DVC Availability & Busy times

[Sandisw]

I think that given the times that you mention, it is certainly wise to pick a resort that you see as possibly a top choice so that if you have to stay there for some or all of the trip (because trading out to get what you want isn't happening), you won't be disappointed.

I am proof that things change and that over the years, what you want and when you want it changes. I have my favorites, and bought where i love. Last summer, I stayed at VGF and fell completely in love...even more than my beloved BLT.

I decided to buy points there and (don't be shocked) sell off BLT points because over the past 5 years, people have had good success getting in to BLT. I know own both BWV--my DH's favorite--and VGF.

I guess my point is that owning something and hoping for something else seems more stressful than owning something you are very content with and then when you get to go elsewhere, it makes it even better.

In terms of those booking less than 7 months out, I agree that at that point home resort doesn't matter...but, during that early December time, booking less than 7 months out is going to be tough so IMO, that is one time of travel that one must have the flexibility to book farther out.

Good luck!

 

[chainkid]

I have been a member since 1999 at BWV initially and then later a few points contract at AKV. I have felt it is the best thing I have ever spent money on but it has not saved me money in the least. I have brought family and friends to Disney who would never have had the ability to go and stay in such a wonderful location. My memories are worth the added cost. However, I often see people on here who get blinded by the pixie dust and buy a pig in a poke. They are not aware of resale, or how DVC works and end up being angry. I love to plan vacations in advance and I take advantage of my 11 month window for my long trips and then stay at the other DVC's on shorter ones when availability is there. I have never been shut out completely but often I have to stay either okw or ssr. My husband loves OKW for just the two of us and a laid back trip. Neither of us likes SSR so if that's my only option I change my plans.

Owning is a breeze if you know how use the system inside and out. If you don't have the time or desire to know what you bought and expect you just pick up the phone and your choices will miraculously appear then you will be angry. DVC is not for everyone and it has its drawbacks but so far it has worked for me. If I'm bored with Disney, Aulani has plenty of availability at 7 months and when I'm bored with that we will see. Just bought another contract at BWv that was perfect for me.

 

[Joed88]

I don't understand the advice contrary to buying where you love to stay.

If a buyer buys where they love to stay they are pretty much going to get to stay where they want, when they want no matter what changes Disney makes to increase attendance or how many people become DVC owners.

Buying anywhere else is a crap shoot. Waitlists, checking availability daily, staying at another available resort. You might be able to get your dates but you might not. At one point in time Disney's Christmas season was at Christmas now it starts right after Halloween which is now several weeks long. Star Wars, walks, races, F&W, F&G, who knows what Disney will add to increase attendance and how it will shut out DVC 7 month bookers.

Bill

Appreciate the advice on this from this board. I was close to putting a bid out on a resort I would never want to stay at to save $15 a point. I'm now waiting on the ROFL for my BCV bid.

 

[Joed88]

I've been a member 15 years, couldn't be happier. I always plan at the 11 or 7 month mark and have always got what I wanted. Stayed at all the WDW DVC resorts except SSR with my BWV points.

What was your favorite?

 

[jodiey]

I've been thinking of buying into DVC since 2007. I've been crunching numbers nearly constantly since and usually walked away thinking that it was "more trouble than it's worth." I've came to an abrupt change of mind as my children are getting older and staying in a small Hotel room with them sharing a bed is becoming less and less an option. Besides, I'm a compulsive planner on vacations. I have them mapped out for the next 4 years. So this year came to the realization that DVC will work out for me.

I'm the same as you. I am here right now with a 1 and 3 yr old staying at Pop. Way too small. My parents come with us also so I would love to stay at a 2 bedroom dvc

 

[cbnsoul]

I'm the same as you. I am here right now with a 1 and 3 yr old staying at Pop. Way too small. My parents come with us also so I would love to stay at a 2 bedroom dvc

I think the accommodations themselves, not just the money you can save, are a major factor too. We lived in Orlando and Tampa for 8 years and went to Disney every once in awhile. Occasionally, when we lived in Tampa, we would stay the night off property or at a Value resort. Now we live in Indiana and go 30 days a year. We feel that staying at the Deluxe resorts (well, the DVC portion of the Deluxes) makes the trips so much more enjoyable. The locations in relation to the parks, the pools and the "ambiance" are all better, from our point of view, than staying off site or at a Value or Moderate. I think it's the best purchase we ever made.

 

[lovin'fl]

We bought DVC in 2006. We had 2 WDW trips under our belts and knew we'd be going annually. We lived in NC at the time and our kids were in year round school so we liked to go at the end of Sept. We have 3 kids and staying in a regular WDW room (we stayed in POR and CR) was just too tight. We liked the idea of having a bedroom for us so that we could have a door separation from our kids...we started off staying in 1BR villas but then upgraded to 2BR villas once they hit the teen years (they are almost 16, 16 and 18 now).

We bought 200 OKW initially so the we could get the most points for our $$$ buy in. In 2006 the cheapest WDW DVC resort to buy resale was OKW...SSR was selling as new for about $95pp. We have used those OKW points to stay at EVERY east coast DVC resort except VGF. But we cannot always get what we want and either have to tweak our dates or pick a 2nd or 3rd choice. We usually do 3-6 night trips and don't mind split stays. I regret buying the OKW and wished we had bought BCV or BWV as that is our fave location. We have since added on 80 BWV points but I wish the 200 OKW were also BWV...80 just isn't enough. We also added 125 HHI for 2 reasons: 1- cheaper points to buy...and 2- HHI is tough to book for summer months and we were thinking we'd alternate years at HHI with years at WDW to save $$ on not having to buy park passes (then they started offering the AP/PAP special deals and we got hooked on going to WDW several times a year).

I have blabbed...but basically I agree with the 'buy where you want to stay' philosophy. The only folks I suggest buying SSR for cheaper buy in (cheaper dues and longer contract life) are the folks who say they truly don't care where they stay and/or they are fine with having to stay at SSR every time.

 

[MountainMouse]

As a new BLT owner (just got my account set up and first reservation this weekend) I can say that I have no regrets paying extra to buy where we wanted to stay. You can read all about resort availability and success or failure stories, but actually getting to use the resort availability tool really helps with the understanding of what you can get. Just as an example, if I want something for next spring which has already been opened to all of DVC I'm very limited. Getting 7 consecutive days (Saturday to Saturday) is very difficult and where it is available it's not in the room category I want (standard view studio) or during my preferred week(early May). My search was not exhaustive but was very extensive and I found a 1BR lakeview available Memorial day week Sunday to Sunday. Just too many compromises, more points for a view I don't want, not the week I want, not the Saturday to Saturday, and not a studio. So I ended up booking in my 11 month window where availability was much more reasonable.

I don't want to resort hop (right now) so my situation is a little different than yours, but I still think the buy where you most want to stay applies. On years that availability and wait lists don't work out, wouldn't you rather say "Oh well, we're going to have to stay at our (insert favorite resort here)".

 

[crisi]

I don't get how what has been posted here equals "more hassle than it's worth". I guess if your original thought was that you could stay anywhere at any time with any amount of notice, yes. But timeshares (of any kind) don't work that way.

And that frequently makes them more hassle than they are worth. DVC has worked fine for us because we generally take the same vacation every other year in the same resort. There really isn't much planning - its just "time to book." And that is how timeshares work easiest.

If you want flexibility - the more flexibility you want, the more of a hassle it is - and the more likely you are to end up disappointed. We wanted Hilton Head this last Summer - which meant - to make sure of getting the only week we could go - renting points eleven months out then renting out our points to pay for it. That's a lot of hassle.

A lot of people don't look at DVC as a timeshare - of course it is - but they see the Disney name and the Club designation and the marketing on getting Disney accommodations and condo style rooms at a reasonable price and don't do the translation into timeshare. So there are a lot of members - and potential members - that wouldn't own any other timeshare - and a lot who aren't really cut out for timeshare ownership.

It is far better to do this evaluation before you buy, then to buy thinking you are going to be able to call up and get a room at the Grand Californian at three months out because you suddenly took a desire to go to Disneyland and then be sour on the whole thing.

 

[Jfine]

...You can read all about resort availability and success or failure stories, but actually getting to use the resort availability tool really helps with the understanding of what you can get..

This was exactly why I posted this question. It's my only pet peeve (so far?? ) about buying DVC, is that you don't have that information ahead of time.

I'm not buying a timeshare that has a set week or location, because I do want flexibility. I'm fine with some compromising to get some flexibility, but I wanted to get a feel for how much I'll need to compromise. We do plan 7+ months in advance and are flexible on ranges of dates. I do appreciate all the responses. We looked at the resorts again and I think we'll be fine with our home resort if nothing else is available when we do want to go.

 

[skier_pete]

This was exactly why I posted this question. It's my only pet peeve (so far?? ) about buying DVC, is that you don't have that information ahead of time.

I'm not buying a timeshare that has a set week or location, because I do want flexibility. I'm fine with some compromising to get some flexibility, but I wanted to get a feel for how much I'll need to compromise. We do plan 7+ months in advance and are flexible on ranges of dates. I do appreciate all the responses. We looked at the resorts again and I think we'll be fine with our home resort if nothing else is available when we do want to go.

I do have to say though - again comparing to other timeshares - there really is a LOT of info posted on here to give you a pretty good idea what dates and resorts are hardest and easiest to get into. Yes, once I was able to get into use the availability tool it definitely made it more clear, but really so far it has mostly just confirmed what everyone was saying.

Again, as I started looking into other resale timeshares, I don't have a clue how easy or hard it is to get into a non-home resort, and there is practically no way to find that out from what I can tell.

 

[disneynutz]

I do have to say though - again comparing to other timeshares - there really is a LOT of info posted on here to give you a pretty good idea what dates and resorts are hardest and easiest to get into. Yes, once I was able to get into use the availability tool it definitely made it more clear, but really so far it has mostly just confirmed what everyone was saying.

IMO you are looking for disappointment if you are using past availability to forecast future availability. Just in the last few years there has been noticeable change. What will happen in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years.

Bill