What do you do with all those points?

[Sandisw]

Assuming you all do mainly studios, is that fair?

It really does depend. 900 goes farther when it’s only 3 or 4 nights.

For 2025 and 2026, it has been studios more than the other sizes because I traveled with people who I wanted them to have their own room…or it was just one other guest.

I don’t do studios if we have 3 or more.

 

[Steelers0854]

If I were planning on spending that much time in FL and didn’t want to own a house, I’d consider buying super cheap used timeshares outside DVC. Maybe Wyndham Bonnet Creek? I don’t need a full month at WDW; I just need some sun and warmth! The other option would be buying getaway weeks through Interval International. It’s shockingly cheap in Orlando.

The issue is if we did that we would have other costs like Uber or a rental car. With Disney I really don’t have to pay for any transportation other than getting there and back from the airport. Plus the goal with this isn’t about a generic trip to FL. If we bought a vacation home it would be near Disney with the intent to go to Disney as well as avoid the cold. So for us I’m not sure that this would be the best strategy but I do see how it could be a good fit for others.

 

[atthebeachclub]

A lot of people live in trailers as snowbirds. I’ve heard they can even be nice?

 

[CraigInPA]

We had a plan... We were going to stay in our home in the Poconos, stay at WDW for a month in January, visit my brother in Tampa for the month of February and part of March, and return to the Poconos in late March. That would have us miss about 90% of the snow. My brother and his wife, in turn, would come stay with us during the most hellish part of Florida weather, July and August. This was great until my brother retired, decided he hated living in Florida, and moved to North Carolina two years ago. He likes the summer in NC, so doesn't feel the need to leave there. It snows in NC in the winter, and our goal was to avoid that. As we are about to retire, we're looking at monthly house rentals as an alternative to our original plan.

 

[Lorana]

We have 2274 points, and spending time during retirement at Disney is definitely part of the plan, even though retirement is likely still ~15 years away (so who knows what may change in that time).

Our thought certainly was to be able to spend ~6 weeks of the winter at Disney, and potentially rent out the other points to help offset dues cost (though leaving some free for a small trip in the fall timeframe). This depends on whether we do the whole stay in a 1BR or split between 1BRs and Studios. If we used all our points, we could do at least 9 weeks in a 1BR, even longer if we managed to snag some Value 1BRs at AKV or split between 1BRs and Studios. We live in New England and while we love it here, escaping the winter for a bit would be nice.

We thought about a vacation home, but don't want to have to deal with the maintenance and issues when we're not there, and when we go to Disney, we want to be in the bubble. It's why we bought DVC. Also, DVC does have some flexibility -- our thought was that some years we could go out to Aulani or Hilton Head, some years we could trade in (or rent out) our points for villas in different parts of the world, or even spend a few weeks on back-to-back Disney cruises.

 

[cruisehopeful]

To me, the value in using DVC or another timeshare as a vacation home is not having to spend the vacation doing home maintenance. Even if pay someone else to do it, you'll still have to deal with gardeners, maid, handyman, etc.

Something that I've heard others do to extend their points is to stay in a studio most of the time and throw in a one bedroom every 5+ days to get the laundry done. Would you stay at WDW the whole time or break it up with Vero and Hilton Head? I*think* I would get overwhelmed being at Disney for that long, but maybe a place like Old Key West would provide a little peace and quiet.

 

[VGCgroupie]

To me, the value in using DVC or another timeshare as a vacation home is not having to spend the vacation doing home maintenance. Even if pay someone else to do it, you'll still have to deal with gardeners, maid, handyman, etc.

Something that I've heard others do to extend their points is to stay in a studio most of the time and throw in a one bedroom every 5+ days to get the laundry done. Would you stay at WDW the whole time or break it up with Vero and Hilton Head? I*think* I would get overwhelmed being at Disney for that long, but maybe a place like Old Key West would provide a little peace and quiet.

I think the Cabins are a good median here. While the MF to own there are prohibitive, having a full kitchen and spending close to studio prices is the game changer for that type of stay. No W/D but you can use communal W/D. FW has a much different feel and doesnt feel like you are in Disney per say, and you have lots of space from your neighbor.