Is DVC right for an every other or every 3rd year Disney trip?

[Dean]

Originally Posted by myxdvz

My current bookings beg to differ. I have a reservation for 1BR @ BCV and BWV for June for 5 people + 1 infant under 3.

The system definitely let me do it. And MS as well since I've had to modify both.

Disney is nothing if not inconsistent but the 5 only for those resorts that officially sleep 4 is supposed to be the way it's enforced. I wouldn't count on this option continuing.

Originally Posted by w84no1

I am thinking about a DVC resale in the next year, but I wanted to know if it would be right for me. We are a family of 5 with a 6th on the way It is me, DW, DS(7), DD(5), DD(just turned 3 Sunday), and DD(Due here in March). We live 12 hours away and drive to Disney when we go.

Pretty much that means I will need at least a two bedroom for every stay from now on. Because of the kids school schedule, our trips would be the full week before Christmas(preferred), the week of Thanksgiving, or maybe late summer(only as a last resort!). This year we stayed December 14 - 23 at Port Orleans Riverside with free dining since my DD was 2 at the time. Now that she is 3 and counts towards room occupancy , our options have changed.

We don't want to go to Disney every year, but maybe every other and sometimes it might even be every 3rd year.

1. Is DVC right for this type of use?
2. How many points would you recommend so that we could get a 2 bedroom for at least 7 nights during those times?
3. Would you consider 2 studios if a 2 bedroom wasn't available?

Thanks for the help!

I think points for EOY in a 2 BR is a good choice for you as posted assuming you can afford to pay cash for it. As for how many points, I'd say somewhere in the 200 a year range depending on your anticipated travel time. In this situation I'm OK with you under buying as you'll have options to supplement the points if you need more. I'd also suggest the least expensive long term option that will get you what you want at 11 months out, that's normally SSR but could be AKV or OKW in some cases.

[myxdvz]

Originally Posted by Dean

Disney is nothing if not inconsistent but the 5 only for those resorts that officially sleep 4 is supposed to be the way it's enforced. I wouldn't count on this option continuing.

Either this was a bug in their system, or it's a valid booking. It's easy to enforce, just don't allow your system to book it. It's not like we're sneaking anyone in.

I was surprised myself that this went thru after everything I read here at DIS. Once they allow the booking, they can't "enforce" it during check-in. They can't turn us away or force us into a 2BR if they allowed a reservation. Now, upgrading to a 2BR for no extra points, I'd gladly take!

In the old way, with MS doing all the booking, the rules are subject to the MS doing the reservation for you. The system could be allowing it, but if the MS won't even try because its against the rules, then that might be what's happening.

With online reservations, we are having direct access to the system and its rules. So to me, either this is a bug in the system - or it has always been this way and MS was inconsistently saying otherwise.

I only have 1.5 more years to do this anyway. By 2014, we definitely need a 2BR. So if it is a bug, I might not care by the time they fix it!

[miyta]

We just bought 160 pts for plans to use every other or every 3rd year to wdw or aulani. The rest of the time we will use pt's here and there at VGC for 1-3 night stays. I just don't foresee us taking a Disney wdw or aulani vacation more than every 2-3 years so could not justify buying any more points. We are so excited to be staying at the grand a few times a year though!

[miprender]

Originally Posted by myxdvz

Note also that while you think right now, you'd do EOY, it's been known that DVC changes vacation habits. We've been vacationing to Disney (we alternate between WDW, DLR, DCL) every year since we got DVC

That was us too. We only bought 100 pts thinking we will just vacation every other year. Well since we purchased DVC we have gone at least once if not twice a year and have added on twice now.

[disbound09]

I've often thought why not just sell the extra points you have. Is there a reliable wholesaler who will purchase the extra pts you don't need so you can go every three years?

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by disbound09

I've often thought why not just sell the extra points you have. Is there a reliable wholesaler who will purchase the extra pts you don't need so you can go every three years?

If you are thinking "renting points", you don't "sell" them to a wholesaler. You make a reservation for a non-member through a broker who finds the person wanting a DVC vacation. The broker acts as the middleman, handling the funds and contacting both parties when needed.

You can't just "sell" your left over points. You have to either make a reservation and sell that or transfer the points to another member. You get one transfer per UY.

[nolanboys]

I'll reply since we were in a similar place when buying in. We are a family of 6. We like to go to WDW eoy. We purchased 200 points resale SSR about 3 years ago. So far it's worked out well for us. We have done well banking and borrowing. We just took a 9 night vacation over Thanksgiving. We usually only stay for a week, but we were able to splurge this time. We knew with busy school schedules and the eoy would work best for us. 200 points works well for us to be able to book 2 bdrm villas. We also tend to go in higher point times, like spring break. I will add that we bought slightly higher than we needed (by about 20 points), because DH and I wanted to be able to get away for a long weekend every 4 years as well. We've done that as well and it was great.

[CarolMN]

I'm not sure I would want to make the 30 year plus commitment to Disney vacations if I had 4 young children. (Obviously, I know nothing about your financial situation, but I do know kids are expensive and schedules can be difficult to coordinate).

In addition to the up front purchase price, there will be the annual dues. I'd rather pay a bit more and either rent a DVC reservation, stay off site in a 3 or 4 bedroom home with a pool, or stay in one of the Family suites. Without a DVC contract, you won't be in a "use it or lose it" situation every other year.

Good luck with your decision.

P.S. Renting out surplus points is not as easy as some here would have you think.

[mariafh]

We have 2 kids and DH and I. We got 170 points which we use every other year to stay in a 1 bedroom at BC around April school break. When the kids move on as one is now in college and the other in high school, we plan to switch to go every year and staying at a studio. So every other year definitely works.

[3boys Disdad]

Works great for every other year. Every third year becomes a problem with banking points.