Planning Questions for 2019 Family Trip

[kristenrice]

We're at it again! My sister wants to take her girls with me and my girls to WDW in October 2019. The husbands don't want to go since they are "Disney'd" out and we don't want any party poopers with us anyways. When we started talking about it, we mentioned it to Dad, the only Disney-loving male left in the family, and he said that he (and mom) would like to come too. As of now, we know we are going the third week of October 2019 and everyone already has their park tickets.

We are planning to use my DVC points since I offered, but now, I'm not sure how we are going to accomplish what we'd like to do. Here is my thoughts and I would really appreciate input. I have gone in October several times and I know how hard it can be to book and so I have already taken that into consideration. I own at AKV so that is where the bulk of the points will be coming from. I will have 92 banked points and 100 current points. I would rather transfer in additional points instead of borrowing from 2020 since we may really need those points. Here's the breakdown....

My sister and her kids, and our parents are planning to arrive on Friday. My girls and I will not be arriving until Saturday. We will be a party of 8 so I would like to book (2) standard studios at AKV for Friday and Saturday night. My parents will take one and my sister and kids will take the other on Friday. Then, on Saturday, my girls and I will "fill in the blanks" and split up into the two rooms. For Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights, we would move to a standard 2BR at Kidani, which was actually the original plan for 6 of the 7/8 nights. My sister and I started talking about it, and since this may very well be my parents' final trip to WDW, we'd like to do something that my dad has always wanted....to stay at the Contemporary. I'd like to move to a LV 2BR at BLT for the last three nights of the trip. We are all fine with the split stays and we really want to make it happen.

Here's how the points break down...
(2) Standard Studios at AKV for Fri-Sat: 56 points
Standard 2BR at AKV for Sun-Tue: 93 points
Lake View 2BR at BLT for Wed: 43 points
Lake View 2BR at BLT for Thu-Fri: 93 points

Here is my plan...

First, our number one goal is to make sure we have rooms for the entire week. This is where I will need some input. I would like to book the first 5 nights at AKV at their respective 11-month windows. I can use up 149 of my 192 available AKV points to secure those nights. I will need to transfer in the remaining 93 points. Ideally, I would like to find BLT points. If I am able to do that, I would book the LAST 2 nights with those points, leaving just one night (Wednesday) that would need to wait until the 7 month mark. If I couldn't get BLT points, then I would simply have to book the last three nights at the 7-month window.

What makes me the most nervous is trying to book in October at 7 months out using transferred points, thereby giving up an hour to those who can book online. I am planning everything I can to maximize our chances (shorter stay starting on a Wednesday, Lake View, home resort points), but I still don't know how good my chances will be. We had amazing luck the last time we tried this...used transferred points and managed a 2BR standard at BWV for 7 days in October...so I know it can be done. We would also consider renting points for the last two nights, but since this will already be a three-way split, adding another reservation to the mix with another potential move is not something we want to do. I just don't know how many owners are OK with transferring under 100 points.

OK you master strategists...help me out. Give me a plan of attack. Do I *need* BLT points? Will I have a chance for those 3 nights at 7 months? If we can't get BLT, we'd simply stay at AKV...or even OKW, since Dad loves that resort too.

 

[disneynutz]

The more complicated the vacation, split stays, moving, checking in and out, cleaning schedules, the much greater the chance of things going very wrong. You may spend more time waiting for rooms and fixing issues than spending on vacation.

Bill

 

[Marionnette]

We're at it again! My sister wants to take her girls with me and my girls to WDW in October 2019. The husbands don't want to go since they are "Disney'd" out and we don't want any party poopers with us anyways. When we started talking about it, we mentioned it to Dad, the only Disney-loving male left in the family, and he said that he (and mom) would like to come too. As of now, we know we are going the third week of October 2019 and everyone already has their park tickets.

We are planning to use my DVC points since I offered, but now, I'm not sure how we are going to accomplish what we'd like to do. Here is my thoughts and I would really appreciate input. I have gone in October several times and I know how hard it can be to book and so I have already taken that into consideration. I own at AKV so that is where the bulk of the points will be coming from. I will have 92 banked points and 100 current points. I would rather transfer in additional points instead of borrowing from 2020 since we may really need those points. Here's the breakdown....

My sister and her kids, and our parents are planning to arrive on Friday. My girls and I will not be arriving until Saturday. We will be a party of 8 so I would like to book (2) standard studios at AKV for Friday and Saturday night. My parents will take one and my sister and kids will take the other on Friday. Then, on Saturday, my girls and I will "fill in the blanks" and split up into the two rooms. For Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights, we would move to a standard 2BR at Kidani, which was actually the original plan for 6 of the 7/8 nights. My sister and I started talking about it, and since this may very well be my parents' final trip to WDW, we'd like to do something that my dad has always wanted....to stay at the Contemporary. I'd like to move to a LV 2BR at BLT for the last three nights of the trip. We are all fine with the split stays and we really want to make it happen.

Here's how the points break down...
(2) Standard Studios at AKV for Fri-Sat: 56 points
Standard 2BR at AKV for Sun-Tue: 93 points
Lake View 2BR at BLT for Wed: 43 points
Lake View 2BR at BLT for Thu-Fri: 93 points

Here is my plan...

First, our number one goal is to make sure we have rooms for the entire week. This is where I will need some input. I would like to book the first 5 nights at AKV at their respective 11-month windows. I can use up 149 of my 192 available AKV points to secure those nights. I will need to transfer in the remaining 93 points. Ideally, I would like to find BLT points. If I am able to do that, I would book the LAST 2 nights with those points, leaving just one night (Wednesday) that would need to wait until the 7 month mark. If I couldn't get BLT points, then I would simply have to book the last three nights at the 7-month window.

What makes me the most nervous is trying to book in October at 7 months out using transferred points, thereby giving up an hour to those who can book online. I am planning everything I can to maximize our chances (shorter stay starting on a Wednesday, Lake View, home resort points), but I still don't know how good my chances will be. We had amazing luck the last time we tried this...used transferred points and managed a 2BR standard at BWV for 7 days in October...so I know it can be done. We would also consider renting points for the last two nights, but since this will already be a three-way split, adding another reservation to the mix with another potential move is not something we want to do. I just don't know how many owners are OK with transferring under 100 points.

OK you master strategists...help me out. Give me a plan of attack. Do I *need* BLT points? Will I have a chance for those 3 nights at 7 months? If we can't get BLT, we'd simply stay at AKV...or even OKW, since Dad loves that resort too.

I feel like I need a roadmap or a flow chart in order to process all of that.

I have to say that while it may sound good on paper, the execution will be exhausting.

2 nights in 2 studios at AKV
3 nights in a 2-BR at AKV
1 night in a 2-BR BLT (booked at 7 mos. - hopefully)
2 nights in a 2-BR BLT (booked at 11 mos. using transferred points)​

It makes my head spin! I guess you're doing the 2 nights in the studios in order to save points? Personally, I would book the parents and the sister+family into studios for the first night and then move everyone to a 2-BR the night of your arrival. It's only 9 more points for a 2-BR SV than 2 SV studios at AKV for a Saturday in October. Then, if I had my heart set on staying at BLT, I would rent from a BLT owner for the last 3 nights instead of transferring points. An owner can be online when the booking window opens but you would have to wait until MS opens to book using transferred points.

The result:

1 night in 2 SV studios at AKV = 28 pts.
4 nights in a 2-BR SV at AKV = 130 pts.
3 nights in a 2-BR LV at BLT = 136 pts. (rented)​

Total number of your AKV pts. used = 158, leaving 46 unused pts. which can be banked into the next year for your 2020 trip.

 

[kristenrice]

Based on @Marionnette 's suggestion, I went back to the drawing board to try and simplify things without adding too much into the cost. I talked to Dad today and we are now looking into transferring in ALL of the points that we will need for the 3 nights at BLT (136) so I will look specifically for BLT points. This means that I will need 167 of my AKV points to book 5 nights in a standard 2BR. If we do this, I will have an "extra" 25 of my AKV points. Since I had already committed to providing 192 points for the vacation, I will foot the cost for 25 of the 136 that we are looking to acquire. That actually helps me out a LOT because when I go in 2018 with my girls, we are looking to stay in a studio for 5 weeknights in October. Having 88 points instead of the 62 I was planning on opens up a lot more possibilities for us. In fact, the Poly and the GFV are the only 2 resorts that I can't cover with my points. I'm sure we will most likely stay at AKV or SSR, but I might try a waitlist at BRV or CCV, or maybe even BCV since we've never stayed at any of those.

 

[kristenrice]

The family is at it again...

We've committed to a split-stay. My dad and sister really embraced the idea of splitting the stay into two, separate resorts. So far, they have stayed at AKV, OKW and most recently, BWV. We know that we will be doing 5 nights in a standard 2BR at AKV-Kidani for this trip, but the other 3 nights are up in the air and we are open to suggestions.

Some things that I am keeping in mind...
1) We are traveling during PEAK fall season (October 18-26, 2019) so I am very concerned about the 7-month availability
2) No matter what we do, we will need a point transfer/rental to cover at least 2 nights, probably 3, unless the others decide to fork over the $$$ for a cash reservation
3) Everyone involved is 100% committed already...they've already bought their tickets!
4) We don't know if we will want to do the first 5 at AKV or the last 5 at AKV...I think it will depend on where we do the other 3.
5) No car, no dining plan and no mobility issues...yet...

So help me out here...what option for the other 3 nights gives me my best chance of success at 7 months?? This is assuming that I cannot secure a rental/transfer of home resort points for the chosen resort.

#1: Three nights in a BLT LV 2BR to close out the trip (Wed, Thur, Fri)
#2: Three nights in a SSR Treehouse to start the trip (Fri, Sat, Sun)
#3: Three nights in a 2BR at OKW to start the trip (Fri, Sat, Sun)
#4: Three nights in a 2BR at BRV or CCV to end the trip (Wed, Thur, Fri)

Give me your best guesses...what order should these be in from best chance to worst chance at 7 months??? Please also include comments and ideas about the 3-night options in regards to which is more likely...a Wed-Fri or a Fri-Sun.

 

[disneynutz]

Your choices will be dependent on availability. I suggest that you stay a resorts that you haven't stayed at yet and document your findings or make a pro and con list so later you will know what your feelings were about the resort. That way you can better match your favorites for future vacations.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

My best guess is that THV or the OKW 2br are the most likely to be available at 7 months. If you want to try BLT or BRV or CCV I'd get points transferred in for one of them.

 

[com_op_2000]

Family trip planning can get hectic if you allow it, so my suggestion:
Whoever pays the piper calls the music.
If your family wants you to go on a vacation and they are willing to pay for it, go and have a great time on them. If you are paying for the trip you go where and when you choose to go.

 

[kristenrice]

Family trip planning can get hectic if you allow it, so my suggestion:
Whoever pays the piper calls the music.
If your family wants you to go on a vacation and they are willing to pay for it, go and have a great time on them. If you are paying for the trip you go where and when you choose to go.

We are all contributing in some form. I'm using my points to cover some of the lodging, my sister is paying to acquire the additional points we may need and my dad is using his airline points to get us there. In our family, it's a group effort to go on vacation.

 

[kboo]

Maybe I'm being dopey and missing something, but instead of transferring in BLT points, what about renting them? Then you could book the 2BR at BLT at or close to 11 months.

 

[kristenrice]

Maybe I'm being dopey and missing something, but instead of transferring in BLT points, what about renting them? Then you could book the 2BR at BLT at or close to 11 months.

By transferring the points, they become mine to manage. I don't have to worry about contacting an owner to arrange DME or book a dining plan. I also don't have to worry about losing the reservation and if I have to cancel, I can and I can still potentially bank or re-book within the windows.

 

[kboo]

By transferring the points, they become mine to manage. I don't have to worry about contacting an owner to arrange DME or book a dining plan. I also don't have to worry about losing the reservation and if I have to cancel, I can and I can still potentially bank or re-book within the windows.

Ah, got it. And if you can transfer BLT points then you get the 11 mo window on them anyway? (we've always rented points and DME has been easy, and we never do dining plan)

 

[Marionnette]

Ah, got it. And if you can transfer BLT points then you get the 11 mo window on them anyway? (we've always rented points and DME has been easy, and we never do dining plan)

Transferred points retain their home resort and UY. So transferring in BL points gives the member an 11-month home resort advantage at BLT for those points (and any BLT points owned by the member) only.

 

[kristenrice]

Ah, got it. And if you can transfer BLT points then you get the 11 mo window on them anyway? (we've always rented points and DME has been easy, and we never do dining plan)

Transferred points retain their home resort and UY. So transferring in BL points gives the member an 11-month home resort advantage at BLT for those points (and any BLT points owned by the member) only.

In addition to having a temporary 11-month window at a non-home resort, the bigger advantage with the transfer is that I control the points and the reservation(s). If something were to come up and we had to cancel (or modify) the reservation, then I would be able to do it. If we had to cancel, I would have the ability to re-book the points myself. This is why I would much rather do a points transfer than a rental. I've rented points before, but it was just my family of 4 that was traveling and not 3-4 separate groups.

 

[amym2]

I say go for option 1 if that's your dad's dream, and have option 4 as a backup. We have traveled that week in the past and always been able to get what we want, although over the years Oct has gotten more difficult. I was able to book Aulani at 7mos in June and a Poly studio at 7mos for Christmas, even though people said those were unlikely. Go for what you truly want, which sounds like BLT.