Considering buying in June...Can you rate the resorts?

[teachermommy78]

Thanks again, everyone! It really is helpful to read opinions. To me, it doesn't matter if others disagree because I get to see both sides. I just got my DVC packet in the mail today, so that made me a bit excited! We would probably go with a later expiration date. We're a young family- both my husband and I are in our early 30's. And I do look forward to many trips without kids in the future.

 

[Dean]

Thanks again, everyone! It really is helpful to read opinions. To me, it doesn't matter if others disagree because I get to see both sides. I just got my DVC packet in the mail today, so that made me a bit excited! We would probably go with a later expiration date. We're a young family- both my husband and I are in our early 30's. And I do look forward to many trips without kids in the future.

I wouldn't let the later expiration woo you. 2042 will give you 30 years and there will always be future options. Simply look at your preferences and the price and value of what you are getting. Certainly a later expiration has some value but not as much as you might think. Those factors are one of the reasons that I think SSR is generally the best value for WDW trips. For those that will go to HH or VB routinely, those can be great options as well, but only if you'll use it part of the time AND travel at easier to get times. Good look with your decision.

 

[dvc_john]

Another factor you might want to consider is the length of the contract. OKW has about 30 years left while BLT has 59. K

BLT doesn't have 59 years left (every resort started with 50 years).
BLT ends in January 2060.

 

[amylia403]

Thanks again, everyone! It really is helpful to read opinions. To me, it doesn't matter if others disagree because I get to see both sides. I just got my DVC packet in the mail today, so that made me a bit excited! We would probably go with a later expiration date. We're a young family- both my husband and I are in our early 30's. And I do look forward to many trips without kids in the future.

Hope you got lots of good info If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. It's a big investment, but we love it. As I mentioned above, we love Animal Kingdom Kidani, and with a family of 5 we wouldn't get to stay nearly as much with out our DVC!

 

[Dumbo_Husband]

We knew we wanted to get into DVC after we did a tour locally in New York. DVC has a sales office on Long Island.

We ended up buying 200 points at SSR (resale) sight unseen because of the cheaper cost per point and maintenance and never looked back. We are really new members. Our trips with DVC so far are...

Sep '10 - BCV, Studio - We wanted to be close to Epcot. Wait listed and got in! It was UNBELIEVABLE from the first "welcome home" to the last.

Dec '10 - SSR, Studio - My wife went alone since I changed jobs and couldn't get the time off. She had a tough time with my then 17 month old son, but she loved SSR.

Jan '11 - SSR, Tree House Villas - we had 200 banked points we got for free in our resale contract. My wife's aunt, uncle and their 3 kids joined us at the Tree House. Incredible. Luckily we could walk (about 8 minutes) from our tree house to the bus. We had a blast.

We just bought another 200 points at BCV because we like the idea of being close to Epcot and DHS. We are planning an SSR trip in October and will look at a January '12 trip at BCV, 1 BR.

Just get in. Don't get too hung up on every detail. Also consider resale before 3/21 if you want all of the benefits or wait because points may be cheaper.

Good luck and have fun. We love it.

 

[Maus]

I can see sharing a room with small kids, but sharing with teenagers, no thanks. That would not be vacation for me. Can you buy more points later so that you will have more space? Do I have to pick the time I am traveling each year? 30 years scares me, I think we would not want to go to the same place for 30 years. Can you buy on property and then use their time shares in Hawaii or Hilton Head?

 

[teachermommy78]

We have a DVC center at a mall near us (we live in Chicago), but I've been waiting for the magic AT Disney! I believe in doors opening/closing for a reason, so if the time is right, I think we'll know. It's not something I'm stressing much about, so it's nice to have several months to just mull over things and shop around!

If we buy in June, we do plan on getting a smaller amount of points and then adding on later. That way as the kids grow, we can get a 2 bedroom villa. Right now it does seem like a waste when 4 of us are sleeping in a queen sized bed most nights anyway!

My dh and I were crunching numbers tonight and we figured that banking 2 years of points to use at SSR (we will PROBABLY choose that one) during the summer comes out to only a TEENSY bit cheaper than staying at POR every two years. This is when we are paying the yearly fee only, of course. So that gave us a little more to think about. If we buy in, it won't be about saving money, it will more be about the experience and emotions that go with it. Which is a HUGE factor! Plus the laundry, extra space, kitchen, etc. is a NICE perk! And yes, I do understand that a DVC property is deluxe, whereas POR is moderate...my point being if we don't MIND the moderate, it may not be worth the extra cost. Lots to think about. It will probably come down to the tour, our stay at POR, and checking out the other DVC properties in June.

 

[teachermommy78]

2 more questions:

1.) How hard is it to get into BWV 7 months out? That is the only resort that is screaming at me! It just FEELS right. But I don't want to pay that rate. I would like to stay there at some point, though!

2.) Does Disney raise points per room regularly? Like if we buy now with enough points to get us a week stay at SSR every two years, could that go up and we'd HAVE to add on the following year?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I can see sharing a room with small kids, but sharing with teenagers, no thanks. That would not be vacation for me. Can you buy more points later so that you will have more space? Do I have to pick the time I am traveling each year? 30 years scares me, I think we would not want to go to the same place for 30 years. Can you buy on property and then use their time shares in Hawaii or Hilton Head?

We'll be sharing a GV at OKW with ten teens this summer. Should be lots of fun. You can add on any time you wish. It's just more money to DVC. Only Aulani has fixed weeks and not all Aulani points are fixed week. With points you book your reservation when you want, no more than 11 months out at your home resort, 7 months out from any other resort. But if you wait too long there won't be anything available. And some members have already been shut out of the villa type they wanted to book for Dec 2011 and Jan 2012. It's a very popular time. If you buy your points at a WDW resort, you are only guaranteed in the future to be able to use your points at that resort based on the DVC documentation. However, for the time being, you can use your points at any resort at 7 months out.

2 more questions:

1.) How hard is it to get into BWV 7 months out? That is the only resort that is screaming at me! It just FEELS right. But I don't want to pay that rate. I would like to stay there at some point, though!

2.) Does Disney raise points per room regularly? Like if we buy now with enough points to get us a week stay at SSR every two years, could that go up and we'd HAVE to add on the following year?

BWV can be hard at 7 months out for Food & Wine Festival. The standard view or the BW view will be hard to get at 7 months, but you should be able to get the pool/water/garden view at 7 months out.

Points are fixed for the entire year - there are only so many points for the entire resort. But DVC can shuffle them around so that a studio for a week in Oct might require 90 points this year, but 95 points next year. BUT, another time/view would have to go down 5 points.

 

[Dean]

We have a DVC center at a mall near us (we live in Chicago), but I've been waiting for the magic AT Disney! I believe in doors opening/closing for a reason, so if the time is right, I think we'll know. It's not something I'm stressing much about, so it's nice to have several months to just mull over things and shop around!

If we buy in June, we do plan on getting a smaller amount of points and then adding on later. That way as the kids grow, we can get a 2 bedroom villa. Right now it does seem like a waste when 4 of us are sleeping in a queen sized bed most nights anyway!

My dh and I were crunching numbers tonight and we figured that banking 2 years of points to use at SSR (we will PROBABLY choose that one) during the summer comes out to only a TEENSY bit cheaper than staying at POR every two years. This is when we are paying the yearly fee only, of course. So that gave us a little more to think about. If we buy in, it won't be about saving money, it will more be about the experience and emotions that go with it. Which is a HUGE factor! Plus the laundry, extra space, kitchen, etc. is a NICE perk! And yes, I do understand that a DVC property is deluxe, whereas POR is moderate...my point being if we don't MIND the moderate, it may not be worth the extra cost. Lots to think about. It will probably come down to the tour, our stay at POR, and checking out the other DVC properties in June.

If you buy resale, you can do so for likely about half the direct rated by then.

2 more questions:

1.) How hard is it to get into BWV 7 months out? That is the only resort that is screaming at me! It just FEELS right. But I don't want to pay that rate. I would like to stay there at some point, though!

2.) Does Disney raise points per room regularly? Like if we buy now with enough points to get us a week stay at SSR every two years, could that go up and we'd HAVE to add on the following year?

BWV isn't that hard if you'll accept any view type, with limited exceptions. Disney cannot raise points overall at an existing resort but they can rearrange them so that some times/days go up and others down as noted above.