CCV Purchase Questions

AEA1127

Mouseketeer
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Hi guys!

My husband and I are starting to heavily lean towards buying points at CCV. We are thinking somewhere between 175-200 points unless there is an incentive to going a little higher and getting around 220.

My main concern is that I have been reading (I can't find the posts but I know I saw them) that there may be issues with booking a studio there, especially in the Fall. We have really small kids and don't need a ton of space right now and would prefer to do two trips a year (depending on how many points we go with) in a studio while the kids are still small enough.

Could someone explain the reasons that it will be hard to book Fall there? Is it just that there are only a small number of studios, or are they selling too many points and it'll be tough to book any size villa? The Cast Member I spoke with told me that there wouldn't be any issues if we booked at 11 months but I know that at the end of the day he wants to make a sale. I really don't want to spend all this money and buy at a home resort that we won't be able to stay at...if that's going to be the case then I think we will look into Bay Lake resale.

Also, we prefer to travel in the Fall and Spring so any thoughts on UY? The cast member said I could basically choose and he would suggest October but we have traveled in September too so not sure if that makes sense?

Thanks for any insight, I appreciate it so much!
 
Fall is high DVC season because of low point costs and food and wine at Epcot is pretty popular. I think if you book right at 11 months, you should be fine with getting a studio. There is still a ton of availabilty for all of September in studios at CC and were getting into 9 months out. I don’t think you’ll have a problem, but that could change as the resort points sell. As for UY, I would probably go with before the time in soring you usually travel or before the time in fall you usually travel (etc if yiu usually travel in may, april UY). I would definitely follow yoour most reliable trip every year. If your always go in october but not always in spring, then try to get a September UY. I hope this helps with your decision! Good luck!
 
Could someone explain the reasons that it will be hard to book Fall there? Is it just that there are only a small number of studios, or are they selling too many points and it'll be tough to book any size villa?

DVC point charts are generally based on travel demand.

Summertime and the kids are out of school? Magic Season!
Holidays and busiest time of the year for Disney? Premier Season!
September and all the kids are back in school? January and people are broke from the holidays? Adventure Season (cheapest)!

Since DVC isn't a traditional timeshare and members are not tied to a specific week (with the exception of fixed week purchasers), most members want to travel when room prices are cheaper. It just so happens that WDW hosts the Food and Wine festival during the same time, which then creates a strong demand.

The Cast Member I spoke with told me that there wouldn't be any issues if we booked at 11 months but I know that at the end of the day he wants to make a sale.

If you're concerned about booking a room at Copper Creek in the Fall, you just need to look at Boulder Ridge for a rough comparison. Point costs for [Studios], [1Bd], and [2Bd] at BRV and CCV are the exact same, and they're both at Wilderness Lodge. Since BRV is 26 years in and sold out, you can easily use it as a predictor of how CCV will be once that property sells out too.

The answer? The CM you spoke with is correct. I agree with him and the PP and do not think you will have any issues booking at 11 months. You should have full confidence and feel very positive that you'll be able to get what you desire, especially if you act at the 11 month mark, perhaps even 10. Keep in mind other factors/events, like W&D Marathon weekend may impact demand.
______
 
At CCV there are a total, across al categories, of 78 studios, 36 of which can be booked as a 2BR lockoff. But there are 56 1BR, 56 2BR, 4 GV and 26 cabins. The % of points that can be used to book studios over the total of points sold is smaller than other resorts and at the same time statistics say that the average contract size is smaller, meaning a lot of people are buying just to book studios.
So it's a problem of demand vs offer. During the very high demand weeks it will be a problem to book a studio, this includes all running events, the first two weeks of December, Christmas week and most holidays. We are already seeing this at VGF where there are too few studios for the demand and it'll be worse at CCV due to the huge amount of points sold against the cabins.
 


Thanks everyone! @zavandor that was especially helpful and the info I was looking for. Unfortunately, we do really like early December weeks. We mix up our dates though so I'm not sure that I'd want to commit to a dedicated week.

We are happy to book a high demand trip like that at 11 months. If we do this will we still have the issues with availability for those high demand times? What's been happening at VGF when people try to book a studio at 11 months? I'm sorry to ask all these silly questions but we trust you guys and want to make a smart decision here.

Our current purchase plan was to buy roughly around what we would need for two trips with atleast one at CCV (possibly both) but at a studio for now and then add on points as our kids grow and we need a 1BR or more. We do want to buy CCV because we have fallen in love with WL but this makes me fairly nervous that it's going to be to tough to travel how we hope to.
 
As DVC gets more and more expensive, more and more people can only afford enough points to stay at studios. As Zavandor pointed out studios at CCV make up maybe 10-20% of the total points at the resort.

It's highly likely more than 10-20% of the points were sold to members who bought CCV to stay in studios, so there won't be enough at peak times.
 
You will have issues even at 11 months for early December. BRV does, but doesn't have cabin points being sold.

And everyone is buying CCV for Christmas decorations.

If you want to travel early December, a fixed week is a really good idea. It will not be incentive eligible.
 


@_auroraborealis_ Ugh, definitely complicates things to hear that! If we ended up buying over 200 points we really don't want to use them for one trip in a one bedroom until we really have to. Seems silly to do that when we can stretch ourselves into two vacations a year which is what we have been doing now.

I'm not sure a fixed week makes sense as we do like to travel different times. In your opinion would it make sense to do a fixed week for one week in December and then do another contract for the amount of points of our second trip? What flexibility would we have when we don't want to go the week we choose? Would it be possible to not use the fixed week and then pool with our other contract if we wanted to? I imagine this might work if we have the same UY on both contracts?

I have a really hard time thinking of spending so much money and not getting to stay at our home resort even booking at 11 months. I just don't know what else would work for us. We really only want to stay in the MK area and right now we seem to travel at peak DVC times. My husband and I just think it's starting to be a waste to take two trips a year in Deluxe accommodations and not buy DVC. So much to think about!
 
If you buy a fixed week, you have the option of not taking it in any given year. In that case, you will get the points in your account to use as you see fit. If you are planning on mostly doing your December trip during the low points required first and second weeks at CCV, you'll want to buy a fixed week there. For your Spring trip, you can just buy points and use them as you'd like.
 
A week in adventure season at CCV (like early December) is 107 points.
To buy a fixed early December week you have to buy 10% more points, so you'd buy 118.
Every year, before 11 months, DVC will pre-book for you your fixed week. If you keep it, then you have actually used 118 points for a week that costs 107, but you don't have to street about availability.
But if you see there is availability, then you can cancel the week and have the full 118 points back in your account and use 107 to book the same week, keeping the remaining 11 in your account to use in any way you want. Of course at that point you can book 5 nights or 8 or even nothing and use all the points later.
Since you want to buy 200 points you might buy a fixed week for early december plus another 80-90 points contract. If you cancel every year then you have actually 200 points per year to use as you want, but the one time you want to go in early December if CCV will actually prove very difficult to book even at 11 months, then you won't have to worry about the reservation.
The real additional costs are the lack of incentives and double closing.

If you are a runner and go often during marathon week end or other races, then you can buy a Run Disney fixed week, which is even more flexible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: STA
Agree with @CraigInPA. We see availability issues at 11 months those first two weeks of December before points jump at even Poly, which has 300+ studios to balance the bungalows. I just can't find a scenario where studios at CCV in early December aren't going to be a walk situation, iwth a lot of disappointed owners.
 
Agree with @CraigInPA. We see availability issues at 11 months those first two weeks of December before points jump at even Poly, which has 300+ studios to balance the bungalows. I just can't find a scenario where studios at CCV in early December aren't going to be a walk situation, iwth a lot of disappointed owners.

And, up to 35% of inventory might be already be booked for fixed weeks even before the 11 months window opens. If there is a resort and time of the year when we might get near that limit is CCV in early December. This will reduce even more availability.
 
Thank you for all the info @_auroraborealis_ and @zavandor. We're trying to be as informed as possible before we move forward with anything and obviously the Disney rep told us the complete opposite of this. He said there's no way that at 11 months there will be any issues booking any week because it will have just opened up and not be close to booked. I knew to take that with a grain of salt and ask here.

The lack of incentives and the double closing costs honestly just make it seem like this is really not the smartest place for us to buy. We love WL but I'm not sure it's worth the additional costs to try to make sure we get what we want. Stinks because we really do envision ourselves at CCV.
 
Have you seen the predicted booking patterns thread? It doesn't have CCV but it does have Boulder Ridge so that could give you an idea of when the harder times to book at 11 months are. Since you mentioned going at different times each year, can you always plan those trips at 11 months in advance? We bought when our kids were younger (well, before one was even born!) and as they've started entering school, it's a lot harder to take trips at random times.

If you enjoy the deluxe resorts but are not sure if DVC is the right fit for you at this time, there's always renting, as well.
 
@Lauren in NC I haven't seen that thread...I'll spend some time reading, thank you!

We can definitely plan 11 months out right now because we have a toddler and new baby so we don't have to worry about a school schedule (yet!). We have been taking a Fall trip in the months between Sept and Dec and then a Spring trip. That will likely stay the same for us until we are forced to change. This is why I'm having a hard time thinking that a fixed week in early December is a good fit for us. It's by far my favorite time of year to travel but I know in a few years we may have to drop that time of year.

We definitely do think DVC is right for us but I'm a planner and I can't buy until I've made sure we are going to be buying the right home resort and the right amount of points. I definitely don't think we are ready to buy into the amount of points needed to take two trips a year in a 1BR at CCV, that's a pretty hefty purchase price and more space than we currently need so we'd rather not do that right now.
 
I think VGF and (to some extent, for early December) Poly are better guides than BRV, although BRV is brutal for a studio in early December as well.

Poly, generally, isn't going to follow entirely the same trend because there are 300+ studios to balance the bungalow points. All of CCV is much smaller to balance out the cabins.
 
Hmm spent some time looking at the thread that Lauren linked, very interesting. It has me second guessing everything!

We are set on our home resort being in the MK area. Poly is out for us since they don't have any 1BR and we do know we will need one in the future or at the very least want to have the option.

Would it be safe to say that we may have more luck getting what we'd want out of BLT or even VGF though it's still in high demand for studios? We like both of these resorts (for different reasons) and may even get more points if we we find a resale contract that is a good fit. Hubby prefers CR to GF and I'm the opposite. We both loved WL so that's why we thought yes, this is perfect! However, it's not perfect if we are fighting to stay there!

I guess our bottom line is that we want to buy where we want to stay now. While the kids are small MK area is it for us, and then as they grow we are happy to switch and play with the other resorts we are interested in if they are available at the 7 month mark. I just never want to be disappointed with where we are staying!

I may spend some time on the phone this afternoon with the DVC guide to see what they say regarding them getting us points for either BLT or VGF. Do they offer incentives for buying direct on the resorts that they are not actively selling at the moment?
 
Hmm spent some time looking at the thread that Lauren linked, very interesting. It has me second guessing everything!

We are set on our home resort being in the MK area. Poly is out for us since they don't have any 1BR and we do know we will need one in the future or at the very least want to have the option.

Would it be safe to say that we may have more luck getting what we'd want out of BLT or even VGF though it's still in high demand for studios? We like both of these resorts (for different reasons) and may even get more points if we we find a resale contract that is a good fit. Hubby prefers CR to GF and I'm the opposite. We both loved WL so that's why we thought yes, this is perfect! However, it's not perfect if we are fighting to stay there!

I guess our bottom line is that we want to buy where we want to stay now. While the kids are small MK area is it for us, and then as they grow we are happy to switch and play with the other resorts we are interested in if they are available at the 7 month mark. I just never want to be disappointed with where we are staying!

I may spend some time on the phone this afternoon with the DVC guide to see what they say regarding them getting us points for either BLT or VGF. Do they offer incentives for buying direct on the resorts that they are not actively selling at the moment?

If you both like CCV, buy CCV. You may need to get to learn the system a bit to ensure you get your December trips but if you don't own there your chances of getting that are pretty much zero. The first 2 weeks of December may be a bit of a battle at many of the resorts including VGF. I'd rather work to stay where I want than to have it easy staying where I'd rather not stay (I do think that right at 8am, 11 months out, you should be able to get CCV or maybe with a short walk to ensure you get it).
 
Thank you @JETSDAD. Don't get me wrong, there would be no disappointment at either BLT or VGF. Neither of us dislikes either of the resorts...they are both great places to stay! I'm likely just overthinking this (as usual).
 
No incentives on sold out resorts. I believe the VGF wait list is closed.

Do look at the VGF pattern for December.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!









Top