Considering resale - need advice

[jnl2009]

We are planning to begin taking annual family vacations to WDW. We have been twice before as adults and stayed on resort both times at value properties (Pop Century and Art of Animation). We were satisfied with these accommodations, especially the newer property at AoA.

We will likely do our annual trip in early February or mid October.

We were considering buying at Vero Beach where we can get in at about $50 per point.

Our questions:

1. How difficult will it be to use our points to get on resort when our home resort is not there? How much of a disadvantage do we face and will our dates be largely booked up before we can select?

2. Can we use these points to buy dining plans?

3. How many points would we need for 7ish nights for 2 adults and 2 children including dining for these dates?

4. Is DVC the right solution for people who are happy in value properties?

Any other unsolicited advice would be appreciated as well.

With thanks.

 

[CMNJ]

We are planning to begin taking annual family vacations to WDW. We have been twice before as adults and stayed on resort both times at value properties (Pop Century and Art of Animation). We were satisfied with these accommodations, especially the newer property at AoA.

We will likely do our annual trip in early February or mid October.

We were considering buying at Vero Beach where we can get in at about $50 per point.

Our questions:

1. How difficult will it be to use our points to get on resort when our home resort is not there? How much of a disadvantage do we face and will our dates be largely booked up before we can select?
February is not a prime DVC time so you will have more choices then than Oct which is prime DVC season. Many resorts/categories are booked before the 7 month window opens for October especially near park resorts.

2. Can we use these points to buy dining plans?
No
3. How many points would we need for 7ish nights for 2 adults and 2 children including dining for these dates?
Depends-are you looking for a studio (similar to a hotel room) or a larger villa with a kitchen and washer/dryer
Check out the DVC point charts and room layouts to decide what is right for your family
4. Is DVC the right solution for people who are happy in value properties?
Not really unless you are doing it to upgrade your accomodations-typically it costs more than value rooms when you account for annual dues and the initial buy in costs.
Any other unsolicited advice would be appreciated as well.
I would not buy vero if you do not plan to stay there. Annual dues there are much higher than some other WDW resorts like SSR and you have no ability to book in advance of 7 months for extremely popular times

With thanks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1. In general, if you are happy at value resorts, DVc will not be a good deal for you.

Vero Beach points are cheap to buy, but purchase is only one expense. They have either the highest or nearly the highest total cost of ownership because the annual dues per point are over $8. Over 10 years, this adds up - fast.

How hard a 7 month booking is depends on resort, size room and time of year. In October, you will have limited options at 7 months, based on recent trend.

2. No. You have to pay cash for Disney Dining Plans, even if you book a room with DVC points.

3. Depends on the resort. And you would have to pay cash for a dining plan. Points cannot book dining plans.

4. Generally, no.

Do a LOT of research.

 

[suebeelin]

If you're happy at value accommodations, then I would not buy dvc.

I bought dvc bc I was willing to pay moderate prices but prefer the deluxe resorts.

You'll be paying moderate prices if you buy into dvc (including maintenance fees). Thus, you won't save any money.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If you are happy with the value rooms then no, it won't be a savings for you. Also, Oct is a very busy DVC time and if you don't own a WDW resort you might run into some difficulty in booking a room at times. Personally I would not go with this plan nor recommend it for someone else.

 

[Dean]

We are planning to begin taking annual family vacations to WDW. We have been twice before as adults and stayed on resort both times at value properties (Pop Century and Art of Animation). We were satisfied with these accommodations, especially the newer property at AoA.

We will likely do our annual trip in early February or mid October.

We were considering buying at Vero Beach where we can get in at about $50 per point.

Our questions:

1. How difficult will it be to use our points to get on resort when our home resort is not there? How much of a disadvantage do we face and will our dates be largely booked up before we can select?

2. Can we use these points to buy dining plans?

3. How many points would we need for 7ish nights for 2 adults and 2 children including dining for these dates?

4. Is DVC the right solution for people who are happy in value properties?

Any other unsolicited advice would be appreciated as well.

With thanks.

DVC won't save money but will give you more for your money An Oct UY would be a good option, Sept & Feb would be OK. If you can buy cash, you may want to consider it. I'd rent points for a trip, maybe stay at AKV or SSR and visit the other resorts. I'd spend several days seeing the resorts and exploring, not just going to dinner. For studios you could get by with maybe 100 or so but I'd go 150 if possible. I always recommend only buying if one can pay cash. I would not buy VB to get cheaper just for WDW, it's not in the long run due to the higher dues. SSR will be your best value to use for WDW with BLT second.

 

[zavandor]

4. Is DVC the right solution for people who are happy in value properties?

I am a value guy myself, I always prefer to spend a bit less in accommodation and maybe stretch the budget a bit more to be able to do more/longer vacations.
So before DVC I stayed in Values and offsite when visiting WDW. During the last of these stays I've visited a couple of DVC resorts for dinner to decide if I wanted to spend the extra money to stay there and I was hooked!
I bought during the big recession, so I got SSR for 50$ a point which was a great deal. Now for around what a Value would cost me I get much much better accommodations. Looking just to the money, I'm spending more, because I visit more often. For me DVC is not to save money.

 

[com_op_2000]

You are doing the right thing by doing your research up-front.
Read these threads on the DIS and understand the following terms:
UY
MF
HR
11 month and 7 month booking windows
Concierge Collection
RCI
CM
MS
Direct vs resale
Rule of 4
Once you have a full understanding of these terms.
Then read some more.

As PP stated the VB and HH have the highest annual MFs of any of the DVC resorts and DVC will not offer free dining.
Getting into a resort this year during Oct is almost impossible for 7 days, even patching a stay of 7 days switching resorts 5 or 6 times is very hard. You need to be looking at how your vacation times will change as the children age, school activities, etc.
DVC is a prepaid resort stay that is all; discounts, specials, etc that are offered can be taken away at any point in time.