Doing my Research

[jsrowdon]

I have recently started considering buying into DVC and I am about 1 month into my research. I have pretty much already decided that we will buy resale, I just don't see any of the "perks" of buying direct to be worth it to me. There were a couple things that I would like to get some of your expert opinions on though.

My family is myself, wife, son 14, and daughter 3. Son is homeschooled and the plan is to do this for our daughter also. With that said we have very flexible travel times but would probably avoid Disney in the summer time. I would definitely like to see the xmas decor but that wouldnt have to be every year. I was thinking about OCT for a use year but being that we are pretty flexible and our travel times will be spread out through most of the year other than summer does that seem reasonable or would anyone recommend a better use year and for what reasons?

On to home resorts. I know everyone says buy where you want to stay the most and that sounds great but one concern that I have is that both my wife and I like the EPCOT area resorts, BWV would be both of our first choice, but I do have some concerns over the 2042 contract end date. While that is still 26 years away it seems to me like paying a similar amount per point, or even less per point, at somewhere like AKV just makes more sense long term. What am I missing here? Other than the 11 month booking window, which I know is a big deal, why would I pay more per point up front for a shorter contract?

Last thing. What we were thinking about is starting with a small contract and few years down the road maybe we would add on another small contract at a different resort. How important is it to keep the use year the same on all contracts if we decide to go this route. Is there any reason that we should buy a larger contract up front rather than add on multiple small contracts as we go?

Thanks the help and info in advance!!!

 

[lovin'fl]

Real quick reply:
1- I have found UY not to matter. We initially bought June and we travel mostly from Aug-Jan. And never had problems. If you would cancel less than 30 days out a lot, then UY really is important.
2- If you want to stay at BWV from end of Sept through New Years Eve then you should own there because that is a tough time to book there at 7 months out. If you plan to always get a studio, you should own there because they are tough to get at 7 months out. If you want to save points with standard view at BWV, then it's good to own there.
3- Small contract is a good idea...to add on later or if you need to resell, small contracts resell easier. Yes, it's best to buy same use year so they would be under one membership and no need to transfer points between 2 memberships (we have June UY and Aug UY and it can be a pain).

 

[craigkerstiens]

On to home resorts. I know everyone says buy where you want to stay the most and that sounds great but one concern that I have is that both my wife and I like the EPCOT area resorts, BWV would be both of our first choice, but I do have some concerns over the 2042 contract end date. While that is still 26 years away it seems to me like paying a similar amount per point, or even less per point, at somewhere like AKV just makes more sense long term. What am I missing here? Other than the 11 month booking window, which I know is a big deal, why would I pay more per point up front for a shorter contract?

Dues can also be a factor, though most dues are somewhat close to each other. But it really is about the difficulty of booking at the resort. BWV at 7 months during something like Food and Wine festival can be extremely hard to get into. In contrast, AKV is usually among the easier as far as availability with the exception of the value studios there.

 

[jsrowdon]

Thanks for the reply. We do want to be able to stay at BWV a couple of times but not every time by any means. I guess my biggest concern there is the contract end date, If BWV had a longer contract I would buy there in a heartbeat but I am having a hard time convincing myself that is the route when I could get something like AKV or SSR for a similar price but 15+ years extra.

 

[beagee]

We are in the same place -- we would buy at BVC right now but are a little hung up on the price vs. number of years. A couple of thoughts (and like you, I am really new to this so add salt accordingly ... )

AKL has two drawbacks, from what I can tell ... First, you can regularly buy at AKL at the 7 month window (with the exception of value studios, which are apparently hard to get even for members). So, there is not a huge benefit to being able to book at 11 months at AKL for most people. Also, the annual fee is a bit higher at AKL, which can add up. All in all, you can get essentially the same thing buying at SSR and pay less.

Something that was helpful for me was to make a spreadsheet to compare the total number of points left on the deed. If you were buying 100 points at BCV with 26 years left on the deed at $115/point that would be $4.42 per point for the remainder of the deed. Poly's $160/pt price for 50 years puts you at $3.17/point. That really does make BCV significantly more expensive over the long haul. BUT, if you buy at one of the 2042 resorts, your purchasing power goes up in two ways -- (1) you can buy more points for the same amount of $ today (e.g., 20K gets you 121 points at Poly but 173ish at BVC or over 200 at Wilderness, and (2) at the less expensive resorts, you can potentially use your points more efficiently with lower cost room options.

It's a trade off. And I don't have a great answer yet. I'm still struggling with our decision too.

 

[zavandor]

On to home resorts. I know everyone says buy where you want to stay the most and that sounds great but one concern that I have is that both my wife and I like the EPCOT area resorts, BWV would be both of our first choice, but I do have some concerns over the 2042 contract end date. While that is still 26 years away it seems to me like paying a similar amount per point, or even less per point, at somewhere like AKV just makes more sense long term. What am I missing here? Other than the 11 month booking window, which I know is a big deal, why would I pay more per point up front for a shorter contract?

BWV and BCV contracts cost a LOT because people buy them to use the home resort booking advantage, mostly to book from late September to Marathon week end in January. For them the extra cost is worth it.
Some bought BWV to book the standard rooms and save on points. This would compensate a bit the higher price. Unfortunately there are not going to be enough standard view rooms for every member who want them. So if to make your purchase work you have to book standard view in October every year, then it's better to think to another plan.

 

[jsrowdon]

Those are all very good points. I guess we really just have to decide if the home resort booking advantage is worth the extra cost for us. I personally am leaning towards it is not worth it for us right now but my wife really likes the EPCOT area so we will have to discuss it.

 

[pinklotusflower]

we bought BWV points last year as it was where we wanted to stay and it can be hard to get at certain times of year. We also calculated how many times we needed to go to break even compared to staying elsewhere, and who knows what will happen in a year let alone 25.

 

[crisi]

How old will you be in 26 years? Your kids will be grown. What are the chances you'll still want to vacation at Disney - and do so in a timeshare?

That's what you need to weigh. Staying where you aren't happy because you couldn't get what you want for many of those 26 years (and people aren't paying the premium for BWV/BCV because they really really want to stay at SSR most of the time) may or may not be worth fifteen years of contract. For me, it wouldn't be. If I'm not going to stay at BWV, I'm not going to Disney. (Fortunately, that's what I own and we always plan more than a year in advance).

 

[ktmo]

I just recently went through this. In the end we decided to buy at BCV. I bought for today and the near future. I knew I wanted to stay at the Beach Club. I knew my DH loved the resort. I knew my girls loved SAB. I don't know where I will be in 26 years. But, I do know that if I couldn't get in at an Epcot resort, I would probably be disappointed. The ease of walking to Epcot makes it so easy. AKL is great, and we will probably stay there at some point, but I didn't want to own there. As long as you aren't looking at value or standard, it can be easy to book at 7 months. We are limited by the school calendar, so I wanted to make sure that I could get in where I wanted to be when we had time off. I knew that I wanted to be close to a park.

We are just getting our feet wet. Odds are that if this works out and we really enjoy DVC, I will add on at a newer resort, which will give me a later end date.

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks for the reply. We do want to be able to stay at BWV a couple of times but not every time by any means. I guess my biggest concern there is the contract end date, If BWV had a longer contract I would buy there in a heartbeat but I am having a hard time convincing myself that is the route when I could get something like AKV or SSR for a similar price but 15+ years extra.

So you will buy a resort not your favorite because of a longer termination date even though you will probably sell in 10 years anyway?


Bill

 

[jsrowdon]

So you will buy a resort not your favorite because of a longer termination date even though you will probably sell in 10 years anyway?


Bill

I really juse don't know yet but this thread has given me a lot of things to think about. Luckily I am in no hurry to buy right now so I have plenty of find to research more before making that decision.

I guess one of the big things to me is while I do really like the location of both BWV and BCV I don't really have a hands down favorite.

I think maybe our next trip we may try to rent a split stay at one of those and another like SSR or AKV and see what we think.

 

[Dean]

I have recently started considering buying into DVC and I am about 1 month into my research. I have pretty much already decided that we will buy resale, I just don't see any of the "perks" of buying direct to be worth it to me. There were a couple things that I would like to get some of your expert opinions on though.

My family is myself, wife, son 14, and daughter 3. Son is homeschooled and the plan is to do this for our daughter also. With that said we have very flexible travel times but would probably avoid Disney in the summer time. I would definitely like to see the xmas decor but that wouldnt have to be every year. I was thinking about OCT for a use year but being that we are pretty flexible and our travel times will be spread out through most of the year other than summer does that seem reasonable or would anyone recommend a better use year and for what reasons?

On to home resorts. I know everyone says buy where you want to stay the most and that sounds great but one concern that I have is that both my wife and I like the EPCOT area resorts, BWV would be both of our first choice, but I do have some concerns over the 2042 contract end date. While that is still 26 years away it seems to me like paying a similar amount per point, or even less per point, at somewhere like AKV just makes more sense long term. What am I missing here? Other than the 11 month booking window, which I know is a big deal, why would I pay more per point up front for a shorter contract?

Last thing. What we were thinking about is starting with a small contract and few years down the road maybe we would add on another small contract at a different resort. How important is it to keep the use year the same on all contracts if we decide to go this route. Is there any reason that we should buy a larger contract up front rather than add on multiple small contracts as we go?

Thanks the help and info in advance!!!

UY isn't going to be that important. If you'll avoid summer, I'd do August or Sept as the best option unless there is a travel time you'd do far more than others. If you'd do the Sept weekend much, August would be best for you. As to home resort, there are those out there that will tell you to "buy where you want to stay" and for some this is a great option. The problem with this is that most new buyers don't know where they want to stay even if they think they do and that it often is a very expensive option because there are forces pushing new buyers to newer more expensive resorts including their own emotions. For someone who wants to try out many different things it's not a reasonable approach. It can literally be double the cost short term and even more long term if the dues are higher than some. For your situation, you're very flexible and in that situation with planning you can get almost anything at one time or another. For WDW SSR and BLT are the best values IMO to use to try out most everything. Doing so one can get SSR, OKW, AKV and likely Poly very easily and BWV, VWL and BLT fairly easily much of the year with planning. There are times of the year and unit types that one is unlikely to get but over time in your situation you'll likely be able to get even AKV concierge, BWV standard, AKV value, VGF and BLT standard at one time or the other if you put an effort into it.

 

[disneynutz]

I really juse don't know yet but this thread has given me a lot of things to think about. Luckily I am in no hurry to buy right now so I have plenty of find to research more before making that decision.

I guess one of the big things to me is while I do really like the location of both BWV and BCV I don't really have a hands down favorite.

I think maybe our next trip we may try to rent a split stay at one of those and another like SSR or AKV and see what we think.

Great idea, knowledge is power and an informed buyer is a happy buyer!

Bill

 

[zemra406]

I just recently went through this. In the end we decided to buy at BCV. I bought for today and the near future. I knew I wanted to stay at the Beach Club. I knew my DH loved the resort. I knew my girls loved SAB. I don't know where I will be in 26 years. But, I do know that if I couldn't get in at an Epcot resort, I would probably be disappointed. The ease of walking to Epcot makes it so easy. AKL is great, and we will probably stay there at some point, but I didn't want to own there. As long as you aren't looking at value or standard, it can be easy to book at 7 months. We are limited by the school calendar, so I wanted to make sure that I could get in where I wanted to be when we had time off. I knew that I wanted to be close to a park.

We are just getting our feet wet. Odds are that if this works out and we really enjoy DVC, I will add on at a newer resort, which will give me a later end date.

This was my exact reasoning as well. We just bought our first BCV contract. We really don't want to stay anywhere else. You also need to factor in the ongoing maintenance fees. To me a 26 year commitment to fees felt better too.