East Coast or West Coast

[Sabrina Carter]

Hi DIS folks. I need some advice as I navigate the complex world of all things Disney. Lately, I've been contemplating buying into DVC (through resale) as a way to bring my family and friends together. This is my primary goal of purchasing. I assume there will be some years where we wont use our points and during those times I will put them up for rent. So here is my dilemma, I live in Utah with my family. My friends live in Missouri. I'm 2 hours from Disneyland by plane and 4 hours from Disneyworld. I am not partial to a particular resort, I think they all have things to offer. I understand the 11 month and 7 month rules. I'd like to make a smart purchase and I see myself spending an equal amount of time at both parks. So tell me your thoughts. Where would you buy given the above circumstances?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

VGC. You will not be able to consistently book VGC at 7 months. It demands home resort.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

VGC. You will not be able to consistently book VGC at 7 months. It demands home resort.

So If I had to resale, I could without issue?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

So If I had to resale, I could without issue?

Resale is the only option for VGC.

You'd be booking 7 months at WDW, but save in fall, that would probably work out okay many times. You might end up at Saratoga or OKW. But without VGC points, you won't book Disneyland consistently. You'll need to book at 11 months there.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

Sorry, I meant rent, not resale. Only one cup of coffee so far, still a little foggy. Still the above information is helpful.

 

[DC to Poly]

". I'm 2 hours from Disneyland by plane and 4 hours from Disneyworld."

Agreed with above about VGC. One of the benefits of DVC (at least for me) is the ability to do quick unplanned trips. That's doable with a 2-hour flight. Harder lift with 4 hours. I'm in the DC area and can get to MCO after work if I book a 6:00 or 7:00 flight. spend the weekend and back home Sunday evening after a 1/2 day at the parks or a leisurely breakfast. Cant' do that going coast-to-coast.

 

[disneynutz]

Best bang for your buck, WDW. WDW is on 43 square miles of land, DL is less than 1 square mile. Much more to see and do at WDW.

Bill

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Of course, it's possible Disney will add more DVC at Disneyland once the new hotel is open, either at the new hotel, or by converting rooms at the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. Then you could buy direct instead of resale.

I am pretty sure you could easily rent VGC points if you weren't going to need them.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

Best bang for your buck, WDW. WDW is on 43 square miles of land, DL is less than 1 square mile. Much more to see and do at WDW.

Bill

Of course, it's possible Disney will add more DVC at Disneyland once the new hotel is open, either at the new hotel, or by converting rooms at the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. Then you could buy direct instead of resale.

I am pretty sure you could easily rent VGC points if you weren't going to need them.

I think they will, it's a good investment given that VGC has sold out and hard to book. It might be smart to wait.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

Best bang for your buck, WDW. WDW is on 43 square miles of land, DL is less than 1 square mile. Much more to see and do at WDW.

Bill

I agree with that. What's that condition called... Disney Vasculitis where your legs swell up from so much walking? Do you have a resort suggestion?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Disney cannot add more timeshare units at Disneyland without the approval of the Anaheim City Council, a change in the Disneyland Resort zoning plan, and a Conditional Use Permit. I'd not wait hoping.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

But I still like the intimacy of DL, Radiator Springs, the filet at Blue Bayou. Mouth watering

I think they will, it's a good investment given that VGC has sold out and hard to book. It might be smart to wait.

 

[disneynutz]

I agree with that. What's that condition called... Disney Vasculitis where your legs swell up from so much walking? Do you have a resort suggestion?

My suggestion is that you spend some time at WDW, visit the resorts and decide for yourself. People love BLT, we don't, everyone has different tastes, likes and dislikes. What matters is what you like and how the resort makes you feel when staying there.

Bill

 

[Sabrina Carter]

Disney cannot add more timeshare units at Disneyland without the approval of the Anaheim City Council, a change in the Disneyland Resort zoning plan, and a Conditional Use Permit. I'd not wait hoping.

So noted. Inside, I'm like a child so this is one more reason not to wait.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

". I'm 2 hours from Disneyland by plane and 4 hours from Disneyworld."

Agreed with above about VGC. One of the benefits of DVC (at least for me) is the ability to do quick unplanned trips. That's doable with a 2-hour flight. Harder lift with 4 hours. I'm in the DC area and can get to MCO after work if I book a 6:00 or 7:00 flight. spend the weekend and back home Sunday evening after a 1/2 day at the parks or a leisurely breakfast. Cant' do that going coast-to-coast.

Theoretically, I could do the same. Thanks for pointing this out.

 

[pineapplepalms]

If you spend an equal amount of time at both then VGC resale is likely the better option since it's so hard to book, especially if you go for longer trips. We are in a similar situation since it's a 5-6 hour flight to MCO but we can drive to DLR. However, we tend to go to DLR for weekend trips and WDW for longer trips where we spend a lot more time at the resorts. Ultimately we chose to buy WDW home resorts since we care more about where we stay for the longer stays and it doesn't matter as much for the short weekend stays where we're not at the resort that much, plus there are a ton of great hotel options nearby unlike at WDW. So far we've been able to book a couple of last minute VGC weekend stays using our SSR resale points (we got lucky with cobbling together single day WLs), but we'd also be fine staying offsite at DLR. So it really depends if you value where you stay at WDW or DLR resort more.

 

[Sabrina Carter]

If you spend an equal amount of time at both then VGC resale is likely the better option since it's so hard to book, especially if you go for longer trips. We are in a similar situation since it's a 5-6 hour flight to MCO but we can drive to DLR. However, we tend to go to DLR for weekend trips and WDW for longer trips where we spend a lot more time at the resorts. Ultimately we chose to buy WDW home resorts since we care more about where we stay for the longer stays and it doesn't matter as much for the short weekend stays where we're not at the resort that much, plus there are a ton of great hotel options nearby unlike at WDW. So far we've been able to book a couple of last minute VGC weekend stays using our SSR resale points (we got lucky with cobbling together single day WLs), but we'd also be fine staying offsite at DLR. So it really depends if you value where you stay at WDW or DLR resort more.

This is something I haven't considered. Those offsite hotels are really close, many within walking distance to DLR. Also, I did not take into consideration the length of stay. Thanks.

 

[zavandor]

Quality of the hotels around DLR has improved a lot in the last few years. Not long ago most where just low expectations motels, now big chains have invested a lot and refurbished hotels that now are very nice. If I cannot get a DVC hotel at WDW I'd be very disappointed, at DLR not that much (and I love VGC).

 

[sleepydog25]

I agree with aurora. If you truly plan to split your time between DL and WDW, then VGC is the best option. It's very difficult to get VGC at 7 months for much of the year, but you'd have the 11-month point so likely no issues. On the other hand, with SSR and OKW and even AKL being large resorts, the chances of you getting in there at 7 months outside a handful of times is much more likely. Yes, you'd have to do resale which involves a bit more trouble to buy than direct from Disney, and you lose certain perks (which to me are minor given the cost savings most times), but you'd have a gorgeous resort 2 hours from home.

 

[gillep]

We live in CA and own at two different WDW resorts. We owned at AKL when we were still living on the East Coast, but purchased resale last year at BCV even after contemplating purchasing at VGC for our DL stays since we are so close now (1 hour flight). We like DL (we were just there last week), and loved our stay at VGC, but prefer to save the money and stay at a hotel on Harbor than purchase at VGC. That said, we have completely different trips when we are at WDW vs DL, we take much shorter trips to DL and are on the go much more, whereas when we stay at WDW we do longer trips that are much more relaxing so resort matters more, for us, even at VGC, three days at DL is enough, so we wouldn't be interested in longer trips there.