Buying DVC...how to decide???

[Rotti955]

My family and I love Disney and are pretty sure that buying into DVC (resale) is something we want to do. We are traveling to Disney every year at this point and can see going more than once a year in the future....

Our last trip we rented DVC points so we could try out the experience and loved it - the entire experience... from 'welcome home' to 'see you next trip'.

My question is... without having stayed at every hotel - how have others made their decision on where to buy in?

My husband is a golfer and I love the spa so we were thinking SSR, but while our kids are young (9 and 4) maybe something closer like BCV or BWV may be better for our fam.

 

[walkdmc]

I stayed at BLT and loved it so much. However, we actually put in a bid on a BLT 160 pt. resale before we stayed there. Prior to buying DVC, we stayed at CSR (didn't like it at all) and the Poly (loved the size of the room and being on the 'rail but that was about it). However, we love WDW, love it. I adore the castle and felt strongly about being so close to the castle we could see it all the time. And of course, I liked being able to ride the monorail from my resort. Plus, I looked at the pics of the BLT rooms and liked what I saw. So, proximity to the MK and asthetics helped me decide.

 

[Sandisw]

We knew BLT was right for us because of its location. We had been going since 1994, almost yearly, and loved to stay at the CR. We tried other resorts but always ended up back at CR (even sometimes mid trip).

We looked in to DVC in the early 2000's but decided that staying somewhere other then within walking distance to MK, our favorite park, was not something we wanted to do so we passed on it.

We said that if they ever built DVC near the CR we were in. We bought in last year and love the resort and are pleased with our purchase.

We are trying BCV this summer for a few nights and last summer, also tried BWV and VWL along with BLT to get an idea.

Every trip will include at least 1/2 the nights at BLT but may include the others. I have a feeling I will really like BCV. BWV was not for me so won't plan on staying there again. VWL was my DD 14's favorite so next summer I told her we would do a VWL/BLT split.

With little ones, the convenience of being close to a park (either Epcot or MK) is wonderful, IMO. If you have to go back for naps or just to relax, it is easy to do.

Good luck!!!

 

[disneynutz]

The only way is to rent and stay at different resorts or buy a contract where you think that you would like to own and stay at different resorts until you find your favorite.

I would guess that there are a lot of members who bought based on what Disney was selling at the time. Now they wait until the 7 month mark to switch their reservation to the resort that they really like.

It took us several years before we settled on out current favorite.

Have fun on your search.

Bill

 

[goofystitchfan]

Hi there. Also from the Boston area here, Saugus to be exact. We have been DVC Members for 4 years now. Every time we go back we buy more points. We are SSR owners and in November will be staying in the Treehouse Villas and are very excited. We decided to purchase DVC because of the total experience - not needing to rent a car, cook and eat in our own "place", and having all the conveniences and more. We are very happy with our decision. We looked at many time shares and for the money you can't beat what you get in return. We have even traded our points and stayed in some of the other places offered. Hope this helps.

 

[chalee94]

here is a good thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

 

[Crystal_27]

My question is... without having stayed at every hotel - how have others made their decision on where to buy in?

For us, we loved the convenience of the monorail, so BLT was a no-brainer. With that said, though, we also enjoy the Epcot resort area and I find myself regretting just a bit that we didn't look more at BCV during our decision-making process. However, we have no regrets with BLT and very much look forward to another 49 years of ownership.

 

[wildernessDad]

We stayed at WL in 2005 and was totally blown away. Made time for the DVC presentation, a sales pitch for SSR. We balked and bought in at VWL instead.

 

[AirGoofy]

Our dds are 8 & 6 now, and we were going once a year when they were younger. After we bought into SSR in 2008, we have loved it and are going to WDW twice a year (studio stays). We went with what we could afford and what was available at the time. Now, I want to buy another contract at BLT, so that we could do 2 one bedroom stays per year. We like moving around to different resorts, and typically plan our trip around what resort we are staying. I think the Chalee94 posted link above has great info.

 

[Sammie]

We stayed before we bought. There are some good discounts, 40% for passholders and 30% for everyone.

 

[mocha1193]

We went back & forth for years & finally bought resale last fall & it was the best decision we could have made. Of course we live only 2 hours away & go all the time so that does make a difference.

We got a great deal on our resale & it had triple points so even with all our trips last year & booking every month for the rest of 2010 we still haven't even gotten used up all of our current points.

I'm just wishing we had done it sooner.

I will try to find out the place we used they were great & went above & beyond in trying to find us a great deal. I actually found them from a post from this site from several others that had used them before & had really good experiences.

 

[yensid9111]

We bought first at Animal Kingdom on the Disney Magic. We had been to the AKL hotel before, but had not stayed in any of the villas. We've got friends with DVC, so was somewhat familiar with DVC, but really didn't know what we were buying...I had not found the DVC disboards at that time. We bought thinking that we would stay just wherever we would be able to get a reservation. I have to say that we really, really were very lucky with our purchase. Now, after staying at BCV, WLV, OKW, and touring BWV, BLT, and SSR our truly favorite place to be is at Kidani Village. We now book as soon as our 11 month window opens. I would advise to at least tour each DVC if you can't stay there (staying would be best, but probably not very likely)--try the restaurants, visit the pools. I consider us very lucky that we wound up with our WDW DVC points where we truly feel at home.

 

[dizplanner]

I bought in 2004 via resale, so there were fewer options than. But this is the logic I used.
I wanted a resort at WDW, so Hilton Head and Vero Beach were eliminated.
I figured that OKW and SSR were larger, so I could likely get a reservation at 7 months. So I eliminated them. That left VWL, BWV, and BCV. In our previous trips to Disney, we had stayed at WL and BWI (no villas) so we were familar with these two resorts. We really liked WL and didn't like BWI (although I wonder if our opinions were colored by the fact that it was freezing the January we stayed at BWI). So we eliminated BWV. That brought it to VWL and BCV. At the time VWL was more available and less expensive. We also wanted to do an early December trip and staying at VWL sounded good. So we bought 150 points at VWL.

Now, I actually bought without touring DVC. I did my research on these boards and bought resale. It was a risk, but no too big. We had several trips to Disney and for the most part, liked all Disney hotels. And we are pretty easy going.

Since we have owned, we have stayed at OKW (in a grand villa), VWL twice, SSR, BCV. I liked them all. We will be staying at VGC in October. Then I plan to go to Aulani in 2012. After that, I would like to go back to WDW and try AKV and BLT. Maybe I'll even have to give BWV a try I really would like to try all the resorts. So I'm not the type of person where the home resort is critical.

 

[bnk1120]

We bought at VWL because we love the WL, the ambience, proximity to Mk etc. However, I think that as I stay at more resorts, there are more that I will also fall in love with - and want to add on at!!!!

Obviously, one of the selling points of DVC is the flexibility to stay at different resorts. I can see that over the next 30+ years our vacation habits, times, and resort preferences may change. More time at the resorts, less time at the parks is also not far off.

Right now VWL is perfect for us. But who knows if I'll always feel that way I can see OKW becoming my favorite someday.

I think the advice of "do not buy where you would NOT want to stay" is good. Buy at a place you would like to stay. Once you decide that you are indeed going to spend the money, the decision about where to buy should be based more on "feelings" than "facts" IMO.

 

[rentayenta]

We bought at SSR too. Our reasons included:

• overall resort appeal: golf, spa, grounds, dining, pools, room decor
• price
• contract length
• UY
• fees

We had stayed at AKV, OKW, and POR prior to purchasing DVC though. We toured SSR and simply fell in love. Go with your gut. Everyone's rationale is different.

 

[DizGirl20]

My question is... without having stayed at every hotel - how have others made their decision on where to buy in?

I know it's hard to hold off, but if you can, wait until your next trip and just walk around the DVC resorts to get a feel for each one. Doing that completely changed our minds where we wanted to be. I thought we would buy into OKW and/or BLT. Now we own at AKV and hope to buy at BCV!

Now all this being said, I wouldn't mind staying at any DVC resort. And truthfully, I can see our tastes changing as the kids grow up. I think someday we will want a more quiet, laid-back resort (which I am thinking will be OKW or SSR).

Bottom line: if you are going to make the investment, make it somewhere you love. Best of Luck!