Buying at vero beach - if you never stay there...

I'm a little confused - how do you put 5 people in a studio for 4?

We have to stay during magic season, so the points for a 1 bedroom anywhere else are considerably higher than the points for the studio at VGF.

We did not tour the VGF rooms, only the rooms at AKL. I like the look of the VGF rooms, but no, I haven't been in them.

My favourite resort is the Poly, I am not willing to wait for that. I'd say the closest in "feel" to the Poly is AKL - because I find them both dark and subdued, but AKL is too far out for us. I like the atmoshpere of the monorail resorts - and we'll be within walking distance to the Poly - bonus.

We've stayed in a suite at AoA and in a cabin at FW. Loved the space, liked the kitchen at FW but I could easily cook bacon and eggs in a microwave (that's all I cooked). We've also stayed in one cruise ship cabin and were fine. I'd prefer a 1 bedroom, sure, but we usually stay at Riverside, so I'm thinking we'll be fine in the studio.

As far as laundry, again, having a washer and dryer in the room would be fantastic, but since I usually do laundry and pay for it, I'm looking at the opprtunity to do free laundry in the laundromat as another bonus.

I'm not eliminating the idea of a 1 bedroom, but it will be much, much more expensive.

Studio, magic season in VGF is 169 pts at standard view. Cost is 25,350$.

1br, magic season in AKV is 228 standard (188 if you can get it at 11 months). 228 pts at 75$ (estimate) is 17,100$.

Approx 350$ a year in additional MF for the extra 59 pts at AKV.

8250/350 = 23.5 years before the extra MF exceed the savings buying AKV resale and you are in a 1 br instead of a studio.

The above is napkin math since I am on my phone. Not exact but pretty close. If you like AKV, you can get a bigger villa for less money. Granted it is not on the monorail. This only factors the cash and room size. The intangibles you need to value.
 
1BR magic season at OKW is 222 points at $65pp= $14,430 and MF are $5.34pp where AKV MF are $5.67. Though being able to possibly book a value 1BR sometimes, at AKV, and saving 40 points might be worth the added initial outlay. And, by the way, we bought 100 AKV points in March and paid $66pp via resale...so it actually might not cost too much more than OKW (where we also own...and we own at HH and have been able to use those points at WDW at 7 month window, but we plan to mostly use them for HH trips).
 
These are all resale point prices - yes?

So, the plot thickens...

My kids? Not loving the VGF studio. My oldest said "it's too cramped". She has an aversion to the Beach Club (bad experience on our first trip 7 years ago when we didn't know you couldn't pool hop...), but after looking through some photos decided its actually her top pick.

I'm now considering a resale 1 or maybe even 2 bedroom - OKW? BCV? BWV? Still magic season. What do you think? Why didn't I do this 7 years ago? Don't answer that.
 
These are all resale point prices - yes?

So, the plot thickens...

My kids? Not loving the VGF studio. My oldest said "it's too cramped". She has an aversion to the Beach Club (bad experience on our first trip 7 years ago when we didn't know you couldn't pool hop...), but after looking through some photos decided its actually her top pick.

I'm now considering a resale 1 or maybe even 2 bedroom - OKW? BCV? BWV? Still magic season. What do you think? Why didn't I do this 7 years ago? Don't answer that.

So as not to repeat what is in a bunch of threads here already, yes those price per points above are estimated resale prices. My suggestion is to look at he 2014 point charts (if you haven't already) and look at the 1br prices for the different WDW resorts. Add up the cost in points for your anticipated length of stay and that gives you the estimated points you would need to purchase.

Next, I would shop the different timeshare sites and look at ballpark prices. Looking here for different threads in recent sales will give you RoFR data as well as sale prices.

I have nothing against buying direct from Disney. I chose resale because we were not enraptured with the VGF models. Personally I would not buy AKV direct because of the resale costs but that is just me. We fell in love with SSR and Disney said it would be a waitlist to get points and their price was double resale. We opted for resale.

Short version: do some more research before you make a decision that involves a purchase of 4 or 5 figures. When you feel comfortable, buy what makes the best sense for your situation.
 

I'm now considering a resale 1 or maybe even 2 bedroom - OKW? BCV? BWV? Still magic season. What do you think?
Obviously there is a lot of personal preference to this decision. Ignoring that, SSR is likely your best and cheapest option long term. Lower buy in price, 11 month WDW window and lower dues than most. AKV and BWV give you access to cheaper room types if you reserve at the 11 month window and SSR/OKW should not pose availability issues other than THV and GV options.
 
Obviously there is a lot of personal preference to this decision. Ignoring that, SSR is likely your best and cheapest option long term. Lower buy in price, 11 month WDW window and lower dues than most. AKV and BWV give you access to cheaper room types if you reserve at the 11 month window and SSR/OKW should not pose availability issues other than THV and GV options.

You left out that SSR is also really pretty :-)
 
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These are all resale point prices - yes?

So, the plot thickens...

My kids? Not loving the VGF studio. My oldest said "it's too cramped". She has an aversion to the Beach Club (bad experience on our first trip 7 years ago when we didn't know you couldn't pool hop...), but after looking through some photos decided its actually her top pick.

I'm now considering a resale 1 or maybe even 2 bedroom - OKW? BCV? BWV? Still magic season. What do you think? Why didn't I do this 7 years ago? Don't answer that.

If space to spread out is a concern, OKW 1BRs are more spacious than the others. I wouldn't give up on AKV, though, because that second bathroom in a 1BR is nice to have. (Also true at BLT.)
 
I'm now considering a resale 1 or maybe even 2 bedroom - OKW? BCV? BWV?

OKW has the cheapest point costs, the largest rooms and it's the only one of these 3 resorts that has a sleeper chair in the 1BR to sleep 5.

but the other 2 are in walking distance of epcot (and also DHS if you don't mind a longer walk). also a boat to those 2 parks if that is preferred.

if you are staying at BCV, you could pool hop to BWV or OKW, but not vice-versa (cannot pool hop to BCV, BLT or AKV).

OKW is much more quiet and relaxing IMO, but some prefer the energy of the boardwalk...

i should also add that if you purchased a resale contract at SSR for the longer term (till 2054), OKW would also be the easiest to book at the 7 month window.
 
A 1BR at BWV during magic season is 220 points in a standard view and you pretty much have to own BWV to book in the 11 month window (before the 7 month window) to get standard view at BWV. It would cost a bit more to buy BWV instead of OKW, plus the 1BR at BWV doesn't have the sleeper chair, but if you really want that location it might be a good option. We have used our OKW points to get into BWV (twice) and BCV as well as HH, VB, SSR and VWL. HH and BCV have been the toughest to book (which is why we bought HH points). We also have a BLT resie for Oct that we got at 5 months out after being on the wait list for 2 weeks (when we booked SSR was all that was available so we took that and wait listed BLT and BWV)...Oct is Food & Wine and MNSSHP, so it's a busy DVC time.
 
For my family of 5 I can't see past AKV at Kidani. We do 2 bedrooms standard views is we need to save savannah views if we can splurge. Everyone gets a bed three bathrooms great. We are owners so we can book at 11 months jobs done

If we feel like splurging further we try at 7 months to switch to BLT for some of our nights. So far we have been successful

We could manage in a 1 bedroom and would if we had to but that would mean my two boys sharing a bed and frankly I could do without the grief. I hasten to add I have two teenagers not little kids

That is something you should consider. If you have small kids now what works might not work in 5 years as they get older so try and think a bit forward as we'll.
 
...1br, magic season in AKV is 228 standard (188 if you can get it at 11 months). 228 pts at 75$ (estimate) is 17,100$....

Unless one of the OP's children is under the age of three, the one bedroom value villa at AKV won't be available to them. They are five, not four and the value one bedroom only sleeps four plus one under the age of three. And, if one is under three, they stop being able to book the one bedroom value villa once the youngest hits three. Those only sleep four and DVC is strict on the occupancy of the value villas.

SSR one bedroom will permit five at this time. How knows, they could limit BCV, BWV, SSR and VWL to four persons plus one under the age of five like they did in the beginning. If you want to sleep the fifth person (and not in the pack n play), you need to bring your own bedding and bed, like an Aero bed. And your own towels or get an extra towel pack.

OP, you only want to buy VB if you want to stay there, especially in the Beach Cottage because it is very difficult to get that without owning at VB.

With a family of five, I just can't see squeezing everyone into one room. You can do it at POR (as long as the fifth one can fit that little murphy bed). But with DVC, you need to look a bit beyond just fitting into the room. You'll get to a point where you won't be at the parks from sun up to sun set and just sleeping in the villa. You will be enjoying the villa as part of the vacation.

By the way, when you have a washer and dryer, you can bring half the clothes and go home with clean stuff. And using the shared laundry that the studios have available, sometimes is easier said than done. Those laundry rooms are small, maybe only two or three washers and the same number of dryers. So one guest could monopolize all of them if they beat you to the laundry room.
 
Well, I've been all over the property (in my mind) over the last 2 days, but I'm making a resale offer at AKV. We will have enough points to get a 2 bedroom. My kids are aged 8-12 so it makes the most sense. I considered that AoA was our favourite stay and took the features of the suite and the resort itself into consideration. I realize that OKW rooms are bigger but the resort is huge and we rely on Disney transportation - which is a giant pain when you have to make several stops. I also realize that the BCV and BWV are within walking distance to 2 parks but if my kids are too tired to walk - that advantage becomes moot. So, the least number of bus stops possible while still being reasonably priced (because BLT would be more convenient transport-wise but pricier) led me to Animal Kingdom. Also, we don't go commando at the parks, we like to spend time at the resort and that is quite enjoyable at Animal Kingdom.
 
Also, SSR is very pretty - but too much like home in terms of the landscaping - and it's also huge, same bus issue as OKW.
 
Well, I've been all over the property (in my mind) over the last 2 days, but I'm making a resale offer at AKV. We will have enough points to get a 2 bedroom. My kids are aged 8-12 so it makes the most sense. I considered that AoA was our favourite stay and took the features of the suite and the resort itself into consideration. I realize that OKW rooms are bigger but the resort is huge and we rely on Disney transportation - which is a giant pain when you have to make several stops. I also realize that the BCV and BWV are within walking distance to 2 parks but if my kids are too tired to walk - that advantage becomes moot. So, the least number of bus stops possible while still being reasonably priced (because BLT would be more convenient transport-wise but pricier) led me to Animal Kingdom. Also, we don't go commando at the parks, we like to spend time at the resort and that is quite enjoyable at Animal Kingdom.

It sounds like a perfect fit for you...and once you own, you can always try BLT for part of the trip. We do split stays between BLT and BWV...but I stayed t AKV and for non park days, I thought it was a beautiful choice...I loved the pool at Jambo!!
 
Well, I've been all over the property (in my mind) over the last 2 days, but I'm making a resale offer at AKV. We will have enough points to get a 2 bedroom. My kids are aged 8-12 so it makes the most sense. I considered that AoA was our favourite stay and took the features of the suite and the resort itself into consideration. I realize that OKW rooms are bigger but the resort is huge and we rely on Disney transportation - which is a giant pain when you have to make several stops. I also realize that the BCV and BWV are within walking distance to 2 parks but if my kids are too tired to walk - that advantage becomes moot. So, the least number of bus stops possible while still being reasonably priced (because BLT would be more convenient transport-wise but pricier) led me to Animal Kingdom. Also, we don't go commando at the parks, we like to spend time at the resort and that is quite enjoyable at Animal Kingdom.

Good choice...congrats and good luck with offer and ROFR!
 
One thing I have read about the studios at VGF is that there is very little space for storage so keep that in mind...some people don't mind living out of suitcases and others do...with 5 in the room, it may be something that will need to be done in part.

Good luck!

There were two slide out storage areas (think along the lines of a trundle) under the queen bed in the VGF studio model. It looked like it held as much as a dresser. This storage space is the replacement for the storage you lose where you have the flip down single bed for the 5th person in the studio ... so I don't think VGF has much, if any, less storage space than the more recent DVC properties (BLT, Aulani, etc.).

I toured the VGF models and wound up adding on at VGF as a result.
 















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