Best Home Resort for Studio Lover?

[amagicalvegan]

Hi friends! I’m seriously considering buying into DVC and debating on a strategy for choosing a home resort or resorts. Right now I travel solo 90% of the time, so a studio really is the best fit. I’m young (26) so I can imagine in time adding on additional contracts as I have a husband, and extended family to take vacations with, but for now, its just me traveling regularly. I understand studio availability is slim, so I was thinking my home resort should be my favorite resort. After doing some research, I think I need about 150 points for my current vacation habits. I was thinking of looking for two ~75 point resale contracts at AKL and either the Poly or Bay Lake Towers, since DAK and Magic Kingdom are far and away my favorite parks. Any thoughts on this strategy? I was thinking that spreading around the home resort advantage might make booking a studio more doable. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[aoconnor]

Sounds like a good plan. I'd recommend Poly over BLT- the studios really are much nicer there and the largest on property. You'll be fine getting studios at both AKL and Poly 11 months out. If you don't already know, there are very few value studios at AKL so buy enough points to stay standard view.

 

[D-Trick]

Right now I travel solo 90% of the time, so a studio really is the best fit.

I've done my fair share of solo traveling, so please excuse me for asking...

Do you really plan solo trips that far (7-11 months) in advance?!?!?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Agree that home resort matters only if you can book 7-11 months in advance.

BLT and PVB are such different studios. BLT is one of the smallest and has a very different layout and PVB is one of the largest...and has a very different layout. I happen to like both. At various times of the year you can probably get into studios at all 3 of the resorts you mention at 7 months but having the home resort priority is very important for other times such as the last 3 months of the year, holidays and race weekends. PVB is mostly studios with Bungalows as the other option. Purchasing BLT would give you options to book larger villas during the home priority period and migh be more appealing in the future to add on to.

 

[cmoliver5]

Another option to put on your list would be BRV. The points required for a stay are a bit less than both the Poly and BLT. We just stayed in a BRV studio last week and loved it!!!

 

[amagicalvegan]

That’s totally a fair question! I don’t typically plan trips 7-11 months in advance, but I do triathlons and run and big races get planned out about a year in advance. With my training schedule mapped out it would be easy to find ‘optimal’ weekends for vacation that far in advance and book from there. My impulse trips usually revolve around cheap airfare which isn’t an issue getting to Orlando.

 

[amagicalvegan]

Another option to put on your list would be BRV. The points required for a stay are a bit less than both the Poly and BLT. We just stayed in a BRV studio last week and loved it!!!

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[cmoliver5]

That’s totally a fair question! I don’t typically plan trips 7-11 months in advance, but I do triathlons and run and big races get planned out about a year in advance. With my training schedule mapped out it would be easy to find ‘optimal’ weekends for vacation that far in advance and book from there. My impulse trips usually revolve around cheap airfare which isn’t an issue getting to Orlando.

If you tend to be more last minute, then the home resort advantage will be less important. I’d recommend buying points at SSR. The resale contracts are cheeper than the Poly and BLT and the dues are some of the lowest of all DVC.

 

[CraigInPA]

I would not recommend Poly due to its lack of 1 bedroom and affordable 2 bedroom (the bungalows are NOT affordable) units. Since you stated that the future may hold travelling with relatives and a husband, you need to consider this in your planning.

If you can't plan more than 7 months in advance, you'll likely be booking at OKW or SSR, because there will be no studio availability at any other resort. If you plan on going September to mid-January, you might not even have a OKW or SSR studio as an option.

I'm partial to BLT, and my wife and I stay in studios. We don't find it "too small". When I was a child, my parents fit the whole family of 5 people into one Poly hotel room, and my wife's family did the same, so our expectations for space are different from many others.

 

[kniquy]

I was thinking of looking for two ~75 point resale contracts at AKL and either the Poly or Bay Lake Towers, since DAK and Magic Kingdom are far and away my favorite parks. Any thoughts on this strategy? I was thinking that spreading around the home resort advantage might make booking a studio more doable. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

this is a plan that could work. We actually own both those resorts (well soon to close on my PVB contract). As long as you have a good plan to this will work. You could always book split stays using both contracts at the 11 months mark. This would be easier to manage with having the same UY.

If you are traveling there yearly would buying direct for discounts be any benefit? I say this because it could make sense to buy a resale poly contract (because direct is insane at $235 per point) AK is $176 per point so if looking at resale compared to direct it would cost an additional $4575 -- but there can be some benefits to buying direct. If you buy close to the end of your UY (meaning if you want a June UY you buy in May) you will essentially get the 2018 previous years points at a prorated MF. So you will have a fully loaded contract whereas many contracts for sale on the resale market will not have previous years points and could be missing points for the current year.

As for studios choices - Poly does have the largest with also having an extra shower area and it sleeps 5. So if you do have a family down the road that will be a great option. The down side is that it doesn't have 1 BR but I guess with buying 2 different resorts you could have the 1BR option at AK. We did a split stay last year with Poly first then AK in a 2BR -- having in room laundry for the second part of our stay was wonderful!

 

[amagicalvegan]

You make a good point about use year! I don’t really mind a split stay, especially if one resort is close to MK and the other is close to a different park, it kind of optimizes travel time. I don’t know if the discounts etc. would make the extra 4575 on the direct contract for AK worth it, but I’ll run the numbers. I had figured one day I’d add on a third contract directly from Disney if I decided I needed more points and/or wanted those perks down the road.

 

[amagicalvegan]

I would not recommend Poly due to its lack of 1 bedroom and affordable 2 bedroom (the bungalows are NOT affordable) units. Since you stated that the future may hold travelling with relatives and a husband, you need to consider this in your planning.

If you can't plan more than 7 months in advance, you'll likely be booking at OKW or SSR, because there will be no studio availability at any other resort. If you plan on going September to mid-January, you might not even have a OKW or SSR studio as an option.

I'm partial to BLT, and my wife and I stay in studios. We don't find it "too small". When I was a child, my parents fit the whole family of 5 people into one Poly hotel room, and my wife's family did the same, so our expectations for space are different from many others.

Any thoughts on why Sept to mid-January is so busy for studios? My ideal disney vacation times would probably be September, Feb. and April so I’m kind of scoping things out with those in mind.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Any thoughts on why Sept to mid-January is so busy for studios? My ideal disney vacation times would probably be September, Feb. and April so I’m kind of scoping things out with those in mind.

Sept-Dec is comprised mostly of the 2 lower cost seasons for DVC. And January is also a low point season. Hurrican season is over and the holiday seasons and food and wine have added popularity to that time for WDW. Early January has the WDW marathon which many people book rooms for. It's nothing new and has been that way for many years but it's been getting even tighter on availability as people realize they need to book earlier.

 

[D-Trick]

Any thoughts on why Sept to mid-January is so busy for studios? My ideal disney vacation times would probably be September, Feb. and April so I’m kind of scoping things out with those in mind.

Generally speaking, September-January (except the holiday breaks) is when the travel market dies down heavily. School is back in session so families can't travel. Also, most people need to save their money for travel and gifts over Thanksgiving and Christmas. January is also slow because people are broke from the holiday season. This is why you'll see the two cheapest seasons during these times, creating higher demand for DVC usage.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

Just throwing this out there, if it’s just going to be you how about a tower studio at Riviera direct ?? You could always add on a resale contract later if your needs grow.

 

[amagicalvegan]

Just throwing this out there, if it’s just going to be you how about a tower studio at Riviera direct ?? You could always add on a resale contract later if your needs grow.

The studios there are an attractive idea, but I don’t know that I’d use the membership perks enough to justify the extra cost. Plus right now resale fits my budget better. I don’t have the cash to pay the full $188 a point without financing right now and I’d rather avoid that if possible

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Just throwing this out there, if it’s just going to be you how about a tower studio at Riviera direct ?? You could always add on a resale contract later if your needs grow.

And there are regular studios that are less than the tower studio.

 

[The Jackal]

And there are regular studios that are less than the tower studio.

And your not in a closet with a balcony.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Buy the resort you like the most and prepare to book your studios at 11 months out most of the time, especially for any RunDisney events. Studios can be hard to book at CCV and GFV.

 

[kniquy]

Any thoughts on why Sept to mid-January is so busy for studios? My ideal disney vacation times would probably be September, Feb. and April so I’m kind of scoping things out with those in mind.

I would say studios are in high demand throughout the year, but most certainly mid September through mid January because of the lower point season and food and wine, holiday parties MNSSHP and MVMCP - coupled with many people wanting to travel to see the holiday decorations -- If you want a particular room then you be best served booking your home resort at 11 months then at 7 months you could see what was open to switch to. At least you will have a room if you handle it this way.