how many points should we buy??

[annabug]

Hi all.....we are in the very early stages of researching DVC.. we most recently stayed ay OKW and SSR.....we LOVED SSR. OKW, not so much... We are deciding btwn SSR and BLT......BLT looks like she's gonna win....you know...location, locaton, location. we have 2 little ones, and the monorail and proximity to MK just cant be beat. Its my understanding that b/c of the large size of SSR, should we want to stay there sometimes, we should not have great difficulty getting a room at SSR...anyway, blah, blah, blah.....how do we figure out how many points to purchase per year? we are a family of 4, one small girl, and one small boy......we plan to travel once per year, most likely may, october, november..............and would prefer a one bdrm suite, with a kitchen and wash/dryer.any advice on any part of this process would be reatly appreciated!!thnk you!!annbug

 

[arthur06]

if you are planning to go for a week at a time, BLT ranges anywhere from 194 for a SV 1br to over 330 for a MK view.

Look at how long you plan to stay, what kind of view you want, and go from there!

If you dont plan on traveling until 2011, then you would get 2010 points which you could bank, thus allowing you to buy a smaller amount and borrowing from that for a few years. Then you could add on later.

 

[annabug]

ok.....we will probably go for 7-10 days, max, at least right now......and at this point a MK is not very important, although it must be lovely
how do you like blt?? how large is this resort?
thanks so much!

 

[Snow Shoe]

Since you seem to have decided on BLT as your choice, I would at least look at BWV or BCV because you'll get more bang for your buck point wise. No matter which resort you choose to buy into it boils down to this in my way of thinking...

1. What kind of accomadations do you plan on using over the years, like just a studio, 1 or 2 bdrms, MK or Bay Lake views? You can bank points to the next use year if you don't have enough to go this year.

2. When do you plan on going the most? Adventure, Choice, Dream, Magic or Premier seasons, and how long of a stay do you plan? Each one has different point requirements. Who's to say, that at some point you might want to go twice in a year. As your kids get older and become school age, that the summer time might be the only time you have available to visit Disney.

3. What can you afford to spend? Maintance costs and taxes go up every year some, so figure that in as well for over the long haul. Remembr this isn't a property investment, but vacation time investment.

4. Are you going to go through Disney direct to purchase, or are you going to purchase through a re-sale group? Just make sure if you go through a re-sale group that the contract isn't stripped of points for you to use now, if that's important to you right now. Both have advantages and disadvantages to some degree. I've it done both ways. The Timeshare folks that sponsor this boardf are very good.

I hope this helps some, even thuogh I didn't give you a specific number to use.

 

[AirGoofy]

Look at the point charts. There is a link at the top of this page, but do keep in mind that the point charts can be reallocated each year, with the rule that if points go up somewhere, then they go down somewhere else.

Decide how often you want to go and what size of room and then add them up. If you really want two trips a year but can only afford one, then you could buy enough points for one trip and add on later.

For us, we decided to go with SSR thru a resale contract, as the annual dues are low and the point costs are low. We later did an add on. We enjoy trying the different resorts, so home resort was not a concern for us.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Since you seem to have decided on BLT as your choice, I would at least look at BWV or BCV because you'll get more bang for your buck point wise. No matter which resort you choose to buy into it boils down to this in my way of thinking...

1. What kind of accomadations do you plan on using over the years, like just a studio, 1 or 2 bdrms, MK or Bay Lake views? You can bank points to the next use year if you don't have enough to go this year.

2. When do you plan on going the most? Adventure, Choice, Dream, Magic or Premier seasons, and how long of a stay do you plan? Each one has different point requirements. Who's to say, that at some point you might want to go twice in a year. As your kids get older and become school age, that the summer time might be the only time you have available to visit Disney.

3. What can you afford to spend? Maintance costs and taxes go up every year some, so figure that in as well for over the long haul. Remembr this isn't a property investment, but vacation time investment.

4. Are you going to go through Disney direct to purchase, or are you going to purchase through a re-sale group? Just make sure if you go through a re-sale group that the contract isn't stripped of points for you to use now, if that's important to you right now. Both have advantages and disadvantages to some degree. I've it done both ways. The Timeshare folks that sponsor this boardf are very good.

I hope this helps some, even thuogh I didn't give you a specific number to use.

I agree that you should also give at least some consideration to BWV and BCV. If they don't do it for you...fine. At least look. We enjoy the flexibility of having standard and Boardwalk View points. That Boardwalk view is only maybe second to a Bay Lake View (Hubba Hubba).

Since you have 2 kids, consider getting 2 smaller contracts.

Also since the kids are young...do consider how important contract length is to you. The newer resorts also have sleeper chairs so that the kids won't have to sleep together when they are older.

Good luck!

 

[ElizabethG]

I own at BLT. I love it. I had looked at DVC in the past, but only became interested when they opened BLT. It is both the location AND style I like, so it is perfect for my family. The thing about the rooms is the huge difference with the LV and MK views in point costs. For eight nights in Oct/Nov in a LV 1-bdrm you would need 240 points (324 for MK). A room at SSR would be 224. The average is 260, so you could alternate every three years with that amount of points (for example).

I love staying there. We stay for 8-9 nights in Oct and head to MK on half of the days. It is so easy to go back mid-day. DH and I sit on the balcony after the kids are in bed - so peaceful!

 

[Sandisw]

Based on a one week stay in a LV 1 bedroom at BLT, for May (higher points needed than Oct or November), it will be around 273 points. A 1 bedroom at SSR is around 227. During Oct/November, the points range from 241 at BLT to 197 at SSR.

So, I would suggest starting with around 250. That will get you the full week at BLT during your Oct/November trips, and 6 nights during May trips.

Since you also love SSR, you could always do a split stay and spend half the time at SSR and then change resorts. Doing that (especially if you stay at SSR on weekends when points are higher), you could even stretch the trip to 8 or 9 nights.

I have stayed at both BWV and BLT and for us, BLT was a better resort. We love the location and ease to the MK. We are also big CS people and found that much better staying at BLT than BWV. We only bought last year, but did so because of BLT.

We are going to try BCV this summer to see how we like that.

I would suggest buying where you want to be and it sounds like both BLT and SSR fit the bill. With your travel times, I would suggest an Oct UY. If you bought now through Disney, you would still be eligible for 2009 points that could be banked into the Oct 2010 UY, making them good for travel October 1st, 2010 through September 30th, 2011. I don't know when your next trip is planned, but it would give you extra points, enough to cover extra nights for several years.

Good luck!!!

 

[MinnieGirl33]

How many?

More than you think you need.

Add-on-itis strikes hard & fast.

 

[blondietink]

We have 175 pts. at SSR and this has worked great for our family of 4, all of which are now adult aged. It helps that are kids are boys. We banked all of our 1st years points as we had an all expenses paid trip that year. We have never had to borrow and have been able to go anywhere from 1-3 times per year in either 1 bedrooms or studios for a week or longer each trip in our 6 years of ownership. We have also never stayed at SSR and have been able to book at any and all the resorts at the 7 month window, except we have never asked yet for BLT. Have we ever wished to add on? You bet! But, so far the 175 points have been adequate.

 

[bobbiwoz]

One thing that I like about BLT as opposed to SSR is that the 1 bedrooms have 2 baths and the 1 bedroom also has bedding for 5, so your DD and DS could each have a bed to themselves in the living room if you stayed with a 1 bedroom.

Bobbi

 

[rcstef16]

We have 225 SSR points and thought about adding on at times. We have family of 5 so we always get the 2 bedroom. This allows us to go twice in one year, and then take a coule off and go twice again, utilizing the annual passes. Gets expensive though even though the rooms are "free". We have had little trouble with getting other resorts than SSR, we have stayed at BCV and OKW as well on our points

 

[ToddyLu]

We actually purchased 210 points rather than 200 becasue it added very little to the cost and gave us a small amount of breathing room.

 

[annabug]

whoaaa mama!!! i have a lot of thinking/planning to do!! I need to do this the most economical way (obviously)

i think we would try to go once a year, and even that seems like a lot now..for me, its so much planning and packing with 2 little ones, i dont think i could handle more than that now. As they grow older, i know it will be easier.

i was thinking that buying at blt would allow us the opportunity of staying at a monorail/mk resort, with the option of staying elsewhere if wanted to in later years
what is he idea regarding 2 small contracts?
btw, im leaning toward 200-225 points at the moment
thanks for all of your advice, it is much appreciated
annabug

 

[ToddyLu]

I would definitely split it into 2 contracts. Ask if you can go half and half at 100-110 points for each then you can give them to your kids maybe one day. Our you could do 160 + 60 or something like that. Then if you ever needed to sell you would have a smaller contract which would probably sell quickly. I am excited for you and hope you let us know what you decide.

 

[ToddyLu]

According to another thread tonight you can buy 100 point contracts at BLT through Disney as a new member and not have to get the 160.