? re: not getting into your home resort...

[Dsnygirl]

So, we haven't made the jump yet, but I'm thinking we will by the spring -- so I have a few questions.

The main one is this -- when you can't book until the 7 month window or closer, and can't get into your home resort (assuming your home resort isn't SSR or OKW), where do you usually end up?

(and I realize that the answer is also going to be based on the season you're travelling, such as October and F&W Fest time vs value season... )

I've always heard that the "fall back" resorts are SSR and OKW... neither of which I would mind staying at, to be honest, and we may even consider OKW as our home resort once we check out the rennovations in person.

But in talking to my DH this morning, his question was r/t whether or not people end up getting "stuck" at a resort that is going to cost them more points than they'd planned on -- i.e. your home resort is 28 points/night and not available, the only resorts left are higher points per night.

I told him I thought that probably doesn't happen, as it's probably the higher-point resorts that get booked up first, and the lesser-point resorts, such as SSR and OKW, that are left (as well as the fact that they're such big resorts with more availability).

So -- just curious to hear from folks who've booked outside their home resort b/c they had to, and whether or not they were able to stay w/in their point range, etc.

:thanks:

[DizneyRox]

At 7 months, it's a free for all, and it's possible there is no availability AT ALL for when you NEED to go. DVC is not like other time shares in that you buy a week, you actually buy points, and you can use those points any time during the year you want.

So, if by some freak chance, EVERYONE wanted to go July 4th week, it is very possible that there is NO availability at ANY DVC resort.

In that case, your choice is to go another week or bank/forfeit your points.

In my experience, the lower cost rooms book first, people try to optimize their points and get the most bang for their buck. That means "lesser" accomodations (smaller or worse view). There's a possibility of an upgrade, but never a downgrade, so I imagine some people play the odds on that, although be warned, DVC upgrades are pretty uncommon. They will try to sell unbooked rooms for cash (helps keep dues lower).

I would suggest booking in advance of the 7 month window if you really want choices. As close as you can get to 11 months is better.

[Dsnygirl]

Honestly, it's not even about choices -- it's just about what books up first and what's left -- whether it's usually higher point rooms or lower point value rooms. We are usually flexible on what weeks we want to go, although the month may be firm -- we just wondered whether or not people find themselves chronically ending up spending more points than they want to b/c if their home resort, with the points they'd planned on spending, is gone -- do they end up having to usually use more or less or about the same amount for other accomodations. We'd actually like to try all the DVC resorts, so getting the "leftovers" isn't any big deal to us -- unless it's outside of our point range all the time.

:thanks: for the insight!

[DizneyRox]

I always have said to buy more points than you NEED. I'm fairly certain that many of the lower category rooms are actually very limited. For example, I've ALWAYS needed to get a preferred studio at BCV, the standard view has never been available.

When calculating points, if your season is firm, buy up the accomodations. If the accomodations are firm, buy up a season. We've done a lot of work calculating our point needs and hae neer had a problem. I will say that a minimum contract (160 points) has never worked out mathmatically for us. We are usually in magic season.

[Dsnygirl]

Thx for the advice... we are thinking we'll be magic season for our longer trips, as we don't want to pull the girls out of school for the longer ones... and then dream season for any shorter trips, as we love May and October, too. So... we were figuring we'd want at least 200 points or more...

And I have heard that often-times, the 1-bedrm are sold out very quickly, which would be our preference... so I guess I'd want to be sure we're either fine with a studio, or have enough points to go up to a 2-bedrm during a busier time.

Good food for thought... another reason I love this site! :D

[diz_girl]

If you only have a coice between OKW and SSR, you may want to book at OKW, as the point values are lower than at SSR, unless you need to burn through your points.

[ThanxForNoticin]

Based on our experience, I think your original summary is pretty accurate. If you are at the 7-month window and your home resort might be booked, OKW and SSR are often the resorts with the availability. The reason they tend to have more availability has nothing to do with them being lesser resorts - they are both outstanding. It's due to the fact that they have so many more rooms. OKW and SSR also are not considered "prime location" resorts, like BCV, BWV, and BLT, where you can actually walk to a theme park.