New DVC Question...thanks in advance!

[DCDisney07]

Hey all -- I have some specific questions about DVC that I was hoping you could help me with, this board has such terrific information -- thank you in advance for any responses you have to my questions!

Our basic situation is that my wife and I went to Disney on our honeymoon and had a great time there. We especially enjoyed the Food and Wine festival at Epcot -- that was incredible! Her family went there a lot when she was growing up and I know she would like to start going back on a regular basis, especially when we start having kids and everything. I like Disney, though I also like to vacation in other places too.

We ended up taking the DVC tour and I must say that it has piqued our interest. Here is our situation -- I am thinking now that if we do it, we might do a couple days at the Food and Wine festival every year; a week at Hilton Head every year; and then a bigger Disney vacation every couple of years (with going on a cruise or something in the off year paying cash). Even with that, I think it might make sense to do DVC. I know that we went to the beach this past summer (VA Beach) and our hotel room cost us $300 a night. We have not vacationed at Hilton Head extensively, but I have heard great things about it and I am sure that the rooms there can be pricey too. Plus too -- when we stayed on our last trip, we were at Cornado Springs and we were not that impressed with it, to be honest. It would not be the type of hotel we would stay at for a week on vacation otherwise. The rooms at the AKL that we saw however looked like a major upgrade and those are the type of accomodations we like when we go on vacation. But staying at that type of accomodation even 5-6 times (say 3 shorter trips and 3 longer ones) can start to cost about as much as what DVC membership does, no?

So my questions are........

1.) What does everyone think of DVC's HHI resort? Is it a good place to stay for a week or so and get away? I really like just going to the beach and chilling out. Is it that type of place? Can similar resorts/hotels be found for cheapier?

2.) Does it make sense to do this if you are considering a HHI/4 day WDW trip every year and then a longer trip every two or three years? I think that it does, especially over the long-term, but I am still interested in what other veterans have to say.

Any other advice anybody might have would be great.

Thanks!

 

[DeeCee735]

Hi - congrats on the marriage! Hope the "honeymoon" lasts a long long times.

To answer your first question about HHI. We vacationed there this past April, for a full week. Myself, my DH, 2 teenage children and DD's boyfriend, plus my parents. We took a 2 bedroom. We fell in love with the resort, it has a very relaxing laid back feel to it. The room was beautiful and very roomy. Disney's Hilton Head Resort has a beach house up the road, with a jitney that goes back and forth all day long if you don't have or want to take a car - it's literally 2 minutes up the road. It's very nice there, a nice pool, very good counter service food, with tables out on the deck area, and a walkway right onto the beach. The island itself was lots of fun, we had something planned for almost everyday, and for the days we didn't we just relaxed at the beach house or the resort pool or the beach itself. The food on the island was good and very reasonable. We will visit again, with our next trip planned in April 08.

In short, yes I think it's definitely at least a few days a year or a week a year kind of place to vacation.

As far as is DVC worth it if you plan to visit WDW and HH every year, with a big trip every couple of years - IMHO, absolutely. Hotel prices will rise with inflation, and DVC membership gives you much better accommodations than a moderate hotel, prepaid for years and years to come. The one and two bedroom and the 3 bedroom grand villas have washer/dryer combo's in them, if you stay in a studio, it's free laundry in the laundry rooms.

I will say that you should take a good long look at the points chart, decide what time of year you like to vacation most, in what size accommodation (on the average) you like to stay in, to get an idea of how many points you should purchase. You can also read about the current incentives on these boards - the posters have been up to date with posting them.

I'm sure during your DVC Tour they discussed the 11 month/7 month booking window with you, so you know that you have that 11 month booking advantage at your home resort. If you know you want to visit HH every single year, you might want to consider or question your guide about purchasing at HH and a WDW DVC resort. We only own at BWV (our very favorite place), and have added on there twice, and so far have had no problem getting into HH two years in a row in the month of April, but most on these boards advise buying where you want to stay the most, precisely because of the 11 month booking window.

You can also check out the points chart for the Disney cruises, as you can book one person on points, and one on cash to do a cruise. More restrictions do apply when booking a cruise as opposed to a DVC resort, I'd ask many questions of MS before committing my points to a cruise - but on the other hand, we did actually do a 4 night cruise and 3 night BWV stay (all four of us) all on points, the first year we bought - as we got that current use year's points, on top of the upcoming use years points, so we were able to bank the current points (since we bought after visiting that year), and then borrow a year's points, thereby having 3 years points to use for the cruise - it worked out great and my kids (and us) LOVED IT!

DVC offers excellent flexibility, you will learn to work those points right down to a science! Good luck with your decision!

 

[DCDisney07]

DeCee --

Thank you so much for the reply! DW and I are still thinking things over.....lots to consider, especially if we should go through Disney or the resale market, how many points we would need, etc. From what you described though Hilton Head sounds right up our alley. Honestly, when we were at VA Beach this past summer -- it was nice and we had a fun time, but it seemed a little too busy. There was a band blaring right outside our window, people yelling and screaming, etc. Hilton Head seems much more relaxed. The points on resale there are also much cheapier than the points through Disney at SSR or AKL, BUT, of course, the resort expires sooner and the dues are much higher at HHI. So, those are things we have to try to balance and figure out.

Any other advice from the veterans out there would be terrific!

Thanks!

 

[Anthony1971]

Although the only people who can truly sit down and figure out what you need is you....
I can suggest that if you do not have children yet and are planning on your vacation habits will change. Young children want to be at Disney not at the beach or you will be chasing them around all week making Disney more relaxing DVC is a long term commitment and although planning for now is part of it it seesm your lifestyle will change drastically in the coming years and they may include vacationing in July and August period.
As far as buying through Disney or resale: if you buy a current resort --AKV or SSR I could never see there being a big savings going resale occasionaly you see a great contract but they are few and far between and you would need to able to use the banked points in a fairly short time. If you add it all up Disney in a lot of cases is a better deal when you take into consideration when you start paying dues if the give you extra points and the closing costs.

 

[mikesmom]

Congratulations! And you have picked two times and places that are our very favorites, also. So, I need to give you a heads up... HHI in the summer months and BWV during the Food & Wine Fest are 2 of the hardest times to makes ressies if you don't have that 11 month advantage. There is always the occassional post on these Boards from someone who was successful at snagging one of these, followedby a "see, it isn't that hard" comment. However there are far MORE reports from people who get frustrated when they can't get the reservation they want, particularly if they are limited to certain weeks of vacation or have a low tolerance for the waiting list. I would advise to check into a small contract at both, that will allow you to bank and borrow points to have enough in alternate years to make the trips you love. Or, if money is not an issue, get 2 contracts large enough to do both.

 

[DCDisney07]

Thanks for the advice on both ends! Wow, this board is full of useful information! I can't tell you how much we appreciate it.

Yes, I agree that our vacation habits will probably change in the future. That of course is part of the reason too why we are looking at Disney. We both enjoy it now, but it's also wholesome enough that we know we can take the kids there in the future. We like Vegas now as well, but in 5-10 years, I doubt we will be taking many, if any, trips there. What's good about Disney is that my DW and I can enjoy it now and our kids can enjoy it in years to come. And then maybe their kids will enjoy it too!

About the booking issue -- from what I understand, Food and Wine usually runs from late September through November. According to the points charts, late september and early October are usually lower times of attendance. I know when we went the first week of October, it was not crowded at all. Is it different at DVC resorts? Will they be more crowded? Also, what are the chances of getting HHI at either the beginning or end of summer? I can understand that mid-summer might be tough, but I would think that the beginning and end of summer would be easier. Both DW and I have some flexbility with scheduling.

Thanks again!

 

[sjdisneywedding]

be careful. those points charts dont necessarily reflect the slow/busy times for dvc

the food & wine festival contributes to probably the busiest time of year outside of the holidays for BCV and BWV. Without the 11 month booking window you are more than likely going to have issues booking during that time

now thats fairly easily solved by simply buying resale for one of those resorts.

if that and HHI is what you truly want I would serioulsy consider buying resales for each giving you 11 month priority at those 2 resorts. points can be banked and borrowed so you dont have to take a trip to each every year.

 

[mikesmom]

It IS different at DVC resorts. During Food & Wine, they will not just be more crowded - they will be sold out. BWV and BCV will sell out first and fastest, but eventually all the DVC will sell out during the Fest.

As for HHI, I'm not the expert there, but I suspect it depends on what you mean by beginning of summer and end of summer. "Summer" starts at different times in different areas of the country - the South starts summer break as early as May 15th. HHI is very difficult to get anytime June through August. I don't know how far you have to back into May or forward into September to get a better chance.

 

[DCDisney07]

That is good to know about the sellouts. I think if we buy, we are leaning towards SSR right now. DW and I are young and enjoy things like the spa, golf, etc. SSR seems like it has a few more -type activities. But I never really thought that all of the DVC sold-out during Food and Wine -- that is very good to know now. Thanks again board!!!!!!!!