Spring Break at Disney: is it the worst idea ever? Or survivable with planning?
Jun 12, 2014, 2:53 pm
#16
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I will confess to knowing only enough about DVC points to be dangerous ... the two times I've rented them I did it within a month of my trip and was therefore able to practically steal the points from folks with expiring points the same month.
As for location, I have stayed at SSR (my other DVC stay was AKL, which was awesome, how can you beat seeing a live giraffe from the hallway of your home away from home?!?), and since pinniped is considering villas at HGVC/MVCI/SVO, I believe in comparison to those options it's pretty well located.
As for location, I have stayed at SSR (my other DVC stay was AKL, which was awesome, how can you beat seeing a live giraffe from the hallway of your home away from home?!?), and since pinniped is considering villas at HGVC/MVCI/SVO, I believe in comparison to those options it's pretty well located.
Jun 12, 2014, 6:35 pm
#17
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I usually go earlier in October, but from everything I have read, the end of October is supposed to be fairly light. And surprising the Magic Kingdom park is supposed to be very light on Halloween day itself. So I figured I'd give it a shot.
Jun 13, 2014, 7:28 am
#18
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I will confess to knowing only enough about DVC points to be dangerous ... the two times I've rented them I did it within a month of my trip and was therefore able to practically steal the points from folks with expiring points the same month.
As for location, I have stayed at SSR (my other DVC stay was AKL, which was awesome, how can you beat seeing a live giraffe from the hallway of your home away from home?!?), and since pinniped is considering villas at HGVC/MVCI/SVO, I believe in comparison to those options it's pretty well located.
As for location, I have stayed at SSR (my other DVC stay was AKL, which was awesome, how can you beat seeing a live giraffe from the hallway of your home away from home?!?), and since pinniped is considering villas at HGVC/MVCI/SVO, I believe in comparison to those options it's pretty well located.
But SSR is always available - even within a month. AKL is a little more difficult. Most are now impossible to get - even at 12 or 9 months out when they open for owners.
We considered buying, and considered it again. We generally do not plan 9 or 12 months out, the gifted points being the exception. Normally we decided 2-3 months out, if that much. Had we purchased in our desired properties, which are all those within walking distance to any park, we would have been continually shut out and stuck in SSR.
Jun 18, 2014, 4:53 am
#19
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There is no 12 months with DVC. It's 11.
I am not seeing this "only SSR is available" syndrome. And it's not correct to say that "no one" wants to stay at SSR. I have renters who say it's their favorite. They like the Treehouses, the spa, the Turf Club, the proximity to DD, the theming, the arguably less "Disneyfied" atmosphere, ability to park at the door, peace and quiet at night, and more.
For owners, it also has low annual fees.
I am not seeing this "only SSR is available" syndrome. And it's not correct to say that "no one" wants to stay at SSR. I have renters who say it's their favorite. They like the Treehouses, the spa, the Turf Club, the proximity to DD, the theming, the arguably less "Disneyfied" atmosphere, ability to park at the door, peace and quiet at night, and more.
For owners, it also has low annual fees.
Last edited by toomanybooks; Jun 18, 2014 at 5:09 am
Jun 18, 2014, 6:58 am
#20
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Well, I'm not an owner, so I was off by a month for owners being able to make reservations.
Your experience may be different than mine, but getting anything besides SS is very difficult, even 11 months out. I've been on 2 waitlists for other units and they never clear - and this is for the end of Jan, and not the holiday weekend.
The treehouse villas are not indicative of most of the DVC units at SS, and are the equivalent of the grand villas, or more, elsewhere. The regular units there are just like all the rest.
How else do you explain that the only units ever available in the DVC are at SS, and that's on mid to short notice?
Hey, I get it, you're an owner, you want to say good things about it. But my reality, as someone who is the recipient of a kindness from another owner, is vastly different than what you say. Ditto for my friend - who has been an owner from the very beginning of the DVCs. All he could get for his niece as a graduation gift was SS. He couldn't even get OKW, and none of his waitlists ever clear either.
Your experience may be different than mine, but getting anything besides SS is very difficult, even 11 months out. I've been on 2 waitlists for other units and they never clear - and this is for the end of Jan, and not the holiday weekend.
The treehouse villas are not indicative of most of the DVC units at SS, and are the equivalent of the grand villas, or more, elsewhere. The regular units there are just like all the rest.
How else do you explain that the only units ever available in the DVC are at SS, and that's on mid to short notice?
Hey, I get it, you're an owner, you want to say good things about it. But my reality, as someone who is the recipient of a kindness from another owner, is vastly different than what you say. Ditto for my friend - who has been an owner from the very beginning of the DVCs. All he could get for his niece as a graduation gift was SS. He couldn't even get OKW, and none of his waitlists ever clear either.
Jun 18, 2014, 1:55 pm
#21
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How shall I put this?
I control about 3K DVC points a year, have been renting since 2006, and I probably know more about DVC than everyone else on FT put together. How's that strike you?
Just to check your claims, I decided to check DVC for availability in mid-December, one of the busiest times of year. Less than 7 months out, so anyone with any DVC points can reserve anywhere, now. Low point costs, nice weather, Christmas decorations up, people on vacation. Very popular, probably exceeded only by Christmas/New Year's week and Easter. Maybe Thanksgiving.
Let us look at availability for the period 12/15/14-12/20/14, as of today. 5 day stay.
SSR studio YES
SSR 1-BR YES
SSR 2-BR YES
SSR Treehouse: YES
SSR Grand Villa YES
AKV Kidani std studio YES
AKV Kidani savanna studio YES
AKV Jambo savanna studio YES
AKV Jambo 1-BR std YES
AKV Kidani 1-BR std YES
AKV Kidani 1-BR savanna YES
AKV Kidani 2-BR std YES
AKV Kidani 2-BR savanna YES
BWV 1-BR garden/pool YES
OKW studio YES
OKW 1-BR YES
OKW 2-BR YES (choose regular, near Hospitality House, Lock-off)
Looks pretty good to me, and many other options only lack one day, which would likely come through on a wait list at some point.
True, <5 months out you cannot get anything at BLT, VWL, or BCV. But I bet late January is available at most of these.
Keep in mind that this putative reservation is less than 5 months out. These and others could have been reserved over the past 2 months by any DVC owner, and have been.
If you are willing to move once, you can easily put together a stay way longer than a week this time of year, in 2 resorts, including the more popular ones. Many room types are missing only 1 or 2 days, so a split works out fine.
By the way, a Treehouse is more like a 2-BR than a Grand Villa. Until last year, the same number of points; now a bit more.
I'm not going to spend any more time on this. Anyone who has questions about DVC is welcome to PM me.
I control about 3K DVC points a year, have been renting since 2006, and I probably know more about DVC than everyone else on FT put together. How's that strike you?
Just to check your claims, I decided to check DVC for availability in mid-December, one of the busiest times of year. Less than 7 months out, so anyone with any DVC points can reserve anywhere, now. Low point costs, nice weather, Christmas decorations up, people on vacation. Very popular, probably exceeded only by Christmas/New Year's week and Easter. Maybe Thanksgiving.
Let us look at availability for the period 12/15/14-12/20/14, as of today. 5 day stay.
SSR studio YES
SSR 1-BR YES
SSR 2-BR YES
SSR Treehouse: YES
SSR Grand Villa YES
AKV Kidani std studio YES
AKV Kidani savanna studio YES
AKV Jambo savanna studio YES
AKV Jambo 1-BR std YES
AKV Kidani 1-BR std YES
AKV Kidani 1-BR savanna YES
AKV Kidani 2-BR std YES
AKV Kidani 2-BR savanna YES
BWV 1-BR garden/pool YES
OKW studio YES
OKW 1-BR YES
OKW 2-BR YES (choose regular, near Hospitality House, Lock-off)
Looks pretty good to me, and many other options only lack one day, which would likely come through on a wait list at some point.
True, <5 months out you cannot get anything at BLT, VWL, or BCV. But I bet late January is available at most of these.
Keep in mind that this putative reservation is less than 5 months out. These and others could have been reserved over the past 2 months by any DVC owner, and have been.
If you are willing to move once, you can easily put together a stay way longer than a week this time of year, in 2 resorts, including the more popular ones. Many room types are missing only 1 or 2 days, so a split works out fine.
By the way, a Treehouse is more like a 2-BR than a Grand Villa. Until last year, the same number of points; now a bit more.
I'm not going to spend any more time on this. Anyone who has questions about DVC is welcome to PM me.
Last edited by toomanybooks; Jun 18, 2014 at 2:05 pm
Jun 18, 2014, 2:22 pm
#22
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You mean mid-week, in less than desirable properties? Doesn't surprise me.
Try for a long weekend at any of those within walking or boating to a theme park and then get back to me. It's difficult to get regular hotel rooms on a weekend at that time of year.
FWIW - My friend tried at all of them, and was only able to get me WL for a long weekend at the end of January, which is super low season. And this was 11 months out.
With all those points, you're looking to get as many rented as possible. Let's be honest about the desirability of some of those properties. And lets look at periods that people want to go - most don't want to a) only go mid-week and b) move mid-stay.
Why don't you give a try to BLT, GF, WL. I'll bet none of those are available, even midweek.
I don't dispute your knowledge about the ins and outs of getting/using points. I maintain that since they have put up more and more DVCs, it has become extremely difficult to use the points unless you're able to plan 11 months in advance and stay at your home property.
If you're bored, try getting me a DVC at any property for 3 or 4 nights over a weekend the last weekend of January (not the holiday) and that it is easily accessible by walking, boat, or monorail to a park. I'll bet you will only find space at the properties you list above - none of which I would select for a short weekend trip.
Try for a long weekend at any of those within walking or boating to a theme park and then get back to me. It's difficult to get regular hotel rooms on a weekend at that time of year.
FWIW - My friend tried at all of them, and was only able to get me WL for a long weekend at the end of January, which is super low season. And this was 11 months out.
With all those points, you're looking to get as many rented as possible. Let's be honest about the desirability of some of those properties. And lets look at periods that people want to go - most don't want to a) only go mid-week and b) move mid-stay.
Why don't you give a try to BLT, GF, WL. I'll bet none of those are available, even midweek.
I don't dispute your knowledge about the ins and outs of getting/using points. I maintain that since they have put up more and more DVCs, it has become extremely difficult to use the points unless you're able to plan 11 months in advance and stay at your home property.
If you're bored, try getting me a DVC at any property for 3 or 4 nights over a weekend the last weekend of January (not the holiday) and that it is easily accessible by walking, boat, or monorail to a park. I'll bet you will only find space at the properties you list above - none of which I would select for a short weekend trip.
Jun 18, 2014, 3:38 pm
#23
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Dec 15-20 would be a highly unusual set of stay dates.
Does the availability change if you go Dec 13-22? (Or a five-day stay that fully spans one of the weekends...a Wed-Mon or Fri-Wed) That would be very telling if it does.
Doesn't matter a ton to me because (a) I don't have a timeshare and (b) I'm not planning on going in December. I'm just wondering...
Does the availability change if you go Dec 13-22? (Or a five-day stay that fully spans one of the weekends...a Wed-Mon or Fri-Wed) That would be very telling if it does.
Doesn't matter a ton to me because (a) I don't have a timeshare and (b) I'm not planning on going in December. I'm just wondering...
Jun 18, 2014, 6:18 pm
#24
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Spring Break at Disney: is it the worst idea ever? Or survivable with planning?
I don't have access to availability, but my money says you can't get very much on any weekend prior to Christmas either. Lots of people take short trips to see the decorations. Or, you will only be able to get a studio at the properties mentioned above, but I suspect they may be tight as we'll. it's hard to get a hotel room for those weekends.
Jun 22, 2014, 6:36 am
#25
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I've never really done a Disney trip. For the longest time I swore I never would, but now that the kids are 10 and 7 I'm considering taking everyone on a one-time trip to do the whole Disney thing. Our total party would be somewhere between 5 and 7 - no bigger than one MVCI unit or two standard hotel rooms.
I realize all of those "crowd calendars" basically say avoid the whole place like the plague during mid-March, but I'm wondering if there are any tips/tricks that could make the experience bearable.
Reasons I'm even considering doing this to begin with:
- A variety of the good Starwood, HHonors, and Marriott hotels are available as awards.
- We have a couple airline companion passes to get us down there at reasonable cost, so the underlying (high) fare on the original ticket probably won't be a dealbreaker. We aren't dependent on award inventory, and we can avoid the blackout dates on the certificates.
- We have enough adults that we can split up itins if needed. We have enough elite baggage allowance on different airlines that we could even send 1-2 of our shorter adults empty-handed on Spirit if necessary.
I could stay at the Swan if the "onsite" benefits are worthwhile for the Disney-owned parks. Could likewise do the Doubletree for the breakfast and no-resort-fee perks. Marriott's advantage is with MVCI, but it's offsite and might necessitate a rental car.
I guess my biggest question is whether we'll get the "full" experience with the limited number of Fast Passes you get for rides. Seems like most other things at Disney aren't "things you wait in line for" but rather things you schedule in advance. We'd be willing to pay a premium for some of those things to avoid queues...
I have no status or points with Loews. I think we'd still try to go one day there to do the Hogwarts stuff, but the rest would probably be the Disney parks. Unless there's a backdoor to points/status with Loews that I'm not aware of...
Am I crazy for even thinking of this? Should I go in October and enjoy relative peace? Or is Disney just crowded 365 days a year so it kind of doesn't matter?
I realize all of those "crowd calendars" basically say avoid the whole place like the plague during mid-March, but I'm wondering if there are any tips/tricks that could make the experience bearable.
Reasons I'm even considering doing this to begin with:
- A variety of the good Starwood, HHonors, and Marriott hotels are available as awards.
- We have a couple airline companion passes to get us down there at reasonable cost, so the underlying (high) fare on the original ticket probably won't be a dealbreaker. We aren't dependent on award inventory, and we can avoid the blackout dates on the certificates.
- We have enough adults that we can split up itins if needed. We have enough elite baggage allowance on different airlines that we could even send 1-2 of our shorter adults empty-handed on Spirit if necessary.
I could stay at the Swan if the "onsite" benefits are worthwhile for the Disney-owned parks. Could likewise do the Doubletree for the breakfast and no-resort-fee perks. Marriott's advantage is with MVCI, but it's offsite and might necessitate a rental car.
I guess my biggest question is whether we'll get the "full" experience with the limited number of Fast Passes you get for rides. Seems like most other things at Disney aren't "things you wait in line for" but rather things you schedule in advance. We'd be willing to pay a premium for some of those things to avoid queues...
I have no status or points with Loews. I think we'd still try to go one day there to do the Hogwarts stuff, but the rest would probably be the Disney parks. Unless there's a backdoor to points/status with Loews that I'm not aware of...
Am I crazy for even thinking of this? Should I go in October and enjoy relative peace? Or is Disney just crowded 365 days a year so it kind of doesn't matter?
Staying in a Loews hotel is a very good idea for a couple of days if you are planning to go to Universal. The morning extra hour and the unlimited front of the line passes help a ton.
Aug 31, 2014, 5:33 pm
#27
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Does it help to be going a week or two early? We're planning a late Feb-early March trip and it looks like we'll only overlap a few days with the "prime" US spring break... In the past, we've always gone late August so we're looking forward to going when we're not dying of heat!
Aug 31, 2014, 7:41 pm
#28
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Does it help to be going a week or two early? We're planning a late Feb-early March trip and it looks like we'll only overlap a few days with the "prime" US spring break... In the past, we've always gone late August so we're looking forward to going when we're not dying of heat!
http://www.tripsmarter.com/panama-ci...iversity-dates
The public schools will have different dates also.
Aug 31, 2014, 7:58 pm
#29
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We've always had a great time in February.
We rent a van and a house off property. We eat a big breakfast, pack snacks in the day bag and then eat our dinners a couple on property and quite a bit more off property. We like to frequent local establishments (non-chain or corp owned) - and have always had great success. It allows us to visit Universal, Sea World, drive to Cocoa Beach and Nasa.
Personally, I'd save the points and the cash for a vacation in another part of the world.
jmo
We rent a van and a house off property. We eat a big breakfast, pack snacks in the day bag and then eat our dinners a couple on property and quite a bit more off property. We like to frequent local establishments (non-chain or corp owned) - and have always had great success. It allows us to visit Universal, Sea World, drive to Cocoa Beach and Nasa.
Personally, I'd save the points and the cash for a vacation in another part of the world.
jmo
Sep 2, 2014, 6:54 am
#30
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March/April is always busier than most other off-season periods. It also depends upon when Easter falls.
We've frequently gone in early March and there are the colleges our out, and depending upon the state, some elementary schools are out as well.
However, you WILL be far more comfortable than August - guaranteed. It also won't be as crowded. Many people in the northeast take the last 2 weeks before school starts and go on vacation.
We've frequently gone in early March and there are the colleges our out, and depending upon the state, some elementary schools are out as well.
However, you WILL be far more comfortable than August - guaranteed. It also won't be as crowded. Many people in the northeast take the last 2 weeks before school starts and go on vacation.