Buy where you love or buy more points?

[anonymousegirl]

I have been dithering for months about where to buy. I know the mantra is "buy where you love/want to stay", but since I have never stayed at any DVC property, how do I know which to choose?

I am staying at BCV this Jan. on rented points because I think this will be the one I love, since I love Epcot and DHS and my DH loves to eat at Epcot.

However, taking a look at the resale boards, I could get a very good deal right now at OKW and SSR, thus getting more points (and also more years in the case of SSR) for less money than current Disney offerings or BVC resale. And with the economy being what it is, my DH would rather spend less money right now.

I realize it will be next to impossible to get BCV or BWV at 7 months, but getting 300 points instead of 160 or 200 sounds like a good trade off. Being at WDW is the point, right?

 

[dcfromva]

anonymousegirl,
There are several factors to consider.

1. Will you be able to make reservations 7-11 months prior? If you can not make reservations more than 7 months in advance, your home resort won't make much difference. If that is the case you may as well buy the least expensive points with the lowest Maint. fees.


2. If you ended up at ______ (fill in the blank with the DVC you plan to buy), would you be happy with the room reservation? You could make a reservation at 11 months prior at your home resort and then change your reservation at 7 months (or waitlist if there is no availability). However, if the waitlist never comes through, would you be happy to stay at your home resort?

3. Do you have any flexibility in the time you are able to make a reservation?
Some times are more in demand than others. If you only have vacation time between Christmas and New Years every year, your chances at the waitlist coming through are not going to be very high. If on the other hand, you can vacation any time of the year you have a higher chance of staying elsewhere.

4. There are some room categories at various resorts that will be very, very difficult to book without owning at the home resort. Here are a few examples: STD View/BW view at BWV. Dedicated 2QU in the 2nd BR at BCV. Concierge at AKV. MK view/STD view at BLT. Grand Villas at OKW. THV at SSR

 

[colonialtinker]

Since your going in January, I would try to visit all the resorts and then make up your mind. This is what DH & I did last January. My exact words to DH were " remember this may be the place we always stay at when we come."
FYI - I did manage to get in to BWV this coming May at the 7 month window. We got a pool/garden prefer view.
Good luck on your quest

 

[Dean]

SSR is likely the best value, BWV may be the best deal for your preferences given your EPCOT focus and the standard view and BW view rooms. You should consider when you travel, how many points you need (or think you do), how flexible you are, how well you plan and how far in advance your situation will allow you to plan. Buying SSR, reserving your dates, trying to change over at the 7 month window and wait listing when needed will give you a chance to try multiple resorts over time, likely all of them. Regardless, I wouldn't buy the larger package now. Buy a smaller one and use it a year or two then you can add something. The slightly cheaper per point cost and avoidance of a second closing cost are not enough to justify making a choice that may not be best for you. Having 150 SSR and 150 BWV or BCV points (for example) would give you the best of both worlds for an in between price.

 

[tamclan]

I went through the same process this past summer.

For us it was bascially worth $ to know we would get our preferred resort (BWV) for the ability to walk to 2 theme parks. This saves us time which can be considered money.

Also within short walking distance was lots of dining options. If your going to use the kitchen this option is of no value. Knowing what will make your stay more enjoyable is key then try to get the best deal you can.

You may be lucky to change from your home resort to another but that always comes with angst and nail biting will my waitlist come through.

As others have said if you can't plan more than 7 months go cheapest route.

Good luck.

 

[Donald is #1]

I agree with colonialtinker. Go visit the resorts that you are considering on your next trip. In the case of OKW and SSR, if you have a car, then I would drive around the resort so that you can get a feel for how large they are.

When I was making my original decision, I was down to deciding between 2 resorts: SSR and AKV. I was using an AP discount for my room so I booked a split stay. I spent 6 nights at SSR and then 5 nights at AKL. While I was at SSR, I found it nice and relaxing and I liked that fact the you can park very near your unit. So for the first part, I was debating between the resorts. Then I checked into AK, went to my room for the first time, and saw the animals on the savanna! My decision was made within 5 minutes of me being in my room. Now, if AKV wasn't an option, then I would have been perfectly happy at SSR, but given the 2 the decision ended up being easy.

I am thinking about an add-on at either BCV or BWV because I love EPCOT. In order to figure out which resort I prefer, I am going to be staying at both of them during my December trip.

Also, during your trip, will you be going to MK and/or AK? If so, you may want to make sure that you take the bus so that you can experience all of the transportation options. I plan on doing that in December since while you can walk to Epcot and DHS, the EPCOT resorts share buses to AK and MK and I want to make sure that the shared bu isn't going to drive me crazy.

 

[Dean]

IMO, it takes more than just visiting a resort to get a feel for the novice. One who has many Disney trips under their belt (assuming they had a variety) and has multiple DVC stays, they would be able to know a lot about a given resort simply by visiting. This also assumes they actually check out the resort. When I visit a resort I CHECK it out. I park, walk to multiple areas, walk the halls, walk to check in, by the pools, go in to various locations (lounge, arcade, laundry, restaurant, lounge, store), find the grills, see one or more units, talk to staff if they are not too busy. For BWV and BCV, I'd even want to make sure I'd made the walk to the two parks at least once. For DVC, the people at the DVC sales desk can be helpful as well. If you drive through, walk through the lobby on the way to a restaurant, you will not get the same feel. Same if you don't have a good basis for comparison.

 

[5forDiz]

It can be difficult to determine how you may plan & travel in future years , I think what pp's said about your trip planning habits is probably important to take into consideration when deciding. What has typically been the scenario when planning previous vacations you have taken? if you are not an advance planner & not likely to make a reservation during 4 month window when you'd have your home resort's booking advantage (8 - 11 months prior to check-in date) then the playing field becomes equal at 7 months or less. Then I'd agree, buy a DVC resort at WDW that gives you the most points for the price & lowest MFs (but keep in mind MFs are subject to change). Most of us members wished we'd bought more initially & often find ourselves adding more points

This link gives important info on annual MFs & how they've changed over the years, in Post #2 by LisaS :

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1966427

Just fyi, OKW has 2 expirations - 2042 is for unextended contracts &
2057 is expiration for extended contracts. OKW purchased directly from Disney the contract will be extended/2057 expiration. OKW purchased via resale could have 2042 or 2057 expiration depending upon contract.

BCV, BWV, VWL, and off-sites HHI & VB have 2042 expiration (it is not known if at some point Disney would offer a contract extension as they did with OKW). AKV has 2057 expiration, SSR 2054, new BLT at Contemporary 2060.

With the exception of OKW & SSR where you can park adjacent to building where your villa is located, other DVC resorts at WDW are 'hotel-style' (lobby area to elevators, interior hallways).

 

[crisi]

Remember you need to SPEND the points you buy for them to be a value. And spending them isn't free. We have 150 points and go for a week every other year - that keeps airfare (we live in Minnesota), park tickets, food, etc. reasonable - having three hundred points would nearly double all those costs for us (park tickets might go down because we'd do APs). You also need to pay dues on each point you own - a large point holding means larger dues. So 300 is not necessarily better than 150. If money is a factor in your purchasing decision, it should also be weighted in your holding decision......

 

[fn2bfree]

We have been DVC members for three years and to this point I have found that the "buy where you stay advice" really hasn't applied to us. Our favorite resort was BCV but we bought SSR. We try to avoid the busy times such as Christmas and Spring Break and have pretty much been able to book any resort at the seven month window for our first 4 vacations. We have stayed at BCV in August and October (during food & wine), SSR in January and have a ressie for WLV in March of 09. I am very satisfied with our decision to buy at SSR. We got a great price per point and our maintenance dues are the lowest. To be honest, I wouldn't want to stay at the same resort all the time anyway.

The other thing to keep in mind is that your favorite today may not be your favorite in a few years. We loved the pool at BCV when the kids were little and wanted to stay in the shallow area with the big sand bar. Now they want to run all over the entire pool complex and it is really stressful trying to keep track of them. On our last trip there I found myself missing the pool at SSR.

 

[Pakey]

I strongly believe you should buy where you love. Our first contract was a small BCV contract. When SSR points came out and they were such a great deal, we bought there also, thinking we would combine them with our BCV points. That was in 2003 and in these 5 years, I have only once been able to get what I wanted at BCV at 7 months, even with waitlisting. So this year I made the decision to buy a large contract at BCV to go with my first smaller one so that I could get to BCV twice a year, booking at 11 months and getting exactly what I want.

I still have my smaller 200 pt contract at SSR. We have used it for the golf trips when we are not going back and forth to the parks very much. However, if I were going to vacation with the parks in mind, I would not be happy staying there. I imagine that at some point, we will give this contract to our grown children because we won't use it.

 

[bgsnmky]

We are similar to Fn2bfree...

we have 225 points at SSR and since we have been able to go to the DW at off times...we have been able to stay at other resorts. My favorite is AKV and we stayed there for 5 nights this past trip.

In 2010 we are going to take the family for my parents 50th anniversary and I want a Grand Villa. I hear it is difficult to get those...so I figure I will have to book at teh 11 month window. That 11 month window would be at SSR. Now I do not have enough points for a whole week. Even banking and borrowing.

So NOW, my thought is I wish I had bought at OKW because I LOVE that resort too, and the points are so much less.

Example: SSR 719 points (June 11th checkin) vs OKW 501 points.

That is a huge difference.

My thought is (may not be a good thought), but is for THOSE times when I do need to go at peak season, or with a large group - to be at OKW cause the points are so much less.

Other times, booking at the 7 month window and staying wherever I want in a Studio for two of us.

Anyway..just throwing that thought out there in case that gave you something else to think about.

Of course now I am not sure what I want to do..part of me wants to sell SSR and purchase OKW..but then I would lose some money.

 

[Cajun28]

We were recently facing the same decision as OP. What we decided is to combine the two options. We are in the process of buying a smaller point contract at BWV, closing in a couple of days(fingers crossed), and later on buying points at SSR. We love BWV, so we bought a small contract to assure that we can stay there at least once every few trips and we will buy SSR to take advantage of the lower price per point, lower MF and longer contract. Our hope is to be able stay at all of the DVC resorts in the next few years. We stayed at SSR last year and really liked it, so even if we were "stuck" staying at SSR, I think we could manage even if no other resorts are available.

Good luck with your decision

 

[Dean]

We have been DVC members for three years and to this point I have found that the "buy where you stay advice" really hasn't applied to us.

That may be true now, it might not be in the future. Others have worded it "buy where you wouldn't mind staying". If you'd be happy staying at SSR every trip and are fairly flexible staying at lower demand times avoiding high demand unit types; it really isn't much of an issue. Basically if you were where you could only get anything realistically at your home resort, would you be happy owning at XXX? If the answer is yes and it's a good value, great, if not, don't buy there. Still, the price difference for most situations is not enough to make it a big deal. IMO, it's worth a few thousand more to have a great chance at a tough reservation than always playing second fiddle. That's one of the reasons I mentioned BWV because it has the standard view options. IMO, if it were an extended resort, it would be the top value currently for most situations along with AKV for a family of 5.

 

[dcfromva]

In 2010 we are going to take the family for my parents 50th anniversary and I want a Grand Villa.

Of course now I am not sure what I want to do..part of me wants to sell SSR and purchase OKW..but then I would lose some money.

Ouch! You are right about losing money. Since this is a one time event for your parents, had you considered a trade with an OKW owner?
Another option have you considered the new THV which will be open by then? You could get two THV (316 X 2) for 632 points (magic season) and would sleep up to 18--you could accomodate quite a few family members!

 

[anonymousegirl]

Thanks for all the imput everyone.

To address some of the questions in the previous posts,

I am a huge planner. Sometimes our trips are planned a year in advance.

DH and I have no children and flexible careers so we can pretty much go anytime we want.

I intend to go down at least twice a year, once with DH for golf in early Dec or late January, and once with a girlfriend in July (would absolutely want a studio at OKW for this one for the two beds). If I could go down a third time, I would. Since it is just me and DH airfare is not as bad as it is for larger families.

I can't say I will never want a 2 bdrm or a Grand Villa, as I'd like to treat my sister and her family, or bring a bunch of Disney-crazed girlfriends sometime. But those occasions will be rare.

For the July trip I really need the studio at OKW, but for any other trip in the foreseeable future, we could stay at any on-site DVC, although would probably prefer the Epcot resorts/BLT for the location/proximity to great restaurants

I was thinking of buying two smaller contracts since they will be easier to sell if our needs change.

When I was looking at the prices for the resales, I took the resale price, plus the estimated MFs for the life of the contract (using the historical data from a different thread which was kindly provided here by 5forDiz) and factored in the historical increase over the life of the contract. added those numbers together and divided by the number of years remaining. This gave me a average cost per year. Math is not my strong suit, so someone correct me if I've missed something or am using faulty logic.

For our January trip DH and I are staying two nights at the Contemporary (MK view) and then switching to BCV for 4 nights, so we'll be able to visualize ourselves at BLT (if I decide to go the Disney-route) and then experience the benefits of the location of BCV. We will have a car, so we intended to check out some of the other properties. DH has not yet been on a DVC tour, so we will be doing that, however, I wanted to have our minds somewhat made up about whether we'll go resale or BLT before we walk in.

 

[crisi]

That may be true now, it might not be in the future. Others have worded it "buy where you wouldn't mind staying". If you'd be happy staying at SSR every trip and are fairly flexible staying at lower demand times avoiding high demand unit types; it really isn't much of an issue. Basically if you were where you could only get anything realistically at your home resort, would you be happy owning at XXX? If the answer is yes and it's a good value, great, if not, don't buy there. Still, the price difference for most situations is not enough to make it a big deal. IMO, it's worth a few thousand more to have a great chance at a tough reservation than always playing second fiddle. That's one of the reasons I mentioned BWV because it has the standard view options. IMO, if it were an extended resort, it would be the top value currently for most situations along with AKV for a family of 5.

There have been a number of people over the years I've been hanging on the DIS who have said "we've never had any problem" who - within a year or two add on at the resort they really wanted after "having a problem."

If the preference isn't strong it really isn't an issue - but it seems for a lot of people as their experience with a resort deepens, the preference does as well.

 

[Dean]

There have been a number of people over the years I've been hanging on the DIS who have said "we've never had any problem" who - within a year or two add on at the resort they really wanted after "having a problem."

If the preference isn't strong it really isn't an issue - but it seems for a lot of people as their experience with a resort deepens, the preference does as well.

This year seems worse than last. And it's likely to be worse still in about 2-3 years than it is today as SSR is sold out and those members have had a chance to stay there a time or two. After that things should be fairly stable for a while. HI and BLT won't affect that issue too much if at all. I'd say currently there's about half the year where it will really matter if you want the more in demand resorts and half where it will not if you at least plan 7 months out. Ignoring special options like BW view, Standard View at BWV, 2 Queens at BCV, GV in general and HH summer (as examples); A good planner who has some flexibility should be able to try all resorts over a few years without much issue. It's just that there are certain things, like I mentioned above, that will be out of reach for most of the time. Still, not worth taking the chance for those who have special interests.

 

[bgsnmky]

Ouch! You are right about losing money. Since this is a one time event for your parents, had you considered a trade with an OKW owner?
Another option have you considered the new THV which will be open by then? You could get two THV (316 X 2) for 632 points (magic season) and would sleep up to 18--you could accomodate quite a few family members!

I have thought about trading with someone that has Old Key West..that was one of my first thoughts. Try to find someone that can reserve Old Key West for me and I transfer points to them, or book at SSR for them too.

I did notice the Treehouse villas just today when I was looking up the points to post...so that is definately an option too.

Thanks!

 

[schoenfelders5]

Okay...I was under the impression buying direct I could only buy AK and BLT. Is that not true or when you talk about buying more at OKW are you talking about buying them resale? With the extended date at OKW does that mean DVC is selling more OKW? I agree that with their low point values it makes it a good alternative as a place where your 11 month window helps you get the grand villa.