Help me pick a home resort!

[epicureangirl]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on the DVC part of the board but thanks to everyone who contributed. Your comments really helped me do my homework. Along with extensive reading and calculations which have convinced me that DVC ownership is for me (and my family of course), I am having a hard time making the final selection of a resort, and wondered what your considerations would be for the following 3 resorts:

OKW
SSR
BWV

My thoughts were that:
- I'd pick OKW for the room size
- SSR because of the extra years of ownership (which I may likely be too old to enjoy, but may help far down the road if I decide to sell)
- BWV for the proximity to Epcot, viewing of illuminations and a fun pool and atmosphere for my girls (2 and 10), and I'm a little worried I may not as easily book this resort if I don't have the early booking option (that you do when it is your home resort)

Since I am on the west coast, I will not be making yearly trips -- probably every 2 or 3 years (with banking and borrowing).

I've already forcast what this will cost me initially, 10 years out etc., so it all comes down to where you would pick as your home resort and why. I have already considered the others (and run the numbers), so please tell me your opinions on OKW, SSR & BWV. Hope I have the acronyms right.

Cheers.

 

[lisaviolet]

First of all...I wish Vancouver was my home resort! So beautiful.


OKW. DVC is currently offering, pending a vote, to extend the contract to 50 years for current OKW owners. With payment of course. This means that you might be able to buy the extended OKW from Disney in the near future. Who knows?

BWV might be in the same situation soon. We are all guessing.

It's such a personal preference. BWV has the standard points and the guaranteed BW view. I love the standard points. I fnd the location of these rooms, out the front, very peaceful as well.

Is your decision to own final? I'm only asking b/c I'm wondering that if you are only going to use it every two or three years that renting might be a better option.

However, we have a direct trade with Club Intrawest. So that includes the CI in the Sheraton Wall Centre. I can't wait to go there. Are you downtown as well? Plus, Whistler and Panorama CIs. So many options with them. There is a nightly option with CI. But the $95 exchange fee makes booking just one night less inviting.

Good luck with your decisions.

 

[DVC Mike]

I would pick BWV for the reasons you mentioned -- mostly the location near Epcot and DHS (as well as the Boardwalk).

 

[Granny]

My thoughts were that:
- I'd pick OKW for the room size
- SSR because of the extra years of ownership (which I may likely be too old to enjoy, but may help far down the road if I decide to sell)
- BWV for the proximity to Epcot, viewing of illuminations and a fun pool and atmosphere for my girls (2 and 10), and I'm a little worried I may not as easily book this resort if I don't have the early booking option (that you do when it is your home resort)

I'd discount the value of the extra years and resale value if you think you won't be able to enjoy them or will want to sell in 30 some odd years. Really, is the difference in value of something that you won't sell for a few decades really that important in this decision? Not for me. So if that's the only allure to you for SSR, I'd cross that off the list.

What you didn't indicate is where you would anticipate booking your stays. If you buy at one of these resorts, would you primarily want to stay there? Both BWV and OKW are fairly easy to book with home resort advantage, but if you want Standard View or Boardwalk View villas with a good degree of certainty, you will need to be an owner there.

On the other hand, OKW has a lower point schedule and dues so if you think you'll like the roomier villas and condo style resort, that's an excellent choice too.

To me, choosing between BWV and OKW is based on your vacationing preference. BWV is more hotel-like with the good and bad that brings. OKW is more spread out with the various buildings of villas along golf course and waterways.

And I wouldn't discount SSR which is also spread out with various buildings of villas and some great amenities. Also a very reasonable point schedule which helps stretch the points.

Good luck!

 

[smep013]

I have a question for the original poster - or whomever else can help...
How is it possible to buy at these resorts? We were only offered AKV and SSR. Are you talking about buying from another source, not Disney?

What are the advantages/disadvantages there?

Thank you.

 

[browniemtb]

I have a question for the original poster - or whomever else can help...
How is it possible to buy at these resorts? We were only offered AKV and SSR. Are you talking about buying from another source, not Disney?

What are the advantages/disadvantages there?

Thank you.

Through resales, that would be one avenue. But through Disney the Guides will direct you towards AKV and SSR because they are not sold out. But if you want to get into any of the other through Disney just tel your guide. There may or may not be points available, if there are no points you can go on a waiting list. When we bought in my guide offered me only SSR. I knew that we wanted BWV or BCV, she said that they were both sold out. OK, SSR wasn't for us so I asked again, how can I get my hands on BWV or BCV. All of a sudden once she realized thats where we want to be she explained that BCV was sold out but there is a waiting list and at the time on my purchase she had some BWV points available that they accumulated from ROFR. So technically you can buy into any resort.......either you have to wait or Disney may have the points available.
Brownie

 

[LisaS]

How is it possible to buy at these resorts? We were only offered AKV and SSR. Are you talking about buying from another source, not Disney?

As Brownie said, you can purchase the "sold out" resorts either on the resale market or directly from Disney. Disney gets these points back when the exercise ROFR (Right of First Refusal) when someone sells a contract and from foreclosures. They usually have points available for at least one Use Year for every resort except BCV. If you want BCV or want a particular Use Year at resorts like BWV or VWL, you will probably have to go on a wait list.

The current prices through Disney for the "sold out" resorts are:

BCV = $101/pt
BWV, VWL = $98/pt
OKW, HH and VB = $92/pt

Unlike AKV and SSR, they rarely offer any special incentives to purchase at a "sold out" resort and when they do, it's usually $5/pt at HHI and VB.

With the exception of OKW, the contracts at these resorts expire on Jan 31, 2042. The OKW contracts are being extended out to 2057 some time in the next few months. For comparison, SSR contracts expire on Jan 31, 2054 and AKV contracts expire on Jan 31, 2057.

ETA: Once Disney extends the end date for OKW, I would expect the price to increase as well.

 

[smep013]

Thank you. It's starting to make more sense now.

 

[epicureangirl]

It's such a personal preference. BWV has the standard points and the guaranteed BW view. I love the standard points. I fnd the location of these rooms, out the front, very peaceful as well.

Okay, I must have missed something... I don't know what the "standard points" are. I will go do some more research!

Is your decision to own final? I'm only asking b/c I'm wondering that if you are only going to use it every two or three years that renting might be a better option.

My decision to own is not final until a deal is signed, but I am very close to making a call to start the offer process. Disney World is always hands-down one of the best vacations I can think of. Now that I have two girls (and one is only two), I think this would be an opportune time to make Disney World a regular part of their travel memories, and since they're young, we have many years for it to first 'break-even' and then 'pay-off'. This will not be our only form of travel, as I intend to use the majority of my points for Disney, at least in the next 15 years or so (every other year as I stated), and will still do non timeshare trips in the years we don't go to Florida. I did think of renting points, but I kind of like that with points coming on every year you really MAKE SURE you take that vacation and make the membership worth your while.

However, we have a direct trade with Club Intrawest. So that includes the CI in the Sheraton Wall Centre. I can't wait to go there. Are you downtown as well? Plus, Whistler and Panorama CIs. So many options with them. There is a nightly option with CI. But the $95 exchange fee makes booking just one night less inviting.

I didn't realise that DVC had a direct trade with Club Intrawest -- I wonder if it goes both ways. My parents have CI, but I imagine they wouldn't be able to book Disney as early as an owner would. Any thoughts? Sheraton Wall Centre is a nice property and a perfect location for walking everywhere in the Downtown centre. Since I've been getting to go to some of the CI properties with gifted vacations from my parents, I haven't felt the need to buy CI... but Disney... I love it.

 

[drag n' fly]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on the DVC part of the board but thanks to everyone who contributed. Your comments really helped me do my homework. Along with extensive reading and calculations which have convinced me that DVC ownership is for me (and my family of course), I am having a hard time making the final selection of a resort, and wondered what your considerations would be for the following 3 resorts:

OKW
SSR
BWV

My thoughts were that:
- I'd pick OKW for the room size
- SSR because of the extra years of ownership (which I may likely be too old to enjoy, but may help far down the road if I decide to sell)
- BWV for the proximity to Epcot, viewing of illuminations and a fun pool and atmosphere for my girls (2 and 10), and I'm a little worried I may not as easily book this resort if I don't have the early booking option (that you do when it is your home resort)

Since I am on the west coast, I will not be making yearly trips -- probably every 2 or 3 years (with banking and borrowing).

I've already forcast what this will cost me initially, 10 years out etc., so it all comes down to where you would pick as your home resort and why. I have already considered the others (and run the numbers), so please tell me your opinions on OKW, SSR & BWV. Hope I have the acronyms right.

Cheers.

We have the exact same problem. We have shortlisted it to OKW or SSR. Dh and I are taking a trip down in April to make our decision.

 

[epicureangirl]

I'd discount the value of the extra years and resale value if you think you won't be able to enjoy them or will want to sell in 30 some odd years. Really, is the difference in value of something that you won't sell for a few decades really that important in this decision? Not for me. So if that's the only allure to you for SSR, I'd cross that off the list.

Yes, I'll discount the value of the extra years. I'll scratch off SSR, because I believe with the amount of rooms there, I'll have no problem booking it if I want to try it out.

What you didn't indicate is where you would anticipate booking your stays. If you buy at one of these resorts, would you primarily want to stay there? Both BWV and OKW are fairly easy to book with home resort advantage, but if you want Standard View or Boardwalk View villas with a good degree of certainty, you will need to be an owner there.

I think I would actually like staying at BWV most times, but may want the ocassional stay at OKW if we splurge on a 2 bedroom when asking the grandparents along. Since there are fewer units at BWV, I thought it might be advantageous to own there.

I am also quite certain I will want to stay at the Beach Club... but the point cost and maintenance fees are more than I want to pay so I will not be an owner there. Do owners of different DVC properties ever trade week for week with other owners to take advantage of the early booking option, or do you think Beach Club would be easy enough to book even if you weren't an owner there? Anyone?

 

[epicureangirl]

We have the exact same problem. We have shortlisted it to OKW or SSR. Dh and I are taking a trip down in April to make our decision.

Hello my Canadian neighbour. I wish I also could take a trip to help out with my decision, but that's not in the cards and I'm in a rush to take advantage of our strong dollar. I've really relied heavily on Tripadvisor, various Forums and Websites to research the properties, but nothing beats seeing them in person. I envy you! Enjoy your trip.

 

[smep013]

Why isn't anyone interested in AKV?

 

[epicureangirl]

Why isn't anyone interested in AKV?

For me, I would be interested in AKV if I could buy it in the $70-$80 per point range, but since I can only buy it directly from Disney and not through a resale company (like the host of this board), I will give it a miss. I want to buy points, but want to spend much less than the $100 plus per point through Disney.

For me, it comes down to price -- I can enjoy the benefits of membership of one of the other resorts for much less money and still book AKV with my points (not in the near future perhaps, but someday!) if I don't want to stay at my home resort. I think AKV is fantastic, but I'm a number-cruncher and buying any property directly from Disney just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[smep013]

Now I'm getting nervous that buying through Disney is not the right thing based simply on what I'm reading here about it being cheaper buying elsewhere! I have done no research on pursuing thate avenue.

Can anyone shed light on this?

 

[Granny]

I think I would actually like staying at BWV most times, but may want the ocassional stay at OKW if we splurge on a 2 bedroom when asking the grandparents along. Since there are fewer units at BWV, I thought it might be advantageous to own there.

You are correct...it will generally be easier to book at OKW as a BWV owner than the other way around. Especially at certain times of the year or if you are interested in the Standard View villas at BWV which require fewer points to book. This is not to say that you couldn't book BWV often while owning elsewhere, but if you are wanting to give yourself the best odds then you'll want to buy at BWV.

I am also quite certain I will want to stay at the Beach Club... but the point cost and maintenance fees are more than I want to pay so I will not be an owner there. Do owners of different DVC properties ever trade week for week with other owners to take advantage of the early booking option, or do you think Beach Club would be easy enough to book even if you weren't an owner there? Anyone?

"Trading reservations" is probably more hassle than it's worth unless you know the other owner very well since the odds are that the two reservations won't be for the exact same amount of points and some financial deal will need to be struck.

I think BCV is very tough to book at many times of the year because it is a relatively small resort with high demand. You would want to book at your home resort first and then try for BCV at the 7 month window. If it's not available you can waitlist knowing that your fallback position will be at a resort you don't mind staying at anyway.

 

[epicureangirl]

Now I'm getting nervous that buying through Disney is not the right thing based simply on what I'm reading here about it being cheaper buying elsewhere! I have done no research on pursuing thate avenue.

Can anyone shed light on this?

There is a lot of information already on this board, try looking for titles that include "vs. resale", or start a new thread with your question. This board is a great place to find out the details. This comes up in the discussion forums very often. My two cents is that you will not beat the price of a resale and will have all the benefits of a member who bought directly from Disney. The only upside to buying from Disney is if they have a fantastic incentive for one of their new properties (or want to finance through them), and that you have your heart set on their newest property. If you are open to locations other than AKL, I don't see how you can go wrong buying through a reputable resaler.

 

[Granny]

Now I'm getting nervous that buying through Disney is not the right thing based simply on what I'm reading here about it being cheaper buying elsewhere! I have done no research on pursuing thate avenue.

Can anyone shed light on this?

Rather than tagging questions onto an existing thread, you will usually get better answers by starting a new thread.

Having said that, yes you can save money buying DVC through the resale market. Here's a list of current listings from the sponsor of this board: TTS DVC Listings

Their site also has some great FAQs for Buyers

Keep on doing research, and keep on asking questions!

 

[epicureangirl]

I think BCV is very tough to book at many times of the year because it is a relatively small resort with high demand. You would want to book at your home resort first and then try for BCV at the 7 month window. If it's not available you can waitlist knowing that your fallback position will be at a resort you don't mind staying at anyway.

If you are on a waitlist and it becomes available, can you easily cancel with your homeresort, or is there a penalty?

 

[LisaS]

If you are on a waitlist and it becomes available, can you easily cancel with your home resort, or is there a penalty?

There is no penalty. If you book at Resort A and waitlist for Resort B for the same dates, when the waitlist comes through your reservation at A is cancelled and the points are used to book Resort B.