Buying Wilderness or Saratoga: what would you do?

[Disney73]

So part of me wants to buy Saratoga for the longer term of contract. Other part of me wants wilderness because it's a shorter term which might be better for me in the long run due to annual dues and also because I love the wilderness.

Made an offer for a 100 point contract and offered 72 per point. Was called back but missed the class. I know that's pretty low but if they did accept, would you go for 100 point at Wilderness or wait for 100 points at Saratoga for longer contract and lower dues?

Very confused as to what to do. Thanks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Offered $72 per point for which resort? I think that may have ROFR risk.

If you ever want to stay at Boulder Ridge in December, buy there. You will not book that on Saratoga points.

 

[ELMC]

Very short answer...if your concern is that you want to assure yourself stays at WL, buy there. If your concern is strictly financial, buy SSR. Sure the dues last longer but that's only because the contract lasts longer. There's nothing saying that you need to be the owner. If 2042 comes around and you don't want your DVC anymore, you can sell it, whereas VWL simply goes away.

 

[Dean]

So part of me wants to buy Saratoga for the longer term of contract. Other part of me wants wilderness because it's a shorter term which might be better for me in the long run due to annual dues and also because I love the wilderness.

Made an offer for a 100 point contract and offered 72 per point. Was called back but missed the class. I know that's pretty low but if they did accept, would you go for 100 point at Wilderness or wait for 100 points at Saratoga for longer contract and lower dues?

Very confused as to what to do. Thanks.

It depends. If you prefer BRV and will stay there most trips, I'd buy there. For any other usage situation, I'd put SSR as a better choice between the 2.

 

[CarolMN]

If you'd be unhappy staying at SSR when you can't get into BRV (aka VWL), then buy BRV. The longer term and "savings" from buying SSR will soon be forgotten if you are at SSR wishing you were at VWL. Regret lasts forever. Good feelings from a great deal - well,not so much.

Of course, I assume you have the discretionary income and cash to purchase DVC in the first place.

Good luck with the decision!

 

[Disneypapa]

Always buy a contract for the resort you like (prefer) the most. Assume at some time in the future, you may only be able to stay where you own. Also, as you and your children mature, you may find you have other vacation desires than going to Disney World every year and a shorter contract (obligation) to pay those dues will end sooner and give you more freedom to do so.

 

[LAX]

Always buy a contract for the resort you like (prefer) the most. Assume at some time in the future, you may only be able to stay where you own. Also, as you and your children mature, you may find you have other vacation desires than going to Disney World every year and a shorter contract (obligation) to pay those dues will end sooner and give you more freedom to do so.

While I agree with your point on future problems booking non-home resorts (it's actually already a problem for some of the very popular times at many resorts), I disagree with the point on "obligation" with a longer contract. I think you won't have much trouble selling when one's life situation changes (and not lose too much on the investment), so a longer contract shouldn't be perceived as a negative. As for temporary hiatus from Disney, there is currently a very healthy rental market that literally can't find enough owners to part with their points. Thus, it's relatively easy to rent out your points to fund a non-Disney vacation.

LAX

 

[Dean]

Always buy a contract for the resort you like (prefer) the most. Assume at some time in the future, you may only be able to stay where you own. Also, as you and your children mature, you may find you have other vacation desires than going to Disney World every year and a shorter contract (obligation) to pay those dues will end sooner and give you more freedom to do so.

I would agree to buy at a resort you'd be OK staying at most trips but I disagree with the "buy where you want to stay" recommendation because very few new buyers actually know where that is. And that can be a very expensive problem if it's the high end options, less so at the lower end places. Certainly one could buy and resell but that can be a costly option, esp if one buys at retail prices.

 

[Shellyred8]

So part of me wants to buy Saratoga for the longer term of contract. Other part of me wants wilderness because it's a shorter term which might be better for me in the long run due to annual dues and also because I love the wilderness.

Made an offer for a 100 point contract and offered 72 per point. Was called back but missed the class. I know that's pretty low but if they did accept, would you go for 100 point at Wilderness or wait for 100 points at Saratoga for longer contract and lower dues?

Very confused as to what to do. Thanks.

Have you stayed at both SSR and BRV? Or at least visited both of the resorts to get a feel for them? If you liked BRV better, I would recommend buying there. It's getting harder and harder to book a room there, at 7 months out, during the busy DVC seasons (as it seems to be everywhere!). Another thing to consider with BRV is that it's popularity could very well increase due to the upgrades that have been made as part of the CCV addition. So, it could be even harder to get into than it currently is.

I've stayed at both and I love the woodsy feel at BRV. I also like the proximity to MK. I don't like that SSR is so far away from the parks. But if Disney Springs is your thing, then SSR might be a better way for you to go.

A note on our experience: When we bought our first DVC at BWV (I love the Boardwalk area!), we planned to travel to WDW mostly during Jan/Feb. It's been fairly easy to get a room there during those times, as long as we don't wait until the very last minute to book. However, over the past few years, our travel dates have expanded and we now like to do down in early December too (we went down in early December a few years ago and now I'm hooked!). If we didn't own at BWV, it would be challenging to get in there at that time if we didn't have the 11 month booking window because it's a very busy time for DVC'ers. I think BRV is in a similar boat during December because the resort has such great Christmas decorations.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[brookmey]

If you want to stay at BRV most of the time, then buy there, not SSR.

A few months ago we had the exact same dilemma as you, with the exact same resorts. We love BRV, but SSR manintenace fees are much less and it's a longer contract, so we decided to buy SSR. Besides, the perfect contract came along for us at SSR and it was loaded, so we bought it. I have several family members who own at SSR or OKW and they've never had trouble getting the resort and room they wanted at 7 months, even during Christmas, so I didn't think it would be a big deal getting what we wanted at the 7 month mark. But for the past few weeks, I've been trying to get a studio at either Poly or BRV for any week in October and I've had no luck. I'm frustrated and disappointed because I can't get what we want. We're on a waitlist at Poly, but I'm not holding my breath.

So, the lesson I've learned is that the next contract we buy will be at BRV. We have a Thanksgiving and a Christmas trip planned in the next few years and the only place I want to stay is at BRV, so that is where we're going to buy because I don't want to feel the stress and disappointment of not getting what I want. I don't regret buying SSR because it was a perfect contract for us and we were able to pay cash, but this whole experience made me certain when we buy more points, it will be at BRV, not SSR.

 

[zavandor]

The best way to understand the point cost per week and epr resort is to look at an online calculator. This is a good one:
https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

Enter the dates you want to travel and it will give you the amount of points required for that reservation for each resort and for each unit type. Remember to switch to "Show Points Amount" or it will show you how much it would cost you to rent points for that vacation through their service. Renting points from an owner is a valid alternative to buying in you do not want the log term commitment.

 

[Sherrkel]

If you want to stay at BRV most of the time, then buy there, not SSR.

A few months ago we had the exact same dilemma as you, with the exact same resorts. We love BRV, but SSR manintenace fees are much less and it's a longer contract, so we decided to buy SSR. Besides, the perfect contract came along for us at SSR and it was loaded, so we bought it. I have several family members who own at SSR or OKW and they've never had trouble getting the resort and room they wanted at 7 months, even during Christmas, so I didn't think it would be a big deal getting what we wanted at the 7 month mark. But for the past few weeks, I've been trying to get a studio at either Poly or BRV for any week in October and I've had no luck. I'm frustrated and disappointed because I can't get what we want. We're on a waitlist at Poly, but I'm not holding my breath.

So, the lesson I've learned is that the next contract we buy will be at BRV. We have a Thanksgiving and a Christmas trip planned in the next few years and the only place I want to stay is at BRV, so that is where we're going to buy because I don't want to feel the stress and disappointment of not getting what I want. I don't regret buying SSR because it was a perfect contract for us and we were able to pay cash, but this whole experience made me certain when we buy more points, it will be at BRV, not SSR.

Sorry it's not working out for you brookmey ! DH and I have talked about DVC on and off for several years, we have finally decided to look for a contract and after much discussion we know we want BRV/WLV for the 11 month booking priv's. It also doesn't hurt that we love the resort when we have visited, and have close friends who are DVC owners there and also love it. Our future trips will now probably be just in Oct/Nov or Jan/early Feb time frame, so we decided not to gamble on being "shut out" of our preferred resort, and just buy there.
Good luck to you, I hope it works out that you can book what you want with your SSR points!

 

[Pigletpal40]

If you're MK people, BRV/VWL. Now that our boys are teens, we love the convenience of a boat ride to MK for late EMH's. Mom and I will go
back to the Lodge early (9-11pm) and they'll stay as late as 2am.