Anyone else have trouble pulling the trigger on higher point resorts?

[sandieb]

I would rather stay where I want to be even if it costs a few more points. That being said, I am happy to book at lower point times of the year and avoid higher point weekends. However, travel costs are so high that I try and make our trips as long as possible - often needing to book 2 weekends. Ouch! I really like Saratoga Springs and enjoy the lower point totals.

 

[Julylady]

I book where I want to be. BLT or WLV for trips with little kids where we plan to spend a lot of time at Magic Kingdom. BWV or BCV for food/ Wine festival. OKW for trips with adults and teens who like extra space. Our last trip with just the girls was at AKL for the animal lover in the group. We spend a lot of time in the unit, so view is important to us. Part of the fun of DVC for me is having the option of staying in all different types of units and locations. All that being said, I usually try to arrive on Sunday and leave on Friday to avoid weekend point costs.

 

[lovin'fl]

I like the low pointers...but DH prefers to have a boat load of (cheap) points to book where he wants (out of what's available at the 7 month window). So, we walk a fine line of booking where we want and conserving points. In OP's case, 3-12 points really isn't all that many and even I wouldn't blink at spending those to try out VWL or something different. We bought our original contract, 200 OKW, in 2006 and by this Dec we will finally have tried all the east coast resorts (except VGF). But, stays at BLT and VGF won't be frequent (we are doing 3 nights in a studio at BLT for the 1st time in Oct and then we likely won't do it again and I am not sure if we will ever splurge for VGF).

 

[nolanboys]

We are OKW lovers because 1. the resort but 2. the low point value. We have only once stayed at BWV instead of OKW or SSR but I want to travel more so I need the points and we always have a 2BR. I wish they didn't change the points at the THV I loved when they where the same as a 2BR.

Totally agree about THV. It was part of the reason we bought into SSR - to have the 11 mo window and be able to get a 3 bdrm or the points of a 2.

 

[Iceman93]

This reminds me of the never-ending debates over on the DLR board. Every so often someone will post a thread along the lines of "I like to stay at cheap off-site hotels so that I have more money for longer trips and I can't imagine why anyone wastes their money at the on-site hotels." Then someone else will start a thread saying "We just splurged for a multi-bedroom suite at the Grand Californian and I'll never vacation any other way, and I can't imagine how people tolerate anything else."

It's great that Disney offers the value rooms at the AKL for those who find that the best use of their points. It's also great that they offer grand villas at the Grand Floridian during peak season for those who find that the best use of their points. Luckily we can all be happy with our Disney experiences!

 

[Splashboat]

I wouldn't have trouble if I really wanted to try another resort. Personally, I would never book VWL. I can see pine trees any time I want at home but I can't find a giraffe without driving to a zoo in another state.

I think it also depends on how much time you spend a the resort. We spend a lot of time there so location is important to us.

We bought at the 2 resorts we love so we can alternate trips.

Maybe you should do another small add-on

 

[ludari]

I'm like you in that I am a DVC member and I have the same amount of points. I usually reserve a value studio since it's just me but I have found that the points go a long way. My trips are typically three nights over the weekend for runDisney events. I have stayed at BLT, AKL and OKW with multiple visits to AKL and OKW. My most recent trip was to Aulani for five days. I currently have upcoming reservations for Boardwalk and Beachclub for a few more races. So I say pull the trigger and try other resorts. You only go around once so enjoy it while you can.

 

[lah3hh]

This is a constant discussion and difference of opinion between myself and DH. We have a nice amount of points but I am definitely the point miser because I feel we could take more vacations if I economize our point spends. DH on the other hand wants the best view, the larger room even if we don't need the space and Concierge when we go on DCL...geez, drives me crazy!!! He feels like we have the points we should spend them in a BIG way.

The funniest thing to this in our regular life he is the spendthrift and I am the free spirit spender...isn't that odd? He constantly tells folks I manage our points waayyy better than our checkbook!!!

I guess it is the classic battle of quantity versus quality!!!! To that I say to each their own.

 

[snoopy5386]

OP here and so glad to hear I am not the only one!! It's really hard for me to let go of points since our normal yearly stay is 5 nights in a value 1 bedroom at AKV in the fall and that costs more than our yearly allotment! I'm still not sure what we are going to do for the stay in question. It's a quick add-on stay for a couple of nights after SIL's wedding and I'll be solo with 2 kids for 2 of the nights so I have different requirements than usual.

I was thinking about VWL because I want to stay at a one building resort with a quick service restaurant to make it easy to get something to eat by myself with 2 kids. Right now we are booked in a value 1-bed at AKV and waitlisted for BWV standard view for our November trip and I'm going to wait until after that one to decide where we'll stay in March. If our waitlist comes through (doubtful at this point) then we'll stay at AKV in March. If it doesn't then I'll see what's out there and maybe move. I'm planning on OKW for next fall and GCV the year after. I nearly fainted when I saw the points needed to stay at Disneyland!

Our only non AKV stay was at BCV and Beach Club is my favorite resort, so I had no problem pulling the trigger for that one. Funny how that works. But now that I scratched that itch I'm not feeling the need to stay there again for a while.

Luckily we love AKV and my kids keep asking to go back!

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

Well I just booked the VGF today for 4 nights for 184 points....yikes!!

So I guess No!

But thats what is so great about DVC, you have so many choices.....I have tried out every resort at Disney except SSR and WL...... Every resort is different and have its own special atmosphere. The BW has SV rooms for lower points, but the BW View rooms are awesome and the view of the lake is worth it.

 

[gray52]

Everybody's different.


My opinion is that BWV is the best value for your DVC dollar. Want to go cheap on points but still walk to two parks? Standard view. Want to splurge just a little and get the most spectacular view in all of Disney (resorts) at a reasonable point cost? Boardwalk view.

 

[DreamerWDW]

I would say the longer I own my membership the more I splurge with my points without hesitation. In the beginning, I would've never considered a better view category. But then I booked late and had to take a lake view and WOW...I was impressed. I felt the extra points were worth it.

So now, I'm more inclined to use the points for a better view or a resort I want to try that's higher points and I don't really think twice about it.

I still am hesitant to go up from a studio though. I did splurge for the Treehouses once and loved it, but I can't quite go to a 1 bedroom on a regular basis. I'd rather have longer trips in a studio at this point.

I just love my DVC membership and all the options I have!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I love the one bedrooms. ...mostly because of the kitchen and the jetted tub. I have used my points willingly on concierge level at AKL and even concierge rooms on Disney Cruise Line. I love using the membership and haven't regretted one use.

 

[NoleFan]

We are relatively newbie DVC owners. When I was looking at my home resort choice, I thought I wanted a BC 100-150 point contract. That's how many points we use per year. When I looked at the point chart, I realized BC is really expensive in terms of points!! That led to me consider BW although I had never stayed there before. We stayed @ BC so we knew we liked the area. The value of standard view rooms led me to decide on 100 points BW & 50 points BC. Fortunately, we really love BW & now that we have stayed there may even liked it a bit better than BC !! The 50 BC points will cover our summer/late spring visits (love SAB) to BC & can use our BW points for the rest of the year. Needed home resort advantage for both as we often travel during school breaks. The point value can't be beat for BW & owning there gives you better access to those standard view rooms. I do have a hard time justifying those higher cost rooms but do want to try all the DVC resorts. VGF may be too expensive for my taste - almost double the cost of BW !!

 

[lovin'fl]

My opinion is that BWV is the best value for your DVC dollar. Want to go cheap on points but still walk to two parks? Standard view. Want to splurge just a little and get the most spectacular view in all of Disney (resorts) at a reasonable point cost? Boardwalk view.

I agree.

I put all the WDW resorts into 2 categories...
1- walking distance to park(s): BWV, BCV, BLT
2- not walking distance: SSR, OKW, AKV, VWL, VGF

I think the best point value at each is BWV and AKV and I'd love it if that's where we owned but we own AKV and OKW (and HH for use at HH). I wish the OKW were BWV, though OKW is great point value too and offers the most spacious villas. I'd love to add on at BWV for the ability to book standard view. And DH is glad to own OKW since we got more points for our money there (if we bought BWV instead, we'd have gotten about 160 points instead of the 200). I guess I am happy with what we have...it's worked just fine.