NEW or OLD???

[TinaMouse777]

We have been going back and forth. PS the Beach Club.

OLD:Beach Club Resort Membership Expires 2042 (27 more years) OR
NEW: Saratoga Resort Expires 2054 (39 more years)

Pros & Cons???

 

[suebeelin]

Depends on whether the home resort priority matters to you. For us, it mattered.

 

[nalajms]

BCV - Pros: 11m advantage. Cons: 27yrs, more expensive, higher dues.
SSR - Pros: cheaper, lower dues. Cons: hard to book elsewhere during busy DVC times.

If you love BCV or want to stay there most of the time, buy BCV but only if you can plan your trips 7+m ahead of time.

If you don't care where you stay, plan to stay at different places each time, or plan your trips after 7m, buy SSR.

 

[disneynutz]

We have been going back and forth. PS the Beach Club.

OLD:Beach Club Resort Membership Expires 2042 (27 more years) OR
NEW: Saratoga Resort Expires 2054 (39 more years)

Pros & Cons???

For most people I say buy where you love to stay. I say most because in a couple of years the honeymoon is over and most owners seem to begin to relax, spend more time at their resort and have decided on their favorite resort.

That's when you start reading posts about frustration because they can never book when and where they want to stay.

Bill

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We own at VWL and BWV as those are our favorite resorts. Enjoy SS but easy to get at 7 mo or less. We like the 2042 end as we will be early 80s when our points expire. No plans on selling and our kids are only so so on Disney.

 

[DVCcurious]

To me it comes down to amenities vs cost. BCV wins for amenities: nice hotel, great pool, proximity to Epcot and HS. SSR wins hands down for cost: cost to buy points resale, length of contract, fewer points required for stay, low dues

BCV
Pros: Walk to Epcot, enjoyable boat ride to HS
Nice resort with a hotel feel
Awesome pool complex
nice views of Boardwalk and Crescent Lake

Cons: shared bus service with Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk to MK / AK
higher dues
more expensive points
2042 expiration
Higher point requirement (July 1 br = 269 points)

SSR
Pros: low point cost
low dues
lower point requirement (July 1 br = 241 points)
longer contract length

Cons: you can be far away from the main pool
condominium complex feel (it's not a nice hotel like BC)
bus service everywhere
like 15 bus stops within SSR before you finally exit SSR and leave for the park

 

[jekjones1558]

Reiterating from above:
Will you usually be able to book more than 7 months ahead? If not, then buy the cheapest points (buy-in + dues + length of contract) that you can since inside of 7 months, points are points.
If you can book during the home resort priority window, how important is it to you to stay at BCV? If you really will be disappointed to not have BCV available, then spend the extra to buy BCV. Vacation time is too precious to spend it at a resort that doesn't make you happy. I agree with disneynutz that as the years of DVC ownership progress, many owners spend more time at their resort and having it be a place you love becomes more important.

 

[Dean]

We have been going back and forth. PS the Beach Club.

OLD:Beach Club Resort Membership Expires 2042 (27 more years) OR
NEW: Saratoga Resort Expires 2054 (39 more years)

Pros & Cons???

It really depends. If you plan to stay almost exclusively at BCV, that may be your best options. SSR will be cheaper and give you the same options except for the BCV part of the time. Another option that's in between is BWV, cheaper than BCV and has the standard view. It's also easier to reserve overall. I would not buy BCV just to have the option for a portion of the time, just like it's not reasonable to buy VGF or the Poly just to have the option at times.

 

[J-Akers]

If you want to stay at SSR, OKW or AKV, buying at SSR makes the most sense. If you want to stay anywhere else, you should buy there instead. It can be quite difficult to secure a week at the other resorts even on the first day of the seven month window.

 

[Dean]

If you want to stay at SSR, OKW or AKV, buying at SSR makes the most sense. If you want to stay anywhere else, you should buy there instead. It can be quite difficult to secure a week at the other resorts even on the first day of the seven month window.

I don't necessarily agree. Certainly if one wants a given option most of the time or specific difficult options, I would consider buying at that resort if the other qualifications fit. However, BWV, BCV, BLT, VWL are all easily doable over time if one plans well and reserves at the 7 month window then uses the wait list. Even the Poly and VGF will be attainable at times using this method. Thus I do not agree one must be stuck at just SSR, OKW and AKV by owning at any of those resorts.

 

[J-Akers]

I don't necessarily agree. Certainly if one wants a given option most of the time or specific difficult options, I would consider buying at that resort if the other qualifications fit. However, BWV, BCV, BLT, VWL are all easily doable over time if one plans well and reserves at the 7 month window then uses the wait list. Even the Poly and VGF will be attainable at times using this method. Thus I do not agree one must be stuck at just SSR, OKW and AKV by owning at any of those resorts.

I agree SSR points are great for Poly right now. Poly will have quite a bit of 7 month availability for a while. Impossible to know if it will ever be as limited in availability as other resorts can be.

For the other resorts, it is just too spotty to bank on it. I watch the resort availability tool a lot. Availability for an entire week at the 7 month mark for pretty much any month except September or February is quite difficult to find, especially if you are just looking at one resort. Yes, you will have more luck if you say "I'm okay with VWL, BCV, BWV", but if you really JUST want BCV, finding 7 days together is pretty rare, especially in a studio or 2 bed.

You can pretty much bank on finding availability at 7 months at SSR, OKW and AKV. You can't bank on that availability any other single resort (except temporarily at the Poly).

 

[Dean]

I agree SSR points are great for Poly right now. Poly will have quite a bit of 7 month availability for a while. Impossible to know if it will ever be as limited in availability as other resorts can be.

For the other resorts, it is just too spotty to bank on it. I watch the resort availability tool a lot. Availability for an entire week at the 7 month mark for pretty much any month except September or February is quite difficult to find, especially if you are just looking at one resort. Yes, you will have more luck if you say "I'm okay with VWL, BCV, BWV", but if you really JUST want BCV, finding 7 days together is pretty rare, especially in a studio or 2 bed.

You can pretty much bank on finding availability at 7 months at SSR, OKW and AKV. You can't bank on that availability any other single resort (except temporarily at the Poly).

I think "it depends". There is far more to availability than being available to reserve right the 7 month window, there are other ways to be successful. IMO it's a given that one can try all resorts over time with planning and effort just maybe not on a given trip.