Traveling with a group of 5......trouble?

[ducsaw]

We're in the process of buying into DVC (SSR) and I was wondering if
anyone has any experience in booking vacations for 5 through the
Concierge or World Passport Collection. My wife and I have three
children, 4, 6, and 10. We'll be taking a lot of trips to Disney of
course, but would also like to mix it up a little and are concerned
about the availability of destinations that can accomodate 5 without
the need for an upgraded room or worse yet two rooms. Just want to
know some first hand experience in advance. Any insight would be
appreciated. Thanks

 

[dianeschlicht]

For most exchanges through II, you would need a 2 bedroom reservation. That doesn't necessarily mean you would need to exhcange a 2 bedroom though, because sometimes you get a 2 bedroom at an II exchange for a 1 bedroom at DVC. It depends on the where you are exchanging to. If you are planning on somewhere like Hawaii, the exchange will be pretty equal, but some of the more obscure resorts may get you 1 for 2. Concierge collection is a different matter, since many of those are just hotel rooms and not timeshares.

Also, be aware that to trade through the World passport collection (inteval international), you may need to have a minimum of 160 points. I know that used to be the case, but now there are ways of using less points than that for a studio exchange. Most timeshares have occupancy rates of no more than 4 in a 1 bedroom though, so in most cases you would need to exchange into a 2 bedroom.

 

[Dean]

Most 1 BR through II are for 4 and they are STRICT on that. And while you may get a 2 BR for a 1 BR, you can't search for a 2 BR using a 1 BR.

 

[ducsaw]

OK, getting a 2BR isn't a big deal but are you saying I need to trade for it? What does this mean? Do I lose the use of my home resort for the year or just during the time of travel? What if we wanted to do both in the same year (WDW & II)? Thanks for the replies so far.

 

[mamatojon]

I'm confused too - in the handbook there is a chart that shows the seasons and the room types with the corresponding point values. Are you saying that you need to have the points available for a 2 BR unit but you might only end up paying the point price for the 1 BR? Is there any way of knowing ahead of time specific point values for the different resorts? I'm actually not thinking of trading any time soon, but I am a bit confused by this, I thought I had a good handle on all this stuff!

 

[Dean]

OK, getting a 2BR isn't a big deal but are you saying I need to trade for it? What does this mean? Do I lose the use of my home resort for the year or just during the time of travel? What if we wanted to do both in the same year (WDW & II)? Thanks for the replies so far.

You can do as many stays, exchanges as you have points for either at DVC or elsewhere or both.

 

[Dean]

I'm confused too - in the handbook there is a chart that shows the seasons and the room types with the corresponding point values. Are you saying that you need to have the points available for a 2 BR unit but you might only end up paying the point price for the 1 BR? Is there any way of knowing ahead of time specific point values for the different resorts? I'm actually not thinking of trading any time soon, but I am a bit confused by this, I thought I had a good handle on all this stuff!

The point tables are not complete. They have a listing for studios and 3 BR but they are not in the tables most people see. If you get an instand exchange, you pay the points for what you get even if you need less. If you do an ongoing search, you pay for what you search for, even if you match a larger unit. Say a resort only has 2 BR units (many do), you would have to pay for a 2 BR even if you only needed a 1 BR.