Buying Vero Beach to use at GFV...

[PinkPixel]

If I bought at a small contract at Vero to get started with th ease year I like, after closing and points are all setup, when would I first be able to book at GFV? I know that it's at 7 months vs 11. For example, if my points were loaded in say May 2023, when would I be able to book GFV?

 

[RoseGold]

It doesn't matter when the points "load," this is not even a thing in DVC. It matters what UY the points are and their status (banked/borrowed). We have no idea what your UY and point status is.

If by "load" you mean that you get access to the points, you can book as soon as you get access, maybe. If those points have a far off UY, you might not be able to book for some time. We call this a stripped contract.

I wouldn't do this at all: https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...ero-resale-for-wdw-use.3908035/#post-64568747

 

[Sandisw]

Everything goes by the date of the trip. If you have VB points, they will be good at VGF 7 months from the date of any trip.

Your UY simply determines which points are eligible to "pay" for that trip. If you buy resale today and have your account set up and ready to use by May, then you can book VGF any date up to and including 7 months from that date you try.

So, on May 15th, you can book a stay starting on November 15th or earlier. Which points you can use for that will depend on your UY. The easiest way to know is to determine UY of the trip. Once you know that, you can use banked points from the UY prior to the trip, points from the UY of the trip and borrow points from the UY after the trip to complete a reservation.

Not sure when you travel, but VGF is hard to get into especially during the holidays. The addition of the resort studios will make 7 months bookings a little easier, but if you are considering other size rooms, you may very well become frustrated.

I would not buy VB with the intention you will get VGF regularly.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

You will regret this when dues are due (we do).

 

[PinkPixel]

You will regret this when dues are due (we do).

I was thinking of only getting 50pts resale, and at $100 less a point, my bad back of napkin math thinks that would equal 10 years of dues. The last 10 years could be problematic I guess if I couldn't sell or use at all by then. I also might want to use them at Vero once in awhile, but was mostly interested in securing my preferred use year (Oct) and going from there. I do like to hear from people with actual experience!

 

[Cfabar1]

So…. We love Vero, and we love Grand Floridian.

My wife was insistent we buy at Vero, at least a small contract. We will be there at least a couple nights a year because of that. She finds it so peaceful, serene, and magical. She also loves the beach. I too enjoy it, and agree with her, it is a unique place and special place to be. Due to the high rate of dues, we bought a small contract (25 points) which we can use for a special night or two throughout the year. The disadvantage for us, Vero is close to home, and so we doubt we would ever stay there for a week or two… it doesn’t feel enough like “getting away”… But maybe we would… we also are not a fan of the 2042 expiration….
Depending on the refurb, and on resale prices, we would probably shift our strategy to HHI points down the road. Far away enough to feel like a vacation, but still on the beach, which matters to us for our beach trip!

We also love the Grand Floridian…. Being under 40, we like the fact it will be with us for a long time… we know it is the flagship hotel for WDW, and no matter what resale restrictions may emerge, it will never be worth zero. We like that it is walkable to the MK, can monorail to Epcot, etc. It is a truly special and unique resort… we may at some point try to use our points here at AK, or BC, or BW, but to us, despite the high points chart, there is nowhere else that quite exudes that feeling of “disney magic”… That’s just to us…. We are slowly buying contracts as they come up, and as make sense for us - we also as an existing member will be eligible for add ons, which make purchasing a little easier for us To save up, and then buy in pieces.

I would not recommend buying these with the strategy of staying somewhere else…. I would buy some vero points when makes sense for Vero, and buy some VGF points for when makes sense to stay at VGF.

If you’re truly looking for SAP, (which I don’t really recommend) I think Aulani or maybe OKW are the better ways to go. Especially if you can get subsidized Aulani…Living in Florida, I just can’t wrap my head around buying a timeshare in Hawaii I would visit once every 2-3 years (on my income flying to Hawaii for 2-3 weeks every year isn’t really an option).

 

[PinkPixel]

You will regret this when dues are due (we do).

I was thinking of only getting 50pts resale, and at $100 less a point, my bad back of napkin math thinks that would equal 10 years of dues. The last 10 years could be problematic I guess if I couldn't sell or use at 7 months anywhere etc. I also might want to use them at Vero once in awhile, but was mostly interested in securing my preferred use year (Oct) and going from there. Probably too risky.

 

[Nabas]

I was thinking of only getting 50pts resale, and at $100 less a point, my bad back of napkin math thinks that would equal 10 years of dues. The last 10 years could be problematic I guess if I couldn't sell or use at 7 months anywhere etc. I also might want to use them at Vero once in awhile, but was mostly interested in securing my preferred use year (Oct) and going from there. Probably too risky.

I see a VB 50-point contract for sale at $70 per point, an OKW 50-point contract for sale at $98 per point, a VGF 50-point contract for sale at $175 per point.

VB maintenance fees are $12.85, OKW MF are $9.36.

If you are buying these point to stay at VGF, it could be challenging once VGF2 is sold out.

If you are flexible, go for the OKW contract.

 

[Matty B13]

If you are buying these point to stay at VGF, it could be challenging once VGF2 is sold out.

Are you sure about this???? Poly doesn't seem to have a problem at the 7 month mark right now.

 

[Straulin]

So…. We love Vero, and we love Grand Floridian.

My wife was insistent we buy at Vero, at least a small contract. We will be there at least a couple nights a year because of that. She finds it so peaceful, serene, and magical. She also loves the beach. I too enjoy it, and agree with her, it is a unique place and special place to be. Due to the high rate of dues, we bought a small contract (25 points) which we can use for a special night or two throughout the year. The disadvantage for us, Vero is close to home, and so we doubt we would ever stay there for a week or two… it doesn’t feel enough like “getting away”… But maybe we would… we also are not a fan of the 2042 expiration….
Depending on the refurb, and on resale prices, we would probably shift our strategy to HHI points down the road. Far away enough to feel like a vacation, but still on the beach, which matters to us for our beach trip!

We also love the Grand Floridian…. Being under 40, we like the fact it will be with us for a long time… we know it is the flagship hotel for WDW, and no matter what resale restrictions may emerge, it will never be worth zero. We like that it is walkable to the MK, can monorail to Epcot, etc. It is a truly special and unique resort… we may at some point try to use our points here at AK, or BC, or BW, but to us, despite the high points chart, there is nowhere else that quite exudes that feeling of “disney magic”… That’s just to us…. We are slowly buying contracts as they come up, and as make sense for us - we also as an existing member will be eligible for add ons, which make purchasing a little easier for us To save up, and then buy in pieces.

I would not recommend buying these with the strategy of staying somewhere else…. I would buy some vero points when makes sense for Vero, and buy some VGF points for when makes sense to stay at VGF.

If you’re truly looking for SAP, (which I don’t really recommend) I think Aulani or maybe OKW are the better ways to go. Especially if you can get subsidized Aulani…Living in Florida, I just can’t wrap my head around buying a timeshare in Hawaii I would visit once every 2-3 years (on my income flying to Hawaii for 2-3 weeks every year isn’t really an option).

Just FYI HHI is not actually located on the beach. It is on the sound side of the island and has a shuttle to take you to and from the Disney beach house which is on the beach. You can also drive it yourself.

We toured it last time we were in HH. It was well kept on the outside and very pleasant. We didn’t see any of the rooms.

 

[Nabas]

Are you sure about this???? Poly doesn't seem to have a problem at the 7 month mark right now.

It depends what month you want. August? No problem. December? Potentially a big problem.

Also depends on how many days. Shorter trips are easier to get than longer trips.

 

[sethschroeder]

Are you sure about this???? Poly doesn't seem to have a problem at the 7 month mark right now.

VGF is not just studios, has two real bed options (only park adjacent resort with this), and has around 25% less studios (75-100 less).

While VGF is not tiny anymore its still one of the smaller resorts.

POLY is around after BLT if I am not mistaken as well and it comes down to how POLY is setup with only studios and a good amount of original buyers who likely trade out to get a 1BR/2BR at some other resort.

but was mostly interested in securing my preferred use year (Oct) and going from there. Probably too risky.

Why October? Are you trying to travel during the busiest time of the whole DVC year? Oct->Dec timeframe?

 

[gmi3804]

You will be paying the difference in dues between VB and VGF every year for every year you own the contract, in order to "save" on the cost of the contract. People seem to forget sometimes that dues are the biggest cost of DVC membership. You may save $1,000 paying for the contract, but the dues are pervasive, relentless, and add up to tens of thousands over the course of the contract. And do you really want or need that seven-month booking advantage at VB, when what you really want is to stay at VGF, especially if you want to stay during the busy times?

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I was thinking of only getting 50pts resale, and at $100 less a point, my bad back of napkin math thinks that would equal 10 years of dues. The last 10 years could be problematic I guess if I couldn't sell or use at 7 months anywhere etc. I also might want to use them at Vero once in awhile, but was mostly interested in securing my preferred use year (Oct) and going from there. Probably too risky.

We bought Vero for Vero. But honestly you don’t need a Vero contract to stay at Vero, so our Vero points end up as sleep around. We paid $3800 in Vero dues this year. Would have been $2300 at SSR. We hate the Vero points. I suspect you will too, even with a small contract. We did math too— and the dues have risen at a much higher rate than any other resort. So I don’t even want to think about what the dues will be in 10 years.

 

[Nabas]

Are you sure about this???? Poly doesn't seem to have a problem at the 7 month mark right now.

We also don’t know what the long-term pattern of VGF Studios will be.

Before VGF2, VGF1 Studios we’re among the toughest to get. With 200 added, it should be a lot easier, but we don’t know that.

Also, like other DVC resorts, the least expensive tend to fill-up first. You might be able to get a VGF2 room at 7 months but it could be one of those very pricey theme park view rooms.

And the number of rooms at VGF1 has not changed. There’s only a handful of those with even more VGF owners booking them. Going forward, it might be even harder to book rooms at VGF1.

 

[Cfabar1]

We also don’t know what the long-term pattern of VGF Studios will be.

Before VGF2, VGF1 Studios we’re among the toughest to get. With 200 added, it should be a lot easier, but we don’t know that.

Also, like other DVC resorts, the least expensive tend to fill-up first. You might be able to get a VGF2 room at 7 months but it could be one of those very pricey theme park view rooms.

And the number of rooms at VGF1 has not changed. There’s only a handful of those with even more VGF owners booking them. Going forward, it might be even harder to book rooms at VGF1.

This is my concern about VGF… how hard is it going to be to get the rooms I want… which is why i want the 11 month window… We want, long term, anyways, to be in 1 BR and 2 BR ONLY.

 

[Nabas]

This is my concern about VGF… how hard is it going to be to get the rooms I want… which is why i want the 11 month window… We want, long term, anyways, to be in 1 BR and 2 BR ONLY.

With all the added studios, most existing VGF owners think it will be even harder to get 1 and 2 bedrooms.

At VGF, we might see a complete flip. One bedroom villas might be harder to get than studios.

 

[Disney Spaz]

Nabas- this is our concern as well. We bought VGF in 2013. We have added on twice and are about to do it again specifically to get 1 bedrooms for our long summer trips. My hope is that will not be a problem at 11 months. We usually go at Xmas for a few days as well. I have never had an issue getting a standard Deluxe studio in the past for these few days. This year we booked with my son's points to stay at AKV. Well two weeks after booking at the 11 month mark DS gets a new girlfriend and DH agrees we may loose our lodging at AKV. So I go to book at our home resort VGF, all std studios in both buildings are gone. I was able to get a lagoon view in BPK and waitlist VGF1 std deluxe studio but wow that was fast. The impact of BPK is going to be interesting. I am just glad we can book at 11 months out and hopefully will never have to walk a summer 1bedroom trip.

 

[Yankee626]

In 10 years your VB contract will be worthless and cost you about $20 a point and have 10 years left. If you buy a VGF contract it will be good until 2066 and be worth at least what you paid for it in 10 years if you need to sell . Also the Dues are only 7.33 right now. You can always use those points at VB and have an 11 month window at VGF if thats where you really want to stay. I suggest buy VGF . and the $175 is just an asking price right now. You could probably get it cheaper.

 

[Yankee626]

I wouldnt buy a VB contract right now if it was free .