First time buyer

[Trinity88]

I am looking at buying resale (maybe, Hubby needs to decide if he's on board). I'd like about 300 points. We are a family of 5 including 2 teens. So we want space when we stay. Our preferred resort is BLT in a 1 or 2 bdr. My dilemma is where to buy. If I understand correctly from reading, 1 and 2 bdrs aren't that difficult to get at 7 months at most resorts (while BLT is our preferred, we may want to try other resorts). Right now I'm eyeing 2 contracts - a BLT 300 pt contract for $151/pt and an AKV 300 pt contract for $117/pt. I've done the math and with the difference in dues, BLT is actually cheaper over the length of the contract. But it is a lot more money up front. I'm also concerned about ROFR for BLT, it may take us a bit to actually get a contract as BLT has the highest percentage of Disney buy back. But I can be patient. We won't travel until summer 2022 at the earliest.

I have also looked at SSR and OKW, but I decided AKV was my fall back choice because of the 2 bathrooms in the 1 bdrs. I also could forsee wanting a studio here and there when the kids are busy and DH and I want to travel without them. I know those are harder to get at 7 months so I was thinking I should buy where I'd at least be happy to stay. But am I overthinking? If we mainly want 1/2 bdrs, should we go with the cheapest contract and not worry about home resort?

My other question is, when you bank points, when do they need to be used by. Let's say we bank 2021 points, use year APR. Do they need to be used by APR 2023 (so the end of the 2022 use year)? I've done a lot of reading and can't seem to find the answer on this one.

I'm sure these types of questions have been asked a million times, I just couldn't find them. So thank you for any help you guys can give!

 

[Ruttangel]

I am looking at buying resale (maybe, Hubby needs to decide if he's on board). I'd like about 300 points. We are a family of 5 including 2 teens. So we want space when we stay. Our preferred resort is BLT in a 1 or 2 bdr. My dilemma is where to buy. If I understand correctly from reading, 1 and 2 bdrs aren't that difficult to get at 7 months at most resorts (while BLT is our preferred, we may want to try other resorts). Right now I'm eyeing 2 contracts - a BLT 300 pt contract for $151/pt and an AKV 300 pt contract for $117/pt. I've done the math and with the difference in dues, BLT is actually cheaper over the length of the contract. But it is a lot more money up front. I'm also concerned about ROFR for BLT, it may take us a bit to actually get a contract as BLT has the highest percentage of Disney buy back. But I can be patient. We won't travel until summer 2022 at the earliest.

I have also looked at SSR and OKW, but I decided AKV was my fall back choice because of the 2 bathrooms in the 1 bdrs. I also could forsee wanting a studio here and there when the kids are busy and DH and I want to travel without them. I know those are harder to get at 7 months so I was thinking I should buy where I'd at least be happy to stay. But am I overthinking? If we mainly want 1/2 bdrs, should we go with the cheapest contract and not worry about home resort?

My other question is, when you bank points, when do they need to be used by. Let's say we bank 2021 points, use year APR. Do they need to be used by APR 2023 (so the end of the 2022 use year)? I've done a lot of reading and can't seem to find the answer on this one.

I'm sure these types of questions have been asked a million times, I just couldn't find them. So thank you for any help you guys can give!

I think rooms at BLT are much harder to get than AKV, so you would be better getting a BLT contract.
For example Nov and Dec 2021 already full up, just the odd day here or there.
I know they are busiest times of year but AKV still has solid availability.

Getting BLT through ROFR is a challenge and I would ask brokers about international sellers as Disney usually ignored those ones.

 

[Wedgeout]

it’s a huge budget purchase. Buy a contract that makes your family feel the happiest for the life of the contract. Don’t let ROFR deter your decision. Resale is for getting the best price compared to what you would pay or receive from getting points direct. Yearly fees change and in the future one resort may not stay the lowest. Too unpredictable to worry about.

You are given the 8 months of the Use Year (UY) to bank any current year points. In your April example it’s November 30. If you bank 2021 UY points they get used for 2022 UY bookings. So don’t bank too early in case change mind and decide to book in your 2021 UY. Yes, the banked points would expire at the end of the UY the points were banked into.

 

[RoseGold]

ROFR is unpredictable and depends on who Disney has lined up to buy. You can't predict that. So, maybe it gets taken. There are more.

My answer depends on how long you want to hold this. If you don't plan on holding long, and if you don't travel peak, you might also think about just buying cheap SSR points and booking whatever 2BR is available. I did this for the summer and got my top choices, BC and VGF, and that's with a ton of Covid points floating around. This doesn't work as well for studios, but it still works if your dates are flexible and you're willing to get the spendier rooms. I've never even been to SSR, and I have A LOT of SSR points, because I plan to sell them soon. I like knowing I can cancel my pending trips and break even anytime I want. If you plan to pass your points to your kids, obviously this might not be the best idea.

 

[irazabul]

You are correct that if you bank APR 2021 points, you have to use them by APR 2023. You have until November 30 to bank the points, so it I were you, I would wait until you are sure you don't need them this year, because once you bank the APR 2021 points, you can only use them between April 1 2022 and March 31 2023.

As for how many points you need, we have 370 points between two contracts at SSR and the years we don't need them, we were able to rent the points no problem. Lastly, I would buy resale - the savings far outweigh the benefits of direct.

Good luck!

 

[ElizabethG]

I own at BLT, so I am biased - You should buy there!
Really though, I just wanted to add that if you are looking for a standard view room at BLT, all of those can be hard to get at 7 months. I have had good luck at the 11 month mark, but they disappear pretty quickly.

 

[DVCanadian]

Save even more upfront and buy as many SSR resale as you feel comfortable buying. Most times of the year you will get something you want somewhere. Buying AKV because of the bathrooms only make sense if you are staying at AKV. AKV usually easy to book at 7 months for a 1 or 2 bd, no need to own there (ie may not be worth paying the difference between SSR and AKV). Spend the same money and get more points at SSR.

dues are the biggest cost if you keep the contract a long time. BLT and SSR have better dues, extra costs at AKV for animal upkeep.

 

[starfrenzy]

Save even more upfront and buy as many SSR resale as you feel comfortable buying. ... Spend the same money and get more points at SSR.

Thank you for this timely thread. I'm a first-time buyer too.

As everybody here knows, my AKL contract just got taken in ROFR. Now I'm searching for another, but AKL is slim-pickin's right now. I'm starting to consider going with SSR, although my heart truly belongs with AKL. But I know to have longer stays for my family of 7, and many times without being able to plan 11 months out, I'd likely be booking a week in 2BR at OKW or SSR anyway. It's just the concept of "ownership" and home resort pride. I don't want to regret not having AKL as my "home".

I absolutely love safari animals and the African theming. Golf and horse racing are NOT my style. But I do love the new SSR refurbs.

 

[ozliz]

Think about when you can book if paying extra for the 11 month advantage. As an SSR owner I like that I don’t have to book at 11 months. I can often book at 8-9 months when I’m also looking at airfare sales and it’s nice to be able to make or modify a booking at that stage. Originally I planned to buy more points to get the 11 month booking window after staying at a range of the high demand resorts but then I realised that 11 months out isn’t realistic for booking so am holding off for now.

 

[DVCanadian]

Thank you for this timely thread. I'm a first-time buyer too.

As everybody here knows, my AKL contract just got taken in ROFR. Now I'm searching for another, but AKL is slim-pickin's right now. I'm starting to consider going with SSR, although my heart truly belongs with AKL. But I know to have longer stays for my family of 7, and many times without being able to plan 11 months out, I'd likely be booking a week in 2BR at OKW or SSR anyway. It's just the concept of "ownership" and home resort pride. I don't want to regret not having AKL as my "home".

I absolutely love safari animals and the African theming. Golf and horse racing are NOT my style. But I do love the new SSR refurbs.

Run the numbers and let the points be your guide. For the first few years no one ever has enough points! There is so much you will want to do.
Think of it as a contract for real estate and not a magical place to stay. When you buy you will own a Disney hotel room! You can stay in it, rent it out or let others stay in it.

At 7 months I am like an owner at every resort!
But paying dues at SSR and OKW rates.

is the worst result staying in the largest 2 bd rooms in DVC at OKW? Oh noooo! LOL.

2 bds at AKV seemed available at 7 months easily when I’ve stayed there. AKV is 3rd largest WDW resort and has 140 dedicated 2 bedrooms.

 

[princesscinderella]

Thank you for this timely thread. I'm a first-time buyer too.

As everybody here knows, my AKL contract just got taken in ROFR. Now I'm searching for another, but AKL is slim-pickin's right now. I'm starting to consider going with SSR, although my heart truly belongs with AKL. But I know to have longer stays for my family of 7, and many times without being able to plan 11 months out, I'd likely be booking a week in 2BR at OKW or SSR anyway. It's just the concept of "ownership" and home resort pride. I don't want to regret not having AKL as my "home".

I absolutely love safari animals and the African theming. Golf and horse racing are NOT my style. But I do love the new SSR refurbs.

I’ve noticed that too that all the DVC resellers have had a definite drop in available contracts for all resorts right now.

 

[kanerf]

I do own at AKL, but I would also recommend BLT. Any of the Monorail resorts are great to have and even better when the Epcot monorail returns. AKL is very isolated and only assessable by bus or car. BLT has the monorail, walking to MK, busses to other parks and boats to WL. You can also get lucky and get a partial MK view room for a regular room charge.

 

[Trinity88]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I think we've decided to go with BLT. It's really where we want to stay and the cheaper dues make a difference log term to us (we're Canadian and have to consider a fluctuating exchange rate). Now to get DH on board and find a contract and get through ROFR!

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I think we've decided to go with BLT. It's really where we want to stay and the cheaper dues make a difference log term to us (we're Canadian and have to consider a fluctuating exchange rate). Now to get DH on board and find a contract and get through ROFR!

I wish you luck with BLT if you truly want to get through ROFR the first time don’t try to make a great deal as I’ve been bought back three times and others have been bought back multiple time too. Go a few dollars higher because at the end of the day over the next 40 years it averages out to very little

 

[Nie0214]

Also, you may want to consider searching for 2 contracts of 150-180ish in the same use year, so they’re easier to sell later but also break up the upfront purchase cash, if that’s a concern.