Western DVCers

[kd5k]

I have some questions for those that own DVC and live in the western part of the US.

#1...how often do you really get to go to WDW?
in reality...we have 4 kids and will find it hard to justify airfare every year!

#2... Are there tips and tricks for those of us that live in the West?

#3... Would it be worth it to look for a Visa with "miles"?

#4...have you ever used your DVC points to go to DL in Ca? and stay at the Grand Californian?

#5...is it best to make all ressies for dinning, or is it possible to walk in a wait at restaraunts, say at...DTD? I know you can in Ca., but have no idea about Fl.

We are very excited about being new owners and are trying to plan our first trip home. I did look into cheaptrips and they do seem to have good offers on airfare.

Is there any info or suggestions that you are willing to pass on to help us in the planning stages for our future vacations??

TIA...Deb

 

[bigsmooth]

We bought with the intention to go every other year. Although it is a long trip, having a direct flight option is nice as it cuts a few hours out.

I think a mile visa is a good idea. I travel a bit for work, so the amount of miles is not a problem, but we picked a mileage card (Alaska Air Visa) that adds other perks (like a $50 companion fare coupon each year, that way we can buy one ticket at regular price, and get the second for $50). I know other airlines offer similar type perks, so something to look for.

The one tip we used on our last trip was to not stay with points our first night. Anyone coming from the Pacific time zone will likely get in late. 6 hour flight plus the 3 hour time difference guarantees a night arrival, even later if you go indirect. So we stayed in a hotel the first night, just because I did not like the idea of using points for a night where we did not get the full benefit of enjoying WDW. Plus, it allowed us to check in early and beat the rush the next day.

We have not used points at DL yet. I've been reluctant to use points at the hotels, but we are sitting on some points that we will need to use this next year, and a trip to WDW may not be in the works. So we may use for a quick trip to DL. I think the big difference for West coasters is the fact that it is hard to make a quick trip like you hear a lot of the east coasters doing. I'd love a west coast DVC just because I could see us taking a few long weekends down in CA, and then balance that off with a week+ trip to WDW every year to every other year.

Regarding restaurants, I've got limited experience but I do know from reading these boards that at certain times advanced reservations are a must. However, we just got back from a trip last week where advanced reservations were not required pretty much anywhere. We did make a quite a few advanced reservations, but there were probably only two places we went to where it was necessary (Liberty Tree and Yachtman's Steakhouse). So if you are going offseason, you are probably OK.

 

[kd5k]

thanks for your input and ideas/advice. I just caught your post about your trip and replied to it also.

I think the we have to face the fact that we will probably only go every other year also. I would love to be able to take several shorter trips in a year but we just can't fork out that kind of money for airfare all the time. Let alone the ticket prices for a family of 6!!

This is what started me thinking about DL and the Grand Ca. it is a pricey hotel and really nice. Even going to WDW every other year, I think we will end up with extra points. Might be worth using them there, rather than lose them! Haven't even gotten into renting out yet.....LOL...I have read enough on that subject the last few weeks to last me a while!!

I have also played around with the DDP....just don't know for sure if it will benefit us?? Still need to work on that one.

We did just change over our AMEX cards to an Executive card and it also allowes each of us a "free" companion ticket per year. For these kinds of trips I will be looking for all of the discounts I can!!

If anyone has tips/secrets/ideas...let's hear 'em!!

 

[Mtnman44]

We are in Utah also. If you are vigilant, there are generally good airfares SLC to Orlando throughout the year. There are several non stop routes which is great. Our plan is to go to Orlando every two years with a shorter trip to California in the "off" years. We have done this on our own but now look forward to using DVC.

I think if you are smart about it, the Airline Miles idea is worthwhile, even if you don't travel regularly. I suggest the American Express Delta Platinum card. It gives double miles for all grocery and gas purchases and has double mile promos all the time. The strategy is to put almost all of your monthly spending and bills on the card each month. For a family with average spending habits, it is easy to earn enough miles for two free tickets in two years. With some minor effort dealing with specials, partner offers, three tickets in two years time is pretty easy, all with your normal spending habits. Plus, every renewal they give you 10,000 additional miles and a free companion cert. So theoretically, every two years I get two free tickets for the kids with miles, pay for my ticket, and the wife is free with the companion cert. Only pay for one ticket! This last january I actually had enough miles for all of us to fly free with miles (one kid was under 2 on the lap, never do that! )

 

[shellbelle1971]

I have some questions for those that own DVC and live in the western part of the US.

#1...how often do you really get to go to WDW?
in reality...we have 4 kids and will find it hard to justify airfare every year!

#2... Are there tips and tricks for those of us that live in the West?

#3... Would it be worth it to look for a Visa with "miles"?

#4...have you ever used your DVC points to go to DL in Ca? and stay at the Grand Californian?

#5...is it best to make all ressies for dinning, or is it possible to walk in a wait at restaraunts, say at...DTD? I know you can in Ca., but have no idea about Fl.

We are very excited about being new owners and are trying to plan our first trip home. I did look into cheaptrips and they do seem to have good offers on airfare.

Is there any info or suggestions that you are willing to pass on to help us in the planning stages for our future vacations??

TIA...Deb

Here's all the advice I can think of from a Utah mom of 6 (soon to be 7)...
1. I hear you about plane tix...they can be ouch! But we go pretty much every year in October (when the kids have a school break.) We planned originally to go 2 out of three years, but the idea of taking a year off is just too painful. Instead, we've kind of gone the opposite direction and expanded our trips from 6 nights to 8, necessitating additional points

2. We like to take an 8 night trip, starting out on a Sunday (so we only stay one Fri & Sat). I shift the kids' schedule by one hour per day over the weekend before we leave so jet lag isn't a problem. Because they do miss some school while we're gone, we take all homework & assignments with us and email or fax them in after we complete them each morning.

3. YES! At least for us! I do quite a bit of my spending on our Delta American Express, which often gives us enough miles for a couple of free tickets each year. We always book our FF tickets early (331 days in advance for Delta) so you can get the "cheaper" SkySaver tickets at only 25,000 miles each, versus the 50,000 required for SkyChoice. There are a limited number of SkySaver seats on each flight, so getting eight of them (for us) all at once can be tricky! DH flies a lot, so we almost always use miles for our Orlando tickets. This may not be cost effective if you live in an area where a discount carrier (like Allegiant, JetBlue, Southwest, etc.) offers direct, nonstop service to Orlando. For us, because we fly out of Salt Lake, Delta is really the only game in town for getting to the land of the mouse. If there were a carrier offering cheapie $99 fares from here, I wouldn't use miles, I'd pay cash.

4. No, for us it wouldn't be a good value because we'd need at least 2 (possibly 3) rooms, and those are just hotel rooms without a kitchen and laundry facilities. We NEED those! When we go to CA, we usually use DH's Marriott Rewards Points to stay at the Residence Inn which is walking distance from Disneyland (some people say it's too far to walk, but we've never found it to be problematic.) If I were going to stay at one of the Disney properties, I'm still not sure the points offer a good value. I'd probably rent out the points and use the cash to stay there.

5. It depends on what time of year you go, and how big your group is. When we are there, (during food and wine festival) advance reservations are an absolute must, although you may sometimes get lucky (especially at the Downtown Disney area restaurants) and find availability as a walk-up.

 

[tacomaranch]

Hi Utah Neighbors,

I am in Star valley which most utah folk know of because of the cheese factory.

We just starting going to WDW in April/May of last year. So far we have gone as a family twice. We loved MNSSHP this year. We flew out of SLC on Delta as they are non stop there and back and around $200 but during winter we have to go for IDA or JAC as the trip to SLC is too much for me and we may never get there or home. However we may never get out of the others.

We use my DH Delta card for all purchases, then the companion ticket which ended up costing $448 for both of us. When get those out of JAC so it makes it worth the ticket.

I am going again in Jan with our God family's girls and my DS but staying off property.

As for tickets, it hurts being out here. I dream of the $99 tickets but we have better things. No crime, clean air, cold mountain streams, deep powder, elk, deer, moose, antelope and a Browing 270. I love living out here over my house in Fl!

We go several times a year but also our DS has autism and he does so much better after being at the world.

We want to go to DL but it would 12 hours in the van so we just go to WDW.

Good luck and hi neighbor! April

 

[Mtnman44]

If you can drive to SLC you can get pretty good deals to Anaheim area airports. Jet blue has some deals for $69 each way that I just looked up last week. That's with nice, wider leather seats and satellite TV for every passenger!

 

[Longhairbear]

We are in CA and go to WDW twice a year,and possibly adding enough points for a third trip. Our stays at WDW are short, around 4-5 days each trip. We usually visit family in MA on our way there, so airfare is that much more for us. That and the fact we always book late, and haven't learned from our mistakes. From Boston our arrival times at WDW are like any other east coaster. But a few years ago we did fly in both direct, and with stopovers. Arriving from CA is maddening, as the shops and restaurants are closed by the time we got there sometimes. Taking the redeye, doesn't help as the rooms are not ready until 4:00 PM. We slept in the chairs in the Iron Spike room at VWL one trip, until our room was ready for check in.
As for DLR using points, we have done that also, and loved it.

 

[shellbelle1971]

If you can drive to SLC you can get pretty good deals to Anaheim area airports. Jet blue has some deals for $69 each way that I just looked up last week. That's with nice, wider leather seats and satellite TV for every passenger!

It's really not too bad to drive from Cedar City, either. If they ever do a CA DVC, I think we'll all be adding on more points...I'd just be scared to use them over the UEA break. DL is SO crowded then!

 

[Mtnman44]

UEA is un-officially Utah family week at DLR!!!

 

[kd5k]

Had to laugh at this one...before we moved to Cedar, we have a niece that lives in St. George and they go to Disneyland every Oct.!! Sometimes during UEA and others toward the end of the month (Oct.). But she used to always tell us that UEA stood for Utahans Entering Anaheim!!

Yeah, we can make the trip to Salt Lake or Las Vegas pretty easily. Anaheim would be a good 6 hour drive I think, but worth it if we get good deals!! And gas prices keep coming down!!

Do you all ever feel guilty for taking your kids out of school? Seems like the schools make you feel like crud by taking your kids out!! I actually got lectured several years ago by a VP at the school...asking me if I realized how much I could be hurting my childs education!! I honestly wanted to punch him!!

In the next couple of weeks we are going to sit down and figure out and make plans for our first trip!!

 

[shellbelle1971]

Our kids' schools have always been helpful and cooperative when we've told them where we're going. We give them a couple weeks advance warning and take all their schoolwork with us. They go to a charter school, and since we've made the switch from "regular" public schools...well, let's just say there's a world of difference between the two in how we get treated. (There's a huge diffference in how much my kids are learning, too, but that's another story!)

Anyway, nope, no guilt here...WDW can be a fantastic educational experience!

 

[mnasf]

I have some questions for those that own DVC and live in the western part of the US.

#1...how often do you really get to go to WDW?
in reality...we have 4 kids and will find it hard to justify airfare every year!
We plan on every 2-3 years. Probably every two while they're young because they get something different out of it each time.

#2... Are there tips and tricks for those of us that live in the West?
We just plan, plan, plan! We look at all airports anywhere nearby. We look at Oakland, SFO, and San Jose. I've looked at Sacramento, but we've never done that. Try to get the kids used to Eastern time about a week before if possible. It helps. Direct is best for us, but usually not possible.

#3... Would it be worth it to look for a Visa with "miles"?
I have one, and it doesnt' hurt, but there is a high yearly fee.

#4...have you ever used your DVC points to go to DL in Ca? and stay at the Grand Californian? Never used points at DL yet. We usually stay offsite there by bidding on priceline. It's our cheap disney fix.

#5...is it best to make all ressies for dinning, or is it possible to walk in a wait at restaraunts, say at...DTD? I know you can in Ca., but have no idea about Fl. I'm not sure if you mean dining in CA or WDW. In CA, the character meals and Blue Bayou are what we do in advance. In WDW, we reserve ASAP at 6 months out. Of course in Aug we did the dining plan with our DVC. With a family of six, you'll find it more important to have reservations - at least for popular places. They think our party of five is big.

We are very excited about being new owners and are trying to plan our first trip home. I did look into cheaptrips and they do seem to have good offers on airfare. Sign-up for the fare alerts on various websites. That helps. Booking far in advance is sometimes cheaper and sometimes not. We have used priceline before, too but were routed through Chicago but still worth the price. Flight times and lenghts really vary. I've done Southwest before, too. But a lot of stops.

Is there any info or suggestions that you are willing to pass on to help us in the planning stages for our future vacations?? Reserve your DVD as soon as possible and know what any requests are. We love doing the matching shirts. We book all of our dining because we find it hard to change or get in once we get there.

 

[Mary Ellen]

We live in Colorado. Since we don't go every year and are also 2 adults, we bough the minimum points (150). We bank/borrow and have 2 trips within 12 months to make the best use of annual passes [1 trip mid December and the next year we hit the Food & Wine in November or are back in early December, ending when our passes expire.] Each trip is about 10 days to 2 weeks.

 

[M&C]

#1...how often do you really get to go to WDW?
in reality...we have 4 kids and will find it hard to justify airfare every year!
We used to go to Disneyworld every year when we lived in the midwest. We've lived in California for over 2 years now and are finally making it back to Disneyworld in December. We think we'll go to Disneyworld every two years or so, but we plan to use our points for other trips as well. I know, bad use of points, but we really like Disneyland.
#2... Are there tips and tricks for those of us that live in the West?

#3... Would it be worth it to look for a Visa with "miles"?
Wells Fargo has a visa program that seems very good. For 25,000 points, they will purchase you a ticket up to $500. I figure that was better than most visa programs.
#4...have you ever used your DVC points to go to DL in Ca? and stay at the Grand Californian?
We will when we have some points freed up. Used it all for the Mediterranean Cruise.
#5...is it best to make all ressies for dinning, or is it possible to walk in a wait at restaraunts, say at...DTD? I know you can in Ca., but have no idea about Fl.
Make ressies. I think the number is 407-wdw-dine.
We are very excited about being new owners and are trying to plan our first trip home. I did look into cheaptrips and they do seem to have good offers on airfare.
Try the "Ding" fares from Southwest as well.
Is there any info or suggestions that you are willing to pass on to help us in the planning stages for our future vacations??

TIA...Deb[/QUOTE]

 

[BeccaG]

Subscribing. . . I am a So. Cal DVCer who just joined in July so I would love to hear all your all's suggestions!

 

[Orlanr]

We live in the San Jose area and we try to go to WDW once a year. We drive to Burbank and get the Jet Blue non stop to Orlando. I have a Jet Blue American Express card and I put everything on the card that I would write a check for. So far two round trips. We have never used points at Disneyland. We go to WDW in the off season and we have never had a problem getting into a restaurant.

 

[disney-super-mom]

We haven't bought DVC - YET...but we're going to as soon as we feel it's the right time.

Anyway, we've really researched this very thing, and this is what we've discovered.

Airfare: Flying from Spokane, Washington costs almost the same to both the Anaheim/L.A. area and to Orlando. There's maybe a $20 difference per person at times, but overall, it's basically around the same cost.

So for airfare - TIE.

Ticket prices: WDW - a five day adult hopper ticket is $246.
DL - a five day adult hopper ticket is $219.

Ticket prices - DL WINS for cost...but...WDW has 73 rides whereas DL/DCA has 68 rides (not too big of a difference) (although WDW has many more shows).

Food costs - WDW wins by a HUGE margin. With DDP and DDE, along with the countless restaurants and eateries, there's no comparison here. The food at Disneyland is expensive!

Ease of travel - this is the one that gets us most of all. We can get to DL/DCA in a matter of 3-4 hours (that includes our flight and layovers). For us to get to WDW can be anywhere from 8-10 hours (includes flights and layovers). So for those of us that live in the West, DL wins this one by a LARGE margin.

In other words, when it comes to cost per trip, it's virtually a toss up between WDW and DL/DCA (for us anyway). So it comes down to ease of getting to one place over the other, as well as which place (WDW or DL/DCA) you and your family prefers. Of course if they built a DVC at DL then you could go to either and it would make the decision whether to buy into DVC for us westerners A LOT easier!

 

[kd5k]

Ease of travel - this is the one that gets us most of all. We can get to DL/DCA in a matter of 3-4 hours (that includes our flight and layovers). For us to get to WDW can be anywhere from 8-10 hours (includes flights and layovers). So for those of us that live in the West, DL wins this one by a LARGE margin.

hey super-mom....you did allot of researching!! Good job, I must say!! The travel time I must admit is a loser for us! We really end up losing 2 days of fun just for travel!! How sad is that!!?

I want to say thanks for all of you that have posted in here. It is nice to know how others from this side of the Mississippi do their planning!!

hugs to ya, Deb

 

[BeccaG]

hey super-mom....you did allot of researching!! Good job, I must say!! The travel time I must admit is a loser for us! We really end up losing 2 days of fun just for travel!! How sad is that!!?

And I see it as only loosing one day, since I can leave Orlando late, and get home in Cali at a decent hour. I figure on most vacations you don't drive to, you loose a day of travel, so for our family, a day of travel is a non-issue. But I understand with a family your size ( I think you said six kids. . . ) a day of travel would seem like a long time!