Newbie: 7 Month Window Booking Question

[Tina]

DH and I are considering buying into DVC, but haven't decided on a home resort yet (90% sure we'll go with a resale). We'd like the opportunity to try all of the resorts at least once, but are wondering about availability in the 7 month window. We don't have little ones yet, so we generally travel when school is still in session. Most of our WDW trips have fallen in late April (when Easter falls in March), May, October, early November, and early December. Considering these are not usually busy vacation times for US families, will we have much difficulty booking in the 7 month window during these times?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Early December is the only one that will pose serious booking problems at the 7 month window. It is very popular for DVCers because the points are low, the Holiday decorations are up and it is when the condominium association annual meetings are held.

At least you are aware that your vacation pattern may change over time with the possibiltiy of little ones. If that is in your future, the 7 month window will get more difficult because school holiday times are very busy. They will also require more points. That's something else to keep in mind when buying a resale.

The VWL and the BCV are the smallest resorts and will prove to be more difficult to book at the 7 month window in the future IMHO. The BWV are very popular and have standard and boardwalk view rooms that can be booked which also make it an attractive place to own. Because of it's size, OKW seems to have more availability and SSR should be the same.

Good luck.

HBC

 

[tjkraz]

Some trips, yes. Other trips, no. If you're planning to book right at 7 months, I think you'll rarely have trouble moving around. You may have to go on the waitlist at times, but 7 months is a long time for someone to cancel or change to another resort, freeing up a room for you.

December can be tough to book anywhere.

October and November are difficult at BCV and BWV due to the Food & Wine fest.

Standard View rooms at BWV (less points) are difficult to book at 7 months ANY time of the year.

Of the times you listed, April/May will probably be the easiet times to book--DVC demand has little corrolation with the "seasons" and traffic patterns for WDW as a whole.

If you've already decided to buy a resale, I'd recommend BWV, BCV or VWL due to the smallish size of each resort. These will be the most difficult to get into a 7 months. If you're planning on more than 250 points, consider multiple resale contracts at different resorts.

 

[Tina]

While I love both the BCV and WLV, we were thinking of a resale at OKW, mainly due to the low cost of getting in. We are considering approximately 220 points at OKW, which we could get in the $15k range. We also like the lower maintenance fee at OKW. If I had my way, I would just buy up what I wanted, where I wanted, but DH is a little harder to convince. I suppose we could go ahead with this plan, booking 2 trips per year. One studio at OKW in December and one studio at at WLV or BCV in May. Depending on views, this would put us in the low 200's per year.

 

[tjkraz]

Well, I think the most important conversation you two need to have is the financial value of your personal satisfaction.

Our family stayed at OKW twice before buying DVC, and we love the resort. A stay at OKW will NEVER be considered a disappointment to us.

But, if you're talking about spending $15K to be satisfied vs. $16K to be thrilled, I'd spend the extra money. 38 years' worth of disappointment isn't worth a thousand bucks to me.

Or, you could consider a compromise--buy a 150-pt contract at OKW now with a year's worth of banked points. Those banked points will give you about 200 to work with over each of the next 3 years. Then, set aside the money to add-on 70-100 at BCV or VWL. You could then use those BCV / VWL points to get the 11 month booking advantage in December, and take your chances with the OKW points in May.

 

[tjkraz]

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[Tina]

Good point, tjkraz. I don't think we'll be disappointed with OKW, I just think we'd prefer the others. I've never been truly disappointed with any WDW resort - I mean, after all, they're all in WDW, right? (Not including HH & VB). We plan to visit WDW again this fall and hope to go on a DVC tour at that time and learn more about the program.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by Tina
We plan to visit WDW again this fall and hope to go on a DVC tour at that time and learn more about the program.

If you stick around here, you will learn much more than you will by touring. It helps going into the tour already having the information that they give you plus more.

I agree with tjkraz. When you look at the amount you are spending and divide the cost difference over the 38 remaining years, it really isn't as big of a difference as it may seem right now.

By where you want to stay the most. Over time you won't ever be disappointed.

HBC

 

[Dean]

If you think you'd prefer the Epcot area, you may want to look at BWV. With the standard view option, more owners and the like; it's likely to be a little cheaper than the others both up front and in the long run. I'd also agree that getting OKW then an ad on at another resort can be a great option. OKW works well for someone in your situation as you want to try the various resorts and OKW is cheaper both up front and likely in the future as well.

 

[SlyHubby]

we have stayed at almost all of the resorts and only have points at OKW - therefore, we are booking most of the time at the 7 month window.

we have never had any difficulty getting a reservation somewhere at the 7 month window, and many times even closer - I remember one time at 3 months.

when you call up, if you have 3 choices of where you want to stay and type of room, generally you'll get one of your choices. if not, "what have you got available" almost always turns up something acceptable.

 

[Tina]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I plan to hang around this board quite often over the next few months to soak up the info from all of you.