Before I sign my life away . . .?

[keishashadow]

It appears as though we'll be going to WDW every 1-1/2 years, so the DVC looks appealing. Even though the plan will certainly outlive us (hope the kids will keep the maintenance up - or perhaps we could re-sell?)

The MAIN reason for our hesitation is that we like early Feb. Since we NEVER have a firm vacation date until the prior December, I am worried that if we don't get our 1st choice of weeks in February, and have to cancel & rebook for January or March; we won't be able to get a room with the plan.

Not sure if different types of units go faster, but typically we would only need a studio, unless I decide to bring the whole family.

Additionally, should we really be looking to purchase a resale at the resort we'd like to stay at (Wilderness Lodge) or go with a cheaper & more readily available one (Key West)? I guess I'm asking those of you who have used the plan in Jan.-March, if you've had success in booking at your resort of choice.

Please advise, keep me from making a mistake in my choice. Thanks to all who reply in advance.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

If you are unable to take advantage of the 11 mo. reservation window at whatever your home resort ends up being (VWL?), DVC may be very frustrating for you as there will probably be several occasions where you will have to accept a ressie at whatever resort is available (and due to the size of the resorts, it will most likely be OKW or SSR). Studios are very popular because of the lower point requirements so you might also have to go with a larger room.

If you can be flexible, then DVC may still be for you. If not, you might want to reconsider and just rent points from someone that is already a member or stay in non-DVC resorts.

As for VWL, it is very popular and is difficult to book due to the limited availability. If you truly want to stay there and have the home resort advantage...you need to find a resale or get on the waitlist w/DVC (which could take quite a while).

Good Luck with whatever you decide!

 

[tjkraz]

If your interest is limited to being able to book a studio at VWL in February on 2 months notice, then DVC is not for you. There are only about 130 rooms at VWL, and only a fraction of that total are studios. While you may get lucky some years, more often than not there would be nothing available when calling to book in December.

 

[Cruelladeville]

If you are travelling in February, you probably would want a contract in a month before that, for example, December. Since you are not planning to use the 11 month window, don't worry about home resort, buy whatever is cheapest, such as VB or HH. This goes against what is the standard here: "buy where you want to stay." You are not planning to use the one thing that is like gold for those of us who have specific wants--the 11 month window. When you get down to two or three months ahead of time, you have to take what you can get, both in location and type of accommodations. You may want to rethink your choices. Timeshares, whether they are Disney or not, depend upon long-range planning. If you are only going last-minute, perhaps timeshares are not for you.

 

[Desnik]

Another thing you should consider is the possibility that in 10 years you will travel in a different time frame. What I'm saying is you need to also think long term. Feb maybe your choice now, but will that be the same for 40 plus years? Another thing you should consider is that if you buy at SSR you get 12 more years on the contract. Also some resorts dues are more than others, like VERO, I believe has the highest dues. So that should be a factor too. Good luck in desiding! You really have to look at the big picture and think long term. If it helps, this is why we desided to finally buy into DVC. We go to WDW every year, we like deluxe resorts, we knew we would be going to WDW all the time as well as trips to Vero and HHI appealed to us. We knew we wanted SSR because of the extra years on the contract and long term as our kids got older we see ourselves liking that location more and more. We also loved the resort. We are new members and we have had no problems making our ressie for the time and size unit we wanted. I would also suggest that if you do buy, then can't get the resort/size unit you want, you could always go on the waitlist.