RCI to DVC...What seems to be the easiest on-site resort to trade into?

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

First post, so please be kind.

We're already planning our next Disney vacation for last week of October 2013 (our granddaughter's 5th birthday). We want to trade into a DVC resort. What are the chances of actually getting a resort, and what seems to be the easiest resort to trade into?

We'll probably put in a search at the two year mark, however I'm thinking that nothing will show until at least the 11 month mark.

Right now, we're open for anything. I would love to get Bay Lake Towers, but I'm assuming that would be nearly impossible. My second choice would probably be AKV.

As always, many thanks.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

First post, so please be kind.

We're already planning our next Disney vacation for last week of October 2013 (our granddaughter's 5th birthday). We want to trade into a DVC resort. What are the chances of actually getting a resort, and what seems to be the easiest resort to trade into?

We'll probably put in a search at the two year mark, however I'm thinking that nothing will show until at least the 11 month mark.

Right now, we're open for anything. I would love to get Bay Lake Towers, but I'm assuming that would be nearly impossible. My second choice would probably be AKV.

As always, many thanks.

Hi and to TS4Ms

DVC seems to be readily available now thru RCI. As far as I know, Bay LakeTowers has not been seen yet in RCI But you are looking two years out so by that time, this could change. You are right that most DVC units show up at 12-10 months out. Currently it takes approximately 25 TPUs to get a two bedroom most months of the year. I know that late August easily September is slightly less
The most deposits are from Old Key West and Saratoga Springs but units are seen from all the other resorts including AKL

SOOOOOOO all you need are the TPUs to make this happen. [MARQUEE][MARQUEE][/MARQUEE][/MARQUEE]

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

You are right that most DVC units show up at 12-10 months out.

This has changed recently; DVC is now depositing mostly within the 7-month window---the point at which internal reservations can be made at any club resort.

I know that late August easily September is slightly less

There has been a hard 25-point floor for some time now, on all units. The only exceptions have been last minute weeks.

Pat is absolutely right that SSR/OKW are the most common. In late October, with the new 7-month deposit window, you probably won't see BCV. BWV might happen, but also might not. AKV isn't particularly in demand in October, but it has also been more rare than you might expect given its size. BLT, for now, is a longshot.

My usual approach when I cannot be flexible on dates is to confirm the first one that comes up for my dates. If that's not among my first choice resorts, I get the cancel protection and start a second search for only "first choice" resorts. If that hits, I cancel the old one and keep the new one. If not, at least I have something. Unless you are willing to widen the search to include other weeks than that specific one, I'd recommend using this "trade up" approach.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Good to know about the seven month window. Thanks.

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

Thanks for the responses. And BNoble, I think I know you from the Dis Boards.

So you don't think I'll get anything until the 7 month mark?

Oh, and i will have to exchange two years. My condo in the Caribbean is only worth 15. That's OK, for my daughter's fifth birthday.

How much is protection? Dunno if it's worth it. OKW and SSR sounds OK.

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

No, I don't think you'll see anything much before seven months...unless they change their deposit habits. It has happened before, it could happen again.

If you won't have additional deposits on hand, just taking OKW/SSR is probably wise, especially if you can only consider that one week. Cancel protection is $79.

And, yes, you probably have seen me around DIS from time to time.

[stan2u Member Find all posts View Profile Close stan2u]

We put our request in a little over 6 months in advance. We wanted an Epcot area resort, so we asked for either Beach Club or Boardwalk. We gave them a nice, big window: any time in the months of April or May. In retrospect I shouldn't have included the week prior to Easter in that request as I really didn't want to be there in such a busy time.

As it turns out our request was "in the hopper" about 3 weeks. We ended up with a 1BR week at the Beach Club April 8-15. Worked out PERFECT for us.

So my advice is that any resort is fair game. Give them as big a window as you can. Request about 6-7 months in advance.

And good luck with your vacation.

[coachb Member Find all posts View Profile Close coachb]

I'm hoping to do something similiar. I've stayed off site a few times in some really nice resorts. Now that we have teenagers we'd like to stay on property and have the flexibility of the transportation system.

My plan is for the first week of August 2012. I'll have enough TPU's. I'd love the BCV or BWV but don't want to get greedy. The cancelation insurance and the "trade up" strategy seems like the way to go.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[stan2u Member Find all posts View Profile Close stan2u]

Think of what your priority is; in our case, we only wanted BC or BWV. We had a lot of flexibility on dates, but we could opt to not go if we didn't get our resort. So we chose those two and had a two-month window. In your case you want to be on-site and have a small window, so I'd say include as many resorts as they allow. Be sure to include Sarasota Springs and Old Key West, since they are the easiest to trade into. And if you can possibly increase your window size, do that, too.

And good luck with your trade.

[coachb Member Find all posts View Profile Close coachb]

With the "trade up" approach are you paying for 2 searches plus the cancelation fee?

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

No. Set up your second search so that it does *not* auto-confirm. When you have a more-preferable unit on hold, cancel the first one. You get the first confirmation fee back as a six-month credit when you cancel; you can then apply it to the second confirmation.

[coachb Member Find all posts View Profile Close coachb]

Just so I'm clear....is there no up front fee when a search does NOT auto confirm?

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

As far as I know, Bay LakeTowers has not been seen yet in RCI

Bay Lake Towers showed up in RCI over two weeks ago.

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

Someone asked the following in a private message, and consented to have me answer here:

I have a follow up question on your "trade up" strategy for DVC. Here's my thinking:

I'll have 47 TPU's (combining a lock off) and I'd like a 2br DVC resort the first week in August 2012. I'm going to put in a request about 11 months out for as may DVC properties as I can but will definately include OKW and SSR. I'll get the cancelation insurance for $79. I'll put in a second search that does NOT auto confirm for BCV and BWV. Question: am I not paying a 2nd exchange fee because the second search does not auto confirm? Or am I paying for 2 exchanges but getting 1 back as a credit? Also, with this strategy will I need 50 TPU's? Or, 25 for each search?

Re 2nd exchange fee: it's not tied to whether you auto-confirm or not (as far as I know). Rather, to place an ongoing search, you ordinarily need to have a balance of at least one online exchange fee. But, you can place as many ongoing searches as you wish with that single credit. RCI sometimes also runs promotions during which you can place a search with no credit in your account.

Also, you can't have two *separate* searches running attached to a single "deposit line", whether it is a regular deposit or a combined one. You can have *separate* dates at the same resort, or different resorts on the same date. But, once it matches and you confirm for the first unit, you can use any leftover TPU to establish a new ongoing search.

Finally, for DVC specifically, you will need a total of at least 50 TPU to make this work---25 to hold the first (but less favorite) confirmed match, and another 25 to run the "trade-up" search.

[coachb Member Find all posts View Profile Close coachb]

With DVC now having a 32 TPU floor I won't have the 64 needed to do 2 searches. Trade up approach is no longer an option....not a big deal.

We may look at the last week of June as well as the first week of August 2012 for our 2br DVC. Are people still seeing inventory at the 7 month window as opposed to 11 months?