Is a Fixed Week worth it?

[akirk18]

Has anyone who purchased a fixed week regretted it?
There really seems to be no downside. If you don't use your GW you can get your points. If you use it you pay 10% more points to stay for the week. BUT if a point reallocation happens and the amount of points needed for a week go up, you still pay the same. Although that could work against you aswell if points for the week go down...I don't think this will happen with studios though.

I just wonder why more people do not take advantage of this. I mean if you are able to get a hard to book part of the year (around Christmas for example), and only take advantage of the fixed week occasionally, wouldn't it still be worth it?

So if you have a GW, do you use it to its full potential? Or would you have been better off just buying regular fluid points?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Couple reasons people don't:

1. Not eligible for any icnentives. So when they offer a purchase incentive that brings down price, it's not good on GW.
2. The guides never mention it. Ever. But they talk up how you'll be able to book so many places! all the time! Guides don't discuss scarcity, especially at the last three resorts where at VGF and CCV, studios are in short supply in fall, and at Poly and CCV where Expensive Accommodation Points skew demand on the studios.
3. people who are buying half to bank and borrow and go every two years cannot get a GW. GW assumes annual.

A lot of new buyers never know it's an option, and get told about "a lifetime of memories!" and "book at all the resorts!" and "look at this point chart for a unit you will never be able to book!"

 

[akirk18]

• people who are buying half to bank and borrow and go every two years cannot get a GW. GW assumes annual.

Could they not still do this? They would just be giving up their GW for those years. But if in 5 years they wanted to actually use their GW, they still could.

 

[jerseyduke]

AuroraBorealis makes great points.

I DID NOT buy a fixed week and the Grand Floridian, and I regret it totally.

If you are going to go the same week half the time or more, I would have it on my radar. It depends on the property of course. As AB pointed out in point 2, the bungalows and cabins skew demand. With the Poly, DIS sold (about) 4 million in points, 3 mil were for the studios. I am sure well over 3.5 mil of those points were purchased with the though of being used on the studios, but only 3 mil can.

However, a fixed week is 1 contract. If you buy a fixed week for a one or two bedroom, then decide later in life that a studio is enough, you can not sell off some of the points. You could do this if you bought 300 points as 6 50 point contracts, you could sell off 100 points.

If you are targeting the busy times (ahem...december), I would buy a fixed week.

 

[FFMickey]

We didn't get a GW since our vacations change throughout fall. We bought with incentives in mind, however with the scarcity of studios at CCV, we are now talking about contemplating a GW while we still can and selling our CCV contact. Although, we do have enough points to do a 1 br every other year and poly points for studios on the other years.

 

[jerseyduke]

Could they not still do this? They would just be giving up their GW for those years. But if in 5 years they wanted to actually use their GW, they still could.

No. AB is stating if you buy 75 points to go every other year at 150 points, you can not use a FW. Many buy with the idea of going every other year.

If a week is 150 points, you have to buy 165 points for a FW. You can not buy half the points and get it every other year.

 

[akirk18]

No. AB is stating if you buy 75 points to go every other year at 150 points, you can not use a FW. Many buy with the idea of going every other year.

If a week is 150 points, you have to buy 165 points for a FW. You can not buy half the points and get it every other year.

After rereading her point, I misunderstood what she was saying. It makes sense now.

I only have one nagging feeling about the GW. Has anyone bought into one and found that it was unnecessary?
For instance I am currently contemplating one for week 49 at CCV. My family will certainly not use it every year but on the years we do use it will it even be necessary to use it.

 

[wnielsen1]

I have no use for a fixed week as my vacationing is never that regimented. I will go at different times of the year, stay for different lengths of time, stay in different sized units, and start my vacation on different days of the week.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Could they not still do this? They would just be giving up their GW for those years. But if in 5 years they wanted to actually use their GW, they still could.

You have to buy a full week, so buy all whatever points. When someone is trying to buy half the points, it doesn't work.

Example: Betty would be looking at a week 49 fixed week studio, which is base at 107 points, add 10% and it's 118 points to buy. But Betty thinks she wants every toher year, so she really would rather buy 75 and bank/borrow. The leap for that extra 43 points is nearly $5k plus dues. So she doesn't do the GW.

You are still buying the points (capital) and paying dues for the whole amount every year even if you don't travel or use the GW.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

After rereading her point, I misunderstood what she was saying. It makes sense now.

I only have one nagging feeling about the GW. Has anyone bought into one and found that it was unnecessary?
For instance I am currently contemplating one for week 49 at CCV. My family will certainly not use it every year but on the years we do use it will it even be necessary to use it.

If you want a studio, it will be necessary.

 

[akirk18]

If you want a studio, it will be necessary.

What about 1 bedrooms? Do they seem to have the same availability problems at 11 or 7 months?

 

[wnielsen1]

What about 1 bedrooms? Do they seem to have the same availability problems at 11 or 7 months?

I don't think you will need a GW for a 1 BR but you should still book 11 months out for Thanksgiving through Marathon weekend at CCV. The Wilderness Lodge including its 2 DVC portions is extremely popular at that time of year.

I don't think I would even want to commit to the points required for a GW for a 1 BR.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I would put in the one caution on the 1BRs that at VGF we have seen people unable to get studios upgrading to shorter trips in 1BRs, same week.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

What about 1 bedrooms? Do they seem to have the same availability problems at 11 or 7 months?

You would probably be able to book CCV 1BR without a guaranteed week but you'll still probably need to book right at 11 months. Weeks 48 and 49 would be the ones I'd think about for any size villa at CCV.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

If you are buying at a small resort AND you go the same week every year AND you always stay 7 days AND you come Sept thru December, it is totally worth it.
If you come for RunDisney events, it it totally worth it.

Having said that, I bought a resale fixed week at VGF week 26 (4th of July) that I will probably never use. I kept seeing this resale contract offered that had not sold after 3 months. I assume that resale buyers either don’t understand the concept of fixed weeks (that you get everything a non-fixed week gets, and more) or that they fixated on the week 26 date, and did not want it. In any event, I got a very nice resale contract for a very good price.

Bottom line, it can be a really good purchase, but don’t expect to realize the full value in the resale market.

 

[Bing Showei]

Another thing I would say plays in favor of GWs is that right now there is a huge disparity that DVD created in terms of membership needs; namely high studio needs because of small contracts sold vs. current availability of cabins less than 30 days out.

This is a mess DVCMC is going to have to address, and if the retracted 2020 reallocation was any indication of what they’re willing to try, locking into a fixed price for a studio may be worth seriously considering for any CCV buyer looking to stay in a studio regularly.

As sexy as those point charts look for studios, shortly after selling out CCV, I imagine DVCMC will have a sudden epiphany that there’s an imbalance that needs to be addressed, membership needs will suddenly be paramount, and a reallocation, which CCV did not see in the retracted 2020 charts, will suddenly be needed to address member concerns about low studio availability. GW owners will be bullet proof to those shenanigans.

 

[jerseyduke]

If you do buy a fixed week and find it to be unnecessary, you can always cancel the reservation, then rebook it, and get the extra points put into your account - You could sneak in a 2 or 3 day trip every few years if you did that.

I would probably not buy one for a 1 bedroom, except maybe VGF. That being said, I would be on line at 11 months at 8AM to book it.

Going Forward, if I was buying with the intent of going a certain week (most of the time) and staying in a studio, I would buy a fixed week. I made a mistake NOT buying one at VGF,

You might take a hit on the resale market a bit - possibly. Then again, a fixed week for week 48 or 49 at VGF might catch a premium.

 

[Phatscott25]

I think it's definitely going to be worth it for DRR tower studio, especially for the week I want for F&W (week 43). Mainly because there's only 24 of them, they'd be for DW and I only for adult F&W trips which we will use annually, and because I'm too young to overpay for Cresent Lake resorts and want /hope Skyliner fills that void. Well all that and I like the place.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think it's definitely going to be worth it for DRR tower studio, especially for the week I want for F&W (week 43). Mainly because there's only 24 of them, they'd be for DW and I only for adult F&W trips which we will use annually, and because I'm too young to overpay for Cresent Lake resorts and want /hope Skyliner fills that void. Well all that and I like the place.

They aren't selling GW for Tower Studios.

I'm sure they're showing the point charts tho.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Reasons I purchased a studio fixed week at CCV;

1. Purchased week in December. This is high demand, didn't want to get shut out or walk it.
2. Some buffer for future point reallocations.
3. Resale - hopefully will sell quickly selling it as a FW December.
4. Rentals - don't have to compete for a reservation as it is guarenteed. Makes renting this week much easier.

I think it was worth every penny purchasing the GW.