spring break point shock!!!

[jerseygal]

Hey everyone! We are planning a trip to wdw over spring break. it will be our second trip as dvc members.

we had a great trip this summer...7 wonderful nights at blt in a lake view studio, for a grand total of about 160 points.

this spring, we want to let dd take a friend, but it means needing accommodations with an extra bath. I know I can get a 1 bedroom at blt or akv (I would jump on akv for the point savings alone, but dh isn't excited about staying there). so my only other options are going to "cost" us anywhere from 270-350 points for 5 nights!!!

if we do this, it will use ALL of our points for 2 years....

I can seem to get my head around this and think that this is a bad use of points. Is it? I mean, I want the girls to have the onsite Disney experience, but should we stay offsite for a few nights and only stay on property two or three nights to get our Disney fix?

before we got our dvc, we always stayed offsite so we know there are many lovely places to stay. we absolutely LOVED staying onsite this summer, staying offsite just can't compare (IMO)...but I don't know if that "feeling" is worth giving up 2 years of wdw trips.

has anyone else wrestled with this? what did you do? thanks!

Have you considered "nixing" spring break, OH CROWDS and going non peak to "stretch" your points a bit? Don't know if you are flying or driving, but if you are flying, you are paying a "premium" to fly during that time too.. airports are busier too! If you are "set" on traveling during spring break, maybe break up your vaca, off site for part of it and on site DVC for the other! Personally, spring break, means TOO BUSY for my tastes, but ""too each his own"!

Good Luck!

 

[Bowen9475]

Thanks again! Our dd and her friend will be 13 so would they enjoy AKV? I will try to convince DH because the point savings is huge and if he doesn't agree I might start looking at offsite options. I don't want to blow 2 years of points for 5 nights! Maybe if I tell him that we can use the points we save to go back and stay at bcv or BWV for a few nights next summer or fall he will agree. We fell in love with that area on our last visit and he especially said he would like to stay there. We will have a car so we can drive to and from parks which could make AKV easier to manage but we really loved the convenience of walking to mk or riding the monorail for blt! But is that worth am extra 70-80 points? That's what I can't come to terms with. Yikes to the PP who said airline tix were $600! I am very grateful we are within driving distance And yes we have to travel during all the school vacays now. Dd is at an age that she can't miss school very easily and is also involved in a sport and the season runs September to May so we have very limited times we can go anywhere except during school breaks.

We are a family of 5 with our three kids being 17 yo son, 15 yo daughter and 11 yo son. We just stayed in a 1BR at Kidani this past summer and all 5 of us LOVED it. We have stayed in several DVC resorts in studios, 1 and 2 BRs, and this became my second favorite after BCV, our home resort. I say give it a try!

 

[jerseygal]

I'd love to go back during the same week we went this year...immediately after school gets out for the summer. BUT, we purchased PAP's and the Tables in Wonderland card for that trip and so if we wait till this summer to go, both will have expired. Those are major expenses right there, so it looks like we will be braving the crowds over spring break!

We have stayed at some of the offsite condo type accommodations that have been mentioned here...Sheraton Vistana Villages (multiple times), Marriott Grande Vista, Floridays, Marriott Cypress Pointe. All have been great! We could go that route and I guess we won't completely take that option off the table. But we so loved the EMH's at Disney and being completely immersed in the Disney experience on our last trip. It's my DD's birthday trip so if we can swing something onsite that doesn't completely drain our point balance, that's likely what we will do.

I know this isn't a typical "DVC" question, but does anyone know how far out you can schedule fast pass plus and ADR's? I will want to get on that mission soon

Thanks!

You may enjoy Kidani! We enjoyed Kidani with our 2 older sons, 4 summers ago! The extra bathroom would be nice too! ENJOY!

 

[jerseygal]

We are a family of 5 with our three kids being 17 yo son, 15 yo daughter and 11 yo son. We just stayed in a 1BR at Kidani this past summer and all 5 of us LOVED it. We have stayed in several DVC resorts in studios, 1 and 2 BRs, and this became my second favorite after BCV, our home resort. I say give it a try!

We loved Kidani so much that just DS and I are returning 2 nights this Dec fir a split stay, but this time Jambo. The two resorts are so close can pop back and forth to enjoy both pool settings!

 

[Anal Annie]

We have gone over spring break week 2x (the week leading up to Easter is typically our school break week). Once we stayed in a LV studio at BLT for 6 nights in order to have walking and monorail access and once at AKV Kidani. While I would PREFER BLT or even Jambo House for that week if I was in a points pinch I would DEFINITELY go back to Kidani. And I would choose AKV over OKW. I can honestly say that if we were not staying onsite and have the EMH's I would've gone insane with the crowds. We reallllly depended on having both morning and evening EMH's. They were INVALUABLE. I would not ever, ever, EVER consider staying offsite during Easter. The lines and crowds are next to unbearable. It is wall to wall people. And MK often gets closed to admission by 10:00 AM until it empties out in the afternoons. I would rethink the offsite thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with staying at AKV and you will be glad to be onsite.