"I can't believe we're staying here!" An Feb'16 DLR PTR (TR link Post #355)

[skier_pete]

Hello and Welcome to another less than exciting pre-trip report! (PTRs are never as exciting as a good TR.)

My name is Skier_Pete, I am now 45 years-old, and I have been a Disneyholic for about 9 years now. Don't get me wrong, the seeds were sown much, much earlier. Back when I was a wee lad of two my grandmother took me to this new place in Florida called DisneyWorld, and I spent much of my less than wayward youth dreaming of Tiki Birds and Captain Nemo.

But as a young adult I lost the Disney fever. Though when I met my future DW and found she had never been, we went (off-site) in 1997 as a young couple, and again in 2000. Here's us all those many years ago - me with a lot more hair and a lot less weight.



We loved our trips, but were not in a real hurry to return. In 2006 when our DD was 3.5, we decided it was time to go back. This time, we decided to stay within the Disney bubble, and we were HOOKED so bad.

Including those first trips, we are now at 11 times as WDW, 2 times at DL, a DCL trip (in 2014) and an ABD trip (also part of the 2nd DL trip in 2013) Here's the family all as one!





I use the analogy of the heroin junkie when it comes to us Disneyholics. You get that first hit and it feels soooo good. So you go back looking for that same feel. Sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't. But you keep wanting it again and again.

In order to best achieve this, I always try to make each trip have a little different flavor. The time of year, what we do...etc...

While this trip is now just seven months off, it's actually been "in the works" for about two years. The biggest event to effect it happened last February after we returned from our DCL cruise. I am not sure why, but I started to look into DVC.

NOT DVC bought directly from Disney - I looked at that LONG ago and rejected it as too pricey. While we are by no means hurting for money, we are very much middle class income people, and I stretch our budgets to afford our Disney fixes. In doing so, we have mostly been able to afford to stay at the moderate resorts, but in doing so we have been also using the free DDP to be able to afford that. I looked at the deluxe resorts as the impossible dream. There is simply no way I would have the money to stay there.

Back in 2010 I splurged on a trip where we rented DVC points to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was a trip of a lifetime, but again when I looked at DVC, there was no way we could make it work within our budgets.

But suddenly February of 2014 I discovered the DVC RESALE market. By buying resale, you easily save 50+% off the DVC buy-in. I had always calculated the break-even on doing it would be about 22 years. But suddenly, I recalculated, and the break-even versus moderate stays was 10 years.

But it was more than that. DW and I are so clearly hooked at this point, we can't imagine NOT wanting to go to Disney World. And looking at DVC, the expense may be higher in the short term, but in the long term the savings versus what Disney charges are HUGE. And as we enter our late-forties I think more and more to retirement, and "how can we possibly afford to do this when we retire", and suddenly DVC made SOOOO much sense.

So - we bought in a AKV. We even got enough freebie points that DW and I did a short getaway to SSR in the fall of 2014.

But, this is really the first family DVC trip for us. And the options to me are amazing. The DVC locations are places in all our visits I never would have imagined I would be staying at. We would walk around Boardwalk, or the Wilderness Lodge, or the Contemporary, and say "Imagine if we were staying here! Wouldn't that be awesome!"

So, I started this TR today because we have reached our the seven month mark of our trip. The point at which we can book outside our home resort. Though we love our home resort (AKV) we did not want to go there this first trip, we wanted to try two NEW locations. So, our first choice is one of the more difficult to get into, but late August/early September isn't such a popular time. And we were able to get the place we wanted. A place we've been to several times, but never stayed at. One of the holy grails of Disney hotels.....THE BEACH CLUB!!!!




With legendary Stormalong Bay


I honestly sit here typing this and I can hardly believe that we will be staying here. I can't imagine what it will feel like to walk through those front doors at the start of the trip. I am almost giddy just sitting here.

This is where I leave you for now, dear reader. There is much to still do. Our second resort is yet to come. And then it will be time to start really making plans. The schedule, the ADRs, and something else unique - the YES program.

So please, join in on our latest adventure. If you've followed along before, thank you so much for joining in yet again. I have so many great friends here, and I really appreciate that you take the time to read what I write. If you have never read through one of my TRs before, then welcome aboard, because this one will be fantastic!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part two of Split Stay - LINK
Flights Purchased - LINK
Changed to the Poly! - LINK
Ski Trip Pix- LINK
ADRs - Part 1 - LINK
ADRs - Part 2 & Y.E.S. Program plans - LINK
ADRs - A minor Change - LINK

PLANS - DAY 1 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 2 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 3 - LINK
PLANS - Day 4 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 5 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 6 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 7 - LINK
Switch up days 4 and 6 - LINK1 LINK2
Non-DIS Friend Meetup - LINK
PLANS - DAY 8 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 9 - LINK
PLANS - DAY 10/11 LINK


TRIP REPORT LINK!

 

[princessbelle2015]

Hi! Joining in. The beach club looks like a great place to stay. It is on my bucket list of wdw hotels. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Disneychix]

Nice! Have fun! We are going during F&W this year celebrating our 10yr anny. I have SSR booked and probably will be sticking with it but I might give an EPCOT resort at least a try on the WL. Can't hurt right?

 

[PrincessInOz]

 

[skier_pete]

Hi! Joining in. The beach club looks like a great place to stay. It is on my bucket list of wdw hotels. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for joining in. DW and I were talking about the excitement of staying here. I mean, I'm always excited about a Disney trip, but getting to stay HERE, a resort we've been to quite a few times (2X at Yachtsmen, 1X Cape May Cafe, 1X for Illuminations Cruise) but never thought we'd be able to afford to stay there. Hurrah for DVC!

Nice! Have fun! We are going during F&W this year celebrating our 10yr anny. I have SSR booked and probably will be sticking with it but I might give an EPCOT resort at least a try on the WL. Can't hurt right?

Hey Disneychix, I think our paths have crossed before. Food and Wine is awesome. Check out my TR from October 2014 (link in my signature) where DW and I stayed at SSR for a Food and Wine focused trip. I have to tell you that you have a very low likelyhood of getting into the Epcot Resorts for F&W unless you own there. They're probably already getting booked up!

It's always nice to see a familiar face! Enjoy the popcorn, it's fresh!

 

[khertz]

Woo hoo for the Beach Club!!! How exciting!

 

[skier_pete]

Woo hoo for the Beach Club!!! How exciting!

Hey, thanks for joining in! Yeah, you can probably tell we are feeling pretty "pinch me I'm dreaming" right now. I hope the trip feels the same way.

I actually can't see that feeling going away for a few trips. The only DVC resorts that wouldn't give me that "pinch me" feeling are probably OKW and SSR. Don't get me wrong, we liked SSR a lot, but it didn't feel like someplace that we don't belong. Beach Club will definitely feel that way. I'll probably spend the whole week looking over my shoulder expecting someone to kick us out.

 

[ursalita]

Following along! Yay for Beach Club!

We also recently learned about DVC resale, so much more affordable than buying from Disney. We still aren't sure that we will keep going to Disney when the boys get older so we haven't decided yet. We might be thinking about it more seriously when we get back in April.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

[Tinker326]

I'm here!!! I'm here!!! Can't wait to follow along on your upcoming trip!

For Beach Club!!! Just think how close you are to Jellyrolls!!!!

What a great place to start the fam DVC vacations! Whoop. Whoop!!!

Now, should we talk about why you know so much about what heroin addiction feels like?
Kidding.

 

[franandaj]

Following along! I like your TRs. The BCV is a great place to stay! That's one of our home resorts. Did you get a studio or 1 BR?

I'm hoping you'll do me the same favor. I have one more installment, the recap. Then it's time for my PTR, although the TR is much closer.

 

[skier_pete]

Following along! Yay for Beach Club!

We also recently learned about DVC resale, so much more affordable than buying from Disney. We still aren't sure that we will keep going to Disney when the boys get older so we haven't decided yet. We might be thinking about it more seriously when we get back in April.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

Well, if you are already staying at Deluxe resorts, the "return on investment" could be pretty fast for resale, probably 5-6 trips, and then if you stop, you can sell the timeshare and probably make back a good portion of what you put into it. However, if you are not sure how long you will be going, renting DVC points is another way to go to try it out. Part of our decision to do it was that we want to be going to Disney long after our daughter is grown and we are into retirement. We figure this is the way that makes it most affordable long-term.

I'm here!!! I'm here!!! Can't wait to follow along on your upcoming trip!

For Beach Club!!! Just think how close you are to Jellyrolls!!!!

What a great place to start the fam DVC vacations! Whoop. Whoop!!!

Now, should we talk about why you know so much about what heroin addiction feels like?
Kidding.

Welcome!
Jellyrolls, I Know, but with DD we can't really leave her on her own. We are definitely planning on a "Mom and Dad's night out". DD actually asked us to go into the kids club one night. Who are we not to oblige our only child!

As for heroin addiction, I have never indulged, but this is how I picture it to be, just biding your time until the next "fix". Disney is not as unhealthy though.

Following along! I like your TRs. The BCV is a great place to stay! That's one of our home resorts. Did you get a studio or 1 BR?

I'm hoping you'll do me the same favor. I have one more installment, the recap. Then it's time for my PTR, although the TR is much closer.

Thanks for joining in. While I think that PTRs are harder to keep interesting, I think of them as "bookmarks" for folks that want to read along on the next TR. I STILL have one post left on my TR as well. Should be finishing that one up soon. This PTR will probably have a lot going on for the next month or so, and then I won't have somuch.

I'm sure that is a nice resort to own at. We only have enough points for a studio, but with the 3 of us it should be plenty of space. Can't quite justify a 1-bedroom just yet.

I will definitely be following along on your upcoming TRs, your trips seem so interesting! You and fran always seem to have some exciting side adventures!

Everyone - expect a post tomorrow as its' 7months to the second part of the trip!

 

[piratehookspixiedust]

Following! We are planning a trip for September 2015 as well!

 

[skier_pete]

Following! We are planning a trip for September 2015 as well!

aboard! Looks like we will be in the same month - but at opposite ends!

 

[Reddog1134]

Hi there, Pete. I appreciate you stopping by my trip report and I wanted to return the favor.

My name is Skier_Pete, I am now 45 years-old, and I have been a Disneyholic for about 9 years now. Don't get me wrong, the seeds were sown much, much earlier. Back when I was a wee lad of two my grandmother took me to this new place in Florida called DisneyWorld, and I spent much of my less than wayward youth dreaming of Tiki Birds and Captain Nemo.

But as a young adult I lost the Disney fever. Though when I meant my future DW and found she had never been, we went (off-site) in 1997 as a young couple, and again in 2000. .

I swear, if you change a few of the numbers (and the name), I could have written the quote above.

Almost same age, 1st trip was with grandparents, lost the fever and stayed away for awhile, got the fever back when I went with my then girlfriend/now wife.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

[skier_pete]

Today was the 2nd half of the room booking process, but before I reveal where and if we got it, a few quick notes:

The dates of this trip, which I didn't specify in my first post, are August 28th (friday) to September 7th (Monday). That's a full 11 days. The reasons we are going for so long are:
(1) We didn't want to take DD out of school, but her school has never started before labor day.
(2) Labor Day falls very, very late this year - September 7th. I was concerned with the late date, because other schools in the area DO go back before Labor Day, but while our school couldn't tell be officially, I checked and for the last 35 years school has started after labor day, even when Labor Day was September 7th.
(3) September falls into the lowest (of 5) of point seasons for DVC, while late-August is in the 3rd lowest meaning the rooms are significantly cheaper (points-wise) starting September 1st. The savings amounts to 3 points per day, or 18 points for the trip.
(4) Because I get 4 days for Labor Day weekend (the Friday before and Monday), I only need 4 vacation days to take off the week before labor day. A fifth gives me the Friday before off as well. That's 11 days off with only 5 vacation days used.
(5) While I hate going in August/September because of the weather, the longer time allows for a slower pace of trip. Or at least more time at the resort.
(6) The points "savings" of September allows us to be able to afford a little more "expensive" resorts.

So, with all that - we came up with a plan very early on...we wanted to stay one part of the trip at one of the two Epcot resorts. The fact is, my "dream" Epcot resort is boardwalk. However, because of the time of year and DDs age, we decided to go with Beach Club for the access to Stormalong Bay if we could get in...and we could.

For the OTHER half of the trip (or actually 40%) we wanted to do something near Magic Kingdom. The choices were:

Grand Floridian - This is DWs "dream resort". However, the high points cost might've ruled it out but the fact that it's impossible to get into a studio at 7-months. So this one was ruled out.

Wilderness Lodge - This is actually MY "dream resort" for MK. I love the style and have wanted to stay here since we ate breakfast there on our very first visit back in 1997! It was very tempting to try for it, but we decided to leave it as back-up in favor of...

Bay Lake Tower @ The Contemporary! OK, to me, the ONLY thing that really sells this resort is the location. But, boy it's a great location. Walking distance to Magic Kingdom? You got it. Other than that though, I've never much cared for the style or the interiors. I'm not a real fan of modern contemporary. But again it was a combination of the low point season and DD being excited about being on the monorail.



There are 3 levels of room at Bay Lake Tower (Also known as BLT - Disney needs more acronyms named after sandwhiches)

Standard View - These are rooms low on the tower with pretty poor view. They account for about 20% of the rooms in BLT and can rarely be booked unless you own points at BLT. Their point cost is low for BLT, but is actually on par with most non-monorail DVC rooms.
Magic Kingdom View - These are the rooms that directly face Magic Kingdom. They account for another 20% of the rooms in BLT. They are high point value room, and are also difficult to get if you don't own at BLT, but not AS difficult.



Late View - This is most of the rest of the rooms at BLT (60% of the rooms). In the middle in points costs, some give you a partial view of MK, or the lake, or the contemporary. These are actually relatively easy to book for non-owners. They are more expensive than a lot of resorts.



So, knowing the time of year, we thought it would be pretty easy to get into BLT, at least in a Lake View. I wasn't interested in paying for a MK view (I want to save that for someday when we want to do something extra special)

In the end, I went on this morning at 8 AM and had no issue with getting a Lake View room. Because it was September, the point totals weren't bad at all.

To give everyone an non-DVC folks an idea how DVC works, we own 160 points at Animal Kingdom. That gives us 160 points per year, with the ability to bank from previous year and borrow from future year. In our case, we had 64 points that were left in our 2014 Use Year, that had to be used by December 1st 2015. We then borrowed 110 points from our 2015 Use Year (which doesn't start until December 1st 2015) for the remainder of the trip. It cost us 102 points for 6 nights at Beach Club Studio (average 17 points per night) and 72 points for 4 nights at Bay Lake Tower Studio (average 18 points per night).

For reference, our 160 points cost $1008 in maintenance fees, or $6.30 per point. When we spread the up-front buy in (~$12,500) across the life of the contract, add another roughly $2 per point in up-front costs. This gives us an average nightly rate at BCV of $141.10 a night, and BLT at $149.40 a night. (Remember - this contract was bought resale, a lot more expensive when you buy direct from Disney!)

Well, that might seem like the end of the resort story, but it's not.

Because there's another possibility.



That's right - the DVC at the Poly. It's not even open yet...but it's gone on sale. And while new DVCs are typically hard to get into, there's a twist on this one...they are opening it to new Poly members on February 12th, only a month after going on-sale, and then are opening it to ALL DVC members only 2 weeks later. And the other wrinkle is that almost the entire DVC property is going to be Studio rooms.

So, on February 26th, they'll be opening the entire resort from April 15th through September 26th to DVC members. Will there be a frenzy of booking? Perhaps there will. But with so many rooms available, and the fact that our time is not as popular a time of year as others - well I think there's a decent chance we can get in.



And if we are being honest - I would MUCH rather be at the Poly than the Contemporary. As anyone that's followed me for a while knows that I am a huge Enchanted Tiki Room fan, and any resort of that style appeals much more to me.

So, it's three weeks and two days off, but we'll have to wait and see. Another case of "I can't believe we are staying here!" the fact that our fall-back plan is staying at the Contemporary. It really is a "Dream Come True" vacation!

 

[skier_pete]

Hi there, Pete. I appreciate you stopping by my trip report and I wanted to return the favor.

I swear, if you change a few of the numbers (and the name), I could have written the quote above.

Almost same age, 1st trip was with grandparents, lost the fever and stayed away for awhile, got the fever back when I went with my then girlfriend/now wife.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

And we were even posting in the thread at the same time! That's pretty cool, we'll have to reminisce about the Skyway and Rocket to the Moon and Delta Dreamflight/If you had wings. (Were those things around when you were a lad, I know the Skyway was...it was still there in 1997 when DW and I first went.)

Anyways, thanks for coming over. I see you around the Rumors board quite a bit. Hope all is going well with the DW and the babies-to-be.

 

[princessbelle2015]

I hope you will be able to get the room at Poly. you can't get better than an 11 day vacation and only having to use 5 days.

 

[Reddog1134]

I feel the same way about BLT. We had the opportunity to buy there and we chose AKV. BLT felt too sterile and cold. AKV has a nice warm feel. (Not literally cold or warm, I think you know what I mean).

We did stay 1 night at BLT a couple of years ago and didn't care for it too much.

Nice! Have fun! We are going during F&W this year celebrating our 10yr anny. I have SSR booked and probably will be sticking with it but I might give an EPCOT resort at least a try on the WL. Can't hurt right?

We booked the Beach Club for early October (back in 2013) and got 7 nights on our first try. Of course, it was a 1BR, I think studios might be go quicker.

 

[skier_pete]

I hope you will be able to get the room at Poly. you can't get better than an 11 day vacation and only having to use 5 days.

I KNOW - I actually have about 23 days of vacation time (a lot I know) but my step-dad passed away in December, and my mom lives by herself in Arizona, so now I think I will need some days to go out and help her in the fall, so I'm very happy to be able to take a nice long time off and only use a limited # of days.

I feel the same way about BLT. We had the opportunity to buy there and we chose AKV. BLT felt too sterile and cold. AKV has a nice warm feel. (Not literally cold or warm, I think you know what I mean).

We did stay 1 night at BLT a couple of years ago and didn't care for it too much.

We DO have a lot in common. AKV is the only Deluxe we've ever stayed at, but I really love the style there as well. I get what you say by WARM. Another I think to compare them is "wood" versus "steel/cement", or "natural" versus "artificial". I have a friend who owns a very large home that's very much of that style, and while it is a beautiful house it doesn't appeal to me at all.

I DO eventually want to try every DVC and hope someday to get some more points, but BLT wouldn't necessarily be tops on my list...but I still feel very lucky to be able to give it a try. The Poly would definitely be even better, though.

 

[Tinker326]

Awesome...

I rented points at BLT in 2010. I don't care for Contemp for much the same reasons you stated.... but honestly, the walk to MK was just plain AWESOME! Plus, you have the Top of the World.. and that place IS awesome!!! So go up, have a drink & watch the fireworks. It's an experience of a lifetime! And it's all yours- because you are DVC members!

Now that being said, I would jump fast if I could get into Poly. Poly is my absolute FAVE resort at Disney! I it! I miss my cousin working there when he could get us awesome rates! So fingers crossed you get into Poly- because that would be amazing!