About to pull the trigger on VGC, any reason not to?

[CrazyDuck]

DVC Experts,

I took the wife on a DVC tour while here at Disneyland. They had her drink the magic soda and I ate the magic milanos. They let us out of there without too much pressure to buy, even though we were ready to purchase. We have been talking it over this evening and I thought I'd check with you DVC experts before we pull the trigger since they gave us time to think about it. Is there any known problems with VGC that should keep me from purchasing? They will be selling us 200 points with an August use year. Is this a good month? We like to travel in the off seasons (oct, dec, feb) because of the smaller crowds! We only go every other year on average, but when we go I'm always bringing others like in-laws, siblings etc etc... This trip I had to buy 2 rooms at GCH for all of my peeps. I wish we were in a 2 bedroom villa . Next time, unless you convince me otherwise

 

[bumbershoot]

Be sure to check the 2010 points use charts compared to the 2011...just so you see that the points required for certain rooms/seasons can change. That way you aren't surprised if it changes again.

You know the difference between normal housekeeping and what you will get at the Villas, yes?

Someone else will chime in with the use year and how it relates to when you travel and the pitfalls you can encounter...I only understand it when dealing with specifics, and I find it impossible to describe generally.

 

[disneynutz]

Where will you want to vacation most often, DL or WDW?

Buy where you love to stay.

Bill

 

[CrazyDuck]

Where will you want to vacation most often, DL or WDW?

As it stands right now, we only go to DL because I do not like doing 12 hours of flying to get to Florida with my 6 and 3 year old. However I do love WDW and in the future (6 or 7 years) we may want to do some Florida trips. That being said, if I buy VGC how hard would it be to book somewhere in WDW 7 months out? How hard is it to book VGC 7 months out? Which is more difficult? We tend to travel Adventure or Choice seasons. Is a 2 bedroom impossible to book 7 months out in WDW or VGC?

 

[ACDSNY]

With your preference being DL I would think VGC will be a good fit for you and the Aug UY is good for your travel times. For WDW you should be able to get a reservation at the 7 month mark for SSR, OKW and AKV as these are the larger resorts.

We're in CA so we've have a majority of our points in VGC as we go to DL more often than WDW.

The 2 bdrm unit are very nice!

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

DVC Experts,

I took the wife on a DVC tour while here at Disneyland. They had her drink the magic soda and I ate the magic milanos. They let us out of there without too much pressure to buy, even though we were ready to purchase. We have been talking it over this evening and I thought I'd check with you DVC experts before we pull the trigger since they gave us time to think about it. Is there any known problems with VGC that should keep me from purchasing? They will be selling us 200 points with an August use year. Is this a good month? We like to travel in the off seasons (oct, dec, feb) because of the smaller crowds! We only go every other year on average, but when we go I'm always bringing others like in-laws, siblings etc etc... This trip I had to buy 2 rooms at GCH for all of my peeps. I wish we were in a 2 bedroom villa . Next time, unless you convince me otherwise

As bumbershot mentioned be sure and check the 2011 point charts. Also since you are buying directly from Disney realize you can pick the exact amount of points you desire. If the desire is 210 points then i would ask them to break it up into separate deeds. For example, maybe a 160 pointer and two 25 pointers. They might even let you buy a 100 pointer, three 25 pointers and one 35 pointer.

Jason

 

[nunzia]

I would absolutely buy VGC (and did!) I am much more a DLR person than WDW, and can be more likely to stay at resorts in WDW at 7 months, since I don't really care where I stay, easier than I think it will be to get VGC at 7 months since the property is so small and as of now there is only 1 DVC there. I'm also a huge Grand fan and really only want to stay there, so buying the VGC makes sense. I would suggest, like the others, to check the point charts and pad your points a bit. Also, try and break up your contracts into smaller chunks so if you need to sell later is is easier to do so, or you may find in the future you don't need as many points (unlikely ) but it does give you the option of selling some and still having points to visit, which would not happen if you buy 1 big contract. Remember that contracts must be sold as is..if you buy 200 you have to sell 200. If they make you buy a 160 master contract, then buy that and then a 70. There has been some discussion of Disney letting peolle buy their master in small pieces, say, 2 100, but I really don't know the technical rules on that.
welcome..almost...home!

 

[stopher1]

Since you in HI, it definitely makes a lot of sense to purchase VGC, especially since it does sound like you get to CA more often than you do or would to FL.

VGC is an absolutely wonderful resort, and you just cannot beat the direct, exclusive access into DCA that no other resort can claim. And just being moments away from DL is terrific too.

So far it hasn't really been a major problem getting what we want reservations-wise at VGC - but once World of Color opens, and the rest of the DCA construction & changes are completed - it most likely will be very difficult to get, especially at the 7 month window. It is the smallest DVC resort, with only 50 rooms. Whereas there are thousands of rooms at WDW between all the various DVC resorts. Sure there are resorts that are harder than others to get into, especially at the busiest peak times, but very often for much of the year there is a room available somewhere. Only time will tell for certain about VGC, but I'm guessing once WOC opens and that viewing platform gets used, it'll start to get harder and harder without the 11 month window.

I would definitely have them break your contract down into smaller portions. Even though 160 is the minimum buy-in, I've read very recently of some people being able to get a 100 & a 60... so your 200 should be able to be broken down fairly easily too, I would imagine. We added-on at VGC after already being members, so we were able to get a smaller contract from the get-go. As nunzia and others have said, smaller contracts tend to sell more easily than large ones do, if you ever need to sell.

If you like to travel in the Oct - Dec timeframe, than an Aug UY should work well for you, since it tends to be better having your UY begin closer to when you like to travel. UY is most important for the banking deadline, which means you have to bank any unused points by March 31st, or use them up before Aug 1st if you miss the deadline. While not impossible, that can get tricky, so knowing you'll be traveling close the beginning or middle of your UY you shouldn't have problems with that aspect.

Finally, here's just one more reminder to be sure to check the points charts for 2011 as well as 2010 - since DVC can and does reallocate the required points at the resorts for given nights, times of the year. If you know you need 200 this year for your preferred travel period, if you are able to you might want to purchase 210 or 220 just to give yourself a buffer to hedge against those future reallocations. The total number of points for the resort can never change, but the number of points required at any given time of the year can. As an example, a stay at VGC in early 2011 that we are still pondering went from requiring 84 pts in '10 to 93 pts in '11. Sure we have enough, but if I'd only purchased 85 pts thinking that's all I would ever need, I'd be ticked as that would then put me into perptual borrowing mode. Personally I'd rather bank and have extra points for something else, than borrow - which will only lead to add-ons down the road!

 

[CrazyDuck]

The deed is done!!! We closed on our VGC contract this afternoon while the kiddos were taking a nap after a long day in the park. Sorry, for those of you wanting to be our referral, there were so many of you asking to be our referral that I didn't think it fair to choose any one of you over the other.

On another note... Where do you get those neat images for your signature that show which DVC home you own?

 

[ToddyLu]

So what did you decide to get pointwise...if I can be nosey...did they split the contract for you. We own 210 at AKV so we have a larger contract. Welcome Home!! I am very excited for you and your family.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Sorry, yea I forgot to mention that thanks to the wonderful advice on this board i was able to split the contract into 2 smaller contracts. We got 2 100 point contracts. I didn't realize that we would have to sign docs for each contract... Luckily I didn't as to split it to 4 50 point contracts else we would still be there signing!

Also no castle to castle promotion... oh well... she said that those were offered in lieu of the developer credits which were $15/point. So we got 200 points @ $112-$15=$97/point. Oh well I wouldn't have been able to use AP's, since I don't plan on going back til Oct '11 anyways!

 

[ToddyLu]

Good for you...sounds great!

 

[ACDSNY]

Congrats and Welcome to the West Coast side of DVC!

 

[Disney Princess]

Welcome Home! We also own at VGC and think it is a beautiful place. Enjoy your new purchase!

 

[Dancind]

Congrats! I love the GC, and hope to stay at the Villas someday. We are actually closer to CA, but fly to FL for our vacation.

Maybe I'll trade with you in a couple of years! Want to stay at the Beach Club? LOL

 

[Longhairbear]

.
I would definitely have them break your contract down into smaller portions. Even though 160 is the minimum buy-in, I've read very recently of some people being able to get a 100 & a 60... so your 200 should be able to be broken down fairly easily too, I would imagine. We added-on at VGC after already being members, so we were able to get a smaller contract from the get-go. As nunzia and others have said, smaller contracts tend to sell more easily than large ones do, if you ever need to sell. .

Hi, I don't understand why one should buy smaller contracts, can you explain?

 

[nunzia]

YEA for you!
I can't recall where I got my little logo thingy..I think if you right click on it it will give you properties and such that you can add to your profile?
I'm sure you won't regret this decision! Now I just need to figure out how to do a 70 point add on.....

 

[nunzia]

Hi, I don't understand why one should buy smaller contracts, can you explain?

It is just if you need to sell, or only want to sell part of your points and keep some. Say you have 300 points in one contract. If you try and sell them, it will most likely take longer, since it's such a bigger chunk of change. It also seems that the smaller contracts go for more per point..I see OKW small contracts going for 80 a point while big contracts go for far less. Also, say you still have that 300 point contract and find that you really are only using 100 points a year as your vacation habits change. You'd have to sell the whole contract and be out of the system if you held it in one contract, while if you had three 100 pointers you could sell 1 or 2 and still be able to be in the system
It is also a good idea for inheritance purposes..I hope to maybe sell my OKW (which I just bought to get in the system and not have to buy 160 when VGC came on board) then buy 70 more at VGC..which means my contracts will be 60, 65 and 70 and my three kids can figure out who gets what

 

[CrazyDuck]

Yea, the inheritance purposes was the main reason we split ours into 2 contracts. We have 2 kids so they will each get one of the 100 point contracts when I am done with Disney!

 

[Longhairbear]

It is just if you need to sell, or only want to sell part of your points and keep some. Say you have 300 points in one contract. If you try and sell them, it will most likely take longer, since it's such a bigger chunk of change. It also seems that the smaller contracts go for more per point..I see OKW small contracts going for 80 a point while big contracts go for far less. Also, say you still have that 300 point contract and find that you really are only using 100 points a year as your vacation habits change. You'd have to sell the whole contract and be out of the system if you held it in one contract, while if you had three 100 pointers you could sell 1 or 2 and still be able to be in the system
It is also a good idea for inheritance purposes..I hope to maybe sell my OKW (which I just bought to get in the system and not have to buy 160 when VGC came on board) then buy 70 more at VGC..which means my contracts will be 60, 65 and 70 and my three kids can figure out who gets what

Thanks