Buying cheap versus buying where you want to stay

[crisi]

The "cheapest" DVC investment is really buying enough for standard studios in your preferred resort. If you buy outside your preferred resort, you're forced to purchase extra to afford 1 BR preferred views.

That would assume that those standard view studios are available to book at eleven months out - and for a lot of the options, that's a battle. If you buy enough points only for standard view (or the elusive VAKL value rooms), plan on taking shorter trips from time to time. There are a lot of BWV owners who have learned that the hard way - especially for F&W.

 

[havoc315]

That would assume that those standard view studios are available to book at eleven months out - and for a lot of the options, that's a battle. If you buy enough points only for standard view (or the elusive VAKL value rooms), plan on taking shorter trips from time to time. There are a lot of BWV owners who have learned that the hard way - especially for F&W.

Yes, there are times it is difficult, especially for some resorts. But availability is still massively better at 11 months than 7 months.
Often at 11 months, worst case scenario, you might get stuck with a preferred studio. While at 7 months, often your best case scenario may be a preferred 1 bedroom, at double the points.

... and while I like 1 bedrooms, the reality is that they aren't great "values." If your plan is really to stay in 1 bedrooms 100% of the time, DVC isn't necessarily such a great investment as opposed to renting points/cash rooms.

 

[havoc315]

It would be interesting to see what availability was like if all resorts were the same size. Currently it's the largest resorts that have availability remaining the longest. And even PVB which actually is a popular resort has shown it will have availability longer as it has a lot of one room size.

Yes, with PVB, the key is having only 1 room size.
If all resorts were the same size and same room distribution, it might help a little.

But it's clearly not the only factor: Example, Boardwalk has some of the tightest 7 month availability, but it's on the larger side, over 500 DVC units. I would say that Boardwalk has a lot less 7 month availability than BLT, and BLT is only 300 units.

It's actually interesting: DVC members have different preferences than regular cash visitors. It appears DVC owners have greater love for the Epcot area resorts than regular visitors, with BCV/BWV being some of the hardest rooms to get at 7 months, and with often irrational re-sale prices.
Meanwhile, BWI often has such low demand that Disney struggles with occupancy.
My impression: DVC owners, who comes often, love the Epcot area resorts for the Epcot festivals, for walking to Epcot, for the closeness to 2 parks. While less frequent visitors are more enamored with Magic Kingdom. (of course, there are plenty of DVC owners who love Magic Kingdom as well).

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, with PVB, the key is having only 1 room size.
If all resorts were the same size and same room distribution, it might help a little.

But it's clearly not the only factor: Example, Boardwalk has some of the tightest 7 month availability, but it's on the larger side, over 500 DVC units. I would say that Boardwalk has a lot less 7 month availability than BLT, and BLT is only 300 units.

It's actually interesting: DVC members have different preferences than regular cash visitors. It appears DVC owners have greater love for the Epcot area resorts than regular visitors, with BCV/BWV being some of the hardest rooms to get at 7 months, and with often irrational re-sale prices.
Meanwhile, BWI often has such low demand that Disney struggles with occupancy.
My impression: DVC owners, who comes often, love the Epcot area resorts for the Epcot festivals, for walking to Epcot, for the closeness to 2 parks. While less frequent visitors are more enamored with Magic Kingdom. (of course, there are plenty of DVC owners who love Magic Kingdom as well).

BWV has an issue though that BLT doesn't though - only 2BR lockoffs. So those booking 2BR's are also taking out studio availability. If you look at 1BR availability it probably lasts longer in that BLT comparison and it generally is a resort that I expect to see 1BRs at longer than a lot of other places.

 

[crisi]

Little by little it will increase long term unless it becomes cheaper.

Need to remember most owners bought 10-20+ years ago.

Yep, I keep saying each year it will be worse as people continue to be willing to pay higher prices for BWV/BCV contracts. They aren't doing that so they can spend their vacations sleeping around.

 

[havoc315]

BWV has an issue though that BLT doesn't though - only 2BR lockoffs. So those booking 2BR's are also taking out studio availability. If you look at 1BR availability it probably lasts longer in that BLT comparison and it generally is a resort that I expect to see 1BRs at longer than a lot of other places.

I've looked.... Across all rooms types, including 1 bedrooms, my perception is that BWV books up faster than BLT.
And same with BCV, though it's a bit smaller.

BRV also tends to have good 7 month availability, despite being small.

I suspect BLT has good 7 month availability because, at this point, it's been around for a long time, many of the current owners have had it for a full 10 years. And they love owning it for the location, but they aren't so in love with it that they wouldn't want to try other resorts. Even if they prioritize Magic Kingdom, there are 2 other monorail DVCs with bigger studios and nicer pools. And I don't see Poly and GFV owners really wanting to use their points at BLT.
So SSR is on 1 extreme, of more guests flowing out at 7 months than flowing in at 7 months.
GFV and BCV are probably the opposite extremes: Very few guests flowing out at 7 months, strong demand to flow in at 7 months.
BLT is probably closer to the middle --- SSR/OKW/AKV guests flowing in, but BLT guests looking to try the other monorail resorts, try Epcot resorts.

 

[sndral]

...
It's actually interesting: DVC members have different preferences than regular cash visitors. It appears DVC owners have greater love for the Epcot area resorts than regular visitors, with BCV/BWV being some of the hardest rooms to get at 7 months, and with often irrational re-sale prices.
Meanwhile, BWI often has such low demand that Disney struggles with occupancy.
My impression: DVC owners, who comes often, love the Epcot area resorts for the Epcot festivals, for walking to Epcot, for the closeness to 2 parks. While less frequent visitors are more enamored with Magic Kingdom. (of course, there are plenty of DVC owners who love Magic Kingdom as well).

Or regular cash visitors prefer YC/BC or the Swolphin over BWI, I know I liked YC best in that area back in my cash days.

 

[CarolMN]

I want to take a poll. How many "Buy where you want to stay"er's are BCV and BWV owners?

It's probably true of most owners of the "near-park" resorts - BCV, BWV, BLT, VGF & VGC. Poly doesn't have 1 or 2 bedroom villas, so I didn't include the Poly.

 

[Nappy1380]

I'll add that there is also a considerable advantage transportation wise if you were to compare say AKV and SSR with respect to how far they are from the parks (obviously besides AK itself). At SSR you can walk to Springs and get direct transport to literally anywhere else on property. That's a pretty nice feature to have when you need it.

 

[Marionnette]

I want to take a poll. How many "Buy where you want to stay"er's are BCV and BWV owners?

 

[ldo]

I wonder with Renovations if ssr will have more “stay put” dvcers and inflows from other dvcs? Looks somewhat similar to Riv.
I read on another post that dvc was out of direct inventory for ssr. They appear to be rofring at pricing higher than akv.
The ssr 1br are definitely more appealing to us with the Murphy bed now and a low points cost.

 

[crisi]

I wonder with Renovations if ssr will have more “stay put” dvcers and inflows from other dvcs? Looks somewhat similar to Riv.
I read on another post that dvc was out of direct inventory for ssr. They appear to be rofring at pricing higher than akv.
The ssr 1br are definitely more appealing to us with the Murphy bed now and a low points cost.

Typically, a hard goods refresh isn't sufficient to create draw. All DVC resorts will eventually get the murphy bed. And SSR points aren't as low as OKW, and that doesn't create a lot of draw there. I was really hoping SSR would have an OKW point structure, I thought that would create more balance in the system.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Typically, a hard goods refresh isn't sufficient to create draw. All DVC resorts will eventually get the murphy bed. And SSR points aren't as low as OKW, and that doesn't create a lot of draw there. I was really hoping SSR would have an OKW point structure, I thought that would create more balance in the system.

Standard view is pretty close or the same to OKW except the GV's.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Other than the expiration date (we did not consider any resort with the 2042 expiration), if you have strong feelings about where you want to stay AND you can plan 11 months out, buy where you want to stay. If you're happy with whatever you can get OR you cannot plan 11 months out, buy for point value.

We bought CCV direct because that is where we wanted to stay for family vacations which, at least for a while, have to be at certain times when it can be hard to get what we would want. These points get booked right at the 11 month point.

We have an offer in now for a resale SSR contract which we chose for value and expiration date (we did not consider the resorts with the 2042 expiration). For the most part, these points are for the trips we book within 7 months. I am OK if that means I stay at SSR, or anywhere really.

 

[DougEMG]

I want to take a poll. How many "Buy where you want to stay"er's are BCV and BWV owners?

I own BWV and BLT because that is where I want to stay.

I own OKW and SSR because they are cheap, but I have stayed at both of those resorts and like staying there as well, they just aren't my 1st choice. I'm at Disney, I'm going to have a good time no matter what resort I'm in.

 

[DougEMG]

Yes, with PVB, the key is having only 1 room size.
If all resorts were the same size and same room distribution, it might help a little.

But it's clearly not the only factor: Example, Boardwalk has some of the tightest 7 month availability, but it's on the larger side, over 500 DVC units. I would say that Boardwalk has a lot less 7 month availability than BLT, and BLT is only 300 units.

It's actually interesting: DVC members have different preferences than regular cash visitors. It appears DVC owners have greater love for the Epcot area resorts than regular visitors, with BCV/BWV being some of the hardest rooms to get at 7 months, and with often irrational re-sale prices.
Meanwhile, BWI often has such low demand that Disney struggles with occupancy.
My impression: DVC owners, who comes often, love the Epcot area resorts for the Epcot festivals, for walking to Epcot, for the closeness to 2 parks. While less frequent visitors are more enamored with Magic Kingdom. (of course, there are plenty of DVC owners who love Magic Kingdom as well).

Simple solution would be convert BWI rooms to BWV2. Charge more than RIV and RIV looks like a great deal.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I wonder with Renovations if ssr will have more “stay put” dvcers and inflows from other dvcs?

I probably would never have considered trading in to SSR in the past, but might consider it now that the rooms look more appealing to me. It's still not likely to be something we'll do though. I doubt there will be a noticeable influx of people trading in at SSR.

 

[Gary Carter]

I'm just going to be the odd one out and say this...

We havent been members for very long, but we have never NOT had a waitlist come through and gotten to stay where we wanted, except for one last minute trip we took that we booked 2 weeks out. We always book studios.

We have stayed in Copper Creek, The beach club, Bay Lake Tower (standard!), even Animal Kindgon Lodge in a value studio!

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We started our DVC portfolio with the cheapest option of our favorite resorts (at the time, they were BLT, POLY, AKV & GFV). We purchased resale, and although not the actual cheapest, BLT was the cheapest long-term. We were thrilled to be owners within walking of MK, were excited to have gotten a good deal, and were ready to stay at other resorts too! At the time, you could get a blue card with just a tiny direct add-on, so we immediately added on at the Poly... we’ve got a family of 8 and new the AP savings would be significant for us!

I really like to be able to plan 11 months out bc that’s also when I can find the cheapest flights (when booking with miles). Waiting until the 7-month mark usually causes me to have to pay cash for my flights (the “cheap mile” award flights are gone), and I don’t like doing that. As someone else mentioned- it can definitely cost more to own somewhere you don’t plan on staying at! That’s true in many ways for me & a big reason we added on at the Riviera (I really didn’t want to pay the crazy high points for a preferred view after doing that just once).

I want to take a poll. How many "Buy where you want to stay"er's are BCV and BWV owners?

Guilty. I initially said a definite “no” to even considering 2042 resorts... I felt we had arrived too late to the DVC game. However, after staying at BCV, we found out how much we loved it (floating along the lazy river at SAB, and the location really can’t be beat!). So, bc of how hard it is to book there, we added on there too. However, we were already buying where we want to stay

I’m a buy where you want to stay’er hence why I own at 8 DVC resorts. I like booking at the 11mo window and not having to worry about switching at the 7mo window.

I completely agree! We now own at 5 resorts and love them all!! Having the 11-month window is a big deal to us... I am extremely thankful we’re able to own a little piece of so many wonderful resorts

 

[KAngela]

As is so common in life, the answer is: "it depends." And only you know the answer, and it's unique for each one of us.

If your only route into DVC is the minimum number of lowest-cost resale points you can find that work for your needs, then you will end up buying whatever that is and figuring out how to make it work. You'll be happy with that, because it was your only path in, and you took it and now you are enjoying DVC stays for many years.

If you have enough money to pay cash for the points you need direct from Disney, then you will want to buy sufficient points at your most desired location(s) so you can stay where you want, when you want, with the power of the 11-month window ensuring you don't get shut out. You'll be happy with that, because you can schedule the DVC stay you want without worry, which is why you joined in the first place. And you get a spiffy blue card, to boot, and can stay at any resort.

If (like most people) you are somewhere between those two extremes, then you'll have to make the decision about what is most important to you: minimizing how much you spend on this, or having the maximum chance of the reservation at the resort you want. Only you know which of those makes your vacationing more enjoyable. Of course it's not an extreme: if you are willing to pay more to get a more desirable resort, but you have to compromise on points (or split points between resorts to get enough, or go resale instead of direct, or whatever), you can end up maximizing your happiness by merging both needs and landing somewhere in the middle.

That's not a terribly helpful answer, alas, but it is the truth. For my case that led to a resale contract at the resort I wanted to stay at for a point value a little less than I'd have gotten with no financial constraints; staying where I want when I want is far more important than minimizing the financial cost of DVC, so it weighed more heavily into the decision. Your mileage may vary.

Whatever you decide, good luck, and hopefully you'll be happy when you're welcomed home!