Help picking a resort

[boscov]

My wife and I are looking at buying a DVC package and are having a few issues. A little bit about us - me, dw, dd and dd on the way.

1) Resale vs direct - are the club concierge and other ammenities worth the cost to buy direct from Disney?

2) Picking a home resort - we like the BC location, but not the decor; we like BLT for the location and decor, but it looks more like a hotel than a resort and is the most expensive; we like AKL for the views, but not the proximity to EPCOT and MK; also curious about the GF Villas coming up. Thoughts on how you picked a resort? Thanks!

 

[DisneyEater]

My wife and I are looking at buying a DVC package and are having a few issues. A little bit about us - me, dw, dd and dd on the way.

1) Resale vs direct - are the club concierge and other ammenities worth the cost to buy direct from Disney?

2) Picking a home resort - we like the BC location, but not the decor; we like BLT for the location and decor, but it looks more like a hotel than a resort and is the most expensive; we like AKL for the views, but not the proximity to EPCOT and MK; also curious about the GF Villas coming up. Thoughts on how you picked a resort? Thanks!

We went and visited all the resorts. My wife and I took a long weekend and went down. We were positive we would purchase at the Boardwalk and ended up buying Old Key West because of our visit.

You can check out the report here if you want to hear my thoughts on some of the resorts, but either way I highly recommend visiting for this specific purpose if you can. It is a big investment.

 

[chalee94]

1) Resale vs direct - are the club concierge and other ammenities worth the cost to buy direct from Disney?

not sure what you mean by "club concierge." the only difference between direct and resale is a few trading options like for cruises and wdw hotels like the poly, which tend to be a bad deal anyway.

IMO, the savings at resale are considerably more valuable than the options you are giving up...

2) Picking a home resort - we like the BC location, but not the decor; we like BLT for the location and decor, but it looks more like a hotel than a resort and is the most expensive; we like AKL for the views, but not the proximity to EPCOT and MK; also curious about the GF Villas coming up. Thoughts on how you picked a resort? Thanks!

if you strongly prefer one resort AND can book 10-11 months in advance, buy where you want to stay.

if you are flexible, buy where you don't mind staying. i can book OKW at 10-11 months - then at 7 months out request a different resort...if it works, great - if not, i enjoy OKW also. but i wouldn't want to feel "stuck" at OKW if i strongly preferred to be elsewhere but couldn't get in.

if you can't book more than 7 months in advance, buy the cheapest contract (upfront costs + maintenance fees) possible.

here is a thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

 

[dmoore22]

not sure what you mean by "club concierge." the only difference between direct and resale is a few trading options like for cruises and wdw hotels like the poly, which tend to be a bad deal anyway.

IMO, the savings at resale are considerably more valuable than the options you are giving up...

if you strongly prefer one resort AND can book 10-11 months in advance, buy where you want to stay.

if you are flexible, buy where you don't mind staying. i can book OKW at 10-11 months - then at 7 months out request a different resort...if it works, great - if not, i enjoy OKW also. but i wouldn't want to feel "stuck" at OKW if i strongly preferred to be elsewhere but couldn't get in.

if you can't book more than 7 months in advance, buy the cheapest contract (upfront costs + maintenance fees) possible.

here is a thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

Ditto!

 

[ToddyLu]

DH and I bought at AKV site unseen. We had been to Disney several times but had never set foot on that property. When I talked about our purchase with him I suggested SSR since it was the best price. We bought direct in 2009--other lenders where not really lending at that time. I loved the look of AKV and it was my fav but I didn't want him to think it was too expensive. I guess we were watching the AKV bus pull away all those trips before and just never told each other how much we would love to stay there.

I picked DVC and he picked the resort. I just kept my mouth shut and like a good girl bought the points exactly like he wanted me to--mawhaahahaahaha!!! We love it there. DH is a resort purist and will not stay anywhere else.

We live on the Gulf Coast--OKW was too much like home, BLT held no appeal at all, VWL reminded DH of his days working at National Parks as a firefighter, BCV didn't like the decor and we don't really swim at Disney so SAB didn't sway us, BVW-clown pool-need I say more SSR-too big and the decor again just did nothing for us--however the Treehouses do interest DH so one never knows.

So AKV was our perfect choice for our home resort. I would not recommend buying site unseen--we were lucky. Most of the resorts will show you a room between 2-4 p.m. if available--just stop at DVC desk.

**Keep in mind that your DVC purchase will change the way you do Disney. You will probably begin to use the kitchen more instead of eating out. There are more organized activities about the resort and around the pool. In a nut shell you will spend more time at your resort--you will no longer need to do commando vists rushing around. DH and I have discovered this the last 2 trips. You need to pick a resort that you could spend the next 30-40 years at--to me price should not affect that choice. If DH and I wanted BLT we would have bought it and paid whatever--I mean when you get down too it what is a couple thousand dollars over 40 years.

 

[DisDad07]

We own at AK and OKW. You should look at the resorts for you want, because the 11 month window can be helpfull if you travel at busy times of the year. You should always buy where you want to stay. that said, you might buy enought points to get what you want at the 11 month mark and then someday buy more points at another Resort. You might what to see what points you will need at different times of the year, and what type of room you want to stay in. The Rooms and different point values and change from time to time. Any DVC Resort is a good choice, IMHO. Good Luck.

 

[disneynutz]

It always amazed me that people were willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars for a home resort without finding out which resort they like best. Then we bought BLT based on reports from others and the wonderful info available from Disney and other buyers. BLT is our least favorite resort.

You really need to decide which resort is your favorite because it may be the only resort that you can get into in the future as additional members are added.

Bill

 

[adminjedi]

eeny, meeny, miny, moe

 

[Disneypapa]

Buy the home resort you like best, in the event DVC restricts (unlikely)owners to the resort they own. Take into consideration, the size of the units, maintenance fees, buy in cost, etc.

 

[luckyman_apd]

We bought BLT because of proximity....and because my wife BLT or nothing

Check out this thread

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2854056

It is a discussion about people's favorite resorts. It's interesting to see how some people love a resort while other's hate it, and you can see if their interests match yours to judge how you might feel about it.

If you are into the parks,proximity, and the monorail BLT is great. If you want more relaxing at your resort you will have better luck at other resorts. You can get stay at other resorts so as long as 7 month booking is open, home resort isn't a problem, but if your plans are to stay somewhere at times where 11 months are needed to make a reservation, then you should buy there. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Sandisw]

We own at BLT and BWV. We knew from the start that we wanted BLT but the cost was higher than we wanted to spend so we figured we would start out with VWL.

At the time, we figured it would be the 2nd choice because of the ease to MK by boat. However, after buying BLT and realizing that we just wanted to own there, we sold VWL (small contract so loss was less than $500) and bought more BLT.

Since having stayed there, we realize that was a good move. And, since becoming members, we have stayed at BWV and BCV as well. Last summer, because of that, we added on at BWV because that has now become our 2nd favorite place.

For my family, where we stay is very important and I wanted to own those places. We like being able to walk to parks that BLT and BWV allow us to do that. Of course, we can also book 11 months in advance so that helps.

As mentioned, only you can decide how important the resort is but definitely buy somewhere that you are okay calling home. If you don't know what that is, then do as Bill suggests and try out a few places before buying. Had I stayed at VWL prior to buying it, I would have known it wasn't the one.

Good luck!