Choosing home resort...

Crisi83

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Just got off a cruise and decided to become members, along with my parents. Now we ended up deciding on the new property at wilderness, but im debating again... since we haven't signed all the paperwork I'm figuring we could change if absolutely necessary, they'd rather redo it then have us walk.

We live on the west coast, we go go Hawaii every year in January/February for usually 2 weeks. So I considered Aulani, but we don't always travel to the same island and we aren't that much of play around on the beach all day sort of people. Plus I've heard Aulani is not really convenient to Honolulu.

My reason for choosing wdw was it could be harder to get what we want if we had specific dates and we could do where we book home at 11 then see what else there is at 7. We will probably go every other yearish.

So I guess my big question is, will we have a lot of trouble at Aulani 7 months out, looking for a 2 bdrm with out specific dates in Jan/feb?
 
The first rule of buying DVC direct: If you aren't sure, walk away. You can always call them later and they'll be happy to sell to you. Do your research first.

Which resort do you want to stay at most often? Some are really easy to get into at 7 months, and some are practically impossible.
 
Agreed. I believe in the "buy where you want to stay" rule but not everyone does. Any resort can be tough at 7 months but some are even tough at 11.

Take a step back and think about how you want to vacation and how often you would go. As stated above, buying direct is easy and should be on your time line, not theirs.
I took an extra month when we were deciding and it all worked out fine.
 
I few things to think about. Can you always plan 10-11 months ahead? Will you always plan 7 months or less ahead? Do you plan to use points on a cruise? Do you need the option to stay at Disney Hotels? Do NOT buy where you will not want to stay, regardless of the cost. If you just hate it, are you really saving anything? Do NOT over look resale, you can save lots of money, be able to have more points or multiple contracts at different resorts. Try to learn all you can about booking rules, banking and borrowing, RCI trades.... Don't rush to by, especially since you appear to have 2nd thoughts already. Good luck, DVC is NOT for everyone, but if you match up and understand what you are buying it can be a great vacation option.
 


Just got off a cruise and decided to become members, along with my parents. Now we ended up deciding on the new property at wilderness, but im debating again... since we haven't signed all the paperwork I'm figuring we could change if absolutely necessary, they'd rather redo it then have us walk.

We live on the west coast, we go go Hawaii every year in January/February for usually 2 weeks. So I considered Aulani, but we don't always travel to the same island and we aren't that much of play around on the beach all day sort of people. Plus I've heard Aulani is not really convenient to Honolulu.

My reason for choosing wdw was it could be harder to get what we want if we had specific dates and we could do where we book home at 11 then see what else there is at 7. We will probably go every other yearish.

So I guess my big question is, will we have a lot of trouble at Aulani 7 months out, looking for a 2 bdrm with out specific dates in Jan/feb?
I'd put it on hold until your better educated and more certain. It sounds like a combination of Aulani and WDW might be best with maybe enough for a week at Aulani and some at WDW. For just one option in your situation I'd likely do Aulani and look for a subsidized contract but a WDW resale and trying to get in to Aulani should be workable as well. Have you looked at other timeshares for HI like Marriott, Westin or Hilton? which might serve you better for HI and is likely a better choice as a single entity. Or you could consider VGC points if you visit DL from time to time.
 
Well I'm not really having second thoughts, just strategy thoughts. I suspect we will be going to Aulani and WDW alternating years. I have two small children, though one will be in Kindgarten fall 2018, but I have no qualms about taking her out of school to travel the off seasons. Do plan to do more cruises, but not with points. I think dvc is a good fit for our family, I'm just trying to decide if my strategy that copper creek/wdw will be more beficial to have the 11 month lead versus Aulani, as long as there is avalaibility at Aulani 7 months out if I don't care exactly about my dates.


Part of it is my parents are buying it, but it will mostly be used for family trips with my kids. So I'm more interested in WDW but mom is more interested in Aulani, so if we have trouble booking Aulani because I pushed for WDW I'll get a lot of grief!

Not really interested in resale right now, maybe for next points but I will do a little more I investigation. I will be very happy with copper creek, heard good things about wilderness as a resort, though I'd also be interested in Boardwalk or beach club. If i bought resale that's where I'd try to go.
 
Curious, why are you not interested in resale right now? What will change your mind for your next points to go the resale route?
If you only want Copper Creek, at this point you have no choice but to go direct (as a note, initial very high maintenance fees). Aulani is available resale in the low $90's. How much is it direct?

Good Luck.
 


I don't think you'd have a hard time booking a 2BR at Aulani for the Jan/Feb time frame especially since it sounds like you're flexible within that time. The lower point rooms go first there first so if nothing else at 7 months you might be looking at a pool or ocean view but that isn't the busiest time to book there. So far that's Christmas and the June/July time frame. Weekends are busy as it seems a lot of locals bought there for mini weekend get aways but that seems to affect the hotel rooms and studios the most.

Are there any WDW resorts you've stayed at to have a good idea of what you do and don't like as it doesn't sound like you've stayed at Wilderness Lodge? And curious why not interested in resale? For Wilderness Lodge you could buy at the original villas (Boulder Ridge) for half or less vs Copper Creek. Or something like SSR since which has a longer expiration and some of the lowest dues so it's nice if you're going to be using at 7 months anyway when it doesn't matter where you own. It might be the ideal way to get into DVC and see how it's working out and if you find there are definite places you like better and need the home resort you could add on there, or if it's working well for 7 months then buy more of a resort that gives you best value like SSR. And because you're not over paying if you decide it doesn't work then you could sell it and buy where you learned you'd like or need to own and probably come out even vs booking hotel rooms. And if it works just fine for you then money saved!

If Copper Creek is the place you love the best at WDW and have to stay there then buying direct is the only way. If Poly were the place you had to stay it also is reasonable to go direct although there are options on the resale market now. But other locations, especially for any significant amount of points, resale will work just the same to stay at all the DVC resorts an save lots of money in most cases.

As you haven't signed the paperwork it's nice you have time to give it more thought. You can just sit on that while you investigate - from personal experience I know they'll call to check on it but that probably won't be for a month or more.
 
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Why would you make your parents pay thousands more buying direct? I fear that your cruise has given you Disney pixie dust blindness. pixiedust:

:earsboy: Bill

 
Well I'm not really having second thoughts, just strategy thoughts. I suspect we will be going to Aulani and WDW alternating years. I have two small children, though one will be in Kindgarten fall 2018, but I have no qualms about taking her out of school to travel the off seasons. Do plan to do more cruises, but not with points. I think dvc is a good fit for our family, I'm just trying to decide if my strategy that copper creek/wdw will be more beficial to have the 11 month lead versus Aulani, as long as there is avalaibility at Aulani 7 months out if I don't care exactly about my dates.


Part of it is my parents are buying it, but it will mostly be used for family trips with my kids. So I'm more interested in WDW but mom is more interested in Aulani, so if we have trouble booking Aulani because I pushed for WDW I'll get a lot of grief!

Not really interested in resale right now, maybe for next points but I will do a little more I investigation. I will be very happy with copper creek, heard good things about wilderness as a resort, though I'd also be interested in Boardwalk or beach club. If i bought resale that's where I'd try to go.
It doesn't sound like your sufficiently educated to make a good decision right now. You may want to back off until you are better informed, it could potentially save you $10K or more.
 
You won't lose anything by waiting and learning plus you get a cash savings and maybe a resort that you end up loving more than the ones that you were offered. We got caught up in the Disney excitement more than once and bought resorts direct that we don't even stay at anymore.

:earsboy: Bill

 
I think the real questions is not Aulani vs. CCV, it's CCV vs. all of the other potential resorts at WDW. Disney is pushing CCV because that's the current resort, and it's quite lovely. But it's not the best fit for everyone. Take the time to figure out where you really want to stay when visiting WDW and then make that your home resort. Good luck! :)
 
Curious, why are you not interested in resale right now? What will change your mind for your next points to go the resale route?
If you only want Copper Creek, at this point you have no choice but to go direct (as a note, initial very high maintenance fees). Aulani is available resale in the low $90's. How much is it direct?

Good Luck.
well I guess the reason I am looking more at direct is the added bonuses of discounted annual passes, member only discounts, and the like. Plus resale seems a lot more daunting - it sounds like you need patience to find what you want and I'm looking at using it maybe in December but at least in January/February.


I don't think you'd have a hard time booking a 2BR at Aulani for the Jan/Feb time frame especially since it sounds like you're flexible within that time. The lower point rooms go first there first so if nothing else at 7 months you might be looking at a pool or ocean view but that isn't the busiest time to book there. So far that's Christmas and the June/July time frame. Weekends are busy as it seems a lot of locals bought there for mini weekend get aways but that seems to affect the hotel rooms and studios the most.

Are there any WDW resorts you've stayed at to have a good idea of what you do and don't like as it doesn't sound like you've stayed at Wilderness Lodge? And curious why not interested in resale? For Wilderness Lodge you could buy at the original villas (Boulder Ridge) for half or less vs Copper Creek. Or something like SSR since which has a longer expiration and some of the lowest dues so it's nice if you're going to be using at 7 months anyway when it doesn't matter where you own. It might be the ideal way to get into DVC and see how it's working out and if you find there are definite places you like better and need the home resort you could add on there, or if it's working well for 7 months then buy more of a resort that gives you best value like SSR. And because you're not over paying if you decide it doesn't work then you could sell it and buy where you learned you'd like or need to own and probably come out even vs booking hotel rooms. And if it works just fine for you then money saved!

If Copper Creek is the place you love the best at WDW and have to stay there then buying direct is the only way. If Poly were the place you had to stay it also is reasonable to go direct although there are options on the resale market now. But other locations, especially for any significant amount of points, resale will work just the same to stay at all the DVC resorts an save lots of money in most cases.

As you haven't signed the paperwork it's nice you have time to give it more thought. You can just sit on that while you investigate - from personal experience I know they'll call to check on it but that probably won't be for a month or more.

We have made a downpayment but haven't signed, so as I understand we still have time to say no. Its hard for me to pick a resort because I'd like to stay at all of them! At the moment Animal Kingdom seems like it would be fun, because my girls both really loved it there and the points seem low to stay for two weeks. The only resort I've stayed at as an adult was Port Orleans which I did really enjoy. I think overtime Boardwalk or Beach club might be best, because my parents enjoy Epcot (so do I) so walking there would be nice. But just from my initial readings Boardwalk at least is rarer resale.


Part of it is cruise pixie dust, so I plan to spend some time with my dad today looking through all the different resale things to get an idea of that would be better for us. How do you get resale through Disney? Do you push your contact person to show you want they have right now? I don't really want to wait months and months for the right contract, negotiate everything, etc.

And I hadn't really considered spliting points between Aulani and Copper Creek, that may be a good option. So, do I understand that if we got say a combined 300 points (150 an Aulani, 150 at CC), we could only use 150 at 11 months out at Aulani, but all 300 if we were doing 7 months out somewhere else? Or does it stay more separate then that?

Also, any particular websites you'd recommend for learning more about resale? I've been sorting through google and looking for good info...
 
I am looking more at direct is the added bonuses of discounted annual passes, member only discounts, and the like.

In general, unless you are going to WDW more than 10 days a year, an AP is not going to be a good value even at the AP Gold Discount, which also has blackout dates to be aware of. The discounts are not that hot unless you are spending a lot of money, and it's hard to make the extra cost of direct become a savings with the member discounts. Especially if the plan is alternating years, neither AP nor discounts is an economic decision.

How do you get resale through Disney? Do you push your contact person to show you want they have right now? I don't really want to wait months and months for the right contract, negotiate everything, etc.

You don't have to negotiate on resale contracts. You can offer asking. As far as "waiting," what is the reason for the rush, aside from impatience? It sounds like you'd not be going to WDW until 2019 anyway?
 
well I guess the reason I am looking more at direct is the added bonuses of discounted annual passes, member only discounts, and the like.

Discounts are not guaranteed. DVD can easily take them away.

I'm looking at using it maybe in December but at least in January/February.

I wouldn't plan too much on this December. Already within the 7 month window. Availability is a night here, a night there.

I think overtime Boardwalk or Beach club might be best, because my parents enjoy Epcot (so do I) so walking there would be nice.

Then that is where you should buy! You will save thousands AND have the 11 month booking window. If you ever decide to go down during F & W in the fall, it is nearly impossible to get what you want at these resorts at 7 months.

How do you get resale through Disney? Do you push your contact person to show you want they have right now?

It is NOT through Disney. Google "DVC resale" and a TON of options will come up. You can sign up to be notified on certain contract points, price per point and resort.

I would NOT buy DVC without having stayed at a DVC Resort. That's a lot of money to purchase something site unseen. For example, you will find a lot of negativity on these boards about SSR. I rented points to stay there, with a little apprehension.

I fell in love with it. It is a beautiful resort and the proximity to DS CANNOT be beat!

Maybe put off the purchase for a year, research on these boards, as there is a bunch of info, watch resale prices, and book a split stay at a couple of resorts you are looking at by renting DVC points. That way you KNOW what you're buying and you know what works best for your group.
 
February at Aulani will sell out. Many schools have presidents week off now. And I think there is a time for Japanese in Feb too. Cant remember. Anyway, the cheapest rooms will go before 7 mos. If you were WDW owner you'd def be able to get a 2 bedroom at 7 mos still because they are so point intensive. The points are way less in February than april, and certainly December which you MUST own for the holidays. Figure its about 600 a week for an ocean view so they will open longest. The standards will go first and the Island Views are about 400 and change.

We are West Coast and we love Aulani. We never hang out at the beach. And its not too far from the airport as well as being fairly central between the north shore and Waikiki.

You can totally get into WDW at 7 mos if you own at Aulani. If you're willing to use more points, you can get higher views at VGF, BLT easily much of the time, certainly in Feb. SSR, OKW and AKV Kidani seem to always be avail on the day. VGC is also readily avail we've found in Feb- mostly 1 bedrooms. I'd love to own there too- one day. I also adore BCV and we go for F & W yearly but I cant get past the end date. 20 less years than Aulani.

Ultimately, we ended up also buying at VGF also because I didnt want the 7 mo stress, am a room snob now ; ) and we needed more points frankly because Aulani 2 beds is a hungry hippo.

Truthfully, think about resale at Aulani if nothing else but for a loaded contract with free points. FREE!! We ended up with 600 free! That was our Christmas 2 bed oceanview present last year! Now, if you wanna go quick, then I could see some reason for direct. It does take a little longer to close in Hawaii and if you have a foreign seller as some of them are, especially some of the really loaded contracts, you'll have to wait an extra month or two. It took us 7 mos from offer to membership card but there were a couple snafus by escrow and a Japanese seller. SO WORTH IT though. As long as youre not in like a rush to book in a month. All you do is call the broker, offer asking- we used fidelity twice. Email them your info. Put 2500 in escrow and chill.

But so as your comfortable buy what you like and how you like but dont feel uncomfortable with Aulani especially since you're West Coast. See you there!!
 
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This is a business decision, nothing more. Matching your favorite resort that works for you and your parents, how to record the title/ownership, the best UY, deciding are the perks are worth the extra money buying direct, what size unit will you want, how often will you vacation at Disney, what will the total costs for your Disney vacations be? Consider travel, dues purchase price, admission, food, and extras. Our 200 point BCV contract and Disney vacations with all costs will run us close to $300,000 until contract termination.

If you have the answers for the above, go for it, if not, rescind and start learning. :-)

:earsboy: Bill

 
My thinking on CCV as the better choice: CCV just started the life of the contracts - you have 50 years of use while Aulani contracts have been selling now for several years - there's 6 years less points available on those contracts. I haven't seen any resort where people have purchased initial offerings and lost much money. Example; you purchase the CCV contract today and depending on use year may have 2016 points available. If you decide to sell in 5 years it's not going to be a loss factoring in how many vacations you received in comparison to what that would cost had you rented the points. Even original Aulani purchasers who purchased back when initially offered at $114/point have been using those points for several years now and can still sell the contract for about $90/point. Aulaini has held value much worse than the other resorts yet it still is a value for the initial purchasers. That brings me to the other reason for CCV over Aulani direct: If you purchase Aulani direct today it's immediately worth about half of what you paid for it as soon as the ink is dry so to speak. I do have a small Aulani resale contract and would have purchased direct and never been burned had I purchased direct back in 2010 but not today.

The only thing I would be leery about with a purchase is having one contract with both parents and myself on. It's MUCH easier not to mingle funds. Having the contract split up so that parents purchase half the points and you purchase half is also better for resale - smaller contracts sell for higher price on the resale market. And that way your parents cant blame you should you not be able to get into Aulani at 7 months should they also decide to purchase CCV. They can purchase Aulani direct however I guess it would kill me to pay $176 for Aulani when I know that many others purchased back in 2010 for $114/point and they have not only been using the points for several years now but also are paying subsidized dues at $1.83 per point less than me in mf's for the life of the contract. With CCV nobody will ever have paid less than the initial purchasers. If you count the years of use compared to what they would cost to rent, nobody will probably ever pay less than initial purchasers.

Aulani outside of school breaks and American & Japanese holidays is not that difficult in Jan/feb at 7 months. Standards are probably not available but the two bedroom island and ocean view - especially dedicated, are typically available. Summers, school breaks and holidays are a different story.
 
For a good example of how someone could have buyer's regret, there is a thread on DVC Resorts where someone rented points at AKV and pretty much found the studios to be not their thing.
 

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