Newbie help!!!!!

[Charliesdisneymom]

Hello fellow disney lovers!!!

My husband and I are looking in to purchasing a DVC. We've spoken to our Rep about it several times but want to get some personal feed back from other families that already have it.

First, we are looking at purchasing 75 pts and making our home resort hilton head. The reason for this being, we feel like we don't mind booking 11 months out, and don't have too much of a preference where to stay. (Although, hubby would LOVE to stay at boardwalk).

So, does anyone have hilton head as your home resort? is 75 pts enough? Is it hard to get a good place to stay at 11 months out? Would there be a chance we wouldn't be able to get ANY resort even at 11 months out? We love the idea of the discount for the Ap's with DVC, and usually take a year off in between so we would bank our points for a year and then use the points the following year.

We are also looking into getting the 50 year contract. is it better to get our first 75 pts from disney for a resort with a longer contract (i.e. copper creek) We feel like that would be a great inheritance for our son.

Any other tips????

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[Ben E N]

Would there be a chance we wouldn't be able to get ANY resort even at 11 months out?

Make sure you read up on home resort booking vs. non-home resort booking. 11 months only works at your home resort, not for others. If you are looking to use your HHI points to stay in Grand Floridian Studios, you are sadly out of luck.

We love the idea of the discount for the Ap's with DVC

Be careful with that. Those discounts are not a guarantee, and the price difference between buying resale and direct makes it hard to make your money back on just buying APs.

We are also looking into getting the 50 year contract. is it better to get our first 75 pts from disney for a resort with a longer contract (i.e. copper creek) We feel like that would be a great inheritance for our son.

I would go this route buying direct, assuming you want to stay at Copper Creek, and then buy some HHI points via the resale market if you want to make sure you can stay there.

Read up on DVC ownership on this board, and check out resale websites so you have an idea of what prices you could be paying for some of these contracts.

 

[momto3pirates]

Are you wanting to stay at HH and not WDW? Don’t buy Hilton head if you want to go to WDW. You will just end up frustrated. It will be harder and harder to book at 7 months as DVC continues to grow.

Also note that the yearly dues for HH are much higher than the other properties. You will pay more per year.

Over and over you will hear, buy where you want to stay.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

HHI points can only book at HHI at 11 months. You would only be able to book at Disney World at 7 months.

Do a lot more research.

 

[VillainFavs]

Do a lot more research!!! If you're confused about something as basic as where you're able to book at 11 months, there may be many other things you don't understand. Read, read, read, and then read some more! Lots of info available here as well as in whatever paperwork you already have. Make sure you understand what you're buying into. And also take into account that the savings they'll tell you you'll have are based on Disney's rack rates. Very, very few people ever pay rack rates for a room at Disney. Instead, compare it to common discount rates and then see where you are.

 

[Lynne M]

Some thoughts:

- As others have said, HH appears cheaper if you're only looking at the upfront cost. The annual fees are much higher than the WDW resorts, and over time, the maintenance fees are the largest expense in owning DVC.

- Don't buy for the perks. They come and go, and none of them are included in your contract. They could take every discount away tomorrow. Only buy if the use of the DVC resorts is worth the cost of purchase, because as per the contract, that's all you're guaranteed.

- You don't get to choose the length of your contract - there's no "50 year contract." Each resort has a different end date (the date when the property reverts back to Disney). That end date is the same for all contracts for that particular resort. For instance, BWV contracts end in 2042. SSR contracts end in 2054.

-If you want BWV, buy there. If it's not your home resort, you won't be able to book there until 7 months out, and that's going to make getting a reservation there difficult for a large chunk of the year. The period from the start of the Food & Wine Festival (late Sept) through the end of the year is extremely popular at BWV and BCV; people actually purchase at those resorts to get the 11-month window for F&W.

 

[southerngirl528]

Make sure you read up on home resort booking vs. non-home resort booking. 11 months only works at your home resort, not for others. If you are looking to use your HHI points to stay in Grand Floridian Studios, you are sadly out of luck.

Agreed! This is SUPER important for you to know, CharliesDisneymom.

-If you want BWV, buy there. If it's not your home resort, you won't be able to book there until 7 months out, and that's going to make getting a reservation there difficult for a large chunk of the year. The period from the start of the Food & Wine Festival (late Sept) through the end of the year is extremely popular at BWV and BCV; people actually purchase at those resorts to get the 11-month window for F&W.

This is also excellent advice. Please do buy where you really want to be staying most of the time. We promise you will be a MUCH happier DVC Member/Camper!!

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

It seems to be getting harder and harder to find rooms to book [especially for a full week] at the 7 month mark. This is especially try if you are trying to book a peak time like holidays, Food and Wine festival, or times when DVC points are lowest {look at the January point charts for example}. However, it is not impossible....just not as easy as it used to be. I would really hesitate to buy at HHI. Also, have you looked into buying DVC through a resale buyer? A resale contract at Saratoga Springs or Animal Kingdom may save you a lot of money.

 

[crisi]

If you are booking at WDW at seven months out in a studio, your best chances will be SSR, then VAKL, then OKW. BWV, BLT, BCV, VGF, etc. will show up for you once in a while as options - more so at some times of year than others, but are going to be rare treats. You should assume that you make the reservation at eleven months at the resort you bought at, and then if something more desirable to you for this trip is open at seven months, you switch - and that won't always be available.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Here is a great resource for the most common questions, including some that you may not even realize you need to know about.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-dvc-resource-center-updated-january-2018.3655476/

If things still aren’t making sense, come back and ask some more. People will help!

At 11 months, you can reserve dates at your home resort. At 7 months, you can book dates at other DVC resorts. However, by that time, most of the rooms may already be booked by members who booked at 11 months. This is especially true if you want to go at busy times of the year. And at DVC, the busy times do not necessarily correspond to the busy times in the park. The busiest time at WDW is September through Christmas. The weather is nice, the Food and Wine festival is enjoyable, followed by the Christmas decorations and special events, and the point chart is lower. If you only want to visit in the summer, you might have more luck booking at 7 months.

On the other hand, if you really think you will be staying at Hilton Head most of the time, it is smart to have points there. Hilton Head has sold enough points for it to be fully booked year round, but the spring, summer, and early fall seasons are much more in demand than the winter season, so it can be hard to get a reservation there at 7 months out at a time of year that you would want to go.

 

[pineapplepalms]

Definitely do lots of research before buying! We bought late last year and I did about 6 months of solid research including tons of reading on these boards before developing our purchase plan. I agree, if you are buying one contract at this time, buying where you would like to stay is the best option for ensuring you enjoy your stays. If you get additional contracts down the road, it can be a good idea to buy a contract at a less expensive WDW resort to grow your points if you are not particular about where you stay every trip. The maintenance fees you pay every year vary by home resort and add up over time, making much more of a financial impact than the initial purchase price.

If you really don't care where you stay on property for every trip, then buying a less expensive WDW home resort as your only contract can be a good option, but buying at HHI will not make it easy for you to always book at WDW when you want to. As for buying direct, since it's unclear where benefits will go in the future, I think it makes the most sense to buy direct if you happen to want the home resort they are selling with incentives. We happen to love CCV and wanted it as our home resort for holiday stays in particular (which is during DVC busy season), so it was an easy decision to buy direct. Where have you stayed on property and where do you love staying? Also, what time of year do you typically travel? That will help dictate your purchasing options.

 

[gharter]

As others have said. Keep reading.
Your home resort is one of the most improtatnt decisions. Do you want to stay at HH most times? If so, then good option to purchase there. If your plan is to stay at WDW, probably a bad plan. You would only be able to book at the 7 month window. Depending on the time of year that you would be traveling, there may be slim to no availability.

 

[mustinjourney]

Hello fellow disney lovers!!!

My husband and I are looking in to purchasing a DVC. We've spoken to our Rep about it several times but want to get some personal feed back from other families that already have it.

First, we are looking at purchasing 75 pts and making our home resort hilton head. The reason for this being, we feel like we don't mind booking 11 months out, and don't have too much of a preference where to stay. (Although, hubby would LOVE to stay at boardwalk).

So, does anyone have hilton head as your home resort? is 75 pts enough? Is it hard to get a good place to stay at 11 months out? Would there be a chance we wouldn't be able to get ANY resort even at 11 months out? We love the idea of the discount for the Ap's with DVC, and usually take a year off in between so we would bank our points for a year and then use the points the following year.

We are also looking into getting the 50 year contract. is it better to get our first 75 pts from disney for a resort with a longer contract (i.e. copper creek) We feel like that would be a great inheritance for our son.

Any other tips????

Thank you so much in advance!

check out this link for general availability at WDW

https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-studios-1-bedrooms-june-2018-update.3689931/

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't buy HHI unless that is where you want to stay most of the time. You buy there and you can't book until seven months out at WDW. And that is getting much tougher to do. Especially studios. One bedrooms will still be a bit easier. But you can pretty much write off BWV or BCV if you are trying to book there at seven months out for Fall Frenzy.

 

[Jerry5788]

Hello fellow disney lovers!!!

My husband and I are looking in to purchasing a DVC. We've spoken to our Rep about it several times but want to get some personal feed back from other families that already have it.

First, we are looking at purchasing 75 pts and making our home resort hilton head. The reason for this being, we feel like we don't mind booking 11 months out, and don't have too much of a preference where to stay. (Although, hubby would LOVE to stay at boardwalk).

So, does anyone have hilton head as your home resort? is 75 pts enough? Is it hard to get a good place to stay at 11 months out? Would there be a chance we wouldn't be able to get ANY resort even at 11 months out? We love the idea of the discount for the Ap's with DVC, and usually take a year off in between so we would bank our points for a year and then use the points the following year.

We are also looking into getting the 50 year contract. is it better to get our first 75 pts from disney for a resort with a longer contract (i.e. copper creek) We feel like that would be a great inheritance for our son.

Any other tips????

Thank you so much in advance!

Are you buying directly from Disney? I would look into resale if you haven’t already

 

[crisi]

Don't buy HHI unless that is where you want to stay most of the time. You buy there and you can't book until seven months out at WDW. And that is getting much tougher to do. Especially studios. One bedrooms will still be a bit easier. But you can pretty much write off BWV or BCV if you are trying to book there at seven months out for Fall Frenzy.

And specifically, you want to stay at HHI during the Summer or a vacation period. HHI is easy to get if you want to visit in January. Its almost impossible to get if you don't own there over the Summer.

 

[crisi]

One thing to understand is that their are hundreds of thousands of DVC members, and most of them are fairly smart. No one spends extra money to get a shorter contract at BWV unless they are going to use their home resort advantage to book BWV more often than not. And that means at very popular times (for BWV that's Food and Wine in particular), BWV may not have enough rooms for everyone who owns there and books during the home resort advantage window. Everyone who owns somewhere else has to wait until seven months, and then try and snag a room - so all the people who bought a bargain resort with the intention of "sleeping around" will be in competition for the few rooms remaining at the resorts that have premium pricing. And people who bought bargain points are often looking for low point cost options - like studios - which people who bought a few BWV points to stay in a studio there every other year also book.

If you are happy just staying at WDW, then buy a bargain WDW resort - you might get lucky and get BWV once in a while - especially if you spend the points for a one bedroom - which will be about twice as expensive as a studio. Don't buy HHI, it is possible that there will be no studios at all at WDW at seven months when you can book. If your intention with DVC is to stay at all the resorts in a studio, rent points or pay cash. If your intention is to stay at BWV more often than not, or VGF, or any other resort being sold at premium pricing, buy that resort.

On the topic of inheritance, especially if your son is still young, remember that a timeshare may be more of a burden than a gift. If he doesn't have the resources to pay for dues, if he doesn't like Disney, he may not want your timeshare. If your son is a young adult, and getting to financial stability, and still in love with Disney, by all means consider the possibility of inheritance.