Butterflies at an unexpected potential purchase

[rainpetal]

I have been researching DVC for a few years now, taken the tour, read the forums, looked at resale, etc. We told the DVC salesperson about a month ago that we aren't really looking to buy for another year or two with the possible exception of a small contract at Grand Floridian. I knew that VGF wasn't technically available and that the wait list was closed, so I honestly didn't expect to get a call about points any time soon/ever. This morning however, we get a call saying some VGF points are available and are we interested.

I don't really have any questions and I think we will probably jump on it and get a 50 point contract just to get our foot in the door, but I needed to just say something to people who will understand the weird combination of excited/nervous/insane feelings that comes with making a DVC purchase.

Wish us luck!

 

[Tardisblue]

Good luck! Next thing you know you'll be a member of the 1,000 point club...

 

[rainpetal]

Good luck! Next thing you know you'll be a member of the 1,000 point club...

Well, I already know that I will want multiple home resorts and we will obviously need more than 50 points for any decent usefulness, so more points will come in the future. Beach Club is on my list for sure, but I'm willing to go resale for those points.

To be honest, I half expect to have some of my DH's family members try to get us to buy more points so that they can take vacations, with and without us.

 

[bwvBound]

Be sure to negotiate a Use Year that best fits your anticipated travel periods/locations.

 

[rainpetal]

Be sure to negotiate a Use Year that best fits your anticipated travel periods/locations.

It was one of the first things I asked today. My DH is a pilot so our schedules can be somewhat erratic and while I know that that could be a problem with DVC at times, I made sure to figure out the best use year options for when we like to travel, which is fall and winter. So we are considering Aug, Sept, or maybe Oct for our first choices, June could also work for us.

Let me know if I am missing something.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

We went through that same feeling of nervousness when we bought VGF. 2 years later, we are very happy with the decision. We have since added on some more points through the resale market.

 

[bumbershoot]

Will 50 points at grand Floridian be useful at all for your plans? Will you be using the 11 month advantage for booking?

To be honest, I half expect to have some of my DH's family members try to get us to buy more points so that they can take vacations, with and without us.

Harrumph; if they want to vacation without you they can buy their own points.

 

[bwvBound]

It was one of the first things I asked today. My DH is a pilot so our schedules can be somewhat erratic and while I know that that could be a problem with DVC at times, I made sure to figure out the best use year options for when we like to travel, which is fall and winter. So we are considering Aug, Sept, or maybe Oct for our first choices, June could also work for us.

Let me know if I am missing something.

Good job! FWIW, your travel dates to the non-WDW locations, should you choose to go there, might not match up with your WDW travel dates. Yes, I'd agree that Aug, Sept or Oct are good for Fall/Winter at WDW; we did the same (OCT UY at SSR). However, with the addition of newer properties added on the west coast (Grand Cal) and Hawaii (Aulani), our Oct UY is "ok but not perfect" for our common spring visits to DLR or HI. Oh, well. How could I have seen these in advance? We also enjoy Vero in summer and the OCT UY is a very bad fit for that option. Again, oh well ... the Oct UY remains the "best fit" for our occasional WDW travel.

 

[rainpetal]

Will 50 points at grand Floridian be useful at all for your plans? Will you be using the 11 month advantage for booking?

Do I think 50 is the ideal amount of points for us? No, not really. But it is a compromise between a lot of factors. DH will only buy direct for the initial contract and if I'm going to spend that much money buying direct, I want to be at our favorite resort, be able to pick my UY and point amounts as well as get financing if we want to have that option. I have always expected to play the bank/borrow system and for the next few years, 50 will work for the 3 of us. DD is only 9 months old so we have some time before we absolutely need larger accommodations/more points.

We will definitely be using the 11 month advantage for booking. We have to plan his vacation requests at work up to 14 months in advance so we will know with plenty of time what month he will have vacation time. However, we don't know the exact days he will have off until middle of the prior month. My biggest concern has always been if we need to cancel due to DH's work schedule, I would need to be able to bank the points or have a lot of leeway in order to book another trip. So, as long as I can cancel/change plans prior to the 30 day mark, we should be fine.

Harrumph; if they want to vacation without you they can buy their own points.

I'd be willing to let them rent my points for the cost of the maintenance fees. It is more the fact that in the 12 years of our marriage, we have had 6 trips to WDW. Of those trips, only 1 has been without any of his family also being at WDW at the same time and that was because it was a spur of the moment trip. This includes his family being present on our honeymoon, 10 year anniversary, and the upcoming first birthday trip for our daughter among others. And while I like his family, this is rarely my choice and I would prefer to not have to deal with family dynamics on my vacations to WDW, but it is becoming apparent that I can't seem to avoid it and so I learn to deal. But buying DVC is likely to lead to less coincidental overlap and more purposeful attempts to tag along since we will "have room".

 

[_auroraborealis_]

However, we don't know the exact days he will have off until middle of the prior month. My biggest concern has always been if we need to cancel due to DH's work schedule, I would need to be able to bank the points or have a lot of leeway in order to book another trip. So, as long as I can cancel/change plans prior to the 30 day mark, we should be fine.

In fall, you might be able to drop days, but adding days on either side of the original booking will be near-impossible from late September through marathon if done after 7 months. If you pick up days, they won't be at VGF. VGF is actually a resort that demands home resort for studio booking much of the year.

 

[rainpetal]

In fall, you might be able to drop days, but adding days on either side of the original booking will be near-impossible from late September through marathon if done after 7 months. If you pick up days, they won't be at VGF. VGF is actually a resort that demands home resort for studio booking much of the year.

I'm willing to do split stays or some other combination of DVC and cash reservations if we have to adjust the dates slightly. I hope it won't be an issue, but I like to plan for every possible contingency in order to avoid being unable to use our points. If all else fails and we have to cancel a reservation, I expect we would try to rent out the points instead.

 

[ziravan]

Ask the guide if they'll still do guaranteed weeks and if they have enough points to sell you a guaranteed studio for 2nd week of Dec.

More points than you're considering, but that contract would be worth its weight in gold.

 

[rainpetal]

We actually settled on 100 points at VGF with a September UY. DH wanted to go higher on the points so that we can actually use them regularly instead of banking/borrowing for every trip. Since I had always expected to do 100 points until the 50 point idea was mentioned, it wasn't really too much of a hard sell for me.

So the contract is being processed today/tomorrow and we will get our points to use starting tomorrow. Our guide is already scouting to see what he can get with our points for our upcoming December trip. This went so fast! Part of me is worried that it is an impulse buy, but how can it be impulse if I've been researching for at least 2 years?

 

[Missyrose]

Congrats on the purchase, my salesperson called yesterday with September UY VGF points available, but we had to turn down the add-on since we just bought a new house.

 

[rainpetal]

Congrats on the purchase, my salesperson called yesterday with September UY VGF points available, but we had to turn down the add-on since we just bought a new house.

Well, we are a bit crazy because we also have a pretty major car repair that we just found out about today as well. I'm feeling distinctly poor at the moment, but still positive which is important. I might just be crazy though.

Congrats on the house. That is still a couple years away for us.

 

[rainpetal]

So, it looks like our stay in Dec is going to be a split stay. 4 nights at Wilderness Lodge (or whatever it is called now) and then switching to a savannah view in Jambo house for the last night. Anyone want to give me a brief run down on how split stays work and also how waitlisting works? I've read about both briefly during my research, but could use a quick refresher.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm willing to do split stays or some other combination of DVC and cash reservations if we have to adjust the dates slightly. I hope it won't be an issue, but I like to plan for every possible contingency in order to avoid being unable to use our points. If all else fails and we have to cancel a reservation, I expect we would try to rent out the points instead.

From mid-September to after the marathon, you won't be able to modify your reservation to add days anything less than naybe six months out.

 

[rainpetal]

From mid-September to after the marathon, you won't be able to modify your reservation to add days anything less than naybe six months out.

Good to know. When exactly is the marathon? I am more likely to book extra days if I have the points to cover it without borrowing and then cancel what I don't need. But that is a rather uneducated guess, so that tactic may not work.

 

[disneynutz]

Did you get the UY that works best for you? How much did you spend total? Why didn't you buy 50 points for the perks and buy a resale contract for more points?

You have 10 days from signing to think it over and cancel or modify your purchase.

Bill

 

[Matty B13]

There about 5 VGF contracts with a September UY, probably get them for under $140 a point. We bought in June at $145 on a 150 point contract. The prices were a little higher then. Either way good luck and enjoy.