Doorway to Dreams Woodfield & should I buy?

[ckpoodge]

My fiance and I just toured the Doorway to Dreams at Woodfield Mall yesterday (11/7). Our rep Alan was fantastic, and we are really excited.

We are definitely thinking this may be for us. I wasn't sure before I toured, but Alan made it a point to discuss the banking and borrowing. It made it so affordable for us to plan our 2011 wedding, using points to get a 2 BR, with banking and borrowing.

Our home resort would be BLT, and we would buy 160 points. We only need a studio, since it's just the two of us, and Alan made it so clear that is all we should buy, even though he usually sells 240 points.

Now we just have to figure out financing options. We didn't like the 10.25%, but we don't have enough on our home equity loan to pay it off in full.

Should we buy in? Our normal vacation habits are that we like to take 10-14 days, and we usually stay at a value resort - only because we're never in the room.

We thought the studio would be nice, even though we wouldn't need the "kitchen", except for sodas & snacks. What do you all think? I'm going to take a poll. (Again, Alan's suggestion.) Is there anyone not happy with their decision to "upgrade" from value resorts to DVC?

 

[cayman01]

You left out another option, and that's probably because you don't know about it. Re-Sale! Depending on the incentives you were offered BLT might (probably) is not the best deal you can get out there. Don't make a hasty decision! I'm guessing BLT was offered ay somewhere around $112/pt. including incentives. You could get DVc thru resale for as little as $65-70/ pt at OKW and SSR and in the mid 70's to mid 80's for BWV, AKV and BCV.

 

[senecabeach]

Think if I were young again and looking down the road towards the future & family...the new BLT, with 60 yrs. of ownership is what I probably would want.

Yes the initial price is higher, its called....location...location.
MF's are rumored to stay the lowest because of low overhead @ the C.
Easy access to the MK & EPCOT. This is certainly a + as I have found out with my BCV, walk/boat to EPCOT & DHS..
Hopefully there is a good incentive??

Good Luck in your decision..

 

[logan115]

1) Do you have to stay at BLT ? If so, buy there, if not, consider other options. We bought 160 pts at SSR for $68 because we like SSR, but plan on trying out all of the different resorts so it didn't make sense for us to buy BLT.

2) Studios do not have kitchens, just a microwave, coffee pot, and small fridge.

3) Look at the point charts and when you think you'll travel. Is 160 pts enough for what you need ?

4) Don't worry about how much your guide (we have the same one) "usually" sells because what other people do really has ZERO relevance on your vacation.

5) You don't have to buy all your points at once either. After you buy your first contract (either direct or resale) you can add-on at any time (frequently refered to as addonitis).

6) Good luck with your decision.

Chris

 

[Rob S.]

I know Alan and he's very honest. He won't tell you something just to get the sale. It sounds like you are young and the longer life of a BLT contract would probably be to your advantage. I've stayed at BLT and it truely is amazing. If you ever have kids, you will want to stay there due to it's proximity to the Magic Kingdom.

On the financing note, there is a significant discount in the interest rate if you only finance over 1 year (or at least there was). When I purchased in 2007, I got a rate around 5% to finance over 1 year.

 

[hakepb]

I believe financing has changed a lot in the last 2 years because of the economy. It used to be that Disney could sell the mortgage paper to another lender. Now Disney has to self-finance. And, in general, lenders are asking for higher credit scores..
The higher rate you mentioned sounds like what others have been reporting lately. If you have a Disney Visa, you might be able to get 0% for 6 months on the downpayment portion?

As another value to DVC owner, DVC is great, you actually get a room you want to spend time in, and your own priate balcony. You just can't relax like that in a Value. On the other hand, DVC's do not have a food court (one aspect of Values that is better than DVC) and do not have daily housekeeping. You just have to think about what is important in your vacations. You may also find BLT (shared with other Deluxes Poly and GF?)bus service less desireable to DHS and DAK..

The others certainly made good points / questions to consider, also.

 

[kangaroodle]

I would definitely buy into DVC. You are young and don't have kids yet. My hubbie and I bought into OKW in the mid 90's before we had kids. We've never regretted the purchase. Once you have kids, the finances get strained even more and it gets even harder to justify the purchase. But once you have kids, it's one of the most affordable ways to go to Disney. Not many of my kids friends get to go to Disney EVERY year!

Plus, you say you don't spend much time in the room. This also changes once you have kids. You might be coming back to the room for naps or a break in the day. Who wants to be stuck in a regular hotel room or a studio where you are all in one room and have to be quiet? Or when the kids are younger and go to sleep earlier, YOU don't have to go to sleep just because they do. With DVC, you have the family room to go in, or sit on the balcony while your little one rests. This may be WAY in the future for you, but just another thing to think about.

Good luck! As others have said, you can always add on more points later!

Can you register for DVC as a wedding gift???? Wouldn't that be great!!!!

 

[murmkc]

I just bought into DVC at Bay Lake and have yet to make my first trip - I can already tell you that there is NO buyer's remorse.

Pull the trigger and let us welcome you home! HA!

 

[ckpoodge]

Thank you all for your replies. I can clear up a few things.

The only reason we are buying into BLT is because the only other option is AKL. The dues are a lot higher there (almost $200 per year). And of course, the proximity to MK. That, and the possibility that if we ever do need to sell, I'm sure BLT would be easier to get rid of.

We don't have children, and we don't plan on it, either. However, we have a new granddaughter, so I can only assume that she will enjoy her visits with Big Papa and whatever I decide to call myself.

We were concerned about the 50 year agreement - we'll be 88 and 89 when the contract is up. But I guess we can will that to whoever we decide to pass it on to.

Like I mentioned, we don't spend lots of time in the room. I called the area a "kitchen", even though it is more like a vanity, because I didn't know what else to call it. It would be nice to have a small fridge, but right now we use a cooler for our sodas. We don't usually use a food court, so the mention about that wouldn't be an issue for us, either. We don't use bus service, as we always rent a car. I know being in the MK area makes the rest of the parks further, but I think the proximity to MK might outweigh the rest of the travel time.

160 points would definitely fill our needs, with some to carry over. We would probably stay in a standard view room, during off season, since we have no children. For 2 weeks, that's only 200 points. Between banking and borrowing, that's plenty for us. Alan did mention that you can buy more if needed, but I don't see that being necessary.

The incentive is $5 per point, bringing it down to $115 per point. Do the incentives change very often? That was the other thing we were thinking about. If we can't get reasonable financing within the 7 days we have to make a decision, will there be another incentive down the line? I know right now, the AKL has a $15 per point incentive, as well as an AP bonus (up to 8).

 

[logan115]

Thank you all for your replies. I can clear up a few things.

The only reason we are buying into BLT is because the only other option is AKL. The dues are a lot higher there (almost $200 per year). And of course, the proximity to MK. That, and the possibility that if we ever do need to sell, I'm sure BLT would be easier to get rid of.

We don't have children, and we don't plan on it, either. However, we have a new granddaughter, so I can only assume that she will enjoy her visits with Big Papa and whatever I decide to call myself.

We were concerned about the 50 year agreement - we'll be 88 and 89 when the contract is up. But I guess we can will that to whoever we decide to pass it on to.

Like I mentioned, we don't spend lots of time in the room. I called the area a "kitchen", even though it is more like a vanity, because I didn't know what else to call it. It would be nice to have a small fridge, but right now we use a cooler for our sodas. We don't usually use a food court, so the mention about that wouldn't be an issue for us, either. We don't use bus service, as we always rent a car. I know being in the MK area makes the rest of the parks further, but I think the proximity to MK might outweigh the rest of the travel time.

160 points would definitely fill our needs, with some to carry over. We would probably stay in a standard view room, during off season, since we have no children. For 2 weeks, that's only 200 points. Between banking and borrowing, that's plenty for us. Alan did mention that you can buy more if needed, but I don't see that being necessary.

The incentive is $5 per point, bringing it down to $115 per point. Do the incentives change very often? That was the other thing we were thinking about. If we can't get reasonable financing within the 7 days we have to make a decision, will there be another incentive down the line? I know right now, the AKL has a $15 per point incentive, as well as an AP bonus (up to 8).

First of all - you most likely have more than 7 days to make a decision, and I have heard of people getting the paperwork and "sitting" on it if the incentive was about to end (that way they could compare against the new incentive). Believe the AKV incentive is either $15 off OR the APs, but not both. Don't be concerned about the 50 year agreement, you can sell anytime you want - you have the OPTION to continue using your points for 50 years if you don't sell before that, you're not "stuck" with it.

If you like BLT then by all means buy there I won't attempt to talk you out of that, but if you're buying BLT just because you think that it's the only other resort for sale other than AKV you've misunderstood. BLT, AKV, GCV, and SSR are the newest resorts that guides are currentl selling, but you can also buy into the older resorts as well - BUT it doesn't really make sense to (unless you have to finance thru DVC) because it's much more expensive than retail.

In terms of the financing, if you're alluding to using a HELOC or something else in which you don't need to finance thru DVC, AND if you're not dying to own at BLT, then you have a lot more options thru the resale market, at better prices than buying direct.

Chris

 

[KaM mom]

We attended a "Vacation As You Wish" event in Chicago in February and did buy into the BLT. We are a family of 4 going to use our membership for the first time next week at AKL Kidani and BCV.

The incentives offered during the February event were a free 4 night cruise and a free 7 night RCI stay at any of their resorts. There are "must use by" limitations, but they are reasonable. We are using the cruise for Thanksgiving, and scheduling the RCI stay for next year.

Owning at BLT does not mean you have to stay there. It gives you the freedom to try out all the resorts.

The only downer with being an owner is that it prevents you from taking advantage of the free dining package currently being offered if you book at any of the resorts and pay cash (not points). I believe this would be true for any publicaly offered promotions that may come available in the future.

I am not regretting the decision to buy. I look at it as a way to insure we take at least one family vacation every year or so. Our last was more that 4 years ago. This one is long overdue.

Good luck on you decision.

DH Jim

 

[kangaroodle]

Hi OP......Just wanted to post that I am sorry to say I ASSUMED you were in your 20's and just starting out and that you would have kids! You know what happens when you ASSUME!

Anyway, congratulations on your upcoming marriage. And I still think you should buy into DVC!!!!

Didn't know Woodfield changed it's Doorway to Dreams to BLT. Haven't been there in a while and it was still AKL last time I went. I guess I gotta go check it out!

 

[ckpoodge]

Hi OP......Just wanted to post that I am sorry to say I ASSUMED you were in your 20's and just starting out and that you would have kids! You know what happens when you ASSUME!

That's no problem. I just didn't want to have the children issue affect anyone's decision on if we should buy (or not buy) of the timeshare. I know some people buy to assure that they will have the luxury of a vacation, even when there are other more important things, like saving for college, etc.

Even though we are 30 somethings, we are children at heart, and we will always find a way to get to the Magic.

 

[gojoe]

I'm a 50 year old grandfather of 3 granddaughters. My wife and I are DVC members for 4 years now. We bought re-sale from The Timeshare Store 200 pts. We did the math, family visit ever other year and just the 2 of us every year 200 points works for us. We didn't care about when the contract was going to end, we would be too old to care by then. We don't spend much time in our room but we do spend time at our resort. We love it and so do our granddaughters, Dining, dancing, street entertainment and just plain people watching. My point is check re-sale it might be for you. Just do it.

 

[ckpoodge]

I want to thank you all again for your posts, and for replying to the poll.

We have decided that we are going to buy in to BLT! We put our deposit down on Saturday. We just got a huge FedEx box yesterday with all the paperwork.

We're on our way!

 

[gojoe]

 

[dizfan]

I want to thank you all again for your posts, and for replying to the poll.

We have decided that we are going to buy in to BLT! We put our deposit down on Saturday. We just got a huge FedEx box yesterday with all the paperwork.

We're on our way!

Congratulations and :welcome" home neighbor!!!

 

[Mickeypal1]

Congratulations and Welcome Home

Fellow Doorway to Dreams buyers too.