If I'm not booking 11-months out, shouldn't I just buy the cheapest points avaialble for resale?

[Bobb_o]

It really depends on what time of year you are traveling. If you are going during a very busy time of year for DVC, there may be very little available at other resorts at 7 months.
In off times ( if those will still exist), you may not have as much trouble.
Once a year, we travel during F&W. If we didn't own BWV, there is next to nothing available there at 7 months.
I understand the buy the cheapest points you can, but I still believe in the buy where you want to stay. YMMV.

But the "Busy DVC" season is Oct-Dec right? I'm thinking in my future Feb or May/June qill probably be my time to go.

The other thing I've thought about is if I get more points per year on a OKW or SSR contract I can bank/borrow for 1brs instead of a studio. That being said it looks like sometimes AKL isn't that much more expensive than SSR except for the dues.

 

[gharter]

But the "Busy DVC" season is Oct-Dec right? I'm thinking in my future Feb or May/June qill probably be my time to go.

The other thing I've thought about is if I get more points per year on a OKW or SSR contract I can bank/borrow for 1brs instead of a studio. That being said it looks like sometimes AKL isn't that much more expensive than SSR except for the dues.

i don't know if there if there is a "non busy" DVC time of year anymore. When we have been there in April and May, it is full, and not a lot had been open at 7 months when I've looked for fun.
No idea about summer.
we love our AKL points. But, the 1br at AKL Kidani is much more expensive than a 1 br at some other resorts. But it is much larger and really nice. Adn staying on the Savannah is so much fun.
For a littel difference in price over 20+ years, I like not having the stress of trying to change resorts at 7 months.
We went through that our first year when we purchased and tried to get our home resort at 7 months (due to the timing of the sale). For us, it just wasn't fun.
now we book each vacation at 11 months, get what we want, where we want (our home resort) and we're done.
Others obviously enjoy the chase much more than we do.

 

[kboo]

But the "Busy DVC" season is Oct-Dec right? I'm thinking in my future Feb or May/June qill probably be my time to go.

The other thing I've thought about is if I get more points per year on a OKW or SSR contract I can bank/borrow for 1brs instead of a studio. That being said it looks like sometimes AKL isn't that much more expensive than SSR except for the dues.

i don't know if there if there is a "non busy" DVC time of year anymore. When we have been there in April and May, it is full, and not a lot had been open at 7 months when I've looked for fun.
No idea about summer.
we love our AKL points. But, the 1br at AKL Kidani is much more expensive than a 1 br at some other resorts. But it is much larger and really nice. Adn staying on the Savannah is so much fun.
For a littel difference in price over 20+ years, I like not having the stress of trying to change resorts at 7 months.
We went through that our first year when we purchased and tried to get our home resort at 7 months (due to the timing of the sale). For us, it just wasn't fun.
now we book each vacation at 11 months, get what we want, where we want (our home resort) and we're done.
Others obviously enjoy the chase much more than we do.

If you don't mind split stays, and "the chase" (which I do enjoy), it is possible to get some decent rooms at 7 months and under. BUT - I've always done this with the safety of a home resort booking at 11 months. We bought where we wanted to stay, but there are several here who have also bought "where you wouldn't mind staying," (looking at you, @Bing Showei) and every once in a while I think whether I might have done better buying a big bunch of SSR or AKV points when they were at $100 or less, rather than my big glob of VGF points. Last February we managed to wait list and stalk our way from a BLT LV studio to a BWV 1br p/g (7 mo) (there were BWV *and* standard views available for a few hours that morning, and I made the mistake of waiting for DH to respond - never again), to a BLT 1br standard. We also did a long weekend in September with about 45 days' notice and SSR was available (but we used Swolphin points instead - which I guess has answered my question whether I should have bought SSR). But - you have to be comfortable and happy with wherever your home resort is, if there is nothing at 7mo, or be willing to do a split stay if only a part of your stay is available at 7mo.

 

[BillPA]

Your best bet is buy where you don't mind staying. Book your home resort as early in the 11 month cycle as you can, then try for a different resort at 7 month. If you can get in to try a new experience great, if not, you will be in a resort you like, nothing lost.

 

[Bing Showei]

If you don't mind split stays, and "the chase" (which I do enjoy), it is possible to get some decent rooms at 7 months and under. BUT - I've always done this with the safety of a home resort booking at 11 months. We bought where we wanted to stay, but there are several here who have also bought "where you wouldn't mind staying," (looking at you, @Bing Showei) and every once in a while I think whether I might have done better buying a big bunch of SSR or AKV points when they were at $100 or less, rather than my big glob of VGF points.

As someone so new to DVC, I knew I wanted to try a lot of the resorts to figure out what kind of owner I am, and over the course of the past two years, I'm figuring that out slowly. With my SSR points, as kboo pointed out, I've stayed at the following resorts:

BWV-Pool/Garden (2BR, May)
AKV-Jambo-Savannah (2BR, May)
BCV (1BR, August)
VGF (1BR, August)

I look forward to staying at BLT, Riviera, CCV at some point down the line. The key is 1) I don't generally travel during busy DVC times (late Sept-mid Jan), and 2) I don't usually rely on studios*. (*BWV/AKV Jambo are lockoffs, but see point 1)

Sure, SSR points are cheaper to own, but it's highly unlikely I'll be able to take in VGF's gingerbread smells over Christmas break, enjoy 4th of July Fireworks over MK from my villa balcony, stay in a CCV studio (no, seriously, that the bar there), or leisurely saunter my way back to BCV after a breezy, gluttonous, October evening spent at F/W with my SSR points. Could it happen? Sure. But I don't bank on it.

Over the course of the past two years, I've learned a lot about myself as a DVC owner as well. I learned I do not enjoy "the chase" to secure the room/resort I actually want, and understand now why so many veterans around here preach "buy where you want to stay." I learned I'm not a fan of BCV/SAB. I learned VGF is a great resort, but transportation is awful outside of MK. I learned split stays and planning can compensate for that. I learned I love being able to do laundry on vacation (who knew?!). I learned that there is a quality to hotel service that you sacrifice when you turn to timeshares to save money.

All great lessons, and lessons I learned on my cheap SSR points. I imagine being a very different owner in 10 years and foresee owning with precision; a small Epcot contract for the F/W trips, an AK contract for the AK park days, BLT for MK; for now with all the newness, I'm ok with rolling the dice at 7-months, but don't imagine that's really a long term plan.

Or maybe I'll find out I love SSR... not unlike in the movies where at the end the guy realizes that his best friend, who has been with him through it all, is actually the perfect girl for him... after he slept around a whole lot... probably picking up an STD or two along the way.

 

[kniquy]

So, if that's the case - doesn't it make sense to just buy the lowest priced points available on the resale market? Right now that appears to be OKW in the mid $80s per point.

Or, am I missing something in the weeds of DVC knowledge that you lovely folks can drop some knowledge on?

You say you won't plan 11 months out, but would you plan 9 or 10 months out? That still puts you in the home resort booking window. If you do truly plan for 7 months then certainly it does open up your options for resorts to buy. The big BUT here is when you are planning on traveling. I am tracking 7 month availability and if you are planning on anytime between mid January through mid September then you should be fine with booking at 7 months. The other variable is what room size you want - Studios book up the quickest (cheapest points) so if that is the room you plan on booking you would want to be on the computer at 8am once the 7 month window opens. 1BR and 2BR have better availability.

If you want to travel between late September and early January - then at 7 months there is limited supply. Just when i checked today for 7 month availability for this coming October - The following resorts had nothing (no full availability) for a 7 day stay - CCV, Poly, BRV, BLT, VGC, VGF, BWV and BC. AK only had 1BR and OKW had 1 and 2BR. SSR was the only one with all room categories available. So you can not plan on waiting to book during this time frame.

As for the most economical resort it is actually SSR because of the lower MF it has. Plus you should factor in the length of the contract. Many OKW contracts expire in 2042 where as SSR expires in 2054 -- so a considerable difference. Your price of an OKW at $80 per point is way off from where the current market is. It hasn't been that low since 2015.

 

[PurpleJesus]

You say you won't plan 11 months out, but would you plan 9 or 10 months out? That still puts you in the home resort booking window. If you do truly plan for 7 months then certainly it does open up your options for resorts to buy. The big BUT here is when you are planning on traveling. I am tracking 7 month availability and if you are planning on anytime between mid January through mid September then you should be fine with booking at 7 months. The other variable is what room size you want - Studios book up the quickest (cheapest points) so if that is the room you plan on booking you would want to be on the computer at 8am once the 7 month window opens. 1BR and 2BR have better availability.

If you want to travel between late September and early January - then at 7 months there is limited supply. Just when i checked today for 7 month availability for this coming October - The following resorts had nothing (no full availability) for a 7 day stay - CCV, Poly, BRV, BLT, VGC, VGF, BWV and BC. AK only had 1BR and OKW had 1 and 2BR. SSR was the only one with all room categories available. So you can not plan on waiting to book during this time frame.

As for the most economical resort it is actually SSR because of the lower MF it has. Plus you should factor in the length of the contract. Many OKW contracts expire in 2042 where as SSR expires in 2054 -- so a considerable difference. Your price of an OKW at $80 per point is way off from where the current market is. It hasn't been that low since 2015.

Hey, we are interested in 2-bedroom units. A 1-bedroom could work, but we'd definitely like the extra space, and that alone makes me interested in DVC.

Based on what I've been told on this thread it sounds like the only time of year that we typically go that is a "slow" DVC season is August. Sept-Jan keep being mentioned as the busy time; which is usually when we go. So, the home resort, just based on that alone matters now.

I appreciate you taking the time to look all of those reservations up for me. This really is a great community, and I appreciate everyone's help and patience with my questions.

Regarding the price of OKW (I've learned you can't like websites on here), but if you google "dvc resale" and click on the first company that comes up in the search, and pull up their listings they have OKW listings at $88/point, and I was assuming with a lower offer it could come down to the $83-85/point range. So, I was basing that price per point on that info.

 

[Bobb_o]

If you don't mind split stays, and "the chase" (which I do enjoy), it is possible to get some decent rooms at 7 months and under. BUT - I've always done this with the safety of a home resort booking at 11 months. We bought where we wanted to stay, but there are several here who have also bought "where you wouldn't mind staying," (looking at you, @Bing Showei) and every once in a while I think whether I might have done better buying a big bunch of SSR or AKV points when they were at $100 or less, rather than my big glob of VGF points. Last February we managed to wait list and stalk our way from a BLT LV studio to a BWV 1br p/g (7 mo) (there were BWV *and* standard views available for a few hours that morning, and I made the mistake of waiting for DH to respond - never again), to a BLT 1br standard. We also did a long weekend in September with about 45 days' notice and SSR was available (but we used Swolphin points instead - which I guess has answered my question whether I should have bought SSR). But - you have to be comfortable and happy with wherever your home resort is, if there is nothing at 7mo, or be willing to do a split stay if only a part of your stay is available at 7mo.

I would be ok staying at SSR as it's still better than any value and moderate IMO. OKW would be more of a "disappointment" but if I had OKW points I could probably book SSR pretty easily at 7mo. From skier_pete's thread it looks like SSR is open at 7mo from Early Jan to Early Sept with a little more availability in a preferred building. But the early OKW expiration date might be an issue.

I'd be fine with split stays as long as it's at least a 2 night split. I'd also be ok with maybe doing every two years so with a 100 point contract I could just borrow to book a 1BR. I'd plan on doing Sun-Thur stays if I'm only doing 5 nights as well because looking at points charts I don't see how it's worth the extra 4 points to stay on Fri+Sat. Either way it'd be a tougher sell to my wife considering I told her that we'd be way better off renting points but considering that we've gone to WDW 3 times in the past 3 years and ended up at DLR and TDR last year it seems like we're going pretty often.

 

[kniquy]

I appreciate you taking the time to look all of those reservations up for me. This really is a great community, and I appreciate everyone's help and patience with my questions.

This is a wonderful community and is such a valuable resource through the purchase phase and through the use of your contract.


Below I linked a thread where it lists the price people have offered on contracts which have been accepted by the seller have either been taken or waved in ROFR. This is where you get a better idea of where pricing is at for each resort. It is a small sample but useful. It is also very important to take into consideration the point status of the contract - is it stripped (no points for 2 years) or fully loaded (has banked points, current and all future points) -- this can make a big difference in price. Essentially if you purchase a stripped contract for example a 100 point contract at $100 per point - you might not be able to use the contract for a year because is has no points. On the other hand if you were to purchase the same size 100 point contract at $100 per point BUT it had banked points,current and all future points) then you could potentially rent out those 100 banked points (if you couldn't use them) which could yield $17-19 per point (or $1700-1900) to off set your initial purchase price. Basically look at the whole picture when diving into the purchase.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...ost-for-instructions-formatting-tool.3726925/

 

[Bobb_o]

Hey, we are interested in 2-bedroom units. A 1-bedroom could work, but we'd definitely like the extra space, and that alone makes me interested in DVC.

Based on what I've been told on this thread it sounds like the only time of year that we typically go that is a "slow" DVC season is August. Sept-Jan keep being mentioned as the busy time; which is usually when we go. So, the home resort, just based on that alone matters now.

I appreciate you taking the time to look all of those reservations up for me. This really is a great community, and I appreciate everyone's help and patience with my questions.

Regarding the price of OKW (I've learned you can't like websites on here), but if you google "dvc resale" and click on the first company that comes up in the search, and pull up their listings they have OKW listings at $88/point, and I was assuming with a lower offer it could come down to the $83-85/point range. So, I was basing that price per point on that info.

But looking at dvcresalemarket it looks like OKW contracts under $94/point are being gobbled up by Disney. In the DIS RoFR thread the ones that got by are $100 and $103.

For me if I can't save $10/point and on the MFs I probably would buy AKL because at least it's a huge resort (despite lockoff issues) and the next cheapest seems to be BWV but that looks like a nightmare to book because of it's proximity to Epcot and I can't imagine what it'll be like when it comes time for Galaxy's Edge.

 

[kboo]

So I took a look at the entire month of August 2019 - 5 months out - at 2BR. Keep in mind this is before SW:GE opens, so things may be different by summer 2020:

NO AVAILABILITY:
BCV
BLT - standard (both lock off and dedicated); lock offs in lake view and TPV
BWV - (all, bc they are all lock offs)
BRV - lock off
CCV - lock off
VGF - lock off (standard and lake view)
AKV - Jambo (all, bc they are all lock offs)
OKW - 2BR lockoff near HH

WIDE OPEN:
SSR
OKW dedicated (a few nights gone here and there but doesn't look like a problem)

LIMITED AVAILABILITY:
BLT - dedicated LV and TPV (7 consecutive nights at end of August)
BRV/CCV - mostly open in dedicated 2BR
VGF - some longer stays in dedicated 2BR, std and lv
AKV - most room categories - you might need a split stay or waitlist if your dates aren't flex


Takeaway: studios go first, so any resort that is all lock offs will have its 2BR gone, and likely even in low-traffic times you'd need home resort availablity. The resorts with limited availability can be points eaters, and that's the trade off.

 

[kboo]

I'd plan on doing Sun-Thur stays if I'm only doing 5 nights as well because looking at points charts I don't see how it's worth the extra 4 points to stay on Fri+Sat. Either way it'd be a tougher sell to my wife considering I told her that we'd be way better off renting points but considering that we've gone to WDW 3 times in the past 3 years and ended up at DLR and TDR last year it seems like we're going pretty often.

The Sun-Thurs nights are typically the first to go since they cost fewer points. Another tradeoff with renting points is that you are locked in on dates and payments as soon as you rent, so if the snapshot isn't good for you the day that you confirm your rental, or if you find that airfares are better if you shift your trip a week or a few days, that becomes a problem. I didn't mind it when I rented because I was committed to dates by the time I was in contact with the owner. But since becoming an owner myself, 2 of the last 2 trips on my own points, I have fiddled with the reservation: once was to go from BLT studio to BWV 1BR to BLT 1BR (couldn't make up my mind, lol), and another was when my MIL ended up joining us, we went from a BLT 1br (std) to a BLT 2br (std) - that was a nailbiter even at 11 months. But at least I could do it. And our upcoming trips in 2019 are already booked (the DVC part).

 

[Bobb_o]

The Sun-Thurs nights are typically the first to go since they cost fewer points. Another tradeoff with renting points is that you are locked in on dates and payments as soon as you rent, so if the snapshot isn't good for you the day that you confirm your rental, or if you find that airfares are better if you shift your trip a week or a few days, that becomes a problem. I didn't mind it when I rented because I was committed to dates by the time I was in contact with the owner. But since becoming an owner myself, 2 of the last 2 trips on my own points, I have fiddled with the reservation: once was to go from BLT studio to BWV 1BR to BLT 1BR (couldn't make up my mind, lol), and another was when my MIL ended up joining us, we went from a BLT 1br (std) to a BLT 2br (std) - that was a nailbiter even at 11 months. But at least I could do it. And our upcoming trips in 2019 are already booked (the DVC part).

I'm open to being flexible, even if it means staying a Friday or Saturday. I'm also wondering at the 7 month window opening are most people trying to book AKL or is everyone trying to get into other resorts first and then trying AKL or SSR? I don't really know how the DVC booking site actually works. I agree with you that I don't mind the locked in dates 11 months in advance but it would be nice to be able to change/jump into new resorts. That's part of the reason why I want to own is so I can control more of the process. The years of maintenance fees are the only real thing that's holding me back.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm open to being flexible, even if it means staying a Friday or Saturday. I'm also wondering at the 7 month window opening are most people trying to book AKL or is everyone trying to get into other resorts first and then trying AKL or SSR? I don't really know how the DVC booking site actually works. I agree with you that I don't mind the locked in dates 11 months in advance but it would be nice to be able to change/jump into new resorts. That's part of the reason why I want to own is so I can control more of the process. The years of maintenance fees are the only real thing that's holding me back.

I wouldn’t say that most people are trying to book AKV at 7 months but certainly some people try. A lot of people shoot for the near-park resorts and are open to a variety of choices, rather than setting their sites on a single resort. So, they could be okay with BLT, VGF, PVB, BRV or CCV if they’re looking at being near the MK. Then they grab whichever one of those they can get.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The problem with checking the RAT to see what might be available seven months out is that what they have available might be one unit and it might go right after you leave the site. You can never see how many villas in a category are available.

 

[CarolMN]

There is something else to consider that has a fairly large impact on demand/availability. At 7 months, a point is a point is a point.

There are always owners who are renting their points and even though they may not want to go when you want to go, there seems to be an endless supply of the general public who do want to go when you want to go. Many of them are trying to rent DVC villas to save some $$ over Disney cash prices. And a whole lot of those folks are looking to rent at 7 months - because the points are less expensive than if they rent during a resort's home booking priority period. So those non-DVC folks are also competing with you for the villas available at the 7 month window. That is part of the reason availability drops off so quickly once the 7 month window opens. It's even more difficult to get into the near-park resorts at the 7 month window (those that offer a short walk to a park or have monorail access).

Buy accordingly, unless it really doesn't matter where you stay and you'd be OK with split stays if that were necessary. Do keep in mind that the "new" (at least for now) FP+ reservation policy is for each segment of a split stay to have is own FP+ 60 day window. That could mean you do not get a FP+ for the more popular attractions.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Look at Resort size in your decision making. Booking later than 10 months out could be a deal breaker at some smaller resorts. At least if the resort has a large inventory of rooms, you have a better chance staying at your home resort. Anything other than your home resort is a toss up.

The 7 months booking availability has drastically changed. At this point I think it’s mentioned mostly for sales purposes.

 

[davidl81]

Look at Resort size in your decision making. Booking later than 10 months out could be a deal breaker at some smaller resorts. At least if the resort has a large inventory of rooms, you have a better chance staying at your home resort. Anything other than your home resort is a toss up.

The 7 months booking availability has drastically changed. At this point I think it’s mentioned mostly for sales purposes.

I don't think that's a fair statement, if one is diligent and books exactly at 8:00am on seven months out there is usually good availability in the DVC network. The key is to have some flexibility in where you stay and what room type (ie Standard, lake view etc). You can use the room tool a few days ahead of seven months and get a pretty good feel for what is going to be open right at seven months. Now that also depends on time of the year, room type etc. There are certain times of the year (the OP's time frame actually) where getting any two bedroom for an entire week at seven months will be tough besides SSR and maybe AKV. But in general I have had very good success in getting mostly what I want at seven months out.

My advice for the OP is as follows.
1) I would not personally buy at OKW since that 2042 day is really not that far away. This assumes that you do not intend on staying at OKW regularly. We have no idea how resale prices for OKW are going to react in the next 10 years or so as we get even closer to expiration date. If buying points just to get into DVC I still maintain that SSR is the best "value".
2) Booking two bedrooms at BLT at seven months for your time frame will be tough, it always has been for me. Just looking at the tool right now there are scattered days here and there for two bedrooms at BLT, but late August 24th to Sept 20th is fully available. So there is some randomness in the system. Mostly though Oct-Jan a full week in a 2 bedroom at BLT will only go to owners at BLT (315 points FWIW for 7 nights)
3) Renting is not a bad option, it can be a little bit of a pain but it lets you get a feel for DVC without fully committing. Let's say a BLT rental is $18 a point you are really only paying $12 a point or so versus owning since you have to back out the cost of the yearly fees from the rental equation. Thus not factoring in time value of money (which does make a big difference) it would be about a 12 year break even between renting and owning. Of course if you own after the 12 years you still own the asset (contract) which in all likely hood short of a huge recession BLT points will be worth the same price in 12 years then they are worth today (most likely they will be worth more on 12 years, but that is an assumption).

 

[robinb]

Takeaway: studios go first, so any resort that is all lock offs will have its 2BR gone, and likely even in low-traffic times you'd need home resort availablity. The resorts with limited availability can be points eaters, and that's the trade off.

I was just going to make this same point. Most 2-BRs are lockoffs and rely on the availability of studios. Studios go first.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I was just going to make this same point. Most 2-BRs are lockoffs and rely on the availability of studios. Studios go first.

True. But most resorts have dedicated 2BR's also. BWV and Jambo are the exceptions.