BLT vs CCV

[Mattingly4822]

Hey Everyone,

I hope this is the appropriate place to pose this question. We are new and interested in buying into DVC. I'm about 80 episodes into DVC Fan and hundreds of youtube videos into the research phase. I think we have settled on 2 parks that we like. The thing that is attractive is the costs of points, the deed expiration dates and there locations. I like the BLT more due to the location. I also think from what I have read it is harder to book out, so the home resort 11 month window would be more adventagious. My wife is not a fan of the decor, nor does she detest it though. She loved the decor of the CCV though. She also like the pool and resort atmosphere better there. Which one do you think is a better choice between the two. We are coming from across the country so we would be ideally using our days to do the parks more often than not. A second question I had. With the refurb of BLT coming next year, will we see a rise in the resale prices after the refurb?

Thank you,

 

[Nabas]

Hi there!

I’m not sure what you mean by CCL. Do you mean Copper Creek Villas?

Thematically, we really enjoy the Wilderness Lodge, which includes CCV and Boulder Ridge Villas (BRV).

BLT’s theming is consistent with the Contemporary but without the Monorail running through it, BLT feels a bit sterile.

IMO, both Wilderness Lodge pools are superior to the BLT and Contemporary pools.

But being able to walk back to the room after the Magic Kingdom fireworks is tremendous.

 

[Mattingly4822]

Thank you for the reply. Yes I meant to say CCV. I fixed the post to avoid any confusion. Do you feel like in your experience you can book at CCV at 7 months?

 

[intamin]

Thank you for the reply. Yes I meant to say CCV. I fixed the post to avoid any confusion. Do you feel like in your experience you can book at CCV at 7 months?

It really depends on which rooms you're going for and when. Studios are always the hardest followed by 2 bedrooms. CCV studio during Christmas? Forget about staying there without home resort priority. On the other hand a 1BR in June? You'll likely get that pretty easily. Again it just really depends on your needs and when you plan to go. If you're flexible with the room type you'll likely be able to stay there in some form and can likely do a split stay with CCV most times.

This can help give you an idea of the availability at different resorts.
https://tools.dvcvacations.com/points-calculator

Edit: Just saw you're comparing to BLT, BLT home priority is good in order to book standard view rooms and theme park view rooms. Personally I'd probably opt for for CCV between the 2, it has a longer contract length, the theming of the resort is amazing and the pools are great. If you feel like you need to be watching fireworks at MK from your room on NYE or July 4th then that'd be a reason to buy BLT. The walking distance to MK is also unbeatable but eh, the rooms/theming at BLT aren't to my taste. If I wasn't planning to buy poly for poly tower I probably would be buying CCV.

 

[DeeBee3]

Wilderness Lodge and therefore CCV has the best (IMO) Christmas theming of them all. The tree is legendary. If you want a room any time in December through the new year, you need the 11-month window.

I own CCV and was just there for my first Christmas experience. It was as amazing as people say. We have also stayed there at other times of year. We love the resort vibe and the pools. We count both pools as we can use both. Geyser Point is a great food option for outdoor dining and you can sit out there to watch the electrical water pageant at night.

The boat ride to Mk is not as convenient as walking, but it's relaxing and my kids love it. I get to sit on a boat and take in the view of the castle as we approach!

I have not stayed at BLT so I can't give an opinion on that.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Hard to beat the location of BLT, if you spend a bit of time at MK, or even EPCOT. But we're with your wife - the place isn't that interesting to look at, and the pool there is not a favorite of ours. CCV is a beautiful place with a nice pool option.

 

[RoseGold]

Are you booking studios? CCV has very few studios. If you are trying to book studios, you are setting yourself up to fail, especially peak.

The refurb did nothing to BR's pricing. I guess it's possible the refurb moves BLT pricing, but there will be bigger things in play, like the economy and the DL/Poly2 pricing.

Mathematically, I think either are fine, including as SAP.

 

[MartyParty]

We own at BLT. As others have said, walking location to Magic Kingdom cannot be beat. Also, you have access to the transportation hub with monorail access to EPCOT. Upcoming refurb will greatly improve the rooms BUT it will still be cosmopolitan contemporary versus CCV rustic ranch chic. I believe CCV will always have the better theming.

BLT convivence
CCV better theming

But I think you mentioned something that I'm no expert on...availability at 7 months. As an example, we bought Poly years ago and have never used our points there. Plenty of other places at 7 months to book. That's one of the primary keys for selecting a home resort is availability at 7 months versus having an earlier start at the 11 month window.

Good luck!

 

[peabody58]

I'm biased (own BLT), but IMO, BLT would serve your needs/wants better. As you noted - Location, Location, Location. Point charts are better, parking is better, monorail/walk, classic Disney. I'm sure over the course of your ownership, you'll be able to book CCV/BRV to get your WL experience. And let's not forget about the extra bathroom in the 1 BR Villa's. That alone makes BLT a winner!!

Either way, enjoy your journey.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

We prefer BLT bc convenience is key. We also only book 1bd+ at BLT. Studio is too small there.

 

[Mattingly4822]

Thank you all for the replies! What a great community. Were going to do a short trip in September without the kids for a food and wine festival. I am going to try and tour both places and see which one wins us over. I guess worse case scenario we can always get sucked into addonitis later and buy at the second resort. We will generally try to get 1 bedrooms as I think it would be more relaxing with our two kids to have separate spaces.

 

[CarolynFH]

We will generally try to get 1 bedrooms as I think it would be more relaxing with our two kids to have separate spaces.

Indeed it will be, especially as they get older. And as they get older, the extra full bathroom and the single sleeper chair in the living room at BLT (in addition to the queen foldout couch or Murphy bed if BLT gets them) will come in very handy too! CCV won't have those - a 1BR has only one bathroom and one queen in the living room.

 

[Nabas]

Thank you all for the replies! What a great community. Were going to do a short trip in September without the kids for a food and wine festival. I am going to try and tour both places and see which one wins us over. I guess worse case scenario we can always get sucked into addonitis later and buy at the second resort. We will generally try to get 1 bedrooms as I think it would be more relaxing with our two kids to have separate spaces.

Yes, if you plan to go with kids, especially, as they get older, the extra bathroom and extra sleeping surface at BLT is way better than the one bedroom at CCV.

 

[intamin]

Thank you all for the replies! What a great community. Were going to do a short trip in September without the kids for a food and wine festival. I am going to try and tour both places and see which one wins us over. I guess worse case scenario we can always get sucked into addonitis later and buy at the second resort. We will generally try to get 1 bedrooms as I think it would be more relaxing with our two kids to have separate spaces.

If your goal is to get 1BRs, in general you can find most resorts available at 7 months. at which point the best option would be to get the cheapest price per point contract you can get whether that's SSR/CCV/BLT or whatever really.

 

[RoseGold]

For booking 1BR, SSR has to be in the discussion right now. Resale pricing is bananas. Unless you're traveling super peak, and even then sometimes, you can get tons of 1BR availability with SSR. If you're flexible with what you get, SSR has to be at least considered.

 

[bobdacat]

Thats a tough one. Take away walking to MK and extra bathroom BLT wins by a little bit(for me). BLT for the views and the monorail for easy access to 2 other resorts and their restaurants without much effort.. CCV the resort is the best themed in all of WDW I think. CCV has better pools, and still only a boat ride away from Contemporary resort, than Poly and GF via boat or monorail. The view of the park and watching either the fireworks or electrical water pageant and hearing the train whistle from your room that wins it for me....

 

[drusba]

Both BLT and CCV have smaller studios than most of the other DVC's but CCV's 1BR and 2BR are also smaller than other DVC resorts while BLT's are larger than most.

WDW DVC has basically two different demand seasons -- the high to extremely high "fall" demand season from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan, and the more moderate season the rest of the year. During the fall demand season both BLT and CCV can be difficult to get at 7-months out, although lake or theme park view 1BRs at BLT might be available at times. However, it is CCV that is more difficult to get at 7-months out during the moderate season.

What you need to be aware of is the 11-month issue for both resorts. An owner of a resort can book up to seven nights beginning at 8 a.m. eastern, 11-months out from date of arrival. BLT standard view rooms have a serious 11-month issue, in that, during the fall season, standard view studios and 2BRs (including dedicated 2BRs) fill very quickly as soon as it is 8 a.m. at 11-months out from any given date of arrival. The winners are those whose computers communicate with Disney's faster than all the others trying to reserve. Moreover, even 1BR standard views sometimes fill very quickly at 8 a.m. during the fall season, and theme park studios can sometimes fill right at 11-months during the highest demand weeks of the year -- first and second week of Dec.The standard view studios and 2BRs also have the same issue for many times during the moderate season. However, lake view rooms, the majority of all BLT rooms, do not have the 11-month issue, and during the moderate season, they are often open even at 7 months out.

So you might ask yourself, do you really want to buy at BLT? The answer would be no if your desire is to usually get standard view rooms; otherwise you are generally fine.

Now for CCV -- it also has an 11-month issue, particularly for studios, which can disappear very quickly at 8 a.m. at 11-months out many times of the the year, although often for reservations during the moderate season either the "shower" studios or the "full-bath" studios will still be open if the other fills right at 11-months out, but there are times in the moderate season when both fill very quickly right at 8 a.m. The CCV 11-month issue was caused by DVD. It added to the construction 26 two-bedroom lakefront cabins which have very high per-night point requirements. What happened in the sales process is that most of those points applicable to the cabins got sold to buyers purchasing only enough points to get less point-costly rooms. The result is that studios in particular, and 1BRs and 2BRs, were oversold, albeit legally, and thus there is excess demand for those rooms, particularly for studios for much of the year. If intent is to usually get studios at CCV, you probably should not purchase it.

As to resale prices, refurbs are usually not the reason for price increases. They are far more affected by location of resort (near park versus others) and by the prices DVD is charging to new purchasers -- when it goes up resale prices tend to go up.

 

[peabody58]

So you might ask yourself, do you really want to buy at BLT? The answer would be no if your desire is to usually get standard view rooms; otherwise you are generally fine.

Owned BLT since 2010. We have always been able to get Standard views (our only use of of BLT points). Studio/1 BR and 2 BR's. Even during the Fall season. At 11 months, we sometimes have to wait for the 'walkers' to move by, and sometimes we have to Wait List the reservation which usually get filled within a few weeks. YMMV