AKV or SSR resale...5 kids

[wehrengrizz]

I'm sorry this is wordy so please bear with me and I welcome any advice you might have

DH and I have 5 kiddos ranging from 2yrs to 12yrs. We are pretty much sold on the notion of purchasing a DVC contract resale, and have done the math from multiple angles. We would be planning to travel once every other year with the whole crew, so would need a 2BR (dedicated, not lock-off with the ages they are that's not desirable). ETA: We are planning to possibly use a few of the "every other year" points but would ideally rent them on off years.

We would typically travel for a week in mid-late January as a family, because we live in the tundra and it's nice to escape, but also because we just don't enjoy trips when the crowds are insane (as a family, it's usually overwhelming during those busier times. I do take a solo trip here and there so that's a different story.) I completely know "busy" is a relative term because it's always busy anymore.

We are looking for a contract with 185-220+ points and have found many that fit the bill, and in our preferred price range. That's where we kind of get stuck.

Main question is what is the actual ease of finding a 2BR at 7 months? In reality, we're not planning to book at 11 months out no matter where our home resort is, andt we typically book 6-8 mo out as it is now for these larger/all-7-of-us trips. We have never stayed at AKV or SSR but looking at overviews and virtual tours, SSR doesn't look...as awe-inspiring as some of the other DVC resorts.

I know everyone says buy where you'd love to stay but any trip to WDW is going to be where we want to stay when it boils down to it....just some places would be amazing to try and that's what we're looking to find out.

THANK YOU!

 

[ScubaCat]

Best thing is to visit the resorts in person and buy where you want to stay. The only one without dedicated 2BR is BWV (I believe, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong). SSR is nice but most people prefer a resort adjacent to a theme park. AKV is pretty cool, IMHO. BCV is our home resort.

Good luck!

 

[lovin'fl]

Since you plan to book in the 7 month window I would suggest you buy SSR or OKW for lower price per point. AKV is easy to get at 7 month window.

SSR has the benefit of having a longer contract life where OKW has benefits of...
1) less points to book
2) 2BR has 2 real beds in second bedroom instead of bed and sleep sofa
3) OKW is larger room with full kitchen table and laundry room
4) can book the HH section when you own, but have to do that well before 7 month window...but is best busing situation when you can get on bus at HH and then when coming home you can get off at 1st stop on Penninsular which is next to HH

And you can find an extended OKW contract to make it even more appealing.

 

[wehrengrizz]

visit the resorts in person and buy where you want to stay.

I wish I could hop down for visits at these renting points or something, that would be AWESOME!

Since you plan to book in the 7 month window I would suggest you buy SSR or OKW for lower price per point. AKV is easy to get at 7 month window

I forgot OKW has some extended inventory, honestly we'd not even given it a thought outside of SSR & AKV because of their length and cost per point. Thanks! Another layer of the onion

 

[BillPA]

If your looking at 185-220 points that's 370-440 every other year. I would go for OKW and plan on a Grand villa. In Jan it's 349 points for a week. Add a night for 47 or 57 weekday or weekend. You and the kids will enjoy all the space and 4 bathrooms. Good luck with your planning.

 

[CraigInPA]

I'd suggest a short weekend trip to stay in each resort on rented points. Spending a weekend in either resort will tell you whether the extra money to buy at AKL is justified over SSR.

My wife and I had it narrowed down to 3 resorts, stayed in all 3, and chose one. The main selection criteria for us was that we wanted a resort that was WALKING distance, or easily usable transportation to either MK or Epcot. We don't like buses, and struck OKW, SSR, and AKL off the list because of that. We loved the BCV's easy walk to Epcot, but didn't like the resort. We loved the Poly, but not the location of the DVC rooms (although they are the MOST convenient to monorail transport to both MK and Epcot). Ultimately, we decided upon BLT, and really enjoy the walk from the tower to the MK. If we were doing it in 2019, we'd also be looking at the new Riviera resort, due to the skyway transportation to both Epcot and DHS.

Let me also toss out there that the "11 month booking advantage" doesn't mean much from 7 to 11 months for 2 bedrooms, except for a few resorts and a few times per year. AKL club level is one of those that is tough to get any time even 11 months out. If you go in late January, you shouldn't have an issue getting a 2 bedroom dedicated pretty much anywhere. So, choose SSR for the lower cost of points and maintenance fees, and be ready to book at the 7 month mark if you don't want to stay at SSR.

 

[aoconnor]

To me the theming, quality of dining, superior pools, and Jambo House priority are well worth the extra $0.90 in maintenance fees for AKV over SSR.

As you mentioned there really isn't a slow time anymore, however January is one of the slowest times other than MLK day and race weekend. You should have a good chance at switching to other resorts at 7 months IMO, but you may not get the view/ room type you want every time (i.e. maybe only a lock off two bedroom not a dedicated, or a more expensive view).

 

[crisi]

You might also want to be aware that unless you are homeschooling - you are about to hit the "its really hard to pull the kids from school" years with your oldest. Not just the schoolwork, but if they get involved an any activities they are expected to commit and vacation scheduled for mid season can mean not making the team next year. (And the schoolwork gets much more demanding). So you might end up moving vacations to a different time of year.

We are from the tundra as well, and had to move to late August at around that age. Those mid-winter break vacations disappeared (I don't do Christmas crowds anywhere - and certainly not Disney) Now they are both in college and we don't take the kids.....

 

[wehrengrizz]

We are from the tundra as well, and had to move to late August at around that age. Those mid-winter break vacations disappeared

Definitely under consideration, thanks for the point on that though, good to keep in mind! Eventually DS12 wants to do the college program (he's been planning that for about 4 years already) so I'm sure no matter what we'll switch up when we go "regularly".

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I am pretty sure the two bedroom dedicated villas at Kidani Village at AKL have a king, two queens, a sleeper sofa and a sleeper chair, plus three showers and toilets. So although they cost a bit more, they accommodate a larger family than a two bedroom at SSR. A one bedroom at AKL Kidana sleeps 5 and has two bathrooms, so you might be able to get by there sometimes and save some points.

Whenever I book at AKL or SSR I rent a car.

 

[MattKreps]

We bought site unseen on a Disney Cruise. Poly. Realized that was dumb. We had run the numbers and it made sense when we considered that we were upgrading our vacation. Reloaded resale was a better value, so cancelled the direct and bought AKV resale. Tried it for first time and very happy. In process of buying a second contract for SSR. I’m saying this because you know when you want to go and what size room, so now it’s about maximizing dollars. You’ve got some good advice above about where to buy - but look at maintenance fees for sure also! Those hit you every year so are the biggest real cost of this. That said, you’ll be happy in any resort so I worry less about the where since we can always just waitlist a different location. Turns out I liked split stays even though I was skeptical. Busy alsompeicing on SSR resale is really good right now and some loaded contracts so jump quickly. AKV is a bit high IMO. Then just plan ahead as far as you can. If you are banking and going every other year, you will be plannning ahead anyway.

 

[crisi]

Definitely under consideration, thanks for the point on that though, good to keep in mind! Eventually DS12 wants to do the college program (he's been planning that for about 4 years already) so I'm sure no matter what we'll switch up when we go "regularly".

Yep - a lot of people buy not planning on change - but to make owning worthwhile, you need to plan on owning for a few years - and as you know with five kids across ten years - things change. When we bought it was for mid-October - the kids had a brief school break, we'd pull them for a few days and get a full week. Two things happened - October at the Boardwalk got BUSY as Food and Wine expanded into its all the time in October timeslot (we are BWV owners), and our kids outgrew being able to be pulled from school. Then our son outgrew Disney, and now our daughter starts college the week we'd moved to in August...and with the kids in the adult phase of life (they haven't actually launched, but now they can housesit and hold jobs) and living in the tundra, we are thinking "Hilton Head....January?"

 

[rehsu]

I didn't listen to other people and put an offer where I found a contract I liked (SSR). I wanted BLT or VGF but all contracts I found were too much to pay cash so I decided SSR especially because my trips will most likely never be planned at 11 months (probably 6 months or less).
Eventually I want to add Riviera so I get to be near Epcot without having to buy a short contract at BW or BC (then I will try to book at 11 months).

 

[wehrengrizz]

I’m saying this because you know when you want to go and what size room, so now it’s about maximizing dollars. You’ve got some good advice above about where to buy - but look at maintenance fees for sure also!

Yes thank you! DH has made a powerapps tool to calculate a billion different things...including the extrapolation of MFs increasing over time I think quite honestly SSR is our best bet, getting a massive contract would still cost less than a (50 pts less) contract at AKV....so I feel like it's a no-brainer yet both of us are not positive...just trying to make sure we'd be able to USE/rent annually!

 

[wehrengrizz]

I didn't listen to other people and put an offer where I found a contract I liked (SSR). I wanted BLT or VGF but all contracts I found were too much to pay cash so I decided SSR especially because my trips will most likely never be planned at 11 months (probably 6 months or less).

So are you happy with that? I don't mean to sound snarky at all, just couldn't tell if you were saying "forget what everyone says" or "I ignored other people and I somewhat regret it" . I know Riviera is going to throw a wrench in everything under the sun !!

 

[gharter]

i would agree with other posts to look at both resorts before buying if you can.
If not, decide where you really want to stay most of the time and buy there. So far, reserving at 11 months (other than value studios) is not difficult. Reserving at 7 months is becoming more difficult and i suspect will only become worse unless you are traveling at non peak times.

 

[rehsu]

So are you happy with that? I don't mean to sound snarky at all, just couldn't tell if you were saying "forget what everyone says" or "I ignored other people and I somewhat regret it" . I know Riviera is going to throw a wrench in everything under the sun !!

Hahaha I have no idea if I will be happy. My contract was sent to Disney today. Honestly, right after my offer was accepted I thought "Darn, maybe I should've try to get a different resort?!" but I have stayed at BLT, SSR, Beach Club... and although the walk to Magic Kingdom is nice, it's not like I'm going to MK everyday when I'm there. I am buying 135 points for less than 13k (not including annual fees and closing costs) so it sounds good to me.
I know no one knows how Riviera is going to be, but for some reason I REALLY want to own there, so I'm glad I'm paying cheap for my points now, with pretty cheap maintenance fees, so when Riviera is available I'll get the perks from buying direct and the price and fees (I assume it will be much higher) will balance things out.
I was looking at a 2 bedroom tonight to go in May and both SSR and AKV were available for 3 nights, so I guess as long as I can get a place to stay with the points I have at that moment, I will be happy.

 

[rehsu]

Reserving at 7 months is becoming more difficult and i suspect will only become worse unless you are traveling at non peak times.

Is there a place I can find when the non peak times to book are?

 

[kniquy]

SSR doesn't look...as awe-inspiring as some of the other DVC resorts.

You are correct in saying this. We stayed there pre-DVC purchase. The resort is nice, but for me when i go to FL (I'm from MA) I need to see palm trees, but because this resort is based on upstate NY there is not a palm tree in site. If you are booking 7 months out consistently then it just becomes a financial decision no so much a resort decision- so with that SSR would be your best purchase. The price per point is reasonable and the MF lower.

If you are truly planning on traveling in Jan then your options at 7 months should be pretty good. But have you considered how this affects the kids and schooling? If you home school then this is not an issue, but if your kids are in school please consider that your child's education becomes more demanding and missing school for a week as they get older pulling them from school will be more difficult and with some school systems could be a potential problem. I mention this because you will need to factor points needed if you do have to travel at other times of the year and this could play a part in what UY you purchase.


It is almost unrealistic to visit every resort prior to making your decision. Watch lots of youtube videos and you can get a good idea of what the resort has to offer. I think most people don't. So really figure out your budget stick to it.

A lot has to go into your decision. SSR might be the best choice for you at this time, you do have the benefit of disney Springs right there with many dining options and nightlife if you want some non-park times.

 

[rehsu]

The resort is nice, but for me when i go to FL (I'm from MA) I need to see palm trees, but because this resort is based on upstate NY there is not a palm tree in site.

That's funny! Prior to living in PA, I only lived in FL since moving to the USA and didn't even realize there are no palm trees at SSR LOL
Now I feel like I want to stay there again just to check it out!