Help me plan something...

[mjc2003]

We are going to finally have our BCV points available next week. We have a large group going in November, so I am hoping to get something the week of 12-19th, or thereabouts.
We have 200 2010 pts, 200 2011 pts, and can use some/most of the 2012 pts b/c we CANNOT travel to WDW next year. Whatever we don't use from 2012 we will bank into 2013. So, I would say that we have at least 400 that we really have to use, and are willing to use up to 522 (leaving us 78 to bank into 2013 to give us 278 for a 2 BR).

Assuming there is availability, how would you use those points to maximize the large number of people we'd like to accommodate? Most of our group is paying cash, but some cannot afford to go and we'd like to help. In other words, put 522 pts to their maximum use. The more people we can bring on points, the better.
Also, when I call MS next week will they be able to work with me on finding available options at different resorts or do I have to specifically ask about each option? In other words, if I say "I have 15 people, how can we fit them and where" is that bad form? Do I have to say, "I Need 2 1 BR's and a studio at BCV"....will they help me out? Does it depend on who I get? I understand some first time callers have found the CM to be quite helpful, so I guess it depends on who you get.


If anybody has any other suggestions as to how to go about booking a first reservation, i.e. what to have handy, what to ask, etc...it would be appreciated. But mostly I am looking for some veterans suggestions on maximizing points. With that many points I would love to book a grand villa, but I doubt I'd find one and I also don't think it's the best way to maximize the number of people we'd like to accommodate.

Thanks!

 

[GoofItUp]

It kind of depends on your group. We are going with a group of 14 this summer, all on points. I was working with 518 points and we were going for 1 wk (Tues - Tues) in June. My options were:

2 savannah view, 2 standard view at AKV.
4 PV studios at BWV.
4 studios at BCV.
4 studios at OKW.
2 bdrm + 2 studios at OKW.
4 studios at SSR.
4 studios at VWL.

I did not have enough points available to get us into BLT unless we left a night early.

My top 2 choices were AKV (my sister and SIL picked this at the top of their list) and the 2 bdrm option at OKW (w/d and kitchen). When I called, though, only AKV and SSR were available for all nights for all of us. So, easy decision for me: AKV! I actually had to waitlist the last night for one of the savannah view rooms, but I have a standard view booked for that night in case the wl doesn't come through.

I just spent a lot of time going over the points charts before I mae my reservations so I would know the options for each resort. I also considered renting up to 24 pts from Disney or getting a small points transfer from another member, but ended up deciding not to.

Hope seeing what my situation was will help you planning yours!

 

[cvjw]

If I were you, I would have all of my options listed out, ranked in preferred order, before calling MS. Some of the CMs that I have gotten have been very helpful, but I wouldn't want to depend on a random CM to get me the best value for my points.

 

[tjkraz]

I would suggest having some idea of what you want before you even call.

For 15 people, you could get by with a Grand Villa and a Studio but the Grand Villa will eat up a lot of the points. Doesn't really meet your criteria of being the best use of points.

The obvious match would be (2) Two Bedroom villas which sleeps 16-18 guests depending upon resort. Or you could look at one 2B villa and a couple of Studios. That way you'll have a full kitchen and a washer/dryer which the Studio guests could "borrow".

I think you need to look at your group and first decide the best way to split everybody up. Decide what size rooms you want to book. For the time period you are targeting, SSR, OKW and probably AKV will all still be available. You could try for other resorts if points allow but I'd put a higher priority on getting the SIZE rooms which best suit your needs rather than trying to cram into less-than-ideal accommodations at a resort which you may perceive as being better.

 

[DMKEDM]

It's hard to know what you're asking here, without knowing more about your group...but hopefully these general thoughts might help.

First, I've never tried to have MS assist me in allocating people to rooms--but I have asked things like "what's available" and invariably they respond with "tell me what you want and I'll look." So I wouldn't count on them being able to help you sort this out.

Next, you will need all the names and addresses of each person for you whom you book a reservation, at the time you book it. Your name can be "first" on only one reservation. You can book more than one villa at a time, but there needs to be a different "lead name" on each reserved villa.

Probably, the best thing to do is start with lowest point villa options, and maximum occupancy for each.

Generally, lowest point options are Old Key West, Animal Kingdom Value, and Boardwalk Standard View.

One-bedrooms give you the least amount of space per size of villa. (You can have four in a studio, and also only four (altho they'll allow an "unofficial 5th"--without giving you bedding or towels (and they don't have cots or rollaway beds, generally) in some one-bedrooms.

Don't forget to check points requirements based on dates, too--your November dates may "spill" into the T-giving season (check the points charts at the top of this page)...

Another good points option to explore is SSR's treehouse villas...they sleep 9 (as I recall) and are "priced" (number of points required) as if they were two bedrooms--but you get 3 bedrooms.

Check the "points cost" for studios and two-bedrooms in the 3 "cheapest" categories and "mix & match" from there. Keep in mind that you may have availability issues, too--the more villas you need, the greater the chance that not all of them will be available at the resort/room category you want...

You also need to factor in who will be sharing with who. Will you be grouping families together? Men and women? Any babies in the group (one infant (child under 3 who sleeps in a pack 'n play) per villa doesn't count towards room occupancy maximums)...For example, if you have one family of six and one couple, you may not want to split them into two groups of 4! But maybe you could put those two groups into a two-bedroom that sleeps 8?

Hope this helps, at least a bit...

 

[mjc2003]

Thank you all so much, this is great info. Our group is tricky. We have:

1) Me, wife, two children (5 & 3). We want at least a 1 BR so we can put them to bed and still hang out.

2) In-Laws. We could share a 2 BR with them.

3) Brother (single parent) and 4 kids.

4) Sister (not bringing husband) and 2 kids.

The ideal would probably be to get 2 2 BR's, Me, wife and kids/in-laws in one, brother/sister and 6 kids in the other. This is more points than I want to use at BCV, but we'd still be willing to do it...but I don't think I'll find 2 2 BR's, though somebody recently posted that they did find 2 for that week just a few days ago.

AKV might be my best bet. Tricky part is that we have another 20 or so people staying at BCV, so really wanted to stay there. Ultimately I will probably have to just grab what's available at BCV, if anything. Time to pour over that points chart!

Thank you again all, much appreciated!

 

[mjc2003]

It kind of depends on your group. We are going with a group of 14 this summer, all on points. I was working with 518 points and we were going for 1 wk (Tues - Tues) in June. My options were:

2 savannah view, 2 standard view at AKV.
4 PV studios at BWV.
4 studios at BCV.
4 studios at OKW.
2 bdrm + 2 studios at OKW.
4 studios at SSR.
4 studios at VWL.

I did not have enough points available to get us into BLT unless we left a night early.

My top 2 choices were AKV (my sister and SIL picked this at the top of their list) and the 2 bdrm option at OKW (w/d and kitchen). When I called, though, only AKV and SSR were available for all nights for all of us. So, easy decision for me: AKV! I actually had to waitlist the last night for one of the savannah view rooms, but I have a standard view booked for that night in case the wl doesn't come through.

I just spent a lot of time going over the points charts before I mae my reservations so I would know the options for each resort. I also considered renting up to 24 pts from Disney or getting a small points transfer from another member, but ended up deciding not to.

Hope seeing what my situation was will help you planning yours!

This is a great practical application of nearly the same number of points, thank you for sharing. The tricky part for me is that my wife and I don't want a studio with 2 small kids b/c they go to bed early; and my brother and his 4 kids wouldn't really fit in a studio. Ugg.....I guess I shouldn't put the cart before the horse, b/c I can plan all day but who knows what'll be available.

Thanks again--I will let you know how we end up using the points.

 

[Figment2]

I think you will have to be very lucky to get anything at BCV at this late date, especially 2 2-BR. To maximize the use of your points I would suggest OKW plus with all those people you will love the extra room.

JMHO

Cyn

 

[mjc2003]

I think you will have to be very lucky to get anything at BCV at this late date, especially 2 2-BR. To maximize the use of your points I would suggest OKW plus with all those people you will love the extra room.

JMHO

Cyn

Thanks, I am hoping for the best but planning for the alternative. I am not an OKW fan so much, would probably try for AKV is BCV is not available. However, just a few days ago I asked if people were finding success at BCV and several people responded that there seemed to be good availability that week....of course this could change by Monday. I'm hoping that, b/c it's after F&W and Jersey week and before Thanksgiving, we might get lucky. We've stayed there cash the last 2 years and have found it to be really quiet. Here's to hoping....at least I don't have to wait long, I'll know by early next week.

 

[Pakey]

Large groups are very difficult to do at BCV at 7 months at any time of the year. Since my group doesn't care if we are at the same resort, I've often booked multiple resorts and then waitlisted. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. When I'm supplying free rooms, they don't have the option to complain about location. We have not found it to be inconvenient if we are not sleeping in the same resort.

So I would book myself at BCV and then book them wherever you can get. If BCV is that important, waitlist for the other villa if necessary.

 

[DVCAmy]

I just booked 2 2BR lockoffs at CBV this week for the week before Thanksgiving. 2 BR dedicated was not available (we wanted 1 of each but this is fine). This was Wed morning. At that time I could have booked 2 2BR at AKV or VWL with little to no problem. BLT was not available in a 2 BR for all of our days and with a large group waitlisting is pretty impossible since they changed the waitlist rules. I did not check on SSR or OKW for my dates. The CM offered me AKV but we didn't want there and I asked about VWL just because many in our group have not been there yet. Hope that helps.

Amy

 

[CarolMN]

With that many people to accommodate, I'd give serious consideration to the two bedroom units at Kidani. Those sleep 9 and more importantly, have 3 bathrooms. Plus the resort has lots of activities for the kids.

 

[mjc2003]

I just booked 2 2BR lockoffs at CBV this week for the week before Thanksgiving. 2 BR dedicated was not available (we wanted 1 of each but this is fine). This was Wed morning. At that time I could have booked 2 2BR at AKV or VWL with little to no problem. BLT was not available in a 2 BR for all of our days and with a large group waitlisting is pretty impossible since they changed the waitlist rules. I did not check on SSR or OKW for my dates. The CM offered me AKV but we didn't want there and I asked about VWL just because many in our group have not been there yet. Hope that helps.

Amy

Thanks Amy, forgive me, when you say CBV did you mean BCV? That would be great if we can get that, but we'll see...hopefully starting tomorrow. We probably wouldn't mind VWL of AKV b/c of the theming, we'd like to give them a try. Thanks for the info, VERY helpful.

 

[mjc2003]

With that many people to accommodate, I'd give serious consideration to the two bedroom units at Kidani. Those sleep 9 and more importantly, have 3 bathrooms. Plus the resort has lots of activities for the kids.

This is one of the reasons why we'd give AKV a try. I know this has been discussed a lot, but if you could refresh my memory, do they sleep 9 b/c of the extra sleeper chair? Or do the 2nd bedrooms all have 2 beds?

 

[CarolMN]

This is one of the reasons why we'd give AKV a try. I know this has been discussed a lot, but if you could refresh my memory, do they sleep 9 b/c of the extra sleeper chair? Or do the 2nd bedrooms all have 2 beds?

Assuming you get a dedicated two bedroom villa, the second bedrooms will all have two queen beds. (Lock offs have one queen bed and a double sized sleep sofa). All the 2 bedrooms will have the sleep chair (twin size) plus the queen sized sleep sofa in the living room.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The worst part is that you are already into the 7 month booking period. If you can't book until later on this week, you will be nearly two weeks behind.

Both SSR and OKW are larger, so you might try there.