Considering Buying Resale Have Some Questions...Im a Newbie!

[Ariel Girl]

Hello,
I am considering purchasing into the DVC club and have been looking at the Re-sales. I still have a few questions, and was hoping to find some help!
1. The Home Resort....does that really matter? What are the pro's and con's?
2. Do you still get all the things you would with a re-sale, that you would get buying direct from Disney? The Disney quarterly magazine? Is there anything you do not get from buying into a re-sale?
3. The Use Year? How does this work, and what use year should I be looking to purchase??
Thanks so much!
Ariel Girl

 

[abdmom]

The home resort does matter. You can book at your home resort at 11 months out, the others at 7 months out. So, if you want to stay at a specific resort at a specific time of year, you are better off buying at that resort. The only thing you do not get by buying resale is the incentives that DVC is offering for purchasers. You still get the magazine and various discounts.

Others can probably help better with the ins and outs of use year.

 

[wdwnut]

Use year may matter if you need to cancel a trip. If it is within the last 4 months of your use year, you will not be able to bank the points from the trip. They will have to be used or lost prior to the end of your use year. When do you generally go to WDW?

 

[Crystal_27]

1. You will get two schools of thought on how important home resort is. I firmly believe that home resort is very important. We knew that we wanted to spend most of our vacations at BLT so we opted to pay more for BLT points rather than purchase cheaper points at another resort and attempt to trade into BLT every year. I think that you should buy into a resort that you wouldn't mind staying at every single year. Know going in, though, that your chances of getting consecutive day stays at a non-home resort are going to be a roll of the dice every year, and you might have to split your stay at different resorts to get in a full vacation.

2. Once your resale closes, yes, you are a DVC member in Disney's eyes and will get all the perks that those of us who went directly through Disney.

3. There is a multi-page thread explaining use year floating around on the Ops board. You would be wise to do a search for it and read and understand use year before buying in. With that said, though, your vacation habits are likely going to change in your 30-40-50 years of ownership, so use year probably isn't as important (in my opinion) as home resort.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you specifically want to go a certain time of year (like early Dec or Spring Break or other such times), you really need to own at the resort you want to stay at. Those times are hard to get a 7 months out.

If you specifically want a grand villa some of the time, you need to own at a resort that has GV's. Not all do and some require a whole lot more points than others.

If you buy a resale, you are treated like any other member, BUT you will not get the goodies a member gets when they purchase directly from Disney as a welcome present (like the tote bag, etc). You will get the stuff they mail out to all the members like the planning book and quarterly Disney Files.

 

[backyardponder]

If you can, I urge you to make a special trip to WDW to check out resorts. Drive or rent a car and go spend a few hours at each of the resorts. Stop at the front desk, get a resort map, and walk around. When we did this we told the front desk what we were doing and asked them to recommend where we should walk.

Good Luck!

 

[chalee94]

1. The Home Resort....does that really matter? What are the pro's and con's?

here is a thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

2. Do you still get all the things you would with a re-sale, that you would get buying direct from Disney? The Disney quarterly magazine? Is there anything you do not get from buying into a re-sale?

everything except maybe a tote bag. yes.

3. The Use Year? How does this work, and what use year should I be looking to purchase??

here is a thread for understanding use year.

 

[Sandisw]

Home resort is important if you have a preference of where you want to stay and will be able to book your trips during the home resort booking period (7 - 11 months out).

We bought BLT because we knew this is where we wanted to be. We did not want to have to wait until 7 months prior to our trip to book this resort. Owning there ensures that we will be staying there as we will always be able to book 11 months ahead of time.

If you are flexible and where you stay is of little importance, then, IMO, choose a resort based on buy in price and MF's.

UY is when your points become current every year. If you are someone who travels (or wants to travel) during specific times on a regular basis, then choosing a UY just prior to those trips is a good idea. You have the first 8 months of your UY to bank any unused points. When you travel during this time, you have a lot more flexibility if you need to cancel your trip at least 31 days out (less than that, the points go into holding and there are other rules for that). You would still be able to bank those points, or would have a lot of time to reschedule the trip.

We have a June UY because we primarily travel in August (I teach). The only other trips we would make would be Fall or Winter so this works out well for all the times we might travel, now and in the future.

Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you can't book any sooner than seven months out, any home resort will do. But be aware, that unless you book at 11 months out at some times, you won't get anything that you want.

 

[Ariel Girl]

Hi, I usually go to WDW early Feb or March, and then around Oct.
What use year should I look into buying??
Thanks so much, this is a little confusing for me!

 

[Ariel Girl]

Use year may matter if you need to cancel a trip. If it is within the last 4 months of your use year, you will not be able to bank the points from the trip. They will have to be used or lost prior to the end of your use year. When do you generally go to WDW?

I usually go in Feb or March, or in October. Which use year should I look into?
Thanks

 

[Ariel Girl]

I usually go in Feb or March, or in October. Which use year should I look into?
Thanks

Home resort is important if you have a preference of where you want to stay and will be able to book your trips during the home resort booking period (7 - 11 months out).

We bought BLT because we knew this is where we wanted to be. We did not want to have to wait until 7 months prior to our trip to book this resort. Owning there ensures that we will be staying there as we will always be able to book 11 months ahead of time.

If you are flexible and where you stay is of little importance, then, IMO, choose a resort based on buy in price and MF's.

UY is when your points become current every year. If you are someone who travels (or wants to travel) during specific times on a regular basis, then choosing a UY just prior to those trips is a good idea. You have the first 8 months of your UY to bank any unused points. When you travel during this time, you have a lot more flexibility if you need to cancel your trip at least 31 days out (less than that, the points go into holding and there are other rules for that). You would still be able to bank those points, or would have a lot of time to reschedule the trip.

We have a June UY because we primarily travel in August (I teach). The only other trips we would make would be Fall or Winter so this works out well for all the times we might travel, now and in the future.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for all of your help! I really have to look into this a little bit, but am excited to learn as much as I can!
Thank you everyone!!

 

[kenny]

An august would work for you. We have an August UY and have to bank points by the end of March.

With your travel times even if you cancelled your March trip you would still be able to bank the points.

Remember though that over time your travel times may change. While we tend to travel oct-mar as the kids get older this may change.

As far as home resort, originally I was of the school that it didn't matter so much. We bought SSR first. When we purchased they were selling SSR and AKV. We preferred SSR over AKV. We liked SSR and figured we could get other resorts from time to time at 7 month window and when we couldn't we were happy with SSR.

Have since added on to BLT. After our stay there earlier this month we LOVE IT! We don't want to stay anywhere else but there. So while we still enjoy SSR in a perfect world I would have all BLT. That being said I am moving more to the side of buy where you want to stay. Of course you do have to factor in things such as price, dues and contract length.

Good luck!

 

[chalee94]

I usually go in Feb or March, or in October. Which use year should I look into?

i would get a feb UY or an oct UY. if i travelled more in feb/mar, i would get a feb UY and if i travelled more in oct, i would get an oct UY.

 

[Ariel Girl]

An august would work for you. We have an August UY and have to bank points by the end of March.

With your travel times even if you cancelled your March trip you would still be able to bank the points.

Remember though that over time your travel times may change. While we tend to travel oct-mar as the kids get older this may change.

As far as home resort, originally I was of the school that it didn't matter so much. We bought SSR first. When we purchased they were selling SSR and AKV. We preferred SSR over AKV. We liked SSR and figured we could get other resorts from time to time at 7 month window and when we couldn't we were happy with SSR.

Have since added on to BLT. After our stay there earlier this month we LOVE IT! We don't want to stay anywhere else but there. So while we still enjoy SSR in a perfect world I would have all BLT. That being said I am moving more to the side of buy where you want to stay. Of course you do have to factor in things such as price, dues and contract length.

Good luck!

Hi Kenny,
That is exactly what I was thinking about! I am torn between purchasing at SSR because it is much cheaper with a re-sale purchase, and we can get more points buying SSR as our home resort, but I know I LOVE BLT! My favorite park is Magic Kingdom, our 2 yr. old daughter Loves it there! So do I! Also, I went to visit BLT a few weeks back, and it is gorgeous..that would be my favorite place to stay, but its more expensive, and I was thinking of purchasing at SSR because I can get more points for the money!
What do you think? I need help with this choice!
Thanks so much!