Have some questions regarding buying DVC

[Sammie]

What you also have to consider is slow seasons are different for the parks versus DVC resorts.

Two peak booking periods for DVC bookings are early December, due to low points required and holiday offerings.

Also Food and Wine is very popular with members.

Summer when points are higher, crowds are even higher and temperatures and humidity even higher still, and hurricane season are not as hard to book for DVC.

As someone said it is very hard to foresee what your plans will be for 50 years or more. For years we only went during June, July or August due to school but now we never go then.

[wendow]

Originally Posted by chalee94

if you need to be that close to the MK, it shouldn't be surprising that it will cost extra. (if you were ok with staying offsite, other timeshare 2BRs or rental homes can be had for a lot less money - many are very nice - but they are not a 10 minute walk from the MK entrance.) maybe it would be worth trying a rental at OKW or SSR?

Yeah, I am not surprised that it cost more. Not at all. Just trying to figure it all out

Thanks for explaining everything. You are so helpful! And I think you are right, we need to rent at SSR or OKW to see how we like it. Problem is, my dh is stuck on BLT and thinks we can't have a great trip unless we are there I wanted to check out Bonnet Creek also since the rates are so reasonable and they have some great sized units. We almost stayed there on this last trip but we wanted the convenience of BLT.

[bighoo93]

Originally Posted by wendow

Oh wow!! We are quite similar, huh? Too funny! We did a split stay with 2 nights at POR and 7 nights at BLT. The days at POR and the one day at BLT that we had to take the bus were awful. Buses were packed, everyone had a stroller (or 2 in our case) or an ECV it seemed. Tired mommies and sleeping babies were everywhere. We were piling our kids up on ours and each others laps to make more room for people to sit. It had to be the time we went back and forth I guess. We were so thankful that we could walk back & forth from MK or monorail to EP. But then you had a completely different experience so I'm not sure what to think of that.

Yes, I am all about using those homeschooling perks and going when the crowds are low. We walked on rides over and over and over...it was beautiful!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have so much to think about! Can I ask...what did your kids love about OKW? What do you think they'll love at SSR? Just trying to get a 'feel' for those resorts.

I was often worried about the bus experience, wondering if I would be able to get 6 people and a huge stroller on board, but it was never a problem. Maybe just lucky, but I think mid-September had something to do with it. I don't want to oversell the bus, we had our minivan and drove that everywhere except MK, but other than Epcot, the bus would probably have been more convenient, and we may go without our vehicle next time (we took the autotrain from VA, quite an experience but not cheap).

At OKW, the kids really loved the pool and water slide. One evening as we were leaving the pool, they started up some games at the community hall (trivia, limbo, some ring game) with a lot of kids, and my kids joined in and had a blast while we sat on nearby picnic tables and stayed cool under the umbrella. It was just fun. We ran everyone pretty hard during the week and probably tried to do too much, so that was one reason they wanted more resort time. But they definitely loved the pool and even enjoyed just being able to spread out in our villa. As for SSR, the pools look great, so I think the kids will love it, and we also like to stroll around DTD for at least one afternoon/evening so that will be nice being so close. My wife and I like to get out for a morning run (as long as we haven't completely exhausted ourselves), which was great at OKW and would be even better on the grounds at SSR. So I think it will be similar in many of the ways that we liked OKW.

I can definitely see loving BLT and its proximity to MK. We know some families who stay at the Contemporary and would never do anything else. If money were no issue, we would probably have bought at BLT, because that would give us flexibility to make reservations there, and we could still stay at SSR or OKW if we wanted since they are still available at the 7-month timeframe. Alas, money is always an issue for most of us, isn't it? For us, the economics weren't feasible at BLT. It would cost almost twice as much to buy resale and stay in a 2 BR at BLT as compared to SSR:

BLT: $80/pt X 273 pts = $21,840, Annual fees: $1154
SSR: $50/pt X 239 pts = $11,950, Annual fees: $1132

Even cutting those points in half to have enough for a trip every other year, it is still nearly double the cost, which we can't justify. But that is just one factor, if you strongly prefer BLT, you may prefer to find a way for that to work.

[gripp35]

We have never stayed at BLT, but stayed at SSR this past June (and AKV in Dec) with bus transportation only, 2 or 3 kids and 1 or 2 strollers. At both of those times we never felt a problem with riding the bus (getting on/off, getting seats for the kids, time to get to/from parks...). I am sure that it would be difficult to imagine anything else after being able to walk to MK (from BLT), but I would strongly recommend checking out SSR, I liked it much more than I thought I would (though AKL is my favorite). Our kids loved walking across the pond bridge (there were turtles and a small alligator that they would have sat and watched if I had let them). They loved the main pool area and we spent more time there than we expected to. I also liked being able to walk to Downtown Disney.
YMMV, but I enjoyed SSR and probably underestimated it before I actually experienced it.

[wendow]

Originally Posted by bighoo93

I was often worried about the bus experience, wondering if I would be able to get 6 people and a huge stroller on board, but it was never a problem. Maybe just lucky, but I think mid-September had something to do with it. I don't want to oversell the bus, we had our minivan and drove that everywhere except MK, but other than Epcot, the bus would probably have been more convenient, and we may go without our vehicle next time (we took the autotrain from VA, quite an experience but not cheap).

At OKW, the kids really loved the pool and water slide. One evening as we were leaving the pool, they started up some games at the community hall (trivia, limbo, some ring game) with a lot of kids, and my kids joined in and had a blast while we sat on nearby picnic tables and stayed cool under the umbrella. It was just fun. We ran everyone pretty hard during the week and probably tried to do too much, so that was one reason they wanted more resort time. But they definitely loved the pool and even enjoyed just being able to spread out in our villa. As for SSR, the pools look great, so I think the kids will love it, and we also like to stroll around DTD for at least one afternoon/evening so that will be nice being so close. My wife and I like to get out for a morning run (as long as we haven't completely exhausted ourselves), which was great at OKW and would be even better on the grounds at SSR. So I think it will be similar in many of the ways that we liked OKW.

I can definitely see loving BLT and its proximity to MK. We know some families who stay at the Contemporary and would never do anything else. If money were no issue, we would probably have bought at BLT, because that would give us flexibility to make reservations there, and we could still stay at SSR or OKW if we wanted since they are still available at the 7-month timeframe. Alas, money is always an issue for most of us, isn't it? For us, the economics weren't feasible at BLT. It would cost almost twice as much to buy resale and stay in a 2 BR at BLT as compared to SSR:

BLT: $80/pt X 273 pts = $21,840, Annual fees: $1154
SSR: $50/pt X 239 pts = $11,950, Annual fees: $1132

Even cutting those points in half to have enough for a trip every other year, it is still nearly double the cost, which we can't justify. But that is just one factor, if you strongly prefer BLT, you may prefer to find a way for that to work.

Thank you. Those are the same things my kids loved at BLT so it sounds like OKW would be a good fit for us also. It's truly just giving up the convenience of walking to MK. And we did so enjoy watching Wishes from the hotel and the water pageant each night But not for the cost difference. We splurged and did that once but we cannot do it every trip. We are way, way too frugal for that I like the looks of OKW the best between OKW and SSR. Just looking at room pics. I guess there is plenty of availability there at 7 mos out for a 2 br? And did you really find SSR for $50 per point?? That is much lower than I've seen but I've not checked daily or anything.

[wendow]

Originally Posted by gripp35

We have never stayed at BLT, but stayed at SSR this past June (and AKV in Dec) with bus transportation only, 2 or 3 kids and 1 or 2 strollers. At both of those times we never felt a problem with riding the bus (getting on/off, getting seats for the kids, time to get to/from parks...). I am sure that it would be difficult to imagine anything else after being able to walk to MK (from BLT), but I would strongly recommend checking out SSR, I liked it much more than I thought I would (though AKL is my favorite). Our kids loved walking across the pond bridge (there were turtles and a small alligator that they would have sat and watched if I had let them). They loved the main pool area and we spent more time there than we expected to. I also liked being able to walk to Downtown Disney.
YMMV, but I enjoyed SSR and probably underestimated it before I actually experienced it.

I think we'd like it too. We really aren't hard to please. We just got super spoiled by BLT and being able to walk to MK. I think we'll rent points for OKW or SSR next time we go.

[wendow]

Originally Posted by Sammie

Summer when points are higher, crowds are even higher and temperatures and humidity even higher still, and hurricane season are not as hard to book for DVC.

So, would you consider mid-Sept a low DVC time since it's hurricane season?

[DannysMom]

Originally Posted by wendow

And did you really find SSR for $50 per point?? That is much lower than I've seen but I've not checked daily or anything.

Before you make any offers (once you are ready) you should keep your eye on the ROFR thread in this forum, to see what folks are actually paying. Like any other real estate transaction, sellers can ASK for any price they want, what the market will bear is an entirely different story. IMO, it would be tough to get SSR at $50/pt. but at $55-60/pt there are deal to be had.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos.

[wendow]

Originally Posted by DannysMom

Before you make any offers (once you are ready) you should keep your eye on the ROFR thread in this forum, to see what folks are actually paying. Like any other real estate transaction, sellers can ASK for any price they want, what the market will bear is an entirely different story. IMO, it would be tough to get SSR at $50/pt. but at $55-60/pt there are deal to be had.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos.

Thank you for the good advice!

[bighoo93]

Originally Posted by wendow

Thank you. Those are the same things my kids loved at BLT so it sounds like OKW would be a good fit for us also. It's truly just giving up the convenience of walking to MK. And we did so enjoy watching Wishes from the hotel and the water pageant each night But not for the cost difference. We splurged and did that once but we cannot do it every trip. We are way, way too frugal for that I like the looks of OKW the best between OKW and SSR. Just looking at room pics. I guess there is plenty of availability there at 7 mos out for a 2 br? And did you really find SSR for $50 per point?? That is much lower than I've seen but I've not checked daily or anything.

I'm approximating, but yes, $50 is in the ballpark depending on the contract. I am not able to predict what will happen with ROFR, but I think they have been waiving that for most other than OKW. I know I saw at least one SSR contract reported as passing ROFR at $50/point recently (edit: here is the link). On the DVC resale listings, people list their points well above market value in the expectation of negotiating down. Don't bother worrying about listing price, follow what people are reporting on the message boards. I'm currently in ROFR limbo on an SSR contract, but my first offer was well below listing price, and it was immediately accepted. That may have just been luck (and it may not pass ROFR), but I think you can probably get something in that neighborhood with patience.

Regarding OKW vs. SSR, we plan to try SSR next because we just want to experiment. But we loved OKW and it will be hard to beat the rooms at OKW. From what I have read around here, it is not difficult to get a 2 BR at OKW or SSR at the 7 month mark.

[DizBub]

Just wanted to jump in here to tell you that my daughter and 4 kids are at SSR right now, in a 1br. She had her choice of BLT or SSR. She decided on SSR because there is more for the kids to do and the food choices. They just love it. Very relaxing. Have had no problems with the buses at all but they don't have strollers.

I 2nd the opinion about OKW, you can't beat the point requirements and it is just a beautiful resort, very family friendly. In fact I'm planning to try to get a 2br there in May. Good bus service too!!

[wendow]

Originally Posted by bighoo93

I'm approximating, but yes, $50 is in the ballpark depending on the contract. I am not able to predict what will happen with ROFR, but I think they have been waiving that for most other than OKW. I know I saw at least one SSR contract reported as passing ROFR at $50/point recently (edit: here is the link). On the DVC resale listings, people list their points well above market value in the expectation of negotiating down. Don't bother worrying about listing price, follow what people are reporting on the message boards. I'm currently in ROFR limbo on an SSR contract, but my first offer was well below listing price, and it was immediately accepted. That may have just been luck (and it may not pass ROFR), but I think you can probably get something in that neighborhood with patience.

Regarding OKW vs. SSR, we plan to try SSR next because we just want to experiment. But we loved OKW and it will be hard to beat the rooms at OKW. From what I have read around here, it is not difficult to get a 2 BR at OKW or SSR at the 7 month mark.

I didn't realize you could offer less on the prices that are posted. Good to know Thanks for all your help! Hope you get through ROFR! Reading through that thread I see much lower prices than what I have seen listed for sale.

I'm glad to hear you loved OKW. Like I mentioned, just based on pics, it appeals to me more than SSR (not that it's unappealing at all). So, why is OKW so cheap?? I mean, looking at the point charts, it seems way less than even SSR. What am I missing? Basically, what does SSR offer that OKW does not? Or does OKW just need to be refurb'ed really badly? It seems just lovely.

[333disneymom]

Originally Posted by wendow

Thank you. Those are the same things my kids loved at BLT so it sounds like OKW would be a good fit for us also. It's truly just giving up the convenience of walking to MK. And we did so enjoy watching Wishes from the hotel and the water pageant each night But not for the cost difference. We splurged and did that once but we cannot do it every trip. We are way, way too frugal for that I like the looks of OKW the best between OKW and SSR. Just looking at room pics. I guess there is plenty of availability there at 7 mos out for a 2 br? And did you really find SSR for $50 per point?? That is much lower than I've seen but I've not checked daily or anything.

Originally Posted by DannysMom

Before you make any offers (once you are ready) you should keep your eye on the ROFR thread in this forum, to see what folks are actually paying. Like any other real estate transaction, sellers can ASK for any price they want, what the market will bear is an entirely different story. IMO, it would be tough to get SSR at $50/pt. but at $55-60/pt there are deal to be had.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos.

We just purchased an SSR contract for $50 per point. It took about 10 offers to get someone to accept this price. This was our second offer that was accepted at $50, but the first one fell through on the sellers end. You do have to look at points too. Some contracts are very stripped of points (none until 2013 or not all points in 2013, etc.) and some have extra points that were banked from a previous year. If you are getting a good amount of points, it might be worth it to bid a bit higher. We were fortunate to have all 2012 points and all points going forward in our contract.

My best advice is to look at the ROFR board to see the range of what properties are going for. Try to figure out how much you feel comfortable paying per point. Then, it just takes patience and a little bit of luck to get the right contract. Good luck.

[wendow]

Originally Posted by DizBub

Just wanted to jump in here to tell you that my daughter and 4 kids are at SSR right now, in a 1br. She had her choice of BLT or SSR. She decided on SSR because there is more for the kids to do and the food choices. They just love it. Very relaxing. Have had no problems with the buses at all but they don't have strollers.

I 2nd the opinion about OKW, you can't beat the point requirements and it is just a beautiful resort, very family friendly. In fact I'm planning to try to get a 2br there in May. Good bus service too!!

Wow, is it a tight fit for them? Or are those one bedrooms bigger? I was trying to look at room sizes but I don't remember how big the 1 br was.

I did notice the OKW 1 br would fit our family...at least until my youngest is 3...but there is only one bath. I don't think we'd survive with one bathroom for a week or longer Nice to hear the bus service is good!!

[bighoo93]

Originally Posted by wendow

I didn't realize you could offer less on the prices that are posted. Good to know Thanks for all your help! Hope you get through ROFR! Reading through that thread I see much lower prices than what I have seen listed for sale.

I'm glad to hear you loved OKW. Like I mentioned, just based on pics, it appeals to me more than SSR (not that it's unappealing at all). So, why is OKW so cheap?? I mean, looking at the point charts, it seems way less than even SSR. What am I missing? Basically, what does SSR offer that OKW does not? Or does OKW just need to be refurb'ed really badly? It seems just lovely.

Just like any real estate deal, it is almost expected that the offer comes in under the asking price. The seller can accept, decline or counter, of course.

OKW is the least expensive in terms of points, but actually not all that much less than SSR (239 vs. 217 for a week in a 2 BR). I can only speculate on why, I don't know for sure. The resort is the oldest in the DVC, but the rooms have all been renovated so they certainly don't seem old. To me, OKW is just a huge value considering the size of the rooms. But I should add that I have not stayed at any other DVC resorts yet.