Has anyone made special trip to WDW to view DVC properties?

[De Ann]

After going on the cruise March 3-10 (which we loved!!!) and now that my twins are old enough to start vacationing DH and I are considering DVC. We've never been to any of the WDW properties and after reading everyones opinions about which are the best to buy into, I'm really confused. Did anyone make a trip down to WDW to view the DVC properties and make their decision based on that? Our guide said it wasn't necessary, but this is a lot of money to invest in something we've never actually seen before. I'm sure we wouldn't be disappointed, though. The video and book they sent really doesn't give a lot of info about the pools, entertainment and features of each property. It would be a great getaway for DH and I, but if we don't have to spend the money to go down that would be great too. Any opinions??? TIA

 

[twinglefam]

That's exactly what DH and I are doing next week! We went to Disney this past Nov. with our three kids and actually had the BW contracts in our hands right before the trip, but decided not to buy. (Boy do we regret it)You didn't say where you are from but we are actually going down because you cannot purchase through the mail in NY yet.(and to get away, we have twins too!)

We didn't see the interior of the VWL( which will be our home) but I'm not worried about liking it. It sounds beautiful and we're staying there when we go next week, two nights, with rental points. I also didn't want to buy before seeing it. But it's just beautiful from what I've heard/read. We stayed at BC for two nights and loved being onsite. That's our main reason for purchasing. Good luck.

Here we go...........

 

[wdwnut]

hi: we purchased at bwv sight unseen and have never regretted it. each of the three wdw dvc resorts has a specific "feel" or theme to it. okw has a very laid back feel, the rooms are larger, # of points needed per stay and dues are less. however, you have to rely on bus transportation to all the parks; you can walk to dd. bwv have a bit livlier feel. the location is the key here. you can walk to either epcot or mgm, and pool-hopping over to stormalong bay at the yc/bc is a snap. the luna park pool is pretty nice as well. vwl are wonderfully themed as is the regular wl. the atmosphere here is very laid-back. some of our most relaxed vacations have been spent at wl. there's boat transportation to the mk, fw, and the contemporary; buses are for everywhere else. take a look at the pictures of each that are available here, the official disney site, www.wdwig.com and www.ourlaughingplace.com feel free to post any questions here; there are a bunch of wonderful people to answer them.

 

[MN_DizNut]

I leave April 2nd for a meeting and tour on April 3rd. Will not be seeing any of the parks or other attractions...(well I might end up dropping a dollar or 2hundred at one of the shops...) Leave the afternoon of the 3rd to meet my family who are flying into Ft Myers.

Jon

WDW '85 offsite
DL '85
DL '87
WDW '89 offsite
WL '97
WL '97 (again!)
WH '99
WL '99
AStSp '99 (YUCKY!!!)
DCL/Poly Jun/July '02

 

[TampaDisneyFreaks]

We have, but it probably doesn't count. We live about an hour and a quarter away from Disney and go quite often. Sometimes we go just to see the resorts for the afternoon (and maybe have a meal), DVC resorts included. We made a special trip when we signed up last year. Probably not quite the answer you were looking for.

 

[KC Canadian mom]

Hello, from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. I've been reading from this board for a month now, and have learned so much. Thanks to all of you. My DH and I are ready to become DVC owners, but are really torn over which resort to buy into as well. Home resort and 11 month ressies will be very important to us as I am a teacher and will be travelling March Break or Christmas every year. I like the idea of OKW--low points and quiet--but think I would love BCV when they come out. Will it be noisy at night? I've never been to beach club or OKW. What is Beach club like? Can anyone shed some sunlight on my dilemma? I don't think I'll be able to get down there soon.

 

[David]

I was very confused after reading these messages also. We finally decided on OKW since it is available and best price for a resale. Also my wife did not want to go to disney and stay in a hotel that looks like a forest. We have that here at home in Pennsylvania.

 

[Disnydad]

We are now discussing a trip down to purchase extra points at VWL. Can not do this over the phone or through the mail from NY at this time.

Don, DVC/VWL 2000

No frogs were riveted during the construction of this post.

 

[kem330]

KCCanadian; The Beach Club is beautiful it is Eastern seaboard style resort- nice architecture and the best pool on property. The villas will be off to the side of the resort with no view per se but should be quiet and first rate. Only problem is it'll probably be 2003 before you can stay there. We purchased BWV resale because it is right across from BC and you can still use the pool over there and enjoy the same convenient location.

 

[Mary Ellen]

If you are planning on staying at DVC over Christmas week very often, before you buy you should find out about the requirements for getting a reservation for then. As we aren't interested in going then I don't know the specifics, but it does involve a special list, due to the high demand.

 

[Lisa P.]

De Ann, I'm not clear as to why you are considering buying into DVC.

We've never been to any of the WDW properties and after reading everyones opinions about which are the best to buy into, I'm really confused.

By the above, do you mean that you have never been to any of the WDW DVC resorts or you have never been to any WDW resort? If you haven't been to a Disney resort, are you certain you would want to stay at a DVC resort at least every other year??? That's really the best reason to buy into DVC. Are you looking at the option to use points for more cruises in the future? That's subject to change.

Did anyone make a trip down to WDW to view the DVC properties and make their decision based on that?

I took a short solo Disney trip when we were considering DVC and toured OKW & BWV between park-hopping. I was surprised at my impressions of each after having seen the video. The DVC resorts are quite different than (and IMHO poorly represented by) the photos and video. Choosing a home resort is pretty individual. Our choice of OKW was based on our appreciation of the resort and the lower maint fees. We prefer to avoid peak travel seasons so home resort didn't matter as much for us as it may for some, though.

this is a lot of money to invest in something we've never actually seen before.

I agree! We've bought other timeshares for exchanging, sightunseen, but never one that cost more than $3,000. A pricier one and/or one we wanted to use ourselves, we always wanted to see first. Different people have differing comfort levels with this.

If you did buy in, when and where would you use your first points (next 2 or 3 trips)? If you didn't buy in, where and when might you take your first 2 or 3 alternative vacations and what would you realistically expect spend on those accommodations (room/condo only)? Perhaps by looking at that, a decision to either buy sooner or after seeing for yourselves, or not buying at all, would make most sense to you. Hope that helps.

 

[Lesley]

We rented points for a night at OKW to try it out before we bought....but ended up buying at BWV a few days before that stay ever happened! We did the tour at the beginning of the trip and joined then and there...of course had we decided to change our minds and go with OKW we would have been within the timeframe to do so. Our stay at OKW confirmed our desire to own at BWV...its nice but not really for us. If I'm planning a trip on short notice I'll have no problem with staying there, but we want to spend most of our time at BWV. That said, we have yet to actually stay at BWV or at any Epcot resort! We have not seen VWL, but doing an add on is tempting....WL is beautiful! (even though we do have the woods here in PA...lol....its amazing how many from NJ own at BWV too!)


Lesley


1979 Contemporary
1992 Off-site
1994 Carribean Beach
1999 Fort Wilderness and Coronado Springs
2000 Polynesian and Old Key West
2002 Boardwalk Villas

 

[ceejay13]

We also bought sight unseen last May and took our first trip as members in December. Our only regret - we didn't do it sooner. We even added on points before we went down. Our home resort is BWV but could only get ressies at OKW last year. We also stayed for 2 nights at VB and it was incredible. OKW was wonderful too, we loved it. We did go to look at the models at the BWV. They had some set up with the BW decor and seperate ones with the WLV decor, as the floor plans are the same. In addition, we checked out the actual WLV, and loved the Iron Spike room. We are going for our first trip to stay at the BWV in November, and cannot wait to go back. We had done a ton of homework before our initial purchase, much of it right on this site as you can get invaluable info from the members here. We did use a few points in January and stayed at the Grand Californian at Disneyland, which was also incredible. If you are avid Disney fans, it is really the way to go. Good luck in your decision!