DVC First Time Purchase -- Please Help

[Erik DeShane]

My girlfriend and I visited Wilderness Lodge in January '19 during the Epcot Festival of the Arts and ended up taking a tour of the DVC at Copper Creek Villas simply to get the 3 extra fast passes and $100 gift card. I had zero interest in buying into a time share and listened pleasantly to the low pressure sales pitch and walked away intrigued but not sold on DVC.

I have been 5 times in my life to WDW (36yo) but this was my first time as an adult and I loved it more than I could have imagined. I remember visiting the Wilderness Lodge for a meal when I was 13 and saying to myself "One day I will stay here!".

This was the best vacation of my life, including a recent week in Maui this past Summer. I am not an international traveler and flying to and from Hawaii was just as stressful as I could have imagined. I could see myself traveling to WDW once or twice a year for the foreseeable future. Currently we would be visiting in the "off-season" of January around MLK day.

To keep it as brief as possible, I have turned the corner on the purchase of a DVC interest. I would like to enter into a small 75 point contract at Copper Creek. After doing the research, a direct purchase of CCV is going to be the most expensive option considering $188/pt & $7.43/pt dues, but I believe that it is the best option for us because we will never be disappointed if we can not book AKL/ Poly / BCV at the 7 month window -- CCV is a heck of a back-up plan! I know I could save $4,000 plus on a re-sale contract but we would be giving up any current and future benefits of full membership, the ability to stay at future resorts, etc. And it seems worth it to me to pay $100/ yr over the course of a 50 year contract to have full member benefits.

Our plans for the future include marriage and 1-2 kids and I think it would be smart to include an additional 50pt purchase of a Monorail Resort, either Poly or BLT -- we are not big fans of the GFR. My thinking is adding an option of an 11mo window at Poly/BLT for potential mid & peak season trips as well as being close to the monorail/ Magic Kingdom for the kids. I do realize that I can not combine my points from two different contracts at the 11 month window, only at the 7 month window and that I should have the same use year of September to keep it as simple as possible.

That's my thought process, but I guess the direct questions would be
1) Am I doing the right thing buying the smallest direct DVC contract and adding on via re-sale as a 50pt Poly/ BLT contract becomes available?
2) Is the idea of adding at BLT/ POLY (prefer BLT because of price on the resale market) via resale the smart choice for someone looking to start a family in the near future? It seems to be one of the hardest resorts to book including BCV and AKL, correct ?
3) For all of you DVC veterans, what am I not think about that I should be considering?

THANKS FOR THE HELP!

 

[meekey7197]

If you really want to be a direct owner then yes, most people will say buy the minimum and add on resale. Keep in mind that if you need accommodations for more than 4 at CCV you have to book a two bedroom and studios are proving VERY hard to get (even at 11 months). You don’t HAVE to buy CCV direct, you can buy others.

Poly is great but there are no one bedrooms, only studios and bungalows so keep that in mind. BLT is a good choice but Disney has been gunning for that one lately in ROFR.

I would buy more than 50 additional points to be honest. We own 100 direct at poly, 150 resale at AKV and we are in the closing process for another 150 resale at SSR. Family of 3 and I still feel like it’s not enough LOL You will find you want to bring extended family to help and as our son gets older he is wanting to bring friends. Just a few things to keep in mind

 

[meekey7197]

Also, AKL isn’t usually hard to book at 7 months, there are just a few room catergories that are usually gone (like value and club level, sometimes studios at Jambo only because there aren’t many)

 

[crvetter]

A few comments while CCV dues are high per point if change that to price to book a night in the room you want across resorts is a better view. That is because PVB/VGF has some of the lowest dues per point you’ll actually find if you price the due cost per night in a studio they are actually one of the most expensive. So while yes the MF per point is important but what is more important is the MF per accommodation you’d be interested. To get an average of this simply take the number of points needed to book the room type you want for an entire year at a resort then times the MF see that cost and compare that across resorts. You’ll see PVB/VGF at the high end (their point cost per night is highest) and CCV in the middle of the road. I only suggest this because you might want to consider this perspective instead as a measure of the MF. 100 points go much further at somewhere like CCV than PVB for example. Now don’t take this as an argument to buy CCV just was to highlight my preference to get a better estimate.

As for changing at 7 months of you want a studio or 2 bedroom during October to mid-January you will find little no availability at the 7 month window. You’ll have to waitlist if you want to change resorts from your home resort likely. As for CCV and BRV they are some of the most popular for Christmas time as the WL seems to be popular then. So times when the Christmas decorations are up you’ll find it difficult to move into this resort. Overall CCV is very tight for many different reasons.

As for your direct vs resale. While 75 points direct are needed to get Membership Extras (Epcot lounge, Moonlight Magic, discounts, etc), the right to use your points at new resorts are based on a contract by contract basis. So only the points you buy direct can be used at Riviera. Any points you buy resale cannot no matter the fact you met the 75 points for the membership extras.

Overall you have to opinions you’ll get on where to buy 1) buy where you want to stay or 2) buy where you wouldn’t mind staying if you can’t change at 7 months. So depending on when you travel 1 or 2 might be better.

Remember if you want to buy direct somewhere else than CCV just tell your guide that. The only ones they have huge waitlists for and probably won’t add you to is VGF or BCV.

 

[crvetter]

Oh also PVB is only studios and bungalows so depending how large of a family you want those points will always be locked to those unit types between 11-7 months. So if you go over 5 people you’ll need to wait until the 7 month window to get a 2 bedroom somewhere else. Which more often than not will be OKW or SSR unless you waitlist.

 

[crvetter]

Finding a small resale contract for BCV will be difficult and if you do minimum will be 140+ per point. It’s a resort people buy to stay at and Disney didn’t really buy back. So when that resort was offered a high minimum was instituted at the time. So most owners own contracts larger than 50-75 points. I’ve been on the hunt for 100 (or smaller) point contracts and they are scarce. So that will be a longer wait if you want there but just know it’s a wait but don’t get discouraged. The others are fairly easy to find resale.

 

[MB_01]

I have been 5 times in my life to WDW (36yo) but this was my first time as an adult and I loved it more than I could have imagined. I remember visiting the Wilderness Lodge for a meal when I was 13 and saying to myself "One day I will stay here!".

Same thing happened to me! Went a few times when I was a kid then nothing for 20 years. Went back as an adult and have been hooked ever since!
As far as buying in goes try and do a better job than I did. I waffled back and forth on it and meanwhile spent 20k on 3 more cash trips (really wish that 20k was spent on more AKV points...) before I bought resale.

I still have not bought direct and don't really feel like I am missing out on anything.
I keep meaning to (if someone asked me why I couldn't give them a logical reason) and even had everything in motion early January but when I started looking at availability for the first 3 weeks in Dec (11 months out) there were no studios and spotty 2 bedroom availability... That sort of scared me off since CCV was going to be my Xmas trip resort. I'm not sure if this has been an ongoing issue but I just looked a few min ago at Jan 23 2020 and Studios with walk in shower and 2 bed with walk in shower are already all booked for the 23rd. There is zero studio availability there for Oct, Nov, Dec.

Figured I'd wait and maybe get Riviera instead but then Disney decided to add this goofy new restriction to it and now it's looking like it will be the DVC resale leper colony...

 

[_auroraborealis_]

As for CCV and BRV they are some of the most popular for Christmas time as the WL seems to be popular then. So times when the Christmas decorations are up you’ll find it difficult to move into this resort. Overall CCV is very tight for many different reasons.

I would add that CCV owners are getting shut out of studios at 11 months in parts of fall, so if fall is ever in your plans, CCV studios may be frustrating.

 

[crvetter]

I would add that CCV owners are getting shut out of studios at 11 months in parts of fall, so if fall is ever in your plans, CCV studios may be frustrating.

True they will have to plan exactly at 11 months on the nose and be on at 8 am to confirm the reservation. I found this worked perfectly fine for a F&W visit, thanksgiving week, and Christmas week. But everyone else will have different experiences for sure. But I will admit the check in day was gone right after 8 for each of the bookings I referenced.

 

[Erik DeShane]

I would add that CCV owners are getting shut out of studios at 11 months in parts of fall, so if fall is ever in your plans, CCV studios may be frustrating.

That's good to know -- my better half is a Iraq/Afghanistan veteran and the peak level crowds of the holidays and summer are too much for her to handle. So we are decidedly off-season people, January after the marathon and around MLK day works best for our life and work schedules. And if it wasn't for the Brazilian factor, the park would have been relatively empty this past January.

 

[Erik DeShane]

Same thing happened to me! Went a few times when I was a kid then nothing for 20 years. Went back as an adult and have been hooked ever since!
As far as buying in goes try and do a better job than I did. I waffled back and forth on it and meanwhile spent 20k on 3 more cash trips (really wish that 20k was spent on more AKV points...) before I bought resale.

I still have not bought direct and don't really feel like I am missing out on anything.
I keep meaning to (if someone asked me why I couldn't give them a logical reason) and even had everything in motion early January but when I started looking at availability for the first 3 weeks in Dec (11 months out) there were no studios and spotty 2 bedroom availability... That sort of scared me off since CCV was going to be my Xmas trip resort. I'm not sure if this has been an ongoing issue but I just looked a few min ago at Jan 23 2020 and Studios with walk in shower and 2 bed with walk in shower are already all booked for the 23rd. There is zero studio availability there for Oct, Nov, Dec.

Figured I'd wait and maybe get Riviera instead but then Disney decided to add this goofy new restriction to it and now it's looking like it will be the DVC resale leper colony...

What was your thought process/ how far did you get with the decision to purchase direct? I've done the rough math and when you compare apples to apple the direct vs resale market FOR CCV is so close in price that it doesn't seem worth it after you buy 6 annual Gold passes and use the merch/ food discounts for 3-5 WDW trips.

I went more in depth here on a post from this morning:
Another Direct vs Resale Thread...

 

[_auroraborealis_]

IF what you really want is CCV, buying direct is the right approach. You do need to be aware of the limitations of CCV - overbalanced to high-end cabins, only 78 maximum studios (and only half are dedicated, which means the others can be booked as part of a 2BR and may not be available as a studio), and the studios and 1BRs are a hard limit sleeps 4. If you travel with more than 4 you need a 2BR or multiple units (and the multiple units factor gets into the 'limited number of studios' thing).

If you are buying CCV because that is what Disney offered to sell you, I would reconsider and think about what resort really should be your home.

 

[Erik DeShane]

IF what you really want is CCV, buying direct is the right approach. You do need to be aware of the limitations of CCV - overbalanced to high-end cabins, only 78 maximum studios (and only half are dedicated, which means the others can be booked as part of a 2BR and may not be available as a studio), and the studios and 1BRs are a hard limit sleeps 4. If you travel with more than 4 you need a 2BR or multiple units (and the multiple units factor gets into the 'limited number of studios' thing).

If you are buying CCV because that is what Disney offered to sell you, I would reconsider and think about what resort really should be your home.

Good Advice.

I stayed at the Contemporary as a kid and recall that it felt like a hotel with a train...meh. I can see the benefits as an adult looking to start a small family beacuse of the proximity to the Kingdom and the ease of transportation, but the magic for me has always been at Wilderness Lodge.

It has come to my attention more and more that the studios are hard to book at CCV and I may need to buy more points to ensure I can book a 1BR if I am shut out of a deluxe studio, but looking at booking charts it seems that as long as we book at 0800 at exactly 11 months out we are likely to get our reservation considering we are off-season/ adventure-season people -- she can not handle the peak crowds.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Good Advice.

I stayed at the Contemporary as a kid and recall that it felt like a hotel with a train...meh. I can see the benefits as an adult looking to start a small family beacuse of the proximity to the Kingdom and the ease of transportation, but the magic for me has always been at Wilderness Lodge.

It has come to my attention more and more that the studios are hard to book at CCV and I may need to buy more points to ensure I can book a 1BR if I am shut out of a deluxe studio, but looking at booking charts it seems that as long as we book at 0800 at exactly 11 months out we are likely to get our reservation considering we are off-season/ adventure-season people -- she can not handle the peak crowds.

Adventure Season is not the "off season" for DVC, in general. The lower the points, the higher the demand for DVC, by members. Members like a bargain. The highest demand for all DVC units, all year, is actually the first two weeks of December. It's counter-intuitive, but the point requirements are more of an inverse than a direct thing. Low points is high demand. High points is variable demand, with summer being the lowest demand period for DVC.

Right now, there are 4 nights in a studio at CCV available all of October. One night in November, 0 in December. From January 1-23, there are 8 total nights in a Standard and 11 in a walk-in shower studio (separate booking categories). There are already nights in January 2020 fully sold out, including 1/23/20, which was only bookable as a check in date starting yesterday.

 

[Erik DeShane]

Adventure Season is not the "off season" for DVC, in general. The lower the points, the higher the demand for DVC, by members. Members like a bargain. The highest demand for all DVC units, all year, is actually the first two weeks of December. It's counter-intuitive, but the point requirements are more of an inverse than a direct thing. Low points is high demand. High points is variable demand, with summer being the lowest demand period for DVC.

Right now, there are 4 nights in a studio at CCV available all of October. One night in November, 0 in December. From January 1-23, there are 8 total nights in a Standard and 11 in a walk-in shower studio (separate booking categories). There are already nights in January 2020 fully sold out, including 1/23/20, which was only bookable as a check in date starting yesterday.

I had not considered that DVC members saw Adventure season as their peak season - seems obvious now that you bring it to my attention.

And thank you for checking the current availability, I have been relying on avalabavaila charts I've found on disboards from 2018.

Sounds like what you are telling me is to be ready at 0800 at the exact moment the 11 month window opens to make sure you get your best available reservations. And don't be surprised if you can't get a long term booking (13 nights is our plan for Jan 19th 2021) for your exact days. Plan it out well in advance and be ready at the computer screen the moment it is available.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I had not considered that DVC members saw Adventure season as their peak season - seems obvious now that you bring it to my attention.

And thank you for checking the current availability, I have been relying on avalabavaila charts I've found on disboards from 2018.

Sounds like what you are telling me is to be ready at 0800 at the exact moment the 11 month window opens to make sure you get your best available reservations. And don't be surprised if you can't get a long term booking (13 nights is our plan for Jan 19th 2021) for your exact days. Plan it out well in advance and be ready at the computer screen the moment it is available.

However, you won't be able to book 13 nights at your 11 month window. You'll only be able to book seven nights. And then you'll need to add the next night the next booking day. You are limited to seven nights at 11 months out at a home resort and seven nights at seven months out for a non-home resort. You have to call back each day to add the next night.

Oh, and buying Polynesian gives you the option of booking a studio or a high priced bungalow. Neither would be my choice. We prefer one bedroom villas, even when it is just the two of us.