Is buying direct VDH to mostly use in Florida a terrible plan?

[atthebeachclub]

The headline pretty much says it all. I'd like some direct points. Polynesian was going to be my direct buy in. But I'm counting Florida out, for now, for reasons (mostly related to future uncertainty for a decades long product in the state of Florida).

I do want to visit Disneyland every 3 to 5 years, and also have a soft spot for the Disneyland Hotel (where I stayed as a child). But at least for now, I'd probably mostly use these points in Florida for now as the trip is a little easier for my family. I can see us transitioning more to DL in the future.

Terrible idea? Should I just stick with my cheap SAP+ points instead? I still have my small BCV contract and would keep that one.
Edit to add: I haven't been to Disneyland since around 2005, and I've never been to California Adventure.

 

[Sandisw]

When do you want to use them and in what room size?

To me, that makes a difference. I personally wouldn’t want to own a non FL resort for WDsw trips…but if you don’t care what room size you want and willing to take whatever is left? I could see it work.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I can see us using studios and 1 bedrooms more in Disneyland, and 1 and 2 bedrooms more in WDW.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Like Sandi said, it really matters where you want to stay in WDW. If you aren't particular, it might be a good idea to buy VDH since you think you'll visit DL more in future. Of course, life changes is a thing and no amount of good planning can prevent significant changes from arising out of the blue, causing chaos. For me personally, even though I plan to hold my membership until the end of the road, I bought looking ahead at realistic usage for the next 5 years.

I wouldn't purchase a resort in a location that I didn't plan on using in the next few years. While I love VDH, the Polynesian seems less risky to me if you mostly want to stay in WDW. Additionally, it has no resale restrictions, which leads me to believe it will hold resale value. The annual dues are less than VDH, too. Of course, if you don't want to stay at the Polynesian ever, it wouldn't be a good choice.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Polynesian is nice! And has nice low dues. And was my other choice. I normally don’t care for restrictions but I have a feeling they will be less meaningful in California than in Florida. I just think it’s going to be easier to snag bedrooms in Florida as a non-owner than in California as a non-owner. Plus 100 BCV points actually get us fairly far.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Polynesian is nice! And has nice low dues. And was my other choice. I normally don’t care for restrictions but I have a feeling they will be less meaningful in California than in Florida. I just think it’s going to be easier to snag bedrooms in Florida as a non-owner than in California as a non-owner. Plus 100 BCV points actually get us fairly far.

It definitely appears to be easier to get bedrooms in Florida. That's probably because there are overall a lot more available across all the resorts.

I haven't studied Disneyland Forward and it'll likely keep changing, but the VDH tower has the potential to be surrounded by the project. If that's the case, I agree that restrictions won't matter. I expect it to be in high demand, like VGC.

 

[intamin]

I really don't think it's a horrible idea to buy VDH to use in FL especially if you're okay with booking 1BRs in WDW.

The only downside I could see is if you don't actually end up vacationing at DLR, then your home resort priority is worthless. And then add resale restrictions which to be fair shouldn't hurt as much as buying a resale restricted resort at WDW since there's so few options for DVC resorts at DL.

Then add in the stuff from Disneyland forward and your home resort priority could become even more valuable. If I wasnt planning on living down the street from DL I'd probably buy there too.

 

[Chili327]

If California is definite for the future then I think it’s worthy, but if it fell thru and you had to sell restricted points it would be a little bit of a bummer, but not the end of the world.