Advice on Purchasing?

[BCantEven]

So my mother is considering purchasing a DVC and I've been doing all the research for her. She lives on Oahu and we (myself, DH, 12yo DD, 6yo DS) live in NC. I am a complete WDW fanatic and we try to go back at least every few years (has currently been 4). Mom's thought is that we can flip-flop every 2-3 years between a WDW vacation and a Hawaii vacation (which we have been doing anyway since 2008). We rarely see each other (and she rarely sees her grands) so she thought this might be a way for us to meet up for vacations every few years. She will also likely pay for her DVC in full.

So onto the questions....
1- After alllllllll my research, she was considering going to Aulani to purchase her DVC and having that as her home resort. My thought was that she might be better off picking a higher demand location like BLT? I visited AKL and love it. My only thought was that later down the road when she starts to show her age , AKV may not be as convenient as something attached (at least by covered walkways) to its mother resort.
2- Given our situation, would it be better to have 2 contracts? One at a WDW resort and one at Aulani? If I understand correctly, we still would not be able to book until the 7 month window (using the accumulated points between both contracts)... something that might be more feasible at Aulani than at a WDW?
3- We usually travel in the summer months for a minimum of 2 weeks. So, if my calculations are correct, we need a minimum of 444 pts for 1BR, 2 wks at OKW (cheapest I could find for a 5 occupancy), or 308 pts at Aulani for cheapest studio (we only need 4 people occupancy there). Which leads me to believe 150 pts per year is sufficient if we travel to either every 3 years.... Okay there's no question here I was just making sure I'm correct.. If I am misunderstanding any of this, please correct me.

If there is any feedback or advise, please let me know. I am the designated family planner and overall "researcher of stuff" so I just want to make sure I have a good grasp before I try to break it down for her. I know if she goes straight to a DVC person at Aulani, she might just make it an impulse decision.

Thanks!

 

[sndral]

FYI, AKV Jambo house has DVC villas in the 'mother resort', the Kidani villas are in a separate building, but when booking at 11 mo.s you can opt for Jambo or Kidani, irrespective of which section your points are technically in.
They are currently selling Aulani, Poly and Copper Canyon in the Wilderness lodge - so if she goes to a DVC salesperson those are what she'll be offered. If she's seriously interested in Aulani, take a look at the prices on the resale market, I suspect the savings from buying resale may outweigh any benefits - especially w/ the planned Hawaii stays.
W/ your family composition - mom, you and hubby and 2 children how would the 1 br.s work? In most villas (not sure re: OKW) you'd have the king bed in the bedroom which I assume would be for you and hubby and then mom and the kids in the living room w/ the kids in the pull out sofa and mom on the pull out chair, or one of the kids in the murphy bed & mom and other kid on the pull out sofa (only in DVC 1 br. villas w/ 5 occupancy?)

 

[disneynutz]

Keep reading the DVC section of the DIS and you will get a real good idea of the DVC. I would buy the home resort that you love and is difficult to book at 7 months and I would plan on staying in 1 bedrooms. Aulani is wonderful but IMO the real bang for your buck is WDW with 4 or 5 parks, many resorts to choose from, DS, and restaurants to numerous to count.

Bill

 

[Mrs.Milo]

There are lots of threads here that can give you an idea of occupancy levels at Aulani and the WDW resorts during the time you will travel, I'm guessing summer with kids. A WDW resort with 1 bedrooms that sleep 5 will give you plenty of space (BLT has 2 bathrooms!). Good luck with your research, both options are great fun.

 

[BCantEven]

W/ your family composition - mom, you and hubby and 2 children how would the 1 br.s work? In most villas (not sure re: OKW) you'd have the king bed in the bedroom which I assume would be for you and hubby and then mom and the kids in the living room w/ the kids in the pull out sofa and mom on the pull out chair, or one of the kids in the murphy bed & mom and other kid on the pull out sofa (only in DVC 1 br. villas w/ 5 occupancy?)

I believe there is a pullout sofa as well as a pull out single chair. This was the case in AKL 1 bedrooms as well.

 

[CvilleDiane]

I believe there is a pullout sofa as well as a pull out single chair. This was the case in AKL 1 bedrooms as well.

I love BLT -- it was my first home resort. I've recommended it to friends and always look forward to staying there. That said, the pullout chair is really small for an adult. I'd never ask my mom or MIL to sleep on it.

 

[sndral]

I love BLT -- it was my first home resort. I've recommended it to friends and always look forward to staying there. That said, the pullout chair is really small for an adult. I'd never ask my mom or MIL to sleep on it.

I agree, hence the question. When we stay at AKV I let my adult son and his SO have the master bedroom and I take the living room, sometimes opting for the chair instead of the sofa as it's easier to fold/unfold every day, not sure how I'd feel about sharing the living room space w/ 2 grand kids for 2 weeks especially if I had to share a sofa bed w/ one of the grand kids, but that's just me & maybe I'm weird that way. Of course, that's why air mattresses were invented, right?
When we stayed in the VGF 1 br. I didn't even try to use the pull down bed, as it looks even smaller than the pull out chair.

 

[ITGirl50]

I've heard that Aulani is difficult to book studios in the summer months. So if you really want to stay there during the summer you may want to look at buying resale Aulani contract. This will give you the ability to book 11 months booking window. Having to wait until 7 months may block you out of a studio. Aulani is selling $85 to $99 a point. You could get a lot more points resale.

 

[chalee94]

2- Given our situation, would it be better to have 2 contracts? One at a WDW resort and one at Aulani? If I understand correctly, we still would not be able to book until the 7 month window (using the accumulated points between both contracts)... something that might be more feasible at Aulani than at a WDW?

2 resorts makes sense if you go every year and want to go to WDW one year and Aulani the next (and keep flip-flopping).

2 resorts is not a good idea if you are buying to use every other year overall.

3- We usually travel in the summer months for a minimum of 2 weeks. So, if my calculations are correct, we need a minimum of 444 pts for 1BR, 2 wks at OKW (cheapest I could find for a 5 occupancy), or 308 pts at Aulani for cheapest studio (we only need 4 people occupancy there). Which leads me to believe 150 pts per year is sufficient if we travel to either every 3 years.... Okay there's no question here I was just making sure I'm correct.. If I am misunderstanding any of this, please correct me.

When you say you plan to use every 3 years, it makes me nervous. You can bank and borrow pts to use 3 years worth of pts every third year - it is theoretically possible. BUT if you need to cancel, those banked and borrowed pts are stranded in that new "Use Year" and if you cannot adjust your plans quickly to use them, you might risk losing up to 3 years worth of pts for zero value.

DVC can work if you go every other year but every third year is stretching it IMO.

 

[ELMC]

There are more people using Aulani points to stay at WDW than there are people using WDW resort points to stay at Aulani. As the pressure from off property resorts continues to increase the demand for WDW properties, owning there will become more and more important. I would recommend finding the WDW resort that best meets your needs and then purchase a resale contract there.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I love BLT -- it was my first home resort. I've recommended it to friends and always look forward to staying there. That said, the pullout chair is really small for an adult. I'd never ask my mom or MIL to sleep on it.

My son who is about 6'2" has slept on that sleeper chair and he thought it was great.

 

[gharter]

Sounds like you've been doing your research. Keep reading. There is an amazing amount of information here.
I'm a firm believer in buy where you want to stay. That way you can book at 11 months. You can always change your mind and book another resort at 7 months.

 

[zavandor]

Using contracts every 3 years is possible but not easy and comes with additional risks. Here's an example:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-every-three-years-doable.3609169/#post-57691988