Buy Value or Buy Home Resort

[Justin Kirklin]

Here is my scenario.

I have a job where I'm busy when there are school breaks, much like Disney. I would take vacation with my family of 6 during the slower times at disney.

Because of a more likely chance of booking the better resorts at 7 months or later, would you buy resale 300 points at poly or 400 points at SSR being I'd rather stay at a place like poly but would settle for SSR when I need to.

 

[kboo]

I would not buy Poly for your family, whether resale or direct, because with a family of 6, you'd need to get 2 connecting studios (never guaranteed, as I understand it) and the bungalows are the worst 2BR value around.

With any other resort, there are better 2BR options, and even 1BRs where you could stay if 1 or more members of your family couldn't make it.

 

[Marionnette]

Here is my scenario.

I have a job where I'm busy when there are school breaks, much like Disney. I would take vacation with my family of 6 during the slower times at disney.

Because of a more likely chance of booking the better resorts at 7 months or later, would you buy resale 300 points at poly or 400 points at SSR being I'd rather stay at a place like poly but would settle for SSR when I need to.

Rule #1: Buy where you don't mind staying.

It's getting more and more difficult to book the smaller, near-park resorts at 7 months or less. This is especially true for the period between mid-Sept thru Marathon Weekend in January. DVC busy periods do not align with Disney World busy times. If you like SSR and don't mind staying there most of the time, then by all means buy there. But if it's your intention to buy at SSR and then use those points to stay in a studio at VGF during the first week of December, you may want to rethink your purchase plans.

However, as kboo pointed out, a family of 6 will not fit in one studio. PVB may not be a good fit for you no matter how much you like the property.

ETA: And one more thing - take the long-term cost of owning 400 points vs 300 points into consideration. The biggest cost of ownership is not the purchase price. It's the ongoing maintenance fees. MFs for 300 points at PVB in 2017 would have been $1841. The cost for 400 points at SSR would have been $2252. If you only need 300 points, don't buy 400 just because you can get them for the same purchase price. It will end up costing you more in the long run.

 

[ziravan]

DVC busy period and Disney busy periods aren't the same.

Busy time for DVC is Sept through to the 2nd weekend of Jan.

You're far more likely to score a room at 7 months in Jun than you would in Oct or early Dec.

And to go further with the above, the 3 general philosophies of purchasing are:

1. Buy cheapest combo of buy in price, MFs and length of contract (SSR).

2. Buy where you don't mind staying.

3. Buy where you want to stay.

I subscribe to #3. DVC is a luxury product, buy where you want to stay.

I do think Poly is a bad choice for a family of 6.

 

[Dean]

Here is my scenario.

I have a job where I'm busy when there are school breaks, much like Disney. I would take vacation with my family of 6 during the slower times at disney.

Because of a more likely chance of booking the better resorts at 7 months or later, would you buy resale 300 points at poly or 400 points at SSR being I'd rather stay at a place like poly but would settle for SSR when I need to.

None of the above, those are opposite ends of the spectrum with many other choices. I'd suggest you educate yourself on the options and likely chose the best one you think will work and buy smaller then readjust. If you're OK with SSR at least part of the time but want to try other things at time, SSR is likely the best choice. In this situation it's likely the best place to end up if you need 300-400 points is to buy SSR first in the 150-250 points range then give it a try. Once your know where you stand you should be able to make a better decision on a second contract ? at a higher demand resort.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

Follow up question:

What are your top recommendations for a family of our size + maybe bringing in-laws for DVC. Our kids are 5, 3, 2, 1. We are looking to take a trip in August. Would love to stay at one of your recommendations to try it out first.

Ive stayed only at The Contemporary.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Planning for August now you are way beyond the 7 month window and need to expect limited availability at near park resorts.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

Planning for August now you are way beyond the 7 month window and need to expect limited availability at near park resorts.

Im paying cash. Not a current DVC member

 

[Marionnette]

Follow up question:

What are your top recommendations for a family of our size + maybe bringing in-laws for DVC. Our kids are 5, 3, 2, 1. We are looking to take a trip in August. Would love to stay at one of your recommendations to try it out first.

Ive stayed only at The Contemporary.

You need a 2-bedroom villa, preferably on the monorail. So recommendations would be VGF or BLT. BRV and CCV would also be good choices. A dedicated 2-bedroom would be ideal so that most of you would have an actual bed and not end up sleeping on a sofa bed. You could also opt for 2 studios at PVB. But the kids will end up on pullout sofas.

However, at this late date you are still limited by what's available regardless of how you choose to book.

 

[glencoe]

agree, buy where you really want to stay. My home resort is great (location, MF and room size-we are 5 but as kids get older friends/family come with).
I am finally trying other resorts and am having difficulty getting something 7 months out. Understand I am finding stuff if I look right at the 7 month window, but be prepared to take a room bigger and with a better view (=more points used) than you really need to get in that resort. The studios go really fast, and depending on resort-you will need a two bedroom to start to fit 6 people.
Good luck and enjoy wherever you buy into!

 

[disneynutz]

I would buy half of my points at a MK resort and half at a Epcot/DHS resort. That way you can alternate resort park stays from year to year or you can do split stays. Being able to book your favorite resorts at 11 months makes DVC ownership much more enjoyable.

Bill

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Im paying cash. Not a current DVC member

Even paying cash. Disney own ~2-5% at most resorts, and the cash reservations are also popular. Getting them aligned with your week on 3 months notice may be harder than you think.

Poly is not a good fit with 6 people. With the understanding that villas are not the same as a resort room, if you like Contemporary you'll like BLT, and it has good 2BR units with sleeper chairs in the LR area, and extra bathrooms.

 

[BillPA]

Here is a link to the list prices for Disney hotels and DVC unit. You will easily see why most of us purchased DVC and are not cash customers.
https://www.mousesavers.com/2017-disney-world-room-rates-season-dates/

 

[MattKreps]

We're new buyers and received very helpful advice and ideas on this board. We encountered a situation much like yours - bought what we thought was a great contract at Poly, then got good counsel here to really look at the rooms and locations. Cancelled the contract, and buying a resale at a property we really like that is a much better fit to our family travel plans (AKV) and at a much better price. We can always book Poly, because my wife loves that resort, and it will be great on trips where it's just the two of us.

To me, all the resorts are fantastic, so we chose based on activities and features that we liked, but stayed at the lower cost range - a good balance for us and a good match to our goals in buying DVC. (Following good counsel from people here to buy where you want to stay, and buy within your budget.)

We chose a nice size resale contract, but expect to add to it. That helps control the cost right now, and we can always rent or borrow points ahead. We figured that when we start borrowing regularly, then we know we're ready to make an add-on purchase. That controls dollars outlay, and keep maint costs down until we're really using the points.

In the end, your buy-in is a sunk cost, so maint is a big factor. That was an "aha" moment, since it helped us laser in on how many points we really wanted, and how much we were willing to pay up for location over cheaper maint. AKV isn't the cheapest maint, but it was a good middle ground for us at a location we really enjoy.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

Ya'll are great. I appreciate all the input. I think the ability to have 6+ people is essential. Looking at Poly, you are totally right. Not a great choice for this size of a family. It seems like BLT requires a lot of points. I would like the ability to stay for 10 days a year to start.

 

[thelionqueen]

Great advice on this thread! I especially like the thinking and post by MattKreps. I found myself in a similar situation and decided to buy a contract that will suit our needs for the next 2 years, then reevaluate at that time. I'm perfectly happy staying @ my home resort (or future home resort) of OKW and absolutely LOVE SSR, so having a contract at them is ideal. However, I don't know if I'll be excited about CBR or perhaps (hopefully) find a lower price on BCV and/or BWV in a few years (prices now are ridiculous). Buy where you want to stay is always the best advice, but if you'd be OK with SSR 100% of the time, buying the lowest cost option is a good one as well. Good luck!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Ya'll are great. I appreciate all the input. I think the ability to have 6+ people is essential. Looking at Poly, you are totally right. Not a great choice for this size of a family. It seems like BLT requires a lot of points. I would like the ability to stay for 10 days a year to start.

The trade-offs to some of the lower-point resorts:

AKV: Near Animal Kingdom, so qualifies as a near-park resort, but most people don't consider it that way.
BCV/BWV: Both small resorts, 2042 contract end date. For a large, young family, the 25-year timeline may not appeal.
BRV: Also a smaller resort with 2042 end date.
Copper Creek: The newest, so it has the latest end date, but dues are ba-na-nas.
OKW & Saratoga: Neither is a near-park resort. A lot of people put priority on being near at least one park. OKW has awkward end date issues.

VGF and BLT (and Poly, for that matter) require a bunch of points, but the trade-off is that they're monorail loop with longer contract lengths.

 

[kboo]

Ya'll are great. I appreciate all the input. I think the ability to have 6+ people is essential. Looking at Poly, you are totally right. Not a great choice for this size of a family. It seems like BLT requires a lot of points. I would like the ability to stay for 10 days a year to start.

I was the late-night-last-night commenter, BLT does require a lot of points but the MFs are among the lowest for park access. It will come out to a $200/yr difference (savings) as compared to other resorts, even though buy-in per point will be higher.

The trade-offs to some of the lower-point resorts:

AKV: Near Animal Kingdom, so qualifies as a near-park resort, but most people don't consider it that way.
BCV/BWV: Both small resorts, 2042 contract end date. For a large, young family, the 25-year timeline may not appeal.
BRV: Also a smaller resort with 2042 end date.
Copper Creek: The newest, so it has the latest end date, but dues are ba-na-nas.
OKW & Saratoga: Neither is a near-park resort. A lot of people put priority on being near at least one park. OKW has awkward end date issues.

VGF and BLT (and Poly, for that matter) require a bunch of points, but the trade-off is that they're monorail loop with longer contract lengths.

This is kind of what I would have said, for your needs, @Justin Kirklin - AKV probably has the lowest buyin considering how close you are to a park (and Pandora!); it also has a LOT to do onsite, so if cost is a concern, you can do fewer park days and spend quite a bit of time at the resort. Trade off is that the MFs are pretty high. But, it's a unique resort, and you have a lower buyin both in # of points and also $ per point.

2042 end dates are a consideration since your kids are young - then again, we have young kids and would certainly consider the right contract at the right price due to the proximity to DHS (SW land and Toy Story land coming before you know it) - probably BWV because it's a little cheaper and needs fewer points for a std. Also really like being on the BW.

BLT, which we chose, had (for US) the best combination of location (walking distance to MK and ease of getting to any other resort, park, or DS due to the MK bus stop), MFs and price (we got a good price per point). Also, BLT 1BR and 2BR have an extra full bath which is really, really nice. Sort of makes up for the studios being among the tiniest - which wouldn't be your problem anyway.

If you are thinking OKW or SSR because of the low buyin cost, do consider whether you want that as a home resort, and maybe consider renting points to stay there before committing. One potential upside to owning at BLT/VGF/BCV/BWV is that you can rent your points out at a premium because people want to stay there, if you have extra points or need to cover MFs or something.

 

[disneynutz]

While BLT may have lower dues currently, it has one of the greatest increases each year. BLT increased 6.3%, SSR 2.9%.

Bill

 

[MattKreps]

That is a great summary from Aurora. When we looked (after wising up cancelling Poly):
- the earlier end dates took certain resorts out of play, in part because I didn't feel the pricing fully reflected the shorter term
- the high dues resorts got cut from the list, because the ANNUAL cost adds up to a massive total cost of ownership

That really got us down to SSR and AKV, both of which are stellar values for families, in my opinion. As an added bonus, the break points in terms of how many points per day needed for a studio and/or 1-BR at even the middle season are very reasonable at those locations, so we were able to cut back how many points we'd need at initially.

I'm really grateful to the posters who helped us work through that learning process and come to a decision that really works for us!