How did you rationalize that your resort was the best bang for the buck? Let us count the ways.

[BillPA]

Simple, when we joined, The Disney Vacation Club was all there was, now called Old Key West. Turns out it was the best best choice then and now.

 

[808blessing]

To the extent I calculated a value for VGF I told myself the contract would around double the time that BWV was and low maintenance fees. You really sell yourself on any resort.

So true! We can say something good about why all resorts are "worth it"! I'm eyeing VGF but DH is meanwhile giving me side eye. He says similar things about just wanting me to be happy but my saver side always wants a good financial reason to do it!

Don't get me wrong- emotions win out - I am in love with AU and VGC. Boardwalk is YAY but not sure if it will be the keeper. Currently in love with it tho!

 

[gskywalker]

We bought OKW direct($155) in 2019. "Best bang for our buck" because it was $10 pp cheaper then any other resort, it had a low point chart, had 3 more years than SSR, had huge suites(family of 6) and low point grand villas.

In 2021 "best bang for our buck" was when we bought Aulani because disney took 5 contracts in a row when I tried to buy BLT and AKV. For me only regret is that I didn't try to buy more. $70 pp will never happen again. Great SAP points for our family and it doesn't expire till 2062.

Finally in 2022 bought BLT($160) with 20 and 21 full points with no dues to be paid. It was the "best bang for our buck" because of the 2 years free points, low dues going forward and we really like the suites and location. Rented out some of the points that were free to further lower the price pp.

 

[robinb]

Short answer: I didn't. I wanted what I wanted, we could afford it, and DH said OK.

I didn’t either. Once I realized that I really liked staying outside the International Gate and owning OKW wasn’t going to guarantee that I knew I had to buy BWV. The same with Animal Kingdom.

 

[kboo]

2017: not much difference between white and blue card, and only needed 25 points to get a blue card... We wanted walking distance to a park, so the options were BLT, BWV and BCV. Would have bought at any of the 3, BLT came up first and it felt like it was meant to be - passed ROFR in 9 days. Only regret: at that price (~$105pp!!) I wish we'd bought enough points for a 1br every year.
(Rationalizing not getting BCV and BWV: 2 br at BWV are all lockoffs, and hard to get. SAB is great for older kids but not for our kids at that age. And rooms don't have views and I'm a sucker for views.)

2017-2018: WE NEED MORE POINTS! We want to walk to EP/HS too! So we start looking in earnest at BWV/BCV. Made a few offers at each, but they were not successful because I wanted 2017 prices. LOL. And since we already had points we were willing to wait for the "right" contract. Then kids say they like GF the best, we lowballed an offer on the perfect contract... points in account.

Then we look at the points chart - we use 199 points for 5?6? (less than a week) in a studio over Easter break 2019 - and WE NEED MORE POINTS! Added on another resale VGF.

2019: WE NEED MORE POINTS - and still major FOMO about missing proximity to EP/HS .... We debate adding on at BLT ... do the DVC tour and ... RIV direct points are not much more than BLT resale, and now we have a home resort in EP/HS area ...

2022: Not sure if we really need more points, but we rented points to stay at VGC (finally, rolled forward since 2020) and ... um ... my sister lives in SoCal ... we love walking to parks ...

tl;dr: we need more points + we don't want to take a bus to a park and:

but you can't quantify satisfaction in Excel.

 

[Lumpy1106]

1. Didn't want a 2042 resort
2. Didn't want SSR or AKV (dedicated on-property transportation family)
3. Didn't like the points charts and dues @ RIV
4. Needed a 1 br that sleeps 5

That put us in BLT.

 

[CraigInPA]

Comparing BLT to VGF and Poly, with the points required to stay at either location, made BLT a no-brainer for this has-to-be-a-monorail-resort buyer.

Seriously, though, that wasn't the #1 driving factor in BLT. The real driving factors (in order) were the ability to walk to the MK, access to the monorail, multiple pools, deluxe dining, view from the rooms, price of the points, and number of points required to stay in the room.

 

[wnielsen1]

we need more points

Moral of the story right here

 

[holden]

Reasons we bought:

We visit WDW twice a year. DVC discounts on passes were decent. Free photos? Nice! Discounts on dining and merch? Awesome!

We are spoiled. We stay in a 1BR minimum, mostly 2BR and have stayed several times in 3BR.

We bought BLT resale in 2014 (we are grandfathered into most benefits). Main selling point on BLT was the additional bathroom in 1BR and up and proximity to MK.

Paid cash. We feel like we've gotten our $ worth over the past eight years.

 

[kboo]

Comparing BLT to VGF and Poly, with the points required to stay at either location, made BLT a no-brainer for this has-to-be-a-monorail-resort buyer.

Seriously, though, that wasn't the #1 driving factor in BLT. The real driving factors (in order) were the ability to walk to the MK, access to the monorail, multiple pools, deluxe dining, view from the rooms, price of the points, and number of points required to stay in the room.

Agree with all of these. Also - I think we were buying around the same time? prices for the 3 resorts were around:

BLT: $100-110 pp
VGF: $140-150 pp
POLY: mostly still direct at $176, resale around $130

I think BLT was undervalued compared to the other two resorts then.

 

[crisi]

Back when we bought (in 2000) BCV was being sold direct - and only BCV was being sold direct. We put in a call, but the Guide didn't get back to us before we discovered resale. Since VWL had just finished active sales, it was expensive. I'm cheap. There was a cheap OKW contract, we put in an offer - and they decided not to sell. The resale rep we were working with had a BWV contract for the same price (but partially stripped and we weren't planning to travel for two years anyway) So we ended up with BWV.

In the spirit of the thread, the standard view are a bargain (although we've only bothered once), and the back door entrance to Epcot has been my husbands favorite thing in the world. (Although sometimes I wish that I would have known six months later VWL contracts would be much cheaper, but then - back door entrance to Epcot.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Short answer: I didn't. I wanted what I wanted, we could afford it, and DH said OK.

I love this answer. We have 24 parts to out DVC contract because there often was a reason that we needed more points. Many parts are 25-50 points.

 

[gharter]

Lots of things to consider.
If we still had small kids at home when we purchased, would have gone for Beach Club for the pool. As our kids are grown, BWV for the same area and proximity to 2 parks was hard to pass up. We also had a contract at AKL and loved the savannah, but it was a long way away from everything. Just sold it and another person is thrilled to have it. a win fro both of us.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

Honestly…

I see it. I like it. I want it. I got it.
I want it. I got it. (BWV - 2019)
I want it. I got it. (SSR - 2020)
I want it. I got it. (VGF - 2022)

Buy myself all of my favourite things.

In all seriousness, we wanted to stay at Boardwalk, and DVC was cheaper than paying cash. That’s pretty much the only rationalization we needed. Even though when our guide tried to do the math to show us why DVC was cheaper vs our cash stay, it didn’t work. (Hello pool/garden view 1 bedroom! Confounding even Disney math.)

Then I wanted to stay at other resorts, so hello SSR. Best for SAP at the time.

And then DVC made us an offer we couldn’t refuse for direct points at VGF. I suggested we buy Disney stock instead of VGF points but DH was having none of it. I’m glad we didn’t buy shares.

We’re addicted.

 

[808blessing]

LOL! I originally assumed we all wanted the resort we got for the home resort advantage. Silly me!

Yes, also assumed we all loved our resorts.

Haha, then wanted to see what made you "rationalize" the love . But alas, love is love. And dollars are dollars. It all makes sense, doesn't it?

Thankful my mind reinforces what I want...but occasionally, I want it ALL at the same time. Priorities, priorities ?!?

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Wanted Riviera from day 1 of hearing about it. Toured before opening mid 2019 and DH surprised me buying in at 100 direct points before the minimum was jumping again. Added on 200 more during C19 pandemic on Welcome Home, truly kicking myself we didn't do 300 for the better deal and MORE POINTS. Started out studios, now always 1B, but we did a 2B with my sister's gang in 2021 at Riviera and it was magical having all that space and privacy in a dedicated 2B but still being together for R&R. No fighting or issues with bathrooms or food, just heavenly family vacation. Seeing that our kids are probably going to want to bring a friend in a few years, so 2B may be the way to go from there onwards.

Now trying GF at Christmas split stay and pondering adding there, but eyeing Poly 2.0, DL2, hoping for amazing promotions when they go live.

CC and AK also call out to me for theming and staycations, but we REALLY love the Skyliner. I am a massive conspiracy theorist and believe in my core it's only a matter of time before Skyliner 2.0 expansion is announced, but where?

Hedge my bets and buy AK if it goes out that way and look like a genius buying underpriced AK points?

Buy SS/OKW in case Skyliner to Brightliner becomes a thing at Disney Springs? The kids won't be with us forever on vacation, and DH and I would love to wander over to DS for restaurants and shopping.

Buy more at Riviera so we just have another huge block of points at our favorite resort near our two favorite parks, which soon can also be considered underpriced with Skyliner 2.0? Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

We hated the styling of BLT, but the convenience factor cannot be denied. One good refurbishment and it could be all shiny and new and improved.

They all have something going for them! I can argue for any of them, depending on the trip makeup and goals of the group.

 

[kboo]

I suggested we buy Disney stock instead of VGF points but DH was having none of it.

you could do both? LOL

I originally assumed we all wanted the resort we got for the home resort advantage.

Well, that is true. We took an intentional detour buying VGF in between getting an MK and EP/HS resort. While it's true BLT was by far the best value MK DVC when we bought in, I also loved the extra bath in the 1BR and larger, and it was the only one you could walk to MK. With a double stroller that was GOLD. (Even with no stroller, it's still gold). But also, it's nostalgic - I remember taking the monorail with my parents from TTC and going *through* the Contemporary. We could never afford to stay on site, so the Contemporary was the epitome of staying on site.

No fighting or issues with bathrooms or food, just heavenly family vacation. Seeing that our kids are probably going to want to bring a friend in a few years, so 2B may be the way to go from there onwards.

I keep itching to get enough points to get a GV at Riviera after taking the tour. If we pooled all our home resorts and points, we could piece together a 3-way split in a GV at each .... somehow that doesn't sound relaxing or heavenly.

Now trying GF at Christmas split stay

"intentional detour" of VGF was so that we could stay at VGF over Christmas. It's a bajillion points but we love it. (and then we always schedule a meal at CCV/WL to enjoy that atmosphere too).

 

[kanerf]

So own bits of AKL, BLT, BRV, BWV, RIV and OKW. I think I am set for the moment until PVR II comes online and then we will see. Be another year or so closer to retirement then.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

you could do both? LOL

Well, that is true. We took an intentional detour buying VGF in between getting an MK and EP/HS resort. While it's true BLT was by far the best value MK DVC when we bought in, I also loved the extra bath in the 1BR and larger, and it was the only one you could walk to MK. With a double stroller that was GOLD. (Even with no stroller, it's still gold). But also, it's nostalgic - I remember taking the monorail with my parents from TTC and going *through* the Contemporary. We could never afford to stay on site, so the Contemporary was the epitome of staying on site.

I keep itching to get enough points to get a GV at Riviera after taking the tour. If we pooled all our home resorts and points, we could piece together a 3-way split in a GV at each .... somehow that doesn't sound relaxing or heavenly.

"intentional detour" of VGF was so that we could stay at VGF over Christmas. It's a bajillion points but we love it. (and then we always schedule a meal at CCV/WL to enjoy that atmosphere too).

If we had money leftover to buy DIS stock... we would've bought more VGF points We needed joy in our lives, and 200 direct points was an instant hit of happiness! DIS stock on the other hand... meh... (I mean, I wouldn't say no to it if it was free but they haven't even restarted dividends yet, those misers!)

 

[sethschroeder]

Cheaper than cash, easier than renting, and long term should be able to sell the contract for a profit or breakeven at worst.

Location is really based on prefer Epcot and no other area was really much cheaper to want us to buy there in exchange for losing the area we wanted to stay in.