Did you stay onsite before buying?

[4nation]

We are staying at BCR in three weeks and plan to see a few DVC rooms. I have been stalking resale for pricing. My thoughts are to buy AKV and BCV with enough points for 2 trips at 5 days in a 1 BR AFTER we visit in May, but I so want to put an offer in now to buy AKV. We haven't stayed onsite at AKV, but I love the look of the pics and know my daughters would take it over when we stop going to Disney. Is that crazy to buy before visiting?

 

[RamblinWreck]

I never stayed in any DVC specific room before buying in.

But I'd definitely been at the resort before. So once I watched some video walkthroughs of the rooms I figured I knew all I needed to know about what they were like. I didn't regret it at all!

 

[hglenn]

We put in an offer before staying in the resort we want... It's BWV. We've visited a number of times but have not stayed there but love the location and atmosphere. We are also considering RIV and have never even stepped foot on property but I just know I'm going to love it!!

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Plenty of amazing videos out there to give you a great feel for each resort. We bought Riviera “sight unseen” but when we got there felt like an old friend after all the reviews and videos. The matterports even being able to step your way through a room is almost like you are there.

 

[jscottnc]

Crazy? No. We bought VGF sight unseen. Of course we had stayed at the Poly for several years before making the leap, so we knew what to expect from the location (which has only gotten better with the walking path to MK open). AKV has a lot going for it (There's a freaking savanna!) but location is not one. Mind you, bus service is pretty good (or it use to be pre-pandemic).

 

[MinBz]

I bought into DVC before staying or even visiting a Disney resort. Prior to owning DVC we always stayed offsite (Hilton Timeshare) and never visited the Disney resorts until our first stay as DVC Owner’s. If you do a lot of research online it’s not crazy.

 

[Annabell]

We didn´t stay in a DVC room before buying but did visit the resort to get a feel.

 

[Best Aunt]

Opposing viewpoint here - I love animals, but AKV was not what I expected. I stayed at Jambo House. The animals felt very far away. Maybe Kidani is different. People talk about all of the places to view animals at AKV other than from your room, but we never saw a lot of animals at the lookout spots. The rooms are dark and it's hard to step over the bathtub ledge to get in the shower. I believe in "buy where you want to stay" to take advantage of the 11 month booking rule, and AKV is not someplace I would want to keep staying at.

BCV, on the other hand, probably does feel like what someone would expect. No surprises there.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I bought into DVC before staying or even visiting a Disney resort. Prior to owning DVC we ... never visited the Disney resorts until our first stay as DVC Owner’s. If you do a lot of research online it’s not crazy.

Same here. I watched so many vloggers on YouTube - DVC Fan, Jen Lefforge, and Here with the Ears (room tours) that I learned so much that I felt comfortable buying a resale contract. We've made 3 visits as DVC members and I have 3 more already planned. I really like how it make me do actual vacations besides visiting family.

 

[mattburmeister]

My wife and I had never stayed on any Disney property before buying. I just made the leap due to a family member also owning coupled with how amazing Disney is for my wife and I

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

I hadn't ever stayed at the Grand Floridian before we bought in since I could never afford to! And I love it.

However. I would say stay at AKV before you buy in. We had never stayed there more than a night or two and always did Animal Kingdom those days. When we stayed 7 days this year...I hated it. We lost SO much time on the buses! Our Savannah View room was at the far end and we MAYBE saw one animal a day from the balcony if we stayed in until 11 when they'd put food in our area.

It was a BIG letdown and we crossed AKV off our purchase list. And it was #1 honestly if we were ever going to buy more points. Obviously if you usually rent a car that bus time won't impact you but...it's a never again for us.

 

[BeachClub2014]

We bought our first contract about 100 years ago. Before the gazillion DVC videos could be found on the internet. I'm not even sure the internet was a "thing" yet, but I digress. We had always been cash guests staying at the Polynesian and stopped at a DVC kiosk in Epcot and signed up for a tour of their model rooms over at the Boardwalk. That was our first exposure to the BWV resort, and we bought.

So, no, it isn't crazy to buy at a resort at which you haven't stayed. But there is sooooo much more information available today to help you make the right choice for your family.

 

[Sandisw]

We were cash guest, staying at CR 90% of the trips for almost 15 years before buying.

We bought when BLT was built because that location was our favorite!

We had not stayed DVC but new owning DVC would be a good decision to continue going to Disney yearly like we had.

No regrets and now have 900 points and go about 6 times a year!

 

[gregskellington]

I don't think it's crazy to buy if you've never stayed at a specific resort before, but if you've never stayed on property I'd be pretty cautious.

I will say, for me, there is a difference between visiting and staying. I love AKL but it's up there with Boulder Ridge as last DVC resorts I'd consider for a WDW trip these days.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I hadn't ever stayed at the Grand Floridian before we bought in since I could never afford to! And I love it.

However. I would say stay at AKV before you buy in. We had never stayed there more than a night or two and always did Animal Kingdom those days. When we stayed 7 days this year...I hated it. We lost SO much time on the buses! Our Savannah View room was at the far end and we MAYBE saw one animal a day from the balcony if we stayed in until 11 when they'd put food in our area.

It was a BIG letdown and we crossed AKV off our purchase list. And it was #1 honestly if we were ever going to buy more points. Obviously if you usually rent a car that bus time won't impact you but...it's a never again for us.

I've only stayed there once, for 3 nights, and I doubt I will ever go back!

It was pretty cool renting one of the value rooms though. The price was definitely right! But I just hate the Animal Kingdom Lodge's location. Even the Animal Kingdom park doesn't seem very convenient!

I like the atmosphere a million times better than the Contemporary, but I would stay on the Monorail, on the Skyliner, or in the Boardwalk area 10 out of 10 times before ever staying there again.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I don't think it's crazy to buy if you've never stayed at a specific resort before, but if you've never stayed on property I'd be pretty cautious.

I will say, for me, there is a difference between visiting and staying. I love AKL but it's up there with Boulder Ridge as last DVC resorts I'd consider for a WDW trip these days.

As long as you have made yourself familiar with the resort, and have a very solid concept of how transportation from that resort will work for your family, I don't see anything too crazy about it.

But if you're not intimately familiar with how you will be getting to the parks from the resort, especially if you have young kids, I wouldn't do it until you've done more research.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

I've only stayed there once, for 3 nights, and I doubt I will ever go back!

It was pretty cool renting one of the value rooms though. The price was definitely right! But I just hate the Animal Kingdom Lodge's location. Even the Animal Kingdom park doesn't seem very convenient!

I like the atmosphere a million times better than the Contemporary, but I would stay on the Monorail, on the Skyliner, or in the Boardwalk area 10 out of 10 times before ever staying there again.

Agreed!

 

[gregskellington]

As long as you have made yourself familiar with the resort, and have a very solid concept of how transportation from that resort will work for your family, I don't see anything too crazy about it.

But if you're not intimately familiar with how you will be getting to the parks from the resort, especially if you have young kids, I wouldn't do it until you've done more research.

Yeah that was the kicker for AKL for me. In practice once using the transportation for an entire trip, it was too big of a drawback. Even being familiar with the resort and going there many times to eat or whatever, I wasn't quite prepared for how bad the location interrupted my preferred vacation style at WDW.

 

[Jwaire]

I grew up staying at the Poly for family vacations, so it was a no-brainer for me when I discovered DVC resale. After Poly, I felt we needed an EPCOT/Studios resort and bought direct points at Rivera. I have never stayed there, but don't regret the purchase. It's a beautiful resort and I like the location since Boardwalk and Beach Club weren't options due to the 2042 expiration date.

 

[TCRAIG]

I bought into DVC before staying or even visiting a Disney resort. Prior to owning DVC we always stayed offsite (Hilton Timeshare) and never visited the Disney resorts until our first stay as DVC Owner’s. If you do a lot of research online it’s not crazy.

Same - but I didn’t even do any real research- we did a preview and had a great CM who explained in detail how it worked - @18 months later - we bought our first contract resale…back in 2010. Since then, I’ve bought resale and direct and now have 1300+ points…I love my DVC!