Is it hard to book a non-home resort 7 months out?

[Minniesgal]

Ouch.....That hurts!

Do you know what the cheapest resort to own and stay?

I don't know for sure but I suspect AKV is close. Resale prices are not too inflated and the point value f the value rooms is great although MFs are higher and there are not a lot of value rooms.

 

[crisi]

The one other thing that hasn't been mentioned - there can be a huge difference in availability if you call seven months out EXACTLY or if you don't call for a week because you were busy. Even waiting until lunch hour instead of logging into the web site when the reservations are released can make a huge difference for some rooms at some times of year.

BCV will never get any bigger, but DVC will continue to add resorts on and off site - adding resorts means adding members, and adding members means more potential competition for the existing BCV rooms. So the situation that exists today may be very different from the situation ten years from now.

There is always luck - and some people have had really good luck. Other people seem to have lousy luck.

 

[crisi]

Ouch.....That hurts!

Do you know what the cheapest resort to own and stay?

It depends on what you value and how you value things like contract life and what your crystal balls says the dues difference will be in a decade.

SSR is considered a really good value - dues are low, the length of the contract is long, and resales can be had for cheap. It gives you few booking advantages

Dues are higher at VAKL, and the buyin cost is likely to be higher, but the value rooms, if you can get them, can offset the price. The value rooms are the big booking advantage (and concierge) but there are so few of each that even owners can have trouble at eleven months.

Likewise OKW - a lot of contracts have the shorter expiration date to factor in, but some have the longer expiration date. All the rooms at OKW are pretty good point values. The only thing you need home resort advantage for here tends to be the Grand Villas, though, so it isn't necessary to own.

BWV is a might be good value if you want the location and can book eleven months out and stay in the standard view rooms - contract life is short, dues are high, and the buyin is higher than the preceeding resorts, but its possibly the best value (if you stay in standard view rooms) of the expensive resorts. Without the standard view option, its a similar value to BCV - maybe a little worse (higher dues, but cheaper to buy, both of them, as well as VWL have the same contract end date).

Watch HH and VB - particularly VB - they are very attractive in terms of resale price - but both have short contract lives and VB in particular has very high dues - high enough to negate any savings over SSR.

I don't think anyone would consider any use of BLT, BCV or GFV a "value purchase" - UNLESS it is important for you to regularly stay there. Especially BLT standard view rooms, which seem almost non-bookable at seven months.

For us, extra years on the contract are pretty meaningless except as possible salvage value - we are old But I'd put more value on that if I were ten or fifteen years younger.

 

[NoleFan]

I think it depends on several things: size of room, time of year, length of stay, resort choice, if you are ok with split stays, how far in advance you are able to book (ie exactly at 7 months or just short of 7 months, etc).

I have been checking out studio availability & if you check the website frequently, you can more than likely find 1-2 nights. Got my resale points loaded in June & was able to book (all studios): 2 nights BW view for F&W, 1 night VWL mid December followed by 1 night value @ AKL Jambo. I have also seen availability come up & disappear in an instant. We are local in FL so our schedule is flexible, stay typically 1-3 nights, and can travel up to the last minute (although I prefer to plan in advance). Even with as much luck as I have had booking under 7 months, I would still say buy where you want to stay. I know I would be disappointed if I could not stay where I wanted to. Looking forward to using home resort booking window to save points on the standard views @ BW & get some summer fun pool time in @ BCV.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I think it depends on several things: size of room, time of year, length of stay, resort choice, if you are ok with split stays, how far in advance you are able to book (ie exactly at 7 months or just short of 7 months, etc).

I have been checking out studio availability & if you check the website frequently, you can more than likely find 1-2 nights. Got my resale points loaded in June & was able to book (all studios): 2 nights BW view for F&W, 1 night VWL mid December followed by 1 night value @ AKL Jambo. I have also seen availability come up & disappear in an instant. We are local in FL so our schedule is flexible, stay typically 1-3 nights, and can travel up to the last minute (although I prefer to plan in advance). Even with as much luck as I have had booking under 7 months, I would still say buy where you want to stay. I know I would be disappointed if I could not stay where I wanted to. Looking forward to using home resort booking window to save points on the standard views @ BW & get some summer fun pool time in @ BCV.

But some of us don't want to move around for a week or ten days vacation. I hate that homeless feeling. Plus I like to unpack and settle in.

 

[Kcags]

I agree. I would rather not hop around. It seems AK may be the best fit. With a small contract, we can stay there for at least a week on 100 points. The dues will be slightly more but i think it will be worth it to stay where we want.

 

[DMKEDM]

We've been taking 3-5 Disney trips (ranging from 5 to 8 or 9 nights each, with only one split stay in all that time) per year since 2006 when I bought our first DVC points. We rarely can plan a trip 11 months out, and only about half the time is it possible to do 7 months out.

We love all the DVC resorts, so our "preferences" generally come down to how long it's been since we were last at any given resort...occasionally, there's a real preference/need for one particular resort, but it's not usual.

We find that until about 5 months out, we have choices. We may encounter no availability at one or another of the smaller/near-to-park/more popular resorts, but where one is unavailable, another is usually available. I've gotten BLT SV and LV, BWV SV and GV, BCV, OKW (including HH), etc. Quite likely I can't choose among all of those-but rarely are all of them unavailable. We stay at SSR by choice rather than by necessity (because it's all that's available) far more often than not...I think we've only wound up at SSR due to unavailability elsewhere only twice...

Which is not to say there's never ever an availability issue. But usually there isn't (keeping in mind that I rarely "have to have" a particular resort). There has been only one trip where I couldn't get a room I wanted (wound up with one of two rooms I needed at the Dolphin that trip)...

Between five months and two months out, availability is MUCH more limited.

But, from two months out forward, there's usually more availability than there is at five or four or three months out. (One year, I had points in holding (from a trip canceled due to the "Snowmaggedon blizzard" and got 5 nights in April at BLT/SV with about 6 weeks notice)--Not as much choice as at 7 months out, but considerably more than "in the middle" booking times.

Now, this is not a scientific survey. But it's my experience over 7 years and more than 30 trips, so it's probably not "just luck" either.

FWIW...

 

[NoleFan]

I agree. I would rather not hop around. It seems AK may be the best fit. With a small contract, we can stay there for at least a week on 100 points. The dues will be slightly more but i think it will be worth it to stay where we want.

AKL is a large DVC property. Unless you want value or club level, you should be able to book there at 7 months.

 

[murphy7573]

Booked 7 days at BWV studio at 11 months for late November 2013. At 7 months was able to change my rez to VWL studio. Still keeping my seven nights intact. There are possibilities of finding somewhere else to stay at the 7 month mark, including studios !

 

[NoleFan]

But some of us don't want to move around for a week or ten days vacation. I hate that homeless feeling. Plus I like to unpack and settle in.

I understand. We also would rather stay at 1 resort but don't mind split stays. This year, we are just excited to be DVC owners & be at Disney for the holidays & MVMCP. I think home resort advantage is especially important for stays longer than a couple days. The great thing about DVC is that it offers something for everyone's unique situation.

I really think the biggest factors are: size of room, time of year, length of stay, resort choice, if you are ok with split stays, how far in advance you are able to book (ie exactly at 7 months or just short of 7 months, etc).

 

[crisi]

Booked 7 days at BWV studio at 11 months for late November 2013. At 7 months was able to change my rez to VWL studio. Still keeping my seven nights intact. There are possibilities of finding somewhere else to stay at the 7 month mark, including studios !

It pains me to say it, because its possibly my favorite resort (BWV is home), but VWL is almost always available at the seven month mark. Apparently, people don't value it as much as I do (or they are like me, and stay home even though they like it more).

NoleFan, I agree - you have a lot of flexibility due to your location and - well, being flexible. Buying where you don't mind staying isn't a bad idea for most owners. Buying anywhere at all is probably fine for a small minority of owners - they book short notice anyway, or are happy anywhere. For another minority, buy where you want to stay is the best advice - because they really WANT that BCV room at Food and Wine or a BLT Themepark View on New Years Eve, or they bought needing to stretch points with standard or value rooms - their heart is set on a specific resort, ending up at SSR or OKW or VAKL because that's what's left at seven months when they call just isn't acceptable.

 

[cindymouse6]

well, just FYI.... just used my OKW points to make a stay at VGF for Easter 2014.... no studio lake view, only standard view.... which was shocking actually.... but had to make it exactly 7 months to the day out..... but excited! we have a party of 5 and always get a 2 BR, so getting a studio will be a major downsize for us..... will see how it goes, but goes to show that MK resorts book quickly!

 

[Nabas]

Do you know what the cheapest resort to own and stay?

That requires a surprisingly complicated answer that's based on 3 factors that people weigh differently, depending on what assumptions they make. Ignoring the non-WDW resorts:

1. Purchase price (PP) - OKW is selling for the lowest price-per-point, with resale asking price currently about $10/point less than the next resort.
2. Maintenance Fee (MF) - BLT followed by SSR.
3. Points per night (PPN) - AKV Value, followed by BWV Standard, OKW, and AKV Standard.

So, ideally you'd want OKW's PP, BLT's MF, and AKV Value's PPN.

SSR has a relatively low PP and MF so many purchase there and then try to book somewhere else at the 7-month window.

Beyond that, this tends to be a controversial discussion because members build in different assumptions. For example, "I'm going to vacation to WDW for the next 50 years so my BLT contract is lower cost because I can spread out the purchase price over a longer period." Great. Is 50 years reasonable? Are you even going to be alive?

Me, I tend to think of WDW as a 10-year plan and calculate accordingly. How much is the purchase price? How much do I think I can sell it for in 10 years? (Always tough to answer since this can be influenced by where DVC builds next.) What have been MF trends? (BLT has been hit with some big percentage increases recently.) Of the cheap options, which can I reasonably expect to book at the 7-month window for the time of year I want to go? (Do you like the Food and Wine Festival? Then generally forget about BWV Standard View for more than a day or two unless you own there. Generally, AKV Value is tough to get. Conversely, OKW generally is no problem getting year round.)

As you can see, different people will have different opinions on the above so there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

 

[Nabas]

I agree. I would rather not hop around. It seems AK may be the best fit. With a small contract, we can stay there for at least a week on 100 points. The dues will be slightly more but i think it will be worth it to stay where we want.

The nice thing about AKV is it gives you 4 levels of room, 2 of which are hard to book if you don't own there:

- Concierge (even hard to book at 11 months)
- Savannah
- Standard
- Value (difficult to find a full week at 7 months)

AKV is now 100% declared for DVC use and, after several years, is finally nearing sold-out status. (This should happen early next year.) Up till now, AKV Standard and Savannah View have been relatively easy to book. (Only OKW and SSR are easier.) But I wonder if that will change once AKV is completely sold out since it means more DVC members vying for AKV rooms.

In addition, in the poor post-2008 economy, I've noticed a lot of DVC foreclosures, lots of resales, and potentially a lot of points being banked or going unused. It makes me wonder if 2009-2012 represents a low period of use. Watching what's happening on the resale market today, I wonder if, in general, it will become more difficult to book all DVC rooms.

Between SSR, BLT, and AKV, Disney more than doubled the number of DVC rooms and, therefore, the number of sold DVC points. Today, there are a lot more vying for (for example) the same number of rooms at BCV. IMHO, 2014 and beyond could represent a period unlike any previous so, at least for me, it's difficult to use past performance to predict the future.

My point is, just because something was easy to book in recent years, that doesn't mean it will stay that way going forward.

 

[Nabas]

It pains me to say it, because its possibly my favorite resort (BWV is home), but VWL is almost always available at the seven month mark. Apparently, people don't value it as much as I do (or they are like me, and stay home even though they like it more).

I wonder if demand for VWL is changing.

VWL used to be the only Magic Kingdom area DVC. Now we have BLT and VGF, with the Poly DVC coming in a few years. Once that opens, will VWL slip from #1 to #4 when it comes to a Magic Kingdom area stay?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I wonder if demand for VWL is changing.

VWL used to be the only Magic Kingdom area DVC. Now we have BLT and VGF, with the Poly DVC coming in a few years. Once that opens, will VWL slip from #1 to #4 when it comes to a Magic Kingdom area stay?

There have always been times of the year when VWL was easier to book. But the holiday season was not usually one of those time. People like to book there for the decorations in Nov and Dec.

 

[crisi]

I wonder if demand for VWL is changing.

VWL used to be the only Magic Kingdom area DVC. Now we have BLT and VGF, with the Poly DVC coming in a few years. Once that opens, will VWL slip from #1 to #4 when it comes to a Magic Kingdom area stay?

VWL has been "under appreciated" since it opened - even when it was the only MK area resort it was fairly easy to book - except when the holiday decorations are up.

 

[Deb & Bill]

VWL has been "under appreciated" since it opened - even when it was the only MK area resort it was fairly easy to book - except when the holiday decorations are up.

It must be that one studio with no balcony or the studio with the view of the dumpster. Or the view - trees, trees and more trees.

But I like trees.

 

[rusafee1183]

It must be that one studio with no balcony or the studio with the view of the dumpster.

Yep, we had "that" room. The very last room on the first floor next to the service doors..... Funny part? We still came home from that trip and bought VWL points because we loved the resort so much

And we knew we would want a shot to be there during the holidays, and knew that there was no way we could get it without the priority booking.

 

[DenLo]

I love WL resort. And the location of the VWL is perfect. Great transportation to MK. When we last stayed there the buses were shared with Ft. Wilderness. Now I understand they are shared with GF. However, I do not like the rooms. I feel the same way with the ones at BWV, but a least they have some dedicated studios and 1BRs. It was really poor design to connect the rooms off of the studio's bedroom the and living room in the 1BR--really noisy in the studios.

Also I think that people have moved from formica countertops and apartment sized appliances--they want deluxe kitchens too even in a rustic looking villa. So as more MK resorts are added that have those amenities and quicker transportation to MK they like them more.

However, I will always hope to stay at VWL when it is decorated for Christmas.