Another “Help us decide” post...Uber specific

[lmhall2000]

We were at Aulani this week. After years of doing spread sheets and just not ready to ‘bite’...we seem to want to now. Here’s what we were ‘told’:
1. If we buy 150 direct from Aulani- they give us 20 bonus bringing their pp down to $165.
2. we wanted to put everything on cc for points...but would take us 3 months to pay off...she said she could ‘easily’ do that for us.
3. We absolutely loved Aulani, but don’t see us coming back here more than 2x in 10-15 years.
4. Our kids are all just out of college or in college. One completed DCP last year, and one is shooting for IT internship this next year.. are there any advantages to buying once she is there?
5. We get negative vibes on Riviera...love Copper...the three resorts we love the most are Poly/Cont/BC.. we always stayed at Deluxe bc their hotel rooms fit five and worked out better deals for us. But, this last trip was almost double (even with free dining) than it was a few years ago.
I’ve read so many threads- and there’s a sentiment to not buy right now. We plan on going about once every year or two and maybe a short two night stay for just me and dh once a year. 150 points seems to be our sweet spot.
Any advice on resale or not? Dh wants 100 direct and 50 resale..any issues with using all points for stays? Thanks so much!!

 

[ELMC]

Riviera is the resort being actively marketed right now, but it's not for you. Aulani is the other resort being actively marketed right now but you don't really plan on going there. It sounds to me like your options are clear:

1) Wait until Reflections goes on sale and buy that.
2) Buy one of the "sold out" DVC resorts (shop carefully, there is a wide price variance).
3) Buy resale.

Given that you are buying DVC to stay at Disney, buying Aulani is not a good idea. You would not have the 11-month booking window at ANY WDW property and that means that you could get shut out for your travel dates.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Matty B13]

Aulani Resale prices are around $100/point compared to $165/point direct, might want to consider a resale contract if you don't need the AP discount.

 

[robinb]

We were at Aulani this week. After years of doing spread sheets and just not ready to ‘bite’...we seem to want to now. Here’s what we were ‘told’:
1. If we buy 150 direct from Aulani- they give us 20 bonus bringing their pp down to $165.
2. we wanted to put everything on cc for points...but would take us 3 months to pay off...she said she could ‘easily’ do that for us.
3. We absolutely loved Aulani, but don’t see us coming back here more than 2x in 10-15 years.
4. Our kids are all just out of college or in college. One completed DCP last year, and one is shooting for IT internship this next year.. are there any advantages to buying once she is there?
5. We get negative vibes on Riviera...love Copper...the three resorts we love the most are Poly/Cont/BC.. we always stayed at Deluxe bc their hotel rooms fit five and worked out better deals for us. But, this last trip was almost double (even with free dining) than it was a few years ago.
I’ve read so many threads- and there’s a sentiment to not buy right now. We plan on going about once every year or two and maybe a short two night stay for just me and dh once a year. 150 points seems to be our sweet spot.
Any advice on resale or not? Dh wants 100 direct and 50 resale..any issues with using all points for stays? Thanks so much!!

You enjoy staying at the Polynesian, the Contemporary and the Beach Club and you're only buying 150 points so you'll want to stretch your points. I looked today for May 4th (7 month window) at those three resorts and the only one that has availability for a full week is Bay Lake Tower in a Lake View (Standard and Theme Park views are sold out) for 141 points. The Poly has 6 days available in a Lake View and 4 days available in a Standard View. The Beach Club has 1 day available. The only other resorts on property that have full availability are Saratoga Springs (both "views"), Old Key West and Animal Kingdome Kidani Savanah View. SSR is almost always open at the 7 month window. If you're OK with booking SSR and waitlisting for a different resort, then buying at Aulani would work out for you. If you want to be guaranteed to stay in one of your favorites, you're going to need that 11 month window. Especially for times like Christmas and Food & Wine.

I would recommend that you buy a resale at one of your favorites. Yes, that makes you a second-class DVC member but you get to stay where you want.

 

[luvdisneyland]

Aulani Resale prices are around $100/point compared to $165/point direct, might want to consider a resale contract if you don't need the AP discount.

Even if you do want the AP discount, it doesn’t justify spending 50% + more to get the discount that can go away at any time.

 

[TJ Bryant]

If you do buy part resale and part direct, I would buy the resale first because it’s then easy to match use year and resort to make it easier to use all points together. If you buy direct first you might have a harder time matching use years. And either way with multiple contracts you can’t technically use all the points together. I don’t think anyway. Maybe if use year and resort matches you can. I know you can’t if they differ. You can transfer points from one contract to the other but only once per use year.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Seriously, Aulani is a bad choice. Even if you really want direct, Saratoga direct will be cheaper and at least offers 11 months at WDW.

 

[Sandisw]

The last time my DD checked for the CM discount on DVC, it was only on Aulani

But, I don’t think buying at a resort you won’t visit very often makes sense. If the goal is WDW, then buy a WDW resort, the 7 month booking window is becoming more difficult and with Aulani points, you will be limited to start there. You won’t have any home advantage for WDW.

I think you would easily become frustrated with DVC.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Forget Aulani if you don't plan on going there yearly. Buy a WDW resort if that is your goal each time you go. For the newer resorts (almost anything other than 2042 or thereabouts), forget about getting more than one studio. One studio can be hard at many times of the year. Figure on booking a one bedroom.

 

[lmhall2000]

We definitely want to book a 2 BR each time, so that limits us because availability for some is quite low...BLT seems to be the most practical, but Copper is where we'd love...but they have very few 2 BR...

 

[Deb & Bill]

We definitely want to book a 2 BR each time, so that limits us because availability for some is quite low...BLT seems to be the most practical, but Copper is where we'd love...but they have very few 2 BR...

Copper Creek Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Room Types
42 Dedicated Studios
20 Dedicated 1BR Villas
56 Dedicated 2BR Villas
36 Lockoff 2BR Villas
4 Grand Villas
26 Cascade Cabins
Total = 184 villas/ Maximum 220

 

[lmhall2000]

Yep, BLT has 120 2 BR, OKW has 274, and SSR has 360...AKV has 140 but we don't like how remote it is...BLT at least has easy access to MK which is where we spend most our time...and I wish the dedicated lockoffs had 1 King and 2 Queens...only OKW has that option...

 

[Pyotr]

We definitely want to book a 2 BR each time, so that limits us because availability for some is quite low...BLT seems to be the most practical, but Copper is where we'd love...but they have very few 2 BR...

True but the 2 bedrooms are almost always available up until the 7 month mark. Where CCV is a pain to book is the studios.

 

[lmhall2000]

True but the 2 bedrooms are almost always available up until the 7 month mark. Where CCV is a pain to book is the studios.

That actually is encouraging to hear! Hmmm....it's all these 'details' that I feel we need to know before we get in there! Thanks!!

 

[Pyotr]

That actually is encouraging to hear! Hmmm....it's all these 'details' that I feel we need to know before we get in there! Thanks!!

Just checked. From May 5 2020 to September 5th 2020, home booking priority, 2 bedrooms are available every day except May 24th for some reason.

 

[lmhall2000]

Oh goodness! Now it’s getting real! I saw two contracts for 175 points priced around $145...now I need to figure out whether we should put a bid now or wait until February (statistically lower contracts?)...dh is on board- it would be nice to just bite the bullet and stop researching

 

[lmhall2000]

Can I pay with my Disney Chase? Does their 0% for 6 months apply if we buy from resale broker? Otherwise, we’d pay with Chase Sapphire to get triple travel points.

 

[Pyotr]

Here is a thread for the Copper Creek owners. It has a lot of good information. Do as much research as you can before you make a decision.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/•...k-villas-cabins-owners-lovers-group•.3631019/

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Can I pay with my Disney Chase? Does their 0% for 6 months apply if we buy from resale broker? Otherwise, we’d pay with Chase Sapphire to get triple travel points.

From what I've seen and experienced, when buying resale, you can only put the down payment on a credit card, and the limit is usually somewhere around $2,000. The rest will need to be cash or financed.

 

[Matty B13]

From what I've seen and experienced, when buying resale, you can only put the down payment on a credit card, and the limit is usually somewhere around $2,000. The rest will need to be cash or financed.

Some Title Companies let you use a credit card, some don't. Some of the one's that don't, are the better ones to deal with, they will require a check or money transfer.