# Spring Break--What are the chances?



## famy27 (Jul 10, 2011)

My parents have very generously offered us enough Wyndham points to do a trade into a DVC unit.  The only issue is that we hope to go during my daughter's spring break in March to avoid having to take her out of school twice during the same school year.  We just transferred the points to RCI today, so we should have our ongoing search set up by tomorrow or Tuesday.

So, is there any feeling as to what the chances are of getting a two-bedroom in any Orlando DVC?  We are not picky about which resort at all.  If not, we can always do Bonnet Creek, but we really prefer to stay on property.

Thank you!
Amy


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## vacationhopeful (Jul 11, 2011)

You have just transfer Wyndham points to RCI. That is a final transaction => you can NOT use those points to reserve Bonnet Creek. You can exchange back into Bonnet Creek using RCI.


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## famy27 (Jul 11, 2011)

Yep.   We've got enough points to deposit the 224,000 and still book a Bonnet Creek reservation with what's left in our 2012 points.  

We've been Wyndham owners for several years and have traded very successfully.  We were always able to travel off-season in the past, but our daughter will be in Kindergarten this year, so now we are tethered to the school schedule.  I have no idea how difficult it will be to actually get a peak-season trade to Disney.  If anybody has done it successfully, I'd love to hear your story!


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## bnoble (Jul 11, 2011)

I think you have a good chance if you are willing to be flexible about which DVC resorts you will take.  These days, DVC is depositing roughly 6-7 months prior to use, so keep an eye on the Bonnet inventory in the meantime.


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## CapriciousC (Jul 11, 2011)

Given that Easter is going to be late again next year, I think that there will be a fair amount of variability in spring break weeks between states/school districts.  In my experience, this usually means more availability as compared to Christmas and Thanksgiving, for example, which are always fixed times.


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## brigechols (Jul 20, 2011)

famy27 said:


> My parents have very generously offered us enough Wyndham points to do a trade into a DVC unit.  The only issue is that we hope to go during my daughter's spring break in March to avoid having to take her out of school twice during the same school year.  We just transferred the points to RCI today, so we should have our ongoing search set up by tomorrow or Tuesday.
> 
> So, is there any feeling as to what the chances are of getting a two-bedroom in any Orlando DVC?  We are not picky about which resort at all.  If not, we can always do Bonnet Creek, but we really prefer to stay on property.
> 
> ...



Yesterday, I received a confirmation for a 2 bedroom at Sarasota Springs, checkin 10 March 2012. Placed a request using Worldmark credits.


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## famy27 (Jul 20, 2011)

brigechols said:


> Yesterday, I received a confirmation for a 2 bedroom at Sarasota Springs, checkin 10 March 2012. Placed a request using Worldmark credits.




Congrats on your trade!

My fingers are so very crossed right now.  We'd be beyond thrilled to get this exchange.


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## tracie15436 (Jul 22, 2011)

brigechols said:


> Yesterday, I received a confirmation for a 2 bedroom at Sarasota Springs, checkin 10 March 2012. Placed a request using Worldmark credits.



Me too...I traded world mark for 2bdrm okw the same week! I'm so excited! Got my call this week. Requested about 1 month ago.


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## lobsterlover (Jul 23, 2011)

I remember when my son started school and I wasn't sure if I should take him out to go on vacation. I'm glad I chose to take him out because we've had so many wonderful experiences and he really never missed anything!! He's always the most well travelled kid in his class!  Especially kindergarden....what are they going to miss, colouring, dress up, will they never learn to count to five cause they missed a week??? Of couse not. Go enjoy a quieter time at Disney other than the break.

My son is 13 and in grade 8 this Sept. The days of taking him out of school are now over as there was an impact from missing school in grade 7. Its the first year he wasn't all A's and B's. Here in Canada grade 7 is the first year you have class and teacher rotation. Kids are preparred for high school and the hand holding stops. When my son returned from holidays (X3) he never bothered to ask about getting caught up on tests or help with something he didn't understand that was taught while he was away...much to my nagging reminders, phone calls to teachers before we left to be sure nothing major was going on.

It is obviously ones own opinion but thought you might like to hear someone else's experience as I would have loved to have heard.
 Now I've joined the ranks of the high paying prime season renters.


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## akp (Jul 23, 2011)

*Ditto what lobsterlover said*

Like the OP, I assumed once my oldest started kindergarten that we had to stick with school schedule only.  The problem is that my husband can only get spring break off about once every 5 years, so we were limited to travel on summer break unless we took him out of school.  (Yes, I know, what a lovely upper-middle class problem to have.  I'm not complaining, I realize how lucky we are .

A dear friend who is a teacher told me that up thru about 3rd grade, there is no academic issue in taking a child out of school if the kid is doing well and grasping the material. (All bets are off if the child is struggling).

She suggested that we you consider vacations during the school year for a few years beyond Kindergarten as long as we were respectful of the teacher (adequate notice, reasonable expectations, good followup).  For us, all the way up thru 5th grade worked okay. 

Our oldest finished 6th grade this year.  We took him out for a few days for a trip with his dad for his birthday, and he requested that we not do it again as the pressure of falling behind was too much for him.  

Anita


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## Twinkstarr (Jul 24, 2011)

*Ditto to Lobsterlover and akp*

While we've never taken the kids out for a full week, most was 2 days Thanksgiving week. School district is okay with missing a few days before breaks, just have to fill out the Form. Don't ask how many teachers wanted to be smuggled into our suitcases to go. :hysterical: 

My eldest didn't have a problem until 8th grade, lots more homework and the constant "it will be worse in high school, we must prepare you now" mantra really got to him. We cut short our Thanksgiving trip so he only missed one day. 

We've decided that a full week at WDW is too much for us, so being DVC owners we do a lot of 4 day weekends, so the kids miss no school or only 1 day. 

We've got an early November/early May trip on the books for this school year. 

Since we usually spring break at Easter, we give WDW a miss. Usually go to DVC Vero Beach or this year we are heading to Washington DC.


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## famy27 (Jul 24, 2011)

I have no problem taking her out of school and will be doing so in October for a full week for a Disney cruise.  I would take her out a second time and just grab one of the weeks from the last bulk deposit, but her school district is very strict about taking students out of class for vacations, even in kindergarten.  They threaten to report them as truant, won't allow them to make up work in some cases, etc.  I am taking a gamble just pulling her out once, but I have a friend who did it last year and didn't have any big problems.  I don't want to tempt fate by taking her out twice during the same school year.  

We're going to try Disney during spring break once to see how it goes.  If we hate it, we'll go back to the drawing board for next year.  We always manage to have fun at WDW, even in big crowds, so I am sure we'll make the best of it.


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## Janann (Jul 28, 2011)

*You'll get something*

We were able to get a 2 BR at OKW for spring break this year.  I can't remember the exact timing for Disney's exchange deposits, but they are at either 8 or 9 months out.  I've read that OKW and Sarasota Springs are the most likely hits.
The crowds were tolerable as long as you ARRIVE EARLY!  This is a key part of the strategy.  You can get tons of hints for dealing with the crowds and other Disney stuff on www.wdwinfo.com and www.allearsnet.com.  Have fun!


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## brigechols (Aug 25, 2011)

brigechols said:


> Yesterday, I received a confirmation for a 2 bedroom at Sarasota Springs, checkin 10 March 2012. Placed a request using Worldmark credits.



Decided to hold out for a 2 bedroom at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Villas. Got it!


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## schiff1997 (Aug 25, 2011)

Congrats I scored a 2 bedroom at BCV 2 days ago for March 2012.


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## tschwa2 (Aug 25, 2011)

I've had a search since last December for a Spring Break 2 bedroom DVC in Hilton Head for the week before Easter.  Nothing yet.  I have a Marriott Hilton Head booked (non ocean) and a Panama City Wyndham.  Still searching for the Disney and then deciding what to do.


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## schiff1997 (Aug 25, 2011)

My search did not pick up the unit.   I happened to be online checking out the DVC when it was there so I booked it.   I was furious that my ongoing search did not match the unit.   There have been a few TUGGERS mentioning problems with the ongoing search feature, now I am a believer that it does not always work.   Due diligence..you must keep checking constantly. Good luck


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## famy27 (Aug 26, 2011)

I keep checking (as I have little faith in the ongoing search), but I am hampered by the fact that Wyndham owners don't see inventory for 24-48 hours after it is available to everyone else.  So frustrating.  I am very thankful for the sightings board on TUG and will keep watching there to see if my week pops up.


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## famy27 (Sep 13, 2011)

*I got a match today!*

I got a match today.  I ended up with a Friday check-in (March 23rd), which wasn't my first choice, but it will work.  We got a two-bedroom unit at OKW.  We stayed there in January 2009 and really liked the resort.  Hilariously, the price per night to rent this unit from Disney is $870.  Does anyone actually pay that?  Yikes!  With our MFs, exchange fee, and $95 Disney fee, I'll be paying around $200 per night.  Not a bad deal.


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## wed100105 (Sep 16, 2011)

Congrats on the trade. Did your ongoin search pick it  up or did you see i on the RCI site yourself? I'm looking for next summer.

I live near Peoria, IL. Just wanted to say hello!


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## famy27 (Sep 16, 2011)

I had an ongoing search with 224,000 Wyndham points.  I put in a request for any Orlando DVC two bedroom.  I had requested Saturday or Sunday check-in.  I ended up with Friday, which is workable.  My DD is out of school by 10:30 am, so we'll take an afternoon flight.

Hello to an IL neighbor!


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