DVC advice for living near WDW

ToddyLu said:

Keep in mind that as you travel more and have the comfort of DVC you will like the resort amenities more and more. Also I think if you have the ease of DVC with the great pools available you may find that you do a couple of trips in the summer for convenience and just to get a nice weekend with a nice pool trip, sorta like the nice beach trip where you just kinda eat out and relax. You are getting more familiar with each resort which is good. I would buy at my favorite, maybe 200 points, 2 contracts of 100 each for future resale if needed. DH and I happen to be purist and only want to stay at AKV so we own there. We spent one night at BLT and discovered we didn't like it at all and are happiest when seeing the resorts for just an occasional mealthen getting back to AKV since it is home. But that is us. If I were local....

I would purchase at SSR, good price with soon to be excellent location to Disney Springs. Good length of contract. I think once Disney Springs is complete it will be an great choice especially with growing teenagers and young adults (including Mom and Dad). Over time I think you will book there at 11 months and then switch when you can at other resorts as available. It is large so you could get in there "more last minute" as a local. I think over time you will want the familiarity of "sameness"...there is a certain comfort in that, where you know what to expect and it truly begins to feel like a "vacation home" at your favorite place. After owning 5 years, DH and I are liking this feeling and simply enjoy our surroundings. Of course if SSR just isn't your thing again I would buy where it was most important to me and my DH...not the kids. I don't say that to be mean but they are young and ultimately you are doing this "for you". It is expensive and you are wise to think and ponder about it before purchase.

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ToddyLu said:

Our 210 point contract allows us 1-2 week long trips each year depending on if we score a value studio or not or if taking family and score two value studios. If that happens then DH and I can take a trip by ourselves in a value or standard at AKV for another several day strip. We do not really have the vacation time for more. I would look at the calendar for 2015 or 2016 and plot a course, add up the points and go from there. To us a DVC purchase was what we wanted and we got/still get what we paid for. We have had no regrets and still enjoy each trip as much as the last. This time we purchased the $199 DVC ticket for four parks (DH, Me, my Mom and Dad) so that helped with the "cost" of our trip this year and we opted to not buy APs this go round. There is so much construction going on, I would save my pennies for the next couple of years and play down Disney while I saved for DVC. After our May trip we have decided to wait until fall 2016 before we go again--to let some of the work die down. Of course then I figure DHS will take it on...and yes if we had to do it all over...I would have bought resale.

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com_op_2000 said:

We live even closer than you. Over the years of DVC, we have changed our likes about different resorts and as the family has changed. Your kids are young now:
What about when they are teens? - will they want to go to US/IoA? God, I hope not! Just kidding, I am sure they will want to at some point, but I don't see my die hard Disney ways fading for me any time soon, so I think we (the parents) will always enjoy it.
What about when you have an empty nest? - will you still want to vacation at WDW or travel further afield? I think we will still enjoy vacationing at WDW- perhaps not as much but some I am sure. If that happens, I would assume we would rent out unused points or sell.
When we started out there was only OKW and it is and will always be our DVC home. We started really enjoying BCV with our first DGS(now adult), then we moved onto AKL for ourselves, and now we are back to BCV with our new DGS(3).

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drusba said:

You can reserve at home resort 11 months out, 7 months out at others. As I read your likely schedule, an initial question is whether you are going to be following those reservation windows or is your plan instead to set up something for one of those weekend trips shortly before you go, like three months out?. If the latter, you seriously should conisder not buying DVC, but if you do then yes it does not matter where you buy as long as you are fine with getting only SSR and possibly OKW or AKV for the trips reserved beyond the 7 month window, assuming anything is open. I feel that we would book as soon as we could-11 or 7 months out- I am fine with planning important trips way ahead of time, if there was something I really wanted. I am sure if we had some extra points to play around with, then sometimes a weekend might be last minute, but I would be completely aware we may not get what we want.

If you intend to follow the 7 month window, then some of your intended plans are also in jeopardy because:

Early Dec for-WLV: early Dec is the highest DVC demand time of the year and much disappears at 11 months out ( and that is exactly 11 months out) and VWL and all near park resorts are usually gone before 7 months out, and even AKV and OKW have some risk of a a couple days being gone at 7 months out. In other words if you want a near park resort for that time annually you should own at it and book 11 months out. You have a chance if looking only for a couple nights but you should not assume you will always succeed. WLV would be a resort I would like to experience when it is decorated for the holidays, but I know that it is super popular at this time, so not a necessity- a wish list, perhaps?

October for F+W-BCV or BWV: Oct is a high DVC demand month, particlularly for BWV and BCV, and they are usually not open at 7 months out except potentially 1BRs. Moreover, all the near park resorts have serious availalbility issues in Oct, and even AKV and OKW have some risk during Columbus Day weekend, tied for fifth in highest demand times of the year. This to me is one of the more important ones, because we love the Epcot resort area, and being able to walk to Epcot and we (or I) love the FW festival! This is what is making me hesitate- do I buy at BCV or BWV for home resort advantage? Just enough points for the couple weekends that are most important to us? We would most likely like these resorts during FW and Flower and Garden. We would not go during Columbus Day weekend.

January-BLT: This one depends on when in Jan. If first few days of Jan or the Wed through Sat of marathon weekend, then like others mentioned above, getting BLT or any near park resort will be difficult at 7 moinths out. However, after marathon weekend, you start DVC's low to moderate DVC demand time which actually lasts until late Sep, and BLT lake view should be open. If you are thinking BLT standard view then be aware that is usually gone before 7 months out year round, although you may have chances of finding a weekend open at times during that nine month slow to moderate DVC demand time. That year round problem and chance for a possible weekend also applies to: AKV value, BWV standard and boardwalk view rooms, and VGF studios. And if you are thinking of AKV club level even a weekend is most likely out of the question. That one even disappears 70% of the year before 11 months out (because owners can book up to 7 nights 11 months out, they can, for example, fill days shortly before you go to reserve at 11 months out two days after they reserve). We are not set for January- just like that it is a low point season and the weather is cooler. We would avoid Marathon weekend at all costs! I prefer to go when not crowded. January would be a very flexible time for us as far as weekend and resort- no special reason for BLT either at this time of year, so we would probably be very happy somewhere else as well- just seems a good time to go due to point values.


May-BCV
September for DD's b-day-BCV or BWV or AKV: BWV pool/garden view has been invariably open during these times, as has AKV standard or savanna view. BCV is also usually open but it is the Star Wars and Memorial Day weekends that are at risk there. We would love May at BCV because of Flower and Garden, and I was thinking both May and September would be good weather to use Stormalong Bay, rather than say January. We have no interest in Star Wars Weekends, so I guess we'd have to see what was available.

As to June for a weekly trip you will also find much open at 7 monthsout for a week except for those mentioned above that have year round problems at 7 months out and except potentially BCV if it includes a Star Wars weekend.


Thus, in answer to your question whether the home resort and reserving 11 months out makes a difference, it does for those times in Oct, Dec, and possibly in Jan. For mid-Jan to lat Sep, it does not unless looking for the room categories that can disappear before 7 months out any time of year, but even for ones that are usually open, it can be important that you do the reservation exactly 7 months out because once that window opens, near park resorts can start disappearing quickly. Thank you!

As to use year, since you intend to go many different times of year, there is no ideal use year and any one would likely do. (Use year does affect when you can go, which is any time of year, or when you can call to reserve which is always 11 months out at home resort and 7 sat others.)

As to buying at multiple resorts, that is a possiblity particularly for the schedule you are proposing. But a key issue in buying a small number of points for any resort is price and closing costs. In the resale market (where you should be buying rather than directly from Disney) low point contracts, e.g., 50 points, are often sigfnificantly more expensive than those for 150 points or more, and every purchase has itsown closing costs. Your schedule suggests that you might consider buying at either BCV or BWV, and thus you get that 11 month iwndow for one of those during the high demand Oct to marathon weekend in Jan period, and it will not be difficult to go elsewhere at 7 months out during the mid-Jan to late Sep period. The downside of either of those resorts is end date, your DVC ownership ends Jan 2042 (that would also be true of VWL, for SSR it would be 2054, for AKV 2057). You may take a risk with SSR because even during that Oct to eary Jan period, you would have some chances if just looking for two nights in a weekend, as long as you accept you may not get it. That is the big question! We have not yet stayed at SSR so I think I will need to do a trial run there. Without considering the summer trip, would 100 points at BCV or BWV and 100 at SSR work?

As to how many points, if you intend to actually cover all the trips you mention during the year, including June for a week, you are going to need a lot more than 150. Yes- I figured about 185-200 for the weekends - and another 150 pointer for the summer trip every other year. You can view the point charts on this site and it sounds like you may already have done so.

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Fsudisney said:

Do you have contracts at each of those or just enjoy staying there?

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Fsudisney said:

Hello!
We are a family of 4 with 2 kids, ages 3 and 6, who live in Tampa. I love Disney- always have, and we are AP holders. I have converted my DH to a Disney fan (not as crazy as me) and my kids love it as well.
We have been renting DVC points for the last couple of years, here and there, but also booking a lot of hotel rooms.
We have been interested in purchasing DVC and researching it on the DIS for a while now, just have not been able to bite the bullet.
My goal is to figure out what we want exactly, keep watching the resale market and then bite when we see a good deal!

Since we are very close by WDW, we are not the typical vacationers who would save their points for one or two week long trips each year. I am a teacher, so we typically take many weekend or long weekend trips. I am not a fan of going much in the summer because of the heat. I sat down and wrote out what I think our typical times we go would be, although we are very flexible in our dates since they are shorter trips.

We would most likely take 2 or 3 day trips in :
January- BLT
May-BCV
September for DD's b-day-BCV or BWV or AKV
October for F+W-BCV or BWV
Early Dec for my b-day-WLV

I would love to mix the type of rooms up for these weekend trips, and have some studios, and maybe a 1 or 2 bedroom thrown in there, but I honestly think that would cost too many points for us. So we could manage all studios for these weekend trips right now.

Again, these times and resorts are very flexible and not set in stone, just ideal times. We also would most likely like to stay at different resorts at different times of the year. I know we will develop favorites that we may prefer but I would really like to mix it up. We have stayed at BCV, OKW, AKV so far and like all of them.
We sometimes take a one week vacation with my parents in June- which if we did Disney with them for this we would need about 300 points to cover this trip alone.

So my questions are:
-Since we are "local" and can be flexible with times we go, and are staying for short stays, is Home resort advantage really so important? Since we are most likely not booking week long trips for most of our stays?

-Would it be better for us to get one larger contract somewhere, say at SSR for less $ and MF, or break it up into multiple smaller contracts? If so, which ones?

-Should we look for a 150 point contract for the June stay and then just go every other year in the Summer for that particular trip? Then have separate contracts for the weekend trips?

- How many points would you suggest starting with? We know we could always add on later if we need more.

-What use year would be best for us?

TIA!!

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Fsudisney said:

Hello!
...
We would most likely take 2 or 3 day trips in :
January- BLT
May-BCV
September for DD's b-day-BCV or BWV or AKV
October for F+W-BCV or BWV
Early Dec for my b-day-WLV

...!!

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Dean said:

If you did everyone of those trips and for 3 nights each over a weekend you're talking in the range of 250 points total assuming a studio each time. I would recommend you not try to do 3 or 4 contracts, I'd likely do 2 total but I think just one would be OK. As mentioned I would likely do 150-180 points at BWV and see how it goes then reconsider options later after you get your feet wet. Staying true to your stated goals, I'd likely end up with 150-180 BWV and 100 BLT with different Use Years. IMO doing multiple 50-70 point contracts would be a serious mistake.

IF you option for the 1 BR as the routine, you'd basically double you points needs to 500 and then I'd look at either 2 or 3 contracts Split between BLT, BWV and either VWL or AKV. Again, start with one and see how it goes. SSR only would be a fair amount cheaper but likely isn't worth it since you have very specific goals. I suggested BWV over BCV because it's both cheaper to buy and has the standard view rooms. I suggested BLT because it has lower dues and has the standard view options.

Your plan doesn't fit well into UY options but overall I'm thinking Dec BLT & August BWV. I would not sit around waiting for the right contract to show up on someone's website but rather decide what you want and get in with one of the resale agents and have them looking for something that fits you're needs.

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