Hello 
Apologies in advance for the length of this post. Also, please move it if it's not the right place.
New TUG member here. I am happy to have found this forum! I am not a timeshare owner but it is a future possibility. Regardless of what we eventually decide, we have a few years of rental ahead of us. I have taken a couple TS rental vacations over the years - a long weekend getaway here and there, girls trip, our honeymoon (Aruba) and we just got back from a Disney vacation in Orlando where we stayed for several nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek.
I recently started researching for a spring break 2016 vacation. We want to start making a priority for spring break vacations but at the same time want to be budget savvy. That's how I found TUG. After making my way through sticky threads and conducting a few searches I still have some questions.
A few main questions as we begin our search:
1. Where should we go? We are in MN.
Desires:
- WARMTH and SUN!
-Direct nonstop airplane flight from Minneapolis
-Beach - not necessarily ON the beach, but nearby enough to make a few visits
-Pool. Splash pad and/or waterslide is a plus
-Resort activities - Wyndham Bonnet Creek seemed to have a busy activity calendar that we were not able to make use of since we spent our days at the parks
- family friendly
Florida? Where? I'd love somewhere on the Gulf Coast. The kids want to see dolphins. We are not opposed to Orlando, or Bonnet Creek again either but perhaps getting the perspective of a different "brand" would be good.
Mexico? DH and I have passports but would need to get them for the kids.
We are limited to the school year calendar. I work in education and the kids (girls, 8 and 6) are on a traditional year calendar. I believe that spring break for us next year is week 13.
2. How far in advance should I start looking for a rental? Should I post a "wanted" ad here on TUG, or is there a good time of year to start scouting the ads?
3. How much is reasonable to budget? We liked the level of accommodations at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. DH loved the level of service when we were onsite at Disney (Wilderness Lodge) but I'm not sure about staying at Disney if we don't plan on going to the parks.
We paid $700 for a 2br for the week and rented about 5 months in advance. That was a comfortable amount. I'd like to stay under $1000 for a week if possible. Not sure how that plays out in different areas.
4. Are there any places that you can get away with not renting a car? If so, that would be more $ we could plug into resort rental.
I'm sure there are more questions I can come up with. Thanks for any advice.
Apologies in advance for the length of this post. Also, please move it if it's not the right place.
New TUG member here. I am happy to have found this forum! I am not a timeshare owner but it is a future possibility. Regardless of what we eventually decide, we have a few years of rental ahead of us. I have taken a couple TS rental vacations over the years - a long weekend getaway here and there, girls trip, our honeymoon (Aruba) and we just got back from a Disney vacation in Orlando where we stayed for several nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek.
I recently started researching for a spring break 2016 vacation. We want to start making a priority for spring break vacations but at the same time want to be budget savvy. That's how I found TUG. After making my way through sticky threads and conducting a few searches I still have some questions.
A few main questions as we begin our search:
1. Where should we go? We are in MN.
Desires:
- WARMTH and SUN!
-Direct nonstop airplane flight from Minneapolis
-Beach - not necessarily ON the beach, but nearby enough to make a few visits
-Pool. Splash pad and/or waterslide is a plus
-Resort activities - Wyndham Bonnet Creek seemed to have a busy activity calendar that we were not able to make use of since we spent our days at the parks
- family friendly
Florida? Where? I'd love somewhere on the Gulf Coast. The kids want to see dolphins. We are not opposed to Orlando, or Bonnet Creek again either but perhaps getting the perspective of a different "brand" would be good.
Mexico? DH and I have passports but would need to get them for the kids.
We are limited to the school year calendar. I work in education and the kids (girls, 8 and 6) are on a traditional year calendar. I believe that spring break for us next year is week 13.
2. How far in advance should I start looking for a rental? Should I post a "wanted" ad here on TUG, or is there a good time of year to start scouting the ads?
3. How much is reasonable to budget? We liked the level of accommodations at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. DH loved the level of service when we were onsite at Disney (Wilderness Lodge) but I'm not sure about staying at Disney if we don't plan on going to the parks.
We paid $700 for a 2br for the week and rented about 5 months in advance. That was a comfortable amount. I'd like to stay under $1000 for a week if possible. Not sure how that plays out in different areas.
4. Are there any places that you can get away with not renting a car? If so, that would be more $ we could plug into resort rental.
I'm sure there are more questions I can come up with. Thanks for any advice.
