What home resort(s) do you own and why?

Curious about other people's thought processes. Why did you buy where you did? Are you all in at one resort, or split over a few? Would you do it the same way again?

Just purchased our first resale contract at BWV. We chose it because of the proximity to Epcot and the overall theme of the resort. Our first stay there will be next spring, but we do plan on staying at the other DVC resorts in the future.

Even though Disney is pushing for you to purchase in either Aulani or Polynesian currently, we were able to get in at Old Key West. I bought in with my parents, splitting it. My dad's point of view is that OKW was one of the resorts with the lowest point price, my mom's point of view is she loved the layout of the resort and how it isn't super Disney, so if we decided just to go down and stay at the resort it wasn't overwhelming. My point of view is that it has some of the largest villas, making it a more comfortable resort to travel with larger parties, and it's a quick boat ride to Disney Springs which we like to wander around in the evening hours. We aren't experienced by any means...but it works for us and our wants/needs. Plus we love Olivia's Cafe, so having that within walking distance is a plus! Probably down the line, once I start my own family we will think about purchasing more points, and we would probably stay in OKW. I really only would want to stay at Grand Floridian otherwise, but definitely don't want to pay those annual dues as well!

Mmw37 said:

What home resort(s) do you own and why?
Curious about other people's thought processes. Why did you buy where you did? Are you all in at one resort, or split over a few? Would you do it the same way again?

Click to expand...

Keep in mind that much of the decision criteria and decision process is couched in a context of "when did you buy?" and "what were the options at that time"?

In early 2004, we purchased SSR, pre-opening for the following reasons:

• 12 added years! This was the first resort to offer an extended expiration deadline. All DVC properties, at that time, were set to expire in 2042. Many had opened with fewer than 50 years as their clocks were set to OKW's original expiration date. It was very 'unique' and compelling, at that time, to learn that SSR would receive a full 50 years of use.
• Lower dues than the resort we thought we really wanted (BWV). Indeed, SSR's dues have remained lower than BWV's during our years of ownership.

We have a total of 3 contracts at SSR -- purchased fairly close together (2004, 2005 and 2007).

Would I do it the same way again? Yes, if the situation were exactly the same. If I had advance knowledge of the Grand Cal's opening date, opening price, price horizon, (etc) -- then I would have held our final add-on for the Grand Cal! By the time the Grand Cal was announced and offered for sale, we already had a sufficient quantity of points and I figured that the total MF on Grand Cal would be higher in the long run. (So far, I've been wrong on that estimation. Oh, well.)

We purchased Bay Lake for the proximity to Magic Kingdom and for being on the monorail, also because it has a later expiration date then some of the others. And size of family also played in, we have 6 kids so we needed something that could house everyone.

disneynutz said:

BCV, BC/YC nice resort, BCV building just okay.
BWV, great resort, great view, one of our favorites.
VWL, great resort, one of our favorites.
AKV, nice resort, great theming, wish it was closer to other resorts.
BLT, bought before knowing better.
VWL, great resort, great theming, one of out favorites.

Bill

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Seems VWL is more than simply "one of our favorites.'

The Disney Vacation Club, it was the first and only one at the time. Now OKW, still the best DVC IMHO
BCV to have 11 month for F&W and F&G
VWL to have 11 month for the Christmas season

BLT because it's walkable to the Magic Kingdom, on the monorail, has a longer expiration, has the lowest maintenance fees, and seems to hold value well.
SSR because it's cheap (and I got a couple loaded contracts)
BWV because Food & Wine.

We purchased our points at AKV sight unseen, which I would never recommend---but it is AWESOME and we love it!!! We chose AKV over the other resorts because DH said there "was only one resort he wanted"... "I want to own at AKV, period". It just appealed to us both. I had wanted to purchase at SSR since it was a bit less expensive at the time. But he had his heart set and who was I to argue with such a smart man. We just knew that was the vibe we wanted and it delivers every single time. ALl of the resorts are beautiful and have wonderful qualities about them. We are just animals I guess.

BLT was too sterile and modern--we stayed there Halloween Night in 2013 and watched Hallowishes from our balcony....still didn't sway him and he was so excited when we switched to AKV the next day. He is a DVC purist.
OKW reminds us too much of home ont he Gulf Coast and we want to go on a vacation away from here.
SSR was too large and too quiet
VWL was too much like the National Park vibe and DH used to fight forest fires...so...ummm no...he said
BWV, BCV just were to water focused and we have that at home soooooo
VGF too fancy and I do not care for all the Victorian decor
Poly...is well...Poly. We got off the Monorail once and it was so crowed we could not even get around the resort and left soon after. We have been to the Luau but DH just doesn't care for it. I would love to stay at Aulani though.
HHI and VB didn't appeal to us because we knew we wanted to be on property.
VGC becasue it is way over in California

bwvBound said:

Seems VWL is more than simply "one of our favorites.'

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Brain *art.

I meant VGF.

Bill

BWV because we love the location, resort details and the food options in close proximity. Of our three home resorts, BWV is definitely our favorite, it's truly our Disney home. The cast members are amazing. It's such a serene resort in the morning and then it's so magical all lit up at night.

BLT because (unlike many), I love the theming of Contemporary and BLT. And nothing is better than being able to rely on your own two feet to get to and from MK.

VGF because it is stunningly beautiful. I had never been a fan of the GF resort rooms (before the most recent renovations) because the decor felt frilly, like being at a grandmother's house. The villa design and meshed the Victorian theme with a splash of more streamlined and modern decor and I fell head over heels for the villas immediately. I love the dining options at GF. And nothing beats sitting in the GF lobby with a glass of champagne, while listening to the jazz band playing Disney music in the evenings. Actually, my husband made me promise that if we bought at GF, I would actually leave the lobby on occasion to go to the parks.

We bought at the three resorts we love staying at most, we plan ahead and take advantage of the home-resort window at each. It's just too much money to spend to hope I get to stay at the resort I love on my trips. I'm much happier knowing I can lock those locations down at 11 months out. We just stayed at Poly for the first time in February and really, really liked what Disney did with the villas there. I can definitely see us booking studios there on occasion instead of BLT. But not instead of VGF, I can't give up my trips there.

BCV - We bought BCV sight unseen back in 2003. Luckily, we loved it and it ended up being the best purchase for us. The kids loved the pool and it was walking distance to our favorite park, Epcot. We definitely use the 11 month booking window pretty much every time we go. We realized we could use more points and when we went to add on, our guide did not mention that we could get more Beach Club. Instead, we were guided to buy the newest resort, SSR (again, sight unseen). Sadly, it wasn't for us and we ended up using our points booking at OKW and loving it there.
OKW - We love the larger rooms and lower points at OKW. The feel of the resort allows you to kind of forget you're at an amusement park. We love Olivia's, the boat down to Disney Springs, and the main pool. We like staying closer to the hospitality house and that category books up fast and for extended family the Grand Villa points are reasonable. So we bought resale OKW at a good cost.
BWV - While we were in the resale process for OKW, we saw a really good deal on a small BWV contract. My husband & I agreed it would be perfect to go to Food & Wine for a weekend each year with the standard view rooms which definitely need the 11 month owners window. So we thought we were done there.
VGF - We love the Grand Floridian and had always said if they built a DVC there we'd buy. Xmas is so wonderful there...The Gingerbread house, Victoria & Alberts, the Xmas tree. It was definitely more $ than we wanted to spend, so we sold our SSR points to help cover the cost. I also love the children's splash zone. My kids are too old for it...But maybe grandkids someday.
Vero Beach - We love spending 2 or 3 nights there and really LOVE the beach cottages. So we are in the process of purchasing a small contract to use at the beach cottages every other year or so.

When we first bought, I never would have thought that we would have so many points. I never thought we could use so many points, but we do - each year. We never have points left over and we find that we always book at 11 months out or very close to it. I really didn't think that the 11 month booking priority window was important when we first bought in. I'd say really know what you're buying and what you want DVC to do for you in terms of your vacation needs. We don't meld our points together. We use them for their designated resorts and kind of push them together for a stay every third year (except our annual BWV F&W stay), rotating between VGF, BCV, & OKW. It would be shame to pay more for points that you don't plan to use specifically for that resort or pay higher Maintenance fees for staying someplace you didn't need to because you are not staying there.

Mmw37 said:

Curious about other people's thought processes. Why did you buy where you did? Are you all in at one resort, or split over a few? Would you do it the same way again?

Click to expand...

By the time you have enough info to decide if DVC is for you in general terms, you should have enough info to make this decision yourself. Everyone's situation is different. Will/can you plan at 11 months out, do you want the top of the heap every time (VGF) and willing to pay a lot more for it, what unit size, more interested in savings vs specific options or a balance of both. SSR will be the cheapest long term, BLT second. BLT, BWV, Poly and VGF and soon SSR will have standard view options that are cheaper. AKV will have value and concierge and as a rule all of these generally need to be booked at 11 months out often day 1. We've owned as many as 885 points and 3 home resorts with 3 UY now 2 of each and half those points and that's too much because I have other timeshare options. It'll all fall into place for you as you get more knowledge and comfort with the options.

Mmw37 said:

Curious about other people's thought processes. Why did you buy where you did? Are you all in at one resort, or split over a few? Would you do it the same way again?

Click to expand...

Bought where we wanted to stay (although we've enjoyed many other DVC resorts) and where we were best able to stretch our points.

1st - BWV for F&W & lower standard points. If I had it to do again, would purchase BC.
2nd - VWL since it was the MK resort at that time, amazing Xmas vibe plus DH loved the theming
3rd - AKV my turn for theming & the value point studios are fine when just he & me

DH insisted I save up and pay cash in lieu of financing for the first two, glad I complied, as he gifted me the AKV add-on for my birthday a few years back

BWV for 11 month priority for F&W/ We like the views much better than BCV.
VWL for 11 month priority for the Christmas season. We think it has the best Christmas atmosphere of any resort.
VGC for 11 month priority for a DL trip every few years.
SSR to have less expensive extra points to play with (have used them for VGF, PVB, AKL, BCV, BLT, and OKW over the years), and also for 11 month priority to occasionally guarantee being able to get a treehouse villa.

We own at BLT and VWL and we stay at BWV and Beach Club. We've never stayed at BLT. I thought we'd like BLT because it's close to MK, but in reality we prefer to be close to Epcot.

BCV for Storm a Long Bay and 11 month window - a necessity at this small resort to consistently book there, especially in Fall.

Poly fixed week lake view because:

AKV because we love the resort, price, and we love to go the first week of December and did not want to risk not getting in our favorite resort.

We only own AKV, but may add on for BC or BWV. Would like 11 month priority for F&W and love the transportation options to Epcot and DHS.

We own majority of our points at VGF, and we just did a 25 point add-on at BCV.

VGF is our favorite resort and we wanted to be able to stay there in December with family.

Did the BCV add-on b/c I wanted to get AP discounts and other membership perks. We added on at BCV b/c it seems like it is impossible to get in during the fall during F&W. With 25 points, we can bank/borrow and go every other year or every 3 years for F&W for 3-4 nights in a studio. Floating in the lazy river for an hour a day also sounds like a lot of fun.