pass holder rates too. And no worries about paying to park since OP won’t have a car. We did do hat in the early years of our membership because we didn’t have that many points.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

We do this sometimes. Friday night and Saturday nights are very point heavy. The Marriot Village adjacent to I - 4 and not too far from Disney Springs (not Hotel Plaza rd.) used to have pretty good AAA rates and you get a free breakfast. They have 3 of their hotels right in the same parking area. Not too sure how the shuttle works though...they do have one. Not sure if you have to pay for it. If you do a Friday and Saturday night off property, remember that you can stay at your resort for the whole day Friday. Or you can leave your bag with bell services, hop on a bus to a park, come back later to get your bag and call an Uber to bring you to offsite hotel. I’ve gotten a room for $99. But you have to be careful because some are kind of sketchy. The Marriott Village is pretty secure.
Saturday you can have a nice breakfast and take their shuttle to a park or call an Uber.
Saturday evening you can hang around Marriott Village (they did have restaurants nearby...not sure if they all reopened or not) or do Disney Springs. Sunday morning have another nice breakfast, get an Uber and check in to your DVC resort. Bell services can hold your bags and you can go off to a park.
Another option is to see if you can pay cash for a resort room or use the one time use points....I think they are $20 or a bit more.

Well, THIS is a plan & I like it! Thx so much!!!!
There are 2 Hiltons walkable to DS & they both seem to participate in discount programs. Looking for safe/secure...Will be solo.

 

[Dizzydizney]

Well, THIS is a plan & I like it! Thx so much!!!!
There are 2 Hiltons walkable to DS & they both seem to participate in discount programs. Looking for safe/secure...Will be solo.

Okay, if you are solo then I would go with the Hilton close to Disney Springs. I think if you walk to Disney Springs from there it is well lit and I thought they built a pedestrian bridge too ( I may be wrong)....it’s very busy over there.
Happy planning!

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Okay, if you are solo then I would go with the Hilton close to Disney Springs. I think if you walk to Disney Springs from there it is well lit and I thought they built a pedestrian bridge too ( I may be wrong)....it’s very busy over there.
Happy planning!

And just to be clear, I meant to say YOUR plan was the plan I liked (not my Hilton comment).
Your detailed explanation made me think this might be doable. So thanks again.

 

[jo-jo]

How many points do you have and how long of a trip are you trying for? Are you just trying to stay at any DVC?

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

How many points do you have and how long of a trip are you trying for? Are you just trying to stay at any DVC?

If I had enuf pts to stay at any DVC I wouldn't worry so much about only studio availability OKW in May .
In my OP I indicated OKW is HOME-1st trip/New resale pts. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
So yes, that's my goal. Trying to limit visit to studio there in May.
SS is available (at least it was earlier today) but higher pts.

 

[Dizzydizney]

And just to be clear, I meant to say YOUR plan was the plan I liked (not my Hilton comment).
Your detailed explanation made me think this might be doable. So thanks again.

I’m assuming you meant my plan to stay at OKW or a park most of Friday and then moving to offsite. There is really no big hurry to get to the offsite....may as well enjoy OKW as much as you can. I definitely think the Hilton by DS is a better idea than the Marriott Village. The Hilton is closer and sometimes the commuter traffic on Apopeka-Vineland Blvd on the way to Marriott Village (AKA route 435) is a nightmare.
But if you can get a value resort at a good price that’s a good option too.
In 1997 we started out with 150 points. We very often bookended our DVC trips with Pop Century. Once we started adding on we switched to bookending with a studio since we always get a one bedroom.
Logistics will be much easier being solo.
And congratulations on your retirement. It’s the best!

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Yes. That's what I meant. And THAT is what I'll do if I can get OKW at all. May need to so SS instead since that's available but I feel like I'm spending too many OKW pts there.
Priceline had all music for a great price ...not sure if they're a reliable way to go???

Also, in trying to book OKW online, I can book starting date but it won't let me book end date, even though it shows availble. Some of the dates in between I need to W/L but shouldn't I be able to book the end date?

You've been really helpful.

 

[RoseGold]

You can rent a week at Wyndham bonnet creek on redweek cheaply. I would jump between the two. Bonnet creek is supposed to be a lovely property, especially if you aren’t so concerned about park proximity.

if you want to stay a while, I’d look at some Airbnbs. You can contact the owner and ask for a rate for two weeks or a month. It’s pretty much how I lived during COVID. It’s definitely possible to do it cheaply.

Id split between Disney and one of these cheaper options to stretch your dollars.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

I was JUST looking at that. Looks wonderful. But it doesn't seem they offer a shuttle-I'd be happy to pay for one...and it doesn't seem walkable. I don't plan on the parks every day but when I get there ??????????

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

My other definite is NO CAR! So I know that limits me.

 

[Dizzydizney]

Oh my...I just looked at availability for OKW for May. Only weekends and a couple of weekdays here and there. You can’t reserve a start date and end date if there is no availability in between. You would have to do each day individually if they are not consecutive. Aside from the weekends I only see 2 or 3 weekdays available. Saratoga is available as you know, but 3 points more per night. Even Animal Kingdom is slim pickings. Since May is now a low point month it’s more popular....plus people still have extra points they need to use from rollovers from the closure.
Maybe you should grab Saratoga while it’s available. If you are new to this, you should probably call member services to guide you through. You can set up a waitlist for OKW. People cancel all the time....or they may have OKW reserved and have a waitlist elsewhere that comes thru for them.
I’m not good at explaining things. But the member services people are very good at explaining and can walk you through the steps. Tell them you are new at this and don’t want to accidentally do the wrong thing.
I’m really surprised about the lack of availability in May.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

LOL! You should see the look I've had on my face all day! Is there a "pulling my hair out" emoji???

I can't even see how to book SS but WL OKW.

Seems I'll have to call... So disappointed though. The chances of a full 5-nites weekdays look remote.
Oh how I love OKW....It's more quiet & peaceful ...Maybe they should make it RETIREES ONLY Resort