Disney or Non Disney

Hi there

I am here looking for some advice! Our son just asked me if it were possible to book a vacation for his family using my RCI trading power for the Orlando area in August 2016. They are a family with four children ages 7, 9, 11, 13 at the time of this trip. A resort having a 3 bedroom option would be wonderful. Orange Lake is not possible because our other son and his family were there last year and I believe they have a 1 in 5 rule. So, my question is. Is it possible to get a 3 bedroom at one of the Disney resorts and is it even possible to get into one of these??? Should I book something that comes up now that shows 3 bedrooms eg Grand Beach 1 or should we wait and check often for other options? Thanks for any advice and input. They are really great kids and I would like to be able to help them out. Needless to say such a large family has budget concerns and this would be a super great for them to have.

Disney lately has only been 1 bedroom exchanges, in fact I am not sure if they even have 3 bedrooms? I would say a nice Hgvc resort should do the trick. If you put in the OGS now (for "free" through tomorrow, supposedly) you should get what you need. When you get the exchange, you will just pay the exchange fee at that time.

I would not take any 3Brs showing up now--I see those all the time. But, getting a 3Br @ DVC for Aug. will be almost impossible. If you have plenty of RCi tpus or points, then put an ongoing search for any HGVC 3BR. They are very nice and Aug. 2016 has not been banked yet. If you don't get a 3BR HGVC by the fall, then expand to other timeshares with 3BR. Also, DVC as well as Bonnet Creek can sleep 8. DVC-OKW is very large and has a sleeper sofa and sleeper chair and the 2nd BR has 2 queen beds. We do a 1BR with 3 teens all the time, so a 2Br with younger teens/kids should be fine, IMHO, if you can snag one.
So, If you don't get a 3BR HGVC by the fall, you can modify to a 2BR DVC and Bonnet Creek and keep your place in the queue for the search. Another AWESOME option is the 3BR pool houses at summer bay. Just down the road from OLCC and 3BR and its own private pool! Good luck. Elaine

Actually, several DVC resorts do have 3 bedroom Grand Villas (there are a very few DVC resorts that have no GV's like BCV and VWL, and Polynesian Villas for ex.), and they will sleep 12 plus an infant which by Disney description is a child under 3 y.o. As mentioned by Elaine, OKW and a couple of others have not only a sleeper sofa in the LR but also a sleeper chair so they can sleep 13 plus infant.

I would predict it as being exceedingly difficult to trade into a 3 bdrm GV with DVC. If I were you OP, i would certainly check because miracles do happen, but please do not count on that. Also as Elaine as mentioned, OKW villas (my home resort since '93) are very large and the 1 bdrm's and larger have a sleeper chair in addition to the sleeper sofa in the LR's.

I've booked a 3 bdrm GV with my DVC points for a week each year for the past few years for my ever-growing brood and we LOVE it. If I had a magic wand, Travs2, I would make one magically appear for your family!

You can book into Orange Lake as long as you are not using the same resort you used last year for the exchange.

travs2 said:

Hi there

I am here looking for some advice! Our son just asked me if it were possible to book a vacation for his family using my RCI trading power for the Orlando area in August 2016. They are a family with four children ages 7, 9, 11, 13 at the time of this trip. A resort having a 3 bedroom option would be wonderful. Orange Lake is not possible because our other son and his family were there last year and I believe they have a 1 in 5 rule. So, my question is. Is it possible to get a 3 bedroom at one of the Disney resorts and is it even possible to get into one of these??? Should I book something that comes up now that shows 3 bedrooms eg Grand Beach 1 or should we wait and check often for other options? Thanks for any advice and input. They are really great kids and I would like to be able to help them out. Needless to say such a large family has budget concerns and this would be a super great for them to have.

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With 6 people, they can fit in a 2 bdrm. All dedicated 2 bdrs have 1 K bed in the master, 2 Q beds in the 2nd bedroom, and a Q sleeper sofa and sleep 8-9 (some have sleeper chair as well). It's unlikely, but you could get a 2 bedroom lock-off which have 1K in master , 1Q bed/1Q sofa in 2nd bedroom, 1Q sofa in living room and sleep 8-9. See my WDW Point chart to see occupancy/beds per resort/room type (open in Excel and hover over points for room/resort combination to see room description/occupancy).

alexadeparis said:

Disney lately has only been 1 bedroom exchanges, in fact I am not sure if they even have 3 bedrooms? I would say a nice Hgvc resort should do the trick. If you put in the OGS now (for "free" through tomorrow, supposedly) you should get what you need. When you get the exchange, you will just pay the exchange fee at that time.

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A 2bdrm in August isn't out of the question if you put in the OGS now and are flexible on DVC resort (e.g. put in OGS for all resort ids -- DV01, DV02, DV03, DV05, DV06, DV08, DV09). To hedge, I would either book refundable backup ressie (e.g. direct Disney Value resort) or book backup RCI exchange (e.g. Bonnet Creek, Orange Lake, HGVC Park Soleil which I recommend for kids since it has a water slide), then if your DVC OGS comes through cancel and just be out the $209 exchange fee. DVC has been matching erratically so you could be waiting all the way up to 1-3 months before your trip for a match , which is nerve racking. If you want to guarantee plans, you'll either need to book something else as a backup or just book something else and not bother with DVC -- i'd still keep the OGS running so you can decide then if it's worth the $209 fee to upgrade to DVC. Good luck.

2 bedroom or 3 bedroom dvc. 3 bd HGVC or 3 bd bonnet creek. I'll start couple of ogs as stated above. Not sure which resort you own but based on club rules you may get one of the above direct. Having said that 3 bed DVC is tough 2 bd is possible.


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piyooshj said:

2 bedroom or 3 bedroom dvc. 3 bd HGVC or 3 bd bonnet creek. I'll start couple of ogs as stated above. Not sure which resort you own but based on club rules you may get one of the above direct. Having said that 3 bed DVC is tough 2 bd is possible.


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Agree -- forgot to mention that -- 3 bdrms are completely out of the question for DVC -- never seen one in 5 years of watching deposits like a hawk -- keep in mind, Disney charges up to $15K direct for a week in a 3 bdrm -- they aren't going to give those up if they don't have to.

Thanks everyone for the sound advice. I definitely will try out all of your helpful suggestions. Southergirl528 ....wish I could wave that magic wand as well and get a wonderful exchange for my son and his family BUT I think this will take some hard work and planning. Oh well...isn't that what life is all about anyway hahahaha.....hard work and planning! Also, a little "wish upon a star" wouldn't be a bad start as well. Thanks again everyone for great ideas.

I would follow elaine's advice, to the letter.

rfc0001 said:

Agree -- forgot to mention that -- 3 bdrms are completely out of the question for DVC -- never seen one in 5 years of watching deposits like a hawk -- keep in mind, Disney charges up to $15K direct for a week in a 3 bdrm -- they aren't going to give those up if they don't have to.

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I trust rfc0001s advise / comments. He is one of the most experienced DVC exchanger on RCI while being a DVC owner.


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rfc0001 said:

Agree -- forgot to mention that -- 3 bdrms are completely out of the question for DVC -- never seen one in 5 years of watching deposits like a hawk -- keep in mind, Disney charges up to $15K direct for a week in a 3 bdrm -- they aren't going to give those up if they don't have to.

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Well, I agree that they are hard to get but they have been sighted before.

I've received at least three Grand Villas matches for stays in 2011 and 2013. I honestly haven't tried in the last year or so. However with the number of folks competing for DVC availability today, you have to get on the queue as early as possible and be as flexible as possible with your travel dates to have hopes of even getting one.

I agree that the OP should make other arrangements but it doesn't hurt to setup an ongoing search and keep an eye out in RCI Points

Past TUG sightings
2013 - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195659
2013 - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191333
2012 - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165929
2012 - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165584
2010 - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136547
2010 - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133952

All of the 3br sightings referenced were in RCI points, not TPU. Has anyone ever matched a 3BR via ongoing search?

I don't have Points, and I've seen one or two over the years in the spacebank---just as a leftover, not as an OGS match. That was a long time ago though.

Beefnot said:

All of the 3br sightings referenced were in RCI points, not TPU. Has anyone ever matched a 3BR via ongoing search?

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Yes, my matches were a result of ongoing RCI Weeks searches.
In 2011, I received one "match found" email for OKW
In 2013, I received two "match found" emails for different dates at SSR

I haven't searched for a DVC three bedroom since my last 2013 match.

OK....so I put in an ON GOING search yesterday for my August 2016 request. Now...my question is. Is it better go LISTEN the resorts that you want or leave it open to the general Orlando/ Kissimee area???? The rep suggested the later but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to list the ones you want. Also, do I have to check everyday to see if there is a match. Don't want them to confirm a match that I don't want since you only have 24 hours to decide right???

My apologies.....LIST ....not LISTEN

NO! Do not list general Orlando/Kiss area--too many resorts of varying quality. Don't listen to the reps. List only what you want for now and re-evaluate in the fall. Also, be prepared for RCI to start calling you with things that you don't have listed--telling you that you should take it, you have a hard trade, etc.. You should be able to get a 3BR @ HGVC if you have enough to trade with. Realize DVC will not be deposited until about 7 months out, and by then you should have had a match for HGVC, Bonnet Creek, etc.

Thanks Elaine... I kind of thought that but was swayed by the RCI rep to do otherwise. I would really like HGVC or a Disney for our son and his family so hope that shows up. I am going to change my on going search to include specific resorts. Lots of time for a confirmation. This is why I love this forum! TUGGERS are looking out for the BEST INTERESTS of each other. Thanks everyone for your honest advice and help.

So I talked with an RCI rep today about the Orange Lake properties. We did an "Extra Vacation" in May 2014. Now......he says that we cannot go back to an Orange Lake resort until May 2017.......HOWEVER. According to the Orange Lake RCI website they say that " extra vacations" are exempt from this one in three rule. He said any RCI transaction counts??????? Counting on fellow Tuggers to set the record straight for me. Does it count or doesn't? Thanks.

Look at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We just stayed there the beginning of this month. It was amazing. We were in a 2bdr. 3 adults and 3 kids. Plenty of room. We even watched the fireworks from MK and Epcot from our balcony. It was also super close to the parks. 5 mins from HS, 10 mins from AK & Epcot, and 15 mins from TTC for MK.

My brother's family (kids 10-12) loved BC. They have stayed at DVC 2X and liked BC as well or better.