Finally dove into the DVC World, where to start....

[ziravan]

I like OKW and BWV as options. Both have rooms with cheap points per nights if you are able to book at 11 months.

With OKW, you can get an extended contract to 2057 for not much more. We like near Hospitality House rooms but you'd need 11 month to get that consistently.

BWV standard rooms are great points per nights if you can get them at 11 months.

If you're looking to stretch points, then you have to look not at just price per points but also points per nights.

Best price/use of points wasn't my concern with PVB and BCV (although I got a great deal and I'm not sure I'd buy at today's resale price). If they were my concern, I'd look at BWV and especially, OKW extended.

 

[pangyal]

I think that if you're not looking to be booking at the exact same resort year after year, then there is not double the value for you in buying direct. SSR is an excellent choice for its longevity and buy in cost. Have you looked at AKL? The value rooms to stretch your points further and are nearly inaccessible if you don't own there, the resort is gorgeous, and kids tend to love the theming.

For the fixed week, it works great if you are definitely going to be staying at the same resort and only the same resort year after year, at exactly the same time. When you lock yourself into a single fixed week, you'll always feel like you have to take that week, unless you have other contracts to pick from for other times of the year, at which point it becomes a case of spending even more to get the choice you want. We also have a fixed week contract at VGF, but bought it after the others. Sure, you can dissolve it and get the points back. But then, you're back in the same situation of only really wanting to use those pricey points at PVB.

Nights at Poly are the highest cost other than VGF. You can get close to a one bedroom at some other resorts for the same cost. And would you want to use your $165 points to be booking at a resort consistently that you could have bought into for half the point cost?

I feel that Poly will not be too hard to book due to sheer number of studios and larger families (like yours!) shying away due to that. Most people booking there now are using their non-Poly points.

Also, I would definitely recommend looking at how much your annual passes are going to cost year after year, and calculate how much you'd "pre-save" of that by buying into a resort at $80-$85/point instead.

Then there is the possibility of truly receiving "extra" points with resale, which is a real perk as well.

Good luck ! I know it's a lot to take in.

 

[ziravan]

I think that if you're not looking to be booking at the exact same resort year after year, then there is not double the value for you in buying direct. SSR is an excellent choice for its longevity and buy in cost. Have you looked at AKL? The value rooms to stretch your points further and are nearly inaccessible if you don't own there, the resort is gorgeous, and kids tend to love the theming.

For the fixed week, it works great if you are definitely going to be staying at the same resort and only the same resort year after year, at exactly the same time. When you lock yourself into a single fixed week, you'll always feel like you have to take that week, unless you have other contracts to pick from for other times of the year, at which point it becomes a case of spending even more to get the choice you want. We also have a fixed week contract at VGF, but bought it after the others. Sure, you can dissolve it and get the points back. But then, you're back in the same situation of only really wanting to use those pricey points at PVB.

Nights at Poly are the highest cost other than VGF. You can get close to a one bedroom at some other resorts for the same cost. And would you want to use your $165 points to be booking at a resort consistently that you could have bought into for half the point cost?

I feel that Poly will not be too hard to book due to sheer number of studios and larger families (like yours!) shying away due to that. Most people booking there now are using their non-Poly points.

Also, I would definitely recommend looking at how much your annual passes are going to cost year after year, and calculate how much you'd "pre-save" of that by buying into a resort at $80-$85/point instead.

Then there is the possibility of truly receiving "extra" points with resale, which is a real perk as well.

Good luck ! I know it's a lot to take in.

AKV, yes we love there as well. 11 month advantage will get you poss access to value rooms or concierge. I think AKV is the only DVC concierge rooms at the moment (I think VWL will add that with expansion).

That said, both value and concierge at AKV are very few rooms and will book fast at 11 months. After those considerations, AKV tends to be avail at 7 months. Maybe Avatarland will change that.

 

[supersnoop]

One thing I guess thats important, Is the Poly hard to book in the 7 month window? For some reason I thought it was, but just for fun I tried to book christmas week 2015 and its still available. I figure if its available then, just a month out, I shouldn't have much trouble booking it any other time either.

PVB is easy to book at 7 months right now because they've declared about 50% of the inventory but only sold about 25% of the points. I do expect it will be more difficult in the future, but how difficult would just be a guess.

Ok, so for example, Vero Beach, a resort off DIS property, is selling 200 points in the low $60 range. I could still book all the DIS resorts (the ones available) at the 7 month mark correct? The points work the same way. That would save us a crazy amount of money and still looks like we could book almost anything we wanted. And give us at least 400 points if we go every two years. What resorts are commonly available during the 7 month window on WDW property? My wife is a school teacher so unfortunately we will mostly travel during the summer breaks, spring break, and sometime down the road would like to do a trip over xmas vacation.

Points are points at 7 months. SSR and AKV have always been always available at 7 months. One bedrooms are almost always available at 7 months. But keep maintenance fees in mind. SSR is cheaper than VB after about 8 years of maintenance fees, plus SSR has a longer expiration date. That's why lots of people recommend buying SSR when you just need points at 7 months or if you just want to try things out first without much risk if you decide to turn around and sell in a couple years; either to buy the resort you really want or if DVC doesn't meet your needs.

Check out Skier Pete's historical analysis:
http://disboards.com/threads/predic...-some-1-bedrooms-vgc-update-10-21-15.3419112/

 

[Judique]

That's interesting. I purchases in mid 1993 direct from DVC and I paid about $55/point…. maybe take a peek at that contract?

Later on, there were opportunities for discounts that may not have been available in 1993. One of them was if you were staying at a resort when you made the decision to buy, x number of $'s were allotted towards your DVC purchase. In addition, some cast members received 15-25% discounts over the years. There were incentives that hit about the time the free pass promo ended. And some of these resorts were extremely slow sellers back then.

Not sure what others paid, but I know it was quite possible to hit that $50 number.

 

[freediverdude]

If you're thinking maybe eventually 1-bedrooms, those probably wouldn't be difficult to get at 7 months at the other resorts if you have Poly points. There are some 2-bedroom options that book quickly, but it depends if you think you would need that. What I would be looking at are the other amenities. Like do you generally like a quiet resort away from hustle and bustle, or do you want to be in the middle of everything for convenience? What type of pool are the kids attracted to? Do you want a quick service location that is open late or 24 hours? Once Star Wars land and Carsland are built would you end up wanting to stay over in the Epcot resort area more, or would you still want to be primarily monorail to MK and Epcot? The monorail is nice, but also resorts like BWV and BCV have walking access to one park and stroller friendly boat access to another park. Just more things to consider.

 

[Deb & Bill]

That's interesting. I purchases in mid 1993 direct from DVC and I paid about $55/point…. maybe take a peek at that contract?

Nope, it was $50 a point. They were offering a special deal and we could count our stay at our hotel towards the purchase. So the price was $50 a point.

 

[southerngirl528]

That's awesome, Deb & Bill. I can't complain. I got the free park admission until 2000.

 

[ziravan]

Thought some on this. I still think you should convert to a fixed week while in your recission period and keep Poly.

1. MK Resort.
2. Strollers. Plural. There's something to be said about not having to move a sleeping kid.
3. Your DW loves Poly I believe you said.

Many of us here get addonitis. I did. When you're ready to buy more in 3-5 years, then you can look at other options.

For now, given was you've said, I think your Poly contract is fine. If Poly doesn't work for you, then in 3-5 yrs, when Poly is sold and the only fixed weeks are resales, I think you'll do well cashing out.

 

[dspud]

Also, I would definitely recommend looking at how much your annual passes are going to cost year after year, and calculate how much you'd "pre-save" of that by buying into a resort at $80-$85/point instead.

Then there is the possibility of truly receiving "extra" points with resale, which is a real perk as well.

Good luck ! I know it's a lot to take in.

Can you explain the annual pass and "pre-saving" more? Since we don't plan to visit more than once every couple years, at most once a year, I'm not sure we would ever get annual passes. I do believe we do want to have 200 points without spending more than we did at the poly. So my wife and I have some choices to make the next few evenings. Honestly the worst part will be calling our guide. Hell of a nice guy.

I am going to check out AKV and OKW points tomorrow as well. Thanks for the tip.

Thought some on this. I still think you should convert to a fixed week while in your recission period and keep Poly.

1. MK Resort.
2. Strollers. Plural. There's something to be said about not having to move a sleeping kid.
3. Your DW loves Poly I believe you said.

Many of us here get addonitis. I did. When you're ready to buy more in 3-5 years, then you can look at other options.

For now, given was you've said, I think your Poly contract is fine. If Poly doesn't work for you, then in 3-5 yrs, when Poly is sold and the only fixed weeks are resales, I think you'll do well cashing out.

This is still an option, but looking at the points, I think I would rather have the points now at less costs. 200 points gets us everything we want (and honestly things we never thought possible before). No reason to have addonitis if I have all the points I need anyway. If I have extra money to blow on vacations in future years we will be traveling other places, not to Disney resorts again.

Yes my wife and I both love the poly, but we also like checking out different places and rarely ever Like to stay at the same place twice (this post has convinced me there are many other places we would likely love). I'm 100% sure we stay at the poly next time we go, but after that, we will be down to one small stroller instead of 2 massive ones. And then after that, probably none. Hate to spend double on points when one of the major reasons we spent it will be non existent soon.

I purchased last Friday, so by my calculations domorrow (weds) is day 5. Another couple days to research and we will make a decision.

 

[ziravan]

For the next three years, while Poly is still for sale, DVD will release inventory to stay ahead of sales.

As long as you aren't vested in the busiest weeks, Poly should have availability at 7 months, at least until it approaches sell out.

 

[pangyal]

Can you explain the annual pass and "pre-saving" more? Since we don't plan to visit more than once every couple years, at most once a year, I'm not sure we would ever get annual passes. I do believe we do want to have 200 points without spending more than we did at the poly. So my wife and I have some choices to make the next few evenings. Honestly the worst part will be calling our guide. Hell of a nice guy.

I am going to check out AKV and OKW points tomorrow as well. Thanks for the tip.



This is still an option, but looking at the points, I think I would rather have the points now at less costs. 200 points gets us everything we want (and honestly things we never thought possible before). No reason to have addonitis if I have all the points I need anyway. If I have extra money to blow on vacations in future years we will be traveling other places, not to Disney resorts again.

Yes my wife and I both love the poly, but we also like checking out different places and rarely ever Like to stay at the same place twice (this post has convinced me there are many other places we would likely love). I'm 100% sure we stay at the poly next time we go, but after that, we will be down to one small stroller instead of 2 massive ones. And then after that, probably none. Hate to spend double on points when one of the major reasons we spent it will be non existent soon.

I purchased last Friday, so by my calculations domorrow (weds) is day 5. Another couple days to research and we will make a decision.

Sorry if the statement about the passes was confusing- what I meant was that, with almost or even over $8000 possible savings between buying a resale contract and direct at Poly, you'd have that much more to cover your tickets, flights, food, etc. for many years .

Your guide will live! He's a timeshare salesman, nothing more. Don't worry about it. If he told you something like that you were getting "free" or "match" points when he sold to you, feel even less guilty .

 

[Deb & Bill]

That's awesome, Deb & Bill. I can't complain. I got the free park admission until 2000.

And that is what we did not get. That deal was done when we bought.

 

[ToddyLu]

So have any final decisions been made and of course, what did the Guide say....inquiring minds...

 

[dspud]

canceled poly today. Didn't even take to the guide. Just sent in a cancellation letter via fax. Called about half hour later to confirm. No begging to stay, etc. Now, to decide what points we want to buy.....

thinking either SSR or OKW or AKV. Thinking about AKV. As the kids love animals. But the downside is, no good transportation options out of there. Then again, we probably wouldn't stay there until 5-6 years from now after the strollers are gone. Decisions decisions.

 

[ziravan]

Congrats on your decision!!!

If you go OKW look for extended contract. OKW expires in 2042 but several years ago, DVC offered extensions to 2057 for $15/point.

Currently, an extended contract sells for $5-8/pt more.

I think you can't go wrong with a resale OKW or AKV. I'd add BWV to the mix because all of those resorts have very cheap points per night rooms that you need to book at 11 months to get.

AKV will put you near Avatarland.

BWV will put you near Star Wars and Toy Story land.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[southerngirl528]

Do buy the place you believe you would want most to stay over the coming years. I think you will be happiest in the long run. Good luck. Curious. Who was your guide? You can PM me if you prefer. I don't know that many any more, but I've been a member so long I've been through quite a few over the years…

 

[sndral]

I bought AKV resale a couple of years ago. My thinking was:
1 - I love the ambiance of the resort and I love animals. While AK may be a 3/4 day park for us, it is a park we enjoy visiting often.
2 - lower cost per point (SSR was cheaper @ the time & had cheaper MFs - but I didn't particularly like SSR.)
3 - later contract end date - I was tempted by BWV, but just couldn't accept paying so much for a resort w/ a relatively soon end date. Maybe if the rumors about a new YC DVC are true I'll buy there in a couple of years
For you other things may be more important - many people wanting monorail access have opted for BLT (I'm not a fan of the theme - but it's very convenient.) In a year or two the Wilderness Lodge DVC expansion will be open for direct sales and that might tempt you. If you'll mostly visit in the summer, then you should have success at trying different DVC resorts at 7 months irrespective of where you buy.
Good luck with your resale search.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Do buy the place you believe you would want most to stay over the coming years. I think you will be happiest in the long run. Good luck. Curious. Who was your guide? You can PM me if you prefer. I don't know that many any more, but I've been a member so long I've been through quite a few over the years…

Agree. Buy the place that if you book it at 11 months out and can't find anything to change to at seven months out, you'll still be happy with your decision.

 

[dizfan]

Deb & Bill's advice of buying where you wouldn't mind staying is perfect for your situation.