Crazy to purchase at a resort I've never stayed at???

[rg35]

Yes. The cost and point charts are considerable especially compared to AKV. I have stayed at BLT and really liked it but didn't like the pool or the fact that I had to hoof it over to the Contemporary for food. I know I wouldn't be happy with OKW or SSR even though they are a good value. I usually stay in 1 or 2 bedrooms so PVB is out. BWV and BCV are too expensive for the length of contract for me. Stayed at CCV in February in a 1 bdrm and the resort was nice but the size and layout of the room just felt a little cramped to me. So by process of elimination, I am down to AKV and VGF. I have watched many videos online as others suggested and I love the room style and layout at VGF. Plus it just feels like OG Disney to me. Monorail buzzing by, Magic Kingdom off in the distance. What's not to love? I definitely plan on sleeping around if I can, but if I get "stuck" at my home resort in the future, I can think of a lot worse places to be. Still open to suggestions and willing to let anyone talk me out of this.

The points that @skippytx made about AKV vs. VGF are all true, but if VGF is where you most want to stay, then that is where you should buy. That is the #1 "rule" of DVC buying. Do not buy because you are thinking about rental opportunities or resale in the future because it's impossible to predict where either of those markets will be in 5 or 10 or 20 years. If you plan on renting often, DVC may not be the right fit at all, so that's another thing to consider.

 

[skippytx]

Yes. The cost and point charts are considerable especially compared to AKV. I have stayed at BLT and really liked it but didn't like the pool or the fact that I had to hoof it over to the Contemporary for food. I know I wouldn't be happy with OKW or SSR even though they are a good value. I usually stay in 1 or 2 bedrooms so PVB is out. BWV and BCV are too expensive for the length of contract for me. Stayed at CCV in February in a 1 bdrm and the resort was nice but the size and layout of the room just felt a little cramped to me. So by process of elimination, I am down to AKV and VGF. I have watched many videos online as others suggested and I love the room style and layout at VGF. Plus it just feels like OG Disney to me. Monorail buzzing by, Magic Kingdom off in the distance. What's not to love? I definitely plan on sleeping around if I can, but if I get "stuck" at my home resort in the future, I can think of a lot worse places to be. Still open to suggestions and willing to let anyone talk me out of this.

I was unaware you had any experience with DVC at all. Apologies if I missed that in one of your prior posts. My remarks were under the assumption you were brand new to DVC and hadn't experienced it before.

VGF is a very nice resort. I'd buy VGF over AKV every time, but I care about location more than pretty much anything else.

 

[katandmouse]

Yes. The cost and point charts are considerable especially compared to AKV. I have stayed at BLT and really liked it but didn't like the pool or the fact that I had to hoof it over to the Contemporary for food. I know I wouldn't be happy with OKW or SSR even though they are a good value. I usually stay in 1 or 2 bedrooms so PVB is out. BWV and BCV are too expensive for the length of contract for me. Stayed at CCV in February in a 1 bdrm and the resort was nice but the size and layout of the room just felt a little cramped to me. So by process of elimination, I am down to AKV and VGF. I have watched many videos online as others suggested and I love the room style and layout at VGF. Plus it just feels like OG Disney to me. Monorail buzzing by, Magic Kingdom off in the distance. What's not to love? I definitely plan on sleeping around if I can, but if I get "stuck" at my home resort in the future, I can think of a lot worse places to be. Still open to suggestions and willing to let anyone talk me out of this.

It sounds like you’ve done your research, so I think you’re on the right track. It’s a combination of finances and feeling, and in the end what you’ll be most comfortable with in 20+ years even if the resale/rental markets crash.

FWIW I love the Grand Floridian. VGF is also a hike to the main building for food though - I know you mentioned not liking that about BLT. I haven’t stayed at AKV so can’t comment there. But the VGF atmosphere, monorail, castle in the distance...

 

[TexasChick123]

We had stayed at the main GF but never VGF, and bought VGF sight unseen. It’s amazing. We love it! No regrets here except we wish we would’ve bought more at first rather than having to add on at VGF...twice.

 

[ljmiii]

Yes. The cost and point charts are considerable...So by process of elimination, I am down to AKV and VGF.

We bought BCV 'sight unseen' but had stayed in the Beach Club Resort before. Never regretted it...aside from being shut out of doing a split stay at BLT one too many times so we added on there.

As for AKV vs VGF you should buy where you want to stay most. We stayed at AKV once and liked the resort but vowed would never stay there again unless we had a car. The food options are too limited and getting to the parks took forever. But in today's world of ubiquitous uber/lift drivers it might be different story. We've stayed at the Grand Floridian resort but never VGF. It's a beautiful resort and obviously has the monorail - which gives you easy access to the Contemporary and Polynesian as well as MK.

The only thing that worries me about my advise is that you talk about renting like it might be a fairly frequent thing. The difference in rental prices of VGF over AKV isn't anywhere large enough to compensate for the difference in the point chart and price per point.

 

[Philsfan77]

Wow. Thanks for all the great replies. I totally see the wisdom in staying/experiencing the resort before purchasing. It is a huge investment for sure. But even a "quick" trip down to stay at the resort or resorts, is not cheap and would be more money and time that could be put toward the dvc purchase. Originally I was looking at AKV since it was the cheapest dvc that i would actually want to stay at. But there is a reason that it is cheaper and that is because it is not as popular. And that affects availability, and rentals and resale. So while most people may think they will never need to sell or at least downsize, it seems that most people actually do at some point. If not, then the resale restrictions wouldn't be an issue with Riviera. Also, based on what I'm seeing, if I buy at VGF I wont have much trouble finding a room at AKV from time to time. The converse does not seem nearly as likely if I buy AKV.

I don't buy the it's not popular idea as a reason for lower prices. I did a lot of research before I bought...one of the things I checked out was these message boards and several other message boards. There are a few Name your top 3 DVC resort polls and AKV always was in the top 3 (BeachClub was a consensus number 1 across the board and Boardwalk and AKV were top 3 in each poll). These certainly aren't an exact science, but it was good to see why people love certain resorts more than others, and what was important to people. What I gathered about AKV was the following

AKV pros - quiet/away from hustle and bustle, most kid friendly (tons of activities) amazing pool areas. Great restaurants and great character breakfast.

AKV Cons - bus rides to most parks are long.

Part of the reason it could be cheaper are that it has so many rooms (this could also lead to it being skewed in the polls as more people obviously own there - however OKW and SSR were consensus bottom 3 and are every bit as big). It could also be cheaper because it simply isn't a monorail resort (these are the most expensive to buy direct, thus it would make sense they would be more expensive to buy resale, simply because of their proximity and original direct cost). There is also added value in VGF in that you will own it for 7 additional years, as AKV expires in 2057 and VGF goes until 2064.

I don't know you or your situation in terms of family, but in my notes from all of those polls about the Disney DVC resorts, I noted that the majority of people who had VGF in their top 3, never mentioned having their kids with them. In fact, most noted that it's the place they go as DH/DW trips without the kids.

Your last point definitely hits home for me though...as we were debating between CCV and AKV, and ultimately what tipped us to CCV (aside from the longer ownership) was that it's very difficult to get into CCV at 7 months, where it would be a lot easier to swap into AKV due to the size of it at 7 months.

 

[TexasChick123]

As a VGF owner, I can tell you that there are a lot of kids there. We’ve never gone without kids and never been in an elevator with other ppl without kids. It’s still a Disney World resort.

Also, I just stayed at AKV, and it wasn’t for me. I’m not going to list all the reasons because everyone is different, and I don’t want to insult any owners there. You know what you like/don’t like. Good luck with your decision!

 

[KPeterso]

I bought SSR in 2007 after touring that resort in 2004 and then renting points at OKW in 2005. I knew I wanted DVC and was offered SSR, so that is where I bought. I sometimes think I should have waited a few more months to get AKV points when they went on sale, but I wanted to get started. And here we are in 2019 and I still have not stayed SSR. I would, but it just has never happened. I love the real Saratoga Springs in NY since I went to college there. But I have also added on points at VGC x 2 and AKV x2 and would do it all again.

 

[JasonMak2000]

skippytx - no apologies necessary. You brought up a lot of really good points- most I had not really considered. I do not have any "experience " in the sense that I am not a current member. I have only rented points and stayed in a few dvc accommodations along with researching on boards, podcasts etc.
My Disney family situation is 2 teenagers ( 18,16) and we only go every 1 to 2 years. Gonna be pretty close to a phase in life where it's just my DW and me going for awhile, which is fine with me. So it's not that I would be looking to rent out points all the time, but just nice to know that we could rent out a years points and more than cover maintenance fees.
My plan would be to get enough points to cover a 1 bedroom most times of the year or a 2 bedroom banking/borrowing for 5 nights. We almost never go to Disney for more than 5 nights at a time. I own my own business so a Thurs - Tues trip is about all I can do without losing a lot of production.

 

[Lumpy1106]

We bought BLT without staying there. My wife had stayed at AK and didn't like it. We always use the Disney transportation and it was just too much time on buses. From there it was a value decision. We didn't want a 2042 end date, and thought that SSR and OKW wouldn't be a desirable to renters if we had to rent out our points. Finally my wife has always wanted to stay at Contemporary to be on the monorail line but it has always seemed too pricey compared to the other on-property resorts. Guess we'll be on the monorail route now!

 

[disneynutz]

The DVC resorts take on the look, feel and theme of the Disney resorts where they are located. If you like GF you will like VGF.

Bill

 

[kboo]

I don't know you or your situation in terms of family, but in my notes from all of those polls about the Disney DVC resorts, I noted that the majority of people who had VGF in their top 3, never mentioned having their kids with them. In fact, most noted that it's the place they go as DH/DW trips without the kids.

I was going to echo @TexasChick123 - just returned from our second studio stay at VGF with 2 (young) kids. There are a lot of kids there, and it is our kids' favorite resort as well. We bought at BLT after having stayed there in a 2br, and bought at VGF after having stayed only in a hotel room at GF (with kids). We have since stayed in a VGF studio twice, and have added on once. If you like GF and the hotel, you'll most likely like the villas. VGF studios are among the more spacious ones, and the split bath set up makes the most of the space. We have yet to rent out our points there because we are using them to stay there.

We did buy RIV sight unseen, only after having done a room tour. But that's a different issue. Good luck with your decision as well.

 

[TCRAIG]

The thing is - even if you spent $$ to ‘try it out’ - 5-10 years from now they could 100% change the decor or pools or lobby or restaurants or whatever and completely change the vibe - so I say check out what you can and if it checks the boxes - go for it!

 

[aoconnor]

Wow. Thanks for all the great replies. I totally see the wisdom in staying/experiencing the resort before purchasing. It is a huge investment for sure. But even a "quick" trip down to stay at the resort or resorts, is not cheap and would be more money and time that could be put toward the dvc purchase. Originally I was looking at AKV since it was the cheapest dvc that i would actually want to stay at. But there is a reason that it is cheaper and that is because it is not as popular. And that affects availability, and rentals and resale. So while most people may think they will never need to sell or at least downsize, it seems that most people actually do at some point. If not, then the resale restrictions wouldn't be an issue with Riviera. Also, based on what I'm seeing, if I buy at VGF I wont have much trouble finding a room at AKV from time to time. The converse does not seem nearly as likely if I buy AKV.

No doubt that the 11 month window is much more valuable at VGF which is a key reason the price per point is so much higher. As for AKV, you should be aware that even though it's a large resort overall it's not so easy to get into Jambo House if you don't own there. I personally much prefer Jambo but not everyone does.

Both are great resorts but totally different in style, cost per point and cost per night.

I bought AKV because it's the most unique theme (IMO), two of the best pools on property, the best collection of restaurants, and, importantly, low point charts.

That said, I'm still planning to add on at VGF despite the high cost. I don't love it enough to "pay" that much in points for every stay, but I'd like to get enough points to stay there maybe bi-annually. Have you considered buying two smaller contracts and using them totally independently to have home priority at two resorts?

 

[chicagoshannon]

Not trying to start an argument, but some of your assumptions are wrong and AKV is a very popular resort. It's lower price has nothing to do with it's popularity. People love AKV and contracts sell pretty quickly.

Other reasons AKV is a lower cost per point than other resorts

1: Location. Monorail and Epcot area resorts carry a higher premium due to their location.
2: Dues. The dues at AKV are a bit higher than other properties. This may or may not negatively affect resale prices by a couple dollars.
3: Size. AKV has over 7.3 Million total DVC points allocated to the two properties (Kidani and Jambo) VGF has appx 2.5 Million DVC points total. More availability tends to depress prices a bit, where scarcity (Grand Californian anyone?) drives prices up.

2 years ago AKV was selling in the 85 dollar a point range on the resale market. Today contracts are listing in the 110 a point range, with some folks paying upwards of 115 a point for loaded contracts. If people weren't buying, resale prices wouldn't have shot up 25% to 30% in the last 2 years. It's outpaced other DVC resorts resale increases when comparing percentages. The entire DVC market the last 2 years has been nuts though.

AKV has over 700 potential rooms available, while VGF is the smallest DVC at WDW with 147 max possible rooms. You mention rental possibilities and availability, AKV due to its size has better availability and is easier to rent than VGF. There are owners at VGF that can't get rooms during certain times of the year due to it's size. Popular times need to be booked at exactly 11 months out and unless you have a pre-arranged rental you might have more difficulty renting the points than you would at a larger resort.


I don't really care what you do with your money, but I just feel like it's important to point out some of your statements about DVC are incorrect, and give you better information to work with.

DIsney has been taking a lot of the lower price AKL contracts lately. That's driving the prices up not necessarily the popularity. A lot of people are on their 4th attempt at getting an AKL contract because Disney keeps taking them.

I think AKL is an amazing resort and am hoping to get in there myself but can't agree that the price is going up because popularity is soaring.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Yes. The cost and point charts are considerable especially compared to AKV. I have stayed at BLT and really liked it but didn't like the pool or the fact that I had to hoof it over to the Contemporary for food. I know I wouldn't be happy with OKW or SSR even though they are a good value. I usually stay in 1 or 2 bedrooms so PVB is out. BWV and BCV are too expensive for the length of contract for me. Stayed at CCV in February in a 1 bdrm and the resort was nice but the size and layout of the room just felt a little cramped to me. So by process of elimination, I am down to AKV and VGF. I have watched many videos online as others suggested and I love the room style and layout at VGF. Plus it just feels like OG Disney to me. Monorail buzzing by, Magic Kingdom off in the distance. What's not to love? I definitely plan on sleeping around if I can, but if I get "stuck" at my home resort in the future, I can think of a lot worse places to be. Still open to suggestions and willing to let anyone talk me out of this.

If you did not like the BLT pool, you may not like the VGF pool. I do not like either of them. I THINK they are not large enough or deep enough for my enjoyment. I like Jambo’s pool a lot!
Kidani has the three bathrooms in a two bedroom, GFV do not.
The GFV point chart is high IMO, but I really like the studios because they have a shower stall, not just a bath tub. You say you prefer larger than a studio, but it’s the studios that I like at GFV.
Good luck as you make your decision.
Bobbi

 

[Princess Merida]

I wouldn’t personally buy if I hadn’t stayed there, but everyone is different and maybe it works for you. Let me explain my reasoning just so you have another experience. We have stayed at PVB VGF BWV BLT and AKL both houses. Polynesian was my dream resort before staying and it wasn’t my favorite. Pool was nice and location is great, but I probably won’t ever choose to stay there again only because the points are similar to VGF and I absolutely adore that resort. Love the rooms, pools are amazing and Gasparilla is a great quick service. It was by far my favorite stay. BLT is not for me. AKL is amazing because well animals. Prefer Jambo because we love the Mara. I rented points at BWV because someone was renting out a reservation they had already had booked. I dreaded staying there up until we went because it just didn’t look appealing to me and now that is where I own my contract. I love our home at BWV and it was so unexpected. I still favorite the VGF but it was out of our price range and BWV was our second choice. Even saying that I wouldn’t personally purchase without staying I think you have chosen two wonderful resorts and doubt you will be disappointed either way.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Wow. Thanks for all the great replies. I totally see the wisdom in staying/experiencing the resort before purchasing. It is a huge investment for sure. But even a "quick" trip down to stay at the resort or resorts, is not cheap and would be more money and time that could be put toward the dvc purchase. Originally I was looking at AKV since it was the cheapest dvc that i would actually want to stay at. But there is a reason that it is cheaper and that is because it is not as popular. And that affects availability, and rentals and resale. So while most people may think they will never need to sell or at least downsize, it seems that most people actually do at some point. If not, then the resale restrictions wouldn't be an issue with Riviera. Also, based on what I'm seeing, if I buy at VGF I wont have much trouble finding a room at AKV from time to time. The converse does not seem nearly as likely if I buy AKV.

Just a few thoughts:

Since your looking at larger villas getting 2 BRs at VGF is possible at 7 months and 1BRs isn't impossible either. Certain times of the year will be easier than others though.

It's hoofing it outside to food at VGF too. AKV Jambo has both QS and sit down in the building and Kidani also has 1 restaurant in it's building.

Just going to mention that BLT and AKV kidani have 2 bathrooms in the 1 BRs. VGF is split but the 1 section has the only toilet and shower add well as sink and the other split has a sink and tub. It's really nice to have the 2 full bathrooms.

Points go further at AKV. BLT too.

Brokers pay the same premium to rent or AKV for you as they pay to rent out VGF for you.

 

[gharter]

We have 2 contrcts at 2 different resorts. We stayed at both before we purchased and loved both. Personally, I would stay at the resort and see if you really enjoy it enough to stay there every trip, before buying.
Nobody knows for sure, but most likely, in the future, changing at 7 months is only going to be more difficult. I believe in the buy where you want to stay at 11 months. Not where you don't mnd staying if you can't change.

 

[Philsfan77]

I was going to echo @TexasChick123 - just returned from our second studio stay at VGF with 2 (young) kids. There are a lot of kids there, and it is our kids' favorite resort as well. We bought at BLT after having stayed there in a 2br, and bought at VGF after having stayed only in a hotel room at GF (with kids). We have since stayed in a VGF studio twice, and have added on once. If you like GF and the hotel, you'll most likely like the villas. VGF studios are among the more spacious ones, and the split bath set up makes the most of the space. We have yet to rent out our points there because we are using them to stay there.

We did buy RIV sight unseen, only after having done a room tour. But that's a different issue. Good luck with your decision as well.

my wording probably could have been better. I certainly didn't mean to imply that VGF isn't good for kids.