What planning programs do you use?

[DISNEY FIX]

I currently us Xl sheets. But I like the idea of plugging in dates to see if I have enough points for potential vacation dates. I don't know the differences between Mousemanager or Caskbill stuff.....
What do you guys use? Are they free?
Where do you download them from?
What do you love most about the program(s) that you use.
How easy is it to update as the new points charts come out?

Can't wait to get going.TIA

 

[JimMIA]

I haven't tried Mousemanager, so I can't comment on that one.

I use Caskbill's DVC Planner for trip planning. I like everything about it -- I can't really pick out one feature (or ten), because it does everything I want beautifully. For those booking peak times, the feature of the Vacation Plan that shows opening dates of the 11-month and 7-month windows is very helpful. The program is very carefully thought-out, and I'd be hard pressed to come up with any criticism of it.

DVC Planner is a freebie for personal use from www.caskbill.com . As you probably know, Bill is one of our DIS DVC mods and an all-round great guy.

For keeping track of my points (we have three families using an account owned by a family trust), I just use a simple Excel spreadsheet. Bill has a program that probably does that easier and better than Excel, but that's what I've been using and stuck with. My tracking isn't that complicated.

 

[JimMIA]

How easy is it to update as the new points charts come out?

DVC Planner has the points charts out to the End of Time. The only time Bill has to do an update is if there is a new resort or option. Needless to say, he's been updating a LOT lately with AKV, BLT, and THV!

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Thanks for the reply Jim. Can you keep track of multiple contracts like 3 or 4?

 

[erionm]

Thanks for the reply Jim. Can you keep track of multiple contracts like 3 or 4?

Caskbill's DVC-Tracker program can do multiple master contracts and multiple add-ons. It's free for tracking up to 300 points. Check out this thread for a progress report on Bill's programs: DVC-Programs by Caskbill

As for mousemanager, it's a point tracker plus trip planner. You can enter air & ground transportation, room and dining reservations. It can be used with or without the dvc tracking. Mouse Manager is free and there is also a mac version.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Thanks Michael.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Let me humbly mention mine as well. Please see the link in my signature.

 

[kgar2121]

Birdsofpreydave's program is pretty doggone inclusive. I sat down and tried to put in my history of information, basically because im a nerd and perfectionist, and i spent a good portion of an afternoon doing it. glad i did. its a great program and offers a ton of options. kudos!

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Did you have to put every vacation in? Does it tell you when you are out or points even after dipping into next years?

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Did you have to put every vacation in? Does it tell you when you are out or points even after dipping into next years?

You're able to go back and put in past vacations if you choose. If you don't want to deal with that, though, you can simply edit the number of points remaining in your current use year and start from today.

The program will keep track of how many points you've used and have available. (There's also a category of "committed" points for vacations you've planned, but haven't booked with member services yet.)

One of my favorite features (actually the reason I started writing the program) is the "Where Can I Stay?" module. You enter the dates you want to travel, the number of days, and how many people are in your travel party, and the software will show you all the options that are available to you for the number of points you have available. This module can be run to look only at current-year points, or to include any available banking/borrowing points as well.