Considering CFW - thoughts?

[Swaggerwagon]

Thanks again for your input, really do appreciate it. Would it change anyone’s mind on the insanity of buying in knowing the following:

1. These points would only be used for cabin stays
2. Usually over the July 4th holiday
3. With a dog
4. For non-park centric trips

We have enough points otherwise for our main WDW trips, and wouldn’t want to use our VGF points each year for the cabins because we use them anyway. If we tried to get in at 7mo and couldn’t, we wouldn’t use points to stay at another DVC (because dog) - we would bring the camper and the dog and stay at the Fort … and preferred sites around the 4th are expensive (for a campsite - looking at <2K for 10 days).

I know it probably sounds like I’m begging for someone, anyone (besides for Sandisw!) to tell me what I want to hear but I do truly value all input. It’s just that in our minds, it makes sense for our specific situation and hearing other opinions has made us think hard about it and has actually helped us with thinking of things we hadn’t considered.

Thanks again!

I think if you love Fort Wilderness, stay there every year for a holiday week and bring your dog it makes total sense to buy CFW points. Most people on this thread are not the target audience for this product, but we are. Don’t let internet strangers talk you out of something that you know is a good fit for your family. You have over 1000 DVC points, obviously you understand how dues work

 

[DonkeyHoTay]

We have no idea how fast DVC will add cabins for DVC bookings...I think right now there are 65?...if sales are slow, that means they will slowly add them and leave them for cash stays.

And that means there will be fewer available for DVC stays, which doesn’t help those looking to use other home resort points to book at 7 months. Also means the availability during peak seasons will be even tougher to get if you really want to stay there. Already the availability on CFW Cabins is almost nil.

IMO, since you really want to stay there, its worth owning. I have mentioned before, but the dues seem to be the biggest roadblock for some....but let's assume what you are paying is an extra $4/point average over others you might buy to try at 7 months...on 150 point contract, that is $600 more per year (average) you are paying to guarantee home resort advantage.

In my use case, a 150 point favorite week that costs me a theoretical extra $600 a year to get a guaranteed stay that I really want at CFW in December is worth that $600 premium. Would be surprised if I am the only one that looks at it that way.

I meant that cash bookings, on WDW’s cash site, have historically been discounted for the cabins,and the cabins were nearly always one of the last room types to sell out. Given how expensive the dues are and how expensive the initial buy-in is, and how cheap the cabins have historically cost to rent on the cash side with discounts, I think people should at the very least wait to see if those trends continue before plunking down $50,000.

During peak seasons that is simply not the case - at least not in my experience the last 20 years and not even as of 10 minutes ago when I checked again. Average per night is around $850 in December - assuming you can get the nights you want. Also, 150 points is about $27K, not $50K.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I think given your plans, the cabins make perfect sense for you. I think for non-owners it will not be as easy to book as everyone thinks, because there are many of us who do plan to stay there, but not own there. I think you should look at a fixed week for over the 4th, or break the purchase into smaller contracts (50 to 75 point contracts)

 

[AstroBlasters]

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!

Seems like a good fit. Let us know how things go after your August trip.

 

[cabloom]

Thanks everyone! We will take a tour on 8/16 and meet up with our guide afterwards. If we like what we see on the tour, we will discuss with him the advantages of buying a fixed week for 4th of July vs breaking our point total into 4 small contracts. (Any opinions on that are welcome!)

I did look to see what the current price for 10 nights next summer over the holiday would be ($5818 before tax) and applied the max possible discount of 30% ($4818) just to see what a cash stay might cost us. A preferred camp spot would run $2148 before tax, before any discount.

We have hope that future plans for the trust will make this less of a gamble for long term popularity/demand/whatever … but regardless, for us, in our specific situation, we think it will be worth it. I will definitely come back after our tour and give an update on what we end up doing!

Again, I appreciate everyone taking the time to chime in. The posts advising against made us think hard about what mattered to us, and the encouraging posts helped us realize that if it makes sense for us, we should do it. What’s a few more DVC points in the overall scheme of things!

 

[intamin]

Thanks everyone! We will take a tour on 8/16 and meet up with our guide afterwards. If we like what we see on the tour, we will discuss with him the advantages of buying a fixed week for 4th of July vs breaking our point total into 4 small contracts. (Any opinions on that are welcome!)

I did look to see what the current price for 10 nights next summer over the holiday would be ($5818 before tax) and applied the max possible discount of 30% ($4818) just to see what a cash stay might cost us. A preferred camp spot would run $2148 before tax, before any discount.

We have hope that future plans for the trust will make this less of a gamble for long term popularity/demand/whatever … but regardless, for us, in our specific situation, we think it will be worth it. I will definitely come back after our tour and give an update on what we end up doing!

Again, I appreciate everyone taking the time to chime in. The posts advising against made us think hard about what mattered to us, and the encouraging posts helped us realize that if it makes sense for us, we should do it. What’s a few more DVC points in the overall scheme of things!

You could consider a combination of the FW for the cabins and then 2 50s to get you to the point total you want. On the other hand July 4th, Halloween and Christmas are very popular at CFW but I also don't think many people are buying these cabins and with your 11 month priority I don't imagine it being difficult to get even if the cabins aren't fully declared since there is only 1 room type. A good chunk of people probably buy CFW only for the holidays and special events and such so it may help..? But at the same time does everyone really want to stay for a week?

It's 163 for the fixed week it looks like.. IDK I think that's kind of a large CFW contract and you'd have an easier time selling 3 50s at a higher price per point so I personally wouldn't. If I really wanted a room for July 4th I'd probably just walk it but that's more of a personal preference.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Let’s face it. The only reason you would do this is for your dog. So if your dog can afford it, I say go for it.

 

[cabloom]

Ok, OP here - back from our trip with the promised update because I know everyone has been on the edge of their seating waiting to hear! We walked around the loops with the new cabins, then went over to take the tour. We liked what we saw (no surprises since we had watched a couple of YouTube walkthroughs before), headed over to meet with our guide, and ended up with two 120 point contracts. We did discuss a FW or four 60 point contracts but ultimately went with just the two contracts. We got the $1000 “developer credit” since the Disney Visa credit had ended earlier in the week and put half of the purchase on our newly obtained Disney Visa card to get the 6 month 0% interest and the rest on another card with travel rewards which will be paid off during this statement cycle. I made our reservation for next July’s trip the next day!

We talked about the trust a bit. He asked if we were familiar with how it will work and we said yes. I mentioned the speculation about Reflections and he smiled and said “you’ve done your research” before saying “I can’t say anything, I don’t know anything”.

I think the dog will be very happy there!

 

[NVDISFamily]

Sorry if someone already suggested this (scanning quick while working), if owning at the cabins and fomo on not having direct points there is a concern I’d hedge my bet and consider buying the points needed in a very desirable fixed week that you can rent or sale if things change or you skip a trip. You can always convert the fixed week to points and book your trip…..

There is some hope they build reflections and make it part of this association so the dues will be a bit more reasonable….

 

[bama_ed]

There is some hope they build reflections and make it part of this association so the dues will be a bit more reasonable….

Ya know, I seem to recall someone put forth that same theory back on February 1, 2024 on the DIS/DVC board.

Time will tell, I suppose.

 

[zavandor]

Since CCV newer resorts have started with very high MF and then the first 2-3 years had minimal or under average increase, so that now those MF aren't so shocking anymore. If you are not in a hurry, I'd wait for December and see what happens with CFW MF. They might not increase at all.
Also, IF Reflection is built and  IF it's added to the CFW trust, then MF might be greatly affected.

 

[ocdb8r1]

This thread boils down to: if you are certain you will stay at CFW every year for the next 48/49 years and must have 11 month reservation window, CFW points may be for you. I would argue, if this is indeed the case, from a financial perspective you are still better of not purchasing now and 1) rolling the dice to try to get what you want via the 7-month window, or 2) renting points for the stay or paying cash for the stay (such costs you could [partially] offset by renting out your own points) and 3) purchasing a resale in 3-5 years if your expected usage pattern still holds (as the resale restrictions mean nothing to you if you will always use these points at CFW). In addition you gain some time to see what happens with other potential development for the trust (potentially a new resort, how annual dues evolve...etc).

Just to keep context, you are at most agreeing to a few years of uncertainty about staying at CFW for the precise dates you want. Somehow we've all survived 30+ years of DVC without having an option like CFW, so while it could be disappointing, it's manageable.

Of course, at the end of the day money is meant for spending and not everything has to boil down to a financial calculation.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Ok, OP here - back from our trip with the promised update because I know everyone has been on the edge of their seating waiting to hear! We walked around the loops with the new cabins, then went over to take the tour. We liked what we saw (no surprises since we had watched a couple of YouTube walkthroughs before), headed over to meet with our guide, and ended up with two 120 point contracts. We did discuss a FW or four 60 point contracts but ultimately went with just the two contracts. We got the $1000 “developer credit” since the Disney Visa credit had ended earlier in the week and put half of the purchase on our newly obtained Disney Visa card to get the 6 month 0% interest and the rest on another card with travel rewards which will be paid off during this statement cycle. I made our reservation for next July’s trip the next day!

We talked about the trust a bit. He asked if we were familiar with how it will work and we said yes. I mentioned the speculation about Reflections and he smiled and said “you’ve done your research” before saying “I can’t say anything, I don’t know anything”.

I think the dog will be very happy there!

Congrats on your decision! You and the four-legged family member have a lot of great trips ahead