o.k. my theory (please feel free to contradict)

[carolfoy]

HI, can I let you know my plans for buying dVC and can you please tell me if you think I'm going wrong somewhere or give any other hints?

1, Buying 150 points at SSR for last week in October we usually holiday then so we can do 1 week of half term and 1 week out of school. It is usually me, mum and DS
2, This would use 97 points in a studio or we could go further in to the next week or bank remaining points and maybe get a few days with a few on the coast early the next year
3, I have the majority of the money sorted to put down a 30% deposit then pay balance on my 6 month no interest credit card, by the time the credit card applies interest I will have the balance to pay it all off
4, If i decide not to use my points that year i can bank and borrow against the next year to ensure a longer stay/more room in another resort or ask family and friends if they want to join us
5, i'm buying saratoga 'cos of the longer lease time and disney take on the closing costs
6, Do i need to buy a year end september or when if i intend to (nearly always) travel in Oct?
7, my points will buy me almost 2 weeks in OKW for the same time of year so what is the likelihood of swapping my res for then? is it better to reserve at SSR and then switch once the 7 month window comes up ar just wait until then anyway?
If I think of anything else I'll ask later
Sorry to waffle and as i said please feel to tell me Im wrong/daft on any of these points

 

[Bexx]

You seem to have got the hang of this DVC business!!

Just to check - how long do you plan to stay in WDW? The 97 points gets you one week, and you dont' have quite enough for another full week, unless you bank or borrow.

Sept use year sounds good - then you'll get your new set of points on the 1st Sept every year. As for trying to book at OKW one year - it shouldn't be a problem. October isn't a high DVC season and OKW is a BIG (but still lovely) resort. Definitely best to reserve a room at your home resort though and then try to swap at the 7 month window. At least then you know you have somewhere to stay!!

 

[carolfoy]

THanks Bexx, as for how long I'd stay it would probably depend on the following years holiday plans, if I took flights in oct for 2 weeks the i'd stay at DVC for probably 9-10 days to use all my points then go up to the coast for the last 3-4 days or if i was intending on going again in the early part of the following year i'd do a 1 week stay in oct or a 1 week DVC/1week coast stay and put my points towards another stay, say, in the following feb.
does that sound ok ?

 

[Bexx]

Sounds fine. Perfect in fact!!

On the main DVC board a lot of people suggest saving points by not staying on points at the weekends. I couldn't be bothered to move about in the middle of my holiday, but this year we did stay the first (a Saturday) night we arrived in Orlando at a hotel near the airport. That saved us 64 points on our 2 bedroom villa - though obviously it's not going make too much difference for a studio stay! The other advantage is that you can then turn up at SSR in reasonable time the next morning, which might give you a better chance of getting a room that fits any requests you made. It's believe that the later you turn up during the day the less chance you have of getting such a room. (But please remember that requests are just requests and never guaranteed!!! )

 

[carolfoy]

Thanks Bexx, I figured if I used my DVC for 8-10 stays then I could resell if I was bored withWDW (can't see that happening) or if I needed the money for something else and SSr would be a better resell 'cos of the extra length of lease involved. I understand you can also go elsewhere like other timeshare so thats always an option too.

 

[Hilary]

6, Do i need to buy a year end september or when if i intend to (nearly always) travel in Oct?

The most important thing about choosing a Use Year is to try to avoid the chance of having to cancel a trip without being within your banking time frame. Whatever your UY you'll have a set timetable for banking points.

If you have a September UY, your timetable would be:
Last day to bank 100% points is February 28
Last day to bank 50% of points is May 31
Last day to bank 25% points is June 30
Which would give you plenty of time to bank any points if you had to cancel an October trip using points from September of the same year.

However, if you're buying SSR from Disney you may not have a choice of UY as they don't have all UYs released for sale at the same time - the only way to check whether September is available is to ask a guide.

7, my points will buy me almost 2 weeks in OKW for the same time of year so what is the likelihood of swapping my res for then? is it better to reserve at SSR and then switch once the 7 month window comes up ar just wait until then anyway?

October is becoming more popular for DVC reservations, but they tend to be for the Food & Wine festival, so it's BWV and BCV that get full first. OKW (apart from a GV) is unlikely to be a problem but, for peace of mind, you might want to reserve at SSR so you know you have a reservation if OKW doesn't come through.

You'll need to watch the difference in points between SSR and OKW if you do switch your reservation, particularly if you borrow any points. It sounds as though you've got a great feel for the way DVC works already, so I'm sure you won't have a problem keeping track of your points!

 

[vernon]

As has been said, it looks like you have got a pretty good grasp on the DVC concept already.

I've always looked at the DVC aspect of a vacation as being the high point of the trip as opposed to providing ALL of my accommodation needs on each trip. As it appears you also would spend time off site I would look at the ways of minimising your points costs ( as this will allow you more stays at a later time). Using OKW whenever possible is a good way to cut down on your points needs (it also gives you two "proper beds" as opposed to one bed and a sleeper sofa, as your DS grows up and your mom gets older this may be a growing factor) , as is avoiding weekends whenever possible. As it's likely you'd fly in on a weekend and home on a weekend you'll be able to cut down on some of the expensive weekend points needs. As Bexx says checking into a cheap hotel for your first ( arrival) night is, IMHO, a very workable option as most people from the UK only have time to grab a snack and go to bed. you can "pre check in" to your DVC resort early the next day and have full access to the facilities or parks from that time. Even for a studio, at OKW at the cheapest time of year a Friday or Saturday night is going to cost you 20 points for the room, whichever room size you take it's a decent rule of thumb that a weekend night (Fri or Sat) will cost you two and a half times the amount of points you need for a weekday night. Seeing as it's impossible to make much use of any resort on your first day of arrival as most planes get in mid/late afternoon, by the time you clear customs it's almost impossible to hit the resort before 6.00 (11 pm in the UK). By spending $40-50 on a cheap motel it gives you 2.5 nights at DVC for later .
You may find that some years you'd rather have less time on WDW, but have it as "quality" time by booking just 5 days in a one bedroom unit. While it looks initially to be a higher cost, if you make use of the kitchen facilities ( even just toast,juice and cereal for breakfast or have a "pizza and movie" evening in your unit as opposed to going out to eat) it can easily save you a sizable chunk of change. I feel that with the luxury the bigger units give you and the great facilities that the hotels have it's sometimes hard to justify the expense of leaving the resort and to pay extra $$ to entertain yourself when there are so many things to do at the resort. What I have found over the years is that I spend an increasing amount of time using the resorts during my WDW nights and do more of the parks while I'm staying at cheaper and less inviting accommodation off site.

 

[Miffy2003]

Looking good Carol

Did you manage to get connected to a DVC guide in the end?

 

[carolfoy]

THanks Miffy, I got in touch with Bill at SSR who 'can't wait to meet me in November'!!!
Thanks Vernon for advice on weekend usage I think I'd probably go the way of staying off site for the first 1-2 nights so I can extend my proper time.
Thanks too, Hilary on the UY info, if I get a choice at SSR I'll probably go for a year end aug/sep as I usually have to book my leave some way in advance due to work and then I can plan properly for the following year.
So all in all its looking feasable and good
very happy

 

[paulh]

on 150 points you will be able to go for 6 years for 2 weeks using the borowing metod and then give it a rest the 7 th year then start again browing for 6 years for 2 weeks
Paulh

 

[mark&sue]

I have not used my DVC yet to stay at WDW and was wondering if it was possible to book a really cheap package with a hotel near to Universal/Seaworld for the first weekend and then just check out and go to DVC for the remaining 10/11 days?

The flights seem just as expensive as cheap packages anyway so this seemed a good idea. Has anyone tried it?

We have 400 points but want to take friends with us quite often!!!



Susan

 

[Hilary]

I have not used my DVC yet to stay at WDW and was wondering if it was possible to book a really cheap package with a hotel near to Universal/Seaworld for the first weekend and then just check out and go to DVC for the remaining 10/11 days?

I haven't tried this, but see absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be possible.

I'm sure that, if you plan to leave the package hotel after a couple of days, all you'd need to do is tell the front desk you're leaving. If they are geting their money for your room from the tour operator they won't be worried whether you're in the room or not.

It would be interesting to hear whether anyone has actually done this.

 

[carolfoy]

Fine in theory - I'm a travel agent and clients do this a lot to book cheap packages (usually greek isles and similair) when they really need a flight only and the airline is charging more for a seat only. But the 'official' line is that you have made a contract through the tour op to stay at the hotel for x number of days and you are reneging on that contract by checking out early. I can honestly say that I've never heard a hotel or tour op take this to the extreme and sue but its probably in their rights to do so. As I said before I have a lot of clients that have done this so I'm not looking to put the frighteners on anyone but just thought I'd let you know.

 

[vernon]

Not sure if Mark and Sue were suggesting they wanted to renege on a package deal that was including lodging for their whole stay, or just taking 2 or 3 nights as part of a package where you have to take SOME accommodation.

If you're looking for a route to get a couple of cheap nights in Orlando I tend to use http://www.hotwire.com if you're not too worried about the particular hotel and just need a place to sleep I've found they have consistantly provided me with decent accommodation at a great price.

 

[Renate_do]

If you have a September UY, your timetable would be:
Last day to bank 100% points is February 28
Last day to bank 50% of points is May 31
Last day to bank 25% points is June 30

To get it right. Does this mean.

September UY
Points come 9/1/05 to be used for reservations from 9/1/05-8/31/06
Or I have to bank them till 02/28/06 if I want 100% of the points to be banked and the other mentionend dates to bank 50% or 25% of your owned points, or does it mean you get 50% or 25% of your points banked and the rest is gone?

Greets Renate

 

[gilld]

Ok, so you bank 50% of your points by the deadline, but you keep 50% back because you think you might use them for DLP for example. If you then pass the deadlines or the end of your use year without using the points you have kept back, then yes, you lose them. In other words be sure what you want to do as banked points cannot be put back in their original use year.