Almost ready but have a few questions

[Jhaberlein]

You lost me on the home resort issue. It sounds like you were formulating your choices based on price and 1 BR almost exclusively.

I was comparing the studios that sleep 5 and a 1 BR at OKW (and Timeshare stores point chart had VWL at 4 for their studios so I didnt even consider that option. POLY because we love the resort and OKW for the low price.

If, as people are suggesting, we'd likely find ourselves wanting a 2 BR, then that changes everything and we're back at the drawing board of options.

I really appreciate all the feedback. It's given us a lot to discuss and consider.

 

[gluestickgirl]

I was comparing the studios that sleep 5 and a 1 BR at OKW (and Timeshare stores point chart had VWL at 4 for their studios so I didnt even consider that option. POLY because we love the resort and OKW for the low price.

If, as people are suggesting, we'd likely find ourselves wanting a 2 BR, then that changes everything and we're back at the drawing board of options.

I really appreciate all the feedback. It's given us a lot to discuss and consider.

We have three - 15, 13 and 9. And have NO problem cramming into a studio, or even a moderate hotel room for a week - 10 days. We don't go to Disney to sit in the room. We spend most of our time out enjoying the parks and resort amenities. And find the balcony gives us juuuuuuuust enough breathing room to really help. Just wanted to provide another side to the story since not many here seem to share my family's view.

 

[Dean]

I was comparing the studios that sleep 5 and a 1 BR at OKW (and Timeshare stores point chart had VWL at 4 for their studios so I didnt even consider that option. POLY because we love the resort and OKW for the low price.

If, as people are suggesting, we'd likely find ourselves wanting a 2 BR, then that changes everything and we're back at the drawing board of options.

I really appreciate all the feedback. It's given us a lot to discuss and consider.

With 3 boys the 1 BR is workable as long as you don't take anyone else but I don't think it reasonable to do a studio with that group. I wouldn't do a 1 BR unless it was a 2 BA unit. You'll have to decide what fits your exact situation. One thing you can do once you make your best guess is to buy something and give it a try. As you've posted I suspect BLT is going to be the thing that fits your thoughts best but you don't know if it'll end up being your best choice. It's also the second cheapest long term. Another options, if you'd stay at AKV almost every trip, is to buy there and do the value 2 BR but you have to stay in the values roughly 2/3 of the time to make the numbers comparable to owning SSR and staying in a 2 BR standard.

 

[kniquy]

1. Use year? I get the basics of it, and I think April is what we want if we typically travel in September. Yes? No... you're totally off!?

If you want to travel in Sept then you would likely be better with a Sept UY --if you can't use your points you have to bank them at the 8 month mark. Sept UY would work if you wanted a Sept trip or if you wanted to do January for Marathon.

I don't want to plan to have to rent out points, but if I purchase "extra" should I at least do 45 extra to rent?

Most rental companies want close to 100 points to rent out anything. Look at the point cost for the most expensive time of year which you may travel. Increase that by 10% (in case there is a future re-alignment of points) This amount should suit your needs and might allow for a little banked into the following year, which could be good if you want to do 6 nights instead.

If we could get a PVB contract of 80-100 points for below $120 we would definitely save money in the long run due to the contract length.

I would say it is highly unlikely that you would find a resale for that low of a price per point. If you are planning on staying at a variety of resorts then buy the best value so a SSR 100 point contract would cost some where around $8500 and a resale PVB 100 points would be between $14500 - $16,000 (usual price per point is over $145pp so you will not see anything close to $120pp) A significant savings to purchase SSR and you can still use those same points at all other resorts. If you are really interested in poly it is sometimes makes more sense to buy direct for member benefits and the closing costs are a little less and you can use a disney visa for a certain % back in rewards. Poly w/ 5 might be ok for the next couple of years but will likely be an issue as the boys get older.

Is it better to start calling and letting agencies know what we are looking for?

I think the DVC resale market is pretty competitive so I don't think that agents really have to call people when a matching contract come about. You best bet is when you are really ready to buy -- look at the email listings, visit their websites daily and call as soon as you see a contact that meets your needs.