Considering CFW - thoughts?

[cabloom]

We own 1010 points (mix of direct/grandfathered/resale) and are considering a 220 point add-on at CFW. I’ve read the threads with the (mostly) negative opinions on why it’s a bad idea, but our situation is this:

1. We will only ever use our Beach Club points to stay at BCV. Our resale BLT points aren’t eligible for CFW stays. We’re willing to use our direct VGF points (200) as SAP but we do enjoy and want to stay at VGF often. We pretty much use all of our points always because we invite friends and families to join us often. We have never rented out our points.
2. Every summer and for the foreseeable future, we travel to Orlando a week for waterski coaching and bring our dog with us. We have been bringing our camper and staying in a preferred loop at FW, taking the dog with us in the morning to ski school and then heading back to FW to hang out at camp for awhile before heading to a park for a few hours in the evening, leaving Evie in the camper.
3. It’s just the two of us and our well behaved dog.

So the idea of owing CFW points is enticing. Instead of hauling our camper, we would haul our golf cart. The lack of w/d in the cabin doesn’t matter because we don’t have that anyway. Our camper is quite tiny, so a cabin would offer more space. The point charts are low, and we would pay cash. The dues are high, granted, but I think in our situation, they are offset by the low points and we would only use these points at CFW. The only question is the trust - that could go either way.

We will be at WDW in August and plan to schedule a tour to see for ourselves, and see what our guide has to say, but I wanted to see what everybody on the DIS thinks as well. Do you think it makes sense for us? Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[The_MT]

I would not recommend it except maybe to those who want to buy a fixed week for Halloween or Christmas time. Those dues are a beast and will only get worse. Use your direct VGF points to book it within 7 months, or rent out some of your points and pay cash for a cabin. Disney offers a lot of discounts during the summertime. But the heart wants what the heart wants so if the universe tells you to buy then go for it

 

[marmentrout85]

If you think you truly want the 11 month booking advantage then I'd say peace of mind for what you really want is priceless, regardless of the dues. If 7 month booking is ok, as stated before, I'd just use your VGF points or even consider buying direct at Riviera since the dues are significantly cheaper than CFW.

 

[tx911]

Yeah, I feel like a week in the summer is always going to readily available at CFW in the 7 month window, so maybe consider just adding points somewhere else with more reasonable dues as was suggested.

 

[intamin]

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t they stop allowing people to bring their own golf cart?

I would only do it if I cared anout booking Halloween or Christmas, otherwise I’d rather buy Riviera or VDH and use the points at CFW instead. It’s not like we’re talking about a small difference in dues, we’re talking about 3+ dollars from the average in WDW as a STARTING point. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole unless I absolutely had to stay at CFW annually. I imagine during the summer if it follows the trend of other WDW resorts, you won’t need 11 month priority to book them then.

 

[Stormalong Smiths]

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t they stop allowing people to bring their own golf cart?

My understanding is that you can bring your own golf cart with proof of insurance.

 

[ehh]

We own 1010 points (mix of direct/grandfathered/resale) and are considering a 220 point add-on at CFW. I’ve read the threads with the (mostly) negative opinions on why it’s a bad idea, but our situation is this:

1. We will only ever use our Beach Club points to stay at BCV. Our resale BLT points aren’t eligible for CFW stays. We’re willing to use our direct VGF points (200) as SAP but we do enjoy and want to stay at VGF often. We pretty much use all of our points always because we invite friends and families to join us often. We have never rented out our points.
2. Every summer and for the foreseeable future, we travel to Orlando a week for waterski coaching and bring our dog with us. We have been bringing our camper and staying in a preferred loop at FW, taking the dog with us in the morning to ski school and then heading back to FW to hang out at camp for awhile before heading to a park for a few hours in the evening, leaving Evie in the camper.
3. It’s just the two of us and our well behaved dog.

So the idea of owing CFW points is enticing. Instead of hauling our camper, we would haul our golf cart. The lack of w/d in the cabin doesn’t matter because we don’t have that anyway. Our camper is quite tiny, so a cabin would offer more space. The point charts are low, and we would pay cash. The dues are high, granted, but I think in our situation, they are offset by the low points and we would only use these points at CFW. The only question is the trust - that could go either way.

We will be at WDW in August and plan to schedule a tour to see for ourselves, and see what our guide has to say, but I wanted to see what everybody on the DIS thinks as well. Do you think it makes sense for us? Thanks for your thoughts!

It sounds like staying at CFW makes a lot of sense for you.

But considering most of the longterm ownership costs come from dues, owning at CFW needs a very deep examination.

The current CFW dues are an alarming 37% higher than the currently-for-sale Riviera and 43% higher than average at WDW. Future dues cannot be confidently predicted, but starting so high really needs to be considered as a warning.

It also means if you use CFW points for the same stay that you could have booked with RIV points, the out of pocket expenses for dues is 37% higher. In the range of 220 points, that's fairly significant in year 1 ($726) and, theoretically, only becomes greater over time.

To demonstrate that:

• There is a recent tendency of negligible initial dues growth, let's say CFW doesn't have any dues growth for 2 years.
• WDW resorts have an average of 3.74% 5yr CAGR for dues (as of 2024 dues).
  • If RIV grows at this rate for the next 10 years, the 2034 dues of RIV would reach $12.78/pt.
  • If CFW has a dues pause for 2 years then starts increasing at 3.74%, CFW hits $16.30/pt in 2034, or $774 extra in dues.
  • In 20 years it's $18.44/pt for RIV vs. $23.53/pt for CFW, $1,120 extra in dues.

In short, you'll be paying $700+ extra every single year in dues for the exact same CFW stay by buying CFW over RIV, assuming your desired stay is bookable at 7m.

What we don't know is what the 7m bookability is for future summers. Early signs are that it will be wide open, but this is also influenced by the paltry CFW sales.

 

[ehh]

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t they stop allowing people to bring their own golf cart?

I would only do it if I cared anout booking Halloween or Christmas, otherwise I’d rather buy Riviera or VDH and use the points at CFW instead. It’s not like we’re talking about a small difference in dues, we’re talking about 3+ dollars from the average in WDW as a STARTING point. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole unless I absolutely had to stay at CFW annually. I imagine during the summer if it follows the trend of other WDW resorts, you won’t need 11 month priority to book them then.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/n...ance-fort-wilderness-campground-disney-world/

You can bring your own golf cart, but you must have your own insurance and be prepared to provide proof and sign an agreement and waiver.

It's no longer permissible to rent a golf cart from a 3rd party.

 

[Chili327]

We own 1010 points (mix of direct/grandfathered/resale) and are considering a 220 point add-on at CFW. I’ve read the threads with the (mostly) negative opinions on why it’s a bad idea, but our situation is this:

1. We will only ever use our Beach Club points to stay at BCV. Our resale BLT points aren’t eligible for CFW stays. We’re willing to use our direct VGF points (200) as SAP but we do enjoy and want to stay at VGF often. We pretty much use all of our points always because we invite friends and families to join us often. We have never rented out our points.
2. Every summer and for the foreseeable future, we travel to Orlando a week for waterski coaching and bring our dog with us. We have been bringing our camper and staying in a preferred loop at FW, taking the dog with us in the morning to ski school and then heading back to FW to hang out at camp for awhile before heading to a park for a few hours in the evening, leaving Evie in the camper.
3. It’s just the two of us and our well behaved dog.

So the idea of owing CFW points is enticing. Instead of hauling our camper, we would haul our golf cart. The lack of w/d in the cabin doesn’t matter because we don’t have that anyway. Our camper is quite tiny, so a cabin would offer more space. The point charts are low, and we would pay cash. The dues are high, granted, but I think in our situation, they are offset by the low points and we would only use these points at CFW. The only question is the trust - that could go either way.

We will be at WDW in August and plan to schedule a tour to see for ourselves, and see what our guide has to say, but I wanted to see what everybody on the DIS thinks as well. Do you think it makes sense for us? Thanks for your thoughts!

Yeah, I feel like a week in the summer is always going to readily available at CFW in the 7 month window, so maybe consider just adding points somewhere else with more reasonable dues as was suggested.

I would only do it if I cared about booking Halloween or Christmas, otherwise I’d rather buy Riviera or VDH and use the points at CFW instead. It’s not like we’re talking about a small difference in dues, we’re talking about 3+ dollars from the average in WDW as a STARTING point. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole unless I absolutely had to stay at CFW annually. I imagine during the summer if it follows the trend of other WDW resorts, you won’t need 11 month priority to book them then.

It sounds like staying at CFW makes a lot of sense for you.

But considering most of the longterm ownership costs come from dues, owning at CFW needs a very deep examination.

Mostly I would agree with this.

Staying there is a no brainer for you, but purchasing there is the big question. Figure out if you need the home resort priority and that will give you the answer… and buy small, those will be tough to sell if needed.

 

[intamin]

Mostly I would agree with this.

Staying there is a no brainer for you, but purchasing there is the big question. Figure out if you need the home resort priority and that will give you the answer… and buy small, those will be tough to sell if needed.

Definitely small and in as many pieces as possible. I would definitely consider doing a split into 4 contracts of 55 a piece if I really wanted to own there. People will be much more likely to take on a little 50 pointer to book Christmas every other year than a 220 pointer thats limited to CFW.

 

[Sandisw]

We own 1010 points (mix of direct/grandfathered/resale) and are considering a 220 point add-on at CFW. I’ve read the threads with the (mostly) negative opinions on why it’s a bad idea, but our situation is this:

1. We will only ever use our Beach Club points to stay at BCV. Our resale BLT points aren’t eligible for CFW stays. We’re willing to use our direct VGF points (200) as SAP but we do enjoy and want to stay at VGF often. We pretty much use all of our points always because we invite friends and families to join us often. We have never rented out our points.
2. Every summer and for the foreseeable future, we travel to Orlando a week for waterski coaching and bring our dog with us. We have been bringing our camper and staying in a preferred loop at FW, taking the dog with us in the morning to ski school and then heading back to FW to hang out at camp for awhile before heading to a park for a few hours in the evening, leaving Evie in the camper.
3. It’s just the two of us and our well behaved dog.

So the idea of owing CFW points is enticing. Instead of hauling our camper, we would haul our golf cart. The lack of w/d in the cabin doesn’t matter because we don’t have that anyway. Our camper is quite tiny, so a cabin would offer more space. The point charts are low, and we would pay cash. The dues are high, granted, but I think in our situation, they are offset by the low points and we would only use these points at CFW. The only question is the trust - that could go either way.

We will be at WDW in August and plan to schedule a tour to see for ourselves, and see what our guide has to say, but I wanted to see what everybody on the DIS thinks as well. Do you think it makes sense for us? Thanks for your thoughts!

I think it makes a lot of sense for you when you want to stay there, and do already!

 

[BuzzLightyr]

Earliest booking window is next summer. I would highly doubt 7 month availability would be an issue right at 7 months due do the number of contracts sold.
I would recheck at 8 months out to make sure the same availability remains.
In the meantime - wait for the next round of direct incentives. The last direct OKW deal would be awesome for CFW SAP. I doubt the same value would come back. This season's incentives are less attractive, maybe the next round would be better.

You've got time on your hands to wait. Either direct CFW gets cheaper, or direct SAP could get cheaper. I doubt direct CFW could get more expensive in the next year.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t they stop allowing people to bring their own golf cart?

I would only do it if I cared anout booking Halloween or Christmas, otherwise I’d rather buy Riviera or VDH and use the points at CFW instead. It’s not like we’re talking about a small difference in dues, we’re talking about 3+ dollars from the average in WDW as a STARTING point. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole unless I absolutely had to stay at CFW annually. I imagine during the summer if it follows the trend of other WDW resorts, you won’t need 11 month priority to book them then.

Agree - if you are intent on buying I would FW for either Halloween or Christmas.

 

[Cfabar1]

Sounds to me like you plan on staying there year after year. Is it the cheapest way to stay there year after year? I don't know. But it is definitely the easiest if you can make use of the 11 month window...

Personally I would be extremely unlikely to own at CFW... At my current phase of life, nothing about the resort appeals to me.... Now, maybe later on in life 30 years from now -given the points chart? who knows.... I could get past the laundry... The queen bed is a big downgrade to me... Staying with 2 people I could look beyond the bunk beds, but that is not our current phase of life.... I'd prefer OKW...

But, if it is the resort you love and somewhere you'd go year after year, why not....

 

[cabloom]

Thanks everyone for your replies so far! Definitely some food for thought, particularly the suggestion that, if we do pull the trigger, breaking the points up into small chunks would mitigate some risk of being “stuck with” points that nobody wants should our circumstances change.

We enjoy FW, for sure. Do we love it? That might be a stretch - but it fits our need for our combination ski school/WDW fix with our dog perfectly. No other DVC does, and I’m really not sure any of the other pet-friendly onsite resorts do either. And we learned the hard way that we cannot come to Orlando and not want to come by to say hi to Mickey - and we absolutely hate staying offsite.

 

[CastAStone]

It sounds like staying at CFW makes a lot of sense for you.

But considering most of the longterm ownership costs come from dues, owning at CFW needs a very deep examination.

The current CFW dues are an alarming 37% higher than the currently-for-sale Riviera and 43% higher than average at WDW. Future dues cannot be confidently predicted, but starting so high really needs to be considered as a warning.

It also means if you use CFW points for the same stay that you could have booked with RIV points, the out of pocket expenses for dues is 37% higher. In the range of 220 points, that's fairly significant in year 1 ($726) and, theoretically, only becomes greater over time.

To demonstrate that:

• There is a recent tendency of negligible initial dues growth, let's say CFW doesn't have any dues growth for 2 years.
• WDW resorts have an average of 3.74% 5yr CAGR for dues (as of 2024 dues).
  • If RIV grows at this rate for the next 10 years, the 2034 dues of RIV would reach $12.78/pt.
  • If CFW has a dues pause for 2 years then starts increasing at 3.74%, CFW hits $16.30/pt in 2034, or $774 extra in dues.
  • In 20 years it's $18.44/pt for RIV vs. $23.53/pt for CFW, $1,120 extra in dues.

In short, you'll be paying $700+ extra every single year in dues for the exact same CFW stay by buying CFW over RIV, assuming your desired stay is bookable at 7m.

What we don't know is what the 7m bookability is for future summers. Early signs are that it will be wide open, but this is also influenced by the paltry CFW sales.

All of this. I’d suggest buying SSR or Riviera and staying at CFW.

Summers are the best DVC availability time and it’s only been getting easier. It’s too darn hot for human beings full stop from the north.

I think it’s an easy call really. If you’re concerned about future availability, wait a year and just see how it goes. CFW isn’t selling out ever anytime soon. I have a lot of confidence that the difficult nature of getting to the rooms will relegate it to a treehouses-like curiosity, except with 6 times as many rooms as the Treehouses.

 

[ehh]

I’d suggest buying SSR or Riviera and staying at CFW.

I always forget about the occasional not-terrible deal on sold out resorts, good call on SSR and its $165/pt at 220pts right now. Beats the $194ish at RIV (and $191ish of CFW).

SSR's $8.14/pt in 2024 dues works out to $11.75/pt in 2034 with the same 3.74% growth rate I used above. This works out to exactly $1,000 less in dues for that year (same prior assumptions). Even year 1 it's $880ish difference.

 

[Chili327]

nothing about the resort appeals to me.... Now, maybe later on in life 30 years from now -given the points chart?

But what about the dues in 30 years. lol

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I always forget about the occasional not-terrible deal on sold out resorts, good call on SSR and its $165/pt at 220pts right now. Beats the $194ish at RIV (and $191ish of CFW).

SSR's $8.14/pt in 2024 dues works out to $11.75/pt in 2034 with the same 3.74% growth rate I used above. This works out to exactly $1,000 less in dues for that year (same prior assumptions). Even year 1 it's $880ish difference.

220 points at Riviera could be had for as low as ~$170 per point for current members atm, utilizing all the possible incentives.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

We own 1010 points (mix of direct/grandfathered/resale) and are considering a 220 point add-on at CFW. I’ve read the threads with the (mostly) negative opinions on why it’s a bad idea, but our situation is this:

1. We will only ever use our Beach Club points to stay at BCV. Our resale BLT points aren’t eligible for CFW stays. We’re willing to use our direct VGF points (200) as SAP but we do enjoy and want to stay at VGF often. We pretty much use all of our points always because we invite friends and families to join us often. We have never rented out our points.
2. Every summer and for the foreseeable future, we travel to Orlando a week for waterski coaching and bring our dog with us. We have been bringing our camper and staying in a preferred loop at FW, taking the dog with us in the morning to ski school and then heading back to FW to hang out at camp for awhile before heading to a park for a few hours in the evening, leaving Evie in the camper.
3. It’s just the two of us and our well behaved dog.

So the idea of owing CFW points is enticing. Instead of hauling our camper, we would haul our golf cart. The lack of w/d in the cabin doesn’t matter because we don’t have that anyway. Our camper is quite tiny, so a cabin would offer more space. The point charts are low, and we would pay cash. The dues are high, granted, but I think in our situation, they are offset by the low points and we would only use these points at CFW. The only question is the trust - that could go either way.

We will be at WDW in August and plan to schedule a tour to see for ourselves, and see what our guide has to say, but I wanted to see what everybody on the DIS thinks as well. Do you think it makes sense for us? Thanks for your thoughts!

I would see where the cash prices settle before buying insanely priced CFW points with insane dues. Also, do you plan on keeping CFW for 50 years? Because your ability to sell those points at any price given resale restrictions and how high the dues will likely be by the time you sell them could be very very low.

You can add on SSR direct right now, 210 points for 135 per point with current incentives. This can be used to book at the cabins and the dues are $8 instead of $12. That’s a big difference.