Hard time deciding how many points we truly need.

[VGCgroupie]

Okay....help me with a couple lists.

Downsides of buying VDH over more VGC.
1. Can't stay at VCG every single trip.
2. TOT
3. Slightly farther walk.

Downsides of buying more VGC over VDH.
1. No direct benefits.
2. No variety with visits since we'd always be at VGC.
3. Can't use points at VDH or any new resorts

What are the other biggies? I can come up with a ton of positives for both scenarios so I wanted to think of the main negatives.

Point charts sometimes at VGC are much higher. Owning both gives you the ability to utilize both low sides of the charts.

 

[juliebee]

Downside of buying more VGC-
More expensive or less points for same amount of money
Can't tap into the low point periods that are in VDH. (Some are significant- like March and August)

 

[juliebee]

Downside of buying more VGC-
no direct benefits (if you buy resale)
because of the cost of the points, you would need to basically restrict their use to only VGC
if you bought VDH you could use the points at either resort

 

[cruisehopeful]

Okay....help me with a couple lists.

Downsides of buying VDH over more VGC.
1. Can't stay at VCG every single trip.
2. TOT
3. Slightly farther walk.

Downsides of buying more VGC over VDH.
1. No direct benefits.
2. No variety with visits since we'd always be at VGC.
3. Can't use points at VDH or any new resorts

What are the other biggies? I can come up with a ton of positives for both scenarios so I wanted to think of the main negatives.

I was just watching a YouTube about wildernesses Lodge and I was thinking about you. BRV and VGC seem like such a similar vibe. It made me wonder if you should stick with VGC for your son. Would that make him more comfortable? As much as I think VDH is a better choice for people who like both resorts, if the consistency of the overall vibe is better for your son at VGC, that would be a done deal imo.

Same thing with if there's a meltdown. Would it be easier to get to back to VGC? I had a horrible migraine at Disneyland once and I thought I was going to vomit on my way back to VDH where I was going to lay down and take some Advil and Tylenol. At the time, I kept thinking about how much better it would have been to be at VGC, even if it was just to get to the restroom in the lobby.

 

[ClaraOswald]

When we stopped staying on Harbor, I was really concerned he would be upset or confused but he really wasn't bothered at all. We've stayed in various types of hotels over the years and he seems to do fine in all of them (*knock on wood.*) I think to him, the trip is more about the parks than anything else. He seems pretty indifferent about hotels. His understanding of things gets better each year too, which is really helpful. We show him a lot of pictures and stuff before we go places so I think if we prepared him for staying elsewhere, he'd be okay.

Of course, one never knows with him so anything is truly possible.

 

[Chili327]

Point charts sometimes at VGC are much higher. Owning both gives you the ability to utilize both low sides of the charts.

This is huge, imo

Downside of buying more VGC-
More expensive or less points for same amount of money
Can't tap into the low point periods that are in VDH. (Some are significant- like March and August)

Definitely map it out, & see which lines up with travel dates.

Downside of buying more VGC-
no direct benefits (if you buy resale)
because of the cost of the points, you would need to basically restrict their use to only VGC
if you bought VDH you could use the points at either resort

True, any VGC is basically restricted so just do the math & compare the po1nt charts for your travel dates!

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I like VDH for the variety. While I love the aesthetic of BR and VGC, I don’t want to ONLY do those for my trips. We have enjoyed each resort for different reasons, and once you go 1B with three adults, forget studios. You’ll need to own VDH to get 1Bs. There’s very few of them, IIRC.

 

[ClaraOswald]

This is huge, imo


Definitely map it out, & see which lines up with travel dates.



True, any VGC is basically restricted so just do the math & compare the po1nt charts for your travel dates!

I haven't compared every "season" yet. But I did look at our main times, VGC is more expensive.

Though if we just plan to go once per year, alternating between VDH and VGC, we'd actually end up with excess points pretty much every year, I think.

 

[Chili327]

I haven't compared every "season" yet. But I did look at our main times, VGC is more expensive.

Yep, the only seasons that matter are yours.

Though if we just plan to go once per year, alternating between VDH and VGC, we'd actually end up with excess points pretty much every year, I think.

Having an excess of points isn’t really an issue, it’s an insurance policy that you don’t ever come up short… and if you ever roll over too many points, just upgrade or rent them out.

 

[intamin]

How many points do you own at VGC @ClaraOswald ? Sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread but assuming you have no direct points VDH could be nice so you can try out resale restricted resorts like RIV and LSL and CFW and etc. while also giving you access to cheaper point charts like was said above. I have a bias somewhat towards VGC but if you already have a healthy amount there

No rush… It’s just one year less of points for the same or higher price.

That's what pushed me to buy my contract recently.. there's still a couple months before my April UY comes up but I didn't want to risk losing the FW I wanted in exchange for a couple months of dues and also the price increase coming up in February. While I'm in my 10 day rescission period I've been toying with the idea of going up to 250 but I feel like it's bordering financial irresponsibility and my wife would kill me so I'm leaning towards no. If I actually NEED it down the line I'll just buy it after the resort is sold out. 50 points should only be a couple grand difference.. or I'll buy it resale but I really do like having my entire April UY being completely direct points.

 

[Chili327]

That's what pushed me to buy my contract recently.. there's still a couple months before my April UY comes up but I didn't want to risk losing the FW I wanted in exchange for a couple months of dues and also the price increase coming up in February. While I'm in my 10 day rescission period I've been toying with the idea of going up to 250 but I feel like it's bordering financial irresponsibility and my wife would kill me so I'm leaning towards no. If I actually NEED it down the line I'll just buy it after the resort is sold out. 50 points should only be a couple grand difference.. or I'll buy it resale but I really do like having my entire April UY being completely direct points.

Yep, don’t let perfect be the spoiler of good.

 

[ClaraOswald]

How many points do you own at VGC @ClaraOswald ? Sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread but assuming you have no direct points VDH could be nice so you can try out resale restricted resorts like RIV and LSL and CFW and etc. while also giving you access to cheaper point charts like was said above. I have a bias somewhat towards VGC but if you already have a healthy amount there


That's what pushed me to buy my contract recently.. there's still a couple months before my April UY comes up but I didn't want to risk losing the FW I wanted in exchange for a couple months of dues and also the price increase coming up in February. While I'm in my 10 day rescission period I've been toying with the idea of going up to 250 but I feel like it's bordering financial irresponsibility and my wife would kill me so I'm leaning towards no. If I actually NEED it down the line I'll just buy it after the resort is sold out. 50 points should only be a couple grand difference.. or I'll buy it resale but I really do like having my entire April UY being completely direct points.

Our current DVC points are:
160 VGC resale
200 BRV resale

The main reason we want more points is because 160 isn't enough to stay in a 1-bedroom for the amount of days we like to travel each year.

I have no desire to ever stay at Riviera. But I do have interest in trying out CFW and probably LSL someday too. Of course, it we do that, we would possibly need to skip at Disneyland trip that year so who knows if we'd ever do it.

 

[ClaraOswald]

So we've been considering 150-160 points direct at VDH.
Or approximately 100ish at VGC resale.

On average, we want to stay for 1 week in a 1-bedroom, once a year.

Right now, we have a lot of VGC banked. Which is why I figure we'd need less at VGC for at least the next 10 years, maybe. But I honestly haven't looked farther than 2033ish. Now that I'm really thinking about it...I guess we'd need MORE than 100 eventually once our surplus of banked points runs out. Right? I mean, IF we still wanted to go once a year for 1 week every year.

I figure there's a good chance we'll skip a year here or though in favor of other types of vacations so then the surplus would build again. (Sort of like our plans for BRV....we have 200 points, but a 1-bedroom for a week in January is 218 points so we need that little surplus to cover that extra 18. When it runs out, we'll have to skip a year or stay in a small room or less days.)

But...what if we DON'T want to skip a year? Or if we want to travel at a more expensive time? I worry we'd really need to be looking at a larger VGC resale contract.

For example, our favorite travel time is June. It's 291 points for a week in a 1-bedroom in June. That's 131 more points than we have each year.

So should we really be looking at larger (130-160) VGC contracts if we want to go that route instead of direct VDH?

Maybe me comparing 160 VDH direct to 100 VGC as our choices isn't what I should be doing and I should be comparing 160 VDH to 150ish VGC??

 

[AstroBlasters]

The other big thing to consider is that VDH is very studio heavy and so the 1BDs can be more difficult to book than at VGC where they sometimes even make it to 7m.

We won’t know if this will be the case as more rooms are declared.

Of course, you can always buy VDH points and waitlist a VGC 1BD to avoid the TOT.

 

[ClaraOswald]

The other big thing to confer is that VDH is very studio heavy and so the 1BDs can be more difficult to book than at VGC where they sometimes even make it to 7m.

We won’t know if this will be the case as more rooms are declared.

Of course, you can always buy VDH points and waitlist a VGC 1BD to avoid the TOT.

Yeah, the lack of 1 bedrooms is definitely a concern. I was hoping that as long as I jump on at exactly 11 months, I'd be okay.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah, the lack of 1 bedrooms is definitely a concern. I was hoping that as long as I jump on at exactly 11 months, I'd be okay.

I think most times of year you would be.

They are also VERY different vibes.

Personally, I like the variety. But…. I know your crew is very particular.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I think most times of year you would be.

They are also VERY different vibes.

Personally, I like the variety. But…. I know your crew is very particular.

I definitely would like the variety that would come with alternating locations. My husband liked the vibe at VDH as well but maybe isn't quite as into it as I am...just because he grew up in CA. But I do know he likes the retro feel. He was never able to stay at the Disneyland Hotel growing up but always wanted to.

I don't think our son has any preference. He was just as happy on Harbor (Desert Inn 3 times and Park Vue 1 time) as he has been at the Grand. He just likes hotels, in general, I think. Seems happy at all the ones we've stayed at during various vacations over the years. He's super particular about some things and then totally indifferent about others.