Do I need home resort advantage for early November?

[Jlo85]

We plan to typically travel during 'Jersey Week' which is either the 1st or 2nd week of November depending on when the NJEA conference is scheduled. I understand that this usually means that one weekend will be the wine & dine race. If the conference is scheduled for the 1st week of November, our first weekend would be Halloween weekend. So, I know it's a busy time for WDW.

We are already in the process of closing on a PVB contract. We would like to do split-stays of 3 or 4 nights at another resort in a 1BR or larger, but trying to figure out if we'd need home resort advantage to get 3 or 4 nights in a row, probably over a weekend? I'd prefer AKV while the kids are young, but when they're older I'd probably do SSR for Disney Springs. For either, I'm concerned about ROFR. I'd also be open to RIV resale as a ROFR workaround, but that's less preferable to me since I'd need to buy more points to stay there, and I wanted to be able to stay off-resort some years (Aulani, VB).

I thought about buying Aulani subsidized as SAPs (we would eventually want to go to Aulani anyways), but I'm concerned that early November is too risky for SAPs. I don't want to be switching hotels every night with a family. Any advice? TIA

 

[pianomanzano]

For places like OKW and SSR it won’t be a problem to get a 1BR at the 7 month mark in November. I think in general you’ll have most luck to get 3-4 days with 1BR at the 7 month mark with the exception of places like CCV, VGF, and any standard category 1BRs.

 

[Sandisw]

The near park resorts will be difficult but but the big three should be easier.

it’s a very popular time and since studios go so fast, the 1 bedrooms get booked since owners may have had no choice.

For travel that time of year especially, I don’t think I would buy a non WDW resort. Since AUL would be an occasional trip, it seems risky to me.

Worst thing would be stuck with points you can’t use for the purpose of using them the way you want.

 

[RoseGold]

1BR SSR will be no problem. It was the last thing to go for the 50th even. 1BR in general is the easier categories, because it is so point-heavy. AKL has hundreds of savanna 1BRs. You might be surprised what you can get. I got 1BR BC for Halloween. For 1BRs, with the exception of BLT (extra bathroom) and maybe VGF now that there are so few, you should be able to get something, at least for now.

I bought my points for 1BR split stays, and it has worked great. I've gotten BW BW view, AKL club level, BC several times. I bought with the Kidani 1BR as my backup. There are A LOT of these, and they are pricy in points. I would be happy with that room, and it wasn't hard to get when I was going.

Mathematically, I wouldn't buy DVC for Aulani at all. I would rent Aulani points, which is not difficult to do. Or, I would stay somewhere better for as much as Aulani costs. And Vero, well, IMO you can do better within an hour drive. Buying a timeshare in Hawaii in general is not something I would do, based on all the hoops and law changes they have put in. Aulani as a timeshare has a troubled past, and I think that's generous. I would be reading a lot about all of this before I sunk five figures into Aulani.

All that said, I would be buying a BLT contract anyway right now for SAP. They are getting ROFRed because they are such good value, and this will take patience. This happens to work well with your preferences because it has an excellent, hard to book 1BR with two bathrooms.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Pre-pandemic, not really. Right now you need home resort advantage in September

 

[RoseGold]

Pre-pandemic, not really. Right now you need home resort advantage in September

Spring (currently <7month away) is wide open for 1BR. I don't think that's a fair assessment at all.

I booked 1BR with SAP December and October 2021, and October 2022, all super peak for DVC. I booked BR, VGF, BW, BC, AKL club. And I've never even been inside SSR/OKW.

 

[Nabas]

Spring (currently <7month away) is wide open for 1BR. I don't think that's a fair assessment at all.

I booked 1BR with SAP December and October 2021, and October 2022, all super peak for DVC. And I've never even been inside SSR/OKW.

2020 and 2021 were easy to book. For example, I booked a 1BR at BCV in March 2022 about 5 months in advance. (Meaning I booked it in October 2021.)

After the last Covid spike in January 2022, it became a bit tougher than normal because of pent up demand.

So far, it looks like 2023 is returning back to normal - it explains why Disney lifted the 50% borrowing restriction.

Also, we don’t know what effect the new point charts will have on October and November, since those months are more expensive than they used to be.

Since the OP wants to book in early November, the new point charts should make that easier to book.

 

[Jlo85]

1BR SSR will be no problem. It was the last thing to go for the 50th even. 1BR in general is the easier categories, because it is so point-heavy. AKL has hundreds of savanna 1BRs. You might be surprised what you can get. I got 1BR BC for Halloween. For 1BRs, with the exception of BLT (extra bathroom) and maybe VGF now that there are so few, you should be able to get something, at least for now.

Thank you! Are 2 bedrooms and Grand Villas more low availability than 1 bedrooms? My thought was to plan for a 1BR every year, 2BR every other year, or GV every 3-years. So, just trying to contemplate if I'll probably be limited to 1 bedrooms.

 

[RoseGold]

Thank you! Are 2 bedrooms and Grand Villas more low availability than 1 bedrooms? My thought was to plan for a 1BR every year, 2BR every other year, or GV every 3-years. So, just trying to contemplate if I'll probably be limited to 1 bedrooms.

When I bought DVC in 2019, I used the third-party availability tracker for almost a year. That tracker was destroyed in the latest web updates, RIP. I figured I could just use SSR to book some kind of 1BR and a 3BR every now and then.

There are very few GVs, so it is tough. It only takes a few bookings to make one night missing or book them all. BW/OKW are pretty much impossible. But AKL was usually there when I wanted it. This is another place BLT points would shine, that GV is pretty incredible. Buying right now, I would be buying BLT anyway, just for the math for SAP, and it seems to tick all your needs.

And it turns out inviting family is a four figure discussion for them with the tickets, so I never booked the GV anyway, and probably never will. I'd book a 2BR and a studio anyway, knowing what I know now.

If you're wrong, just sell the BLT in a few years. I don't view buying resale as a huge commitment.

 

[bakerworld]

Yes

 

[Cyberc1978]

We plan to typically travel during 'Jersey Week' which is either the 1st or 2nd week of November depending on when the NJEA conference is scheduled. I understand that this usually means that one weekend will be the wine & dine race. If the conference is scheduled for the 1st week of November, our first weekend would be Halloween weekend. So, I know it's a busy time for WDW.

We are already in the process of closing on a PVB contract. We would like to do split-stays of 3 or 4 nights at another resort in a 1BR or larger, but trying to figure out if we'd need home resort advantage to get 3 or 4 nights in a row, probably over a weekend? I'd prefer AKV while the kids are young, but when they're older I'd probably do SSR for Disney Springs. For either, I'm concerned about ROFR. I'd also be open to RIV resale as a ROFR workaround, but that's less preferable to me since I'd need to buy more points to stay there, and I wanted to be able to stay off-resort some years (Aulani, VB).

I thought about buying Aulani subsidized as SAPs (we would eventually want to go to Aulani anyways), but I'm concerned that early November is too risky for SAPs. I don't want to be switching hotels every night with a family. Any advice? TIA

If you prefer to travel in November, and mostly are going for 1br at all except for SSR and OKW then I would recommend buying at a resort that you like to stay it. That be AKV as you mentioned or another one. Then you can always book a 1BR value at AKV and IF there are openings at other resorts when the 7 month window comes around then you can switch, if not you still have you 1br.

No one knows how the fall or any other season will be during the next 20 years but with a home resort you like to stay at you can care less since you have your home resort which you can book at 11 months out.

 

[Her Dotness]

Demand for 1brs might be less in November now that it was bumped up a point-cost level.

We nearly always have gone in mid-November but have switched next year to early May because it's now the points-cheaper time.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Jersey week is very popular. I have booked AKV for family members and was never able to change to a two bedroom elsewhere at 7 months, they did not want OKW or SSR. So, one year, I just booked VWL for them right at 11 months.

 

[TCRAIG]

As a side - since they’ve upped the points pretty significantly for Oct thru Dec recently - while reducing May to offset…do you think May will become the new ‘favorite cheap’ time?

 

[bobbiwoz]

As a side - since they’ve upped the points pretty significantly for Oct thru Dec recently - while reducing May to offset…do you think May will become the new ‘favorite cheap’ time?

Flower and Garden! I have gone in May many times and enjoyed it!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Thank you! Are 2 bedrooms and Grand Villas more low availability than 1 bedrooms? My thought was to plan for a 1BR every year, 2BR every other year, or GV every 3-years. So, just trying to contemplate if I'll probably be limited to 1 bedrooms.

Booking preferences and categories seem to go as follows: studios book up first then two bedrooms. One bedrooms usually bring up the caboose. If you want a GV, you will need home booking advantage. OKW is the best value for those in terms of points.

 

[TCRAIG]

Flower and Garden! I have gone in May many times and enjoyed it!

May is one of our must do months - along with October…I predict May Mania will join Fall Frenzy as popular DVC times…

 

[sethschroeder]

For minimal savings in the grand scheme buy where you want to stay.

 

[crisi]

The catch to the one bedroom idea is that as more people discover that they can't get studios at seven months at the popular resorts, more people will likely add a few more points to get those one bedrooms. Time and experience can change booking patterns. I would buy where you don't mind ending up, understanding for the life of DVC and as long as New Jersey schools have been out that week, there are a lot of people who want to book that week, and a lot of them want to stay in the same resorts. Maybe you will be able to get one bedrooms at seven months for the life of each resort, but perhaps not.