Unexpected overtime $$$ - would you upgrade?

[RumpleMom]

Just a suggestion, that lump sum of $3000 would be a nice down payment for DVC. Then you could budget monthly for vacation and avoid a large room bill for each vacation. BCV could be your home resort. It will be very expensive to always need 2 rooms over the years. Do you visited WDW at least every 3 years? Take a look at DVC, crunch some numbers. I know we wished we had done it sooner. We used to stay at All-Stars, CBR and CSR. Never a deluxe. Your room bill for your up coming trip could go towards DVC points. Good luck and have fun deciding what is right for your family.

 

[johnsonet]

I would definitely upgrade. You and your family will be so happy at a Deluxe resort!

 

[BostonRob]

edited to add - I already purchased our plane tickets. $701 for SIX roundtrip nonstops on Southwest. The food is paid for too with the dining plan.

Wow, 6 tickets for $701? Where are you flying from, Miami? That's an incredible fare!

BTW, great picture of your kids. I really feel for your poor daughter - those 3 boys look like they're quite capable of driving her CRAZY!

 

[Blondie]

BostonRob, we also got great fares on Southwest to Orlando, only $49 each way. Add in taxes and security fees and it comes to $116 and some change roundtrip per person non-stop!

 

[BostonRob]

Wow. I've never seen a fare that low out of Boston. Do they exist? Anybody know?

 

[bizeemom4]

We are flying out of Baltimore. Sorry, I don't know anything about Boston fares. Sign up for Southwest emails and they'll let you know when they are having a sale.

This is our last WDW vacation for awhile so I guess we'll go out in a big way.

 

[mach5]

Nope....I wouldn't upgrade. I'd take the money and start planning my next trip to Disney!!

 

[J and R's mom]

I'm glad to hear that you decided to upgrade. You won't regret it. With SAB, who needs Typhoon Lagoon?

Enjoy!

P.S. I agree with the poster about looking into DVC. You can use your points for vacations other than Disney if you want to. If you decide against buying into DVC, definitely look into RENTING DVC points from a member for future vacations. It will save you ALOT of money...and you won't have to pay taxes etc....of course, you won't get the dining plan either, but you'll have a full size kitchen. As an example, it would cost 120 points at OKW or 160 points at BCV from 10/23-10/28 in a two bedroom unit at appoximately $10/point ($1200-$1600). It might be worth considering...

 

[JPN4265]

DH unexpectedly got offered A LOT of o/t thru the next 3 weeks - probably $3,000 worth.

We are booked on the Free dining program at the All Stars. I also have an AP rate booked for the same time at the Yacht Club. I haven't been able to decide which way I want to go so I kept them both.

Would you take the money & pay RACK rate (gulp) at the Yacht Club for the free dining package or use the money for great souvies and activities like Cirque, Illuminations cruise, etc. I was thinking of booking one room with the free dining (& putting 5 people on that room ressie) and one at the AP rate (since we need 2 rooms).

My DH & I have no problem staying at the AStars but the kids want Yacht Club. I'd love to surprise them and upgrade to the YC but the rationale side of me thinks that's too much money to blow. What do you think?

Are all your bills up to date. Do you have any debts that you could pay off with the overtime? If none of the above apply, than I would go for the up grade. If you upgrade and come home to unpaid bills or calls from bill collectors the memory of the trip will be ruined. Just a thought

 

[lovewdwdvc]

WHat a fun decision to make. Regardless----have a grea time.

 

[Chicago526]

I put upgrade, but only because even on the tightest budget in the world, I'd never stay at a Value. I'd wait until I had enough money for a moderate.

If I was already at a moderate, I'd look at how much extra money I had versus how much the upgrade is versus what else we may want to do with the money. Adding a meal plan might be a better deal, more souvies could be fun, or stay and extra couple of days. I'd really need to look at the situation at the time. But upgrading to a deluxe would definatly be on the list of things to do with the money!

 

[Jalva22]

This is only one man's opinion, but to me there was nothing magical about the All Star Sports resort. I know most of the time will probably be spent away from the resort, but for me the resort is a huge part of the vacation experience (whether at Disney or elsewhere). A beautiful resort adds a lot of quality to your vacation IMO. AKL and Poly at least were also much more relaxing places than Sports. There's just so many people at the All Stars that it makes certain things a bigger hassle. Anyway, that's my vote.

 

[snyderla]

I voted upgrade, but I wouldn't upgrade to YC, I would go with POFQ, then spend the rest on an Illuminations Cruise & maybe the Luau and some things like that. Or AKL, I really liked that place

 

[Blogreader]

Upgrade to AP rate ar YC.Just purchase food as you go!

This is what I would vote for as well.

 

[robinb]

01/2005-ASMov & POR~5/2005-ASMusic & Yacht Club~10/2005-ASMusic

I know you already upgraded, but I would like to bring up the idea of DVC again. You will have been to WDW 3 times in a year and you prefer to stay in a nicer resort. You are the perfect poster family for DVC. That extra $3,000 would make a dandy deposit on a DVC membership and you would love staying in a 2 BR instead of 2 rooms in the future. You and your hubby can stay in the master bedroom with the King bed, your DD could take the fold-out in the living room and the boys could take the 2nd bedroom. Doesn't that sound good .

If you're not ready to but at DVC, did you check the availability of any of the 2 BR villas on a cash basis? They would turn out cheaper ($490 - $560 per night) v/s 2 rooms at the YC at $294 each ($594). If you can get the Beach Club your kids can still swim at SAB. I also like the Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge pools and I've heard the new OKW pool and the SSR pools are also nice.

 

[J and R's mom]

If you're not ready to but at DVC, did you check the availability of any of the 2 BR villas on a cash basis? They would turn out cheaper ($490 - $560 per night) v/s 2 rooms at the YC at $294 each ($594). If you can get the Beach Club your kids can still swim at SAB. I also like the Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge pools and I've heard the new OKW pool and the SSR pools are also nice.

Another option is renting the DVC points...(see my previous post)

P.S. I agree with the poster about looking into DVC. You can use your points for vacations other than Disney if you want to. If you decide against buying into DVC, definitely look into RENTING DVC points from a member for future vacations. It will save you ALOT of money...and you won't have to pay taxes etc....of course, you won't get the dining plan either, but you'll have a full size kitchen. As an example, it would cost 120 points at OKW or 160 points at BCV from 10/23-10/28 in a two bedroom unit at appoximately $10/point ($1200-$1600). It might be worth considering...

$1600 for a 2br villa for 5 nights is quite cheap compared to two rooms at rack rate or even cash rate for the villas. Depending on your dates (weekends cost almost double points) the price could go up, but would still end up much CHEAPER than two rooms at rack rate.

 

[robinb]

Another option is renting the DVC points...(see my previous post)

$1600 for a 2br villa for 5 nights is quite cheap compared to two rooms at rack rate or even cash rate for the villas. Depending on your dates (weekends cost almost double points) the price could go up, but would still end up much CHEAPER than two rooms at rack rate.

Very true. However, she's going in early October (free dining ends with check-ins at 10/4 I think) which is a very busy time at the Epcot resorts because of Food and Wine festival. I just called Member Services to cancel a waitlist request and I check for 10/4 for 7 nights. Only SSR had availability for all 7 nights for 255 points (or $365 per night) . Other resorts have some days and not others. An advatage of SSR is that the OP's family could pool hop to any other pool except SAB and AKL. As guests of DVC members they would receive a key marked "DVC Member" which would enable them to pool hop.

But ... that doesn't mean that she wouldn't be able to pay cash for a 2 bedroom villa at BWV or BCV. I think it's worth a try.

 

[Anewman]

I will not vote until you add a third option.

Stay at a less expensive Deluxe or even moderate AND have fun spending some extra cash.

 

[vanyel]

I voted upgrade but I hadn't read the posts before I voted. My suggestion would be to upgrade to a moderate then use some of the money for special things you don't normally do.

I had a bonus check and I considered upgrading to YC from Pop. Instead I went with CSR then decided to do some other things like LaNouba, Keys to the Kingdom, a carriage ride and who knows.

You'll have a great time no matter what the final answer turns out to be (I know you've already changed but in the crowd, ressies are never done until you check out!)

 

[married@wdw]

I didn't vote. With a 10-night stay, I'd probably break the stay up into two parts. Stay the majority of the trip at AS, then, once you've gotten seven days of park hopping out of your system and you're wiped, I'd surprise the family with the last two or three nights at YC! You can relax a little more, spend more time at the pool and really enjoy the last few days with the easy walk to Epcot and MGM. Upgrading mid-trip will make everyone appreciate it that much more (and will probably leave you enough cash to plan another trip later!).

Just my two cents.

I also agree that it might be worth while to look into a 2-bedroom at Beach Club Villas. We are DVC members and it's so nice to all be in one room, with the laundry room and kitchen.