Would you switch, if you could?

[CK1]

No slamming anybody's home (we all know they are all great, in their own way), but just suppose you could trade your DVC points and get them for whatever "home resort" you wanted... Would you? And what would you switch to and why? Or would you split your contract into several homes? Or maybe consolidate your many contracts into just one big happy home? Do tell.

*******

We have BWV b/c that's what was being offered when we bought. We had wanted OKW, but oh well, we figured we could still use our BWV points at OKW. We didn't like the loss of a dedicated 2br -- we are 2br folks all the way! ANd then along came VWL. When we visited it, DH and I looked at each other and thought, Man, this was our real home... GOrgeous! Phooey on DVC for not telling us this was coming! THe pools were much more exciting to our kids, too, than OKW, so it was a good blend for all.

We visited BCV and while the decor really appeals to us, we still have a soft spot for VWL. I want to stay there again, but I have promised family and self that we must *try* to give home a chance and stay there next!!

Cindy

[littlestar]

I understand your soft spot for VWL - isn't it great? I love to sit over in the area by Walt Disney's train and relax. Also, the rockers in the VWL are some of the most comfortable I have ever tried. Ahhh, I love it.

We bought 150 at the VWL (contemplated a resale at OKW, but so glad we went with the lodge as we love it there best). We did an add-on at BCV of 60 points. Then, another 50 points add-on at VWL. My brain said BCV for the last add-on -after all, it does cost more to stay at Yacht/Beach Club then it does at Wilderness Lodge (when booking regular hotel rooms). But my heart said VWL. So, we're pretty happy with our decision on home resorts.

[Maistre Gracey]

Yes, I am happy here as well. We love VWL, and VB. We bought at these resorts because we wanted to stay there. Maybe someday we will try a different resort.....:cool:

[disneyberry]

i bet if Disney offered some way to "switch" your home resort, like some kind of fee you have to pay, there'd be a decent number of members that'd do it.

obviously, this is such an impossible thing 'cause of the deeded ownership interest, so it would never happen.

but, i've read a bunch of posts here on the DIS for example, where people talk about how they wished they owned at a different resort.

i'm sure some people have even bought one resort and sold another just to accomplish a "switch". certainly an expensive and time consuming way to "switch" home resorts. ;) all the more reason why Buy Where You Want to Stay is so important! of course, sometimes you don't have any choice.

btw, i wonder if enough people who wanted to "switch" home resorts got together and formed some kind of online community or email list, then maybe people could find someone to "switch" with... hm.

[Pa@okw95]

I belong to OKW now, if the others did not have shared facilities like they do and were true DVC resorts I might consider others like WLV but they would still have to have better parking. I will probably stay at WLV sometime in the future for 5 days but that would be it and would have to be in January for very slow month because of the shared situation with the WL.

[dianeschlicht]

Nope...Happy where we are!

[Disney Doll]

I'm an "OKW'er" and happy there. I like the flexibility of being able to try other places, but if I could never stay anyplace else other than OKW for the rest of my contracted years, I'd be happy.

[DeeP]

Nope, I do not want to switch. I have all my points at BWV and I could not be happier!

[MAC3]

We were @ BWV with friends when we bought in. I remember sitting near the pool and loving the poximity to the park. Well when we took "the tour" I was depressed when our guide said all that was left was VWL, HH & Vero.

But then along came BCV (location)! Can you say add on!
We stayed at the lodge last year and loved it! DH also has to stay at OKW every visit as well.

I guess what I am trying to say if you had asked me to trade at the time we bought yes. If your asking now No. Don't ask DH because he'll trade all our points for OKW points!

I Love them all! I also plan to try them all too!

[ripleysmom]

I am happy with our points at BWV. We have location with the opportunity for either a GV or SV. DS though wishes we had points at BCV since they did away with poolhopping to SAB and he loved that pool.

[CarolMN]

Color us very happy with BWV. So far, haven't even been able to bring myself to try for one of the other on site resorts. Have enjoyed VB (for cash) as part of our WDW/BWV vacation, though.

I often think that I would like to try another WDW DVC resort - they all have their own unique appeal, but when it gets down to decision time, I find that I just can't give up that great BWV location.

Maybe next time - there's still 39 years left, right???:) :D

[spiceycat]

I have OKW, a small contract at both BWV and VWL - I sold my VB because I found out the hard way that I don't happen to like the Atlantic Ocean and I found a very reasonable price timeshare on the Gulf - didn't need 2 water timeshares so I got rid of VB. No I am very happy with what I have - but I would like to do an add-on at BCV - but right now the budget says no - so it a couple of years (when some others things are paid off) I will brought try for a resale there. But trade the points I have for another resort - no!

[new_yawka]

We own at BWV...Although we have yet to stay there, I would not want to trade the points. My kids are now young. For this, we love the quiet elegance of OKW. But OKW is not that hard to get at the 7 month window. As my kids grow, I am looking forward to their having the joys of the BW to keep them busy and happy. The option of Standard View is also appealing. Overall, we are very happy with our decision.

[niks81]

Yes I would switch...nothing against the ones I own at! I have 160 at VWL and 100 at BCV...I wish I could have 100 at BWV :( We loved BWV and my fiance's new favorite is BCV....VWL was great too, but I don't forsee us staying there every year or anything. Great atmosphere!

[LisaR]

I would keep our OKW contract. No regrets with that one at all. However, I would trade our VB contract for HH in a heartbeat. While VB is nice, it just doesn't appeal to us like HH and the surrounding area does. I have looked into selling our VB contract and buying a HH resale but it would cost way too much money to do that. So, if anyone ever wants to trade contracts.............lol

Lisa

[tvwalsh]

I always stay at OKW when I am in Florida. It is like a second home. Unfortunately, half of my 500 points are at VB. Vero Beach has been a disappointment. Views of the ocean only from the second floor, high maintenance costs, public beach right next door, second class area, etc.

[Windermere]

we own at VB and VWL and have yet to stay at either on points. Have been to VB and WL before we owned. So far we have stayed at OKW and Coronado Springs on points. This year we'll be at VWL (for the first time on points) and BCV. I basically book whatever has availablilty when I want to go. Since I have lived in the area for over 12 years, location doesn't matter as much as time. And we never book more than a couple months out anyway so there's no benefit of 11 month vs 7 month window.

[Simba's Mom]

We'd switch in a heartbeat! We originally bought 150 points at VWL. It's so beautiful there! Then we added on 25 more points before we visited. Then we made our first trip "home" and were totally disenchanted with the CMs there. Yes, it's a beautiful resort (whenever we walk through the lobby, we wonder, shouldn't we give this another chance?), but we had many problems there, which didn't bother us so much as the fact that the CMs didn't care about all the problems ("we're a beautiful resort-why should we care?") But we tried out OKW, and DH is totally in love with that place. Then a few months later, I stayed at BCV solo, loved it there, came back and happily bought a BCV add-on. Moral? Stay where you're going to buy before you buy, in our experience. Unfortunately, we have a loan for the 150 points at VWL, too difficult to trade yet. But in 4 more years-just say the word!

[JVL1018]

No slamming anybody's home (we all know they are all great, in their own way), but just suppose you could trade your DVC points and get them for whatever "home resort" you wanted... Would you? And what would you switch to and why?
****************************************

We bought BW, sight unseen because that was what was being sold at the time..and we thank our lucky stars because I wouldn't want any other home resort. It all worked out perfectly for us!:D

[diskat]

We have our points at Bwv and love it there. We have also stayed at OkW and VWL but they are not our preferred places. The location at the BW is the best. Now if I could just talk DH into adding points!

[stonewall]

Would "trade: my HHI for OKW!

[CaptainMidnight]

We were actually BWV owners, but decided that we liked the location and amenities of BCV better. Our BWV contract was also small and we wanted more points. So we did a switch. We sold our BWV ownership, and bought points at BCV. We really like it there, the beachfront is wonderful and more our style than the Boardwalk area, although they both are within very easy reach. We combine our BCV ownership with Vero Beach ownership for nice onsite, and off site accomodations. Works out wonderfully. We prefer Vero over HH because we tend to coordinate trips with school breaks, either Christmas or Spring break, so the warmer Vero is preferable. But HH crosses our mind for summer trips. It's great to have choices. We look forward to trying out WLV sometime.

[ncligs]

We have our pts (600) split evenly between OKW and VB. We like having the 11 month booking advantage at on-site and off-site. We should not have to worry about the view at VB with a Beach Cottage http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/splat.gif,that we would book at 11 months out. We also like combining our trips.

The other advantage for us is since OKW is the largest, if we wanted to use all our pts at OKW,in our retirement for Jan-Feb http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/stanico.gif, we should have no problem, even at the 7 month window. So to answer the OP question.......we wouldn't change anything.http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/biggthumpup.gif

[DeeP]

We'd switch in a heartbeat! We originally bought 150 points at VWL. It's so beautiful there! Then we added on 25 more points before we visited. Then we made our first trip "home" and were totally disenchanted with the CMs there. Yes, it's a beautiful resort (whenever we walk through the lobby, we wonder, shouldn't we give this another chance?), but we had many problems there, which didn't bother us so much as the fact that the CMs didn't care about all the problems ("we're a beautiful resort-why should we care?")
Simba's Mom,
Have you given VWL a second chance yet? It is unfortuante but I think you caught this resort at a bad time. I think there is no excuse for bad customer service but sometimes it happens. I have always had very good experiences with the CMs that work at this resort.
WL is a beautiful resort and at Christmas time it is breath taking. Maybe you could use your pts there for Thanksgiving and Christmas trips. Actually even if your DH wants to use the pts at OKW you are still better off with VWL pts since this is a harder resort to get into, almost always you can get a room at OKW well within the 7 month window. So if you give VWL another try and find you enjoy it you can have the best of both worlds!

[JimC]

Have two contracts OKW and BCV and are happy with our selections.

[chrissyk]

We have 200 points at BWV, and I'm very happy with this as our home resort. My DH would like to have a home resort of BCV for booking at the 11 month window, though...I'm sure we'll buy a contract at BCV via resale eventually :)

[StormTigger]

I'd switch. I bought at BCV immediately after finding out VWL had sold out. I was the only thing in WDW available at the time and I didn't know about resale.

BCV looks nice (haven't actually stayed there yet, just toured), but VWL.. aahhh.. I just love the complete escape from everything you get there!

Have to admit I wouldn't mind an add on at OKW either, esp when traveling w/ others. One of these days I'll actually give "home" a chance and who knows, I'll might change my mind!! Either way, I say I'm at Disney!! so how cares where I stay!?!

[Simba's Mom]

Although we haven't given VWL a second chance yet, I think it's really more because there are just so many wonderful DVC resorts that we've loved. DH loves OKW, I love BCV, I'd really love to try BWV, just for a change. So we haven't really been "avoiding" VWL so much as enjoying all the other places. Isn't it great that DVC has such wonderful variety? And I almost forgot that soon we'll have SSRS to try out.

[laceemouse]

We just bought DVC at BCV and will probably make our first trip "home" next spring. While we are worried about the problems with thermostats, etc. we feel that the location can not be beat. Two of our kids consider EPCOT their favorite! Then we can take the monorail over to MK for our 5 year old. Then there's SAB! All of the resorts look nice and maybe we can eventually try them all. I can see why people like the unit sizes at OKW. We own another timeshare which we trade through RCI. Most of the condos we have stayed at have been huge! In December 1999 we stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club across from Sea World. It was nicer than the little split level we were living in at the time (HAHA) We are a family of six so more space is nice. Can't wait to try them all!!!!

[Connears]

Have had 210 points at OKW since 1994 and would not trade. Love the atmosphere, accomodations and the parking in front. Tried BWV (won't return) and we are trying BCV this June. Only thing I would change is more points at HHI. we added on 50 this fall and wish it had been 100. We frequent both HHI and WDW yearly , but occationally do twice in one resort(this year Jun@BCV and dec-jan2004 at OKW). We have never had a problem getting ressies when we want and never have done the day by day thing( that's crazy).
Connears

[Eck45]

Our home resort is BWV and we love it. I wouldn't trade it out to anywhere else.

But, I don't have too.

My Father-In-Law bought after we took him to the BWV. They were selling WLV then, so he bought there. So we have the ability to stay there whenever we want by trading points with him in a "family transaction".

Both resorts have great aspects to them, but personally I like BWV better, but it is nice having the option to go to WLV.

All I need now is for someone else in my family to buy at another resort ;)

[jjohns]

We own at VWL - the base contract plus an add-on. Agonizing over another add-on at either BWV or BCV... decisions, decisions!

If I had my choice, I would change the VWL add-on to another place. Spread out my ownership a bit and get 11-month windows.

Would probably have to be at OKW, since that's DW's favourite.

[speedway66]

We're at BWV and we love it. The location, amenities, etc suit us perfectly. But, we stayed @ VWL once, and DW and I fell in love with it. The Wilderness Lodge was our favorite resort pre-DVC, and we still love the ambiance (and the CMs), it just isn't close to what we do. We both agree, however, that when it's time to add points, we're going to try there.

Jim

[colleen costello]

We own at BCV but because of parking and my parents, we will mostly stay at OKW. As dues are cheaper there, I guess I would switch. I love the Beach Club, but after the giant rooms at OKW it's hard to stay anywhere else! We always have our own car so the "location" issue is irrelevant. Mom couldn't walk to a park no matter where we stay... OKW is great for grandparents!