does it matter which resort you buy

[mrcrete]

does it matter which resort you buy if you can trade to the others? i know it's prob a dumb ? but i'm new to dvc. i'm a marriott owner but after checking out this site dvc seems appealing
thanks

 

[JimC]

Welcome to our little community on the DIS!

If you want to buy from Disney then SSR is the only one they are selling currently. You may be able to get on a wait list for points at other resorts but the price right now is lower at SSR with the incentive they are running.

Also SSR has a longer contract term -- an additional 12 years.

Your home resort is important for three reasons -- the maintenance fees you will pay (SSR and OKW are the lowest), the home resort booking advantage (7 - 11 months out) and the theming/location of the resort.

If you can not book any earlier than 7 months out and don't really have resort preference then I would buy where the maintenance costs are the lowest.

 

[Aneille]

Four things that I can think of to consider:

1. You can book at 11 months out at your home resort. You need to wait until 7 months out to book at any other. Depending on when/where you want to stay most of the time this may be an issue. Another thing to consider that is brought up often here is that with more DVC owners it may get tougher to book at the smaller DVC resorts(WLV, BCV). As long as you'll be happy at your home resort even if for that trip it is your second choice it shouldn't be a problem.

2. Dues are different at the different resorts. Somewhere here on the DIS there is a current dues for each resort.

3. The pt charts are different at some of the resorts. OKW is the cheapest pt wise. Boardwalk has standard view rooms which are also less than other resorts.

4. The current promotion for SSR is very appealing, and with purchasing SSR you have a longer contract than any of the others.

 

[Sammie]

Jim made a good point, in that if you know that planning a vacation 11 months in advance is not something you can do, then having the 11 month window is not as important. However I guess you do need to consider can you plan between 11 and 8 months out.

There are definitely times when booking a particular resort or even room category are difficult if not impossible at 7 months out. At other times of the year it is not as difficult to book any of the resorts at 7 months, however no one knows if that will change. Lots of speculation but no concrete proof that it will get harder.

The others have offered good points so I would just read, and possibly do a visit to the resorts and see if one appeals to you more than the others.

 

[mrcrete]

thanks for the info
where do i find the promotions? and i asume buying a resale may not be good since the contracts are partly used up.how long are the contracts?

 

[disney-super-mom]

The contracts at all resorts except for SSR are good for another 37 years or until 2042. SSR contracts are good until 2054.

 

[Aneille]

I haven't read up on the SSR promotion enough to feel like I can give you the correct information so I will leave that to others. But if you do a quick search here you will find it. I believe the price per pt is somewhere around $83.00 but you need to purchase a certain amount of pts.

Resale is often a great way to purchase especially if you are choosing to purchase a sold-out resort(not SSR). Often with resale you can purchase a contract with banked pts from the previous year. With Disney you will not recieve any banked pts but they sometimes offer pt promotions where you will recieve pts for free for that years use.

With resale there are other things to consider like closing costs, length of closing etc. When buying through Disney it is easier, and probably a lot less stressful because you don't need to worry about the deal falling through. But resale isn't difficult. I just recently purchased for the first time and opted for a resale.

The contract length is the same no matter who you buy from. The contract expires in 2042 for all resorts except SSR which is 2054. You will recieve all the same member perks etc whether you purchase resale or direct.

The Timeshare Store is a good place to check out some current resale listings and get a feel for them.

 

[mrcrete]

thanks for the help
i've owned with marriott vac. club for a few years.usually stay at cypress harbour 3rd and 4th week of feb and have been pleased. after finding this board i can see the bennefits of dvc although those dates could be costly.
as years go by can the points per night go up leading you to need more points? i'm looking for 7 days during that time if anyone has any points for rent.

thanks barry

 

[disneyeveryyear]

No, the points cannot go up (unless they are reduced some other time, or for some other room size at that same resort).

They sell a finite # of points at each resort based on the # of rooms and the # of nights per year. This is the total # of points sold at that resort. So points can't go up without going down equally in another room category or season.

 

[Chuck S]

thanks for the help
i've owned with marriott vac. club for a few years.usually stay at cypress harbour 3rd and 4th week of feb and have been pleased. after finding this board i can see the bennefits of dvc although those dates could be costly.
as years go by can the points per night go up leading you to need more points? i'm looking for 7 days during that time if anyone has any points for rent.

thanks barry

A point chart can be re-allocated, but if one room or one season goes up, another must come down. The total over all points on the chart required for usage of the resort for a year can not change. In practice, it is complicted, and it has only happened once at Old Key West in 1996. Studios went from 69 points per wk to 80 points per wk in value season. Other seasons/room sizes dropped slightly to meet the overall requirement. Other than that, there are minor seasonal adjustments annually because Thanksgiving and Easter dates change.

 

[JimMIA]

You may want to check this thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634

It's several months old, so many of the prices have changed, but the rationale has not. The thread begins with a discussion of home resort importance, and has a number of good comments from various posters throughout.

Happy hunting!

 

[crisi]

The only thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you will (particularly if you hang here) probably develop a certain snobbish "pride in your home resort." What everyone chooses to enjoy is different, whether the laid back atmosphere and high value of OKW, the extra 12 years of ownership at SSR, SAB access at BCV, the theming and MK access at BWV, the standard view/Boardwalk view rooms at BWVs, or just the off property experience of HHI or VB - or some feature not mentioned. - but everyone has their reasons for thinking their resort "the best" and the few that have decided that they actually prefer something that is not their home often seem a little regretful.

 

[mrcrete]

makes perfect sense, like talking about your dog.
i posted the ? because im trying to get into bc 3rd or 4th week of feb with the help of you members. about 13 years ago we went to dixie landings for 21 days. we did that for 3 years in a row. by the 14th day that room got real small. the next year we rented at marriott vac. club 3 bed and loved it. when i got home i went on a quest until i found two resale weeks. this year we are trying to get into bc or another one, it will be nice to get back on the property, but when i get home i know i'll go on another quest, that's how i am. it seems bc points go the highest, prob. for a good reason.so i wondered if i bought 350pts at okw,ss or vero or some from a couple would i find it tough getting into bc during 3rd and 4th week of feb?
sorry i dont use capitals and it took so long to get to the ?

 

[awatt]

Third week of Feb is Presidents week. Many schools in te Northeast are off, so that particular week may be more difficult.

 

[crisi]

BC points are going for the highest on resale because it is a small popular resort that can be difficult to get into at the seven month window. I think that particularly those people willing to pay a premium to own there (those that bought resale for the past two years) bought because they will stay there and I suspect it has really high owner occupancy rates.

For me, it would be worth more money up front to know I have the booking advantage. But for some people, they wouldn't mind staying at their home resort even if another resort was their favorite, if it was booked (i.e. if "worst case we stay at OKW" won't disappoint you, you should probably buy OKW). It really depends on how important BCVs is to you and how much stress you will go through worrying about it.

P.S. Not using capitals makes your post very difficult to read and doesn't show respect for the rest of us. Unless you are e.e. cummings or your keyboard is broken in which case I'll forgive you.