Longer stays, what do you do about Fri/Sat nights to conserve points??

[Maistre Gracey]

We do not move for weekends either. In fact, we may be doing the complete opposite for our April trip. April 15th is peak season at the regular Disney resorts, and we are looking to use points for a three day concierge AKL visit. Two of those nights are weekends. No, we would not plan it that way purposely, however due to a work schedule glitch it may happen. I have no problem using the points for that.

Good luck...

 

[patsal]

I've done both. When staying for two weeks now, I tend to do this: If we are going to do US/IOA I like the FOTL thing so we stay there on the weekend to save points. We have AP's so if there is an AP discount we take advantage of that on Fri and Sat. However, if we are leaving on a Saturday am I will usually stay put to save time. It is easier to swallow the high points for just one night than for four or more. At first we just figured the higher points in, but after some thinking we found we could get an additional week of vacation if we opted to switch out to cash ressies with a discount on weekends. We also save up all the points DH earns on his business trips so we can stay at some of the DTD hotels free on weekends.

 

[Richyams]

I think I found another issue to push Deep's buttons with.

I got real good with BWV, now for my next challenge.......

People using points strictly for weekends hurts us all. We can already see that with SSR the difference is less, we had a survey question about evening the points out several years ago. It was a pretty good majority that voted 'no' for evening out the points.

I also happen to think lowering the minimum number of points required to buy in was a mistake. I think it made only weekday stays more common.

 

[DeeP]

Originally posted by Richyams
I think I found another issue to push Deep's buttons with.

I got real good with BWV, now for my next challenge.......

Sorry, again you are wrong. You are not pushing my buttons, you are not worth my time nor effort. I personally could not care what your opinion or feelings are on any issue. I have already wasted 3 minutes of my time on you, not another second will be wasted. Adios!

 

[CRobin]

Originally posted by Richyams
People using points strictly for weekends hurts us all.

LOL, Rich - Freudian slip?

 

[perdidobay]

We don't move during our stay.... our vacation time is too precious to us.......... at this point in our lives we have more money than time......... and we bought the points to use........
so we use them. It makes up the difference in the long run for us.

 

[lenshanem]

Perosnally with kids and all the crap we bring moving woudl be a huge drag. But, I understand the higher points. Thus, we don't usually plan trips on those nights. Now, an idea though is to stay at one DVC resort, move for the weekend offiste going to Sea World, Universal, ect. than stwich back to a DIFFERENT DVC resort for the last leg. It wodul be liek 3 trisp in one!

 

[MinnieGi]

At our stays at OKW and our upcoming stay at BWV we are staying for the whole week in our one bedroom. However this coming Feb. I was able to book a standard one bedroom for Sun - Thurs. stay with enough points left over for our usual fall stay in a one bedroom. We are planning to stay at another resort Poly, BC or YC conceirge and pay cash for the rest of our stay. I like the idea of this as I like to try out different resorts! We'll see how we like changing resorts as we have never done this and that will probably determine how we use future points.

Hope your paperwork goes through!!

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by DeeP
You are not pushing my buttons, you are not worth my time nor effort. I personally could not care what your opinion or feelings are on any issue. I have already wasted 3 minutes of my time on you.....

Are you sure........

 

[psimon]

Originally posted by Richyams
If you look at the cost of your entire vacation, you are doing quite well. I think it is Penny wise..... to go through the hassle of moving to save a couple points.

I also think you are doing yourself and the rest of us a diservice by avoiding weekends like the plague. Each time you do that, it gets closer and closer to the re-distributing the points so that you no longer have the points for the vacation you planned.

I thought about the don't want to move bit, but when it came down to Fri and Sat costing almost as much as the other 5 days for a 1 bedroom, I could not justify the expense. Since we ran out of points and I obtained these points through a friend, I couldn't see spending almost the same amount again. We are spending the first 2 nights at Universal for less than one night at OKW. Doesn't make sense to us to do it any other way. If I pack properly, the moving isn't even a big deal. Pack one bag for the first 2 nights, and don't touch the other luggage till we get to OKW. Works really well if you plan ahead.

As to the "doing myself and everyone else a diservice because we avoided the weekend".... I don't see it. Sounds to me like I AM doing myself a service by conserving on my $$$ (or in this case points) so I can do other things and stay longer in Florida.

Just my $0.02!

Paul

 

[jdkdorn]

We bought the points to use them. We just added on to our original 250 purchase so now we will have 550 as of Sept 2004. We bought this as a prepaid vacation we use every point for days. We are doing the most wastefull thing in January and don't feel bad about it. We are using 400 points to stay at the GC at DL. We figure this way we don't have hotel costs and that is what we bought this for. So I will not pay for a room anymore unless my points can not be used where we are going.

 

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

We did exactly what you are planning to do this past June. We stayed at WLV Sun - Fri and moved to Swan Fri/Sat night and then moved to BWV to save points and extend the stay. We even had points left over for another trip in September.

I think you can conserve your points as you see fit and don't worry about afftecting the rest of us by not using your points on weekends. In my opinion, the weekend points are too high. I think Disney wanted cash ressies for weekends and don't care if we use our points. Judging by some of the responses, they have been successful because the DVC owners are willing to pay cash for those nights with or without a discount.


As for convenience, it is a little less convenient to check out and in again but if you have to leave on a Monday because you ran out of points instead of staying until the following Friday, I'd say it was well worth the inconvience. If you are staying at the Swan/Dolphin for the weekend, you can walk over to BWV early with your morning coffee, check in, and head back to your room and get your stuff. Piece of cake.

I vote for a longer stay.

 

[erikthewise]

The point schedules were set up the way they were specifically to push us toward weekdays and away from weekends. So it can hardly be unpatriotic to do just as the DVC Founders intended. The idea was that the weekday-only people would be roughly balanced by weekend-only people (e.g. DVC locals).

Perhaps Richyams or others have access to complete usage statistics showing this plan has gone horribly awry, that the resorts are sitting empty on weekends, and the viability of DVC is thereby in jeopardy. But failing that, I suggest we graciously let people follow their personal whims in how they use their points.

 

[threeprincesses]

On our last trip, we arrived Saturday and used priceline for the first night. BEWARE, we paid $90 to stay in what I considered a dump!! If you plan on staying offsite, I would recommend booking the room direct so you know what you are getting!! Priceline has worked for us in the past, but this time I was really disappointed.
On our next trip, we are considering trying to stay at OKW or SSR which cost less points for a weekend night or two. It will give us a chance to check out some places we've never stayed yet, but also help us to save our points for a large family trip we are planning in the future.
I don't know about anyone else, but I always am left wishing for more points, I don't think it would matter how many I had. Thus, conservation make sense to me!!

 

[HookdonWDW]

We use the weekends to fit in our trip to US/IOA. We like to stay onsite when we go to Universal... not only are the hotels beautiful, but you can't beat the Unlimited FOTL passes!

 

[threeprincesses]

Since we may be visiting Universal next time, I must ask what is FOTL passes? Its been several years since we've been there.

 

[xlstacey]

We just purchased 200 SSR points and plan to visit WDW every 3 years or so. (live on the West coast w/3 children). When we go to WDW we try to stay at least 2 weeks. We have Worldmark points and have successfully traded for OKW this coming January ... very lucky In the future we might use 1 week at SSR and then 1 week elsewhere in Orlando. After our children are grown we may change our views and not want to stay an entire week or 2 at the same resort ... we'll see. Good luck and thank you everyone for the wonderful posts...enjoyable to read everyone's ideas

 

[HookdonWDW]

Originally posted by threeprincesses
Since we may be visiting Universal next time, I must ask what is FOTL passes? Its been several years since we've been there.

Sorry FOTL stands for "Front of the Line Passes"; I think it's actually known as "Unlimited Universal Express Pass" or something.

Basically, it means that instead of grabbing fast passes for the rides with the express pass machines, you show your room key, and you go right into the Express Line. It's fantastic, and REALLY spoils you!! You can also show your room key at some of the restaurants, and move to the front of the list there also. Each person in your party needs to show a room key in order to utilize this.

For us, this really makes staying onsite at US/IOA worth it.

 

[klcason]

I was actually just researching this very same thing. I love the US/IOA ideas, and you can find some real deals for the weekend nights. I just don't know if we will use it yet as we have very young ones that may not enjoy US/IOA just yet. Although I see this as our best option for the future. We stayed at the Embassy Suites on our arrival night in Sept. We did not anticipate making the drive all in one day (15 hours) so we did not have a ressie. I was more than happy with the $99 room + breakfast vs the $240 + for the 1 BR cash at OKW.

Since we were able to check-in and get our room at 8:30 the next morning I was very, very happy with everything.

I really don't think we can expect everyone's needs to be the same. That is why the point system works so well for so many people and their situations. What works for me may not work for the next person.

Travelling with a 4 and 2 year old and moving after the first night wasn't that big of a deal. And we were able to use those points for a future stay. Whatever makes you happy is what I think you should do.

Kayla

 

[WDWorld2003]

Just curious - does anyone ever start out in a studio if you arrive on a weekend and then move up to a 1 or 2 bedroom? It seems this would be easier as you wouldn't be changing resorts, you would save points, and the front desk could store your luggage. We are considering this for next spring as our first night we will be arriving late and could save over 40 points by doing this.