Buying In Sight Unseen

[icouldlivethere]

I just bought into Boardwalk Villas sight unseen and am awaiting ROFR.

We visited the Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom villas on our last vacation but didn't really want to purchase 160 points.

After we got back home I spent a lot of time on these boards researching and educating myself about the various DVC's. After putting a lot of thought into it I decided I liked the Boardwalk because of its location and availability of rooms with fewer points. I really liked the idea of being so close to both Epcot and DHS and it looks like there are lots of things to do both at the resort and at nearby resorts.

The only downsides I really saw were the long hallways and no food court.

Has anybody else purchased a DVC unit sight unseen? I've never even been to the Boardwalk before. The closest I've ever come was eating at the Dolphin once. I sure hope I like it there!

 

[JVL1018]

I just bought into Boardwalk Villas sight unseen and am awaiting ROFR.

We visited the Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom villas on our last vacation but didn't really want to purchase 160 points.

After we got back home I spent a lot of time on these boards researching and educating myself about the various DVC's. After putting a lot of thought into it I decided I liked the Boardwalk because of its location and availability of rooms with fewer points. I really liked the idea of being so close to both Epcot and DHS and it looks like there are lots of things to do both at the resort and at nearby resorts.

The only downsides I really saw were the long hallways and no food court.

Has anybody else purchased a DVC unit sight unseen? I've never even been to the Boardwalk before. The closest I've ever come was eating at the Dolphin once. I sure hope I like it there!

We bought both BWV and HH sight unseen, we had seen the BW being built(as we drove past, but we never stepped foot on the property).
You will love it!!

 

[kab407]

Yes, SSR back in 2004. I was on the Magic and went to one of the DVC presentations. I had been looking at DVC for awhile, so I knew what I was getting into. I met with the Guide later in the week and bought. I had a few hours to kill before my flight home so I took a tour of SSR and knew instantly I made the right decision. Haven't regretted yet and really wish I did it sooner. (yea, yea, yea, I know.)

 

[dvcbnd]

We bought both OKW and AKV's sight unseen, and are extremely happy!
We have stayed at BWV's and agree with the only 2 downsides that you mentioned and believe me, the pluses of the resort definitely outweigh them. I think that you will be very happy with your new "home away from home". ENJOY!!!!

 

[crisi]

We did almost exactly what you did. We went down, had a lovely trip - didn't even stop by the DVC booth. Love WL (they had just stopped selling VWL and were selling BCV), did some internet research, and bought BWV resale - without ever having been to the Epcot resort area before. Closest we'd come is driving by on the highway and remaking how ugly the Swan and Dolphin were.

My themeatic heart is still over at WL, but for us BWV has been ideal in terms of location and the availability of standard view rooms.

 

[drusba]

Bought AKV sight unseen, except we had seen AKL before, because we bought before it opened (and did not visit any models). AKV had things we really liked -- a unique theme,the real animals and Boma (which I consider the best buffet restaurant on site). BWV is still our main home resort and we still consider it best of them all (but, of course, others consider other resorts to be best of them all). The long hallways are really not a big deal (and as I have learned AKV's to the end aren't any shorter). Being able to walk to two parks and lots of restaurants is extremely convenient. A downside in my view is the bus service because you share with Swan/Dolphin, and sometimes with those and YC/BC, making trips to or from MK and AK longer than you would like. Not having the food court makes no difference to us.

 

[simzac]

Yes, we purchased OKW sight unseen. Our favorite non DVC resort is CBR, and we felt OKW would be the closest DVC resort to it. We were right.

 

[mickeymorse]

I don't know if this counts but we spent an afternoon strolling the grounds of WL before the Villas were built. This past halloween we took in the tour at SSR, came home and debated what we wanted. We loved the lodge so much when we were there that we couldn't picture buying in anywhere else. Still waiting to close but we've passed ROFR so the hard part is done.

Rob

 

[SusieBea]

In 1993, we were staying at the Disney Inn (now Shades of Green). It was before they really ran the DVC channel on the in-room TVs. There was just a little "tent" advertisement on the table in the room. We bought OKW without seeing anything. We figured since it was Disney, it would be OK. It has been more than OK.

 

[DisneyTripper]

I bought SSR sight unseen..sort of. The Magical Express stopped there and dumped some people before whisking me away to POR. Little did I know then that I would one day own the place.

 

[solgent]

When we bought SSR in 2005, we had never stayed at any Disney resort and it had been 6 years since we had visited WDW!

However, we knew we wanted to start regular visits and having made 2 trips, one at SSR and one at BCV, we are extremely satisfied with our purchase.

 

[PSC]

We bought BWV sight unseen in 2006. Don't worry - you'll love it!

 

[snowbunny]

You are going to love BWV It is a wonderful resort.

I am also waiting for ROFR, on a VWL contract sight unseen, in that I've been to the Wilderness Lodge, dined at Artist Point, but have never stepped foot in a guest room or DVC villa there. I sure hope I like it too

 

[paults]

"The only downsides I really saw were the long hallways and no food court."

I always laugh when people talk about long halls at BWV . Way I see it is if you walk around the parks all day it's not that hard to walk to your room.

with all the restaurants around the epcot resorts area I (jmho)see no need for a food court.

And yes we bought sight unseen in 2002 (resale) then added on in 2003 (by Disney)

you should love it there. it's great to just walk to 2 parks.

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

We stayed at BWV on our first family trip, struck up a conversation at the pool with a DVC owner who filled us in, came home after the best vacation ever, and promptly bought into SSR sight unseen. And we just added on to AKV in December -- again, sight unseen! We love DVC, love being able to stay at different resorts, and think that our kids will be ga ga for the animals at AKV. We are thrilled.

You won't regret buying in at BWV. It's my favorite of anywhere we've stayed!

 

[lisareniff]

Has anybody else purchased a DVC unit sight unseen? ...

Have I ever!! We purchased DVC before we ever went down to WDW as a family. Purchased over the phone/mail and had our first family trip at the BCV!!! It had been over 20 years since I had been to Disney. Talk about sight unseen!

disclaimer: this stunt shouldn't be tried at home.

I definitely wouldn't recommend anyone using this technique. It did work for us. But we had the cash on hand and were thinking about a staying in a suite in a Disney resort which would have been $$$ anyway. Did a bunch of reading and decided if we didn't like it after a few trips we could sell. It's been a few years, and we just bought more!

Does that make you fell better icouldlivethere?

 

[SusieBea]

You are going to love BWV It is a wonderful resort.

I am also waiting for ROFR, on a VWL contract sight unseen, in that I've been to the Wilderness Lodge, dined at Artist Point, but have never stepped foot in a guest room or DVC villa there. I sure hope I like it too

You will love it there. Don't even think twice.

 

[icouldlivethere]

WOW!! I'm so glad to see that so many of you have bought sight unseen and are happy with your purchase!

Pixie dust to everyone who is awaiting ROFR with me! I hope we all pass.

I can't wait to make my first trip down there as a DVC owner. I'm hoping to go when the Christmas decorations are up this year. Hopefully all those that were able to book at the 11 month window will leave a room for me since it will be beyond the 11 month window for me by the time I close and get my points.

 

[sajetto]

We bought in sight unseen 8 months after our first trip together. We were in the middle of planning our Disney wedding and I was reading the DIS boards A LOT. I poked around the DVC boards for a few weeks and called DVC to buy sight unseen into SSR. We were able to use those points to book our honeymoon and multiple trips since then. We haven't regretted it for a second! In fact we added on at AKV

 

[UP Disney]

We bought into Saratoga Springs site unseen. We had been to many of the other DVC resorts. We were quite happy with our purchase when we stayed there in December.