Where to go on Fri. and Sat.

[jimmytammy]

Im still new to DVC and I keep reading about pulling out of DVC resorts on Fri and Sat because of pts., I understand the logic.

My question if yall dont mind sharing is which resorts to you go to and why?

 

[Richyams]

We couldn't be bother with moving for the weekend. You need to look at the points required for a week, its still a huge savings.

We bought enough points for our vacation, I caouldn't imagine going through all that hassle to save a couple points and move out for the weekend.

The more people that do this, the more likely it is that Disney will one day even out the weekend point difference, this will permenantly take a day or three off some people vacation for the next forty years.

I would suggest using point wisely, arrive on a Sunday and stay through the next weekend, only staying one weekend, six night stays, there are many ways you can do this without hurting everyone.

Avoiding weekends like the plague does a dis-service to all members....although living in Florida, I do wish they would even out the weekdays and weekends, I have found myself doing exactly what they feared, only using points for weekends.....good thing I have enough.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We stay put. We thought of DVC as a regular timeshare when we first purchased, so planned on enough points for a week in a 2 bedroom. One time we stayed off site for the first Saturday night, and will NEVER do that again!!! We purchased DVC for the convenience and luxury of staying on site in a nice room without having to spend thousands EACH trip. I see no reason to move off site.

 

[rbuzzotta]

We go to the west coast of Florida!! We enjoy watching the sunsets and the water is so warm. My DD's love it there!!!

We don't mind packing up for the weekend. We usually stay in FL for 16 days (we use one weekend night!).

 

[Dean]

We are close enough that we usually just go for the 5 days of lower points. When we're down weekends, we usually take the oportunity to try out other resorts but on and off property. These include other timeshares like some of the Marriott's as well as US resorts.

 

[KLR-wlv]

I'm one of the dis-servicers I guess - with only 150 points I could have about 15 days of vacations with week points or 7 consectutive days - I'm going for quantity. We always take shorter trips 3-4 times a year rather than one long trip. I think if Disney sells 150 point contracts, they certainly expect it (as the quantity of days was illustrated in our sales pitch) and how it "harms" other members I don't get...I'm sure Disney doesn't mind getting more money out of us!

But anyways -to your question - I am staying two nights at the Poly next week with an Ap rate before checking into OKW and I'm very excited since I stayed there on my first trip when I was 5 and my kids will freak out to have the monorail in the hotel! In the spring, I only had enough points left for 3 nights so I booked 2 nights at ASMo, where we've never stayed. I love the Disney resorts and don't mind moving around, so it's fun for me to get to check more of them out.

 

[sumessefui]

Members constantly complain about how high weekend points are. If the DVC evened the points out a little more, would everyone be happy? I think not. A studio at OKW at the cheapest time is 80 pts. for a week. That is 8 pts. each day Mon. - Thur. and 20 pts. each for Fri. & Sat. A Fri. or Sat. is then 2.5x the points of a Mon.-Thur. If DVC lowered the weekend points by 25%, to 15 pts., then the weekday points would have to be raised to 10 points to come out to 80 points for the week. This would reduce the difference to 1.5x. How many who complain would be happy with this? For those who try to streach their points to the max the present system works best.

 

[SteveS]

I think it is a crime to go to Florida and not experience the Ocean. I like to go to Daytona Beach. However be carefule of special events like "Bike Week". I would also consider Cocoa Beach but only as a secondary choice.

 

[lampy]

If you want to stay around WDW try the HIFS or a Universal Property Hotel. Universal Hotels are great and give you perks in their parks.

We are trying Clearwater Beach this trip for the weekend.

We LOVE to strech out our points! but we will stay an occasional Friday or Saturday if it is not convenient to move. I don't think I could stay 8-10 days in one spot. I need to move around and experience the area, because we don't live in Florida.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

My question if yall dont mind sharing is which resorts to you go to and why?

We did AK once and this last time we stayed at Luguna Villas, nice place, 3 bedrooms two baths, clean, modern I would recommend this to anyone, all for a whopping 84.00 per night + tax.

 

[DeeP]

Here is another "dis-servicer" DVC member. I very much enjoy staying at all the WDW resorts because each is unique and a different experience so moving on Fri & Sat nights gives us an opportunity to stay at many WDW resorts and saves us points which then extends our points for the year quite a bit. I really do not see it as a dis service. Some DVC members religiously go to DVC resorts during the lower pt seasons and avoid the higher pts seasons like the plague--just look at the mad rush to get into a DVC resort the first week of Dec!, this could also be considered a dis service to all DVC members. Going to DVC resorts during lower pt times in order to save pts, whether it be the season of the yr or the day of the week is the same beast just wearing different clothing!! Maybe DVC should recalculate the pts so that all days of the week AND all seasons of the yr are the same amount of pts with the only difference being in the # of pts required for the various size units!

 

[lampy]

Right on Gail. I want to try that one too! We have also stayed at the Poly and PO. I want to try CSR - kids would love that pool. My dream is to try them all!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by DeeP
...(snip)...Maybe DVC should recalculate the pts so that all days of the week AND all seasons of the yr are the same amount of pts with the only difference being in the # of pts required for the various size units!

LOL, DeeP! Even if they did, I (for one) would still go during the first half of December!

Seriously, I don't think DVC will ever recalculate in that way (and I don't really think you do, either ). Their job is to even out the demand across all sizes of units, days of the week and seasons. To me, it is similar to the goal of a handicapper for a horse race. He/She tries to add exactly the right amount of weight to each horse so that all of the horses finish at exactly the same time. Of course, the race never quite ends up that way, but most of them are close enough!

FWIW, I think the DVC "handicappers" do a very good job. If they didn't, there would be a lot more complaints from members who are unable to use their points and end up losing them. I don't think that happens very often!

 

[DeeP]

Carol,
No, I do not think Disney will ever recalculate the pts to make all seasons the same nor do I think they will ever recalculate the pts to make all days of the week the same.
The point I was trying to make is to say that members that do not stay at DVC resorts on Fri and Sat nights are doing a dis service to all DVC members is no more accurate than saying members that avoid the high pt seasons are doing a dis service to all DVC members. It is ridiculous! Taking advantage of lower pts whether it be during low pt seasons or days of the week is the same thing and no one is doing a dis service to anyone. I go to WDW every 3 months and never even think about which season of the yr it is and how many pts it will require, if I did that I would only be going to WDW less than half as often as I do now--horrors! But I do avoid Fri & Sat nights whenever possible because it does extend my pts, and I really enjoy staying at other WDW resorts besides the DVC resorts, so it all evens out in the end. Dis service, what a joke!

 

[robinb]

I also usually only stay the 5 weeknights. The exception is when New Year's Eve falls on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday since we like to get into our resort no later than 12/30 and leave no earlier than 1/2.

I am pretty much happy anywhere over the weekends, including off-site. Staying on-site gives you the advantage of "luggage fairies". Since it's only 2 days, I'm not as fussy as I would be for a longer stay. The All Stars is just as "magical" in many ways as the Poly. Staying off-site can save a boatload of money. I use Priceline for all my off-site hotels and www.biddingfortravel.com for help in bidding.

All that being said, I'm at the Poly )) for 5 days over Christmas (including the weekend) and I'll be moving to BCV for the Sunday-Friday 5 night New Year's Eve stay.

 

[MinnieMe2]

We are dis-servicers, too, because we were unable to purchase enough points and are hoping to gradually add some here and there until we do have enough. Then again, maybe there's no such thing !

So we see Fri. and Sat. as perfect times to enjoy other resorts. I hope that this coming summer we can finally spend a couple of nites at AKL. Or the Contemporary. Wherever we go, I know we'll enjoy it. And our points will go a little further.....

 

[disneydom]

I guess i'm one of the DVCers that stay put i'm here to vacation not move around in fact this Nov we are bringing friends and have gotten them a studio at BWV for a long weekend of wine tasting

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by DeeP
Carol,
No, I do not think Disney will ever recalculate the pts to make all seasons the same nor do I think they will ever recalculate the pts to make all days of the week the same.
The point I was trying to make is to say that members that do not stay at DVC resorts on Fri and Sat nights are doing a dis service to all DVC members is no more accurate than saying members that avoid the high pt seasons are doing a dis service to all DVC members. It is ridiculous! Taking advantage of lower pts whether it be during low pt seasons or days of the week is the same thing and no one is doing a dis service to anyone. I go to WDW every 3 months and never even think about which season of the yr it is and how many pts it will require, if I did that I would only be going to WDW less than half as often as I do now--horrors! But I do avoid Fri & Sat nights whenever possible because it does extend my pts, and I really enjoy staying at other WDW resorts besides the DVC resorts, so it all evens out in the end. Dis service, what a joke!

I agree with you. The points are what they are for a reason - to even out demand. I think those who do not reserve weekends on points or go only during "low" seasons are doing exactly what DVC hopes/wants them to do. It is not a "dis-service" to the other members. IMHO, saying that it is a "disservice" is based on the false assumption that too many members are totally avoiding weekends and that DVC will have to eliminate or seriously reduce the differential to bring things back into balance. If there is a significant "mismatch" in demand (and I don't agree that there is), I hardly think DVC needs to do anything really drastic to fix it. I think the differential is working exactly as designed and actually makes non-DVC options easier for DVC to offer.

Weekends are easier for CRO to rent to the general public for cash and I think many of the points used by members for non-DVC options actually end up being used by CRO to rent out weekends. Most of the people who don't live within a few hours drive of Orlando include weekends in their vacation plans. This is evidenced by the fact that weekends are much harder to book at the non-DVC resorts than at the DVC resorts. For example, most of the resorts are fully booked for December weekends right now, but you can still get weekdays fairly easily.

Without the weekday/weekend point differentials, many DVC members would likely change their vacation patterns to take more "long weekend" trips or to reserve the weekend on both ends of their week's vacation. That would leave many "middle of the week" days unreserved. Those days are hard to rent to the general public for cash. That could impact the point cost of non-DVC options as well as the ability for DVC members to make reservations for an entire week if they don't do it as soon as the 11 month window opens.

I think those who complain about the weekend point differentials or worry about them getting reduced are not considering the big picture. They may not realize that the weekdays will go up if the weekends go down. If they do know that, what they really want is to take "cheaper" long weekend trips or trips that include the weekends on either side of their week's vacation. But that scenario would result in much more competiton for weekend reservations, and thus it would be more difficult for them to even get their reservation if it includes weekends. IMHO, it would also result in higher costs for non-DVC options. (CRO would have to discount the weekdays a lot to make enough $$ to offset the cost of the non-DCV option).

To sum it up, I think the DVC point system is working just fine. IMHO, there is no need to worry about it changing anytime soon.

 

[spiceycat]

I have stayed at POR, CSR, Polyn, WL, BC, and the Cont - like others have say - you can see other WDW resorts - since we can't use our points for BC, WL or BW - I will probably continue to stay elsewhere on weekends.

Off site - Marriott, Reinssuance, Hilton, Holiday Inn other timeshares Marriott - look at the Mousesavers.com for more hotels - see what the specials are -and then decide which you like - I also shop on www.travelocity.com and www.expedia.com for deals too.

Are you are member of Interval International? If you are then look at their getaways 30 days before they lower the prices - you can stay a week in a 1-bedroom at Marriott Grande Vista for around $250 or less. I stay there for a week starting on sunday - so the last night I stay is Saturday then go to OKW Sun- thurs

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although we wish we owned enough points to "stay put", we have 2 sons in college, and the financial realty is that we won't for a few years. This next trip, we plan to move to FW Cabins for the weekend. Only one bathroom, but we'll continue to have the kitchen facilities and the separate units like at OKW, spread out with a lot of vegetation.