Newbie trying to figure it all out - VGC??

[HIRyeDVC]

Is it boat to MK and bus to everywhere else?

pretty much. there used to be boats that ran between the resorts like BLT, VGF, and Poly but those never came back after the pandemic. The direct boats to MK could get backed up at times as well, as some have reported waiting 20-30 minutes at the dock for a boat. You add another 15-20 minute ride as it stops at Fort Wilderness, and you could be looking at a 40-50 minute commute to MK. No way Jose. But the counter argument is that since it's so secluded, it's not as crazy as some of the other resort lobbies like VGF, Poly, and VGC, which feels like Grand Central Station at most times of the day. So in essence, the lack of transportation options at Wilderness Lodge help it keep it's charming secluded wilderness theme. Can't have it all!

 

[ClaraOswald]

pretty much. there used to be boats that ran between the resorts like BLT, VGF, and Poly but those never came back after the pandemic. The direct boats to MK could get backed up at times as well, as some have reported waiting 20-30 minutes at the dock for a boat. You add another 15-20 minute ride as it stops at Fort Wilderness, and you could be looking at a 40-50 minute commute to MK. No way Jose. But the counter argument is that since it's so secluded, it's not as crazy as some of the other resort lobbies like VGF, Poly, and VGC, which feels like Grand Central Station at most times of the day. So in essence, the lack of transportation options at Wilderness Lodge help it keep it's charming secluded wilderness theme. Can't have it all!

So is boat the ONLY way to MK unless you take a car? I'd rather take a bus if it was quicker than the boat. I didn't realize waits could be that bad!

 

[Chili327]

Is it boat to MK and bus to everywhere else?

You can also monorail from MK. (after boat from WL)

 

[Pens Fan]

So is boat the ONLY way to MK unless you take a car? I'd rather take a bus if it was quicker than the boat. I didn't realize waits could be that bad!

It's not bad. - at all!!

There IS a bus to MK from Wilderness Lodge. It's an extremely short ride - like 5 minutes or so and probably because it's so short seems to come quite often. We actually love the boat ride to MK though. Yes, we've occasionally had to wait for one, but no longer then we have waited for a monorail or bus to other resorts. It's Disney transportaion. Sometimes you hit it just right and other times you walk up just after your ride just left. The boat is just such a relaxing trip. It's a nice break from the hubub that is WDW. And just to point out something that was mentioned above - while they do sometimes share boats with Fort Wilderness, they don't always. Actually in about 10 or so stays at WL over the last 4 years or so, I only remember one time we had to stop at the Fort and it was after a Halloween party when everyone was leaving at once and they were just trying to get as many people on a boat as they could to clear the line at MK. Other than that one time we've gone straight to (or from) MK.

At the end of the day, the best transportation is always going to be your own feet. So any resort within walking distance to a park is always going to be prime. The rest of Disney transportation just kind of all blend in to me. I've never found one to be better than the other. But I do love a nice, quiet boat ride, even if it's not always the fastest!

 

[CarolynFH]

I haven't looked at Cooper Creek yet

Beware the common typo — it’s Copper Creek (2 p’s).

 

[NVDISFamily]

It's weird. I own CCV. Love the theming. But I can't get myself to stay. The transportation options stink to me.

I can understand that. For us, we will definitely enjoy a few days at MK on most of our WDW trips, but it's likely the park we want to visit the least... It's not that it's bad, but our 10+ days at Disneyland most years kind of satisfies the same itch and IMO in some ways is a better experience due to Disneyland + DCA kind of being one massive park if you have a AP (even better with the 11am hopping now). For us we are more than happy to rotate a 4 or 5 night stay at Wilderness Lodge in a 2BR, Cabin, or if I really want to make @MrsNVDISFamily happy the GV on our trips and stay at the resort most of the time. It's also close enough to the MK loop that it seems like a fun adventure to get over there and go do some stuff...

I could be wrong. Let's see how the trip goes in June.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I don't like how www.dvcresalemarket.com on Facebook lists the last names of people who buy contracts. Do they ask people's permission first? I wouldn't want such a large purchase announced to everyone like that. Sure, it's all public record or whatever. But to just blast it on FB feels weird to me. Especially if someone has a not-very-common last name.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah, they send a letter after 8 absences. And then I'll get another one at 10. They include illnesses in those which is really dumb. We actually have more than 8 so not sure which ones they didn't count (but I'm not about to tell them. Ha!)

We will likely only go to WDW in late January/early February. We haven't been there since 2012 though so when we do make it back it's going to be so different.



I haven't looked at Cooper Creek yet so I definitely will. I don't suspect we'll buy a contract for there but we might want to check it out sometime anyway. Wilderness Lodge is so pretty.

https://apple.news/AprNtRLXNTY-0R1KO_egfoQ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-trip-school-vacation-educational-1375c2d6

I saw this in the WSJ this morning….

 

[ClaraOswald]

https://apple.news/AprNtRLXNTY-0R1KO_egfoQ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-trip-school-vacation-educational-1375c2d6

I saw this in the WSJ this morning….

Article is behind a paywall. Is it about how some schools accept a Disney trip as education don't count it as an absence? I don't think my state would do this. It's so dumb though because in 2020/2021, I homeschooled since I didn't like their lack of covid precautions. So the state thinks I'm fit to homeschool but we now "get in trouble" for pulling him out. Not to mention we only pulled him for 5 days for the trip. And 1 day for camping last Fall. Most of his absences are due to illness.

Thankfully, my son is on an IEP and an alternative curriculum. We also are in constant contact with his teachers/the principal. So they basically told me not to worry about it and it's just a requirement by the state to send out those letters. It's meant to catch kids who might fall between the cracks with parents who just don't bring their kids in for no real reason. At his IEP meeting in January, they were all excited about our upcoming Disneyland trip. So I'm thankful my son is at an understanding school. We're really lucky in that sense.

I still don't think we'll pull him out for winter trips every year. Partly because we seem to get sick so much in winter. This trip, at the last minute we were worried we'd have to cancel because of illness. Plus...we hate flying and driving in the winter isn't really an option. I'm thinking the next time we pull him out of school for Disneyland will maybe be December 2025 so we've got a while.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I got an alert for a new contract available for VGC. I think it's odd to see a contract with no points available for 2022 or 2023 and then only 3 points for 2024. Hard pass from me. I can't see the benefit from buying a contract like that.

ETA - Nevermind. I just noticed the seller is paying 2023 dues and giving a credit for the 2024 dues. So I guess that's okay for someone who maybe doesn't plan to take any trips for a while.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I got an alert for a new contract available for VGC. I think it's odd to see a contract with no points available for 2022 or 2023 and then only 3 points for 2024. Hard pass from me. I can't see the benefit from buying a contract like that.

ETA - Nevermind. I just noticed the seller is paying 2023 dues and giving a credit for the 2024 dues. So I guess that's okay for someone who maybe doesn't plan to take any trips for a while.

what's it listed for?

 

[Canchaser143]

what's it listed for?

$252pp

 

[ClaraOswald]

So even though I look at several sites, I keep hoping I end up finding on on the sponsor site and it's partly because their website just seems better to me. I know, that's a dumb reason. Ha! I have no idea if they are any good to work with or not. Since I don't fully understand the process, I hope whoever we end up submitting offers to will be helpful and walk me through everything.

I wonder if https://dvcsales.com/ is very good to deal with. I see an interesting (to me) contract over there right now.

 

[AstroBlasters]

So even though I look at several sites, I keep hoping I end up finding on on the sponsor site and it's partly because their website just seems better to me. I know, that's a dumb reason. Ha! I have no idea if they are any good to work with or not. Since I don't fully understand the process, I hope whoever we end up submitting offers to will be helpful and walk me through everything.

I wonder if https://dvcsales.com/ is very good to deal with. I see an interesting (to me) contract over there right now.

GC180?

 

[limace]

Just buy the contract that best suits your needs-don’t worry too much about the site. The momentary pain of going through resale regardless of company is over quickly and forgotten once you move into using points.

Use year and number of points and resort-those are the decisions you most need to make.

 

[ClaraOswald]

GC180?

Yeah, though it will probably be gone before I could make an offer anyway. And we wouldn't be able to use those 25 pts before expiring.

And honestly, I wish I could get a 150-160 December UY instead of June but I don't think I'll want to risk waiting for one to pop up.

Just buy the contract that best suits your needs-don’t worry too much about the site. The momentary pain of going through resale regardless of company is over quickly and forgotten once you move into using points.

Use year and number of points and resort-those are the decisions you most need to make.

Good point. I won't stress too much about which company we end up making offers to.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah, though it will probably be gone before I could make an offer anyway. And we wouldn't be able to use those 25 pts before expiring.

And honestly, I wish I could get a 150-160 December UY instead of June but I don't think I'll want to risk waiting for one to pop up.



Good point. I won't stress too much about which company we end up making offers to.

I think that looks like a good contract for you.

You could sell/rent the 185 2022/2023 UY points for at least $18pp through the board sponsor and use the $3300 to bring the avg cost per point down to ~$217pp after some haggling.

Then you’ll have all the points you need for a wonderful June 2024 trip!

Or sell 25 points through the board and rent/transfer thread and bank the 200 2023UY points!

Or plan an extra trip and book a cheap flight down to WDW at WL or HH or VB for a few days next year!

So many options!

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Yeah, though it will probably be gone before I could make an offer anyway. And we wouldn't be able to use those 25 pts before expiring.

And honestly, I wish I could get a 150-160 December UY instead of June but I don't think I'll want to risk waiting for one to pop up.



Good point. I won't stress too much about which company we end up making offers to.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Trust me...I would if I could. We're still waiting on a few things that are up in the air with our 'real life.' Ha!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Trust me...I would if I could. We're still waiting on a few things that are up in the air with our 'real life.' Ha!

Ah, real life… always getting in the way of frivolous luxury items!