"Knowing what you know now" what would you do?

[byoung]

I bought at BWV for I wanted to stay there the most, would do it over again.

 

[JimC]

Buy two 100 point contracts. Gives you much more flexibility.

Buy where you need a 7 - 11 month booking advantage, otherwise buy where the long term costs of ownership are likely to be least after considering purchase cost, dues and potential resale value in 10 years. Right now that is SSR.

 

[disney dumbo]

Here's a thought:
buy 67 points at each of the 3 you like...
then you'd bank & borrow...
so you'd be on a 3 year cycle...
a different resort each year for 3 years...
every year you could experience a special resort with the option of booking at the 11 month window...
or any where available at the 7 month window.

or choose 2 resort... and buy 100/pt at each...
then switch locations every other year.

If you become unhappy with the ones you've started with...
later you can sell the one you don't like and buy the one that your heart desires!

Good luck!

 

[dvc at last !]

We wanted Vacation Club for many years.
Wish we had purchased sooner.
We waited till the Orthodontist and College were over for 2 children...
that I do not regret.
We did purchase OKW resale from TTS.
When a Monorail Resort opens DVC - I'll be there !

 

[jgus]

We bought last week at SSR, but it actually wasn't our first choice, and probably still isn't. We will probably stay at BCV or VWL in the future. But, It was the few more pros than cons in the end which is how we based our decision.

I am 29, so the extra 12 years on SSR was a benifit, there is a chance this may be an issue some day! Also, the $91pp was attractive. For us, we cannot book 11 months out, so that didn't play into the decision. So in the end it was the 2054 end, $91pp, and low fees.

Bottom line, every family is different and has different needs.

 

[DramaTech]

We, too, bought 150 pts @ SSR last week while we were onboard the Disney Magic. They had some nice special offers that we wanted to take advantage of. SSR doesn't wow us, but we always go during off season times so I don't anticipate too much problem with the 7-month issue. If so...we'll figure something out.

We're very excited!

 

[KelNottAt]

Would still buy BWV if we were in the market today.

Only difference would be we'd buy 2 or 3 smaller contracts instead of one large one.

 

[bcpage]

"Buy where you want to stay" makes sense, but as some people have hinted at, it isn't the most important thing to consider. What I believe is the single most important issue is--can you plan your vacations 7-11 months out. If you can't, home resort advantage means nothing. If you can plan at 11 months, then you must weigh "buy where you want to stay" with other factors like dues, price per point, extra years, etc.

We bought 200 SSR pts in Nov05 and 150 AKV Feb07 and for the record, we won't stay at SSR very much. Having said that though, I would still buy at SSR if I had to do it all over again (the only thing I would have changed was to buy two contracts, 150 and 50). The lower dues, extra years, June 2005 UY points (we bought in Nov05), and no closing costs far outweighed the home resort advantage for us. Buying SSR allows us to stay at VWL, BCV, BWV and OKW at a lower cost. The prospect of being forced to stay at SSR is not a factor for us b/c as many have posted, SSR has lots to offer and is a great resort to be "stuck" at. We just prefer the VWL and AKV, but we will enjoy staying at all the resorts.

Hope that helps.

 

[WolfpackFan]

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably buy BWV rather than VWL. We have only stayed at VWL once. Our favorite park is Epcot and we really liked being able to walk to Epcot from BWV. But then again, I've never had a problem gettting ressies at BWV, so maybe it doesn't really matter. I wish we had also bought more points at HHI.

 

[rmaiers]

Instead of buying two 150 pt SSR contracts, I should have bought six 50 pt contracts. The smaller the contract, the higher the resale value - should you ever decide to get out of the DVC. Also, small contracts sell very quickly.

My advice - buy several small contracts instead of one large one.

 

[bwvBound]

Instead of buying two 150 pt SSR contracts, I should have bought six 50 pt contracts. The smaller the contract, the higher the resale value - should you ever decide to get out of the DVC. Also, small contracts sell very quickly.

My advice - buy several small contracts instead of one large one.

Yes ... except that the 50pt contracts will also cost more to purchase. (Fewer incentives offered at 50pts than at 100+ points?)

I'm thinking that a first-time buyer can't request six 50pt contracts as their initial purchase. Wouldn't they have to purchase one minimum block (150 or now 160) followed by the multiple smaller add-ons?

 

[snowwhitemom]

I would want those extra 12 years of ownership....for a cheaper price and lowest mtc fees...!!

I have/can always get the 7th month at any other resort.
If it happens some day that I can't...OK..."force" me to stay at my "home" !!

Amen!!!! My children will appreciate those extra years later in life and God willing i will still be here to enjoy it with them and my grandchildren. (did I mention they are only 1 and 11 LOL!)

 

[mommym]

JIMC-Just wondering why you didn't say SSR and AKV both-do you think SSR has an edge for future resale or are you basing it on AKV higher MFs?

 

[DisneyDVCdad]

When I bought my points for SSR about 3 years ago I did not know about this board! The amount of information I've learned about DVC from is amazing since I joined! So I guess what I'm saying is lurk around these boards for a while and soak up all you can!

 

[NYMomof4]

When I bought my points for SSR about 3 years ago I did not know about this board! The amount of information I've learned about DVC from is amazing since I joined! So I guess what I'm saying is lurk around these boards for a while and soak up all you can!

I happened to be here well before DVC-on the other DVC threads, and the funniest thing was that I knew at least as much as my guide when I purchased. The best part about knowing all the information ahead of time (from these boards) was that I could ask the detailed questions when I met with the guide. I gave out the website addy to a woman at Disney last year, who had not heard of the DisBoards.

So to add to the thread's original question- I would say that taking my time to do the research helped, but I would also have planned ahead even further to put a larger payment down.

 

[Pennyguy23]

Well we bought a 150pt contract at SSR because we are young and wanted the extra 12 years. We figured Disney is DISNEY no matter where you stay. We stayed at AKL in Jan this year and loved it so once the rumors came true we bought 150 AKV also with an extra 15 years. But we just stayed at BCV last week and REALLY fell in love with the place. So I got on the waitlist for BCV when we got back on Sunday. So that will guarentee us atleast one stay there a year. But good luck on your choice. SSR is great too.

 

[Didney Daddy]

Not complicated. Buy where you love it the most. I don't know how old you are, but who really cares about 40 years from now. The most important Disney vacations you are going to take are in the next ten most likely.

 

[CPTJAK]

Not complicated. Buy where you love it the most. I don't know how old you are, but who really cares about 40 years from now. The most important Disney vacations you are going to take are in the next ten most likely.

Well there may be grandchildren involved someday. I love Disney but kids are teens now and not sure what future will bring...My 16 year old already doesn't like Epcot that much

 

[cobbler]

Personally I would probably still go with SSR. I know I definatly would not go with OKW or BCV. Having only stayed at BWV outside my home resort that might be a possibility because we had a great time. However SSR being newer would still probably tip the scales in its favor.

The only thing I would do different is my contract. I own 220. I would not put all 220 in one contract. I would do 3 50 point ones and 1 70 point one. Easier for resale if I want to sell and add on somewhere else.

 

[sm0387liz]

There are many variables you should consider... for instance, what age group of children do you have? The teenagers will love SSR (Downtown Disney area), the younger group WLV (near Magic Kingdom) and AKV, and so on... We have young children in strollers and prefer the EPCOT resort area BCV & BWV because we do not have to take the busses often... the strollers even go on the boats in that area... but mainly because we can set up the stroller (packed with stuff), and not have to load and unload, fold and unfold to get on and off the busses. (with the exception of Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney)

Also, when do you usually travel? If it is in the value seasons, then don't worry about your home resort. We travel in Sept, Oct, Jan and the week after Thanksgiving... (unless there is a hurricane, then we go then too). We have never had a problem getting what we want in those months. And with 5 children of all ages (17, 16, 5, 1, 3 months) we can not really plan far ahead.

If you travel in the busier seasons, then you may want to try and buy into the resort you think you will want to stay in most to take advantage of the 11 months to book ahead.

If you spend a lot of time in the pool, then BCV has the best one.

With the dining plan, we like to be close to EPCOT for the dining options available in that particular park. Even though most people end up dining in the different resorts more than within the parks. (O'hana, 1900 PArk Fare, Citricos, Ca Grill, Artist Point, Boma, etc..) In our humble opinion, EPCOT has the best dining to offer from inside the parks.

I could go on forever because I refer people to Disney all the time and each family has their own "thing" that they like best... so find yours and choose the one that best fits your needs!