Home Resort???????

[laura-k]

It was an amazing feeling that it took only a 5 minute phone call with MS to book a room at a hotel that I have dreamed about staying at since I was a child. the best part was that it was already paid for!

In one way or another I think most of us here think " EMOTIONALLY "
when it comes to Disney and I love that I made a desicion that can give me that " amazing feeling " and that I have other options just in case that go's away ---

 

[rice00]

I think the best advice someone can give you is buy where you want to stay the most. The home resort window provides a great deal more options especially when you want to go at those busy times of the year to your favorite resort.

SSR is really great but its not close to anything except Downtown Disney.

 

[ToddyLu]

I wanted DVC for several years and finally I broke DH down in a moment of weakness on his part (yay me!!) I was going to be completely happy with SSR due to the point cost. I mean I would stay in a cardboard box at WDW. But DH picked AKV, sight unseen. We had been to WDW about 8 times and have never even seen the property. We had seen SSR and I had done the spa there....but he had to have AKV. I was very surprised, but hey who am I to question DH we he is buying DVC with me. Secretly I think we had been watching those AKV buses pull up for those years and then watched them pull away with happy people on their way back to an exotic resort. We were headed to Pop, which we love, but AKV it is not.

We completely lucked out with our purchase. DH knew me better than I knew myself. We love the look, fell, animals and remoteness of the resort. We actually enjoy the buses and accept that it is the form of transportation we use at WDW.

My point, buy where your dreams are...the one that you feel the connection with...be emothional if you want...that is OK. Just see the resort, be sure....do not risk buying something you have never seen before--visit all of them first. We should have....but it would not have changed our first pick and the one we purchased.

I have to agree with Sandi--when it came down to it, we spent more on what we wanted and haven't looked back....we will NEVER have regrets.

Our first visit was wonderful...DH's face was priceless when he saw that lobby and savanna off our balcony the first time.

 

[mdsd8700]

We went through the same thought process and in the end, went with BLT. We knew ahead of time that if we could not get BLT for our trips, we would be disappointed.

We felt it was better to spend $18,000 on something we loved than $13,000 for something we weren't even sure we would like. And, if you took that extra and even divided it over the next 10 years, that puts me as spending an extra $500 per year to own at the resort I wanted...over the long run, that is really not that much. Plus, I plan to use the contract much longer than 10 years so in reality, I did not pay that much more per year to own BLT.

Sandisw seems to be the most quoted person on this thread However I completely agree with this as well. We too struggled on which Home Resort and posted a similar question before we purchased and ultimately it came down to be would we be disappointed or feel stuck at the resort we chose. That as others have said as well is the biggest question. For some it really doesn't matter for others (such as us) it does. So we went with BLT.

Good luck with your decision and let us know what you decided!

 

[hmdelf]

I recommend buying where you love. SSR is hard to get around if you have very young children. IMO it is a beautiful resort but more for couples or families with older children. October has been really busy the last few years because of F&W, MNSSHP and also because they have been offering free dining then as well.
Good luck and let us know what you do!

 

[Jmb4846]

We have decided to by BLT directly thru DVC. The cost difference on resale vs direct, getting the points we want, UY that works best, and no restrictions out weighted the cost for us. We are looking forward to our next trip to WDW and staying at BLT. Thank you all for your thoughts!

 

[ssnelle]

we bought at SSR and never have stayed there, has worked fine for us

 

[Kirk426]

Buy where You want to stay!

 

[benzmum]

We recently sailed on the Magic for 7 days and purchased additional points at BLT. The gentleman who helped us complete our transaction definately steered us in the BLT direction (which was our home resort). We were thinking of buying into a new location but the demand and increased value of BLT is wonderful. My advice to you is BLT the investment is well worth it.

 

[sweetdana]

If you will not be disappointed with SSR, you will save a ton of $$. I went with SSR cause 12K out the door seemed more than enough $$ for us. (resale 160 point contr). For me the extra $$ is just an upgrade on something that was not a ness to begin with. For us the DVC was the upgrade, I couldn't add another 30% or 3-4K to something I was already upselling myself on. (W/O DVC we would be at FQ most years.)

I have stayed at BC, SSR, BWV, AK and this May at BLT. It has taken about 6-7ish trips to book BLT, (as I wouldn't pay extra points for LV, or 1-bed). If you are hoping to stay at BLT every trip or most trips, you will be disappointed if you pick something else. If you can addord to go with your heart. If you will feel lucky to be at SSR, and just luckier to be at BLT.. then IMO save the $$.

Which ever way you decide you will have made the right decision and you will not regret GL.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Our home resort is SSR. We bought in 2003 before it even opened up. We have enjoyed staying at SSR and would stay there again. I personaly would opt for buying SSR points and saving the money.

Last year in December we spent 5 nights in SSR, 5 nights in AKLV and 4 nights in BLT to check it out. This coming October we are at AKLV for 8 nights and 7 nights at BLT. In years past we have stayed at every DVC resort on WDW property and the only time we stuck staying at our home resort was during busy holiday weeks.

 

[dbs1228]

Also, somebody said availability is limited during Food and Wine, but I suspect that's mainly for BCV and BWW due to their proximity to Epcot.

BLT is difficult to get during food and wine because it is an easy monorail ride right into the entrance of Epcot!

OP I think you made a wise decision, even if right now you travel at certain times of the year in 10 years it maybe completely different.

 

[kendzee94]

It's funny because I see a lot of people talking about being "stuck" with SSR. When we initially bought in, we bought SSR and AKV (founding members) sight unseen. Definitely don't regret it. We added on at SSR specifically to be able to stay at the THV's. Prior to buying in, we loved POFQ. Riding the boat to DTD, we always said we wanted to stay at the TH's. When they added them to SSR, and you pay only the points of a 2br for the 3BRs at the THV, stayed at the THV's once and we added on points there (resale prior to 3/20) We have not tried BLT yet as DH doesn't really care to stay there. We stayed at BWV's and didn't care for them. We've tried three times to get into the BCV in October, and have not been able to, so haven't stayed there yet. However, we are not beachy sort of people and I have to guess that we probably won't care that much for BCV's either. We've also stayed at OKW and VWL and liked both resorts.

Everyone talks about buying where you want to stay. For us, other than BCV's we've been able to get a room at BWV, VWL, OKW and SSR within the 7 month mark. We added on to the SSR as we LOVE LOVE LOVE THV's. We are taking 2 trips in a row there, and would not have been able to get them without our 11 month advantage. I would look at pictures, see about what is available for transportation and food. We actually didn't care for the BWV due to the transportation and quick service options, but to each their own. I see a lot of people really LOVE BWV, just not our cup of tea!

As far as AKV's go, I really like the quaintness of Kidani over Jambo, but not sure if I would stay there without a savana view (higher cost per night). That may change over time, but that is how I feel at this point in time. Also, another thing that I have realized, regardless of saving points, studios are no longer for our family of four, and not really sure if we sill stay in one ever again. I love staying in at least a 1BR and we are starting to gravitate toward 2 BR's as our kids get older and need more privacy. We also love the washer and dryer in the room vs having to take clothes to the laundry room. I guess you have to figure out what is important to you and go from there. Everyone have different priorities when it comes to what they want from their resort. Once you figure that out, it will be a lot easier to make the decision and final plunge. Good luck!

 

[OneMoreTry]

OKW is best to buy IMHO. We have enjoyed every stay there thoroughly. It feels very Disney. We always book before 7 mos there and then if we want to try elsewhere we can usually get it at 7 mos. Otherwise the wait list usually comes through (only once failed at Xmas for very high demand Boardwalk view). If we don't get our wait list we aren't disappointed because , as I said, we love OKW and, if we end up there, we save lots of points for our next vacation at DVC.

 

[dizfan]

We have decided to by BLT directly thru DVC. The cost difference on resale vs direct, getting the points we want, UY that works best, and no restrictions out weighted the cost for us. We are looking forward to our next trip to WDW and staying at BLT. Thank you all for your thoughts!

Congratulations and home neighbor!

 

[DVC Eric]

Buy where you want to stay, you may not always get the resort you want at the 7 months window.

 

[Brandis]

If other members that own at BLT are like us, it shouldn't be too hard to get something at BLT at the 7 month mark.

At 11 months out, we book whatever we need at BLT as a backup plan and once we get to 7 months, we try to book what we really want, thus freeing up BLT again. Worked fine until now.

Eventually, we will stay at BLT, but for the time being, we like to try out the other options that are out there.