u/Different-Mistake-11

We currently have 150k points plus a companion ticket.

We are looking to book our holiday for next year, we are in Scotland and going to Orlando for 14 nights around the end of June next year.

Can we call up to use the companion ticket as soon as the outbound flight is released or will we have to wait 2 weeks till the return flights come out?

Also, what is the best use for the points? As we are traveling to a popular airport in summer it seems hard to find reward seats.

We've never used points, only started this last September.

We're from the UK, and looking to book our first ever DVC holiday. We have 150 Direct points at the Polynesian with an April use year which we just bought. Our plan is to go every 2 years for 14 nights. Our 11 month window is due to open in a week for when we would like to go next year.

We have 150 points banked from 2026, 150 avaliable from 2027 and going to borrow some from 2028 as as far as I can tell, it seems to be better to always be borrowing so you dont loose any points. Can worry about it in 40 years.

Our plan is, around 10 nights at the Poly island, deluxe studio with a theme park view as a treat for our first ever stay. Then 4 nights at AKL, studio with a savanna view.

Poly - 298 points for 10 nights

AKL - 60 points for 4 nights.

What is the best way to book this? I've been reading alot and most people reccomend booking your home resort for the full 14 nights then modify the booking at the 7 month window. If I were to do this though, because of the price difference from Poly to AKL, the initial booking would borrow around 60 points more than required from 2028 balance.

I read that the system will always use banked or borrowed points first. I think id have an issue where I'd end up with my 2027 points being returned.

I wouldn't be going back till 2029 though, so if that's what happens it would be a waste. Is that how it works? Is it best to just book the 10 nights at the 11 month mark then hope i get the 4 at AKL?

Also, Im thinking of doing AKL first then the final 10 days after. Would you choose this order or finish with AKL.

Apologies for the massive probably overcomplicated post and thanks for any help!

This was our first visit to Orlando, 29/6 to 13/7 with 2 kids, age 7 and 3. We have been to Disney Paris 3 times so there will be some comparisons.

Hotel - POFQ. We arrived the day after the transportation changes and have absolutely no complaints. Never waited very long for a bus or a boat to the springs. Even after the parks we would walk past bus stops filled with people, then get to the French Quarter stop and it would be empty. We definitely feel like we made the right choice.

Parks - In a different league to Paris. Everything was better in my opinion, even the guests. In Paris there's always someone barging you out the way, no manners and standing as close as humanly possible in the queues. Everyone seemed happier here and kinder. Simple things like parades and shows, adults moving so my kids could get a better view. It was just nice compared to standing your ground when you get a good spot.

Food - We had the quick service dining plan. It was alot of food to get through! For theme park food we found it to be excellent. The mobile order was so easy. We also done 3 character breakfasts, Tusker House, Garden Grill and Crystal Palace. These were all excellent. A couple of opinions here, freshly made Mickey waffles are better than churro waffles. And the brisket from Regal Eagle in Epcot was better than the polite pig! My standout from all the buffets was the fried chicken at Crystal Palace. 10/10.

Rides - Guardians of the galaxy the clear winner. If that doesn't put a smile on your face nothing will. Tie for 2nd with Flight of Passage and Tron. Queue times over the 4th of July weekend were very quiet. At 1 point we got on Tron in 20 minutes in the standby queue!

What surprised us most were the cast members. We had several interactions and they can't do enough for you. Special mention to the cast members at the aquarium in Epcot and all the animal based members at animal kingdom. Genuinely passionate about their job, the animals and spoke to my kids/us at length about the animals and provided so much information.

I could write another 20 paragraphs on everything we done. I'll leave it at that for now! We had the best time and will definitely be back!

I asked a few questions last week after doing a DVC tour. We met with the sales rep the following day and bought 150 points and requested an April use year which we got no problem. This should suit us for summer and potentially October trips every 2nd year.

We had a few concerns being from the UK about the buying process but it couldn't have been easier. Everything was done in house including the signatures and the process took about 30 minutes. We used our Monzo card for fee free transactions and they split the payment into $5000 sums per day which has all gone through with no issues.

We done this 6 days into our 14 night trip, this instantly got us access to the DVC lounges and discounts in the merch stores. Its fairly added up!

Looking forward to booking up for 2027. The Monorail is going to be alot easier than the resort busses!

Were on day 5 of a 14 day holiday from the UK. Have done a tour of the poly with the dvc sales and loved it. Said we would think and will probably go ahead. Everything I read raises more questions.

The current incentives are $6 per point off. I read about selling points back for the 1st year. Is that still a thing? The sales rep never mentioned it.

The use year was mentioned as February, can you choose your own? I never new about this when we had our tour. We will typically go in summer.

We would probably go every 2 years which is enough for a standard room for the 14 nights. Anyone else do this? We have 2 kids age 7 and 3.

We were only offered the poly or riviera resorts direct at $243/point.

And the spanner in the works - is resale worth it to save $8000?