does it really matter what Home resort you choose?

[njgeneral]

So I have read the responses to my original thread on buying resale and thank everyone for their response. I don't know if we will make it down there this year since we have a newborn on the way at the end of June.

After looking at all the prices though, does it really matter what you choose as your home resort? If you can use points anywhere, are there any other benefits aside from advanced booking?

Also, the prices that are listed, when you make an offer, is it the same as a home? Has anyone received a membership below asking price?

I am going to give TTS a call today and have them send out a book.

Thanks again,

Chrissy

 

[MarvelousMadamMimm]

Your home resort matters rather a lot in certain circumstances. There are certain accomodations that are difficult to impossible to book without that 11 month booking advantage.

F'instance: Pretty much any standard or boardwalk view studio or one bedroom during October's Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. Ditto much of anything at BCV. Grand Villas anywhere during times of year that are at all busy for DVC - which may not be the same times of year that the parks are busiest. The Tree House Villas. Animal Kingdom Concierge Club. Most of the resorts for Spring Break or Christmas.

Remember, too, that you're getting into this for the long haul. Each resort that gets added to the DVC "family" increases the number of people who have 7 month access to all the resorts. Even those off property. Everyone who buys into Aulani will share that 7 month booking advantage. From a sheer numbers perspective, with time and more resorts it will get more and more difficult to secure a reservation where and when you want it without the Home Resort advantage.

Now - you may be the sort who doesn't much care WHERE you stay on property, as long as you're there. In which case, buy where the mood strikes you.

BUT, if there is somewhere you're particularly fond of, remember that with time it will almost inevitably get more difficult to book there without owning there.

So, the short version is what people will tell you all over these boards: "Buy where you want to stay."

 

[maburke]

The other thing to consider is maintenance fees. Many people see that the offsite properties (Hilton Head and Vero Beach) have much lower upfront costs, but they have much higher annual fees. They are both lovely properties with their own advantages to owning, but you shouldn't buy them if you want to be at WDW.

 

[Sandisw]

I think it really depends on how important where you stay is to you for vacation. For us, it is the number one consideration and therefore, we bought BLT. We did consider SSR, which would have saved us about $5000, but in the end, would not have been happy if that is the place we ended up.

Now, we are trying BCV this summer for a few nights (and then switching back to BLT), but at least had that not been available, we would have been find with BLT the entire time.

We also can book at the 11 month window and therefore, giving us a great chance that we won't have a problem booking something.

However, if you never plan prior to the 7 month and really would not be disappointed with any of the resorts, then choosing based on choice can be a great strategy.

But, there are times when trading out from your home resort will be tough and some rooms will be near impossible (ie: AKV concierge, BWV rooms during Food & Wine, etc) at the 7 month mark.

So, consider all of this. Some people really don't care and others do.

 

[Crystal_27]

After looking at all the prices though, does it really matter what you choose as your home resort? If you can use points anywhere, are there any other benefits aside from advanced booking?

Advanced booking is HUGE, though. Having the additional "lead time" at your home resort to book your vacation before everyone else at the 7 month mark ensures that you will get the dates, views, and size that you want. Sure, you might be able to get what you want at the 7 month mark, but there are no guarantees that will be the case, and you may have to make several calls or waitlist your dates. In terms of other benefits, the maintenace fees at every resort differ and, although one resort may be cheaper in terms of cost of points, any savings you may see initially will be eaten up if that resort has higher MFs than another. The difference is probably only a couple hundred dollars a year (if that), but it should be something that should be taken into consideration, especially because over the length of a contract, that couple hundred dollars will add up. Good luck!

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Your home resort may be the only resort that you can get a ressie at on certain occassions. With that said, would you want to stay at a resort that you do not like?

 

[chalee94]

After looking at all the prices though, does it really matter what you choose as your home resort? If you can use points anywhere, are there any other benefits aside from advanced booking?

if you buy at VB or HH and get locked out of wdw at 7 months because you own offsite, would that bother you? (it's not common but it has happened.) if you get "stuck" at SSR or OKW, would you spend the trip wishing you were at one of the resorts in walking distance from a park?

if you can book 10-11 months in advance, home resort might matter a lot.

Also, the prices that are listed, when you make an offer, is it the same as a home? Has anyone received a membership below asking price?

everything is negotiable. depends on how motivated the seller is.

the difference is that if you negotiate a terrific deal, DVC has the right to step in and take it away from you and take your place as the buyer. (this is called ROFR.)

 

[Greatfalls]

It all comes down to what time of year you think you'll go. Might be hard to tell with a new born, but if you think you might often go during Spring break (when he or she are in school), the first two weeks of December, the week between Christmas and New Years, and Food & Wine (for BCV or BWV), then get your favorite resort. If you think you'll be going mostly other times, then you might want to go for the best deal (probably still at WDW). I'm a big anti-crowd person, so I doubt that I'll ever go during Spring Break (and even if I do, my home resort of SSR is fine). I've been a DVC-er for six years and have never had any problems with non-home resorts at the 7-month mark for non-prime times.

 

[DebbieB]

Another consideration is contract end date. BWV, VWL, BCV end in 2042, along with non-extended OKW contracts. Others end in 2057 up to 2060 I believe (not sure of extact dates). Since you are just starting a family, I assume you are younger so that could be a factor.

 

[disneynutz]

If buying at the least expensive resort was a good idea, then no one would buy anywhere else. What will you do if Disney decides to change the rules on booking non-home reservations?

If you really don't care, and will never care where you stay, then it makes sense to save some money.

Bill

 

[southtexasmom]

We own at SSR, which we love, if we had to stay there every trip it wouldn't be a problem.

You should buy where you are most comfortable.

 

[AirGoofy]

After looking at all the prices though, does it really matter what you choose as your home resort? If you can use points anywhere, are there any other benefits aside from advanced booking?

Also, the prices that are listed, when you make an offer, is it the same as a home? Has anyone received a membership below asking price?

You have the points issue. The 2 things - advanced booking and annual membership dues. We went through TSS and bought resale at SSR. It had a lower point cost and lower membership dues. With that said, we plan to stay at all the DVC resorts. But, if they ever change the rules, then staying at SSR will be just fine for us. There probably have been some things I did not like, but I've never had a bad experience with any of the resorts.

As for making the offer, you can make an offer below the listed price. Two things may happen - the seller may refuse to go lower or Disney may offer ROFR - and re-purchase the contract to sell themselves. Good luck with your decision and congratulations on the baby.

 

[AndriaRose]

You will constantly see posts from those with stories of how they scored a ressie after the 7 month window at a resort everyone said was hard to book. And that can happen. But you can also sit with your finger on auto-dial waiting for MS to open and reserve your room at the 11 month window (for BWV standard view studio for early December) and find out everyone else was somehow faster

When you make up your mind that you just have to take the 6 year old DGD to WDW for the Christmas decorations (or your darling own little one) how easy will a plan B be for you?

My ending was fine. I upgraded to preferred with 10 points I borrowed from the next year. 10 points that I will be losing June of this year, because that was my plan B fail-safe ressie. My plan A was a 1bedroom at BLT which I miraculously scored when the ressie line opened for BLT for the 1st time later that year

The point of the story being - even at 11 months some rooms are hard to get. So think hard about what's important to you.

 

[crisi]

There are four reasons home resort matters. They've all been touched on.

You'll pay dues on your home resort. They can vary by a $1 or more. For some people an extra $100 in dues every year is a big deal. For others, not so much. But do be aware, over the life of a contract, that can add up to big money - more than the difference in purchase price.

Initial purchase price. There really isn't any reason to pay $100 a point for BLT if you don't like it. Resale can get you a different resort for less.

Contract length. If you are young, you might find the early ending contracts limited and prefer a resort built more recently (or an extended OKW contract).

Availability. You CAN try and book any resort at seven months and often you will be successful. But not always. Think of it this way. DVC has several hundred thousand members - how many of them do you think want to be close to Epcot during Food and Wine? Those to whom it is important to bought BWV or BCV for that purpose. Or get a OKW Grand Villa over Spring Break - once again, people own OKW just for first dibs on that unit. Or BLT to watch NYE MK fireworks?

If you can't book more than seven months out anyway, buy the cheapest resort that has the right contract length. If you can't book more than four months out, consider if DVC is for you. Timeshares are sold to be pretty much 100% occupied - its just a matter of how FAST they fill. At some resorts at some time of year for some rooms that is "when booking opens" - and sometimes there is last minute availability somewhere. But around four months things can get tight enough to have you switching resorts over a week because no single resort or room type has availability for the whole stay.

 

[kendzee94]

Most people on these boards will thell you to buy where you want to stay. We started off with SSR shortly after it opened, because we wanted the 50 years on the contract. Then we added and were founding members at AKV. We knew when the rumors were flying on AKV and BLT that we preferred AKV over BLT. DH has no desire to even stay there let alone buy there We are now adding on more points to our SSR so we can get the THV's because I see that they are very difficult to get at the 7 month mark. I do love having the lower MF's with SSR than with AKV though! With our family, and kids wanting to start bringing friends, the THV's will work the best for us over the next 5-8 years. We would be fine staying at SSR or OKW every time as they seem to have the most availability at the last minute if we want a quick trip. I don't feel that I have been "stuck" at SSR, other than the time when DH said, lets go next month and SSR was the only one available in a 1BR. BTW, I was able to snag a standard 1 BR at BWV on the 7 month mark. I was not able to get BCV, as I had wanted for this October Food and Wine Festival time! In the end, you have to do what's best for you and your (anticipated) family needs.

 

[Amy5000]

Also, the prices that are listed, when you make an offer, is it the same as a home? Has anyone received a membership below asking price?

I am going to give TTS a call today and have them send out a book.

Thanks again,

Chrissy

I'm not sure I understood your question about price...but I'm going to assume you are asking if the prices listed for the resales are firm. The answer is "no". You can offer whatever you would like on a resale. You may get it depending on the seller and whether Disney exercises ROFR. Check out the "Anyone made it through (or not made it through) ROFR recently? - Section III" on this board.

I don't really think there's much room for negotiation for purchases directly from Disney.

Also, I know many have said it before, but whether or not home resort matters depends on you. As long as I'm "on property" I'm very flexible as to where I stay. It wasn't worth additional $$ to me to be at any specific property. For others it's very important and they are smart to buy there.

Good luck, Amy

 

[crisi]

BTW, I was able to snag a standard 1 BR at BWV on the 7 month mark. I was not able to get BCV, as I had wanted for this October Food and Wine Festival time! In the end, you have to do what's best for you and your (anticipated) family needs.

Congrats! What a snag! I love the standard view rooms at BWV - but I'm frugal. The only downside is that you don't get SAB access.

 

[robinb]

The only time it matters is if you want to stay at a specific resort during a busy time like when school is out. You have a new baby, so it won't effect you for a few years. Once your little bundle of joy starts school you will be restricted to going to WDW over the summer (busy), spring break (really busy) or Christmas break (really, really busy). You will want to have a WDW resort at the very least because some of those times will fill up even before the 7-month window.

Just to show you how hard it can be, I booked a 1BR at BWV for mid-August at the 11 month window. My daughter wanted to stay at BCV and I spaced out the 7-month window and called 3 weeks into it at 6 months, 1 week. In those 3 weeks BCV was completely sold out and I am on the waitlist.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

We used to be very happy at any resort, as long as we were on property, but that changed two years ago. Then, we had our first trip where one of my parents required a scooter to keep up and our attitude changed very quickly.

My dad felt absolutely humiliated having everyone stare at him every time the scooter was strapped in to the bus for transportation. He hated making everyone wait just on him. He hated having people need to move from seats as they were lifted up to make room for his scooter to be locked in. The rented scooter didn't fold down, so we couldn't rent a car and transport it to the parks for him. It was just a very, very stressful situation. From then on, we decided to stay at resorts where we could reach the majority of places without a bus. With BWV and BCV, you can scooter to both Epcot and HS. From Epcot, you can easily get on the monorail with a scooter to head over to MK. The only problematic ride would be AK, which is a nice park, but not a "must see" for my dad. The transportation situation for BLT is almost as easy... with quick access to both MK and Epcot (Dad's favorite two parks).

My parents want to participate in the family vacations and be part of the memories, and it's important to me to facilitate this for them. So, we purchased from Disney at BLT and are looking for a resale over at BWV. That way, we have a choice of the two, depending on the time of year, to ensure the best experience for my parents.

 

[Tigger031266]

Advanced booking is HUGE, though. Having the additional "lead time" at your home resort to book your vacation before everyone else at the 7 month mark ensures that you will get the dates, views, and size that you want. Sure, you might be able to get what you want at the 7 month mark,

My point is that if you don't care where you stay, book at your home resort at the 11th month window but it does not matter where it is. SSR is fine with me, they all have different advantages and disadvantages.

I own at 4 DVC's and none is more valuable than any others other than some will expire sooner. Maintenence fees are not all that different at the WDW resorts. They are all great.