How important was contract length to you?

[Draiocht]

I suppose this is a question for people who have bought recently-How much of a consideration was the contract length for you when determining where to buy?
What is the general feeling on whether other resorts will be offered an extension similar to that at OKW?

 

[hellerjw]

Contract length for us was never a consideration, we simply picked the resort we liked best. We will be in our 90s and our kids in their 60s when our contract expires. Trying to anticipate our needs and wants 10 years down the road is a struggle, much less 50.

Its kind of funny how a purchase that expires so far in the future forces you to be more proactive in the present.

 

[Disney_Villain]

Initially this wasn't important to me, but it was important to DH. Now I'm thinking the same way.

You never know how long your going to live or what state you'll be in . . . BUT I do know that it would break DH's heart if our contracts expired before he did.

 

[DVC Mike]

Contract length for us was never a consideration, we simply picked the resort we liked best.

Same with me!

 

[thesupersmartguy]

I suppose this is a question for people who have bought recently-How much of a consideration was the contract length for you when determining where to buy?
What is the general feeling on whether other resorts will be offered an extension similar to that at OKW?

I bought this afternoon at OKW and kept the original legnth. I don't think it will matter that far in the future.

 

[twinklebug]

I certainly did take contract length into account, comparing VWL resale to AKV I found with the incentives AKV to be the better deal.... now will I still be heading off to the parks at 92? LOL Probably not, but if one of my kids can just escort me down to the pool I'll be happy to quietly sit in the shade and sip my tea

Now that I have the longest expiration date I feel comfortable owning, I'm free to consider the wish-I-had add-on

 

[Crisgw]

Not at all We just love AKV I'll only be 80 when it expires

 

[jamstew]

It wasn't a consideration, since I'll be long dead before my contracts expire

 

[PIERCEDRN]

It was a big factor for us, as we will be an unnaturally young 80 and 76 at expiration. We are "preserved" by Disney magic and thereby need all of the extra 12 years of our SSR contract. Without the long contract, we would be all done at 68 and 64, barely old enough to take my grandkids!

I am not a big believer in "buy where you want to stay", as we have great success at the 7 month window as we travel off season.
BOB

 

[marynvince]

The longer the contract the better the value.

 

[El&Asmom]

It was important to us as we will only be 67 when the 2042 contracts expire. We wanted to have DVC into our retirement years, so it made more sense to go with the longer contract at SSR. That said, we bought a small contract at HH since we wanted the 11m advantage there. We have had good luck getting in where we want to stay even at less than the 7m booking window. But we tend to go during slow times of year.

 

[ypv]

It was one of many factors that I considered. I would say it was "somewhat important", but certainly wouldn't prevent me from buying at a resort with the contract ending in 2042. My wife and I will both turn 66 in 2042 and my expectation is we'll still be wanting to use our points.

 

[fadedgirl]

Its a factor as far as what price I'm willing to pay. I would pay more per point for a property with a later expiration date. But I would not buy a property that I didn't like just because its lease was longer. If I were trying to decide between two resorts that I liked, the expiration date would weigh in on my decision.

 

[Blahnde]

We have a wide range of contracts; they will end when we are between 72 and 93, so most likely at least a few of them will outlive us. But I truly hope to be watching the latest version of "Wishes" from our BLT balcony (or maybe our GFV balcony!) on our 60th anniversary!

It is a factor in the "value," but it is so much more important to enjoy it all to the fullest than to worry about when it will end!

Blahnde

 

[Pennyguy23]

It was the most important along with price. I just turned 25 and my wife 23 so the extra years at SSR and AKV played a big part for us.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Resort was much more important to us when choosing our home resort. Here's what we decided...

-We want to always stay at a resort that we can walk to Epcot from, so we were only considering BCV or BWV when we looked into buying
-We were not particularly impressed by Animal Kingdom Lodge when we ate at Boma in July, and we do not ever want to stay there. Liked Boma, but not sure we would eat at Animal Kingdom Lodge again
-We didn't want to stay in the Downtown Disney area, so SSR was not for us
-We decided we could only afford a resale (much less per point than directly through Disney, and no incentives given to the buyer for BCV or BWV)
-When researching, I discovered that BWV resales were less money than BCV resale, and it cost fewer points to stay in a standard one-bedroom at BWV than a one-bedroom at BCV
-The Stormalong Bay pool is not a factor for us. We think the pool at BWV is beautiful
-BWV is in right there on the Boardwalk, with the entertainment and wonderful restaurants right there, plus we could walk to BC/YC to eat out as well
-We will be 65 in 2042, and we did consider that at first. But staying at a resort we wouldn't enjoy as much was something we did not want to do just to get more years out of this. Knowing I can book at BWV where we want to stay, 11 months in advance, was much more important.
-Again, we will be 65 in 2042. The main reason we decided to purchase DVC is because DH and I decided after our July trip that we would like to go back with our two sons every other year, but stay Deluxe every time, and for 10 nights each trip. DVC affords us this. Our older son will be 4 in January and the little one is 17 months tomorrow. So we have plenty of years to enjoy this...doing different things during their earlier childhood years, then the late-elementary school ages, then teens...then once they hit college, we'll see. My little one will start college in the year 2025. We will still have 17 years left on the contract. We can then enjoy Disney just the 2 of us if they do not want to go with us anymore. We retire at age 55 2032 (we're both teachers, so pretty secure). Then we will have 10 more years to enjoy BWV as members. And who knows? Maybe they will offer extensions on this contract too...only time will tell. And there is always the possibility that the 2 of us, who are 31 now, will have different travel plans by the time we are 65!

So, that sums it up. We bought where we want to stay. Thinking somewhat ahead? Yes, but only thinking about the family trips between now and when the boys are in college. We love the Boardwalk area and staying over there for us will be magical every time!

 

[MJ6987]

I think that contract length is more important from a resale point of view. Say you buy today, and after 25 years (2033) you want to sell to supplement your retirement income or whatever:

A contract expiring in 2042 (e.g. BWV) will have 9 years left - not much resale value

A contract expiring in 2057 (e.g. AKV) will have 24 years left - nearly 3 times as long, and much more resale value.

 

[WALTSAGOD]

DVC Mike, what happend to your picture?

 

[Terry S]

This is the decision I am going through right now. Since I can get a CM discount, i can get AKV for cheaper and BLT for about the same price as I can get a BCV resale. So logically, AKV would be the best choice since it is the cheapest and I got more years, BUT I only want to stay at BCV? I have lost sleep recently over this decision, not sure what to do.

 

[tjkraz]

For our initial purchase at SSR, it was mostly icing on the cake.

While I loved the look and location of SSR, we didn't have any great loyalty to a single resort and bought into the program specifically for its variety. The initial offering price and dues for that resort were attractive and the extra years were certainly part of what pushed us over the edge.