A newbie DVC question

[Debi]

I'm giving some serious thought to purchasing a DVC resale. One quick question, though: if I purchase a resale at BWV, and decide I want to stay at another DVC resort (OKW, for example), how easy/hard is it to do so? Will I pay additional points to stay somewhere besides BWV? What time window can I book another DVC resort besides my home resort? Thanks!

 

[JimMIA]

I'm giving some serious thought to purchasing a DVC resale. One quick question, though: if I purchase a resale at BWV, and decide I want to stay at another DVC resort (OKW, for example), how easy/hard is it to do so?

That depends. The two REALLY busy times at DVC are early December (because of the lowest points costs, and also all the holiday stuff) and mid-September/October, because of Food & Wine.

To answer your question about windows, you will have an 11 month booking window at your home resort, 7 months at all other resorts. I think the general consensus is, you will be fine at 7 months just about anywhere, except for the two periods above and major holiday periods. By fine, I mean you'll probably be able to get in wherever you want, unless you are wanting something tough, like a Grand Villa. If you are flexible about where you stay, you should be fine at seven months. If you MUST have a particular resort, and a particular accommodation, you're lowering your chances of being happy.

Will I pay additional points to stay somewhere besides BWV?

I'd have to go look at the point charts in detail, but my hunch is you will be paying the same or less than you will pay at BWV, except for the "standard view" accommodations. You can click on the DVC Points Chart link at the top of this page and check. Another suggestion is to look for any posting by Caskbill, click on the link in his signature, and download his reasonably-priced (free) planning software. That will give you all the points, for all the resorts, 'til the end of time as we know it.

 

[JimMIA]

I probably muddied up my response above, so I want to clarify (hopefully).

The points costs for the resorts are what they are. It does NOT matter what your home resort is. The points cost is the same for all of us, but they vary by resort and by season.

 

[Caskbill]

I probably muddied up my response above, so I want to clarify (hopefully).

The points costs for the resorts are what they are. It does NOT matter what your home resort is. The points cost is the same for all of us, but they vary by resort and by season.

There you go....That's a better explanation.

Points are fixed at each resort so no matter where you own, you pay the same number of points when staying at a specific resort.

For WDW you'll find this:

VWL, BCV, BWV preferred all have exactly the same point structure and are the highest.

SSR is next highest

BWV standard is next

and OKW has the lowest point structure.

Example: A 1-B/R at each resort for mid season (dream), weekday.

VWL, BCV, BWV Preferred: 28 pts.
SSR: 25 pts.
BWV Std.: 22 pts.
OKW: 20 pts.

Or if using OKW as the base,
BWV std is 10% higher
SSR is 25% higher
VWL, BCV, BWV Pref are all 40% higher

 

[Debi]

Thanks, everyone, this really helps! I was concerned that there were hidden fees/costs if I stayed somewhere besides my home resort.

Okay, here's another newbie question: obviously, weekends are much more expensive points-wise than during the week. For those of you that stay on weekends, do you use your points, pay cash, or stay at a non-DVC resort? Reccomendations?

 

[JimMIA]

Okay, here's another newbie question: obviously, weekends are much more expensive points-wise than during the week. For those of you that stay on weekends, do you use your points, pay cash, or stay at a non-DVC resort? Reccomendations?

Yes...next question?

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks, everyone, this really helps! I was concerned that there were hidden fees/costs if I stayed somewhere besides my home resort.

Okay, here's another newbie question: obviously, weekends are much more expensive points-wise than during the week. For those of you that stay on weekends, do you use your points, pay cash, or stay at a non-DVC resort? Reccomendations?

Sorry...couldn't resist.

Personally, we live in Miami and just drive up, so we usually would not stay on a Fri/Sat.

I think you will find a mix of answers to your question. Some stay off-site, some use the DVC member discount or AP discount and pay cash. (You can do that and link the ressies so you don't have to move). Some move, letting Disney move their luggage. Some use points.

If I had to guess, I would say the most common solution would be to stay at a mod for cash, followed by the much nicer DVC accommodations for the remainder of the trip. But that's just a guess.

 

[tjkraz]

For those of you that stay on weekends, do you use your points, pay cash, or stay at a non-DVC resort? Reccomendations?

As Jim indicated, you'll get a myriad of responses to that question. I think you just need to decide the best fit for you and run with it.

So far we've use points for our weekend nights because we didn't want to have to switch resorts. Many people don't mind switching resorts, and can use weekends as an opportunity to get their "fix" at a favorite like AKL or Poly. Others stay Value / Moderate / Offsite cheaply, and just consider their 5 nights at DVC to be the luxurious part of the trip.

DVC members do get 25% off of cash rates at DVC resorts, so that can often be the most economical way to go. The cash and points reservations can be linked together to insure that you don't even have to switch rooms. But the cash discount is only made available if DVC projects that the resort will not be at 100% capacity. The vast majority of the time, this is the case...but not always.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We looked at points as a "week at a time" number, so we always stay weekends. We do, however, conserve by only staying 1 weekend if we are staying for 10 days or more. We usually arrive on a Sunday and stay through the following weekend to leave mid week the second week.