Renting points/split stay Lot of ????

[buzzrelly]

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, please move it if not.

I am considering renting points for the first time in April 2015. A good friend has points he will not be using and has offered to let me use them at his cost. Some background: He has 100 points and his home resort is AKL. I believe he told me he can also purchase an additional 24 points, so I would get 124 total from him.

Looking at the dvc points calculator, 124 is ALMOST enough for 6 nights in a studio at BLT with MK view. Or it would cover 7 nights at BCV in a studio.

So I guess, starting here…we would have 4 people in our party…me, my mom, and 2 kids DS13 and DD11. Would a studio be wayyyyyy to small and/or uncomfortable for us? We usually stay in the CR in the tower with a TPV. We love hanging out relaxing in our room in the am and taking afternoon breaks. Will we feel too cramped in a studio to relax? Also, some people have said that the sleeper sofas are quite uncomfortable so my next thought is that if we change to a 1 bedroom, wouldn't 2 people still be sleeping on a sleeper sofa? I know in the 1BDR you get the full kitchen and tub, but I don't see us utilizing those too much. We will not have a car and one of the things my mom and I love most about our Disney vacations is that we don't have to cook! In the past, we have brought snacks/breakfast foods for the room and have the DDP and that has worked well for us. I think I would like the washer/dryer in the room, but not enough to justify spending double the points for.

Anyway, this brings me to our next question…if we have the 124 points at our disposal, and use those at BLT for either 6 nights in a studio, or less on a 1 BDR, would it be possible to rent points from somewhere else to kind of add on to this? Or would that mean a separate rental where we may need to switch rooms even if we are staying at the same resort? My other thought was that maybe I can book a separate ressie at CR for a few nights and then move to BLT with points? Would that be a disappointing move?

I also am considering a split stay between BLT and BCV…any thoughts on this?

I'm sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance if you've read this far! I would appreciate any advice

 

[lions1995]

First, most likely it will be very hard to get BLT or BC for you stay. Your friend has points at AKL and can make reservations there at 11 months from check in. They have to wait to 7 months from check in for any other resort. BLT and BC are very popular. If you are before 7 months, you way want to consider getting a reservation at AKL and then seeing what is available at the 7 month.

You should also know that. Those 24 extra points fist $15 / point and can only be used within the 7 month pet ion (not before).

As for the studio, it really is not much more room than a typical disney hotel room. It us hard for me to say if that is big enough fir your taste.

 

[disBOBney]

"if we change to a 1 bedroom, wouldn't 2 people still be sleeping on a sleeper sofa?"
Yes

"would it be possible to rent points from somewhere else to kind of add on to this?"
yes, personally I recommend David's Vacation Rentals, dvcrentals.com I have used them on three occasions to rent out my points. I think current rate is $14 ppt. They are very good to work with and give a degree of peace of mind that everything is being handled correctly.

"would that mean a separate rental where we may need to switch rooms even?" After both reservations are made contact member services and have them link the 2 reservations and that will prevent having to move.

Re room size. The DVC studios are larger than a std hotel room, but as lions stated not a lot larger. If you are considering a 1 br I might suggest instead getting 2 studios normally same # pts. Or if you want to maximize your point and room size consider Old Key West, they are the first DVC resort and have the largest rooms and the least pts per room.

To lions point about reservation window Easter will be the 5th of Apr in 2015 so if you are planning to go down after the 11th you probably won't have difficulty get where you want at the 7mo window, But, if you want earlier in the month you will probably want to make reservations at akv further out, and then at the 7 mo window see if you can get the resort you want and transfer the reservation. If not at least you still have a great resort reserved for your trip. BTW Kidani Village rooms are larger than Jambo House, FYI

Hope this helps. Have a great vaca!

 

[rlovew]

A BLT studio has significant less living space than a CR tower room. If you have the sofa made into a bed than there is almost no room to move and there is only about 12 inches between the queen bed and the sofa bed. There is however a large galley style convenience kitchen area (still just a toaster and microwave but lots of room for storage and moving around in it).

If you were to get a 1 bedroom at BLT than you would have both a sleeper sofa and a sleeper chair so those staying in the living room would not have to sleep in the same bed. A 1 bedroom is more likely to be available at 7 months during Easter- if you are after Easter than you have a better chance of getting anything you want. The first rooms to go at BLT are standard followed by Theme park and what is left most of the time at 7 months is lakeview but 1 bedrooms in any category but standard are much more likely to be open the longest.

 

[buzzrelly]

Thanks everyone for the replies thus far! Easter 2015 is on April 5th, and we wouldn't be going until the week that starts on the 19th…I am hoping it won't be as crazy crowded then.

I think the room size is giving me pause, as are the sleeping arrangements. As I said, we love staying at the CR and those beds are super comfortable, and the rooms are large and roomy. I am torn between really not wanting to give that up and really wanting to save a lot of money! I'm not sure how I'd feel about sleeping on a sleeper sofa for 6 nights, especially if I believe what I've been reading and that they are not all that comfortable.

I almost wonder if I were going to spend extra money to buy extra points for the 1 BDR, would I be better off just spending the money and staying in the CR tower? I guess I'll have to do a bit more research on that though. Anyone ever do a split stay between BLT and CR Tower? Would that be weird? Or alternatively, doing a few nights at BLT and then switching to a standard room at BC (not the villas). Ack…so many choices! Any more advice is appreciated

 

[rpcvpanama]

I think you will find that a BLT studio is very, very small and cramped compared to a regular CR room. If you plan to do a split stay between the two then I would suggest the BLT room first so you will have the larger space to look forward too. BLT is my home resort and I have stayed in the studios many times. I would not consider it a good room to go back to in order to spend resort time to relax. If you don't fold up the couch every day (a big inconvenience) you will have virtually no space to move around. I have stayed with my sister and it is ok for the 2 of us but we spend very little time in the room. If you are use to the CR rooms you will likely be disappointed in BLT. Why not try out AKV? It is a beautiful resort and something different.

 

[lovin'fl]

You should do a studio at AKV or OKW. OKW has 2 beds (no sleeper sofa) and is a larger studio. AKV, your friend could book at 11 months out, so next month. He could get the value studio (at Jambo) and is a touch smaller than the other studios at AKV. Value studios at AKV are less points and you could get more nights or you could get a value 1BR maybe. You might want to have your friend book the AKV next month and then see what's available at the 7 month window and make a decision then. But OKW is the only studio with 2 beds.