buying where you stay?

[crisi]

And importance also depends on a lot of variables:

Are you willing to move during a stay? You might get two nights at BLT - and some people are delighted by that - or would that be a "fail?"

Are you willing to use the waitlist? Some people have lots of success. Some people stress out over it and it isn't worth it.

Are you willing to be flexible with your vacation weeks? Sometimes people can move a week in or a week out (or more) and get what they want. Other people are restricted by vacation schedules.

Long term thinking is also important to some people. A zero entry pool might be really needed right now because your youngest is three, but is very quickly going to become something that you don't need. School vacation schedules seem like the most important thing right now as my kids head into middle school - but in a mere eight years both will be in college and my needs will change again.

 

[katieam1]

I think everyone makes good points and I have been thinking on every one of them! For us I think it is coming down to location and transportation. We usually drive down to Disney so we have a car but I like the fact we can get to both Epcot and Magic Kingdom easily staying at BLT, without having to break down the stroller. Now I know my kids are not going to be little forever but I only have two kids now and would like at least two more so that will continue to be a factor for the next 5 years or more depending on when we have more (my kids are a handful now so we want to wait at least another year before we have anymore, get my kids a little older before we add more )

This is a tough decision because I don't want to regret something in the end.

Thank you all for your thoughts it has helped direct my own!

 

[cvjw]

I understand your dilemma. We travel right now at non-peak seasons, and have had no trouble getting the reservations that we wanted at 7 months. We originally bought contracts at BCV and VWL, because those were our 2 favorite DVC resorts, and we wanted the 11 month booking option. When we bought our 3rd contract, we picked OKW because the points were cheaper and the dues are lower. We are in the process of adding on again - we picked SSR this time for the lower cost, lower dues, and longer contract. We have the best of both worlds - contracts at resorts we love to book at 11 months, and other points to use to book at 7 months. If I had to pick only one contract, I would buy where I loved - I wouldn't want to have to always be stressed about whether or not the resort I wanted would be available at 7 months.

 

[katieam1]

Ok, after endless talking and going around and around with my husband we have decided to go ahead and buy at Bay Lake Tower. They gave us double points and got us a reservation for our December trip at BLT. We bought 120 points and later on if we decide we need more I will probably buy resale at Boardwalk since that is our second favorite. Now I am just waiting on my contract to come to me. Deposit was made and we are so EXCITED!!!!

 

[DenLo]

Congratulations on your purchase. Welcome Home.

 

[gkrykewy]

Congratulations, you will love BLT; it's spectacular!

Ironically, though, that's not because of the transportation. Monorail access to EPCOT requires a transfer and is consequently slower than EPCOT bus access from most other resorts (though more fun). And CR bus access to the other parks is shared with Poly and GF, and is simply hideous.

But that's for another thread

I really do love BLT.

 

[Sandisw]

Ok, after endless talking and going around and around with my husband we have decided to go ahead and buy at Bay Lake Tower. They gave us double points and got us a reservation for our December trip at BLT. We bought 120 points and later on if we decide we need more I will probably buy resale at Boardwalk since that is our second favorite. Now I am just waiting on my contract to come to me. Deposit was made and we are so EXCITED!!!!

Congratulations!!! It is exciting and I am so glad to hear that your guide was able to get you a reservation for that first tirp!

 

[eporter66]

First off - congrats!!! We have been members for 7 years, and are still very happy with our decision to join.

Everyone will disagree with me, but I still struggle with the notion of buy where you want to stay. I get it...but then again, I dont.

When we decided to buy at DVC, SSR was what was for sale, and we got a special on points at that time - it came to $79 per point. We liked the price and jumped at it.

Now - this was before I got on the boards, we just loved WDW, and had vacationed 2 or 3 times previously, knew we would be having a family and wanted to join for the quality of a disney vacation. At that time, the thought never occured to me about buying where you want to stay, we would be on Disney property in deluxe accomodations, how can you go wrong???

As I have read the boards, the buy where you want to stay has been discussed over and over. Honestly - we have loved the DVC resorts we have stayed at for different reasons (SSR, OKW, BWV, AKV). I personally could care less if we stayed at SSR every vacation. We do rent a car, so I dont count on Disney Transportation to get around, that to me could potentially be the only negative - other than that they are all great resorts.

So - again, if you truly want a specific place, I would never advise someone against that, but honestly, I am glad we bought at a great price and could care less what resort I am staying at, we just consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to stay in deluxe accomodations on WDW property. How can you go wrong????

 

[Dean]

Everyone will disagree with me, but I still struggle with the notion of buy where you want to stay. I get it...but then again, I dont.

IMO, "buy where you want to stay" is about 90% hype and emotion and 10% reality. It really only makes sense given the current realities if you want to stay at a given high demand resort routinely OR there is a must have and difficult to reserve option. Thus some people really have no choice. If you want a 3 BR at Xmas or AKV concierge, you really have little chance of reserving those type options unless you own there. Until the last few years I was a "buy where you want to stay" type of person but that's when the price difference between the top and bottom were modest. I still think it makes sense IF THE PRICE DIFFERENCE ISN'T TOO GREAT such as you're only considering retail.

That being said, most people will be successful with options they are happy with most of the time, even owning HH and VB, for WDW stays assuming some level of flexibility. It is my opinion that many do treat it like buying a new car where it really doesn't make sense but they want it and can't emotionally talk themselves into buying something else, esp resale. Plus most new owners aren't experienced enough to know what their long term habits will be and even if they are, things change over time, children age, etc. Thus the "buy where you don't mind staying" is likely a far better mental approach.

Ultimately it's my opinion that many members would actually be just as happy or happier OVERALL owning off property, in the long run.

 

[disneynutz]

After spending thousands and thousands of dollars to buy our contracts, I expected to be able to stay where I wanted. Booking at 7 months wasn't always successful and DW and DD were sad.

I agree that all of the resorts have something to offer, but we really feel at home at certain resorts. After being a owner for awhile, we find ourselves staying more in the resort and less in the parks so getting our favorite resort is even more important to us.

Now DW and DD are happy and that makes me happy.

That's why we buy where we love to stay.

Bill

 

[gkrykewy]

Which is essentially everywhere, in your case

 

[crisi]

IMO, "buy where you want to stay" is about 90% hype and emotion and 10% reality. It really only makes sense given the current realities if you want to stay at a given high demand resort routinely OR there is a must have and difficult to reserve option. Thus some people really have no choice. If you want a 3 BR at Xmas or AKV concierge, you really have little chance of reserving those type options unless you own there. Until the last few years I was a "buy where you want to stay" type of person but that's when the price difference between the top and bottom were modest. I still think it makes sense IF THE PRICE DIFFERENCE ISN'T TOO GREAT such as you're only considering retail.

That being said, most people will be successful with options they are happy with most of the time, even owning HH and VB, for WDW stays assuming some level of flexibility. It is my opinion that many do treat it like buying a new car where it really doesn't make sense but they want it and can't emotionally talk themselves into buying something else, esp resale. Plus most new owners aren't experienced enough to know what their long term habits will be and even if they are, things change over time, children age, etc. Thus the "buy where you don't mind staying" is likely a far better mental approach.

Ultimately it's my opinion that many members would actually be just as happy or happier OVERALL owning off property, in the long run.

That also gets at the relative value of a dollar. If I'm struggling to afford DVC to start with, if this is a MAJOR purchase for me, then spending a few thousand less for the value of SSR and trusting I'll be able to stay other places frequently makes a lot of sense.

If DVC is a MINOR purchase - if the few thousand between a DVC resale at SSR and a full contract at BLT is not a big deal to a family with plenty of income to support it - and they love BLT, it doesn't make any sense for them to worry about the risk of not staying where they love.

We own at BWV, book standard view rooms frequently over F&W, and I'd be unhappy at SSR. We have the income to support our smallish contract. It wouldn't make sense for us to buy SSR. At that point, it would make FAR MORE sense for us to buy offsite.

 

[Dean]

That also gets at the relative value of a dollar. If I'm struggling to afford DVC to start with, if this is a MAJOR purchase for me, then spending a few thousand less for the value of SSR and trusting I'll be able to stay other places frequently makes a lot of sense.

If DVC is a MINOR purchase - if the few thousand between a DVC resale at SSR and a full contract at BLT is not a big deal to a family with plenty of income to support it - and they love BLT, it doesn't make any sense for them to worry about the risk of not staying where they love.

We own at BWV, book standard view rooms frequently over F&W, and I'd be unhappy at SSR. We have the income to support our smallish contract. It wouldn't make sense for us to buy SSR. At that point, it would make FAR MORE sense for us to buy offsite.

In that case you likely shouldn't buy SSR, however, there are other choices besides BLT retail.

 

[crisi]

In that case you likely shouldn't buy SSR, however, there are other choices besides BLT retail.

There are, but if your heart is at BLT and you can afford, it, you might as well buy BLT - even retail.

There are other cars than a Mercedes - some just as nice, but if your heart is set on a Mercedes and you can afford it, then you should buy the Mercedes.

 

[Dean]

There are, but if your heart is at BLT and you can afford, it, you might as well buy BLT - even retail.

There are other cars than a Mercedes - some just as nice, but if your heart is set on a Mercedes and you can afford it, then you should buy the Mercedes.

I would agree if one would spend most of your trips at BLT. However, as I stated previously, it is my opinion that many people get their heart set on something (say BLT) for emotional reasons rather than usage options. That's certainly their prerogative to do so as well, just pointing out that it's often an emotional decision rather than a practical or rational one. For example, buying BLT then setting off on a mission to try all of the resorts doesn't make sense.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

, hoping all your expectations are met!


on a side note,

some of the things presented were educational.

for some , each their own , gave some reasons we hadn't thought
of.

the debate about buying where one wants to stay. that is a very
relevant point. i think, that was important to us, as we intend
to stay @ blt greater than 90% of the time. if disney changed the rule
of where we can stay, then we would still be very happy.

we gave akl an equal "look".but @ the end of our trail, we decided
it was too much liked a zoo. , excuse the poor humor.

2 real things we saw....blt would hold it value more & be more in demand
thru the years, & it boom-dock location. then there is the possibility of
snakes.

since the time/share person/s keep making the 11/10 mos proposal ,
i try to review the reason why. maybe to used as a control measure
toward rampant renting?, was the only reasonable thing i could think
of. the thing that i don't understand, is "why is?" disney so strict
toward members "trading' their points. i think this would be a much better
control of the renting going on.

we are also doing our first blt this christmas. sorta funny, but our blt
purchase cost more than our first house. however, we built our own
security so it doesn't represent a major purchase except toward
how we feel wdw will take up our "retirement time".

 

[Dean]

, hoping all your expectations are met!


on a side note,

some of the things presented were educational.

for some , each their own , gave some reasons we hadn't thought
of.

the debate about buying where one wants to stay. that is a very
relevant point. i think, that was important to us, as we intend
to stay @ blt greater than 90% of the time. if disney changed the rule
of where we can stay, then we would still be very happy.

we gave akl an equal "look".but @ the end of our trail, we decided
it was too much liked a zoo. , excuse the poor humor.

2 real things we saw....blt would hold it value more & be more in demand
thru the years, & it boom-dock location. then there is the possibility of
snakes.

since the time/share person/s keep making the 11/10 mos proposal ,
i try to review the reason why. maybe to used as a control measure
toward rampant renting?, was the only reasonable thing i could think
of. the thing that i don't understand, is "why is?" disney so strict
toward members "trading' their points. i think this would be a much better
control of the renting going on.

we are also doing our first blt this christmas. sorta funny, but our blt
purchase cost more than our first house. however, we built our own
security so it doesn't represent a major purchase except toward
how we feel wdw will take up our "retirement time".

I don't think anyone's making the proposal that the reservations windows be changed to 11/10, only reminding that it could change. Personally I don't think it will nor needs to but some do feel it truly might change. A lot of things can and will change in timeshares, including DVC, and most of those changes are going to be bad for at least a portion of the membership a la the recent reallocation. Forewarned is forearmed. Weren't you upset because of something they told you incorrectly at your timeshare sales tour? Having as much information as possible is a good thing.

 

[AndriaRose]

I don't think anyone's making the proposal that the reservations windows be changed to 11/10, only reminding that it could change. Personally I don't think it will nor needs to but some do feel it truly might change. A lot of things can and will change in timeshares, including DVC, and most of those changes are going to be bad for at least a portion of the membership a la the recent reallocation. Forewarned is forearmed. Weren't you upset because of something they told you incorrectly at your timeshare sales tour? Having as much information as possible is a good thing.

Good point. I was aware of the reallocation rule, but when I was 1st researching, the point structure had been static for so long it was more common to see discussions of buying what you need, such as "If you only need 47 points for that addon, buy 47. Don't feel like you have to buy 50".

Which is why I bought 60. 60 was perfect for the "1 bedroom every 2 year" vaca I was wanting, with the added flexability of using a studio if I wanted to go every year. Then, not one but two reallocations pop up.

Ah, well, since my original plans I've discovered a different airport with non-stop flights both ways. I have to drive an hour further to get to the other airport, and add a day to my vacation, but hey, I'm willing to make those sacrifices for a no layover trip

That whole experience, however, makes me appreciate the posts that point out what could happen. Its so much better to be forewarned of the possibilities, even if they're unlikely.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

, the timeshare guy is adding this aspect whenever
he has the chance, leading me to believe he has more info
or trying to sell the idea, or something else is motivating his
response.

so in trying to determine the likely hood, i think, all the rush
of renters + their problems [ tearing the heck out of rooms, &
unpaid bills], switching to 11/10, would boost owners from
other resorts,to fill them up quicker with their requests. but
i think disney & dvc in general would be better served if
owners were allowed to trade with each other & to have a
few established guidelines.

just from here, most of my experiences have been negative
toward those posting & renting. arrogant & taunting, making
it clear they have no respect to dvc owners or the properties.
recently someone started a thread on the resorts board,
about slamming dvc. well if they are not owners, who cares
what they think?!

while we have an assigned guide, i have made it clear we do not
recognize her and are using other avenues to process what we
were agreed to before buying. we are not out of the woods,
until our dec. trip. interesting , we have made good progress
but there have been several questions that they are avoiding,
by moving on. as long as we get what was agreed upon then
i will not push the issues.

all i am trying to do, is making sure we were not taken advantage
of. that means exactly what we were told by the guide who sold
us the original points. if disney disagreed after the fact, then
they can return our monies & we'll go back to the old ways.
by this dec., we would have been owners for 1 &1/2 years, with
this our first resvs..

for the record, last year was not an easy year for me. i am still
very disappointed with this mess. we spent over half a park
day, explaining what we needed to be dvc members. if the
guide told us "sorry", then we would have accepted that. this
was a gift to my wife instead of a ring. i was supposed to
stay on the sidelines, instead after they treated my wife poorly,
forced me into the game. the girl on the line, told my wife ,
well you can always try for next year. [ when i heard that,
i 've been a lil'grumpier ever since because i knew i was going
have to get involved. ] however, i know i am far , far from
prefect. [ my wife is the real sweetie, as everyone wants her
for a friend - while i barely break the 50% mark.] but i well-
schooled in human dynamics & the insights to make them
work. timeshares, i know nothing. but the other has worked
very well in understanding what we needed.

for the record, i believe everything anyone tells me until their
behaviors reveals differently. over & over, i have read things
about dvc guides to know we were not the only ones with
serious issues. it is a puzzlement because it goes against
the disney golden rule. but then reading closer, there are loopholes
in the dvc & i think checks/balances are off. then there are
other concerns with professional renters. why isn't real
things being done? well , i think disney tries to be fair to those
going tough times from the economy. [ i did read the feedback
from one professional renter, and i noticed his high marks,
we all coming from the work by disney's workers making their
vacations magical not him]. i think some don't realize when one
give incorrect info, don't always mean they were lying. but
what effected us, he left- our guide , and the replacements blew our
agreements off. so my actions have been on this "recovery"
mission ever since.

just my 2 cents. dvc profess they are pro~owners. if owners,
adopt their own club, then maybe things like making point-
exchangers would go to a vote. why? 'be causes or in~deeds,
there may be reasons why certain changes would add problems,
that the individual missed.



dear original poster. way to go! , in many ways, we are
in the same boat. we own @ blt too!

one thing i didn't want to advise or push in one direction or another.
we were @ all /stars last year and had to redirect many rude bilizallions,
[ the girls were our problems not the boys]. so bad, is why we gave
dvc a closer look. [ so avoiding certain groups & their hassles , is
a big dvc bonus to us]. making the rooms over with our home feeling
is another. and another important issue for us, owning @ blt, gives
us the opportunity to help families in our community that would never
get to go. we have many reasons why we decided to "go dvc",
even if they are not for others, does not discourage us. after all,
we didn't buy it to make money, but the ways we want to spend our
monies. and i am sure the majority have many, many greater reasons
that we haven't thought of.

 

[Sandisw]

I would agree if one would spend most of your trips at BLT. However, as I stated previously, it is my opinion that many people get their heart set on something (say BLT) for emotional reasons rather than usage options. That's certainly their prerogative to do so as well, just pointing out that it's often an emotional decision rather than a practical or rational one. For example, buying BLT then setting off on a mission to try all of the resorts doesn't make sense.

Well, this is sort of me. We love BLT and its location and will always stay there, at least for part of every trip. That is the only reason we bought DVC. Had that not been built, we would not be DVC members. We absolutely love the CR resort area and wanted that atmosphere for our vacations.

However, we are on a mission to try some of the other resorts to decide if we like any of them well enough to add on there instead of adding on more points at BLT in the future.

Last summer, we did BWV and VWL as well. I realized I don't like BWV enough to buy there and VWL was nice, but not BLT. Of course, my DD 14 loved it there so we are probably going back for a few nights next summer.

We check in at BCV on Friday to check that out (before heading to BLT!!!). Once I have stayed at some of the others, it will give me an idea of what I want to do via future add ons. If I find that I like another resort enough to compliment my BLT stays, then I might choose to buy there as well.

We may be in the minority with the importance of the resort but for DH and I, staying at BLT is a must. Since we could afford the extra $5000 it cost to buy BLT over SSR, it made sense to buy exactly where we want to be.