Thank you for the birthday wishes!! It's a big one 40!!You might also try Virgil's BBQ on 44th between 6th and 7th Ave. Happy birthday!
We're doing a day tour of NYC- Wall Street, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Statue of Liberty (technically in NJ) and other notable sites.You might also try Virgil's BBQ on 44th between 6th and 7th Ave. Happy birthday!
I had a Juniors cupcake when we were there. Yummy! If you have a chance, go to Eataly near the 9-11 memorial. The pizza and pasta restaurant inside was phenomenal. One of the best meals we had there all week.Is it near Times Square(where we're staying)? I have us booked at Carmine's Time Square for my birthday dinner. Juniors cheesecake for dessert .
It's uptown from where you are staying but we went to a really nice breakfast place called Elizabeth's. It's at Columbus and W 93rd St. I'll find the link.We're also looking for a great breakfast place!!! Know of any?
Wierd, I got a pin code too. But the rates with my TA are way better. Thanks for the breakfast suggestions. We had breakfast in Montreal at a place called eggspectations, wish there was one in NYC.Jealous of you all taking Disney trips soon. I got a pin code in the mail this weekend for fall dates but don't have the time or funds to use it. My work annual meeting is in Orlando in 2019 so I am hoping I can add on a little time to at least visit one park then.
Yep, I am aware of that as well and was prior to making my decision. Thanks!
Wierd, I got a pin code too. But the rates with my TA are way better. Thanks for the breakfast suggestions. We had breakfast in Montreal at a place called eggspectations, wish there was one in NYC.
Just needed to share. I just completed a mystery shop today for $20. I am also expecting $22 from eBates in August. Once these post to my account, they push us well over the 1/3 mark ($3333) in our DVC savings fund! I have been aiming for this milestone since we started the fund at the beginning of the year. Now I get to look forward to hitting the half way mark, with another $1667 to go. I doubt we will get there by then end of the year, since my work travel is over until January so I won't be able to see big gains from excess per diem. But I will still be adding Swagbucks, eBates, Ibotta, mystery shop earnings, savings account interest and other such things into our DVC fund. We also have the remaining $280 to be paid in November for renting out our current years DVC points. Maybe I will get lucky and come into some unexpected funds to help push us closer to that mid-way point.
Congrats - that's excellent. We are tentatively planning to purchase DVC at the end of the year - how hard is it to rent out points that you don't use?
While I enjoyed the birthing class I took, keep in mind that very often things do not go according to plan. I felt like the people who taught ours were so reassuring that everything would go according to your birth plan and standard birthing steps (here are the steps of labor, water breaks at the end--well my water broke and I never had a pain!) that it actually made it more traumatic for us when things did not go as expected and I ended up with an emergency c-section. So good to have a plan, good to have knowledge, but just be aware that your doctors know what they're doing and don't freak out if that plan doesn't get used!
It was very easy to rent out points. This was our first time renting and we went through David's. You just fill out a form and they follow up with you with contract information, etc. Once that is completed, they will send out alerts when someone is interested in renting points at your resort that fit your criteria (within your points range and possible booking dates). You email back letting them know if you can book the reservation right then and they send you the information. The alerts go out to several people with the same resort and criteria, so it is sort of a first come, first served system. I rented out my points after the second alert, so it wasn't hard or anything. I then got the initial payment via Paypal and will get the remainder once the actual reservation date hits in November.
You can also rent privately or through a few other sites, but I liked the idea of David's managing the relationship with the renter.
Thanks - I appreciate having a Plan B (or C) for the points. I know they can also be "banked" to be used the following year, but it might be easier to just rent them if we aren't able to use them in the allotted year.
We aren't taking our next trip until 2019 because of the baby. She will be 18 months, which we feel is a good age for a first trip. So we rented out our 2017 points and will be banking our 2018 points to use in 2019. I would recommend banking points into the next year to give yourself more time to decide if you want to use them. And if not, then you can rent out the banked points since they act just the same as unbanked points.
At this point, I'm actually thinking of options more for any points we might get as part of a contract. I know contracts purchased on the resale market lack some of the benefits of buying direct, but one of my major selling points with DH is "look how much we can save buying resale."
When I bought my initial contract, I got 2 years worth at once. I turned around and rented them out through David's about 3 months later. Took about 3 days total, from the time I first contacted them until they were rented. I found it super easy, and extremely stress-free for me. The closest thing to a negative is that if the renter wants anything "extra", you have to go online and do everything. (The people who rented mine wanted to get a dining plan, so 3 months after they rented, and about 3 months before the trip, I got an email with the coding information from a Disney gift card along with the instructions on what they wanted. It wasn't difficult, only took about 10 minutes IIRC, just wasn't something I had anticipated having to do.)
Also, I bought mine direct from Disney. Probably not the most cost-effective method. I do know that about a year ago DVC changed some of the policies for owners through resale, but honestly all of the "major" perks for buying direct are not worth it. Trading for Disney cruises, you come out ahead if you rent the points and pay cash. Trading through RCI for other resorts, also not a great value. I haven't looked closely at the Adventures by Disney, but I suspect it will be the same thing - better value to rent the points and pay cash.
I think that the last change eliminates access on some of the member only benefits and discounts, but I am not entirely sure on that.
As far as the discounts go, though, the DVC discounts are the same as the Annual Pass discounts, so if you have an AP (and I did a spreadsheet a couple of years ago that showed it was cheaper to get an AP than a 5 day park-hopper pass) you still get all the same discounts as the membership would give you. As for the exclusive Member events, I never have gotten to go to one of those. I plan my trips 7-12 months ahead, and I always find out about the special events about 3 weeks before they are scheduled to occur, so ... never am there when they happen.Q.These benefits are only available when you purchase your real estate interest directly through Disney Vacation Club. (from the DVC website)
What are the benefits of purchasing an ownership interest directly from Disney Vacation Club compared to purchasing through a timeshare resale company?
A.
As a Disney Vacation Club Member, you'll enjoy vacation options available to you at uniquely themed Disney Vacation Club Resorts and through RCI®. And when you purchase your real estate interest directly through Disney Vacation Development, Inc., you'll also enjoy the following benefits:
- Access to fantastic vacation options for you and your family from Disney Cruise Line, select Disney Resort hotels around the world, Adventures by Disney and the Concierge Collection.
- Access to Membership Extras, like exclusive Member events and discounts on dining and merchandise.
On completely other news ... I got a notice from my mortgage company that they had done the annual re-evaluation for my escrow. Due to me changing my homeowners insurance this spring, my total payment is going down by 33%!!! Woo-hoo!!! I plan on continuing to pay the full amount. That will essentially have me paying 2 - 2 1/2 months of principal each month, so in the 12 months from September - August (the calendar year that the payment plan is scheduled for) I should be able to get close to 30 months principal paid. I've already shaved about 3 years off of my 30 year mortgage, this should shave another couple of years off. My goal is to have it paid off in 14 more years (18 years total).