Some General Questions

[KelNottAt]

We're not members yet, but will be soon. I've seen some things mentioned on this board that I don't understand. Please help with:

Reservations
(can't bring myself to say "ressie," sorry) What does it mean when someone concludes he should book "day by day" instead of the whole stay at once? What's the advantage? Doesn't it present the risk of not getting a room in the middle of vacation? After securing enough day by day reservations, can they be converted to one big one?

Passes
I've figured out that UHP is universal park hopper and AP is annual pass. But what's UMP? And do DVC members get a discount on any of these? Also, how much usage is required for an AP to be a better deal than the others? Finally, can the DVC pass discount (if any) be combined with other discounts, such as senior citizen or FL resident? (I doubt it can, but must ask.)

Adding On
(Can't believe I'm already thinking of this…DH would kill me.) We'll be BWV members. Assuming no "newly released" points remain when we're ready to add-on, how long is the usual add-on wait for the same UY? I'd predict small add-ons (25) come quicker than big (100). Am I right?

Thanks. Kelley

 

[Pa@okw95]

Day by day calling for reservations is an outrageous thing that a few do here. It means you call and get one day at a time as you become eligible for them at the 11 month window. There is no reason to do this in all cases with one exception at the BWV where they charge by the room location and if you want a certain room at BWV it might be ok. We have problems getting though to make our reservation because of these obsessive compulive types that must make sure they have there reservations, most normal situations would allow you to make the whole reservation at the 11 month window when it becomes available. As for discounts on passes there are no discounts on AP's, they do give you a discount on one of those passes that go from day of arrival to departure date which is doesn't mean much to most people. I can not asnwer your 3rd question.

 

[dbond]

I'll take a stab:

Reservations: If you are trying to book at a time when you expect that what you want will be in high demand, some people feel more comfortable calling one day at a time as their 11 mo. window opens up. Typically, you cannot book a stay until your whole trip is within the 11 mo window, but if you only book one day at a time as the window opens, you may have a better chance at getting the accommodations you want. As the days go by, MS links your new days to the previous days. Yes, sometimes you don't get what you want in the middle of your stay, that is when you can put yourself on a waitlist, book at a different resort and hope your waitlist comes through. It's just a method you can use to obtain what you want during a particularly popular time of year. ie, Grand Villas are often hard to come by, you almost always need to book a GV at the 11 mo window using this method, especially during a holiday season.

Passes: From the DVC website, here are what pass discounts are currently offered:
Admission Discounts
DVC Members receive a 10% discount on the Walt Disney World® Resort Ultimate Park Hopper admission (valid from check-in through check-out dates). You also receive a discount of $4 per person ages 10 and up and $3 per person ages 3-9 on daily admission to Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park and Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, and a discount of $4 per person at Downtown Disney® Pleasure Island.

Add-ons are an unknown commodity. You can put yourself on a waitlist with DVC, the wait can be as short as a few months or a year or longer. Or, you can purchase add-ons through resale. You can watch the resale ads, or put yourself on a waitlist with a broker and they will call you before they advertise.

Hope that helps.

 

[owensamo]

Another couple of comments.

On the reservations topic, the reason people do this is that if they wait until the whole stay is available at 11 months to call, you may find that since the first bit of the trip is already well past (well, a few days past) the 11mo booking window, it's already booked. Depending on the room and time of year, you may end up wait-listed for more days than you would if you call day-by-day.

Another reason to call day-by-day would be if you are trying to book at the 7mo window at a resort that's not your home resort. Since people had already been booking for 4 months, you may find the best way to ensure you get the room would be to call each day to add a day. Again, you may have to waitlist some days in this scenerio, but apparently some people feel more secure doing it this way than waiting until they can book the whole thing at once.

Has anyone done any polls to see if day-by-day works any better than all at once?

On the passes, the UMP is the Unlimited Magic Pass, and is just another name for the Ultimate Park Hopper (UPH) or the Length of Stay (LOS) pass. Apparently they can't figure out what to call the thing, since I think it's had a different name every year for the last few years.

Mur!

 

[InstImpres]

Also, for adding on, keep in mind resales with small amounts are very hard to come by and become costly. If DIS uses a FROR (First Right of Refusal) and buys back a contract, they can split it up any way they want for resale. I as an individual have to sell my whole contract or nothing. Therefor, 25-50 point add-ons via resale are few and once you factor in closing costs (which you don't pay if you buy direct), you would be able to buy many more points directly from Disney. Resales tend to be cost effective with contracts that have banked points on them (this helps defry closing cost) but again, if it is too good a deal Dis will exercise FROR.

Hope I helped, not confused you more

Sandy

 

[ripleysmom]

I did the day-by-day thing at the 11 month window for a GV at BWV recently. Other than that, I would not bother.