Advice, very torn.

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I know what you mean about embarassment. We took my sisters on our first DVC trip to our beloved BWV. The rooms were worn and ours was ready at a convenient 5 pm. We also asked that our other studio booked would be convenient. So of course, it was across the resort and on a different floor. That snafu actually caused a family rift.

On another note...we stayed in WL in 2005, and the transportation was awful! Every CMs favorite phrase that week was...it looks like you just missed it. (How is that possible for an entire week?)

Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

[wdrl]

Only the Epcot resorts which are in walking distance avoid a bus or other transportation need.

Don't forget that BLT is within walking distance of MK, and that even the Epcot resorts require a bus or other transportation need if you want to visit Animal Kingdom or MK. Every DVC resort will require some form of transportation if you plan to visit all four Parks.

 

[eliza61]

We just returned from our first trip to SSR (our home resort). I never want to stay there again. We like DVC and it still suits our situation. But I have used all my 2010 points for this recent trip with my parents and sister.
This is the worst time to try to sell it, when points are stripped, right? I also have a reservation I made for a renter, so closing can't happen before then, correct?
If we can sell SSR we will try for a VWL resale. Otherwise, I think we will just not own any more. I'm so sad about the whole thing!

Hi Bonybroad,
May I make a suggestion. Wait a while before selling. I have had vacations from "Heck" (not the word I would use. ) at the Grand Floridian
I mean every thing from horrible bus service to waiting 40 mins for my car at valet service (where the heck did they park the thing! Cuba ) to a disasterous meal at 200 Park fare. I couldn't for the life of me understand how this was Disney's flagstaff resort.
But you know what the next vacation was much better. Some times you really get those "Griswold" vacations where absolutely nothing goes right. If your DVC fits your needs I would see how hard it is to book at the 7 month window and take it from there.
My home resort is BCV's and I've never had to waitlist for any other resort (I don't travel during Christmas though).

 

[bonybroad]

I think you are right. This was just NOT a good trip. Lots of things went wrong that I want to blame on SOMEONE and SSR is my scapegoat.
I am so sleep deprived that I can't focus! I still don't care for SSR, but I can always waitlist or switch.
Sorry to be so dramatic!

 

[robinb]

I don't see the big deal about trying to sell the stripped contract. I don't really think you get enough for a contract with points. Maybe someone will want your exact number of points and use year. It's worth a try.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I know what you mean about being embarrassed in front of your guests. You try to put your best foot forward and a calamity of errors happens!

Happened to us at BLT in October. Between the AC working when it wanted to in our studio (which was never) and my guest having to give us $12 to get our car out of hock from CR Valet (not prepared for the loss of perk or to pay more than the tip) we were totally embarassed. We gifted them a studio at SSR and after visiting our studio at BLT and having dinner at CR, they were more than happy to be at SSR and felt we got the short end staying at BLT DVC heard from me on that 1!

Sometimes you can get really stressed travelling with family and friends and many will subconsciously (if not outright) nit pick things so you really have to take those trips with a grain of salt and know that those trips will always be different no matter where you stay. Just the fact you felt you had to time and keep track of your bus waits after day 2, shows how unrelaxed you were this trip. The busses have been cut back as has most everything at WDW this year and if you rely on them, you will need to allow that time and be flexible.

I also understand a resort not fitting your vacation style. OKW and VWL are those resorts for us. We own OKW and I just use those points elsewhere. Stayed there once, and it did not click with us at all. Dont have a bad thing to say about it, just prefer the others

Extra Pixie Dust that you have a much better experience next trip no matter where you stay

 

[tea pot]

Hi Bonybroad,
May I make a suggestion. Wait a while before selling. I have had vacations from "Heck" (not the word I would use. ) at the Grand Floridian
I mean every thing from horrible bus service to waiting 40 mins for my car at valet service (where the heck did they park the thing! Cuba ) to a disasterous meal at 200 Park fare. I couldn't for the life of me understand how this was Disney's flagstaff resort.
But you know what the next vacation was much better. Some times you really get those "Griswold" vacations where absolutely nothing goes right. If your DVC fits your needs I would see how hard it is to book at the 7 month window and take it from there.
My home resort is BCV's and I've never had to waitlist for any other resort (I don't travel during Christmas though).

This is some good advice...

I think you are right. This was just NOT a good trip. Lots of things went wrong that I want to blame on SOMEONE and SSR is my scapegoat.
I am so sleep deprived that I can't focus! I still don't care for SSR, but I can always waitlist or switch.
Sorry to be so dramatic!

you don't need to apologize ... We all wait all year for our vacation in the World.... Our Happy Place and it's OK to be dissapointed and need support..

My vote is to hold onto your points and Stay at another resort

I have had very little trouble booking at the 7 month point. in fact this past November we stayed at BLT BLV !sometimes you can get lucky
SSR is our first home resort and we have two small contracts at VWL and BCV
added on not to long ago but we stay all over..
Just be smart and a little flexible If at all possible Don't book you vacation from work or airfare till you make your reservations, sometimes just moving your dates a day forward or back can make a difference.

Best of Luck

 

[LSchrow]

My vote is to hold onto your points and Stay at another resort

i second that
we've had not so great vacations (the one a few days after 9/11 had more sad moments than any other, add in a few bad apples at the poly and it was one of least favorites).
but every single vacation has had some wonderful moments....the good memories will quickly overshadow the bad

 

[DonnaL]

If the bus situation was the biggest issue of the trip.......that can and does happen at ALL the resorts.....not just SSR. We always rent a car in order to avoid the bus situation.........which, by the way, I believe has gotten worse over the past several years. If you spent 20 hours of your vacation waiting on buses.....don't you think that's worth maybe $200 for a rental car .......$10 for every hour you waited.

 

[starbox]

FWIW - we've stayed at every DVC, most of them more than once, and bus service has been, at times, HORRIFIC at every resort. Honestly, we've just about given up on the bus system at all - it seems like they were cutting service due to gas prices, then the recession - and DVC just seems to get the "red-headed stepchild" bus treatment. BCV and BWV share bus service with multiple resorts. The AKV/Kidani combo tested every bit of my patience in June. SSR and OKW have in-resort loops.

Personally, I would not sell SSR until I tried the treehouses - since that is one of the hardest reservations to get. We LOVE our SSR points because they were CHEAP, came with great incentives, and have low annual dues and they will make a treehouse possible when we do a big family trip.

We've used them to stay at every single DVC resort - just switched out at 7 months.

 

[Sandisw]

I understand where you are coming from as we bought BLT (even though it cost us a lot more) because we knew that is where we wanted to be and didn't want to worry about what would be available at 7 months.

We started out buying VWL (small contract) figuring we would add on at BLT at a later date, but realized in just two months that we didn't want to own elsewhere and sold.

I think, if you really know that SSR is not a place you want to stay, contact a resale broker and put the contract up to see what happens. It certainly won't hurt to do that (with the delayed closing--that is what I had to do) and you can always pull it if you change your mind.

I know that the money piece is important and figuring out the loss you might take to sell SSR and buy VWL might not be something you are comfortable with, but I think being happy with what you own (since this is a long term commitment) is just as important (if not more).

Good luck!

 

[twinklebug]

I'm so sorry you had a bad trip. I had one once to WL also (have you ever seen "the roof view" . Fortunately I had stayed there twice before and knew how wonderful it could be. It's still my favorite. The magic was just a little mushed that trip

I agree, give it some time. I can't promise you you'll love SSR, it's not for everyone. Try booking outside your home resort at the 7 month window and use the wait list. It's worked fine for me so far (knocking on wood)

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

This is the worst time to try to sell it, when points are stripped, right? I also have a reservation I made for a renter, so closing can't happen before then, correct?

Typically those packages with banked points typically do sell quicker and for more per point then a listing that might not have any points coming until 2011. That is correct that the property cannot close until the check out date of your latest reservation.

Jason from The Timeshare Store, Inc.® aka www.dvcstore.com

 

[Jynohn]

We always rent a car in order to avoid the bus situation.........which, by the way, I believe has gotten worse over the past several years. If you spent 20 hours of your vacation waiting on buses.....don't you think that's worth maybe $200 for a rental car .......$10 for every hour you waited.

We do the same thing. We always get a good discount code from Mousesavers, and it's worth every penny we pay for a rental car to not have to wait for a bus to get us to the parks in the morning or wait in a line for one at the end of a long day. Instead we get in our car and go at our own leisure, and usually end up in the parks in half the time. Our vacation time is precious, and we don't want to waste a single minute of it waiting on transportation.

As for SSR, we have owned there since 2005 and have yet to stay there (our first trip is to the Treehouse Villas next week). We now have contracts at VWL and AKL as well, but we always use our SSR points first to book reservations and haven't had a problem yet in getting what we want. Best of luck in whatever you decide, and I'm sorry you had a disappointing trip.

 

[supersuperwendy]

I agree that a rental car could make a world of difference at SSR. On our Oct. 2008 trip we rented a mini van which was WONDERFUL! This past August we stayed at SSR and just used the buses which made me miss the van!

 

[Simba's Mom]

We just returned from our first trip to SSR (our home resort). I never want to stay there again. We like DVC and it still suits our situation. But I have used all my 2010 points for this recent trip with my parents and sister.
This is the worst time to try to sell it, when points are stripped, right? I also have a reservation I made for a renter, so closing can't happen before then, correct?
If we can sell SSR we will try for a VWL resale. Otherwise, I think we will just not own any more. I'm so sad about the whole thing!

I don't know what's right for you, but after our first stay at our home resort(I won't mention it so that this isn't a "Which resort is better"), we knew it wasn't for us. We were so disappointed there-we actually considered selling, and I put in a complaint to DVC about several bad encounters! Now I know that maybe our second trip there would have been great. But on the last night, we switched to OKW, just to try it out and DH fell in love with it. So we did the "Buy/sell" through resale and couldn't be happier. Maybe we lost a few dollars (or hundreds of dollars) in the process, but the smile on DH's face when he's asked where he owns, and he responds with where makes it all worthwhile. We're glad we didn't give in to the initial temptation to just sell our points. Maybe try some other resorts and maybe you'll find one you love. Maybe not, and maybe eventually you'll decide to sell. But my recommendation is to give some other resorts a chance. There's such a wide variety of styles in the DVC resorts.

 

[Grumpygrandpa]

I think I would hang on to the SSR points. IMHO those points are undervalued on the market right now. With them you get the 11 month window at the THVs, low MFs and a fairly long contract. I've had great luck booking at 7 months with my SSR points. Good luck on your future DVC vacations.

 

[quentina]

Why not keep SSR and make reservations elsewhere at the 7 month window. I have logged many trips to WDW and only stayed at my home reort once. Getting a ressie at 7 months is by no means impossible. If you can't get what you want make a ressie anywhere and waitlist for where you want to stay. I have 2 AKV contracts. I sold 1 the other week and just bought into BLT. I lost money on the deal but now I own where I want to stay. My advice would be to sit on your contract until you have points in the bank, then list it for sale. The other side is to sell it cheap now, you will sell for less, but you will not have to make your monthly mayments anymore (assuming you financed). PM me if you have any q's on the resale process.

I agree, I own at HHI, VB and 75 points at VWL. I always book/stay at 7 months, no issues. I have only stayed at SSR one time.....VWL, BCV and BWV are the normal. I have AKV booked for February.