Help please. Floridians want to see snow this winter.

[WeLuvDCL]

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your suggestions. You've given me a lot to think about. It looks like we probably won't be able to use RCI if we want to go this winter, many of your suggestions are booked and not available :-( I guess we are not the only crazy Floridians that want to see snow So I'll have to price things out. .
Thanks again!

 

[deedeetoo]

Just a little more advice. I'm guessing your kids don't have clothes for playing in the snow since they have never seen it. You will need waterproof boots, snow pants or bibs, winter coat, gloves, and hats. Getting kids bundled up for going out in the snow can be quite a job.

This may seem like common sense, but I've seen more than one person come from a warm climate and be surprised by the fact that they need sweaters, heavy coats etc. A work colleague from southern CA thought it would be enough to just wear his suit jacket to keep warm in December. He was out buying a coat the first night here.

 

[bwvBound]

This may seem like common sense, but I've seen more than one person come from a warm climate and be surprised by the fact that they need sweaters, heavy coats etc. A work colleague from southern CA thought it would be enough to just wear his suit jacket to keep warm in December. He was out buying a coat the first night here.

LOL -- thanks for that!

A long-held family story, from before I was born, piggy-backs on your admonition. My parents, both southerners, transplanted to NJ for Dad's first job after college. As the story goes, they were young and 'poor,' of sorts. For cheap winter entertainment they would go the Philadelphia airport, in the days when everyone could sit at the gate, and watch the people deplaning from CA flights. Consider that this was before enclosed jetways/jetbridge -- when deplaning involved an encounter with local weather, descending the moveable stairs and a walk across the tarmac. My parents reported some funny stories about inadequate clothing, shocked expressions, etc.

Thanks for triggering that memory!

 

[crisi]

One aspect of the trip I would caution you about is the drive to the resort.

For example, Smuggs (Smuggler's Notch) looks spectacular, but it's about a 4 hour drive from Boston. You gonna do that in a rental car, driving in snow for the first time? Maybe not.

If not, you need to research how you get from Point A to Point Z without going from Point M to N...to M...to N...to M...to N...you get the idea.

It's a vacation, not an adventure -- you don't want it to be exciting!

OTOH, in Colorado we have flown both into DEN and into Vail/Eagle and taken a shuttle van to Breck, Vail, Aspen/Snowmass, etc ... some of which are 2+ hour trips. Another popular choice is flying into Hayden and going to Steamboat Springs. With a shuttle -- easy and safe. With me at the wheel -- true adventure!

So look for not only a place that will have snow, but a place that will have snow and has a reasonable method of getting from the airport to the resort.

I was going to suggest Lutsen Minnesota - which is less expensive than Colorado or Vermont (generally speaking) and a quiet little ski resort town on the North Shore of Lake Superior with several RCI options either right there, or half an hour away. Then I remembered that its a five and a half hour drive from the Twin Cities - beautifully scenic for the last hour and a half as you drive along Lake Superior, and four hours of easy freeway - but even freeways aren't easy if it IS snowing - even for those of us that drive in it for four months a year. You could fly into Duluth - but then you are still driving an hour and a half (in good weather) up the Superior shore.

You could, as was suggested, rent points and then go to a city that has snow - and some form of public transportation or use cabs. The Twin Cities has ice rinks with skate rental and cross country skiing with ski rental in many of their parks. Wirth even has snow tubing with a rope (which is a lot easier than skiing ) Public transportation here isn't great, but cabs are easy to get.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I was going to suggest Lutsen Minnesota - which is less expensive than Colorado or Vermont (generally speaking) and a quiet little ski resort town on the North Shore of Lake Superior with several RCI options either right there, or half an hour away. Then I remembered that its a five and a half hour drive from the Twin Cities - beautifully scenic for the last hour and a half as you drive along Lake Superior, and four hours of easy freeway - but even freeways aren't easy if it IS snowing - even for those of us that drive in it for four months a year. You could fly into Duluth - but then you are still driving an hour and a half (in good weather) up the Superior shore.

You could, as was suggested, rent points and then go to a city that has snow - and some form of public transportation or use cabs. The Twin Cities has ice rinks with skate rental and cross country skiing with ski rental in many of their parks. Wirth even has snow tubing with a rope (which is a lot easier than skiing ) Public transportation here isn't great, but cabs are easy to get.

And Buck Hill for skiing.

 

[crisi]

And Buck Hill for skiing.

And the Mall of America and several really good museums - because once you've seen snow, taken a sled down a hill, and bruised your back end falling down while ice skating while freezing your nose off - you want to be done with snow. But if you live here, there is still another four months to go.

 

[dbs1228]

Just went to Smugglers Notch 2 weeks ago - beautiful resort. We did get charged a 80.00 cleaning fee through RCI booking when we checked in since we were staying less then a week in a 2 bedroom. There was still remnants of snow on the mountain and this was memorial day weekend. Seemed like a family resort for sure. Burlington Vermont airport is 34 miles away. We drove from Hartford area and that was 3 1/2 hours.

 

[JimMIA]

Have you considered renting your points out and using the cash to book a resort somewhere. This would give you many more options and possibly save you some money.

This is very good advice, especially considering what Dean posted about the lack of 1 BR options in many timeshares. If you have to use 270 points to do an exchange, you may really be able to save a lot using the rent points/pay cash strategy.

I would look at the TUG rentals and Redweek, and see what you can get and how much it would cost. Also check eBay, but beware of anyone who is renting an RCI exchange. Booking an RCI exchange and then renting it out is prohibited, and could result in the cancellation of the reservation. Regardless of how you rent your DVC points, you should be able to net $11 per point if you rent a reservation.

One of the problems you will have with DVC is that DVC/RCI only offers about 600 of the more than 3,000 RCI resorts, so your choices may be severely limited. In fact, in many "snow" destinations, you may only have one choice and very limited availability.

If you rent your points and pay cash, there are no limitations on where you can go.

 

[CMOORE185]

I thought about giving some advice, but this was such a bad winter I don't even want to think about snow for a long time. Finally enjoying some outside activities, I even like mowing the lawn at this point.

 

[Dean]

Just went to Smugglers Notch 2 weeks ago - beautiful resort. We did get charged a 80.00 cleaning fee through RCI booking when we checked in since we were staying less then a week in a 2 bedroom. There was still remnants of snow on the mountain and this was memorial day weekend. Seemed like a family resort for sure. Burlington Vermont airport is 34 miles away. We drove from Hartford area and that was 3 1/2 hours.

Most RCI resorts that charge a housekeeping fee for stays less than a week even if they do not say so online.