Hardest/Easiest 1BR at 7months?

[ProudMommyof2]

I am planning on buying resale.
My favorite resort is the Poly- by far!
But, I would like a 1BR sometimes.
-We will most likely travel 3rd week Feb/3rd week April or late June (can you guess I am married to a teacher?) Planning Dec use year.
Maybe a weekend to get out of NE winter.

So- asking for opinions. I know that most people say- buy where you want to stay, but Poly does not seem too difficult at 7mos?
Should I stick with Poly or go Copper Creek or Bay Lake for the 1 BR availability?
TIA for any advise.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

My initial reaction to the times you like to (must?!) travel is that those will be busier times and will make 7-month reservations more difficult. You're likely to find some available to you, but probably more along the lines of OKW, SSR, and AKL. If the 1BR aspect of your stays might be important, you'll probably want to look at something to purchase besides Poly and also make sure you're getting enough points. And remember, if you buy BLT or CC, for example, for the 1BR option, you can still do the occasional studio at Poly at 7 months.

Just some thoughts..... I'm sure you'll get more. Best of luck with your decision and your travels!

 

[Sandisw]

I still think it’s important to chose a resort that you would be happy at if yoy can’t trade out.

The bigger question is which is more important…having Poly or 1 bedrooms? It may be a close call and if it is, then consider a different resort,

1 bedrooms do tend to be the last room type to go at most resorts so I think 7 month availability somewhere will be doable. But, will it be a near park resort? School breaks could be tough if you are looking for a longer trip..but the big three that have been mentioned are usually pretty good bets.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I am planning on buying resale.
My favorite resort is the Poly- by far!
But, I would like a 1BR sometimes.
-We will most likely travel 3rd week Feb/3rd week April or late June (can you guess I am married to a teacher?) Planning Dec use year.
Maybe a weekend to get out of NE winter.

So- asking for opinions. I know that most people say- buy where you want to stay, but Poly does not seem too difficult at 7mos?
Should I stick with Poly or go Copper Creek or Bay Lake for the 1 BR availability?
TIA for any advise.

I think you should look at the 1BRs and see if you like some more than others. That way you can be sure to get it just in case if you're traveling during busy times.

BLT & AKV has 2 full bathrooms in the 1BR, in case that matters. I think it's lovely but you may have no need of it! AKV 1BR and BLT Lake-view 1BR are not difficult to get at 7 months, thought I don't know about Spring Break, that may be harder. BLT has standard 1BR that cost less points--best value on the monorail--and are usually gone at 7 mo.

Poly studios are not too difficult in my experience, but standard, which is less point costly, may not have the entire week available at 7 mo during peak times like first 2 weeks of Dec.

Another thought is to just buy at SSR since it's less money and just switch to whatever 1BR is avaialble during your trip. You'd likely find something.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Late June you should pretty much have your pick of the litter on one bedrooms if you are diligent about the 7 month window. The other times you mentioned will be much more challenging. But you should be able to find something if you aren’t picky about the resort.

I booked one for a BLT standard view one bedroom for 7 straight nights starting June 27th this year (my wife is a teacher as well!). Even with the extra demand this year I managed to snag that room, which is one of the harder one bedrooms to book.

If you don’t limit yourselves to standard view though, you can get any resort you want with no trouble (in late June. During those other times you may still be limited in your selection).

 

[Her Dotness]

Is there some reason why you're asking about 7-month booking?

It's been several years since I taught, but our school calendar didn't change so much from one year to the next that estimating when breaks would fall would be so difficult that I'd need to book at 7 months.

Buying at the resort you really like best and booking at 11 months is much better, IMO, unless there are other reasons why you prefer 7 months.

 

[Sandisw]

Is there some reason why you're asking about 7-month booking?

It's been several years since I taught, but our school calendar didn't change so much from one year to the next that estimating when breaks would fall would be so difficult that I'd need to book at 7 months.

Buying at the resort you really like best and booking at 11 months is much better, IMO, unless there are other reasons why you prefer 7 months.

They like Poly but want to get the occasional1 bedrooms which Poly doesn’t have.

 

[RoseGold]

Late Jun and Feb should be no problem, but peak spring break is tough. I agree you have to decide if you want priority in 1BR, BLT is wonderful IMO. Or whether you want Poly and are willing to trade it in if you can.

BLT 1BR standard view is very tough to book, often walked. It's great point value and has that extra bathroom. And it's right on that TTC boat to Poly, if you want to visit.

 

[EM Lawrence]

Poly is my favorite, and we own resale there, but we don't own enough points to always stay DVC when we go. We have found that staying in other hotels but making time to go visit the Poly for a meal, a Dole Whip, or a few drinks is enough to satisfy us when we can't stay there. You can walk to the Poly from the VGF, and monorail over from BLT. So if you must have 1BR, I'd pick a Poly adjacent property and just visit the Poly. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Wedgeout]

PVB is your #1 overall. If you don’t mind what one bedroom is booked at 7 months, go with PVB. Otherwise go with your highest ranked location choice for the one bedroom trips and buy there.

 

[Her Dotness]

They like Poly but want to get the occasional1 bedrooms which Poly doesn’t have.

Which doesn't mean they couldn't buy at Poly and still stay occasionally elsewhere in a 1br at 7 months, given enough points. The OP seemed aware that Poly doesn't have 1brs with the mention of one sometimes.

It was the reference to "Poly at 7 months" that caused me to wonder why it was an either/or, especially when Poly was mentioned as favorite by far.

 

[Sandisw]

Which doesn't mean they couldn't buy at Poly and still stay occasionally elsewhere in a 1br at 7 months, given enough points. The OP seemed aware that Poly doesn't have 1brs with the mention of one sometimes.

It was the reference to "Poly at 7 months" that caused me to wonder why it was an either/or, especially when Poly was mentioned as favorite by far.

If she goes with a home resort other than Poly for the 1 bedroom option, OP needs to know if getting into Poly at 7 months would still be possible.

With Poly, you can’t get both.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Which doesn't mean they couldn't buy at Poly and still stay occasionally elsewhere in a 1br at 7 months, given enough points. The OP seemed aware that Poly doesn't have 1brs with the mention of one sometimes.

It was the reference to "Poly at 7 months" that caused me to wonder why it was an either/or, especially when Poly was mentioned as favorite by far.

How could it not be an either/or thing? They either buy somewhere that they like the 1 bedrooms and try to book Poly at 7 months, or they buy at Poly and try to book the 1 bedrooms at 7 months.

Which is exactly what they were contemplating and exactly what they were asking about advice on.

 

[RichVIII]

The problem we have now is 1BR "sometimes" has turned into wanted a 1BR....all the time. I feel like there are a LOT of resale contracts on the market at the moment for Poly. Is that because people want more room options? Nobody knows. If you really want 1BRs, I would consider a bigger resort and book Poly at 7 mo.

 

[badeacon]

If you like Poly, I would buy Poly. You can book Poly at 11 months , then at 7 months see what is available in 1br and change. My experience with 1br at 7 months has been a lot of options to choose from.

 

[Her Dotness]

To clarify: The OP kept mentioning Poly as the favored resort, so my either/or was more why ANY either/or when it seems you really really want Poly.

I thought maybe they preferred booking at 7 months to give more spontaneity in booking the occasional weekend getaway. It could be pretty challenging, I thought, on a teacher's schedule to book a weekend 11 months in advance. Might even be a matter of needing to get more education to re-license in the summer that crept up on spouse who didn't realize that was necessary so soon (happened to me a time or two when I had travel plans for summer). Or had some other reason(s) why 7 months would work better.

Sorry if I seemed confused or confusing. Perhaps how much a teacher's schedule can interfere with making travel plans nearly a year in advance was so familiar to me I didn't consider others wouldn't know about that monkeywrench in the works. Or possibly I was just overthinking it all.

 

[perchy]

If you like Poly, I would buy Poly. You can book Poly at 11 months , then at 7 months see what is available in 1br and change. My experience with 1br at 7 months has been a lot of options to choose from.

I’m beginning to understand how this makes a lot of sense. Always book at 11 months and change at 7 months if you can. Either way, you won’t be disappointed when you own where you want to stay.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

HI All
I truly appreciate all the feedback.
TO clarify- booking at 11 months is not an issue- as a teacher's schedule is very predictable. Poly is absolutely our favorite resort, and where we will want to stay most of the time, but we will want to book a 1BR at times. SO, the dilemma was whether to buy at Poly, or if it is easily available, buy where we would like to have a 1 BR, thinking booking Poly at 7 mos would not be a problem.
My husband and I sat down and watched videos last night again. We decided that if we want a 1 BR, it would be ok if AKV or SSR were our only choices (not our 1st choices, but just fine). We would not be ok to ever be locked out of booking Poly- so off to find the best Poly contract I can!
Thanks again for helping to think this through!

 

[Wedgeout]

Great decision! Best of luck in your searching. See you on the ROFR thread soon!

 

[Her Dotness]

Sounds like your dream about to become true. Go for it and good luck!