# How would you book 5 (2br) rooms at a DVC resort?



## Ridewithme38 (Feb 14, 2014)

My family has put it upon me to find 5 2br places at a disney resort in [2015] and to be honest, i have no idea how i'm going to accomplish that.

If i'm LUCKY, i can find 1 2br place on RCI and from what i can tell, it's going to be somewhere between 925 and 2,035 points to rent from a DVC owner.  Do any owners actually carry that many points? 

How would YOU accomplish getting 5 2br rooms during the same week at a DVC resort?


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## WeLovetoTravel (Feb 14, 2014)

Ridewithme38 said:


> My family has put it upon me to find 5 2br places at a disney resort in the month of January 2015 and to be honest, i have no idea how i'm going to accomplish that.
> 
> If i'm LUCKY, i can find 1 2br place on RCI and from what i can tell, it's going to be somewhere between 925 and 2,035 points to rent from a DVC owner.  Do any owners actually carry that many points?
> 
> How would YOU accomplish getting 5 2br rooms during the same week at a DVC resort?



Have you considered Wyndham Bonnett Creek? It's not DVC, but it is inside the Disney gates. There are some Wyndham owners that have several million points and use them to rent. Another suggestion is to check on Redweek.com. I have rented on that website before.


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## DeniseM (Feb 14, 2014)

That is an impossible exchange - don't bother.

I would either rent from a DVC owner, or choose Bonnet Creek instead, and rent from a Bonnet Creek owner.  There are owners who rent their points who have enough points for that.

You know that five 2-bdm. units at a DVC resort is going to cost a small fortune, right?


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## Passepartout (Feb 14, 2014)

I didn't realize you had won a lottery! That's about what it will take to pull this off. I am assuming the request was for all adjoining rooms too, wasn't it? And with a butler and cook?

Let us know how this works out.....

Jim


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## Ridewithme38 (Feb 14, 2014)

I suggested bonnet creek, but it's my nephews first trip to Disney so my sister in law(the squeaky wheel) said it has to be a 'disney resort'.

What i'm going to work on this week and next, is to try to convince people to share rooms.  If people share, we can get away with Three 2br places instead of Five.   While it still won't be easy to find 3 2br places for the same time frame in the same DVC resort, it'll be easier(and cheaper) when compared to five 2br places.


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## DeniseM (Feb 14, 2014)

It will be easy to rent from an owner - it will be impossible to get 3-5 units as an exchange.  You may be able to get 1 exchange, and then rent the other units, but waiting for the exchange will cause a delay which may make it difficult to rent the other units.

Be careful with this - making reservations for family members can be a disaster.  When it comes time to pay, make sure they pay for their own units directly, so if/when they want to bail out, it's not your money.  Remember - when you rent from an owner, you usually can't cancel, because that leaves the owner in a bad situation, so you will want to make sure your family members understand that.

*I would not squeeze people into too few units.  After you spend all day together with family, you need your space in the evening, and too much togetherness is NOT the formula for a happy family vacation.


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## Miss Marty (Feb 14, 2014)

_
Disney Vacation Club_ 

If you are using TPUs you will need several different deposits
to make several on going searches for the exact same dates. 
If you are lucky and hit a bulk deposit, you may come up with
a few 1 or 2 bedroom units at different Disney Vacation Club
resorts.  Doubt if you will get all your units at the same resort.
Put in your ogs request(s) early - have at least 52 tpus each.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 14, 2014)

Certain weeks are very doable for exchanging into DVC.  But as Marti said, exchanging into the same resort will be tough, but who cares because you can meet in the parks. 

Stay away from summer.  Have the kids skip school.  

I have had numerous matches for Labor Day 2014.  I had AKL, BLT, BWV, SSR, OKW, and several others.  Most were 1 bedrooms, some were 2 bedrooms.  Finally, I was able to cancel the exchange request through RCI today.  Try as I might, I couldn't cancel that part of my exchange online myself.  

Your family should probably get over the "everyone gets a bedroom, including the kids," mindset.  Sofa sleepers at Disney are fine.  

Be prepared to pay 46-58 points for exchanges, and multiple deposits are paramount.  You might get something at 7 months to match, then additional deposits will trickle in later.  

My niece entered her search for early June and had no matches for months, and suddenly she is getting matches at less than four months out.  I would have guessed she would be out of luck.  

Set your searches very soon for best possible chance of matches.  But be prepared to take whatever resort you can get.  

Food and Wine would be tough.  The lowest availability is during this time.  I wouldn't even try it myself for that many units.  Too many people want Food and Wine onsite, because they don't want to be responsible for getting behind the wheel of the car after drinking.  We dropped daughter and SIL off at the park and picked them up, when we all stayed off-site and they wanted to party at Food and Wine one night.


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## MichaelColey (Feb 14, 2014)

I think you could probably get five 2BR units at different DVC properties for the same weekend, but it would be pretty difficult to get five at ONE resort.  POSSIBLY if you set up your search more like 2 years in advance, and picked one of the bigger resorts (SSR or OKW).  From my understanding, each DVC resort gets around 5-10 units of each size deposited for most weeks.  If you want 5 on the same weekend (and even more so if it's just one resort), you'll have to be near the front of the ongoing search queue.  It's relatively easy to be near the bottom of the top 5-10 (and get one unit), but it's going to be much harder to be near the top of the list (and get 5 units).

If you have five large deposits (preferably 60 TPU each) I would set up the ongoing searches right now.  That's the only chance you have of getting them.

Is it a big deal if the check-in dates are not the same (some Friday, some Saturday, some Sunday) or if they're not at the same DVC property?  Because there's probably no way around that, if you go through RCI.

If the ongoing searches fail (i.e. you get to 4-5 months out and haven't got them yet), I would find a Wyndham Platinum VIP and have them get you units at Wyndham Bonnet Creek at the 60 day mark.  (Make sure they expect plenty of availability that close in, first, though, otherwise you'll need to have your contingency plan in place earlier.)

If that falls through, there are tons of reasonably priced rental homes in the Orlando area, and you could easily get 2-5 of those.


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## MichaelColey (Feb 14, 2014)

FWIW, we've picked up *two* 2BR units at the same DVC property for the same week several times.


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## vacationhopeful (Feb 14, 2014)

Ride,
Just put them in touch with David's Travel in Canada ... after the sticker SHOCK of what it costs to rent DVC, Bonnet Creek will look VERY GOOD.

And if they have the $$$$$ for their big dream, let them FRONT THE MONEY and deal with any change issues.

Sticky/noisy wheels always have LOTS of OTHER ISSUES - they think they can get the BEST UNITS & VIEWS, change the date by a day or two, want a refund when because it rains, add another room 2 days before checkin, pay at the front desk, want a refund after the stay ...

I would not handle that for a million ... relatives are jerks and this request is NOT DOABLE ... as an exchange ... only as a rental and via a big broker, like David's.


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## DeniseM (Feb 14, 2014)

Here is the other thing, I don't believe Ride has the points to exchange for 3-5 units.

Ride - Bonnet Creek is every bit as nice as DVC, and you can probably rent there for half the price or less.


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## SMHarman (Feb 14, 2014)

vacationhopeful said:


> Ride,
> Just put them in touch with David's Travel in Canada ... after the sticker SHOCK of what it costs to rent DVC, Bonnet Creek will look VERY GOOD.
> 
> And if they have the $$$$$ for their big dream, let them FRONT THE MONEY and deal with any change issues.
> ...


This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://www.dvcrequest.com/ is where to go to do this and yes 5 2Bd disney will be $$$$$


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## stoler527 (Feb 14, 2014)

Disney has units called Grande Villas that sleep 12 people. Maybe you could look at those as a way of cutting down the number of units that you need. If it is a family event, it might be nice to spend time with family in a unit as long as each family has a separate bedroom. Put the kids on the sleeper sofas. 

You didn't say what season you were thinking of traveling. January and September are lower point months to go. There may also be more availability at that time.

We made a reservation for a family member once. They didn't understand the limitations of timeshares and considered the reservation like a hotel reservation. They changed the dates and wanted a bigger room at the last minute. So, beware!!!!


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## DeniseM (Feb 14, 2014)

I deleted the specifics of the time frame he is looking for, to comply with the "no-advertising" rule.


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## presley (Feb 14, 2014)

Ridewithme38 said:


> My family has put it upon me to find 5 2br places at a disney resort in [2015] and to be honest, i have no idea how i'm going to accomplish that.



Step one:  Tell the family member(s) who came up with that idea to figure it all out and to let you know when all the rooms are booked.

Step two:  Have an alternate plan that doesn't involve 5 two bedroom units at a DVC.


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## Ridewithme38 (Feb 14, 2014)

SMHarman said:


> This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> http://www.dvcrequest.com/ is where to go to do this and yes 5 2Bd disney will be $$$$$



Thank you, i'm going to send her that link over facebook and then give her a comparison with estimated prices from Bonnet Creek.


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## czar (Feb 14, 2014)

The other thing you may want to consider is to rent tree house villas. They're - relatively speaking - a good bargain for the size and perhaps your family members could rent 2 or 3 of those and try for 1-2 2-bedroom units via RCI.


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## Rsauer3473 (Feb 14, 2014)

I recently rented my DVC points through Dave's DVC rentals for a party desiring three studios at Aulani. The reservations used up 609 points and the buyer paid Dave something over 8k for the deal. 
Five 2 bedrooms for a week at WDW not during peak season will run about $20,000 at OKW using Dave's service. Retail will easily run about $30,000. 
I suggest asking sister in law to pick up the first half of the rental. 
Then wait.


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## elaine (Feb 14, 2014)

After they see the sticker price for 2BRs, I would also add that maybe everyone does not need a 2BR villa. Maybe some with less $ could even stay at a value resort and then just come over for dinner, hang out, etc. We had a studio at AKV and a 1 BR at OKW and cooked our dinners and hung out over at OKW. OKW has the most space of any DVC and also has a sleeper chair, in addition to the sleeper sofa.
Since OKW usually requires the least amount of points, and has good availability within RCI, I suggest you try to trade into OKW and then have others book @ OKW. There is really no need to book OKW prior to 5 or 6 months out, unless it's a prime week.


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## bethy (Feb 14, 2014)

DeniseM said:


> It will be easy to rent from an owner - it will be impossible to get 3-5 units as an exchange.  You may be able to get 1 exchange, and then rent the other units, but waiting for the exchange will cause a delay which may make it difficult to rent the other units.
> 
> Be careful with this - making reservations for family members can be a disaster.  When it comes time to pay, make sure they pay for their own units directly, so if/when they want to bail out, it's not your money.  Remember - when you rent from an owner, you usually can't cancel, because that leaves the owner in a bad situation, so you will want to make sure your family members understand that.
> 
> *I would not squeeze people into too few units.  After you spend all day together with family, you need your space in the evening, and too much togetherness is NOT the formula for a happy family vacation.



I totally agree with all of this!!

For me, I would send each family (especially the squeaky wheel) the phone number to call Disney directly to book their own rooms.  I would not want to be the middle man at all, no matter how the accommodations are paid for (whether via DVC points, cash or other).

If you think the others are open minded then you could send them a link to David's DVC rentals but that's as much as I'd personally risk as far as offering up a referral.

I have travelled with family and with friends and the above advice is imperative even under the best of circumstances and with the best of relationships.  A group Disney visit can be great but it has to be handled with kid gloves and a lot of thought and a lot of healthy boundaries in place well ahead of time!

For example, two weeks ago we took our very best friends to the Grand Cal DVC for 4 nights as our guests.  They are wonderful people.  Even then, there were little things that bugged me that they as guests did:  for example, complained that there wasn't daily housekeeping.  And while I so hate to admit it I was shocked they didn't do a gracious gesture like take us to dinner or anything. I know I shouldn't expect it and we invited them purely for the pleasure of their company but I was still surprised.  I personally at a minimum would have brought a bottle of wine or a bouquet of flowers as a hostess gift!  BUT they still had to pay for their airfare and their park tix so it's not like we truly treated them to entire vacation.  And I love them dearly and just realize that my way of doing things isn't the same as everyone else's.  And we had a great time on the trip and that's what matters.  Whew!  Thanks for letting me vent!  I needed to get that out I think!


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## JimMIA (Feb 14, 2014)

vacationhopeful said:


> Ride,
> Just put them in touch with David's Travel in Canada ... after the sticker SHOCK of what it costs to rent DVC, Bonnet Creek will look VERY GOOD.
> 
> And if they have the $$$$$ for their big dream, let them FRONT THE MONEY and deal with any change issues.
> ...


I agree with Linda.  If you look at DVC-specific boards, you will see lots of big family trip horror stories, and they seem to have two common themes.

First, people who don't know anything about timeshares consider the lodging "free," and are not at all aware of the applicable cancellation policies.  So they have a very unrealistic understanding about changes of plans.

Second, with the lodging "free," many people initially look at the _whole trip_ as basically "free."  They don't realize how expensive a Disney trip is until they start looking at airfares, rental cars, and most of all Disney theme park ticket prices.  Pretty soon, their "free" trip is costing them several thousand dollars, and they suddenly discover some other place they need to be during that time period.  Poor timeshare owner gets left holding the bag -- losing points or deposits they've made.  Don't go there.

There is absolutely no necessity for everyone being at the same resort -- in fact, some space and privacy would probably become very welcome about Day Two of the trip.  I would put everyone on their own for *everything*, with a few suggestions for lodging -- David's, the DIS Rent/Trade Board where they can rent directly from an owner, and Wyndham Bonnet Creek.  Most of the two-bedroom rentals I've seen at WBC are usually in the $800-$1,200 range for the full week.

It is each family's vacation.  Let them plan and manage it themselves.


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## MichaelColey (Feb 14, 2014)

I would disagree with the suggestions about getting Grand Villas or Treehouse Villas.

Grand Villas accommodate about 50% more people, but take almost twice as many points.  Not a good value, especially if the family is already wanting separate accommodations (thus five 2BR units when they could fit in three).

Treehouse Villas are technically 3BR, but the square footage and number of people it accommodates is basically the same as a 2BR.


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## pedro47 (Feb 15, 2014)

Ridewithme38 said:


> My family has put it upon me to find 5 2br places at a disney resort in [2015] and to be honest, i have no idea how i'm going to accomplish that.
> 
> If i'm LUCKY, i can find 1 2br place on RCI and from what i can tell, it's going to be somewhere between 925 and 2,035 points to rent from a DVC owner.  Do any owners actually carry that many points?
> 
> How would YOU accomplish getting 5 2br rooms during the same week at a DVC resort?


deletd wrong thread


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## Ridewithme38 (Feb 15, 2014)

Ok, talked to some family members,explained it'll be upwards of $2,500-$4,000 a room....Some bailed some just 'aren't sure' if they are going to be able to go...

Right now, I'm just going to take care of finding two 2br rooms....Much easier and if anyone comes to me at a later time, atleast they'll be aware of the costs and by then i'll have a better idea of where/how to search.


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## vacationhopeful (Feb 15, 2014)

Ride-
Many of the newer resorts have 2 or 1.5 bathroom with a 1bdr unit. I have gone with my widowed sister TWICE and with my 12 yo nephew - all in 1bdr DVC units. My sister thought the sofabed was very comfortable (she has been know to go rent her own room as she has the money). The nephew loved his all night TV (which I never heard) and did some balcony sitting to watch the critters (AKV).

If it is just your daughter and you, you will be fine --- if it is with daughter & her mother, give them the MBR. Personally, I would just take the kid --- much easier on you and your daughter as there are TOO MANY OPTIONS and stuff going on during your DISNEY week. 

Plus, her mom needs her time to grow (and find a friend).


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## SMHarman (Feb 15, 2014)

Ridewithme38 said:


> Ok, talked to some family members,explained it'll be upwards of $2,500-$4,000 a room....Some bailed some just 'aren't sure' if they are going to be able to go...
> 
> Right now, I'm just going to take care of finding two 2br rooms....Much easier and if anyone comes to me at a later time, atleast they'll be aware of the costs and by then i'll have a better idea of where/how to search.



Isn't that when you point out the cost effective option of bonnet creek?

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk


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## littlestar (Feb 15, 2014)

I would consider renting a 4 bedroom presidential unit at Bonnet Creek, too. My brother and sister-in-law and their son and daughter-inlaw and kids did that last June and it worked out well from what they told me.  Splitting the cost between two families wasn't bad.  

They rented from Vacation Upgrades (VIP Wyndham owner). Worked out to about $120 a night when split between the two families. If you split the cost between three families, that would be even better!  

If you could grab a couple of 2 bedroom DVC units (like say at Saratoga or Old Key West which are pretty close to Wyndham Bonnet Creek) you could come and go between the resorts pretty easily.  We've done this before and had our grown kids listed on the DVC reservation, but they actually slept at Bonnet Creek so that way they didn't have to sleep on the pull-outs in the living rooms of the DVC units and have more privacy.  If the early risers wanted a cup of coffee, they didn't have to worry about waking anyone up sleeping on a pull-out.  After our grown kids would wake up and get going, they just drove over to Old Key West to join the rest of us.


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## chriskre (Feb 15, 2014)

littlestar said:


> I would consider renting a 4 bedroom presidential unit at Bonnet Creek, too. My brother and sister-in-law and their son and daughter-inlaw and kids did that last June and it worked out well from what they told me.  Splitting the cost between two families wasn't bad.
> 
> They rented from Vacation Upgrades (VIP Wyndham owner). Worked out to about $120 a night when split between the two families. If you split the cost between three families, that would be even better!
> 
> If you could grab a couple of 2 bedroom DVC units (like say at Saratoga or Old Key West which are pretty close to Wyndham Bonnet Creek) you could come and go between the resorts pretty easily.  We've done this before and had our grown kids listed on the DVC reservation, but they actually slept at Bonnet Creek so that way they didn't have to sleep on the pull-outs in the living rooms of the DVC units and have more privacy.  If the early risers wanted a cup of coffee, they didn't have to worry about waking anyone up sleeping on a pull-out.  After our grown kids would wake up and get going, they just drove over to Old Key West to join the rest of us.



This is a good suggestion and one I've done often.
I'll stay onsite in a unit and put my family on the reservation.
They can then stay off site and be more comfortable yet get the perks of being on site.  
In some studios you can now put 5 people on a reservation.  :ignore:
This also works with the dining plan.  
There are lots of cheaper TS options close enough for this to work nicely.
Vistana, Bonnet  Creek, the Hiltons, Marriotts, Fountains are all close enough to make this a viable option.  Of course they'll need to rent a car.


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## littlestar (Feb 15, 2014)

chriskre said:


> This is a good suggestion and one I've done often.
> I'll stay onsite in a unit and put my family on the reservation.
> They can then stay off site and be more comfortable yet get the perks of being on site.
> In some studios you can now put 5 people on a reservation.  :ignore:
> ...



Our grown married kids (couples so far without kids) _love_ to sleep late.  While some of the older adults in the family like to get up early and drink coffee.  We would drive each other nuts if we had people sleeping in the living rooms of the DVC units.


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## jancpa (Feb 15, 2014)

This coincides with JimMia's point that most think that lodging is "free" or should cost next to nothing.


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## chriskre (Feb 15, 2014)

littlestar said:


> Our grown married kids (couples so far without kids) _love_ to sleep late.  While some of the older adults in the family like to get up early and drink coffee.  We would drive each other nuts if we had people sleeping in the living rooms of the DVC units.



Yeah too much togetherness can really ruin a vacation.
I'm an early bird (5 or 6am) and my extended family get up by 10 or 12pm.
By then I'm ready for a nap.  :zzz:


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 15, 2014)

I suggest going with Bonnet Creek exchanges.  Enter several ongoing searches for Bonnet Creek for a certain weekend.  I know for a fact that at least four 2 bedrooms were there for a single date October of 2012 in RCI, because I booked three of them and saw another one online after I was done.  I would bet RCI gets 10 or more weeks for each date.


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## carl2591 (Feb 15, 2014)

Ridewithme38 said:


> Ok, talked to some family members,explained it'll be upwards of $2,500-$4,000 a room....Some bailed some just 'aren't sure' if they are going to be able to go...
> 
> Right now, I'm just going to take care of finding two 2br rooms....Much easier and if anyone comes to me at a later time, atleast they'll be aware of the costs and by then i'll have a better idea of where/how to search.



Funny when the "family" finds out this is going to cost big for disney they start bailing.. let the rats find there own room and you will not be the bad guy here.. I stopped trying to do family function long ago cause every thought just because you had a timeshare you can get Disney when every and where ever you want.. 

Good luck


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## vacationhopeful (Feb 15, 2014)

carl2591 said:


> Funny when the "family" finds out this is going to cost big for disney they start bailing.. let the rats find there own room and you will not be the bad guy here.. I stopped trying to do family function long ago cause every thought just because you had a timeshare you can get Disney when every and where ever you want..
> 
> Good luck



Carl,
That is pretty much what I have learned. Aunt and her partner cancelled a 1bdr unit 3-4 days before checkin (decided not to go) in PRIME snowbird season.

I have taken the siblings with spouses to Kauai for 2 weeks (back to back units - a total of 4 units) AND I slept on the sofabed for a week. Cost me a fortune in TPUs but my one sister and husband KNEW how expensive it was ... so the siblings got (paid) the rental car, paid for wine (3-4 bottles every dinner), brought all the food (Costco, except 1 (my birthday) dinner), and treated me like a princess.

ADDED:
Carl, my siblings are very established for the most part. And I find it better to not ask for money for the accommodations as they can rack up some hefty costs on entertainment, food & drink. And every 5 years, I host my Birthday Party Week --- Ft Lauderdale and 5 years later, Kauai. Have taken individual siblings and generally, the same deal applies except they sleep on the sofa bed.


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## carl2591 (Feb 16, 2014)

vacationhopeful said:


> Carl,
> That is pretty much what I have learned. Aunt and her partner cancelled a 1bdr unit 3-4 days before checkin (decided not to go) in PRIME snowbird season.
> 
> I have taken the siblings with spouses to Kauai for 2 weeks (back to back units - a total of 4 units) AND I slept on the sofabed for a week. Cost me a fortune in TPUs but my one sister and husband KNEW how expensive it was ... so the siblings got (paid) the rental car, paid for wine (3-4 bottles every dinner), brought all the food (Costco, except 1 (my birthday) dinner), and treated me like a princess.



you are not treated like a princess all the time.. how dare they..

sometime it does work out.. I have done the same with my brother but it was in same unit so if they come or not it did not matter.. I said i was going and GO.. but i get your point.. 

Ride hope it works out.. get money up front to cover some of the cost..so THEY know this stuff aint cheap. :ignore:


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## vacationhopeful (Feb 16, 2014)

carl2591 said:


> ...Ride hope it works out.. get money up front to cover some of the cost..so THEY know this stuff aint cheap. :ignore:



PIAs and Princesses are usually the real issue. Still say, let the PROs (either Disney or David's) handle the relatives ... 

Ride should book his vacation quietly and if anyone calls him, he should give them the overview of dates and the resort (not his cost factors) and say they should make their OWN reservations to pick the options best for their family --- he would NOT want to even try to get all the options right for THEM, but the professionals KNOW SO MUCH MORE and can offer a truly Magical Trip to best met their family's needs.


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