Big Cedar during week of March13-18 using Sampler Points

[jmrenner Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmrenner]

Hi! I have a sampler membership of 9000 points and was wondering if there was any chance I could get a 2 bedroom cabin during the week of March 13-18 if I try to reserve right away. This is about the only time we can use our sampler points and would love to try out Big Cedar as it is within driving distance of where we live. What do you think the chances are of availabilty. I tried to call for reservations tonight, but called to late, so I will try again in the morning.
Thanks!

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

These have been gone since the 11 month mark

Sorry to disappoint you, but spring break next year falls in white season. It appears that a lot of people figured out we could get something for very little and it booked up via wait list. I know because I requested a cabin and didn't get it...

I think at this point there are still partial week studios or maybe one bedrooms available.

Anita

[motomem Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close motomem]

The points chart for a 2BR cabin is:

CABIN — 2 BEDROOM (SLEEPS 6)
HIGH RED SEASON weeks 24-43: 1075 1075 1075 1075 5450 5450 2800 18000
RED SEASON weeks 11-23 and 44-53: 775 775 775 775 3850 3850 2200 13000
WHITE SEASON weeks 1-10: 375 375 375 375 1750 1750 1000 6000

The values following the colon are the daily points required MON thru SUN, and the last number is for an entire week.

March 13-18 will be in Red Season, I'm fairly sure, so 13K points for an entire week. If you can, and only go during the week then only 775 per night.

Booking this early I would think there would be some availability.

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

cabin 18-20th

There actually is a cabin 18-20th (fri-Sun). I guess this is because red season starts that Fri.

It is 7700 points for the 2 nights.

[motomem Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close motomem]

I saw Anita's post after posting my reply. She's correct about spring break. I didn't think about that - prime spring break time. But it never hurts to try.

[jmrenner Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmrenner]

No Availability for that week

I called this morning and the week of March 13-18 was already booked. I was hoping I would be pleasantly surprised, but I wasn't. This makes it really tough to use our 9000 points since we can't travel during the summer because of sampler restrictions and I don't want to pull my kiddos out of school to travel. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Michelle

[jlathrop Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlathrop]

Spring Break Week

We are actually going on vacation that same week because that is the kids spring break. It looks like we are settling on St. Augustine, FL as there was plenty of availability and we like the history aspect of the area. We wanted Arizona but there wasn't any availability in the new resort that Bluegreen added when we checked. We're actually up for a more laid back vacation this year after doing Orlando last year. Our dream vacation would be Sanibel Island but have had no luck w/ Surfrider Beach Club that time of year. If anyone has any suggestions on the best way to get into Sanibel Island, we would love to hear it.

Myrtle Beach still had some 2 BR availability at Shorecrest that week but the average high temps were in the 60s in March. Shenandoah is another great family place w/ surrounding history but it was going to be too cold there too. Hitting D.C. for a couple days and heading out to Shenandoah for the rest of the week was a great trip for us in the past.

Good luck and have fun with it. The main thing to remember is that you can have almost anywhere you go.

[kcbedo Member Find all posts View Profile Close kcbedo]

You could try Falls Village in Branson. They still have plenty of availability for March 13-18: 1 bed, 2 bed, and studio. It's probably not as fun as Big Cedar, but they do have an indoor pool.

[jmrenner Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmrenner]

Big Cedar

OK--we ended up changing travel dates and booked at Big Cedar for the end of May after my kiddos are out of school. The dates we have booked are May 24-27. We couldn't get a cabin, so we got the 2 BR lodge instead. What are the differences between the cabin and the lodge. Also, any chance the Lazy River would be open at that time in May. I also noticed that horse back riding is listed as one of the activities available--does that cost extra and if so how much. Thanks for help on answering any of these questions!
Michelle

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I am not an official bluegreener, but, the cabins are free-standing and the lodges are apartment-style condo buildings.

Amenities like horseback riding are shared with the pre-existing Big Cedar Lodge. You pay a flat fee to use shared amenities, but I am going to guess that horseback riding will fall in that same category as boat rental, and require a fee.

[jmrenner Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmrenner]

Adding more people to our reservation

After I booked our time at Big Cedar, I had the great idea to invite some family to come along with us. I was wondering if we can add other people to our reservation without any problems. We were thinking of having either the grandparents or my husband's brother family join us for this vacation. Just wondering if this would be a big hassle or what we would need to do. I told them when I made the reservation that there would be 4 people coming--but might want to change that to 6 or 8 people.
Thanks for your help,
Michelle

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

Lodge vs cabin

Glad to see you got something in May. I was thinking about posting that to you. Late May is GREAT at Big Cedar.

My family is divided about whether they prefer the cabin or the lodge which should tell you that both are great. They have similar decor.

Lodges have more room and have a bed and pullout on the studio side, so if you're sleeping 5 or 6 you don't need to use the pullout.

The cabins have a private balcony and your own gas grill. They sleep only 6 and if you have more than 4 you'll need to use the pullout.

Dont' worry about the number of people on your reservation. They just care about you sticking with the capacity given not what you said when you checked in. I think mine defaults to 1 occupant when I book online and I almost never remember to change it.

There is some chance the lazy river will be open. I always go the Thursday or Friday of Memorial Day weekend and it seems like Lazy River is always open when we get there. Even if it isn't open, there are plenty of outdoor pools available plus the indoor one.

Horseback riding - the little pony ride for the 5 and under set is pretty reasonably priced but seems like the hour long trail ride is $35 per person or something along those lines.

Anita

[jmrenner Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmrenner]

Thanks

Thanks for all the replies to my questions--I appreciate all your help. Anita--I see that you are from KS--we are from KS, too, but we live on the far western side of the state so it will be about a 10 hour drive for us to Big Cedar. The horseback riding I was wondering about would be more the hour long trail ride type--my kids are both horse crazy and are fairly experience riders as they get to ride at their grandparents farm each summer. I don't think my daughter would be satisfied with the pony rides if she knew she could ride a "real" horse! LOL I'm getting more and more excited about this trip. We still have 3500 points to use--I'm thinking I might try to book something at the other resort in Branson, but I'm not sure when we might be able to go. Again thanks for the help everyone!
Michelle

[roach Member Find all posts View Profile Close roach]

Trail Rides at Big Cedar

Michelle,

Trail rides are $28 plus tax. To ride participants must be at least 8 years old and over 48 inches in height. They must also weigh less than 260 pounds. My son is mad because they just changed the age requirement from 6 to 8 this summer for insurance purposes. He wanted to go on a big horse just like his sister. BC has two other riding activities besides the pony rides where little kids are sat on a pony and halter led. Kid's Club does "A Day at the Stables" where kids learn basic horsemanship and go on a shorter trail ride, and the stables offers a program for more advance riders called "Wrangler for a Day". These are available seasonally, so you may get lucky.

May is a great time to be here. You won't be melting away like we have been today. We have stayed here several times the weekend prior to Labor Day, and the lazy river has been open every time. They have told us on a couple of those visits that it just opened that weekend. Your 2BR lodge unit will accommodate 8 with 4 on each side of the unit.

Mark

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

Nooooooooo!

My daughter is going to be so bummed! She's 6 1/2 and has been waiting patiently for her turn on the big horse ride. Two more years will seem like an eternity to her. Glad I know now vs finding out at the stable, tho.

Michelle, your experienced riders may not love this trail ride. It is nose-to-butt riding at a pretty slow pace.

I'm on the extreme eastern end of KS (a block from the MO state line actually) so our drive is only 4 hours tops. You'll love BCL. Don't delay in making a reservation to use those other points - as you have already seen, you need to plan well ahead to get what you want.

Anita