Home resort - does is really matter?

[Kiger]

My husband and I recently joined DVC - we made our home resort Vero. We were sold on DVC by the convenience of BCV (and the pool and the proximity to the BW area) - but the magical beginnings buy back for Vero ($15/point) was really emphasized during the sale. We still have 10 days to change our home resort so I need help!

Do we need the extra window of time to secure a reservation at the resort that sold us on DVC in the first place: BCV? Will our points be worth less with Vero as our home resort should we ever decide to sell? Any other suggestions?

Please help!

 

[crisi]

I think that BCV will be very hard to get into at the 7 month window, since only BCV guests will be able to use SAB. Especially in the "swim" months. But its hard to say for sure. People on these boards note that a "new" resort is always difficult to get into.

If you don't mind staying at one of the other WDW properties, and you aren't traveling over Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter, you should be able to book something at WDW.

I'd switch. I think you are going to feel cheated if you can't get into BCVs.

 

[BobH]

I wouldn't give up the 11 month booking window at your home resort to save a few thousand - unless Vero is your favorite resort. I have heard advice on this board time after time to buy where you want to vacation the most. Give it some hard thought. If you want to use the Beach Club primarily why would you want to always be in line behind many thousand members that can book their vacations 4 months ahead of you. Good luck
on your decision.

BobH - Member since Oct 2000

 

[mikesmom]

Depends on when you travel. To the above poster add difficulty at Food & Wine Fest time. If you look around the boards you'll notice that right now (of course it's a lot closer than 7 months out), most DVC properties onsite are sold out (with a few exceptions) from about the beginning of Food & Wine pretty much straight thru New Years!

We had a ressie at Boardwalk for Food & Wine that we made at our 11 month window. At about 6 months we had to change the dates because of DH's work schedule. We could get nothing at either Boardwalk OR BCV (would have taken studio or 1 BDRM). Got room at OKW which is fine for us as we love it over there. If I'd had my heart set on BCV, though, it would have been upsetting.

If you travel at less popular times (and these are NOT necessarily the same as low times for the rest of the parks) you should be OK. If you are willing to take any property open at those times you should be OK. If you have your heart set on BCV, you may be disappointed. Buy where you plan to stay!!

 

[Disneyaholic]

Most DVC veterans will advise you to buy at the resort that you plan to stay at most often. No one knows what will happen down the line -- maybe when Saratoga Springs opens, it will be easier to get in at BCV -- or maybe it won't.

The $15 per point is nice, but not worth it IMHO if BCV is where you really want to stay and it's not available when you want it.

You could always visit Vero and find that you like it, then add on some points at BCV!!

 

[CarolAnnC]

My original purchase was for OKW which was my favorite for several years. Then I purchased Vero points, a great resale deal, primarily with the idea of using them to cruise with. Lastly, I purchased a BWV resale because I desired to travel there after Thanksgiving to enjoy the Christmas decorations and celebrations. So, I say "Yes" give lots of consideration to the fact that if BCV is your first choice for vacationing, then you should definitely make your purchase there. Good luck!!

 

[chris1gill]

Cancel NOW!!! I say that in all seriousness... BW is hard to get into at 7 months & I don't think BC is going to be any easier!! Yes, it can be done at 7 months, but it's not easy & sometimes it's impossible... I would not want to rely on the 7 month window if the BC is where I wanted to stay most frequently.

If you're worried about the $$$, purchase the BCV's & rent out your first year's points... That's exactly what I'd do!!

 

[Richyams]

DVC sales staff is famous for lying to people about home resort. I think its actually criminal.

I feel so bad when they fool people into thinking that home resort doesn't matter. I was at an HH presentation, they used lines like "Most reservations are made less than six months out, therefore home resort is meaningless", "All the guides own at VB or HH, we were able to save money going in and can stay wherever we want" , "Look at the money you will save and you can stay whever you want"

You also realize that VB dues are the highest of any DVC resort.

I think a resale at BWV or even possibly BCV, can save you money and give you home resort in the Epcot area.

A resale at OKW, which many consider to be the only 'true' DVC resort, can save you lots of money and still give you a home resort on WDW property.

Buying VB with the intent to use the points only at WDW is a mistake and I believe criminal on the part of the guide who steered you in that direction.

ALl that being said, VB is a beautiful resort, reall one of the finest in the world, but buying there with the intent of using the points mostly at WDW is a mistake.

 

[ZerasPride]

Another vote/opinion to change your home resort if BCV is where you want to stay the most. DH and I puchased DVC with Hilton Head as our home resort because: (1) DH would not agree to a DVC purchase on-site and (2) we both absolutely fell in love with HH and primarily plan to vacation there with ocassional (every 2 or 3 years) trips on-site and I'm not picky where I stay on-site when those trips occur. I do however intend to purchase a small add on at the BCV before they sell out (and hopefully before the price increase) for those on-site trips so I can definitely have the Epcot area when I want it.

I wish you the best in your decision - and welcome home!!!!

 

[Pa@okw95]

Get out of that deal!!! If you plan on using your points to go to WDW you should not buy into VB or HH for that matter. The 7 month will not work well at WDW during the busy times. If you want to go in January, May or September to WDW then It might be possible. THE HOME RESORT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE DEAL BECAUSE YOU GET A 11 MONTH WINDOW TO MAKE RESVERATIONS. THIS GIVES YOU 4 MONTHS OF PROTECTION BEFORE ANYONE FROM ANOTHER DVC CAN GET A RESERVATION AT YOUR RESORT.

 

[twinglefam]

just to confuse you....or help you.....
Our home resort is VWL - but so far, traveling in Oct./Nov. and early Spring(non-break times) we've had NO trouble at all with ressies just about anywhere. To clarify:

As much as I love VWL ( we stayed there by renting before purchasing to check it out, and got those resssies no problem, studio 2 months out by the way) I enjoy trying all the other resorts. Luckily we love OKW too so we feel we always have reservations there to fall back on. I've heard BW is very difficult from reading these boards; we stayed there last Oct. for a few days, again ressies no problem, 7 months out.

We're trying VB this Nov. for a few days....wait listed and got them. We're then going to BCV, first week of Dec. which ressies we got without a problem, 7 months out!

My opinion: If you feel you'll ONLY be happy at one resort, then you should probably make it your home, especially if you travel during a busy time.

 

[CarolMN]

VB could be a good choice for you if:

* You really cannot plan your vacations more than 7 months in advance. If you mostly/frequently make your plans less than 7 months ahead of time, the home resort advantage is really not a factor for you. Keep in mind that many members report success in getting reservations on relatively short notice - many of them use the waitlist process. However, if you are the kind of person that doesn't deal well with uncertainty (you never really know if or when the waitlist will work), this will be quite stressful for you.

* You really love VB and plan to spend most of your vacations there. VB is a beautiful resort. We love it there! VB does have the highest annual dues of the DVC resorts and is likely to continue to hold that "honor".

* You are buying DVC, but plan to use it primarily to trade for non-DVC options. That said, most DVC members think there are more economical options than DVC is that is your objective.

* Your vacation plans are very flexible. You can go on short notice, the dates don't matter much and you would be happy staying at any of the WDW DVC resorts. This probably won't work unless you are within easy driving distance of Orlando.

All of the DVC resorts are top notch. But the very best advice anyone can give you is to "BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY THE MOST". If you don't, you have a much greater chance of regretting your purchase. IMHO, the $$ saved by buying VB when you really want BCV will not be worth the frustration, especially if you factor in 40 years of vacations and the higher annual dues.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Kiger]

Thanks so much for all of your help!!!

I phoned in this morning and switched my home resort from VB to BCV. Your experienced suggestions were instrumental.

Richyams: Your reply was especially interesting - our DVC salesman told us that VB was his home resort - went on and on about how there was only one VB but there were many VBC sites at WDW - made me wonder if there are increased incentives for selling VB as compared to BCV. He was extremely helpful though - very professional.

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback. We made the change and feel confident that this was the right decision. Cant wait to book our first DVC trip and start a countdown!

 

[Richyams]

Glad to hear it, I think you will be much happier.

I am sure that they get more of an incentive to sell VB....why else would they lie?

 

[chris1gill]

Rich, you have to remember they don't ALL lie!! Ours never did anyways... but I agree, in this case the salesman really wanted to sell VB!!!

 

[Granny]

Kiger...you already made your decision but I'll toss in one more thing about "buy where you want to stay".

I don't believe that Disney is contractually obligated to continue to offer DVC owners access to DVC resorts except the "home" resort. While it is probably unlikely, there could possibly come a time when Disney (DVD) says....you bought at "X" DVC resort and that's the only place you can stay.

Again, I think this is unlikely. But let's say it's 10-15 years from now. Disney thinks they have maxed out the DVC concept and have no more plans to build and everything is sold. I think I could see them saying "let's make our life simpler, and everyone can just book at their own place". Probably allow them to cut down on a MS operator or two.

Like I said, it's probably unlikely. But when I'm buying for 40 years, I don't care much for uncertainty.

So there's one more reason to "buy where you want to stay".

 

[ncligs]

Kiger,

You made a good decision. We own at VB and love it there.But we also have 300 pts at OKW. So we have the convenience of the 11 month booking window on WDW property and oceanfront(VB). If you are mainly going to stay on WDW property you won't be dissappointed. The 11 month booking window comes in very handy most times.

 

[Dumbo]

Kiger,

Did your DVC salesman also tell you that Vero Beach has the highest annual dues of all the DVC resorts?


Dumbo

 

[Dean]

Looks like I'm getting in after the fact. You've made a good decision to cancel based on the info you've submitted here. I'd never buy off site with the idea of staying mostly on sight. Besides, VB has the highest dues. If you want BC most of the time, I'd buy there. One other thought is resale at BW or OKW or even WLV, you might be able to get as good a price as VB or even better and get on property. Still I'd agree that the price difference isn't worth it if you're set on BC. Good luck.

 

[Kiger]

Our salesman did tell us that VB has the highest dues but he said that they were probably going to be coming down this year.

The more we think about his sales pitch, the more it becomes clear that he was really pushing VB. I cant fault him because we were trying to find a way that we could get in to DVC on our budget - and the $15/point buy back is certainly one way to help make that happen. I think it is clear that there is an increased incentive for the sales staff to sell VB (especially since BCV is what brings people in the door and it is selling so fast - I'm sure they want to hang on to the "hook") - but I think that we probably fit the profile of a VB buyer even though we only want a WDW site.

The whole sales process, even despite our initial misplaced home resort choice, has been a pleasure. When we phoned back to make the change our salesman was more than happy to assist and seemed supportive of our decision. I'd be interested to compare the sell out rate for VB to that of other DVC properties - wonder if they are having trouble selling it??? Every post I read about VB does make it sound heavenly!