6 person fam- finally ready to buy- love input :)

blackdogg

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 22, 2011
We are finally ready to buy dvc after years of waiting, reading, pondering this move. We have an immediate family of 6--- kiddos 14,11, 3, 1 currently. We plan to buy resale and are thinking in line of 150-200 points. If we go with 150 we hope to add on 50 direct shortly thereafter.

Input that would be appreciated... between Boardwalk, Bay Lake, or Boulder Ridge? Which and why would yall suggest if you were to put in a 2cents ;) I'm just looking for varying thoughts that I may not have considered... I know this is a toss up and quite different between end dates & maintenance fees.

Also, go for the full 200 we feel would be best for us travel wise with points or split it up to make it more versatile for the possibility of resale if needed? + Dueling resort opportunities?

Thanks so much!
 
Last edited:
BLT. Their 2 BR have a third bathroom which would be quite nice for a larger family. Also longer contract life and overall better value considering dues. That being said, where do you want to stay? MK resort or Epcot/HS? I'd buy whichever one answers that question :)

As far as number of points, why are you considering 50 direct? I'd just buy the larger resale contract, likely at a lower selling price. If you're looking at buying between 2 different resorts, 50 won't get you very far in a 2 bedroom. Need 75 points direct for perks these days... but those aren't guaranteed either.
 
I agree... the head end of this has thought BLT for awhile. I also read so many pushing the thought to ultimately buy where you love. We LOVE vgf but thats just a no $ wise... we also love wl & appreciate bw for its slight similarity to gf (very slight). Those are a little more of heart choices and I'm battling the head & heart right now :confused3
 


The resorts that you mentioned are so different and serve different parks. Which feels like home and what size of room fits a family of 6?

:earsboy: Bill

 
with 6 you will need a 2 BR and 150 points will not go very far, unless you're think of 4-5 night trips. If you plan to add 50 direct points, you might do 75 that way you can get what ever perks will still be around in a few years.
 
We did 200 at BCV with plans for a 2br, but we don't plan to go yearly. If you want to go every year, I'd suggest more points, especially if you're looking at BLT (which has higher per-room point costs unless you can get the cheap rooms). Exact details depend on time of year and all that, but figure that a week in a 2br is 275ish in the off season and goes up from there.

Also, it's now 75 direct points to get the membership card, so if you buy any direct you probably want that many.
 


With a family of 6 you are looking at needing 2 bedroom unit or larger, since you are not allowed to have 6 in a studio or 1 bedroom unit at any DVC resort.

Since you mentioned BRV, why not go with CCV, you can get a 2 bedroom unit for 350 points/week in Magic Season which is the usual time most school vacations fall in. It is currently being sold direct so picking up 75 points, not 50 points, direct from DVD will not be a problem.

I think you will need over 200 points, probably more like 250 points if you want to go every other year.

Also, BLT is a good option as well, but a little more expensive.
 
We love Magic Kingdom & Epcot... so either is really an ok option. Definitely needing to have ample options for 6+ at times but a trip with 2-5 is also not out of the equation for our needs. I think one year taking a larger trip matched with a smaller trip the following year (meaning 3 of us) is probably an accurate way to look at our situation making the point system work nicely. I think the more I ponder it the more BLT, even though the best overall financial choice, is kind of the bummer of the category to me preference wise. Is it that difficult to count on alternate resorts at 7 months out? I'm seeing on the boards etc that it is more difficult to land a resort other than your home resort at 7 months out.

We often travel summer-end of year vacation wise... those options leave us pretty open too.
 
Thanks for the 75 point tip to folks... I had 50 pts in my head for some reason.
 
Last edited:
We love Magic Kingdom & Epcot... so either is really an ok option. Definitely needing to have ample options for 6+ at times but a trip with 2-5 is also not out of the equation for our needs. I think one year taking a larger trip matched with a smaller trip the following year (meaning 3 of us) is probably an accurate way to look at our situation making the point system work nicely. I think the more I ponder it the more BLT, even though the best overall financial choice, is kind of the bummer of the category to me preference wise. Is it that difficult to count on alternate resorts at 7 months out? I'm seeing on the boards etc that it is more difficult to land a resort other than your home resort at 7 months out.

We often travel summer-end of year vacation wise... those options leave us pretty open too.

2 bedroom are not as difficult as studios to trade into other resorts. And the time of year you plan to travel does make a difference .
 
Your older children will be, if not now then in a few years, ready to go off and explore parks and the pools without the baggage of the younger siblings and Mom and Dad. Your young children will want to take naps. MK is likely where you'll spend time with the little ones. Having a walking path from BLT right to the gate of MK is a huge plus when you're looking at young ones in strollers, young ones who need an afternoon naps, and Mom and Dad who need a break. For the next 5-8 years, you'd do best with BLT.

After that, you're looking at contract length. BWV and BR are expiring in 2042. BLT is 2057.

You'll be starting with 2 bedroom units, due to the size of your family. 150 points just isn't going to get you very far if you plan on going every year, especially during the summer months. If you're planning on every other year, you can make that work. If you want to go every year for a week, you'll need a lot more points. I'd recommend you try to get the largest resale contract that matches your annual points need. Retail (direct) contract add-ons are readily available and easily purchased. At 75 points needed for direct benefits, it would take you between 5 and 8 years to erase the per-point premium based upon the savings on annual passes. The remaining benefits, such as the moonlight magic events, are more transitory, and difficult for anyone to use to justify the cost premium.
 
Have you ever stayed at BLT? I do not own there, and have found lake view rooms to be fairly easily bookable at 7 months (and somehow snagged a 2 br standard over memorial day... wow). They may be my favorite 1/2 Br units out there (and I'm not counting cabins or bungalows in this lol). There is so much room to spread out, extra full bathroom, and kitchen has significantly more storage than Kidani which also has that extra bathroom. We had stayed there in a studio - hated it - and almost wrote it off, but soooo glad we didn't.

What's great about DVC is it's flexibility. There are so many different directions you can take depending on what fits your family's needs the best, and it can adapt with you :) You can do all the research (we did too) and still find that after you start traveling, you might prefer a different resort. Find a great deal for 200 points (much easier than for smaller contracts), and remember that the dues are going to be the most significant cost over the life of that contract. If you want a smaller trip every other year, you can always add on direct later at the resort you fall in love with!

we also love wl & appreciate bw for its slight similarity to gf (very slight).
And trust me when I say this - there is no similarity, however slight, between BWV and VGF!!!! If you like WL, I agree with Matty - go check out CCV. The studios are on the smaller side, but if only 2-3 people should be just fine :)
 
We love Magic Kingdom & Epcot... so either is really an ok option. Definitely needing to have ample options for 6+ at times but a trip with 2-5 is also not out of the equation for our needs. I think one year taking a larger trip matched with a smaller trip the following year (meaning 3 of us) is probably an accurate way to look at our situation making the point system work nicely. I think the more I ponder it the more BLT, even though the best overall financial choice, is kind of the bummer of the category to me preference wise. Is it that difficult to count on alternate resorts at 7 months out? I'm seeing on the boards etc that it is more difficult to land a resort other than your home resort at 7 months out.

We often travel summer-end of year vacation wise... those options leave us pretty open too.

You might also wait a bit to see what Riviera comes in like. I'm sort of expecting it to be "VGF like" but we'll see once they start releasing information.

But I guess the question is how important trying to maximize the financial aspect is vs being able to stay at your favorite. You already know that BLT is likely the best financial of the 3 you initially listed based on resale purchase price and annual dues and length of contract. CCV could be a decent option to get your WL location but to have a longer contract.

If the worry isn't quite as much about maximizing the financial aspect then just go with your heart and where you want to stay if you can't switch. However, at the end of the summer you'll probably have a decent chance of finding different locations to use whatever points you purchase. The last 3 months of the year you might consider you'd be able to stay at SSR and AKV and maybe OKW but everything else will be more up in the air.
 
We have actually stayed at BLT... we did a 1 bedroom about a month after it first opened :) Good visit overall. I don't mind it as a resort I just really prefer others much more. Those dues are at a sweet spot though. Husband has his heart over in WL territory and we've started to discuss CCV a little more b/c it will give us the opportunity to share the love down to grandkids eventually. Those dues tho are not pretty. We definitely plan on 200 pts... and I was thinking if we split it we could combine between the two resorts for 2 11 month advantages--- but that isn't possible is it?! Folks do this for varied vacation use? Just multiple trips with different resorts at 11 months out?

I'm tempted with Riveria... the amenities sound cool but the location is just not so appealing to either of us. I know we sound all over the place with location but we really just love so many places... WL area, monorail resorts/mostly GF, & crescent lake. Decisions!!!


I've also always considered there to be a little similarity between BWV and VGF. So, not for you but there is some for others.

I think its the time period they are fashioned off of... hahah! yea, I know it's a far cry ;)
 
Last edited:
We have actually stayed at BLT... we did a 1 bedroom about a month after it first opened :) Good visit overall. I don't mind it as a resort I just really prefer others much more. Those dues are at a sweet spot though. Husband has his heart over in WL territory and we've started to discuss CCV a little more b/c it will give us the opportunity to share the love down to grandkids eventually. We definitely plan on 200 pts its just how we split it/if we split. Maybe 100 BLT & 100-125 CCV? If we did this and had same use year we could utilize the whole amount, 225 at either 11 months out right? They can be combined. :scratchin

I'm tempted with Riveria... the amenities sound cool but the location is just not so appealing to either of us. I know we sound all over the place with location but we really just love so many places... WL area, monorail resorts/mostly GF, & crescent lake. Decisions!!!

Points retain their home resort and cannot be used as you describe. If you bought 100 points at BLT and the rest at CCV then those 100 points can only be used to book at BLT during the 11 month window and the CCV points at CCV during the 11 month window. However you can use banking and borrowing to alternate where you stay. So you you could bank and or borrow BLT points to have up to 300 points for the 11 month window every 3 years. Or if your stay takes less then whatever combo is required up to the max of 300 points you'd potentially have with banking and borrowing. What works for some who go every year but want to stay a couple of places is to own 1/2 the required points at one resort and 1/2 the required points for a stay at a second resort. Then they bank or borrow and alternate where they stay every other year. So use 200 points at BLT in year 1 and then 200-250 points at CCV the next year. The following year you're back to BLT and so on.



I think its the time period they are fashioned off of... hahah! yea, I know it's a far cry ;)

Yep! BWV and VGF - both trips back to Grandmas house! :D
 
You replied before I edited my response... I just realized that!!! I thought all of this time that makes so much sense people adding multiple places! Too funny. Ok, wrong there. Good things to know :)
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!




Latest posts






Top