Buying into DVC ona budget

[llrain]

say you were on a very tight budget and wanted real bad to buy into it what is wrong with buying OKW? Seems the cheapest although I want our home resort to be VWL..But prob not in my life time.

Why are there soooooo many OKW resales? are people selling them to get into SSR?

Does OKW have cooties now or something?hehe

I guess if we decide to go budget and go for OKW then we willl have no prob finding one unlike VWL which seem hard to come by.

 

[bobbiwoz]

There's nothing "wrong" with OKW, it's a gorgeous resort. Since it was the first, there are people who may have owned it for many years, maybe 12 years, and now could be moving on to other types of vacations. I don't know why people are selling, but there are also more owners there than at VWL, so that's another reason.

I don't think people would be selling it to buy into SSR because if they have the OKW points they can use them to go to SSR. The extra years may make a difference to some, but I don't remember reading any post here that someone has sold to buy into SSR. People have added points there.

Pixie dust to help you with your decision. Read all of the posts about buying where you want to stay. There have been posts from people stating their special circumstances and asking for opinions from people on the boards. Lots of people will answer your questions. Don't buy something that you feel you will be disappointed with right from the start, that is my only firm opinion.

Bobbi

 

[llrain]

Oh dont get me wrong....the more i look into OKW its a great resort that is centrally located too...sorta....

The only other turnoff from buying into it at all is that you cannot
1. Purchase The discovery magic plan at all.....(passes)
We cant do the anual passes cause there are too many restrictions ...for example....there are blackout dates? Why in the world are you going to not allow me in on these dates?

2. Cannot purchase the silver, romance plans...
These have always come in handy for us....Feels like we pay for all food up front so that our VERY TIGHT budgets can afford to eat when we get there....

I really dont want to have to cook all the time when we are there...Im going there to get away from all of that....

Also we are tyrying to figure out the points...how many to buy...
like we usually will go in late October for halloween and MNNSHP

and Christmas cause i have nevr been during this time.

 

[ryoung]

I was in the same situation you are in six months ago. I wanted to get into VWL because we had stayed there and just loved it. After DVC exercised its ROFR on our purchase of VWL, I ended buying OKW because a contract come up with the points that I was looking for. I thought I'd buy there and probably end up going to VWL most of the time.

After one week's stay at OKW, I doubt if I'll stay at any of the other resorts for more than a night or two, just to get the feel of it. I just love OKW.

But, everyone has different tastes and needs, so you need to decide for yourself what works best for you. But, this will probably change over time as your situation changes with kids, empty nesting, grandkids, etc.

The feasibility of buying the cheapest resort or what is available rather than where you plan on staying most of the time may also depend on when you plan on going to DVC. More of a chance of getting into a non-home resort at 7 months during slow times rather than peak times.

Hope this is helpful, and good luck....

MN Lakes Dad

 

[bobbiwoz]

It is my understanding that if you have an annual pass, you can go into the parks on any day of the year. If you are a Florida resident, then you can purchase a ticket that has restrictions, if you don't live in Florida, that pass isn't available to you.

Bobbi

 

[Doc and Family]

llrain,
The APs have NO Blackout dates. We have been getting them for years. The Florida Resident pass DOES have blackout dates, but that wont apply to you.

Other than that, it is a personal choice. While those other plans do have meals and stuff, they may not always be available, or even the best options.

Good Luck with your decision!

 

[Chuck S]

Annual Passes have no blackout dates. Only Florida Resident seasonal passes have blackout dates and DVC ownership does not qualify you for FL resident passes.

As far as packages, your posts seem to indicate that only OKW owners can not buy the dream maker pkg, etc. THis is true for ALL DVC members that stay on points or DVC cash discounts. Packages are for Cash customers booking through WDW travel.

DVC Memebers, however, can book Magical Gatherings for family reunions etc.

 

[llrain]

ya i knew that all DVC resorts/members cannot purchase dreammaker or silver, romance add on...

why is this?

I Know that it is a special priviledge, a "welcome home"
thing for DVC'ers that they seem to be treated in a different manner.....Like that for instance......You can add on silver calling CRO but not DVC..I really dont see the difference between the 2 other than you are in the DVC club...I know Im not making sense...

Anyweays thanks for the clarification on the passes....Megan (significant other) was reading off all of the privlidges for an anual pass holder and i thought thats what she saud...

You poor floridians......are there alot of balckout dates?
Do you just work around them?

Bryan

 

[disnutt]

I don't think the packages actually provide any real discount on the cost of meals. Their only advantage is prepayment. You can do that by buying meal vouchers or buying Disney dollars before your trip. Check the Budget Board for info on the vouchers and check your Disney store or online to purchase the dollars to use for your meals. Don't forget DVC members do get discounts at many restaurants.

 

[disneycrazed139]

I agree--the packages don't save money at all. You are basically just pre-paying your food. The only package that made sense was last year's 7 night for 4 price Fairytale pacakge. However, the silver, etc., add-ons for food and extras didn't contribute to its value. Pay for those things a-la-carte as you go. You'll probably wind up spending less.

 

[momsully]

We own at VWL and bought on a tight budget. Before we purchased we had always done some type of package. We find that we spend less money on our trips than before DVC because of eating some meals in the room, not buying LOS passes etc. Just having breakfast in the room is quite a savings. We have also bought meal vouchers in the past. They saved us money at Beaches and Cream but in most cases we just broke even. They are a nice way to prepay though if you are looking to save money.

 

[tjkraz]

OK, I'm gonna catch some grief for this one, but what the heck...

You're worried about buying DVC "on a budget", and yet your normal vacation habit is to purchase those ridiculously expensive meal plans??? Yikes!

 

[TammyNC]

We own at WLV. That said, you can purchase OKW pts and stay at WLV although it takes more pts than OKW. We like both resorts though we tend to lean towards WLV more.

We swore we would never cook a meal at WDW. WRONG!!!

Boy were we wrong!

DVC will allow you to save by meals in the room. Granted we like to eat nice meals at WDW. But you can eat cereal in comfortasble settings at DVC resorts for breakfast. $35 saved for a family of four each morning. That adds up quick. A weeks stay, breakfast in the room each morning, that might make your DVC payment for a month.

Many on these boards have very good crockpot ideas also for DVC resort stays.

Good luck in your decision

 

[Chuck S]

I'll also agree that the meal plans don't save any money...unless you are a very, very big eater and eat full meals 3 times per day.

Now, I'm not denying that Mom & I are "big" eaters, but we usually eat a fairly light breakfast in our DVC unit--usually having breakfast at Olivia's maybe 3 times in a 9 night stay. We have a large lunch meal at a full service in park restaurant , and it varies for supper...sometimes a sandwich, sometimes a sundae, sometimes a full meal. We generally drink water and don't order a beverage (not to save costs, we sometimes order a beverage...we just prefer water). Comparing costs, we'd either lose money on a meal plan or feel forced to eat much more than we're comfortable with.

We rarely do any actual "cooking" while on vacation, but always make a trip to Publix to pick up ice cream, bread, butter. cereal, fruit, milk and a 1/2 dozen eggs if we're in a 1 bedroom unit. No eggs or ice cream if we're in a studio.

If you plan to visit WDW every other year and stay in a moderate or delux on-site hotel DVC will save you money in the long run.