Use now or save points?
SupporterHow far out do you plan for your points? Not just book them, but specifically plan for what you are going to book?
Back story: Hi everyone! My husband and I are from PA, and (now thanks to DVC) we visit WDW regularly. We have 4 children ranging in age from 7 to 15, with whom we've done 3 family trips to Disney World since 2022. We are planning to surprise them with an unexpected resort only trip this summer, where we booked a cash stay at the cabins at FW. We added one night at the end of the trip at AKL Kidani as the icing on the cake. We are in a perpetual state of borrowing, and already plan for using next year's (borrowed) points for a 4-night stay at the Saratoga Springs Treehouses over Thanksgiving, which is why we only did one night of points this time at AKL. Of course, as luck would have it, Disney just announced MNSSHP dates and we're supposed to check out on the day that the first party to embark on a 16-hour drive home. The kids have never been to a party, but my husband and I have, so they've heard how much fun it is (please don't come for us in the comments... it overlaps with the adults only food & wine weekend we started a few years back after 13 years of never doing anything as just a couple).
Point of my long story not-so-short: Would you add the extra night of points for this trip and figure out Nov 2027 later? Or stick to the original plan? We can do it by shortening our treehouse stay to 3 nights and adding addition nights at cash rate (at SS or split stay somewhere else), or leave things alone. I'm back and forth on this as a type-A planner that also knows a lot can change in 18 months... We would love to hear your thoughts!
We've been in similar spots as you've described when it comes to booking DVC stays - sometimes it's a Moonlight Magic event that pops up after original plans were set, other times it's been a pivot to a cruise as a capstone to a WDW trip. In these cases, I've tended to grab the current opportunity since it is more fully formed, knowing that we may have to adjust our future DVC point usage. Like you, our family loves these types of specialty-ticketed parties. I'd probably view this as a serendipitous event and seize the opportunity to experience something new and fun with the full family. You've also got a long runway to figure out November 2027, and other opportunities may present themselves there too (e.g., staying at a lower-point resort/room type, doing a split-stay, etc.).
🏰 DVC Member since 2022 | Home Resorts: 🌺 Poly, 🫖 GF, and 🎠 BWV | 🚢 DCL 🥇
Sounds like you need a small resale contract add-on 😂! I'd also say go for it - I used to be a point banker to build up points for big trips, but over the last few years we've been doing a lot more borrowing.