$400 budget

[somerc]

If your budget was $400 per night where would you stay? On-site please....

 

[_auroraborealis_]

What season?

Depending on the season, that could get you a Deluxe room at a discount, or a Mod room in high seasons.

 

[somerc]

November - Thanksgiving!

 

[tcufrog]

How many people? Ages? What's your group's favorite park? Is the swimming pool a big deal? Are you fans of Disney Springs?

 

[SM101]

You might be able to squeak into Saratoga Springs at that rate, but otherwise you're looking at a moderate if you want to go at Thanksgiving. I don't think you'll get any of the Deluxe's down much below that.

We actually like Saratoga Springs a lot...close walking to Disney Springs, but we typically rent points and get good deals on it. That's another option.

 

[somerc]

How many people? Ages? What's your group's favorite park? Is the swimming pool a big deal? Are you fans of Disney Springs?

Myself and daughters 17/15 in one room my sister and her daughters 3/11 months in another room.

We are doing 2 rooms in case my brother in law decides to come!

Swimming isn't a big deal - but my 17 year old will have to get in the water to train (she has a meet right after the trip). But from what I have seen non of the pools have lap pools.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Coronado Springs has a lap pool.

Thanksgiving rates go from 11/18-11/24 this year and are pretty high rates. To give you an idea of rack rates that week...

• CSR Standard: $245/night
• CSR Preferred: $287
• Saratoga Studio: $456
• Wilderness Lodge: $483
• Contemporary Garden Standard: $540
• Port Orleans Riverside Standard: $272
• Art of Animation Family Suite: $467
• POP Standard: $179

So, for a Thanksgiving trip, you're really priced out of a Deluxe. Wilderness Lodge and CR-GW tend to be the cheapest Deluxes, and they're well above your budget. If you want a lap pool, book Coronado Springs Preferred.

 

[Tigger's ally]

So are you saying $400 per night for you and your daughters and $400 per night for your sister and her daughters or $400 total?

With the possibility that your brother in law comes, If you can, I would rent points for a 2br villa. That way you can all stay in the same "room" just have separate spaces. You also would have a washer dryer, full kitchen and be staying at a deluxe resort.

 

[patty57]

Swan or Dolphin.

 

[somerc]

So are you saying $400 per night for you and your daughters and $400 per night for your sister and her daughters or $400 total?

With the possibility that your brother in law comes, If you can, I would rent points for a 2br villa. That way you can all stay in the same "room" just have separate spaces. You also would have a washer dryer, full kitchen and be staying at a deluxe resort.

$400 each ($800 total) - I was looking into the "renting" points. What would you think is a benefit to booking a hotel vs. renting point for a villa? (besides money) Do you get any added perks for booking a hotel through Disney?

 

[robinb]

Swimming isn't a big deal - but my 17 year old will have to get in the water to train (she has a meet right after the trip). But from what I have seen non of the pools have lap pools.

Contact the Orlando YMCA. Your DD will be able to either train with the team or train on her own for a small fee. My DD has trained with them a number of times. They are very welcoming. She also trained in the lap pool at CSR once (we okay'd with the health club there) and it was a PITB. There are lane markers but no lane lines. My DD had to watch out very closely for kids who would bumble into her "lane".

 

[somerc]

Contact the Orlando YMCA. Your DD will be able to either train with the team or train on her own for a small fee. My DD has trained with them a number of times. They are very welcoming. She also trained in the lap pool at CSR once (we okay'd with the health club there) and it was a PITB. There are lane markers but no lane lines. My DD had to watch out very closely for kids who would bumble into her "lane".

Thanks - my sister actually said I should try and find a Y also!

 

[somerc]

Coronado Springs has a lap pool.

Thanksgiving rates go from 11/18-11/24 this year and are pretty high rates. To give you an idea of rack rates that week...

• CSR Standard: $245/night
• CSR Preferred: $287
• Saratoga Studio: $456
• Wilderness Lodge: $483
• Contemporary Garden Standard: $540
• Port Orleans Riverside Standard: $272
• Art of Animation Family Suite: $467
• POP Standard: $179

So, for a Thanksgiving trip, you're really priced out of a Deluxe. Wilderness Lodge and CR-GW tend to be the cheapest Deluxes, and they're well above your budget. If you want a lap pool, book Coronado Springs Preferred.

This is great! THANKS!!!

 

[piccolopat]

Family alcove suite at the Swan.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You're already within the 11-month window for DVC rental, so I would expect some of your options for that week to already be limited. It's a very popular time for DVC members.

 

[AngiTN]

If there is a promo and you can check in while the promo is still going, and you book a package, you can get the promo for your entire stay. I think this year the promo's last day was Tuesday before Thanksgiving, to give you an idea. That could open up the options

 

[Marionnette]

$400 each ($800 total) - I was looking into the "renting" points. What would you think is a benefit to booking a hotel vs. renting point for a villa? (besides money) Do you get any added perks for booking a hotel through Disney?

Here are a couple of things that non-owners may not understand about DVC:

• You're not "renting points". That's a disboards term. You are renting a reservation. The points belong to the DVC member and always will be theirs. The reservation is under their control until the moment that you check in.
  
• Those units with low points like BWV std. view and AKV Jambo value studios may not be impossible to get but you are highly unlikely to be able to book the value studio and will be very lucky if you get std. view at BWV. Set your budget to cover the units that cost more points.
• Demand for DVC rental far exceeds the number of available units and owners willing to use their points for a rental. DVC is designed to be at or near 100% occupancy all year long. That means that owners will be competing with one another for the more popular DVC units at the most popular times of the year.
• DVC periods of peak demand are not the same as Disney's periods of peak demand. Marathon weekend and Sept. thru December book up quickly.
  
• DVC units are not the same as staying in a hotel room. Aside from not getting daily housekeeping, you will not get 2 beds in a studio unless you're staying at OKW. What you get in a studio is a queen bed and a full sleeper sofa. Some studios will also have a Murphy bed that is smaller than a twin bed that will accommodate a 5th person.
• An owner that is willing to use their points for your reservation has restrictions on their points. Because of the restrictions that we deal with, the likelihood of getting a refund if you change your mind or need to cancel are less than when dealing directly with Disney. If they borrowed points, used banked points that are expiring soon, are past their banking deadline or if you cancel so late that their points go into holding, they aren't likely to give you your money back.
  
• Any changes, special room requests or adding the dining plan have to be done through the owner. Dining plans must be paid in full at the time that they are added to the reservation because that's the way that DVC works.
• You cannot request an upgrade when you get to the resort. With DVC, you get what you paid for. Any upgrades would be charged to the owner (i.e. additional points would be taken from their account).
  
• The owner retains control of the reservation, even if you went through a broker like David's. If the owner is behind on paying their mortgage or membership fees, Disney can (and will) cancel reservations that they have made. Even a broker cannot control that.
• Owners are not magicians. We cannot get you a reservation for a unit when there are none available. We are not likely to "walk" a reservation in order to get you what you want, nor are we likely to add our names to a waitlist to get it for you. Your chances of getting exactly what you want are much greater if you have lined up someone, who owns at the resort that you are interested in booking, at least 11 months in advance of the day you wish to arrive. The probability of success goes down from there.
• It takes a degree of trust when renting a DVC reservation, but it goes both ways. The renter is trusting the owner to make good on their promise to keep the reservation in good standing for the renter. The renter is trusting that the DVC owner will not cancel the reservation and run off with their money. OTOH, the owner is trusting that the renter will pay in full according to the terms that they set forth in the contract. They are also trusting that the renter will not damage the property or otherwise run up a bill that the owner gets stuck paying.
• When you rent a DVC reservation, Disney is not involved in the transaction at all. They will not make good if something goes wrong and you show up at the resort without a room in your name. Sometimes, it's not even the owner's doing. There is a recent thread on the DVC Member Services forum concerning an owner's reservation that was canceled by DVC for no apparent reason. This happened to be a reservation for themselves but it could just as easily have been a reservation for a friend, family member or a renter. The reservation cannot be re-booked because the unit went to the next person on the waitlist. It can happen. You'd get your money back in a case like that but you would be without a reservation and Disney won't do anything to help you other than to book a room for you at the prevailing rate for whatever is available.
• A DVC studio unit can be less expensive than booking a standard Value Resort hotel room thru Disney, but there are times when going thru Disney for a room will be cheaper with a discount. With the rising cost of Membership Fees, renting a DVC reservation is going to become more expensive as well. Members are not looking to give someone else a cheap vacation. If they are not using their points for their own reservation, they want to at least recover the dues that they paid on those points.

 

[robinb]

Thanks - my sister actually said I should try and find a Y also!

It's up off International Drive near Sand Lake Road. Beware that it may take up to an hour to get there *and* the team's practice time is not very conducive to park going. My DD swam with the team a few times but also just did her own workout in a lane. It's a HUGE pool!

 

[Anthony1971]

DVC for the week mentioned above has a availability at most resorts excluding only WL and GF (partial for both) as of NOW that can change at any time.... If you are planning on renting DVC the sooner you make up your mind the better selection you will have... I would strongly suggest you decide shortly as this is as above a popular week and the resorts can and will book fast soon...

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DVC for the week mentioned above has a availability at most resorts excluding only WL and GF (partial for both) as of NOW that can change at any time.... If you are planning on renting DVC the sooner you make up your mind the better selection you will have... I would strongly suggest you decide shortly as this is as above a popular week and the resorts can and will book fast soon...

It has availability, but not necessarily for all room types. I would use caution pricing things out, for instance, on an assumption of getting two BWV Standard Studios or AKV Value rooms.

For a resort like Poly, there's also the limiter of finding an owner with home resort points. The brokerages have about 50x the requests for Poly points as actual owners of Poly points, I think.