We Did It!!!

[Tink-aholic]

We took the plunge! We are now proud owners at AKV!

I don't have my PIN yet, so I have to wait until 9AM tomorrow to make my first reservation...

I have a question, though: I will be making a reservation tomorrow for next April, but I have a March use year. I will be using my 2007 points and all the Developer points. Do I bank my 2007 points first and then use them in the reservation? Or will the reservation person tell me what to do? I don't want to use my 2008 points and have my 2007 points go to waste.

Obviously, I am a newbie at this. I appreciate any help anyone can give me.

Oh, and WHERE can I get a DVC AKV icon for my signature???

Nevermind! Figured out the signature part!

 

[Donald is #1]

Congratulations & Welcome home!

I can't answer your reservations questions, but I can point you to the logos.

Go to this website DVC Resort Logos and find one that you like. Right click on it and select properties from the menu. Next copy the website address from the pop-up. Finally, post the website address into your signature.

 

[AKV707]

Congratulations and welcome home! And welcome to AKV.

Member services will be able to explain what to do. They will likely suggest banking your 2007 points. Give them a call tomorrow and let us know what they say.

 

[wildernessDad]

You will have to bank your 2007 points, since your vacation begins in your 2008 UY.

Welcome home!

 

[LisaS]

As wildernessDad said, it's up to you to bank your points. If you don't, then MS will use your 2008 points for the reservation because they are the only points in the correct Use Year for your trip dates. You can do it during the same call. Just tell MS you want to make a reservation but need to bank some points first.

And... welcome home!

ETA:

I don't have my PIN yet, so I have to wait until 9AM tomorrow to make my first reservation...

The PIN will not help you much in making a reservation. The PIN and Club ID get you into the DVC members' website for the first time but you can't make reservations online. The website allows you to send MS an email with your reservation request and they will get back to you in a couple of days.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Thanks Lisa! I didn't know that you couldn't make reservations online (the Vacation Planner they gave us was kind of vague on this point). Now I won't feel like I am missing out on valuable reservation-making time! It is also good to know that I won't have to make two different calls (one to bank 2007 points and one to make reservations).

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get reservations at AKV? My guide said they will have all levels of rooms available by January, but we are looking to book two 2-BRs in April.

Thanks again for the help and for the welcome. We are excited!

 

[LisaS]

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get reservations at AKV? My guide said they will have all levels of rooms available by January, but we are looking to book two 2-BRs in April.

You are still 8 months out for an April stay so you are only competing against other AKV owners and there aren't that many of them yet. Also, the construction seems to be ahead of schedule so they may be adding more rooms into the inventory for that time period as construction progresses. So both of those things work in your favor, but to be honest, I really don't know how booked things are for next April. Best of luck and please let us know how it goes tomorrow.

 

[JBCP]

Actually, I think you won't be able to make your reservation tomorrow. The developer points are good for 12 months, but it was my understanding that they still had a 7-month window for making reservations, even at your home resort. But I could be totallly wrong on this.

For what it's worth, I did the EXACT same thing as you. I took the developer points, intending to book two 2-bedrooms at AKV, using my all of my developer points and most of my 2007 points. The only difference is my UY is Sept, so I didn't have to bank.

Anyway, I was able to get both 2-bedrooms (one value and one savanna view, which is exactly what I wanted) for Presidents' Week in Feb. The only thing I didn't get was one day (the first day) so we are going for six days instead of seven, but you know---that's probably a good thing in the long run. We're taking our extended family (both my sisters and their kids, plus my mom, plus my cousin and her boyfriend, plus my cousin's mom) and everyone is thrilled with six days, and now I don't have to touch my 2008 points.

I made these reservations at 7 months out, btw, probably a day or two afterthe check out date.

Good luck!

 

[flyerron]

Actually, I think you won't be able to make your reservation tomorrow. The developer points are good for 12 months, but it was my understanding that they still had a 7-month window for making reservations, even at your home resort. But I could be totallly wrong on this.

For what it's worth, I did the EXACT same thing as you. I took the developer points, intending to book two 2-bedrooms at AKV, using my all of my developer points and most of my 2007 points. The only difference is my UY is Sept, so I didn't have to bank.

Anyway, I was able to get both 2-bedrooms (one value and one savanna view, which is exactly what I wanted) for Presidents' Week in Feb. The only thing I didn't get was one day (the first day) so we are going for six days instead of seven, but you know---that's probably a good thing in the long run. We're taking our extended family (both my sisters and their kids, plus my mom, plus my cousin and her boyfriend, plus my cousin's mom) and everyone is thrilled with six days, and now I don't have to touch my 2008 points.

I made these reservations at 7 months out, btw, probably a day or two afterthe check out date.

Good luck!

call MS anyway & get their guidance. They are very helpful & great to work with.

 

[LisaS]

Actually, I think you won't be able to make your reservation tomorrow. The developer points are good for 12 months, but it was my understanding that they still had a 7-month window for making reservations, even at your home resort.

Good point -- I forgot about the 7-month restriction on developer points.

 

[Tink-aholic]

I just got off the phone with Member Services. They were very helpful. She had me bank my 2007 points and then made reservations for two 2BR savanna views for April using my points and the incentive points. Maybe they withdraw the 7-month restriction if you are combining the developer points with your own points?? It took about 40 minutes on the phone...I called right at 9 and talked to someone right away.

They did want names and addresses of people staying, so I gave the names of everyone I had confirmed; she told me I could change the names on the reservation later.

Thanks for all the great advice and I am so excited to be going home!

PS I think DH bought DVC just so I wouldn't be so bummed about coming back from our vacation!

 

[LisaS]

Thanks for all the great advice and I am so excited to be going home!

PS I think DH bought DVC just so I wouldn't be so bummed about coming back from our vacation!

I'm so glad everything worked out for you! And yes, owning DVC does help with the post-vacation blues because you can get right back into planning mode for your next trip.

 

[Michelle1125]

Congratulations and welcome home! We just bought last week.

 

[mommylo]

Congratulations We took the plunge last week when we were down there, just couldn't pass the double developer points It gives me something to look forward to, tyring to plan the next "Welcome Home" trip!