Buy Value or Buy Home Resort

[Dean]

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.

It's such a personal decision. If you don't have much on property experience, I'd rent a DVC stay privately. Just gather information. I personally think SSR is the choice for many and that almost no new buyers truly know what they want going in. But the advantage for you is you'll need enough volume to have 2 contracts and 2 home resort. The beauty of resale for the established resorts is that worst case scenario you hate it and lose 10-15% at most on the turn around. That's not true on retail or some higher end purchases.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

in part because I didn't feel the pricing fully reflected the shorter term

BCV and BWV aren't priced based on the shorter term right now. Their pricing reflects the popularity of those resorts, and especially with BCV, the scarcity of contracts. If you want either resort in fall, or for runDisney, you pretty much must own there. And that's what is driving that pricing.

I think both AKV and SSR are very good values for families. The trade-offs are, as I said, that AKV has somewhat higher dues, and neither is near a park (walking/alternate transportation). But if those are trade-offs someone is willing to make, I think they're both great resorts.

 

[glencoe]

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.

Also don't forget the MFs....although BLT high up front lower MF every year. Depending on points those add up fast!!

 

[sndral]

A couple of years ago I bought my first resale contract at AKV. It was half the points I ultimately wanted & I'd actually stayed in a 1 br. villa there on a cash reservation (plus I'd stayed in the rooms before that & loved the resort) so I'd done my research before I even made an offer.
My original plan was to buy an Epcot resort a couple of years later - after I'd exhausted my AKV points, probably BWV due to the lower buy in cost & getting boardwalk view units (I'm really fond of YC lake view rooms, but don't like the non views of BCVs.) I then stayed at BWV on my AKV points and realized it wasn't the resort for me.
Meanwhile, of course, DVC opened VGF, which happens to be my favorite resort, but I wasn't sure staying in a villa would feel the same for me as staying at the GF. So I tried out a 1 br. @ the VGF (using the AKV points,) loved it, so my revised plan was forget BWV and add on at VGF - which cost about double what adding on at BWV would have cost.
The point of all this is that what you think you want now will change as you actually experience using your DVC points and as DVC opens new resorts and, in your case, as your young family grows older.
SSR may be the best fit w/ easy access to DS, + the option of tree house villas & the new lower point requirements of the standard category.
AKV may work because of the low buy in and the value villas point saver option.
The new Copper Creek w/ it's low point per night scheme may be a good fit.
Disney could build a new DVC that suits your needs perfectly in the next couple of years.
In some ways it's like buying a car - do you opt for the most frugal/practical choice or do you want something more appealing to you & can you afford to buy that which you really want & is that emotional pull of the more expensive option worth the extra money? W/ cars, you'd test drive the options & then decide on the best fit for you weighing the tangibles & the intangibles. If you can, test drive a few DVC villas to get a better sense of what suits you best.

 

[msjprincess]

I'm in the "buy where you do't mind staying" camp. I own at OKW and SSR, both bought through resale. I rented points and stayed at each before purchasing. I knew I would be fine staying at either. This year we are using our points to stay at BWV, BCV and Poly.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

I'm in the "buy where you do't mind staying" camp. I own at OKW and SSR, both bought through resale. I rented points and stayed at each before purchasing. I knew I would be fine staying at either. This year we are using our points to stay at BWV, BCV and Poly.

3 different times of year or are you hoping between the three due to availability?

 

[Justin Kirklin]

A couple of years ago I bought my first resale contract at AKV. It was half the points I ultimately wanted & I'd actually stayed in a 1 br. villa there on a cash reservation (plus I'd stayed in the rooms before that & loved the resort) so I'd done my research before I even made an offer.
My original plan was to buy an Epcot resort a couple of years later - after I'd exhausted my AKV points, probably BWV due to the lower buy in cost & getting boardwalk view units (I'm really fond of YC lake view rooms, but don't like the non views of BCVs.) I then stayed at BWV on my AKV points and realized it wasn't the resort for me.
Meanwhile, of course, DVC opened VGF, which happens to be my favorite resort, but I wasn't sure staying in a villa would feel the same for me as staying at the GF. So I tried out a 1 br. @ the VGF (using the AKV points,) loved it, so my revised plan was forget BWV and add on at VGF - which cost about double what adding on at BWV would have cost.
The point of all this is that what you think you want now will change as you actually experience using your DVC points and as DVC opens new resorts and, in your case, as your young family grows older.
SSR may be the best fit w/ easy access to DS, + the option of tree house villas & the new lower point requirements of the standard category.
AKV may work because of the low buy in and the value villas point saver option.
The new Copper Creek w/ it's low point per night scheme may be a good fit.
Disney could build a new DVC that suits your needs perfectly in the next couple of years.
In some ways it's like buying a car - do you opt for the most frugal/practical choice or do you want something more appealing to you & can you afford to buy that which you really want & is that emotional pull of the more expensive option worth the extra money? W/ cars, you'd test drive the options & then decide on the best fit for you weighing the tangibles & the intangibles. If you can, test drive a few DVC villas to get a better sense of what suits you best.

Great post. I'm pretty sure I'm going to book our August trip to AK to see what I think because it's one with some of the best value. Is the distance to other resorts that big of a deal?

 

[wnielsen1]

Great post. I'm pretty sure I'm going to book our August trip to AK to see what I think because it's one with some of the best value. Is the distance to other resorts that big of a deal?

Yes, that's why it has value.

 

[msjprincess]

3 different times of year or are you hoping between the three due to availability?

We stayed at BWV in February. We're doing a split stay between Polynesian and BCV this summer.

 

[Spartan86]

Great post. I'm pretty sure I'm going to book our August trip to AK to see what I think because it's one with some of the best value. Is the distance to other resorts that big of a deal?

Different folks have different opinions. When we go, 2 50ish adults, AP holders, multiple trips per year (3-4 so far) we ride MDE to the resort and Disney Transportation on property, with the exception of an occasional Uber. We stayed in a Jambo studio for 3 nights recently and I really didn't note anything remarkable/different/highly notable about the transportation. We have stayed at SSR Congress Park (S), OKW towards the "back" of the bus line twice (GV, 2BR), BLT (2BR)- wow that MK walk is nice, AKV Jambo house (S), POR and CSR. We have also ridden buses to and from AKV as Jiko is often on our list. The ride to MK is definitely a little farther. I mean a LITTLE farther. Coming home, with the "jog across" by the TTC is a little longer, plus if at Jambo you go to Kidani first. But we have not had an issue with the buses. I think AKV "seems" farther out there but we have not felt it. To be fair we are not hard chargers, do not do rope drop to close and are generally in a relaxed mode when utilizing transportation. We loved Jambo, and Kidani is on for September. I cannot imagine that the bus alone would ever keep us from staying at AKV.

Oh and since my answer constitutes a bit of "thread creep", I will say that we have done all the above with 7 month bookings. I don't say that to say I think it will always be easy. I do think if you really must stay somewhere buy there. We are currently in contract for SSR and hope to do as we have (above), but if not SSR is fine with us. Cheers.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

People who hate buses any way, any how, tend to dislike AKV. That said, it's not like BLT is a magic no-bus zone. You actually share a bus to DHS and AK from BLT, which is kind of a nuisance after a nighttime show lets out.

If you look at a campus map, AK is not a bad hop to DHS, but is a bit remote from MK. This is because in reality, MK is a bit remote from everything else on campus. But people complain about AK being far away, because MK was there first.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

Best Food? That's always an important consideration. Most importantly breakfast. I can only eat Ohana's once... and we will probably eat dinner in the parks anyways.

 

[kboo]

Best Food? That's always an important consideration. Most importantly breakfast. I can only eat Ohana's once... and we will probably eat dinner in the parks anyways.

Best Food? AKV!! - Boma and Jiko and Sanaa, together with Tusker House at AK (and we are trying Tiffin this summer....)
It really depends on your taste, but I think the AK/AKL/AKV area has some of the best and most unique food. Of course, the Epcot resorts have World Showcase.

Second to AKV is (in my eyes) GF because we've really enjoyed all of the TS restaurants there (and there are a lot of them! GF Cafe, 1900 Park Fare, Citricos, Narcoosees and we are trying V&A this summer), but I can't say I love the QS.

 

[zavandor]

There are currently 8 different resorts at WDW (9 if you consider BRV and CCV different enough), each with its own pros and cons. If you try a different one each time and visit once a year, it would take you 10+ years to try them all (because DVC will continue to add more resorts, CB with the gongola transportation is probably next, in 2-3 years),
Until now I've tried 5 and I loved them all, even those I wasn't uber excited about before staying. Each of them has reasons to be willing return there and reasons to prefer something else. It would be really difficult for me to choose one resort to stay all the time. If I had to, I probably wouldn't buy in, what I like is the possibility to have a different experience every time. But I am flexible with travel times and I like to go to WDW in September and January anyway because I like low crowds. Those are two of the least busy periods for DVC as well so I can make good use of the 7 months window.

But this is me, others have their favorite resort and are disappointed if they cannot stay there. But for my way of vacationing at WDW, SSR was the best option to buy in by far. And it is within walking distance to Disney Spring where I like to go multiple times during a vacation and now with the standard booking category it allows to save points as well. So even if I'm "stuck" at SSR I'd be happy anyway.

If you're not sure which resort is the best for you, you could buy SSR, try them all and then sell in 10 years time to buy your favorite. And if you discover you can make your SSR contract work, bingo!

Before buying, though, be sure to read a lot these boards and be sure to understand the system very well. It took me 5 months to come to the right decision.

 

[Dean]

There are currently 8 different resorts at WDW (9 if you consider BRV and CCV different enough), each with its own pros and cons. If you try a different one each time and visit once a year, it would take you 10+ years to try them all (because DVC will continue to add more resorts, CB with the gongola transportation is probably next, in 2-3 years),
Until now I've tried 5 and I loved them all, even those I wasn't uber excited about before staying. Each of them has reasons to be willing return there and reasons to prefer something else. It would be really difficult for me to choose one resort to stay all the time. If I had to, I probably wouldn't buy in, what I like is the possibility to have a different experience every time. But I am flexible with travel times and I like to go to WDW in September and January anyway because I like low crowds. Those are two of the least busy periods for DVC as well so I can make good use of the 7 months window.

But this is me, others have their favorite resort and are disappointed if they cannot stay there. But for my way of vacationing at WDW, SSR was the best option to buy in by far. And it is within walking distance to Disney Spring where I like to go multiple times during a vacation and now with the standard booking category it allows to save points as well. So even if I'm "stuck" at SSR I'd be happy anyway.

If you're not sure which resort is the best for you, you could buy SSR, try them all and then sell in 10 years time to buy your favorite. And if you discover you can make your SSR contract work, bingo!

Before buying, though, be sure to read a lot these boards and be sure to understand the system very well. It took me 5 months to come to the right decision.

No doubt there's a balance in information gathering. Some people are more aware and/or their trip styles lend themselves more to awareness than others. For those that spend time enjoying the resort they're staying at and wander around the others when they have the opportunity will get there faster than the one that runs in for 5 days and spends every non room minute at the park. I can spend 2 hours on a resort and get more information that most people staying for a week. And while it's different than staying, much of the experiences with a stay are more personal and personnel related than resort specific and thus a much small factor or even no factor at all. But that comes because I have a ton of on property and DVC resort experience and even more non DVC timeshare experience. Assuming DVC makes sense in general (cash purchase, plan ahead, OK with timeshare compromise in general terms) I'd say it takes at least 3-4 on property stays AND 1-2 DVC stays to make a reasonable decision though I feel at least one visit spending time exploring most all WDW DVC resorts is helpful if not mandatory prior to making a reasonable purchase decision. I do agree that once one gets to a certain point, they should likely just buy and try it out making their best decision possible and giving themselves the most options possible. Maybe that's buying 200 instead of the 350 they think they need or maybe it's buying 150 instead of the 120 they think. But it does assume they buy resale at a resort that's not overly expensive or difficult to move like HH or VB. SSR, AKV, BWV, BRV and BLT are likely the best options for that and not off property or those that are higher or mostly retail.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

No doubt there's a balance in information gathering. Some people are more aware and/or their trip styles lend themselves more to awareness than others. For those that spend time enjoying the resort they're staying at and wander around the others when they have the opportunity will get there faster than the one that runs in for 5 days and spends every non room minute at the park. I can spend 2 hours on a resort and get more information that most people staying for a week. And while it's different than staying, much of the experiences with a stay are more personal and personnel related than resort specific and thus a much small factor or even no factor at all. But that comes because I have a ton of on property and DVC resort experience and even more non DVC timeshare experience. Assuming DVC makes sense in general (cash purchase, plan ahead, OK with timeshare compromise in general terms) I'd say it takes at least 3-4 on property stays AND 1-2 DVC stays to make a reasonable decision though I feel at least one visit spending time exploring most all WDW DVC resorts is helpful if not mandatory prior to making a reasonable purchase decision. I do agree that once one gets to a certain point, they should likely just buy and try it out making their best decision possible and giving themselves the most options possible. Maybe that's buying 200 instead of the 350 they think they need or maybe it's buying 150 instead of the 120 they think. But it does assume they buy resale at a resort that's not overly expensive or difficult to move like HH or VB. SSR, AKV, BWV, BRV and BLT are likely the best options for that and not off property or those that are higher or mostly retail.

We are going for 6 nights in August. Just booked to the Animal Kingdom I think my wife and I are going to leave the kids with Grandma one day and travel to each DVC resort and get a feel for them. We chose the AK to stay because we want to see if the travel to the other parks in manageable for us. And you probably only know that by staying there.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

There are currently 8 different resorts at WDW (9 if you consider BRV and CCV different enough), each with its own pros and cons. If you try a different one each time and visit once a year, it would take you 10+ years to try them all (because DVC will continue to add more resorts, CB with the gongola transportation is probably next, in 2-3 years),
Until now I've tried 5 and I loved them all, even those I wasn't uber excited about before staying. Each of them has reasons to be willing return there and reasons to prefer something else. It would be really difficult for me to choose one resort to stay all the time. If I had to, I probably wouldn't buy in, what I like is the possibility to have a different experience every time. But I am flexible with travel times and I like to go to WDW in September and January anyway because I like low crowds. Those are two of the least busy periods for DVC as well so I can make good use of the 7 months window.

But this is me, others have their favorite resort and are disappointed if they cannot stay there. But for my way of vacationing at WDW, SSR was the best option to buy in by far. And it is within walking distance to Disney Spring where I like to go multiple times during a vacation and now with the standard booking category it allows to save points as well. So even if I'm "stuck" at SSR I'd be happy anyway.

If you're not sure which resort is the best for you, you could buy SSR, try them all and then sell in 10 years time to buy your favorite. And if you discover you can make your SSR contract work, bingo!

Before buying, though, be sure to read a lot these boards and be sure to understand the system very well. It took me 5 months to come to the right decision.

You are totally right. It would take 10 years to try them all! I really like you input. We are going to do a quick tour of the resorts while we are there in August. Hopefully we get a sense of what decision to make from that.

 

[glencoe]

People who hate buses any way, any how, tend to dislike AKV. That said, it's not like BLT is a magic no-bus zone. You actually share a bus to DHS and AK from BLT, which is kind of a nuisance after a nighttime show lets out.

If you look at a campus map, AK is not a bad hop to DHS, but is a bit remote from MK. This is because in reality, MK is a bit remote from everything else on campus. But people complain about AK being far away, because MK was there first.

Agreed, I own at BLT and the bus sharing has changed over the last few trips. Early trips were BLT, Poly and GF. Not too bad. Last trip was wilderness and BLT and WL is was way out of the way....long bus rides, lots of full buses. We almost missed our plane with the tragical express after all the bus sharing pick ups. With that being said...if it really bugs me I will grab an upber if needed and save the money from a rental car! If you love a place I wouldn't NOT pick it because of the buses-they seem to change the bus routes/sharing often.

 

[MattKreps]

People who hate buses any way, any how, tend to dislike AKV. That said, it's not like BLT is a magic no-bus zone. You actually share a bus to DHS and AK from BLT, which is kind of a nuisance after a nighttime show lets out.

If you look at a campus map, AK is not a bad hop to DHS, but is a bit remote from MK. This is because in reality, MK is a bit remote from everything else on campus. But people complain about AK being far away, because MK was there first.

Agreed. Buses are a part of Disney - You can get close to one park, but that means you're farther from others. What I liked about the AK area is that the buses actually were pretty efficient, and AK has great family programming on the resort. My kids loved it when we had dinner there on our first trip - the outdoor activities, learning activities, animal watching, drumming and so much more. I actually was disappointed when our dinner reservation was ready and we had to stop the activities even though it was a great meal and one of the highlights we'd been looking forward to!

We like that entire resort, it's a good value on resale, room points are VERY reasonable even in higher seasons, and we're going to be far from some park no matter where we opted to buy, which was what made our decision. The only negative to us was the MFs being a touch higher. But that's just us, and others value proximity more than we do, so the math woudl come up different for them.

BTW, we took time on our last trip to monorail hop while the kids were collecting the monorail cards and had a good time just doing that and walking around. Being able to do more of the "non-park" activities are one of the things I'm kind of excited about in buying DVC.

 

[Justin Kirklin]

Another question for you all. Anyone consider buying double the points you nees and renting half each year to pay your dues? Jist wondering if anyone has thought of that or did the math to see if it works out. I would totally do that if its smart.