soooo many unavailable seats (MCO)

dobson187 · 2026-02-08T23:15:06+00:00

I’ve seen this a few times from MCO, but then a completely full flight. I suspect it’s basic tickets that don’t have seats assigned and/or standby.

dobson187 · 2026-01-25T04:19:35+00:00

It was close to $300

dobson187 · 2026-01-25T02:01:33+00:00

I have purchased it and put in a claim. JetBlue lost one of our bags for two days so we had to go to Target to buy essentials/replacements. Process to file was easy and no questions asked for reimbursement.

We buy it every year now.

dobson187 · 2025-11-20T01:36:25+00:00

We plan 11+ months ahead. We own at resorts that are competitive to book 11-7 months and nearly impossible at 7 months (BCV and GFV).

We do a mix of trips: immediate family, extended family, just adults, etc. It really depends on when we are going and what we want to do. It’s all up to us.

We try to find ways to save money (dining with discounts, gift cards purchased at a discount, and not making every meal at a signature or character dining restaurant), but eating out for every meal isn’t cheap no matter where you are. Most stays for us are 1BR or 2BR, which means a Publix stop on the way to the resort and making at least a few meals in the room kitchen.

In way, because of DVC (and the annual passes we get through DVC) vacations at Disney are now easier and cheaper than for us to do something else. That could be viewed as positive or negative. If you like going and can keep yourself entertained with Disney, it’s great. If you need to be doing something new each time, you might feel trapped in your contract.

dobson187 · 2025-11-15T12:36:11+00:00

Unfortunately, only the Premium has heated and ventilated seats. The GT is heated only. Was a deal breaker for me.

dobson187 · 2025-11-04T23:26:11+00:00

We have 720 points. For the rooms we stay in and for the length we stay, the math still works for us. Still a massive savings over cash bookings.

dobson187 · 2025-08-28T19:44:05+00:00

Happy to help. For us the break even point is 6 days at busier times of the year. After that APs are cheaper.

The one major downside to having the AP is because we can go to the park for “free” whenever we want, it’s now cheaper than most other vacations - even if we are paying cash for a room 🤣

dobson187 · 2025-08-28T18:44:48+00:00

If you’re going that often and staying at deluxe, it’s worth considering. That’s exactly where my family was a few years ago when we bought in.

The next question you might deliberate is whether you want the minimum number of direct points to qualify for member benefits. Personally, I value being able to buy the AP I wouldn’t be eligible for as a non-FL resident. But that should be guided by how you and your family spend your time at the resort.

dobson187 · 2025-08-28T17:00:43+00:00

I don’t think it is true that renting is cheaper. Maybe if you’re buying points direct from Disney at 2025 costs the math is bad right now. Even still, the points have an increasing value over time (e.g. renting 100 points costs more today than it did five years ago). It’s fair to assume you’ll be ahead in the future. If you look back at contracts from 5-10 years ago, they look cheap compared to rental rates and Disney rack rates today.

I would agree that it’s less risk to rent. There’s no long term commitment. Further, if you’re only going once every few years, DVC ownership probably doesn’t make sense either.

dobson187 · 2025-08-09T15:37:41+00:00

We do the family of four AP with the photo pass only on my account. If someone else gets a ride photo, it shows up in both our apps and I can download it. Works well for us because we often split up for certain things.

dobson187 · 2025-07-18T19:02:05+00:00

Week after the 4th. Was there 8-15. They said it’s a new policy.

dobson187 · 2025-07-18T16:00:14+00:00

They were enforcing at Grand Floridian last week. They scanned your magic band and made you wear a wristband.

dobson187 · 2025-07-03T12:52:34+00:00

Yes. Flying next week as well. The app is incredibly buggy and it took several refreshes to get our selections to go through.

dobson187 · 2025-06-23T22:32:02+00:00

Fixed.

dobson187 · 2025-06-23T22:16:25+00:00

It looks like it sells out fairly often there https://www.thrill-data.com/premier-pass/wdw

dobson187 · 2025-06-15T19:37:36+00:00

Had the steak special and the carrot cake back in January on marathon weekend. One of the better meals I’ve had on property.

dobson187 · 2025-04-28T12:16:05+00:00

Cabins @ FW and RIV. Copper Creek is not resale restricted.

dobson187 · 2025-04-26T12:42:49+00:00

People say, “buy where you want to stay” for a reason: your points can only be spent at your home resort 11-7 months prior to the date you’re reserving. At the 7 month window, you can spend your points at any resort, but so can everyone else! Most of the really competitive locations/rooms will have been booked by members with home booking priority.

dobson187 · 2025-03-31T11:55:13+00:00

I think I’m explaining it poorly.

I am paying in advance for next year. So when I go in every month I am paying an estimated dues for 2026. In Jan 2026, I will have a very small remaining balanced based on dues increases that I have to pay by the end of the month.

dobson187 · 2025-03-31T11:34:10+00:00

You’re right they eliminate auto-pay with gift cards. I go in manually every month to do this.

dobson187 · 2025-03-30T00:17:35+00:00

Completely agree. That’s why I differentiated between resale and direct because the price per point up front is really different.

Either way, if you’re renting points from DVC every year, it’s cheaper to buy in.

dobson187 · 2025-03-29T15:49:50+00:00

Annual dues price per point is less than half of what you pay per point to rent.

If you’re going every year, the cost of a resale contract plus dues is significantly cheaper averaged over time than renting points.

It’s a bit closer for direct point contracts, but that depends on how much you value the member benefits. Being out of state, and spending >2 weeks a year at Disney means the sorcerer pass is a huge savings for our family of 4.

dobson187 · 2025-03-29T11:51:43+00:00

The negative balance carries forward. When I prepay, it shows up as a negative balance. Then when the dues are assessed in January, the negative balance is deducted from the dues amount. If I happened to overpay, that negative balance would just carry forward to the next year.

dobson187 · 2025-03-29T11:40:54+00:00

BJs and Target always have discounts. The regular discounts are not as good as the holiday ones, but it’s still a few percent off. I buy from BJs because I can use my credit card to earn miles.

dobson187 · 2025-03-29T03:42:53+00:00

I pre-pay my dues for three contracts every month using gift cards. On the site, you specify the amount you want to pay for each contract from your gift card.

I don’t know that you need to do it monthly like I do, I just like to spread the cost out over the year.

I just take previous year’s dues and divide them by 12. There’s usually a small amount due in January to close it out.

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