Need help in deciding which resort and length

[Disney73]

probably sounds like a silly question but how do i make the decision of which to make my home resort?

Background. Buying a small 50 point contract. Plan on going every other year hopefully or every three if I borrow and bank and use that current year. My kids are 8 and 12.

I've narrowed down to old key west. Saratoga or animal kingdom. Possibly wilderness lodge too. Mostly because of price per point being lower.

Do I eliminate the resorts with the expiration of 2042 and go for those that expire another ten or more years later? Do I go with old key west because of the lowest price?

Not sure what factors to consider when making the final decision. Part of me thinks it's silly to consider a contract expiring so much easier than others. But is that the wrong way of thinking? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Shellyred8]

There are probably a bazillion different things to consider when making your decision. How's that for helpful?!?!

One of the biggest things you will hear people say is this: make your home resort the resort you want to stay at the most. If you want to stay at AKL most often, buy there. If you want to stay at SSR most often, buy there. It is particularly important to own where you want to stay if you plan to visit during high-demand times and need to utilize the 11-month booking window to get your home resort. For example, own at BWV and want to visit during the first couple of weeks in December. That's a very popular time for DVC members. If we didn't own at BWV it would be very hard to get a Studio there if we didn't have the home-resort advantage. OKW and SSR usually don't have as high of a demand as some of the other DVC locations, but it's something to consider.

We are in the process of buying BLT resale. We debated between BLT and VWL/BRV. In the end we went with BLT because it had the later expiration date and if we decide to sell it at some point in the future, there will still be some resale value left (when your kids get older, will they still want to go to WDW? Will you still want to go without them? Will you want to keep it if no one is using it?). It was more expensive, but our budget was OK with that. If you think your family will be willing and able to use the DVC for more than 25 years, you might want to look into one of the locations with a later expiration date on them. No one knows for sure what DVC will do with the contracts that are set to expire in 2042. You might just be done with it or they could make you an offer to extend your contract or something totally different.

Those are just a couple of things to consider. There are a few other threads in here that have helpful info on this subject that you might want to explore.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[ToddyLu]

There is a sticky I beleive on one of the DVC forums called "picking your home resort" which may help. I would read those stickies many times.
We purchased AKV sight unseen. We had been to WDW several times prior to our purchase in 2009 but we had never been on that property. I would NEVER RECOOMEND THAT. We happened to luck out and it is the perfect resort for us. Spent one night at BLT and it changed DH forever...now he is an AKV purist and only wants to stay there.

FOr us it was never about the cost actually becasue they are all expensive, it was the vibe and now 8 years later I am so glad we took that route.

BLT was too sterile for us even with a great location, one night there, 10/31/13 proved it. Nothing bad happened it just wasnt us.
SSR to large and too quiet for us.. I like the hotel indoor hallway set up at AKV so that lets both SSR And OKW out for me.
BCV, BWV, OKW are all beachy, water themed and we live 2 miles from the Gulf Coast so we wanted something away from home
VWL- DH used to fight forrest fires and said it reminded him of those days stuck out in our National Parks...so it was a kiljoy for him
Poly- One night we could not walk through lobby and that ended wanting to stay at the Poly
GF--too fancy, not comfy

So for us 9 years later we are still drawn to AKV becasue it is a true vacation within a vacation.


Good Luck

 

[jerseyduke]

There is a lot to consider, but, IMHO, based on what you said, I would throw away OKW. Not a knock on the resort, I like OKW, and Olivia's is a hidden gem, but the contracts are 2042, not that much cheaper than SS, and have higher maintenance fees. Since you seem to be ok staying at either, SSR is simply a much better bang for your buck on the resale market, and you would most likely be able to stay at OWK a lot by switching at 7 months.

Also, small OWK contracts, such as 50 pointers, are rare

Will you take advantage of the 11 month booking window? If not, the SSR is the only way to go - since at 7 months, all points are equal, and SSR is the best resale value when looking only at $

AK is a better resale value than WL. If price is your only concern, I think SSR is the best value on the resale market.

But, I would go with the "Buy where you would not mind staying". If you are wanting to stay at AK most of the time, buy there.

 

[Disney73]

Thanks to all. Everything you have said makes sense. Unfortunately the only one I've stayed at so far of those on my list is wilderness lodge. I think I'll take your advice and throw out okw and go for animal kingdom or Saratoga with the longer contracts. I've been a Disney fan since age 4, and can definitely see myself going when my kids no longer want to go with me.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Just so you know, most 50-point contracts sell within 48 hours of listing, usually for list price.

 

[disneynutz]

Buy the least expensive DVC resort, use it for a couple of years, stay at other DVC resorts then sell and buy the correct resort after you learn the ropes and decide on your favorite.

Bill

 

[Dean]

Thanks to all. Everything you have said makes sense. Unfortunately the only one I've stayed at so far of those on my list is wilderness lodge. I think I'll take your advice and throw out okw and go for animal kingdom or Saratoga with the longer contracts. I've been a Disney fan since age 4, and can definitely see myself going when my kids no longer want to go with me.

IMO you need more experience to make a good choices, esp in this situation. I'd also caution against going too small. I would not eliminate 2042 options necessarily but SSR will be the best value in this circumstance. I'd suggest you go more than 50 or at last keep open to more in case you find a great contract otherwise. It'll give you a lot more options both on the buy and later.

 

[supersnoop]

Mostly because of price per point being lower.

Don't let the price per point be a major factor in the decision. You'll pay more in maintenance fees over the term than you'll pay up front. Some of the most expensive points are cheaper over the long term.

 

[kniquy]

You should realize that buying a 50 point contract is not going to get you much. It might look appealing because the buy in seems low. Do not buy DVC if the intention is to go every 3 years -- if that is the case then you run the risk of losing points if a trip falls though. In this situation you are best to just rent points.

If you want to go every other year then DVC can make sense.

You first need to determine -
1. What is your budget? Paying cash is ideal. Consider that you will have annual maintenance fees that are due by Feb 15th -- If not paid in a lump sum it can be paid in monthly automatic payments. These will increase every year (probably 3-5%)
1. What time of year you want to typically travel and your desired room type.
2. take a look at the points charts (davids dvc has a good calculator to look at all resorts at the same time).
3. Figure out the points needed to stay at your desired resort(s) for your week add 10% and Divide in half. (the added 10% is in case of points realignment).
4. Buy a contract with 1/2 the points needed. This will allow you to go every other year with banking points.

There are many resale listings for resorts, on this forum is a thread on ROFR where people will list the actual price they paid for the contract. This will be a good resource to determine what you should offer on a contract. When you are looking at a small contract of 50 points - they sell very quick and they sell at a higher price per point.

The home resort is really important if you plan on traveling from end of September to marathon weekend in January. Otherwise you can probably buy at a resort that financially makes sense and then use those point to stay at all the DVC resorts. You are not stuck at the one you buy. If traveling in high demand season then you book your home resort 11 months out and then at 7 months you can try to switch to something else. Figure out what works best for you. Sticking with a reasonable budget is very important. If you find that you really enjoy it and want to go more often or your family makeup changes and you need a bigger room, then you can add on points down the road.

It seems your goal is to get into the system the lease expensive way possible, nothing wrong with that. SSR typically fits the bill - longer expiration, reasonable maintenance fees and a reasonable price per point for the contract. There are many other factors to learn about the system before deciding to buy, banking, borrowing, UY, waitlist, one time use points, transfers. Learn the system, if you haven't visited all the resorts you are considering then view some youtube videos of the resorts. People will suggest that you try to stay at a number of resorts before you buy. It isn't realistic or financially reasonable (by the time you stay at a number of resorts you could have paid for your contract). Good luck! research and ask lots of questions here.

 

[Disney73]

Thanks so much! Lots of great advice.

You should realize that buying a 50 point contract is not going to get you much. It might look appealing because the buy in seems low. Do not buy DVC if the intention is to go every 3 years -- if that is the case then you run the risk of losing points if a trip falls though. In this situation you are best to just rent points.

If you want to go every other year then DVC can make sense.

You first need to determine -
1. What is your budget? Paying cash is ideal. Consider that you will have annual maintenance fees that are due by Feb 15th -- If not paid in a lump sum it can be paid in monthly automatic payments. These will increase every year (probably 3-5%)
1. What time of year you want to typically travel and your desired room type.
2. take a look at the points charts (davids dvc has a good calculator to look at all resorts at the same time).
3. Figure out the points needed to stay at your desired resort(s) for your week add 10% and Divide in half. (the added 10% is in case of points realignment).
4. Buy a contract with 1/2 the points needed. This will allow you to go every other year with banking points.

There are many resale listings for resorts, on this forum is a thread on ROFR where people will list the actual price they paid for the contract. This will be a good resource to determine what you should offer on a contract. When you are looking at a small contract of 50 points - they sell very quick and they sell at a higher price per point.

The home resort is really important if you plan on traveling from end of September to marathon weekend in January. Otherwise you can probably buy at a resort that financially makes sense and then use those point to stay at all the DVC resorts. You are not stuck at the one you buy. If traveling in high demand season then you book your home resort 11 months out and then at 7 months you can try to switch to something else. Figure out what works best for you. Sticking with a reasonable budget is very important. If you find that you really enjoy it and want to go more often or your family makeup changes and you need a bigger room, then you can add on points down the road.

It seems your goal is to get into the system the lease expensive way possible, nothing wrong with that. SSR typically fits the bill - longer expiration, reasonable maintenance fees and a reasonable price per point for the contract. There are many other factors to learn about the system before deciding to buy, banking, borrowing, UY, waitlist, one time use points, transfers. Learn the system, if you haven't visited all the resorts you are considering then view some youtube videos of the resorts. People will suggest that you try to stay at a number of resorts before you buy. It isn't realistic or financially reasonable (by the time you stay at a number of resorts you could have paid for your contract). Good luck! research and ask lots of questions here.

Thanks so much

 

[MamaBear12]

I was initially debating between SSR and AKV (love AKV theming but like SSR proximity to DS), but settled on AKV because even though we're a family of 4, we have a boy and a girl who at some point won't be ok with sharing a bed. I'm not interested in upgrading to a 2 bedroom for every trip at that point or bringing an air mattress along (we fly), and since we can't count on getting into a different resort at the 7 month mark, that put us firmly in the AKV camp (1 bedroom has a sleeper chair and pullout sofa). Thinking long-term, it makes sense for us to buy at a resort that will better accommodate us space and points wise so we can take advantage of the 11-month window if we travel at a busy time. This may not be an issue for you, but just thought I'd throw it out there.