DH said yes to add on! Now what?

[Desnik]

We are at WDW now in a BLT 1 bedroom. Before our stay here we were at AoA in a Little Mermaid room. DH said never again will he stay at a value resort, even for a short stay. He's also over split stays. He wants enough points where we won't have to borrow anymore and can stay in a 1 bedroom for 7 nights straight. We currently own 150 points at SSR and 50 points at AKV. AKV is our favorite resort. We love the locations of the BWV and BLT.

So now that DH said yes to an add on of 100 points, I'm not sure if we should just buy a resale at AKV or buy direct at GFV. Our trips will be either in the summer (Aug) or Xmas week for the next 8-10 years. Not sure how we will vacation after that. Also, we never use our points for anything other than DVC.

We love the GF. It is a sentimental place for us because we had our vow reneal there in 2009. The theme & decor we love. We toured the models & loved them. It is a dream for us to stay at the GF during Xmas. To make that happen I am sure we will have to be owners there. But the cost is high!

We could save so much money buying resale.

We plan to pay cash.

Any advice? What would you do? Buy direct at GFV, buy a resale at AKV, or buy at AKV direct?

 

[DenLo]

If you buy AKV, go resale. It won't be easy finding a 100 contract for your UY (they are never there when you want them), but you'll save money. And in fact if you look at the price of purchasing direct you could even buy more points and still spend less on a resale contract.

Whether to purchase at AKV or VGF that is an emotional decision. But perhaps you could look at it differently. Your DH said he did not want to do split stays any more and wanted enough points for a 1 BR for a seven nights. So here's a comparison of the two resorts using Dream Season (since that's matches your current stay):

2014 Dream Season - VGF 1BR Std View - 308 points
Lake View - 366 points

2014 Dream Season - AKV 1BR Std View - 200 points
Savanna View - 242 points

A 100 points at VGF will not give you the home resort advantage. And if you add them to your other points from AKV 50, and SSR 150, you will have 300 points. Still not enough to stay at VGF for a week if you can get the reservation at the 7 month mark. This is assuming that in 2014 you still have points available to use. But you could easily stay at AKV when you combine your points. If you stayed in a value 1BR you could even use less points.

It sounds like you and your DH will need to decide if sentimental reasons out way a split stay.

 

[wrighter]

Aha! I knew I'd seen your post here.

Looks like the first VGF resales are hitting the market - still more than an AKV resale, but it could take some of the sting out of the purchase. I'm thinking if you REALLY want to stay at VGF at Christmas, the only way to guarantee that is to own there.

There are other ways, by finding someone who would transfer points to you. But that's not always a given.

Hmmmm. What to do? Good luck with your decision!

 

[Sur]

resale AKV

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Since part of the criteria for adding on is to be in 1br's and not have any split stays then 100 points at the Grand Floridian at those times of the year will be impossible to achieve that without booking part at 7 months.

AKV resale and waitlists for the GFV at 7 months sounds like it fits the criteria better for why your wanting to add on.

 

[disneynutz]

I would stop and decide what you really want and verify if you have the best UY.

Buy resale where you love to stay so that you can stay in a 1 bedroom for 7 nights.

Decide if you want a 2nd favorite resort maybe in a different resort area. If you alternate resort areas every other year, you can own half of the required points and bank to get your 1 bedroom 7 night stays.

Sell the resorts that you don't want.

Bill

 

[ToddyLu]

AKV for the reasons listed. Interestingly enough I just have no desire to stay at GFV. A nice dinner there to remember our special event, sure...but for the life of a contract....nope I would go with were I loved to stay and visit the GF on occasion.

 

[Discomom703]

I would stop and decide what you really want and verify if you have the best UY.

Buy resale where you love to stay so that you can stay in a 1 bedroom for 7 nights.

Decide if you want a 2nd favorite resort maybe in a different resort area. If you alternate resort areas every other year, you can own half of the required points and bank to get your 1 bedroom 7 night stays.

Sell the resorts that you don't want.

Bill

I would second this one!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Sell the resorts that you don't want.

Bill

However this is usually an expensive option and isn't applicable for many owners.

 

[disneynutz]

However this is usually an expensive option and isn't applicable for many owners.

What's more expensive selling a resort that you really don't want or paying the dues and going on extra vacations just to use up the points?

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

What's more expensive selling a resort that you really don't want or paying the dues and going on extra vacations just to use up the points?

Bill

Considering the OP wants to add more points to go up in suite size it just doesn't seem applicable here.

 

[disneynutz]

Considering the OP wants to add more points to go up in suite size it just doesn't seem applicable here.

She owns SSR but loves AKV, BCV, BWV, and maybe VGF. Why own SSR?

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

She owns SSR but loves AKV, BCV, BWV, and maybe VGF. Why own SSR?

Bill

But only an indication of a desire to add on at either AKV or VGF. I think it's just as appropriate to point out that is an expensive proposition and one that in many instances is not needed.

 

[Desnik]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

We are going to go with an add on of 100 points at AKV via resale. It just makes more sense. We currently own 150 at SSR & 50 at AKV. So now we will have 150 at each. We love both resorts, have no problems staying at either, but have never had an issue getting any resort we wanted at the 7 month mark. Last year we got a 1 bedroom Xmas week at WLV 2 weeks before our trip without a wait list! I'm sure at some point we will be able to get in at the 7 month mark at GFV.

We did entertain the thought of selling both our contracts & then getting a 300 point contract at GFV, but decided against it.

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

We are going to go with an add on of 100 points at AKV via resale. It just makes more sense. We currently own 150 at SSR & 50 at AKV. So now we will have 150 at each. We love both resorts, have no problems staying at either, but have never had an issue getting any resort we wanted at the 7 month mark. Last year we got a 1 bedroom Xmas week at WLV 2 weeks before our trip without a wait list! I'm sure at some point we will be able to get in at the 7 month mark at GFV.

We did entertain the thought of selling both our contracts & then getting a 300 point contract at GFV, but decided against it.

Hate to butt in but I will. Think about keeping your contracts on the small side. Selling 2-150 point contracts is easier than selling 1-300 pointer, plus if you decide to down size later you can.

Over the past couple of years booking is getting more difficult and will continue to do so in the future. Just because you have had good luck so far doesn't mean that you will continue to do so.

IMO WDW and Disney is so expensive, hoping and luck shouldn't need to be applied when talking about booking a room. Buying the resort you really love to stay at may cost a little more but paying thousands of dollars and having to stay in a room you don't really love doesn't make much sense to me.

Bill

 

[rosanab1031]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

We are going to go with an add on of 100 points at AKV via resale. It just makes more sense. We currently own 150 at SSR & 50 at AKV. So now we will have 150 at each. We love both resorts, have no problems staying at either, but have never had an issue getting any resort we wanted at the 7 month mark. Last year we got a 1 bedroom Xmas week at WLV 2 weeks before our trip without a wait list! I'm sure at some point we will be able to get in at the 7 month mark at GFV.

We did entertain the thought of selling both our contracts & then getting a 300 point contract at GFV, but decided against it.

Definitely sounds like the way to go for what you intend to use your points for! I wish you luck in the resale world! Definitely stay with the smaller contracts especially if you don't know what you will want to do in 8 years You may decided at that time you have to many points and it is much easier to sell in smaller chunks. Good luck!