Where do I begin?

[sweetcitywoman]

Hello everyone! I am very new to these boards and completely lost. I do not understand all the abbreviations! lol! My husband and I are planning to take our family to WDW Nov/Dec 2013. There will be 9 of us including our grandchildren. My son-in-law is active military so staying at SOG is an option, but it is not a Disney resort. Is there anything like a Disney resort, honestly? So, I've heard we may be able to 'rent' points and thus take our family on a great vacation at a great price (which is perfect since my hubby and I are footing the entire bill). How does it work? Where do I find out what all the abbreviations mean? Any advice, direction or suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[thepops]

Welcome! There is a lot to read, but you will find the links to what you are looking for (abbreviations and renting info) at one of the very first posts on this page. Look for the one that says "DVC Resource Center" and it will have links to that info for you.

Enjoy!

 

[sweetcitywoman]

Thank you! There is a lot of info here and much to learn.

 

[hakepb]

FYI, DVC members love the fall Food and wine festival, and Christmas decorations at WDW..making most of November and December very difficult to book on DVC points fewer than 11months in advance. The easiest week to book would be the week before Thanksgiving week (Nov 18-23 this year)

The parks are fairly low crowds most weeks (except Thanksgiving week and, WDW's most busy week of the year Christmas-NYE) and those low crowds draw more DVC members.

Then you need to decide on sleeping arrangements. A 2Bedroom villa would have 1 King, 2 Queens and a pullout couch, or 1 King, 1 Queen and 2 pullout couches. AKV, BLT, and OKW add a sleeper chair to the configuration,

A Grand Villa may fit everyone better with 3 bedrooms, plus a pullout, but they are more expensive and more difficult to book.

 

[sleepydog25]

Hello everyone! I am very new to these boards and completely lost. I do not understand all the abbreviations! lol! My husband and I are planning to take our family to WDW Nov/Dec 2013. There will be 9 of us including our grandchildren. My son-in-law is active military so staying at SOG is an option, but it is not a Disney resort. Is there anything like a Disney resort, honestly? So, I've heard we may be able to 'rent' points and thus take our family on a great vacation at a great price (which is perfect since my hubby and I are footing the entire bill). How does it work? Where do I find out what all the abbreviations mean? Any advice, direction or suggestions would be most welcome.

Yes, there is a lot of information out there, so do your best to slog through it (or in your case, perhaps soak it up ), but don't be afraid to ask specific questions. Most folks on here are more than happy to share their experiences and tricks. As for SOG, although not a Disney resort per se, if it winds up being your best option, don't despair. It's still close to a lot of the action (near Grand Californian and Polynesian resorts) and is a fine resort on its own. Though a couple of Starbucks are going in a park or two right now, SOG has long had a Starbucks down the main lobby ramp on the way to the ticket counters. We stop there often while visiting the World. Good luck and have fun searching!

 

[sweetcitywoman]

Drowning may be a better term! Lol! Mix a Type A with a WDW vaca and it's obsession city from here on out. Part of the fun for me is the planning anyway so I'm really loving that there is so much to learn. Our oldest grandson has been asking to go back to WDW since the day after our last trip (3 years ago when he was 4) and we are finally going to make his wish come true. I am so excited! There is nothing like seeing the world thru the eyes of a child, in my opinion. We are thinking of waiting until the day we are planning to leave to actually tell the children. I wonder if anyone else on these boards has ever done that and how it turned out.

 

[Greysword]

Shades of Green is a fantastic resort, and they receive pretty much every benefit the WDW Resorts are entitled to. In fact other than direct bus service, I'm not sure what they lack. You can get discounted park tickets at SoG, so you'll end up there sometime

SoG Thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2912833

As for renting, there are several agencies that specialize in help you accomplish the task by acting as the middle man and navigating the process for you. One of the DIS Board sponsors is Dave's DVc Rentals (http://www.dvcrequest.com/). I would contact him and peruse his website for info on renting, specifically.

Good luck!

 

[sleepydog25]

Drowning may be a better term! Lol! Mix a Type A with a WDW vaca and it's obsession city from here on out. Part of the fun for me is the planning anyway so I'm really loving that there is so much to learn. Our oldest grandson has been asking to go back to WDW since the day after our last trip (3 years ago when he was 4) and we are finally going to make his wish come true. I am so excited! There is nothing like seeing the world thru the eyes of a child, in my opinion. We are thinking of waiting until the day we are planning to leave to actually tell the children. I wonder if anyone else on these boards has ever done that and how it turned out.

I'm sure many have and, in fact, I believe there was a thread about such at one time. I think it's a great idea if you can pull it off. To further elaborate on what a previous poster (PP in the lingo) said, if you plan to rent Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points from a member for a Nov/Dec 2013 stay, time is of the essence since that timeframe is a real favorite for many DVC members for a number of reasons. DVC members can book up to 11 months out at their home resort, but at 7 months out, any DVC member can book at any non-home resort (if that makes sense). Thus, April becomes the booking month for November at non-home resorts, for example. That's not to mean there won't be any points to rent for the week you'll be there after April, but your choices could be limited.

 

[disneynutz]

Take a look at the Disney website, you will find information on all of the DVC resorts. You can check out the different size rooms and the resort amenities. Once you make a decision on the resort and room size, plug in your dates and get the Disney price.

Now with that info you can begin to look for a rental.

Bill

 

[mjc2003]

Drowning may be a better term! Lol! Mix a Type A with a WDW vaca and it's obsession city from here on out. Part of the fun for me is the planning anyway so I'm really loving that there is so much to learn. Our oldest grandson has been asking to go back to WDW since the day after our last trip (3 years ago when he was 4) and we are finally going to make his wish come true. I am so excited! There is nothing like seeing the world thru the eyes of a child, in my opinion. We are thinking of waiting until the day we are planning to leave to actually tell the children. I wonder if anyone else on these boards has ever done that and how it turned out.

To answer your initial question, here is what I would do:

1) Try to hone in on a few specific weeks.

2) Read the point chart (there is a link at the top of the page that says DVC Point Charts).

3) Figure out what resort you might want to try for, and how you want to break up the accommodations. While Grand Villas are nice, you would do a little best cost wise if you go with a 2 bedroom and a studio (and this might give you a little more privacy).

4) Add up the points for the rooms you would like, using the point charts, and then calculate the cost by figuring that you're going to pay from $10-$14 a point, depending on which resort, rooms, nights, etc...

This would at least give you some parameters as far as cost. The points per night vary tremendously. A 2 bedroom at Bay Lake Towers in November can range from 38-60 points per night depending on what night of the week and what view.
You will probably have the best luck at Old Key West (biggest rooms and reasonable points, and generally lots available outside of 7 months), Saratoga Springs or Animal Kingdom Lodge.
If the points on the higher end of the cost range are within your budget, I would consider using a rental service. They can walk you through most effectively, and the peace of mind might be worth it. If you want to save a few bucks, you can "work" the Rent/Trade board here and look for somebody who will work with you.

As for surprising the kids at the last minute, there are entire threads of discussion around these boards, some have turned out just like you would see in a commercial, and some have turned really sad. There are some funny youtube videos if you want to do some searches about parents surprising kids with trips to Disney. I think it sounds like your 7 year old would be thrilled, so a surprise would probably be a great idea--if you can keep it a secret, of course.

 

[Chuck S]

Shades of Green is a fantastic resort, and they receive pretty much every benefit the WDW Resorts are entitled to. In fact other than direct bus service, I'm not sure what they lack. You can get discounted park tickets at SoG, so you'll end up there sometime

SoG Thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2912833

As for renting, there are several agencies that specialize in help you accomplish the task by acting as the middle man and navigating the process for you. One of the DIS Board sponsors is Dave's DVc Rentals (http://www.dvcrequest.com/). I would contact him and peruse his website for info on renting, specifically.

Good luck!

Just for my own info and future reference, does Shades of Green get to use the free park to resort package delivery service for in park purchases?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hello everyone! I am very new to these boards and completely lost. I do not understand all the abbreviations! lol! My husband and I are planning to take our family to WDW Nov/Dec 2013. There will be 9 of us including our grandchildren. My son-in-law is active military so staying at SOG is an option, but it is not a Disney resort. Is there anything like a Disney resort, honestly? So, I've heard we may be able to 'rent' points and thus take our family on a great vacation at a great price (which is perfect since my hubby and I are footing the entire bill). How does it work? Where do I find out what all the abbreviations mean? Any advice, direction or suggestions would be most welcome.

Go over to the DVC Rent/Trade Board and read the sticky threads at the top of the page. They should give you information on the ins and outs of "renting points".

 

[sissy1]

Here;s a couple of sites to help with abbreviations:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1660743
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=13729193#post13729193

 

[Greysword]

Just for my own info and future reference, does Shades of Green get to use the free park to resort package delivery service for in park purchases?

I was going to write:

Not to my knowledge, Chuck. Think of it like the Swan & Dolphin amenity-wise. No ME, but full use of WDW transportation system, once you get to an access point. SoG has buses that run to the TTC, only, yet they are easy walking distance to the Poly.

HOWEVER, upon further review ...

It seems this statement is in error. here is the info from the WDWInfo page:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/sog.htm

The Shades of Green resort is not owned by Walt Disney World, but guests enjoy many of the benefits extended to Walt Disney World resorts guests. Priority Seating arrangements, childcare, package delivery to your resort, use of the WDW transportation and complimentary use of wheelchairs for use at the resort (on a first come, first serve basis), are some of the amenities extended to Shades of Green guests.

In addition according to SoG's website, they get EMH but not parking around the WDW resort (need to pay like offsite guests) nor room charge ability (according to Wiki page).

 

[Amymarie0606]

Just for my own info and future reference, does Shades of Green get to use the free park to resort package delivery service for in park purchases?

Before purchasing DVC, we stayed at SOG on 3 different trips. It's a great resort and there's a lot of value there!

1. Yes- SOG is part of the free package delivery service.
2. The cost of the rooms can't be beat (the size/amenities for the price).
3. Discounted park tickets.
4. Extra Magic Hours.
5. Starbucks a short walk from your room.
6. Inexpensive breakfast buffet complete with Mickey Waffles.
7. Sit-down Italian restaurant - no reservations needed.
8. Pub-style restaurant for lunches by the pool.
9. 2 pools (1 is in the shape of Mickey!)
10. Counter service snacks/breakfast right inside the door where you wait for the buses.
11. Although no direct Disney buses, SOG has their own buses, including 1 that will drop you at TTC every 20 minutes.

If we were able to continue to visit SOG, we never would have purchased DVC (as veterans, now we can only make reservations in Jan and Sept- bad times for us).

Good luck. No bad choices!

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Chuck S]

Before purchasing DVC, we stayed at SOG on 3 different trips. It's a great resort and there's a lot of value there!

1. Yes- SOG is part of the free package delivery service.
2. The cost of the rooms can't be beat (the size/amenities for the price).
3. Discounted park tickets.
4. Extra Magic Hours.
5. Starbucks a short walk from your room.
6. Inexpensive breakfast buffet complete with Mickey Waffles.
7. Sit-down Italian restaurant - no reservations needed.
8. Pub-style restaurant for lunches by the pool.
9. 2 pools (1 is in the shape of Mickey!)
10. Counter service snacks/breakfast right inside the door where you wait for the buses.
11. Although no direct Disney buses, SOG has their own buses, including 1 that will drop you at TTC every 20 minutes.

If we were able to continue to visit SOG, we never would have purchased DVC (as veterans, now we can only make reservations in Jan and Sept- bad times for us).

Good luck. No bad choices!

Enjoy your trip!!

The Mickey pool is probably a left over. The Shades of Green Resort was one of the original Disney resorts. First known as the Disney Golf Resort Hotel, then the Disney Inn before it was contracted to the military. I think the military did do some expansion to the resort after they took over.

 

[Greysword]

Before purchasing DVC, we stayed at SOG on 3 different trips. It's a great resort and there's a lot of value there!

Thanks Amymarie.

...(as veterans, now we can only make reservations in Jan and Sept- bad times for us).

What's the story with this?

 

[Amymarie0606]

Thanks Amymarie.

What's the story with this?

To be clear, both my DH and I are veterans, but neither of us are a war veteran (we were never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan) . Just discharged honorably. Perhaps war veterans can reserved anytime, I'm not entirely sure. But I do know for our case, we can only reserved during their slow times (January and September).

I can't complain about that . I enjoyed the resort on three occasions while still in the service and now I'm glad it's there for our current military families.

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks Amymarie.

What's the story with this?

Here is a link to SOG and eligibility requirements: http://www.shadesofgreen.org/eligibility.htm

 

[smidgy]

shades of green is a resort for ACTIVE and /or RETIRED military. retired, not discharged.

they do open the reservations up for veterans (not sure if it needs to be veterans during war time or not) during a couple of the slower times of the year.