Help Please With Spring Break Trip - Non-home Resort

[cascadecupcake]

Please help me understand my options for Spring Break next year.

I'm assuming rooms are snatched up the second they become available for this time frame. If I want to stay at a non-home resort, is my only option to rent points from someone who's home resort is where I want to stay and then rent mine/sell to someone else?

 

[ldo]

if you can book at 7 months out, there is good availability at most resorts. If you want a specific, limited room, then is it harder--such as MK view, AKV concierge, THV. But, if you just want a different resort, you should have multiple options---OKW, SSR, AKV will almost always have rooms available. The more limited ones will be THV, VWL and BCV, as they are much smaller resorts.
One thing to do right at 7 months is to get on a waiting list, as many have booked their home resort and are tyring to shift over to another resort at 7 months. My WL was filled 2 days after I put started it right at 7 months. We own at VWL and have stayed at AKV the past 3 spring breaks. Elaine

 

[mousefan1972]

I wouldn't say that is your only option. Do you not want to stay at your home resort at all?

It also depends on what you are trying to book at the 7 month mark. If you want AKL club level or value, or BLT standard view, then your chances aren't great. If you want an OKW 1 BR, I'd say your chances are great.

Could you be more specific as to what resort/room type you want to book, when, and for how many nights? Then we could better advise you as to what is your best option.

 

[cascadecupcake]

Yes, Mousefan, I do not want to stay at my home resort at all--too many points. I calculated incorrectly, plus when the treehouse points for 2013 were increased it put it out of our reach. So, we are now looking at a 2Bed. AKV 2B Value would be perfect as I would have enough points between my 2012 and 2013 points. (Why IS this type of unit so cheap???)

Elaine~ you give me great hope! What type of room were you able to get at the 7 month window at AKV for Spring Break, if you don't mind me asking...

 

[Deb & Bill]

Yes, Mousefan, I do not want to stay at my home resort at all--too many points. I calculated incorrectly, plus when the treehouse points for 2013 were increased it put it out of our reach. So, we are now looking at a 2Bed. AKV 2B Value would be perfect as I would have enough points between my 2012 and 2013 points. (Why IS this type of unit so cheap???)

Elaine~ you give me great hope! What type of room were you able to get at the 7 month window at AKV for Spring Break, if you don't mind me asking...

Unfortunately, the value villas will probably be booked before 7 months out for Spring Break. How about a plan old SSR 2 bedroom or an OKW 2 bedroom?

 

[mousefan1972]

Yes, Mousefan, I do not want to stay at my home resort at all--too many points. I calculated incorrectly, plus when the treehouse points for 2013 were increased it put it out of our reach. So, we are now looking at a 2Bed. AKV 2B Value would be perfect as I would have enough points between my 2012 and 2013 points. (Why IS this type of unit so cheap???)

Elaine~ you give me great hope! What type of room were you able to get at the 7 month window at AKV for Spring Break, if you don't mind me asking...

A value 2 BR is going to be very tough to book at the 7 month mark for Spring Break. The value villas are less points because they are 3 feet shorter in length than the non-value villas at AKV, and the view is not guaranteed.

If you have your heart set on a value 2 BR, you could try to find an AKV owner who has points to transfer and have the # of points you need transferred into your account so you can make the reservation at the 11 month mark. Then you can try to rent a comparable amount of your SSR points to break even. Good luck!

 

[bobbiwoz]

You would have a better chance at 7 months for a standard view at either Kidani or Jambo, there are more of them. Be sure to call right at 7 months.

 

[blondietink]

Don't know about AKV, but we have booked our home resort, SSR for spring break 2 years in a row now and switched at 7 months to a one bedroom at BCV with no problems.

 

[Brandis]

A couple of months ago, but well after the 7 months mark, I booked a studio at OKW without problems for our upcoming stay which falls partly into spring break (I actually didn't realize that then, I usually try to avoid very busy times) and only recently switched over to a studio at Saratoga Springs.

Sure, those are very big resorts, but at least you should be able to get at least something even if you try to book later than at 7 months.

 

[zeferjen]

For what it's worth, I recently booked a trip 30 days out for Spring break. I got SSR right away and my waitlist for Kidani came through the following week.

 

[dvcbrad]

I'm not sure how the rent/trade board works as far as this go, and don't know how complicated this would be and/or if you'd want to try it, but I would suppose that another possible option would be to post a trade wanted posting for the resort you want. You could post an offer to trade XX points at Resort #1 (the one you own) for the same amount of points at Resort #2 ... the one you want. You would then have possession of the 11 month points and be able to make your reservation then.

I've occasionally rented out points on the rent/trade board, and did a transfer once, but never attempted anything like this. I'm curious to hear from others more knowledgable about this than I to see whether my theory is plausible or not.

 

[pouncingpluto]

We had really good luck this year-- at about 4 or 5 months out for the week before Easter, we got the first five nights of our trip in a treehouse villa (couldn't get 7, but in retrospect that's fine-- that would be too long with the mother-in-law). Then we're sending our extended family home and staying in a 1-bedroom at BWV for the final three nights-- we got that off the waitlist after being on the waitlist only about a week (I can't remember what we had before that-- I think AKV savanna view).

 

[spiceycat]

Please help me understand my options for Spring Break next year.

I'm assuming rooms are snatched up the second they become available for this time frame. If I want to stay at a non-home resort, is my only option to rent points from someone who's home resort is where I want to stay and then rent mine/sell to someone else?

if you are not going for Easter or Palm week - then think you will be fine.

try it at the 7 month time before you make it harder on yourself - also be prepare to move your time a little.

go for the first friday - then if you can't go for saturday then sunday - before you give up and go for a resort you don't really want.

now if you are going Easter or Palm week - then expect it to sell out before the 7 month time. this does not mean that when closer to your time you can't get another resort - at the 30 day when you either have to cancel or your point might go into holding - sometimes you can get the resort you want then.

 

[ldo]

your original questions was are you locked into your home resort---no, not at all. "Can we get the value rooms at AKL" is a very different question, and the answer is "don't count on it." You can try and you can waitlist right at 7 months and you can get lucky. I got AKV-studio value for Easter week. The AKV standard views are also a few points lower than other DVC resorts and are usually easy to get at 7 months.
If you don't have enough points, one option is to cut your trip short by 1 day, or spend a night or 2 at a cheaper place--whether a moderate or value at WDW, a DTD hotel, or off-site. We have stayed at DVC and then moved over to a Fairfield/SpringHill Suites nearby. This year, we have a split stay b/c we have Univ. passes. We will do DVC/WDW/DTD stuff while at DVC and then move closer to Univ. for the 2 days we go to Univ.
IMHO, I would rather cut my trip short by 1 day, do a split (non DVC) stay before I rented points/trasnferred points, etc. Good luck. Elaine

 

[Cathy66]

I have tried twice to book at the seven month window for Spring Break and both times have had success. One year I wanted AK with a Savannah view and this year we are off the Beach Club.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Less than a month ago i booked for spring break, got VWL in 1 bedroom, could have gotten OKW or SSR 1 or 2 bedrooms. Sat-friday