getting into resorts at 7 months?

[mialeighs]

Hey, guys. New poster here. We're ready to join DVC, and I've read lots of posts, but I still have a question. We'd be happy joining SSR through DVC directly (and getting the extra 12 years on the contract), but we don't really want to stay there most of the time. How easy or hard is it to get ressies at 7 months out to VWL and BWV? I know VWL is small and sometimes hard to get into, but is it doable at least? If it's really difficult to get ressies at 7 months out, then we'll buy a resale at VWL, probably. I'm not sure when we'd mostly be going; we'd try to do it in the off-seasons, but we have kids, so we may have to do trips in late May, early June. And we might want to do early December trips sometimes.

These boards are so awesome, and I've learned so much. Thanks for any information you can give me!

mia

 

[Bojo]

Conventional wisdom is to buy where you want to stay. If you really want to stay at VWL or BWV, then I believe you should buy there. We own at OKW and have never had a problem getting what we wanted at BWV, but have never had the opportunity to experience VWL (we usually ask when making reservations).

 

[Granny]

First of all, Welcome to the DIS boards!

7 months at VWL is probably doable much of the year...early December might not be one of them as this is a very popular DVC time of the year with the low point usage and holiday decorations.

7 months at BWV is even easier most of the year but you won't have a great shot often at the Standard View and Boardwalk View locations. And October and early November get booked quickly (same as BCV) due to the Food & Wine Festival.

I know you've read a lot of threads, but this one at the following link has a ton of great information for those considering DVC.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634&page=1&pp=15

As long as you'll be happy to stay at SSR on some or many of your trips if unable to book elsewhere, then your strategy is sound. Especially if those extra 12 years are important to you.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[ohiominnie]

Hey, guys. New poster here. We're ready to join DVC, and I've read lots of posts, but I still have a question. We'd be happy joining SSR through DVC directly (and getting the extra 12 years on the contract), but we don't really want to stay there most of the time. How easy or hard is it to get ressies at 7 months out to VWL and BWV? I know VWL is small and sometimes hard to get into, but is it doable at least? If it's really difficult to get ressies at 7 months out, then we'll buy a resale at VWL, probably. I'm not sure when we'd mostly be going; we'd try to do it in the off-seasons, but we have kids, so we may have to do trips in late May, early June. And we might want to do early December trips sometimes.

These boards are so awesome, and I've learned so much. Thanks for any information you can give me!

mia

The mantra is....BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY.

That being said....it all depends.

We own at VWL. We weren't thinking and forgot to make our December ressies at our 11 month window (we had some health problems here and it wasn't top priority) At the TEN month window, we could NOT get what we wanted for early December at VWL (we're waitlisted for 4 days in the middle....2 here, 2 there) We hoped that at the 7 month window ppl would shift around and the waitlist would come through...but so far we have not gotten in. We made OKW ressies right at the 7 month window and got all of our days in a 2 bedroom without any problems (14 nights)
The waitlist MAY come through....who knows....but we have to know by the end of this month so we can cancel one of the ressies and bank the points (or lose them)

I would NOT assume that by buying SSR you'll get into any other resort at the 7 month window.

 

[iankh]

First of all welcome!

As you have already heard, conventional wisdom says, "Buy where you want to stay."

I faced the same decision a year ago. I had thought about buying at SSR and decided to listen to conventional wisdom. We always loved WL and VWL was our first choice. It also mattered to me that it was the smallest resort and therefore might be more difficult to get into at 7 months. I ended up buying a VWL. I was happy I did, when without any trouble at 11 months out, I was able to book our vacation there for this coming December.

What you have to reach inside and ask yourself is, "Will I be happy if I can only stay at SSR?" If the answer is no, then you might consider either a VWL or BWV resale.

PS - You'll notice from my signature that we also now own at BWV.

 

[Dean]

If one has a specific choice in mind, I'd generally buy there. Esp if that choice were BWV, VWL or BCV or even a 3 BR at any of the resorts. But there are situations where it does make sense to buy the cheapest and this included those that want to try it all over time and those that can travel at truly lower seasons like Jan and Sept. It also includes those that can't plan at least 7 months out though they generally should not be looking to buy.

 

[mialeighs]

Thanks for the great responses! I'm usually a lurker on boards, but I love when I do get involved with questions and responses. So fun!

I think we'll probably do a VWL resale, but I'll let you know when we decide for sure.

mia

 

[Plutofan]

Just remember that unless Disney builds some more high demand DVCs it will get harder and harder to get into the small resorts (Beach club, Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge) since there will be more members going after the 7 month window.

 

[Dean]

Just remember that unless Disney builds some more high demand DVCs it will get harder and harder to get into the small resorts (Beach club, Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge) since there will be more members going after the 7 month window.

It would take some 300-400 units minimum at as destination area to compensate for where things will be a the end of SSR sell out just to get us back to where we were prior to SSR. So even if CR and AKL happen, it will not be much if any easier than it is now and certainly not compared to where it was 2 years ago. Especially since a majority of the buyers will likely buy to stay and not to trade.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

My advice is this:

If you must stay at BCV/BWV/VWL, then buy there and use your 11 month booking advantage. Otherwise, you're wasting your $.

OKW is unique in that it allows you to buy in cheaper than the above and also gives you 11 month access to the cheapest and largest villas at WDW.

If you want to buy into the system for the best combination of price and maintenace fees, then look into HHI. Plus, it gives you the 11 month advantage to book summers at HHI.

I would only recommend buying SSR if you want the extra 12 years. With the size of SSR, there should be plenty of availability inside 7 months. And unless SSR starts guaranteeing views, there is no real 11 month advantage (except for maybe GV's at Christmas or Easter, but even in that case, OKW's are still 51 points cheaper per night.)

For us, it came down to SSR direct or HHI resale. Since the 12 years were not a factor to us, it then came down to $ and 11 month booking advantage. HHI was much cheaper and we liked the 11 month booking advantage for summers at HHI.

We figured we could always book SSR at 7 months, and would be happy to stay there, albeit not our 1st choice. But could we use SSR points to book summers at HHI (not to mention one of the 21 studios that we've booked for next Spring Break)? And at 7 months, points are points, so why not buy the cheapest available?

So whenever we book at WDW, whether it be the larger resorts OKW/SSR, or the smaller BCV/BWV/VWL, we're always trading up. And so far we are 3 for 3 on uptrades, BCV (twice) and VWL.

YMMV.

 

[abner1776]

It all depends upon when you will be traveling to VWL or BCV. If you want school vacations and other popular DVC times, then getting into VWL or BCV at the 7 month window will only leave you frustrated...and on the wait list.

When the last week of Nov and the first 2 weeks of Dec 2006 opened at the 7 month window, both resorts were booked solid...your only option was the waitlist. I would assume the same will happen with Xmas week when it opens in the next week or so.

If instead you enjoy going in Sept or January then you most likely will not have a problem booking at the 7 month window.

Many people report that they generally are successful with the waitlist and that maybe true but success can be subject to interpretation. If someone is on the waitlist for 5 months and then gets the ressie 2 months before they leave and they have to book airfare at higher rates....were they really successful ??? It's definitely a personal decision.

 

[browniemtb]

From the sounds of it I would for go the 12 years and buy a BWV or VWL contract direct from DVC. I do know they have BWV points available but I'm not sure about VWL. My guide was very good and explained all about SSR then I said I do not want to stay there and so I asked about BWV and low and behold she sold it to me. Not sure of the going rate now for BWV, but I'm assuming it would be around $98 per point for new members. As most posts have already explained....at 7 months its harder to get into the smaller more demanded properties......also the advantage that I see that BCV, BWV, and VWL have is that they are connected to the theme parks.....Good Luck
Brownie

 

[Granny]

From the sounds of it I would for go the 12 years and buy a BWV or VWL contract direct from DVC.

This is an either/or, you can't buy BWV or VWL and get the extra 12 years. The 2054 expiration date is only available for SSR purchases.

 

[allflgirl]

I've put an offer in for a resale for 150 points at SSR and now reading more about the 11 month/7 month reservation issues, I think I may have made a mistake putting in an offer for DVC.

I live in FL and would primarily only travel to Orlando during the months of September, early November, January & May (due to the fact I'm a Floridian and can go to Disney during the months when their not busy), so am I going to have an issue getting into other resorts during those time periods? I can be flexible to a degree, as taking any studio or 1 bed available, however, I do not want to pay for the additional space by having to take a 2 bed or GV. Also, I primarily picked SSR due to it's location to Downtown Disney and the spa, since I will only be visiting the parks once every 3 - 5 years. However, I do like variety and will not be satisfied staying only at SSR or OKW.

Any thoughts or experiences? I may need to rescind my offer.

Thanks, Julia

 

[mommyceratops]

We just booked our first trip home and bought into SSR, always planning to travel the first week of Dec. (I was told at purchase that was an easy time to switch hotels it is not) When I made our 7 month ressies I found basically we will always stay at SSR because all the others book up in the 11 month window. So buy where you want to stay. Is very true.

That said I love SSR and can't wait to stay there and I am happy if that is where we always stay. But I do hope when we add points I might add on somewhere else.

We are happy if we always have to stay at SSR, but I would like to do BWV once. This year we did manage to get into OKW because we have double points and point wise we want to go there because we are going for two weeks.

 

[rinkwide]

...always planning to travel the first week of Dec. (I was told at purchase that was an easy time to switch hotels it is not)...

If that was indeed the advice you got I think you should be naming names.

 

[mialeighs]

Thanks for everyone's advice! We've made an offer for a resale at VWL on TTS. We'll first see if the owner accepts the offer (they asked $90 per point; we offered $85, which seems closer to the going rate), and then move on to ROFR. If not that one, we'll wait for the next one.

thanks,
mia

 

[Granny]

I've put an offer in for a resale for 150 points at SSR and now reading more about the 11 month/7 month reservation issues, I think I may have made a mistake putting in an offer for DVC.

I live in FL and would primarily only travel to Orlando during the months of September, early November, January & May (due to the fact I'm a Floridian and can go to Disney during the months when their not busy), so am I going to have an issue getting into other resorts during those time periods? I can be flexible to a degree, as taking any studio or 1 bed available, however, I do not want to pay for the additional space by having to take a 2 bed or GV. Also, I primarily picked SSR due to it's location to Downtown Disney and the spa, since I will only be visiting the parks once every 3 - 5 years. However, I do like variety and will not be satisfied staying only at SSR or OKW.

Any thoughts or experiences? I may need to rescind my offer.

Thanks, Julia

Julia....I don't think you need to worry. You are visiting during some of the slower times, and I don't think you'll have much problem getting a variety of DVC resort choices at the 7 month booking window.

 

[browniemtb]

This is an either/or, you can't buy BWV or VWL and get the extra 12 years. The 2054 expiration date is only available for SSR purchases.

I do realize this, thats why I said to "for go", meaning forget about the 12 years and buy into either BWV or VWL.........
Brownie

 

[Granny]

I do realize this, thats why I said to "for go", meaning forget about the 12 years and buy into either BWV or VWL.........
Brownie

Oops...you're right...I read it as "go for" instead of "forego". My apologies for my misreading.