Run HOW FAR?! Disney 1/2 & Solo fun! Jan PTR...omg leave Thurs! Itinerary posted 1/5

Congrats on continuing to reduce your time.

I know people have had varying experiences with folks renting out their points. Make sure you do as much research about your potential DVC partner before you send any money. If you can find a good match, you do save a bit of money.

Good luck and go to the DVC forums for help!:thumbsup2

Thanks Jordan! I keep going back and forth if I should do this or not. I'm wondering if a good deal will come out but then again... the deal probably won't be THAT good compared to me staying at a deluxe resort DVC, ya know?

Hey!! Congrats on your time for your ten miler. It's great!

Tim and I have DVC so we have never rented points before, but we plan on saving our points next year so if we take a summer trip to Disney we will most likely rent points.

Thanks hun! Hmm... I don't know who I was thinking about then! :) I know I just read about a couple that rented points, lol.
 
Hi! Just found your trip report. I ran the half last year and it was such a blast. We also stayed on rented DVC points at BCV and it was great.

We've been looking into renting points again this year. Unfortunately at this point most everything is booked up for Marathon Weekend. I had someone check for any Studio for 1/8-1/15 and the only Studio available for the entire time was Saratoga. There was some varying availability for the week after the marathon, but for the weekend it was just a day here or there at various resorts. We decided not to rent this year and to hope Disney comes out with a good deal. It's worth a shot though. If you find a DVC member who is willing to work with you and check on availability, you never know when something might open up!

Good luck with your training! Sounds like you're doing great:thumbsup2
 
Tweet! Tweet!

So I will be twittering/tweeting from the parks. I just created an account just for Disney stuff. My normal 'non-Disney' friends were bugging me about stuff and didn't want to hear all the minute details of my trip when I'm down there!

So come follow me here...

www.twitter.com/disneygirlinnj

yes, what an original name :)

I'm following on the web for now; I need to get on the horn and join the Twitter / Facebook Nation. :laughing: I'm lagging behind on Myspace.


So quick training update!! :)

I've been pretty good all week. Went to the gym 4 times, ran twice during the week and then yesterday had my big 10 mile run! Finished in 1:58:06. That's pretty much a 11:48 pace per mile, slowly bringing that speed up!

Holy Buckets! I did (well, attempted) running on the treadmill for a full hour and all I got was 4 miles. I only did 4.5-7 mph, though. I couldn't do more than that. By the end, I was ready to fall down.

Ok new dilemna!! :) Well not a bad dilemna though!

So I got this bright idea to see how much it would cost to rent DVC points for all or part of my stay in January. Do any of you have any experience with this? Lynn I think you might have on your last trip?

I totally have to sit down after work and really try figuring out prices.

so any thoughts? suggestions? :)

Hmmm....it's a good thing to look into. I'm tossing around the idea to go down for F&G. Of course, it would depend if my gutters stay up!!! :lmao:

On the surface, if it only costs slightly more to do DVC deluxe vs. Value, than it is a no-brainer. But what's the other catches? Can you still book ADRs? If so, at +10? How reliable is the person you rent from? Can you still request a room locale? Is there any issues with check-in? Y'know, stuff like that. Of course, I'm a worst-case scenario type of gal!!
 
SOOOO.......... I'm not really sure why I haven't jumped in on this PTR yet but I have been reading along :)

I'm renting for this first time for our January trip at Kidani so far so good. We got 5 nights at a standard studio for $500. Not bad. I guess the only issue I forsee you running into is availability for BW especially and possibly AKV. From everything I have read, BWV studios are some of the first to book up because of point price and location. I guess my point is to urge you to hussle on what you're going to do since you're getting really close and there may be limited availability.

Also... are you or someone in your group planning on driving? It might pay to stay at a resort that is a "host" resort for the race so you don't have to worry about transportation. I know for the Expedition Everest shuttles only run from All-Stars, POR and AKL...

Way to go on the running!!!
 


Hi! Just found your trip report. I ran the half last year and it was such a blast. We also stayed on rented DVC points at BCV and it was great.

We've been looking into renting points again this year. Unfortunately at this point most everything is booked up for Marathon Weekend. I had someone check for any Studio for 1/8-1/15 and the only Studio available for the entire time was Saratoga. There was some varying availability for the week after the marathon, but for the weekend it was just a day here or there at various resorts. We decided not to rent this year and to hope Disney comes out with a good deal. It's worth a shot though. If you find a DVC member who is willing to work with you and check on availability, you never know when something might open up!

Good luck with your training! Sounds like you're doing great:thumbsup2

Thank you! I do have a quick update on my DVC Rental, which I'll post after I reply to you guys! :woohoo: Luckily I won't be needing the DVC studio until January 12th so there were a bunch of openings!

I'm following on the web for now; I need to get on the horn and join the Twitter / Facebook Nation. :laughing: I'm lagging behind on Myspace.

Holy Buckets! I did (well, attempted) running on the treadmill for a full hour and all I got was 4 miles. I only did 4.5-7 mph, though. I couldn't do more than that. By the end, I was ready to fall down.

Hmmm....it's a good thing to look into. I'm tossing around the idea to go down for F&G. Of course, it would depend if my gutters stay up!!! :lmao:

On the surface, if it only costs slightly more to do DVC deluxe vs. Value, than it is a no-brainer. But what's the other catches? Can you still book ADRs? If so, at +10? How reliable is the person you rent from? Can you still request a room locale? Is there any issues with check-in? Y'know, stuff like that. Of course, I'm a worst-case scenario type of gal!!

Thank you! Keep trudging on the treadmill, that's awesome! I personally HATE the treadmill and for some reason mentally can't run long distances or at high speeds on it. :confused3 When I'm outside though it's a totally different ball game. lol

So I've completely researched the DVC thing and will update in a few. But... I had all the same questions you did about where the catch is. So the reservation would be in my name...but Disney will NOT deal with me. The DVC owner has to book everything and even call back themselves to update my DME information. I CAN book ADRs myself using the reservation number that the member would give me, including +10. I'm only looking at people that have references and seem to be active on the DIS DVC section of the board. I can request a room locale but again, the owner will do this over the phone themselves. I can fax my request myself when it gets closer to the travel date. As for checkin, I scoured the DIS for this and haven't read one problem about a renter checking in. Since the reservation is in my name, I just show up and give them my credit card for room charging privileges.

SOOOO.......... I'm not really sure why I haven't jumped in on this PTR yet but I have been reading along :)

I'm renting for this first time for our January trip at Kidani so far so good. We got 5 nights at a standard studio for $500. Not bad. I guess the only issue I forsee you running into is availability for BW especially and possibly AKV. From everything I have read, BWV studios are some of the first to book up because of point price and location. I guess my point is to urge you to hussle on what you're going to do since you're getting really close and there may be limited availability.

Also... are you or someone in your group planning on driving? It might pay to stay at a resort that is a "host" resort for the race so you don't have to worry about transportation. I know for the Expedition Everest shuttles only run from All-Stars, POR and AKL...

Way to go on the running!!!

Hey! Like I told the other ladies above, I'll be updating with my DVC rental story in a bit but so glad you're renting too, haha! Now I kinda feel a little better that someone else I know is going through it too. :) Did you have a contract written up? Ask for references? It's pretty overwhelming but so far so good! As for availability, since I only want Jan 12-15th (Tues-Fri), there was availability at most of the villas I asked about. The marathon crowds seem like they left that Sunday or Monday. :woohoo:

As for transportation to the marathon, since it SUCH a big event, there is bus transportation from every single Disney resort. So that's not a problem. I remember when I was looking into Expedition Everest, I had the same worries because I saw that that even only had certain location pickups! :scared1:



OK...gonna do some work and then update about my DVC Rental information!
 
So I did it! I rented DVC points for the solo part of my trip. :)

I researched and scoured the DVC section of the boards and tried to soak up as much information as possible about renting. Found out how many points I would need for the resorts I'm interested in, how much is normal price per point, the process of renting, dealing with the DVC owner and/or Disney, details about ADRs, Magical Express, checking in, etc.

I posted a rent request on the boards and almost instantly an owner sent me a message saying that he had points available. He was already going to call Member Services in the morning for another reservation so he would be able to check availability for me. I searched his other posts and he had been around for awhile. He mentioned he had references so that was a plus.

I stopped everything I was doing and tried to figure out where I actually wanted to stay. I knew that I only wanted to stay at one of the following:

Bay Lake Towers - who wouldn't? They're brand spankin new and you get the monorail!
Boardwalk Villas - Epcot is my 1st love and the villas are walking distance or a boat to Epcot AND MGM. Plus all the fun the Boardwalk has to offer, how can you go wrong? I knew they were slightly old and some reviews talked about the rooms looking worn but I felt it was still worth it
Villas at Wilderness Lodge - only stayed at WL once and it was really cool. Browsed through photos and reviews and it seemed awesome
Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas - A savannah view would be amazing. And I've always wanted to stay at AKL. But it was very far away from a lot of the things I would want to do (Epcot and MK). Not sure if I'd want to go back to AK after going with the gang. I did however want to eat at Jiko AND Sanaa so that played a part too.

So I emailed him back last night giving him my dates and the possible villas that I would want in this order:

BLT - 39 points (standard studio)
BWV - 30 points (standard studio)
BWV - 39 points (preferred studio)
AKL (Jambo?) - 27 points (value)
AKL (Jambo?)- 30 points (standard studio)
AKL (Jambo?)- 39 points (Savannah)
VWL - 39 points

By 10am today I had an email from him saying he called and there was availability at a Boardwalk Villa Preferred Studio for the dates I wanted. I didn't even bother asking about the ones below in my list since BWV was one of my top choices.

After a few more emails and information sent back and forth....

I HAVE A RESERVATION AT THE BOARDWALK VILLAS!!!! :cool1:

I'm really excited about this! :) And so far the DVC member I'm working with has been great. My emails have been answered within the hour and he mentioned I can call his cell phone at any time if needed. He said he should have written confirmation from Disney within 7-10 days. When that happens he will scan a copy of the letter and email it to me. After I see the scan and verify, I will send him my payment. After my payment has been processed, he will officially send me the hard copy of the confirmation. :yay: I emailed him my flight information to add DME for my return home and again, within the hour I had a confirmation email saying he called DME and added it to the reservation and included the confirmation number.

Yes, I know I'm being very optimistic about this and that there is still a possibility of something going wrong but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Congrats on finding a studio! That's great... that area is awesome to stay in. Walking to and from Epcot is the best!
 


Very exciting news about the reservations at BWV, I'm sure you will love it!!! Have you ever stayed there before? We can only ever afford to stay at value resorts---but this year I met a great DISer on the Photo Board and rented points from her and it ended up being $95 per night, only $5 more per night than staying at POP!

For us, renting points has been a very pleasant experience. It does take a bit of trust because the reservation is completely out of your hands, but I'm a pretty trustworthy person and for us, the savings were worth it.

Now, if I would have stayed at POP, I could have gotten free dining (in theory), but when you weigh POP with free dining against staying at a deluxe when we wouldn't usually have the opportunity it was a no brainer. Deluxe resort with nicer ammenities, walking distance to Epcot and DHS and c'mon---we get to stay at BWV!!! We saw the Boardwalk Resort for the first time in 2007 and DH said "One day I want to stay there, even if it's only for a few nights" and this year, we get to. :woohoo:
 
Congrats on finding a studio! That's great... that area is awesome to stay in. Walking to and from Epcot is the best!

Thank you! I can't wait!

BWV! How cool is that?

I'm home, by the way. :)

Welcome back! :thumbsup2

Wow, that was fast! Wooooo hooooo for BWV!!!!!!!!

it was really fast! Now I can't wait to stay there!

Very exciting news about the reservations at BWV, I'm sure you will love it!!! Have you ever stayed there before? We can only ever afford to stay at value resorts---but this year I met a great DISer on the Photo Board and rented points from her and it ended up being $95 per night, only $5 more per night than staying at POP!

For us, renting points has been a very pleasant experience. It does take a bit of trust because the reservation is completely out of your hands, but I'm a pretty trustworthy person and for us, the savings were worth it.

Now, if I would have stayed at POP, I could have gotten free dining (in theory), but when you weigh POP with free dining against staying at a deluxe when we wouldn't usually have the opportunity it was a no brainer. Deluxe resort with nicer ammenities, walking distance to Epcot and DHS and c'mon---we get to stay at BWV!!! We saw the Boardwalk Resort for the first time in 2007 and DH said "One day I want to stay there, even if it's only for a few nights" and this year, we get to. :woohoo:

The savings was definitely worth it! The price was slightly more than a value, slightly less than a moderate. How could you say no? Now that I know about renting points, I might have to do this on every trip! :scared1:
 
Whoo-hooo! :woohoo:

I can't wait to hear about your stay and your experience with renting points. If you have a good experience all the way through, then I'll ask for your advice and think about it for my next trip.
 
Me either, but you'll be there first. I'll be looking out for the TR on that for sure :surfweb:.

Oh there will be a long TR! :) I'm just attaching it to this pre trip!

Whoo-hooo! :woohoo:

I can't wait to hear about your stay and your experience with renting points. If you have a good experience all the way through, then I'll ask for your advice and think about it for my next trip.

Crossing my fingers! If all goes well I'll recommend the guy I'm renting from. From my research it seems that he has a few DVC properties that he rents on a regular basis. :)
 
Well I'm finally back from my Sept Disney trip and can now focus 100% on this trip! I'll update more tomorrow but had a pow-wow with Christina and Nate last night and we made our ADR plans.

I had totally thought that my 90 mark was Saturday. Luckily Christina texts me today in a panic that she can't believe the race is only 92 days away. I thought that sounded odd since the 90 day mark was Saturday (in my mind lol). I double checked and OMG it's Friday!!! Thank GOD she mentioned something or I would have totally missed our 90 day mark! EEK!!!

Ok bed time and hopefully I'll come back here tomorrow for some updates!
 
Here's a few updates!!! FINALLY!!!

While I was away, I got written confirmation mailed to me about my DVC rental and BWV. I can NOT wait. :cool1: The gentleman I'm renting from really has been great. We've just dealt with communication through email but he assures me I can call him at any time. I just haven't needed to. It was nice having that official letter from Disney with my name on it saying I'll be staying there!

Another idea brewing for our reservations is POSSIBLY a switch in hotel instead of Pop. :rotfl: the 4/3 and 5/2 deals do NOTHING for us since I have an AP and Christina has a million days of unused park tickets in her possession. I've been scouring the DIS to see what the AP rate for rooms was last year when they released them and it seems that there wasn't really a discount on value resorts. BUT the AP discount for Mods turns out to equal the same price of values without a discount. :) $89 or $99 a night depending on the night. If I cross my fingers and pray hard enough, I'm hoping they release the same discount this year. If they do, I got the OK from Christina to switch over to POFQ. I did really enjoy it last week on my trip with my mom but didn't really get a chance to wander and 'experience' it. Plus we didn't get to go to Scat Cats! :scared1: I'd love to go back! So that's always a possibility.

I think that's it for major updates.... oh!

OK so tomorrow is our ADR day! :) Here's what we decided and our itinerary....Let me know what you guys think!

January 7, 2010 (Thursday)
Info: Nate and I are flying in on the 7am flight from Newark. Christina has to take the later flight because of teaching that day so she won't be in until really late. So Nate and I have the whole day with just the two of us. After we check in, and possibly grab a small bite to eat in the food court, I figure we should head directly to the Race Expo to pick up our race packets and wander the expo a little bit. We'll also have Christina's info with us so hopefully we can pick up her info as well. I want to look for half marathon shirts and all that fun stuff they have there. :) After that, we'll probably head to the MK to start off our day. Then head to the Contemporary for dinner at the Wave! We both try to eat very healthy when we're home so this should be perfect. Plus my breakfast experience there this past week was great.
Park: Race Expo/MK
ADRs: Wave dinner (for Nate and I)

January 8, 2010 (Friday)
Info: Christina will finally be with us so we'll wake up bright and early since we have to be in bed early, grab some food at the food court, and head to Animal Kingdom since it's a 'smaller' park. Dinner will most likely be at Teppan Edo but I just found out that they don't accept TIW! BOOOO! So now Nate is thinking we should eat somewhere else. Nate suggested Chefs but Christina vetoed that one. I just texted Nate asking about Tutto and he was all for it. So Tutto it is! :) Bring on the hottie waiters! (you'll read in my TR from last week...when I write it...that tutto has some scrumptious eye candy lol)
Park: AK?
ADRs: Tutto early dinner

January 9, 2010 (Saturday) - RACE DAY!
Info: Well today is the day we're going to try not to die. :) Up at around 2:30am or 3am and heading right to Epcot after a quick breakfast probably in the room. After the run we decided we can NOT just go back and sleep. We'll head back to the room and shower quickly and then head back out. Most likely to MK. We'll then head back to the room at some point for a quick nap and relaxation. Spectro and Wishes are scheduled for this day though so hopefully we get to see both. We decided on doing Hoopdedoo that night but the late show at 9:30pm so we'll hop the boat after Wishes. It's the only show time we can use TIW for so the discount will be much appreciated. :)
Park: MK
ADRs: Hoopdedoo

January 10, 2010 (Sunday)
Info: After dragging our sore bodies out of bed, we wanted Nate to experience a lovely character breakfast before he left. We decided on Akershus because none of us have done it, and Nate isn't a HUGE buffet fan. So the family style seems perfect. Plus he wanted to meet the princesses :) Our plans also bring us to Epcot anyways so it's great. After breakfast, we'll do part of future world and all the good rides there. Then around noon? We're Drinking Around the World!! :banana: Wish us luck...Nate's gonna need it :lmao: I have no idea how Christina and I can drink him under the table, but we do...poor kid. :) Dinner will consist of snacking around the world.
Park: EP
ADRs: Akershus breakfast

January 11, 2010 (Monday)
Info: Nate is leaving today :( But he's taking the 3pm flight so he still has a few hours in the morning to hang out with us before DME takes him to the airport. We'll wake up and grab breakfast in the food court and head to Hollywood Studios to show him TSM, ToT, and RNRC. Hopefully we get through all 3 and we'll head back with him to the hotel to say bye. After he leaves, Christina and I will either head back to DHS or to Epcot. We're trying to get dinner ressies at Le Cellier, and if not then San Angel Inn. I'm skeptical about it but she liked it last time so I'm willing to try it!
Park: DS/EP
ADRs: Le Cellier or San Angel Inn

January 12, 2010 (Tuesday) - half solo
Info: Well Christina leaves today so I'm soon gonna be solo. In the morning, we wanted to do a character breakfast and possibly MK so I suggested Crystal Palace since I enjoyed it on my last trip. Plus we get to see MK deserted again. :) Christina really enjoys 1900 Park Faire and I haven't been there in awhile so I'm up for either. I'll try getting CP first and then if it's not at a good time, I'll get 1900. We'll do MK for awhile and then head back to the hotel to see her off. Then I'm on my own!!! :banana: Eek! Not really sure what park I'll do... Epcot or one of the smaller parks since I'll be doing MK the next day. As for dinner? I'm still torn. I'll most likely pick Sanaa for dinner tonight. :) I'll never get a chance to go back if I go with family. :rotfl: I did however, LOVE Kouzzina so I'm debating going there too since it's at my hotel. Hmmmmm!!!!! Decisions decisions!
Park: EP/MK
ADRs: Crystal Palace or 1900 Park Faire
dinner... Sanaa? kouzzina?

January 13, 2010 (Wednesday) - solo
Info: My first full solo day! I'm planning on doing Keys to the Kingdom today so I'll be at MK most of the day. Dinner at Citricos? I'm salivating just thinking about my last meal there. mmmmm!
Park: MK
ADRs: Keys to the Kingdom
Citricos

January 14, 2010 (Thursday) - solo
Info: Not sure what park to do today but dinner will definitely be at Jiko! :) i'll probably wander around downtown disney for awhile too.
Park: wherever the wind takes me ?? Downtown Disney??
ADRs: Jiko

January 15, 2010 (Friday) - solo
Info: So today is my last day :( I have a full day though since my flight isn't until 6pm. Don't know what I'll do yet... probably no ADRs either. Just food court and wandering!
Park: MK??/EP??
ADRs: ??

So what you guys think? :)
 
Quick training update...:)

I really haven't been running as much as I should be... AT ALL!! Haven't done more than 6miles since I ran that 10 miles over a month ago. BUT I did run a 10k (6.2 miles) the day after I got back from Disney and broke my personal record!!! Happy dance!

Ran it in 1:02:36....a 10:04 pace. SO thrilled with it! It was a gorgeous run through the streets of mahwah...past some farms, through tree lined streets, and gorgeous houses. Perfect weather too.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/15365161
 
Your plans look great:thumbsup2 Love Jiko and love love love drinking (and eating) around the world!

If you're going to a late Hoop-de-doo show on Saturday I would definitely suggest trying to take a nap during the day. We went right to Epcot (after a shower) after the half last year. I'm glad we did because it kept us moving and streched out the muscles. Around 6 pm though I crashed hard! I barely slept at all the night before the half, then getting up at 2:30, etc.. it really takes it out of you (more than I expected). I left my BF in the park and fell asleep at 7:30:scared1: That's something I never thought I would do in Disney.

I'm staying 1/8-1/15. Need to make ADRs this Saturday and I'm not NEARLY as organized as you are:rolleyes1 Time to start planning!
 
Your plans look great:thumbsup2 Love Jiko and love love love drinking (and eating) around the world!

If you're going to a late Hoop-de-doo show on Saturday I would definitely suggest trying to take a nap during the day. We went right to Epcot (after a shower) after the half last year. I'm glad we did because it kept us moving and streched out the muscles. Around 6 pm though I crashed hard! I barely slept at all the night before the half, then getting up at 2:30, etc.. it really takes it out of you (more than I expected). I left my BF in the park and fell asleep at 7:30:scared1: That's something I never thought I would do in Disney.

I'm staying 1/8-1/15. Need to make ADRs this Saturday and I'm not NEARLY as organized as you are:rolleyes1 Time to start planning!

Oh we are DEFINITELY going to take a nap :) Just the thought of staying up that late after being up at 2am is making me tired! I think after the run, we'll quickly go and shower and stuff but then head right now. I figure we can go back to the room to nap around 3? Haven't decided yet. But a nap is definitely in the plans!

Schedule looks great! I don't really know what else to say (for once). :confused3

hahaha, thank you! And photos WILL be scheduled in! :)
 

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