Buy now with $15/pt Discount or wait for Animal Kingdom?

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

We were all set to finally buy after wanting to do it for the last 5 years. We finally have the money and felt we couldn't pass up the discount. Now, we just found out that the Animal Kingdom is going DVC and while there aren't lots of details, it sounds great. Our DDs are 2 & 4 and they love animals. I can see us wanting to stay at the AKV (one open) for many years. Soooooo......the big question. Do we take advantage of the $15/pt discount and buy now, wait until AKV goes up for sale or do 1/2 and 1/2. I am stressing out over this. I guess the real question is how big of a deal is the 7 month window?

I would love feedback.

Thanks!

 

[monami7]

I think it will mostly depend on when you go. We have never had a problem staying where we want. I would probably go with the discount. That said who knows how backed up AKV will be.

 

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

I think it will mostly depend on when you go. We have never had a problem staying where we want. I would probably go with the discount. That said who knows how backed up AKV will be.

I am glad to hear that you have not had a problem. I am sure AKV will be popular at first, but will calm down after over time. I am not sure how worked up to be about the 7 month window.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[manning]

I haven't been keeping track of the price, but I am wondering. Assuming the price is $100.00.

Which is the better deal buying at a full price of $85.00 per point, or buying at a price of $100.00 minus $15.00 discount??

 

[Pluto 2]

you have to look at the pros and cons


ssr is cheaper to buy into ssr 86 dollars a point
ssr will most likely have lower maint fees
ssr has night time entertainment just a little walk away or boat ride
ssr you can buy into right now akv you have to wait a little while



akv i will assume will be higher then 86 dollars a point i will assume it will be around 10 dollars higher. disney will raise their price to say around 104 a point. then they will offer a discount 8-10 dollar discount per point. so the price will be around 94-96 dollars a point. costing you 1200-1500 dollars more on the minimum 150 point purchase.

akv i will assume will have higher maint fees then ssr

akv has 2 nice restaurants right at the resort.

akv everything is far away except for the one theme park.

akv is a very very nice resort.

i have heard reports people taking the bus have to wait a long time.

akv will be a bit hard to get in on the 7 month window especially at first

 

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

Thanks for the feedback. I could not sleep last night thinking about this. I keep going back and forth. I just don't know.

Is it a pain to own points a two different places?

 

[jade1]

Thanks for the feedback. I could not sleep last night thinking about this. I keep going back and forth. I just don't know.

Is it a pain to own points a two different places?

Its not a pain, its great. We have VWL/BCV and its very easy to bank and borrow to have the length of stay needed at a certain time and at 7 months out they mix together and use which ever ones you want. Maybe consider what size you need and when. Also remember if you buy Ak in January for example-I think you can book any resorts that are open at 7 months or less. That way you could take advantage of your points as soon as you close if you wanted-someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Last is investment. Will AK increase much more in resale value than SSR? Nobody can say but my guess is it will. What if you do end up selling in 10 years for some reason-it could matter.

 

[Mtnman44]

Gabby and Liv's Mommy -

If you could, do you want to stay at AKV every night of your trip each year? If so, perhaps you should wait for AKV to start selling but as mentioned it will probably cost more. If not, you may want to consider what I will probably end up doing.

In my case I really want to own at BWV since I want to make sure that we can stay there for some of the days each trip, however I have no need to spend all my trip days there, nor do I really want to. So, I may buy in for 150 points at either SSR or OKW (I'm fine staying there or would book elsewhere at 7 months and would use some points at DLR California every other year anyway) plus I will add on a 50 point contract for BWV. Since we would go to Orlando every other year, this would give me 100 points for a three to five day stint at BWV.

A side benefit is that having the smaller contracts makes them easier to sell (at a higher per point price also). So if my needs change in the future, I have more options.

 

[hrsmom]

We had the same conflict, buy now or wait for AKV. We decided to buy now. It's really not to important to us where we stay (though we want to try to stay at each resort once), so we took advantage if the F&F deal.

Good luck to you in whatever decision you make!!

 

[JimMIA]

To me, the real issue is price. Right now, you can get SSR for $86. That won't last forever, and the regular price is $101. Surely AKV is not going to be any less than $101. There might be some short introductory discount, but the suggestion above of around $104 makes perfect sense to me.

Home resort is all about availability, and I think the best way to evaluate availability is in terms of VWL and BWV.

Initially, the converted 4th and 5th floors will yield 134 DVC units -- almost identical to the size of VWL, the smallest of the current DVC WDW resorts. So look at availability at VWL and I suggest that you're looking at availability for AKV Phase I. Take away the holiday season, and VWL is pretty available much of the time. One of my daughters has stayed there twice on relatively short notice (2-3 months).

When fully complete, AKV will be 458 DVC vacation homes -- which is BWV + 20%. Or, from another angle, it will be about 2/3 the size of OKW. Take away holidays and F&W and BWV is pretty available most of the remaining time. OKW is available most times except during the holiday period.

When fully built, AKV is going to be a pretty good-sized resort. And without a major festival or attraction (other than AK itself), I think it's going to be pretty available.

I personally do not think the proximity to AK is remotely comparable to the proximity of BCV/BWV to Epcot and MGM as a draw. I certainly would not compare trying to book there with the challenges of trying to book at BCV or VWL, or BWV during F&W. Therefore, unless you are going to be traveling during the Thanksgiving - New Years period, I don't think you are going to really need home-resort advantage at AKV.

 

[dvc at last !]

I am waiting for a monorail dvc before I buy more !

 

[dianeschlicht]

Jim said pretty much the same as my thoughts. I would not hesitate to save the money and enjoy the benefits NOW versus waiting still longer. I see it as as a win win to buy now.

 

[Diznut84]

Traditional advice is to buy where you want to stay. I would wait (it shouldn't be long!) and buy at AKL.

 

[bobbiwoz]

SSR has never been our #1 resort of choice at 11 months out, and because of that we have resisted all sales pitches to buy it. I would wait, and I am waiting for AKV's price to be announced. It could be our #1 choice for some trips in the future.

Bobbi

 

[JimMIA]

I think Bobbi's point is very well-taken -- if you would be disappointed having to stay at SSR, don't buy there. But if you wouldn't be disappointed with sometimes having to stay at SSR , there are many other factors to consider.

Here's a link to an old thread that discusses many of the issues regarding buying DVC.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634

The thread starts off with a discussion of what home resort advantage is...and what it is NOT. The thread is more than a year old, so don't pay any attention to the prices quoted, but the basics have not changed.

"Buy where you want to stay" is a simple strategy that's easy to remember and quote, but it doesn't necessarily fit everybody. For many people, it is the ONLY answer -- but for others, it is irrelevent at best.

You really need to understand what home resort advantage IS, and then what it will mean in your particular family's situation. Then you can make an intelligent decision, rather than just relying on some cliche' you heard somewhere.

 

[keishashadow]

I'm sure someone will remember the details but, it seems there's been some sort of offer running for SSR for the last year or so, varying deals but, plenty of incentives to intice new members & add-ons.

As for us, if you purchase a small resale now & add on @ AK, you'll have the same UY to help make management easier.

good luck in your decision.

 

[diznyfanatic]

I'm a believer in buying where you want to stay most of the time so I agree with what has already been offered.

The only other thing I can add is that there are some very strong indications that AKV will have a slightly longer contract term than SSR.

SSR's current expiration date is 2054. The speculation from many DVC guides is that AKV will have an expiration date of 2057 so owners would get the whole 50 year term.

Of course, lots could change before the AKV points actually go on sale.

 

[bpmorley]

We already have 270 pts @ SSR. I think I'll wait for VAKL and buy a minimum contract. Then we'll be done.

 

[lisareniff]

Well, you got a whole range of answers. Pick which one you like!!

Your first question is how important is home resort to you? You might be able to travel any time of year now but I bet in about 5 years you will have to go during your schools breaks for the next 10 years. (and then you back to going whenever!) Home resort advantage is very very helpful during these times.

Where do you think you want to stay? I sounded like AKL. No one is quite sure how popular this new resort will be, it could be easy or difficult to get at 7 months. A lot depends on what DVC adds to it. I have heard many plus'; slightly larger rooms and occupancy, 80% savannah views, GV's, table service restaurant, themed extra nice pool.

There is the half and half option. Depending on how many points and how you use them this could be a good compromise. (being the indecisive one I'm this is my type of decision.)

 

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

Thank you all very much for your input. DH and I are going to discuss it tonight and make a final decision. I am leaning toward buying now. While we have not yet stayed there, I think we would be really happy at SSR. To me the décor is very tasteful and I really like having a spa on-site. I think we decided that AKV will wonderful and we would love to stay a few times, but on the whole, SSR is where we want to be.

Thanks!