points question

[ClarabelleCow]

I know I hit upon this in the past but --

Why would Presidents week at the parks (starting 2/21) be considered Magic Season, but Vero is Premier, the weather can be kind of off there during that tie of year? HH is Magic, which I understand because of the weather?

 

[PamOKW]

February, March, April are the traditional High season for Florida. They based the schedule on that when they opened the resort. I wish they would make an adjustment and put at least part of the summer months into Magic season and give us some relief on the Premiere season. They did adjust the cash schedule to put in a higher summer rate once they found out how many Disney people would come to Vero in the summer months. Usually Florida resorts are looking for folks in the summer.

 

[Dean]

Vero is "South Florida" and follows the same characteristics as the Caribbean for the most part. Easter and Xmas are the busiests at WDW.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

I guess what I don't "get" is Presidents week is Magic season at the resorts in Orlando (less points), but its Premier at Vero (more points). The weather is iffy, so I don't get why they would make the points heavier at Vero then?

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by ClarabelleCow
I guess what I don't "get" is Presidents week is Magic season at the resorts in Orlando (less points), but its Premier at Vero (more points). The weather is iffy, so I don't get why they would make the points heavier at Vero then?

Disney has a lot of info to tell them what the travel demographics are. I think you need to forget the idea that they are only 2 hours apart. The travel habits for one does not dictate the other by any means. DVC has been very reluctant to reallocate the points again, last time was 95 or 96. I think if they change anything, they will make a LOT of changes. That likely means that what most people want will go up more than other things will go down. While I understand that the points changes must balance, tell that to the people affected last time around. VB is also much of a Snow Bird location with many people from up North and Canada visiting in the winter.

 

[PamOKW]

As Dean said -- Think of DVC Vero in terms of every other Florida hotel outside of those related to the Orlando theme parks. Winter has been and always be the biggest season for these resorts. People flock from around the world to stay in Florida -- that's what built Florida. Yes, the weather can be "iffy" but you know it won't be snowing! The area around Vero also begins the sub-tropical part of Florida and is milder than the Orlando area and points north.

With so many resorts going to on-line booking, I couldn't lay my hands on rate schedules to show you for comparison. The closest I could come is the very rough schedule that the small, quirky independent Driftwood Resort in Vero has. This shows how much more important winter is than summer to most Florida resorts. Heck, most resorts are empty in the summer months when the temps and humidity are both in the 90's. This is one place where Disney has been lucky since people who are nuts enough to visit Orlando in the summer will also vacation in Vero in summer.

Here's the Driftwood rates:

Off Season - April 30 thru December 21, January 2
thru January 31, excludes Holiday weekends

In Season - December 21 thru January 1, February 1
thru April 29, all Holiday weekends

 

[PamOKW]

For fun I looked up two different dates at Marriott's Hutchinson Island Resort (down the road from Vero in Stuart).

The Deluxe Sandpiper Full Oceanview Suite for Feb. 25-27, 2005 runs $419 per night. The same suite for July 25-27, 2004 costs $239. Summer is the low season for Florida beach resorts.

 

[JudyS]

I'm wondering if school schedules aren't a factor here. Disneyworld is, of course, a major destination for families with school-age children, and therefore any week when school is out is high season. Perhaps most schools don't give enough time off for Presidents' Week for families to go to Florida. (The college where I teach doesn't give *any* time off for Presidents' Week, but does have a full week for Spring Break.) This makes it hard for Presidents' Week to be high season, even if us snowbirds would love a break from winter then.

Vero may appeal more to other ages groups, who aren't tied to school schedules.