We braved the 4th!!! AND the rain...and the crowds??? 7/1-7/8 BOOKED NEXT TRIP!!!!

[dolfinjuls]

If you go over to the DVC rent/trade board, you will see a bunch of listings for x amount of points for x amount of dollars. Usually they go for $10/point. You would ask someone there to see if there is availability at whichever resort, whichever room type (view, etc) for what dates you're interested in. They could tell you how many points you would need and how much it would be. They would then have to call member services to check availaility for you. If the member's Home resort is BC they can book a room at 11 months out. If their home resort is not the BC, they can book a room at 7 months out.

Hope that helps some!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Don't know if this site may help explain it a little more!

DVC owners have a certain number of points each year (e.g. 200) and (for example) as week in a studio might cost 80 points... if the DVC member has 'left over' points, they might want to rent them to someone else for $x per point.
I sort of understand DVC from my parents' membership.. but it can seem very confusing at times!

If you go over to the DVC rent/trade board, you will see a bunch of listings for x amount of points for x amount of dollars. Usually they go for $10/point. You would ask someone there to see if there is availability at whichever resort, whichever room type (view, etc) for what dates you're interested in. They could tell you how many points you would need and how much it would be. They would then have to call member services to check availaility for you. If the member's Home resort is BC they can book a room at 11 months out. If their home resort is not the BC, they can book a room at 7 months out.

Hope that helps some!

Thanks guys! Makes a little more sense now! How many points would you need for 4 nights? Also, 2 of those nights are Fri and Sat, which are more points right? So it might not be worth it? Still confused but I guess since they wouldn't be able to book until 11 months out (or 7 even) I don't have to worry about it right now. I mentioned it to Tom and he thinks it sounds a little shady. I do too, but knowing that the DIS would never condone anything that wasn't legal or allowed, I am a little more trusting....

 

[disneybarbie]

I'm pretty sure it's not shady.. when I booked our one night at Boardwalk Villas last week, the CM asked if it was for me or if I was booking on behalf of someone else.. so I think it's fine for others to use the points!

What are the dates you're looking at... and which resort? I can look on a DVC point calculator for you if it helps

Emma x

PS - remember that song "We share a dream come true" which you used on your youtube video .. well my parents moved house recently, and found a disney cd called '100 years of Magic' which they gave to me... and that song is on there!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I'm pretty sure it's not shady.. when I booked our one night at Boardwalk Villas last week, the CM asked if it was for me or if I was booking on behalf of someone else.. so I think it's fine for others to use the points!

What are the dates you're looking at... and which resort? I can look on a DVC point calculator for you if it helps

Emma x

PS - remember that song "We share a dream come true" which you used on your youtube video .. well my parents moved house recently, and found a disney cd called '100 years of Magic' which they gave to me... and that song is on there!!

Yes! It was from the 2001 planning video too! That was when the "100 Years of Magic" celebration was going on! What else is on that CD???

Thanks again for the DVC advice! The dates we'll be looking for are 9/28-10/2. It's just 4 nights, 2 are weekend nights though.....

 

[disneybarbie]

okay..

Boardwalk Villas

Studio - standard view = 47 points
- preferred view (water or Boardwalk) = 59 points


Beach Club Villas

Studio = 59 points


I got this from WDW Info website



Other tracks on the cd are...

"Bright Little Star" (Sunny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's) "Fortuosity" (Main Street USA).. I think it's this cd!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

okay..

Boardwalk Villas

Studio - standard view = 47 points
- preferred view (water or Boardwalk) = 59 points


Beach Club Villas

Studio = 59 points


I got this from WDW Info website



Other tracks on the cd are...

"Bright Little Star" (Sunny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's) "Fortuosity" (Main Street USA).. I think it's this cd!

Okay, great...so I'd have to find someone who had around 60 points that they were willing to rent. And then THEY decide how much to rent the points for? Or is it a set price according to Disney? So if it's, say, $10 a point, 4 nights at a BC studio would cost around $600? That would be GREAT!

 

[disneybarbie]

I think the DVC member would decide how much they rent the points for.. I will go over to the DVC boards to investigate!

This website looks useful.. http://www.dvcrequest.com/reservation_form.htm

That is a great rate for Beach Club villas though... it's the closest resort to any Disney park too!

x

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Thanks Emma!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

No problem!

It looks like the DVC renting forum is pretty heavily moderated to check everything is done properly

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=29

So, if you posted on there that you're looking for Beach Club/Boardwalk Villas for your dates.. hopefully some DVC owners will respond!

 

[podsnel]

I have rented points several times (it's how we stayed in a GV last summer at HHI). It is not shady at all if you follow the rules and rent from someone you know or someone on the DIS who has a lot of posts (ie- they are "regulars" so wouldn't be trying to rip you off). The point structure has been changed the past couple of years, so now weekend stays are more inline with the rest of the week. BCV is 15 points during the week and 16 points on the weekends next year.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I have rented points several times (it's how we stayed in a GV last summer at HHI). It is not shady at all if you follow the rules and rent from someone you know or someone on the DIS who has a lot of posts (ie- they are "regulars" so wouldn't be trying to rip you off). The point structure has been changed the past couple of years, so now weekend stays are more inline with the rest of the week. BCV is 15 points during the week and 16 points on the weekends next year.

Oh that's good to know! Thanks Ellen!

 

[dolfinjuls]

You do have to be trusting of the person you're renting from. On both ends actually. I rented points to Mindy (July 09 boards) so it really worked out because we "knew" each other before hand!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

You do have to be trusting of the person you're renting from. On both ends actually. I rented points to Mindy (July 09 boards) so it really worked out because we "knew" each other before hand!

Oh that's great! I'm really liking this idea now! I hope we can make it work.

 

[cdotla]

Just caught up!

Can't believe how sparce the crowds were in MK! See...there is a bright side to the rain after all!

Loved hearing about the Wishes cruise....looked awesome! And I didn't know they did 4th of July fireworks on the 3rd as well!

Looks like we will also be in WDW next year at the same time you will be...at least based on each of our tentative plans at this point.

As for the Swan/Dolphin - obviously you lose a lot of the "Disney" feel with that resort, but don't let the fact that it is slightly further from Epcot sway you one way or another. You can get from the Swan/Dolphin to the Yacht/Beach Club in 2-5 mins. It is really nothing. Especially if you are taking a Friendship Boat.

Just remember (as someone else mentioned) to always add your $10 resort fee and $10 parking fee if you have a car to their rates.

As for renting DVC points - I have yet to do it, but it is only a matter of time. I think it is a brilliant option. However, it can be difficult to do if your dates are not secure. The beauty of a reservation at the Swan/Dolphin is that you can cancel without penalty up until a day or two before. Not sure if either of you may have a job that may require a trip cancellation at the last minute, but something to consider if that is the case.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 4 - Epcot -Behind the Seeds Tour
July 4, 2010​

Okay. This was it. This was the day we had been bracing ourselves for. Even though the crowds had been eerily low the past 3 days, we still had our theories and made up excuses as to why that was and we just KNEW it was going to be CRAZY PACKED at Epcot today! The plan was to stay for Illuminations but I was so afraid that the park would close to capacity, that we still had to get there early.

So I threw on my specially made 4th of July outfit, which included the tank I had tie-dyed, star necklaces which I put on each wrist and one around my neck, and my American flag (that I proudly waved ALL DAY LONG). In the orange bag went the towel, extra flip flops and rain jackets, as well as special red, white and blue light up toys for that night!

We were READY!

We got to Epcot around 9:15 and SE was still messed up! Grr! Why won't anyone tell me what was wrong with it? Was it just dirty? For shame, Disney, for shame!

The first thing we did was head to the Land pavilion. I knew this was going to be a looooong day so I thought we'd kill some time with the Behind the Seeds tour! So before signing up for that, we had to get a FP for Soarin' (of course). There weren't that many people near the FP machines, which was surprising. I headed to the line with only one other person there...until I saw that she was a tour group leader and had a stack of tickets in her hand, literally, 2 inches high. I quickly stepped out of that line and got my FP in no time! (I think that tour leader is still there getting FPs.) Our FP time was something like 11:30-12:30.

FPs in hand, we headed to the desk and saw the sign to sign up for the 10:45 tour. I asked the CM and he was super friendly and signed us right up. With our AP discount, it was only 20 something dollars for the both of us. We had about an hour to kill so, since we didn't do The Seas that first night (remember, we were wet and it was FREEZING inside!) we headed that way.

We did the ride (so cute!) and spent some time walking around the DEAD pavilion.

We made friends with these dolphins the other night so we hung out again for a little while and got a few pics. I seriously sat here for a good 10 minutes without one person coming by to see the tank. It was weird!!!

Tom was doing his best imitation of this grumpy-looking fish!

I tickled a starfish...

And we found Nemo!! (And Dory.)

We killed more time in the Seas and around 10:30, we headed back to the Land for our tour.

We were in a group of about 6-8 people and had a really nice tour guide, who was an intern. (And of course, I don't remember her name because I'm just so bad like that!)

We first went through a door into a little backstage room and I was just so excited to be backstage!! She had us each say our names and why we were on the tour and I HATE doing stuff like that but it was quick and relatively painless.

After introductions, we went into another room...the BUG room! The tour guide explained about good bugs and bad bugs for growing plants and we watched a short video on the bugs that eat the leaves and how they can RUIN your garden! Then she gave out 3 vials of ladybugs for us to put on plants later. They are the good bugs that eat the bad bugs! I was so excited that I got one of the vials! YAY!!

Finally, we entered the area with the plants and I was soooo excited to see boats going by!

Here I am with my vial of ladybugs.

Deborah!! Deborah was her name! Tom knew it!

So Deborah explained all about hydroponics. (I reeeally hope that's the right word!) She talked all the research they do, about how food is grown for most of the restaurants throughout the resort, the award winning plants and how some plants earn their ears!

We got to taste cucumber that they grow there!

These cucumbers were earning their ears!!

There's Deborah!

This tomato plant was in the guiness book of world records for producing the most fruit.

She handed around some cotton from this plant for us to feel.

Then we headed into that section with the fish and alligators. We saw the shrimp tank with their hidden mickey house!

The alligators were pretty still...until we all walked by! They started jumping all over each other. Deborah said it must be feeding time!

They had a hidden mickey too!

We went over to the talapia tank and she gave us each a handful of fish food to throw in for them...and they went CRAZY for that food!

Finally we went into the biosphere-looking room! Here, Deborah passed around vials of spices fresh of the plant and we had to smell them and guess what they were.

As I was smelling and guessing I suddenly realized....I was getting wet!! Grrrr!! It was freaking raining...AGAIN!!!! Well, it must have been pouring because we weren't outside but I was still getting wet! We could hear it and see it on the biosphere roof!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

But I didn't have too much time to be upset because Deborah told us to pick a plant and release our ladybugs!! Yay!!

I chose the pineapple because I HATE pineapple and Tom just won't let it go. He insists I've never tried it and I insist that I must have tried it because I know I hate it! (I kid you not, we had this conversation, like a 1/2 hour ago in our living room!) So I picked the pineapple for him!

(See my stars? Red and blue on each wrist and silver on my neck! This was part of my Target 4th of July dollar section purchases with the window decorations!)

There they go!

Then Deborah offered to take pictures for everyone! Yay!

The whole thing took a little over an hour and we really enjoyed it. It was a cheap way to get a look at backstage disney and do something different during your day at Epcot. Neither of us are gardeners or know anything about growing plants but we still enjoyed it. Deborah was very informative and answered all questions that she could.

Here are some videos from the tour...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmIo

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmI5

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmJO

After our tour, we headed straight to Soarin' to use our FPs. Tom got the red card! Gotta take a pic!

A note about Soarin' FP: This is the only ride that still has quite a long wait even when you use FP. Am I the only one that notices this? I mean, it's maybe 10/15 minutes but it's still annoying!

Up Next: Is is STILL raining?! And how about those crowds?! We are READY for BOTH!!!

Here's a hint...

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Just caught up!

Can't believe how sparce the crowds were in MK! See...there is a bright side to the rain after all!

Loved hearing about the Wishes cruise....looked awesome! And I didn't know they did 4th of July fireworks on the 3rd as well!

Looks like we will also be in WDW next year at the same time you will be...at least based on each of our tentative plans at this point.

As for the Swan/Dolphin - obviously you lose a lot of the "Disney" feel with that resort, but don't let the fact that it is slightly further from Epcot sway you one way or another. You can get from the Swan/Dolphin to the Yacht/Beach Club in 2-5 mins. It is really nothing. Especially if you are taking a Friendship Boat.

Just remember (as someone else mentioned) to always add your $10 resort fee and $10 parking fee if you have a car to their rates.

As for renting DVC points - I have yet to do it, but it is only a matter of time. I think it is a brilliant option. However, it can be difficult to do if your dates are not secure. The beauty of a reservation at the Swan/Dolphin is that you can cancel without penalty up until a day or two before. Not sure if either of you may have a job that may require a trip cancellation at the last minute, but something to consider if that is the case.

Yeah the low crowds in the MK were great! Oh that's funny that we'll be there at the same time next year! (Hopefully!) Thanks for the advice about the Swan/Dolphin.

 

[cdotla]

Wow - you are proving every theory about 4th of July crowds wrong in this TR! Can't wait to see if your luck holds up.

I would take the rain over 4th of July crowds any day, so I would say you are lucking out for sure!

 

[SRUAlmn]

So cool!! We actually love the Living with the Land ride and always say on every trip 'We should do the behind the seeds tour.' So I'm glad to see what it's all about. Maybe we'll have to finally try it next time

 

[Cheryl726]

I love your July 4th tank! I'm a DVC member, if I had extra points I'd rent them to you but we're using them all and then some for our cruise next year! I have extra points this year, too bad that didn't work this year!