Thinking of adding on - Need some perspective please

[gonzalj1]

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping you can help DW and I make this decision. Here's the story.

We're looking to add on a small contract - 25 points - mainly to allow us to upgrade our accommodations from 1BR to 2BR for our stays 2 out of every 3 years. We also think we might be able to use these points once the kids are out of the house to open some other others, different resorts etc.

We are not sure if we should hold out for the same resort/use year that we currently have (VWL, August). What are the consequences of owning different use year/resort combos?

What questions would you be asking in my situation?

 

[JimMIA]

I'd stick with your current UY and resort.

The reason for selecting a different resort would be the 11-month home resort booking advantage. But with only 25 points at that resort, you wouldn't be able to book much of a vacation unless you banked/borrowed and did it every third year...and even then, you'd only have 75 points -- not much when your reserving 2 BRs.

If you choose (or settle for) a different UY, the contract is going to be in a separate account...which really complicates using the points in combination with your existing points.

I'd keep it simple and manageable.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I agree that with 25 points purchasing at your existing resort and existing UY will be the simplest - by far. Most especially since you are wanting to use it for larger accommodations.

It can make some sense to purchase a small add on like that at a different resort if you have a specific use for that such as a studio, every 3rd year at BWV for F&W. But in your scenario it makes sense to have the same home.

 

[chalee94]

What are the consequences of owning different use year/resort combos?

as others have said, at 11 months out, your contracts would be separate based on resort. at 7 months, you could combine pts from both contracts to book whatever is still available.

 

[DizDays]

I would stick with same use year and same resort if you're only adding 25 points. If it were for a larger point value, it would make sense to consider a different resort so you can gain the 11 month home resort benefit - but even then I would recommend keeping the same use year for simplicity.

 

[zavandor]

The most important thing is to buy the same UY. In this way you'll be able to combine points of the two contracts with ease at the 7 months window.
If you have a different UY you would get a different membership and you would have to transfer points between the two contract to combine them, much more complicated (and it has some risk, since MS seems to have some difficulties with transfered points).
However, it's better to choose also the same resort, so you can use all your points at 11 months to book a 2BR.

 

[sanibel93]

I would stay with the same resort because of the 11 month advantage for booking.

 

[Tunseeker1]

Are you thinking about resale or direct?

 

[disneynutz]

What we have done is buy multiple 50 point contracts at our four favorite resorts. Resorts are adjacent to the four parks so we make our reservations at different times of the year based on which resorts we feel like spending time in.

Here is what we have learned, the following will give you the most enjoyment and point flexibility:

Select the best UY based on your favorite travel seasons.

Use existing points to stay at all of the WDW resorts.

Buy at your favorite resorts.

Buy the same UY's.

Have only one membership account.

Bill

 

[gonzalj1]

Are you thinking about resale or direct?

Definitely looking at resale. Why pay the Disney prices?

 

[Tunseeker1]

Definitely looking at resale. Why pay the Disney prices?

Because I have been seeing the utterly stupidly high prices for 25 point contracts that are usually in the wrong UY for me. When I took total cost divided by 25 some were only $10-20 a point different, which is $250-500 total on the contract.