Did most of you visit the resort first? Before buying?

[DeeCee735]

We toured the models at Crest of the Wave at Boardwalk, and grabbed BWV because it's really our favorite place/location, we didn't want OKW because we wanted to be closer to the "action", and it seems for our taste OKW is too "offsite-ish" Even with BCV, WLV, & SSR now available, we bought our add-on at BWV - it's still our favorite DVC resort.

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

I also bought sight unseen. I showed pix to my DH from Allears.net and we picked OKW and bought, just like that We sure are happy with our purchase

Lisa

 

[disworldnum1]

WE visited BWV in aug 98 and bought in feb 99.we decided to buy the minnmun amount of points neccessary for a week at 1 bedroom.We knew we would be going back to Disney every year from then on and it made sense to buy rather then rent.We really could'nt afford the purchase but got the monthly payment down and as long as we did'nt get too many ponts the maintenance fees were manageable.We figured life was to short too wait and within a few years we would be making more money anyway and it would'nt really effect us by then.I have never had a regret but had alot of great vacations with my family.

 

[disfountainofyouth]

We had stayed at BC Hotel in '97 and loved the area. When BCV
became available, we bought over the phone!

 

[udflyer00]

I bought sight unseen... My wife and I had made about 5 different stays to the world since we met and all were at CBR... After weighing the costs of our last trip versus DVC, I was able to show her the benefits of DVC... A lot of our decision to buy (resale) came from reading this board. We have made one trip to our home resort since buying and must say we don't regret it one bit!!!

Mark

 

[Doctor P]

We had never been to or seen OKW when we bought our first set of points. We had been to both BC (BCV did not exist) and HH before we bought our points at those resorts.

 

[rayelias]

Nope. Sight unseen.


We had walked by Boardwalk going to Jellyrolls one evening, but that was it.

 

[bongo59]

seems most of us were touched without any visual input............that means disney is doing something right to make rational folks plunk down 20 plus grand for something.............kinda refreshing to read how others decided to take the plunge

 

[UConnJack]

Bought BWV New Years trip 2000. Walked by a kiosk out of curiosity one day, decided to do the tour the next day out of more curiousity (we were getting a free meal too....), thought about it on our drive back home, researched it for a week, and ended up buying a few days later. All said we ended up buying DVC about a week and a half after even finding out there was a DVC.

Fairly impulsive buy, but I cram a lot of research into a week. Never once did we regret it. We bought BWV b/c that was the one being sold. I looked into resale a little, but the mortgage deal and point buyback program DVC was having at the time appealed to us. In the end, BWV is the best fit for us anyway, but our "home resort" that isn't what drove our decision. I saw the tour we did as an example of what all the DVC resorts we're like (for the most part), and that was enough for us. The variety of DVC resorts (although I would like to see a few more off-site ones) and the exchange options (with strong DVC trading power) were stonger drivers for us than our home resort.

 

[DisneyMim]

I had to laugh when I saw this thread. We started our process of buying before there was a DVC built! We trusted Disney 100% and had been waiting for this for years. In fact, I had been waiting since I was a kid!! I always wanted to live in the castle. LOL!!! DVC was the next best thing. I don't think my husband and I even talked about it, it was the easiest thing we ever did!!

 

[TLinden16]

I bought my points at the BWVs without having ever done a tour or seen a DVC room. I had stayed at the Boardwalk Inn before, though.

Karen

 

[twotoohappy]

no and no

I bought VWL sight unseen - honestly I wanted BCV but this resale was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. Now I'm glad I did because VWL is my favorite.

I then added on 45 and then 150 points to BCV sight unseen. I wanted to have a MK resort and an Epcot resort.

I finally went "home" and stayed at VWL and BCV and decided that I loved VWL so much that I needed more points. Thanks to my guide Byron I got them the same day

My choice was based on location. I've never had a regret for my purchases, but I'll be happy when they're paid off. The best advice I got was from this board.....buy where you want to stay!

 

[crisi]

We went into it with the mindset that all Disney resorts are first class and we would be happy at any DVC property.

I think this is very true for a lot of us. All the resorts are very nice and you are going to be able to make some decisions off basic information - like theming and location - that you can get from photos and maps nearly as well as you can get from visiting the resorts.

And we spend a lot of time saying "buy where you want to stay" - but "buy where you won't be disappointed to stay" might be better advice. Few of us would be crushed to plan a trip to WDW and end up at our least favorite on-site resort - and many who have ended up staying somewhere they never thought they'd like have found a new appreciation for the resort.

 

[TwirlerGirl]

Read all about DVC but didn't buy until we took the tour of OKW. That was in '97 when we were young and lead a fast past life style. We wanted the quiet of OKW. Things have changed, job changes, family changes, lifestyle changes but no change in our love for DVC. Still the best thing we ever brought. We have stayed at all the resorts but SSR and enjoyed them all. I would advise taking the tour if you are not in a hurry to buy. I'm not sure which resort I buy today but know I would like to add on sometime at HH & BCV or maybe VWL, BWV ... oh gosh, I can't make up my mind. You need to decide on the one that fits you best even if you have to waitlist for the option.

Sandy

 

[KJMickey]

We had been going to WDW every year since 1994 at least once sometimes twice. We always stayed onsite. Finally in 2001 we took the plunge. This trip was the first trip we stayed offsite in 8 years. We stayed at Vistana with the DW's parents. This was enough to push us over the edge. between staying offsite and traveling with the in-laws.....we had enough...LOL

On the Friday of that week we went to see our guide we had talked to 3 years earlier. We went to the appointment, she asked if we wanted more info and we said "no", we are here to purchase. We bought at HH because the incentive was better.

I said..."well next year let's go to HH and see what we bought" We fell in love with the place, the kids more so than myself and we have not been back to WDW since. Seems we bought where we wanted to stay and didn't even know it at the time.

HH...there's no place like home!

 

[bcvillastwo]

..................but then it took another two years before we actually made the decision. You will hear some that say they regret not buying sooner. We don't feel that way at all. Sure, the cost would have been less but cost is only one factor that went into our decision. It wasn't until we decided that we really, really, really, really, etc. like to vacation at WDW that it then made sense to jump into the DVC pool.

When we bought you could visit models of all of the DVC properties located at WDW so we took the tour. We had already driven around to all of the on site resorts. Then two years later we took the tour again and shortly thereafter we made our decision for BCV.

You have already found that some buy sight unseen and others spend a bit more time looking around. Frankly, I am glad we looked things over first.

Good luck with your decision and keep asking questions.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We took the tour in 1995 and stayed at OKW (then Disney Vacation Club) on one trip. That made us SURE we wanted to do it! We purchased OKW in 1997 and added on in 1998.

 

[WDWLVR]

We made up our mind and had the paperwork done before we visited, but yes we did take a tour at Boardwalk before we signed the papers.

At that time it was (I think) Boardwalk, Old Key West, Vero and Hilton Head. We felt Boardwalk worked best for us and it has - its our favorite!

We did buy an add-on at Vero before seeing it, but my in-laws had stayed there and loved it.

 

[Sarahsal]

We took the tour (BCV was being sold) at the sales center at BWV. We then went to VWL and OKW to look around ourselves. Went home, thought it through, and decided VWL was the place for us-so we did resale. Twice.

 

[skelooch]

I bought totally site unseen at BCV before it opened, didn't even know a whole lot about DVC. Was always a big WDW fan but had only ever stayed off site or in value or moderates on-site. Best thing I ever bought, been to BCV 8 times since it opened 7/02 and have reservations already booked for 4 trips this year, all at BCV. Don't really have alot of desire to stay at any of the other DVC resorts, none of them seem to appeal to me like BCV. I guess I'm just lucky that's what they were selling when I bought. I added on twice so far and wouldn't mine doing another one if I could get BCV and my use year.