booking BCV at 7 months window and other questions?

[chris4disney]

DH and I are just about ready to buy into DVC. We're torn between buying via resale at BCV or BWV. I like having the capabilities of booking a standard room at BWV at 11 months out (I know they probably aren't available at 7 months out, right?). But we do love BCV and would occasionally like to stay there as well and swim at SAB. How difficult is it to get in at BCV at the 7 month window? I know that Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas and F & W may be difficult, but at any other time of year would you think we'd have a problem?

Also... the two complaints I read the most about BWV is that the rooms are getting pretty worn and their aren't enough counter service locations. I would think that the rooms will get some kind of refurb done in due time, like all Disney resorts do, so that doesn't really concern me so much. Does the lack of counter service really affect your enjoyment at BWV that much?

They way I see it, at BWV you get the lower standard view points available to make your points stretch out farther. And at BCV you get slightly lower annual dues. But that may not always be the case, so I don't feel that should make or break our choice between the two. SAB is a superior swimming pool by far, but again if we can occasionally get a stay 7 months out at BCV, I don't know that it's neccessary to have it as our Home Resort. We really like the different settings that both resorts offer (quiet and relaxing on the beach at night... or busy, entertainment of the Boardwalk), but the resorts are so close that you can easily walk across the lake and enjoy both atmospheres regardless of which resort you're staying at.

At this point we really only want to buy about 100 points and maybe add on smaller contracts later, so if for some reason we would have to sell our points it seems that smaller contracts at both resorts tend to sell quickly. I know because I've been on the look out for them.

Am I missing anything to help us decide between the two as a Home Resort?

TIA

 

[Starr W.]

Hey fellow Buckeye!

I was able to get a 2br(the onw will 1queen and 1sofa bed in 2nd br) for Thurs-Monday MLK weekend. I had already booked my home resort and switched at 7 months. While a holiday weekend, I

We don't do WDW in the summer, we do our non-DVC vacations then. So I don't know how easy it would be to get then.

Just to test the system, I'm going to try to switch for Thanksgiving(Friday before-Friday after) already have our home resort SSR booked, but just because I'm somewhat of a gambler and have like all the resorts we've stayed at (SSR, BCV and VWL). If I can't get in I'm planning on waitlisting the whole enchalada(except for OKW).

I think the "buy where you want to stay" is a valid point. The 11 month window is a must for major holiday periods, and if you ever want std view at BWV you need the home priority period.

 

[PEANUT1]

We had no problem booking BCV at 7 months for May 4-9 of this year. We chose to have SSR as our home resort and bought resale. The reason we chose SSR is because it offers more years and from a financial standpoint, that is a no brainer...We have stayed so far at AKV, SSR, VWL, and BCV this May...and had no prob at the 7 month window with any of them.

 

[WendyinNC]

I tried swiching from BWV to BC for Easter week and the wailist never came through. There were some days available at the 7 month window; but, I didn't want to risk moving between resorts so I put in for the waitlist only if all 5 days (Sun - Thur night) came through. They never did. That's okay I love BWV and have a standard view booked.

 

[chris4disney]

Thanks for the replies so far! Anyone else care to chime in?

 

[Simba's Mom]

My luck has always been better at BWV than at BCV. I even got a standard view studio at BWV for the second week in December at 7 months. And I got a BW view studio at less than 2 months (August). However, I've never been able to get BCV at a few months out, and that's the one resort where the waitlist hasn't come thru for me. From my experience, BCV seems the tougher resort to get ressies at.

 

[Juliet25]

The standard rooms were what sold us on the BWV. I imagine they're hard to book at 7 months. I tried some November dates, but only preferred was available. Of course, November is a busy time of year. You may not have a problem in, say, September.

I think it really depends on where you'd rather stay. If DVC had any BCV points available when we bought in, it may have been a tougher choice. But, really, you can't go wrong with either resort. Obviously, BWV's pool isn't comparable to SAB, but the location of either resort can't be beat.

 

[chris4disney]

I'm sure this information is out there somewhere, but does anyone know how many dedicated 2bdrm units BCV and BWV has compared to the lock-off units? Are the dedicated units hard to come by and is that something you can request and be guaranteed?

 

[DISNEY FIX]

We couldn't decide between WVL and BCV. So we bought both. Would you be able to do that?

 

[daisyduck123]

We've booked BCV twice at the 7 month window & never had any problem getting a studio. We stayed late July/early August last summer & are doing the same for this summer.

 

[CarolMN]

I'm sure this information is out there somewhere, but does anyone know how many dedicated 2bdrm units BCV and BWV has compared to the lock-off units? Are the dedicated units hard to come by and is that something you can request and be guaranteed?

Can't help with the numbers for BCV, but the BWV have zero dedicated 2 bedroom units. All are lock offs.

BWV does have some dedicated studios and some dedicated 1 bedroom units, though.

 

[chris4disney]

Can't help with the numbers for BCV, but the BWV have zero dedicated 2 bedroom units. All are lock offs.

BWV does have some dedicated studios and some dedicated 1 bedroom units, though.

So does that mean that all 2 bedroom villas at BWV have one queen bed and one sofa in the second bedroom?

 

[macosx]

We're torn between buying via resale at BCV or BWV.
...
At this point we really only want to buy about 100 points and maybe add on smaller contracts later, so if for some reason we would have to sell our points it seems that smaller contracts at both resorts tend to sell quickly. I know because I've been on the look out for them.

Am I missing anything to help us decide between the two as a Home Resort?

Decisions, decisions. You've got a good sence of the tradeoffs involved, and it's a matter of what's more important to you. I my case, they were fairly evenly balanced. I let fate decide by going with the first acceptable contract (number of points, price, etc.). There's about a $5-10/point difference at the resorts. There's also about $5-10 difference between smaller point contracts versus larger point contracts. Keeping that in mind, if we had to go up $2-3/point more, we probably would have waited for whatever popped up next. We also plan to stay at all the resorts sometime, so the extra booking window is just to make sure there is an acceptable backup plan at all times.

You could buy 50-100 points at each as someone else suggested, but I suggest going with 160+ points at the one where booking early makes a bigger difference to you. You'll pay less per point, and only pay one closing cost instead of 2. You'll have more points to use sooner as well I'm guessing you'll have decent chances to switch either case at the 7 month mark, and worst case is you're still at a great resort.

 

[DisneyHumbug]

IIRC BCV has 25 dedicated 2 bedrooms with the 2 queens. I've got one booked for F&W and I'm afraid it's going to spoil us!!

 

[disneymom8589]

We've been fortunate to book different resorts at the 7-month window. We booked a July 2007 trip to BCV at 7 months out and last December we booked VWL at the 7 month mark. Last Sunday, we decided to see if we could switch from VWL to BWV (5 months out) and had no problem. So far we're 3 for 3!

 

[CarolMN]

So does that mean that all 2 bedroom villas at BWV have one queen bed and one sofa in the second bedroom?

Yes, that is correct.