A simple DVC question...Advice Please!

[MrRomance]

Is it difficult to book at the 7 month window if you don't really care what property you're staying at in WDW?

Here's my situation...

I'm going to buy into DVC resale. To avoid financing, I want to keep the cost as low as possible.

We only intend to use points at WDW (probably in October) and do not really care where we stay.

Points for VB are significantly less per point but we probably wouldn't go to VB more than once or twice. The issue is, would we have difficulty getting a studio SOMEWHERE at WDW at 7 months?

Thanks!

 

[KingRichard]

Is it difficult to book at the 7 month window if you don't really care what property you're staying at in WDW?

Here's my situation...

I'm going to buy into DVC resale. To avoid financing, I want to keep the cost as low as possible.

We only intend to use points at WDW (probably in October) and do not really care where we stay.

Points for VB are significantly less per point but we probably wouldn't go to VB more than once or twice. The issue is, would we have difficulty getting a studio SOMEWHERE at WDW at 7 months?

Thanks!

VB maintenance cost will kill you over the life of the contract.

From what I have seen and learned that unless you want to stay on a holiday or school vacation it isn't that bad to get something at 7 months.

We booked at VGC at the 7 month mark and they only have 24 studio's and 24 1 bedroom's.

I thought there was no way, but we got exactly what we wanted.

 

[Chuck S]

I would definitely purchase at a WDW based resort because, as the previous poster said, the maintenance fees as VB are more substantial. OKW would likely be a good choice for lower cost purchase and mid-range maintenance.

Also as the other poster said, at 7 months there should be something available, but not necessarily your first choice of resort. Unless you are traveling during, say Spring Break or Marathon Week, and maybe even Food & Wine. Major holidays and events can book up during the 11 month priority window.

 

[saintstickets]

Is it difficult to book at the 7 month window if you don't really care what property you're staying at in WDW?

Here's my situation...

I'm going to buy into DVC resale. To avoid financing, I want to keep the cost as low as possible.

We only intend to use points at WDW (probably in October) and do not really care where we stay.

Points for VB are significantly less per point but we probably wouldn't go to VB more than once or twice. The issue is, would we have difficulty getting a studio SOMEWHERE at WDW at 7 months?

Thanks!

In my limited experience (DVC member since 2009) the answer is yes and no! We have booked 4 trips since buying into DVC with only one booked at the 11 month window and that is an upcoming trip to VWL the week before Memorial Day 2012. Our first trip was a 2br at OKW for the same time period in 2010 - no problem. Our second trip was a split stay in a studio at AKL/BWV for the week after Thanksgiving 2010. Here we had to stay at AKL first and BWV second because of the availability. Our third trip was at HHI this past month and it was difficult to get a studio for a Tues-Sat trip. We originally were going in late September but nothing was available so we ended up getting a ressie in late October.

As you can see, it is hit or miss but mostly hit for us so far. However, as the pp stated, if we were trying for popular times like Christmas week, Thanksgiving week, spring break, F&W, F&G, etc., it might be difficult to get a specific time and a specific size room. If you are flexible with your dates, it makes it easier.

Also as pp stated, the annual dues (maintenance fees) are high for VB compared to other resorts and over time, that will add up. The rule of thumb as stated by many veteran DVCers is to buy your home resort where you want to stay first. Having that 11 month window makes it much more likely that you will get the dates and room size you want. Our last purchase was at BCV for that specific reason so that we would have a better chance to get a studio for F&G or F&W festivals.

I applaud you for taking the no-finance route. We did the same thing. We have purchased 5 small (40-50 points each) contracts to avoid any financing. I know we paid more in closing costs than buying one larger contract but we have membership in 4 different resorts too. With banking and borrowing, we are able to accumulate enough points to serve our purpose, take advantage of the 11 month window and experience the different resorts. It has worked for us so far.

Good luck with your purchase and please post the details of your contract once you get to that point over on Donald is #1's thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2661661

 

[DenLo]

Since you mentioned that you would be making reservations in October, I think you need to know that is one of the busiest DVC months. Being from the UK I expect you come to the U.S. for a couple of weeks at a time. You might find it difficult to get a villa for an entire two weeks or even a week at the 7 month mark. But it's possible to split your stay between more than one resort.

I have to agree with the others about buying at a WDW resort (some of them are fairly cheap on the resale market), then you will be able to book at the 11 month mark and making reservations in October shouldn't be a problem for you.

 

[raftislander]

I would look for a low cost option at one of the WDW home resorts. That way at 11 months you'll be able to get a reservation at the general location you want, with the chance of switching to a different resort at 7 months. I agree with op that OKW would be a better option.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

We only travel Easter week, Christmas week, Thanksgiving week and the last week of July/first week of Aug. DH is a teacher, so we're always traveling at peak times because of his and the kids' schedules.

With that being said. if I call right at the 7 month window, I've NEVER had a problem booking a one or two bedroom. I've never tried to book a studio, so I can't comment on that, but I've gotten my first choice almost every time.

Also, as a PP mentioned, you may want to check out either SSR or OKW as VB maintenance fees are high. Both SSR and OKW are on property, and the price per point on the resale market is pretty close. They also have relatively low maintenance fees. SSR contracts end in 2054, so unless you can find a cheap OKW extended contract, SSR is probably the best value for the money if you don't care where you stay.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[Sandisw]

If you goal is to stay at WDW, then I would buy a property there. While it is unlikely that it would happen, Disney can remove any resort from the "club" and owners at that resort would be limited to staying on there.

If you owned VB, and they did remove it from DVC, then you would be stuck. As already mentioned, the MF's you pay yearly will eat away that initial savings pretty quickly.

Since DVC is about the long term and not short term, I would go with OKW or SSR which provide you with a less expensive start up, lower MF's, and the ability to book at WDW at 11 months.

Good luck!

 

[LisaS]

For 2011, the maintenance fees at VB are $6.78 per point. They are $4.98/point at OKW and $4.51/point at SSR. The complete chart of maintenance fees by resort is in the second post of this thread. The fees go up by about 3% per year but some preliminary figures for 2012 from an unofficial source suggest that the increases for 2012 may be much higher than that at some resorts (perhaps 8% !! -- see the discussion in this thread). Over the lifetime of your contract you will pay a lot more in maintenance fees than you paid for the contract itself. If you bought VB for the initial price savings, within 5-10 years those high maintenance fees would wipe out that savings. Plus there is always the risk of a special assessment at VB due to the possibility of storm/hurricane damage due to its location.

Also, October is a busy month for DVC due to the Food & Wine festival. If you want to stay at WDW during that time you would be better off owning at a WDW resort so you can book your stay as early as possible.

 

[DebbieB]

Also look at the expiration date. Vero expires in 2042, SSR expires in 2054, AKV 2057, BLT 2060. Some OKW contracts were extended to 2057. Rest are 2042.

 

[disneynutz]

Being from the UK, don't you enjoy long WDW stays to try and offset your travel cost?

If so IMO you should buy where you love to stay unless you don't mind moving during your vacation. Booking a long reservation at the same resort at 7 months may be difficult.

Another consideration is that many have the same thoughts that you do and later we see posts from them asking how to change home resorts because they now love a certain resort and dislike the one that they bought.

Bill

 

[jimmytammy]

Booking at 7 mos window hasnt been difficult for us. Granted, time of year, place, etc. can play a factor. VWL might be difficult at 7 mos, but it is smallest. OKW and SSR might be easier but they are huge. If I were buying now, I would purchase OKW because of price per point vs pts to stay. Also consider what park draws you most. And though you feel you will be booking at 7 mos, consider 11 mos home resort as things in life change, where would you really like to stay the most?

 

[Dean]

If buying for WDW mostly, the saving isn't worth it buying for HH or VB. As noted, the fees will eat up part or all of you savings over time and you'll always be in panic mode and waiting/hoping for wait lists. Also as noted, being overseas will complicate your situation greatly. I'd buy the cheapest WDW you can taking the expiration into account. That's normally SSR but sometimes AKV or OKW extended will be a good choice too. Buying less points for WDW would be preferable to buying HH or VB for WDW.

As for as the 7 mo window is concerned, it depends. However, it's a moving target and has been getting more difficult the last few years. My prediction is it will cont to get slowly worse about 2 more years and after that, it depends on the specifics of any new resort. Higher demand resorts like GF or the Poly won't help much but a lower demand resort will make the 7 mo window even worse and likely significantly worse for all but the other lower demand resorts which currently are SSR and OkW with AKV somewhat in between.