Two week stays - how do you do it?

[skstorm]

we have 150 points and that is enough for 2 weeks every other year in a studio at SSR which is fine for us it also leaves a little leaway as well for more days if necessary, we bought resale to save cost. In reality I am already thinking about increasing points maybe with a direct add on for the min required to give me enough points for a 1 bed later on. If we can't quite do a full 2 weeks its an excuse to stay at the universal hotels or clearwater for a night or two. Was going to do that this time but just not enough time in 2 weeks!

[Shooby doo]

Piglet I should have said, most of our post offspring holidays were in some form of kids suite, 1 bed suite etc the common denominator was that DS had his own space. We actually done a DVC tour in 2001, Boardwalk at the time, but due to lack of "perceived" space & our guide not really covering points for bigger units, we decided against buying in.
When we bought in we bought resale ,SSR, for $67.50 at that time Direct was only $96 (AKV at the time) so it was really a toss up between a slightly longer contract or more points.
We are 99% sure that we are going to add on a small 75 point contract this year, but smaller contracts aren't that much cheaper resale wise than Direct, we could of course buy more than we need but I feel that's false economy.
Just be aware, as it's been touched on, Disney were poised to mess about with points allocations from 2020 onwards, in fact had released the charts but there was such an outcry & "threat" of legal action that they back tracked but I & others believe that it's only a matter of time before they try again !
SD

[piglet100]

Originally Posted by Shooby doo

Piglet I should have said, most of our post offspring holidays were in some form of kids suite, 1 bed suite etc the common denominator was that DS had his own space. We actually done a DVC tour in 2001, Boardwalk at the time, but due to lack of "perceived" space & our guide not really covering points for bigger units, we decided against buying in.
When we bought in we bought resale ,SSR, for $67.50 at that time Direct was only $96 (AKV at the time) so it was really a toss up between a slightly longer contract or more points.
We are 99% sure that we are going to add on a small 75 point contract this year, but smaller contracts aren't that much cheaper resale wise than Direct, we could of course buy more than we need but I feel that's false economy.
Just be aware, as it's been touched on, Disney were poised to mess about with points allocations from 2020 onwards, in fact had released the charts but there was such an outcry & "threat" of legal action that they back tracked but I & others believe that it's only a matter of time before they try again !
SD

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Thank you, I've seen a bit of noise about the points allocation, what does that mean for prospective buyers... That we could buy in but not have enough points to actually use them when we want?

[Princess Ploppy]

I bought DVC back in 2007 when there was no such thing as free dining! We were just a party of 2 back then but we bought quite a lot of points given we would only need a studio! I have no idea what I based the decision on how many points to buy on it was probably more a case of thatwas the amount of money we could afford to spend so that’s how many we bought!

We added on in 2009 at BLT because I really wanted to own and stay there rather than because we needed more points.

Last year I added on more points via resale at BWV because I wanted the 11 month booking window advantage at my favourite resort.

We are now a party of 5 so always book at least a 1 bedroom but we more often than not have my parents with us too so book a 2 bed. Our points gets us 3 weeks in a 2 bed roughly every 18 months travelling at the more points heavy times of the year (Easter, Christmas, summer) as we have school age children now so sadly can no longer travel during low points seasons

[Shooby doo]

Piglet to you use ourselves as an example, the "revised" points allocation was to have cost us 21 points extra between 2019 & 2020, so for us we were still "in budget" but when you have the guides assuring people that if they buy "x" amount of points & they will always be able to afford 2 weeks then those extra points become a problem! On top of that DVD were "bending" the rules- the basics should be that if they add points on in Sept (eg) then somewhere else in the year there should be a corresponding drop but a lot, not all, resorts have 2 bed lock offs, normally consisting of a studio & a 1 bed to make a 2 bed, so what they tried to do is increase studio & 1 beds but only reduce 2 beds- technical term is "Lock-off premium" basically meaning that they can magic points out of thin air & the feeling being that they could keep doing it!
Hope that all makes sense.
SD

[Florida-Sarah]

We have 350 points. Our second trip to Florida was a cash booking at SSR with free DDP.

Since having DVC I’ve not once stayed at SSR (although I do like the resort) instead I’ve stayed at the G Flo, Poly, Beach Club, BWV, AKL and Wilderness Lodge. For us DVC is about staying at resorts we couldn’t justify paying OOP for. Our stay at the G Flo in a 1 bed villa we would never have been able to justify paying cash for.
With DVC we have the points available to do it!

If you are happy to stay at SSR or OKW with free DDP every year it’s worth really doing the maths to see if DVC makes sense for your family.

Whilst I love SSR, I also love being able to stay at the other Deluxe resorts too!

[piglet100]

Thanks everyone, really helpful. Plenty to think about.
@Florida-Sarah see what you mean! I'd love to experience more of the resorts, if it was cost effective, and with more dvc coming there's no shortage of places to try!

[Shooby doo]

Piglet just be aware that to get into any of the "new" resorts you will have to buy Direct points, current Resale points will get you into the Legacy14 but not Riveria & going forward any Resale contracts for the "new" resorts will only be able to be used at the Home Resort.
SD

[piglet100]

Originally Posted by Shooby doo

Piglet just be aware that to get into any of the "new" resorts you will have to buy Direct points, current Resale points will get you into the Legacy14 but not Riveria & going forward any Resale contracts for the "new" resorts will only be able to be used at the Home Resort.
SD

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Yes I saw that, I feel like we'd play it safe and go direct because of changing rules like this!

[dippiedawnie]

We bought 200 points in 2000 when DVC was little know about and with the exchange rate of $2 to the £ it was in our opinion quite cheap for what we got. We worked out at the time we could go every year for 2 weeks in a studio off peak as it was before we had kids. In reality now with school age child we go every other year in August and manage about 10 nights and then do a short cruise or stay at Universal. We can mix and match between a studio and a 1 bed across resorts. (Last trip we did 7 nights BWV in a studio and 4 nights in a 1 bed at BLT) We would certainly not buy in now and with the exchange rate as it is when we get our dues bill every year we have a discussion about selling. I think we have had our money's worth and then some over the years and we love it but everything about Disney is getting expensive and we have just had a 3 year break from going as were feeling slightly disillusioned after our last trip. However we are all desperate to go back next year and are starting the planning now so we do get drawn back in eventually. 😊.
When we bought we had thought we would swap and go to different locations with the timeshare. We started by visiting Boston on points, had a holiday in Scotland when our son was born and have even stayed in the hotels in London when not going to Florida but it's not as good value for money so it was a good plan but not sure we fully grasped the points calculations at the time!
We have rented out our points which helped pay for a Disney Cruise to the Baltic this summer. Suppose when you look at all the different ways you can use the points or the proceeds from renting there is flexibilty to a degree to make it work for you 🙂