Newbie with ? About buying HH

[dec2901]

We have found a resale deal for HHI that we are interested in. If we buy HHI we can have 50 more points for less money than buying a wdw resort. While we like HHI and want to go back, we do plan on making more trips to WDW than HHI. So would we be foolish for purchasing at HHI when we hope to stay at WDW? We are planners and would more than likely always book at 7 month window. We also are ok with all of the WDW DVC resorts and never plan on traveling during peak season.

I appreciate all advice and help.

Thank you!!

 

[kenspidey]

We have found a resale deal for HHI that we are interested in. If we buy HHI we can have 50 more points for less money than buying a wdw resort. While we like HHI and want to go back, we do plan on making more trips to WDW than HHI. So would we be foolish for purchasing at HHI when we hope to stay at WDW? We are planners and would more than likely always book at 7 month window. We also are ok with all of the WDW DVC resorts and never plan on traveling during peak season. I appreciate all advice and help. Thank you!!

Most everyone in this board will tell you to buy where you want to stay. If it's WDW then buy there. I however am a risk taker and bought half my points at Vero because I could afford more points without a loan. Saratoga, Animal Kingdom, and Old Key West are almost always available at 7 months so the risk is small IMHO.

 

[msteddom]

You will want to look carefully at the annual dues cost as well. Those costs will exceed the purchase price over the life if the contract.

Melissa

 

[momto3pirates]

We have found a resale deal for HHI that we are interested in. If we buy HHI we can have 50 more points for less money than buying a wdw resort. While we like HHI and want to go back, we do plan on making more trips to WDW than HHI. So would we be foolish for purchasing at HHI when we hope to stay at WDW? We are planners and would more than likely always book at 7 month window. We also are ok with all of the WDW DVC resorts and never plan on traveling during peak season.

I appreciate all advice and help.

Thank you!!

I believe the MF are higher at HHI and would cost more over the length of the contract. I am also a buy where you want to stay person. Just because you don't travel at peak times now doesn't mean that's always how it will be.

 

[drusba]

On the thread page on which your post appears go to the "Sticky: DVC Resource Center" near the top of the thread and look at the chart showing the history of annual dues per point. HH is higher than the WDW resorts and about $1.20 per point higher than SSR, one of the lower cost WDW resorts in resale. HH also has a 2142 end date while SSR is 2054.

As to WDW availability at 7 months out, and based on current patterns that could change in the future, you will usually find SSR open year round except treehouses are sometimes filled before 7 months out. You mention off versus peak season. DVC off-seasons and Disney in general off-seasons at WDW bear little relationship to each other. DVC off-season runs from about mid-Jan to just before the end of Sep during which time you can usually find rooms at 7 months out at the near park resorts (BLT, BWV, BCV, and VGF) (although not usually for some categories of rooms like BLT standard, BWV standard or boardwalk view). DVC's high demand season is end of Sep through marathon weekend in Jan during which time it can be very difficult to find anything at the near park resorts at 7 months out. Besides SSR, AKV standard and savanna view and OKW are usually open during that time but even they have some risk of disappearing before 7 months out during DVC's three highest demand weeks of the year (first half of December and Christmas week) and sometimes even around Thanksgiving or some days during the middle weeks of October (October is DVC's second highest demand month of the year next to Dec and Nov is third and the demand during those months greatly outstrips demand during that mid-Jan through just before end of Sep period)

 

[Deb & Bill]

What are you considering peak season? DVC peak season isn't the same as WDW peak season. Which resorts would you most be interested in staying at and what size villa would you need most of the time?

 

[dec2901]

What are you considering peak season? DVC peak season isn't the same as WDW peak season. Which resorts would you most be interested in staying at and what size villa would you need most of the time?

We usually travel to WDW in between Thanksgiving & Christmas. I never plan on going at Christmas or in the summer. Honestly, as for Wdw resort we don't have a preference. We have stayed at SS and loved it. We would be booking a studio or 1-bedroom.

 

[Nabas]

We usually travel to WDW in between Thanksgiving & Christmas. I never plan on going at Christmas or in the summer. Honestly, as for Wdw resort we don't have a preference. We have stayed at SS and loved it. We would be booking a studio or 1-bedroom.

Please be aware that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas traditionally are the most difficult to book a DVC at WDW.

It's a combination of the low points needed, low crowds, cool weather, and Christmas festivities.

 

[dec2901]

Please be aware that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas traditionally are the most difficult to book a DVC at WDW. It's a combination of the low points needed, low crowds, cool weather, and Christmas festivities.

Thanks. I did not know that. I just returned from our stay at SS and we booked the resort in August (4 months in advance) with no problem (we paid out of pocket).

 

[Nabas]

Thanks. I did not know that. I just returned from our stay at SS and we booked the resort in August (4 months in advance) with no problem (we paid out of pocket).

Did you pay cash or use someone's points?

SSR is by far the largest DVC and one-bedroom villas are the easiest to book.

I can't imagine those ever being full at 7 months.

I just took a quick look at the DVC site. December 24, 25, and 26 are available but not after that.

DVC tend to book differently than typical WDW guests. They tend to me more experienced and look for low-point, low-crowd periods.

It's one of the toughest things to get use to with DVC. You can't always get what you want and need to always be booking as soon as you can.

Good luck!

 

[rlovew]

Thanks. I did not know that. I just returned from our stay at SS and we booked the resort in August (4 months in advance) with no problem (we paid out of pocket).

If you had tried to book on points you likely would have had to move around a number of times and maybe gotten a full week at AKV or SSR but unlikely any of the others for any amount of time during those weeks. I know that last year at 10 months BLT and GFV had nights that were completely sold out and that was 3 months before the 7 month window opened.

 

[dec2901]

Did you pay cash or use someone's points? SSR is by far the largest DVC and one-bedroom villas are the easiest to book. I can't imagine those ever being full at 7 months. I just took a quick look at the DVC site. December 24, 25, and 26 are available but not after that. DVC tend to book differently than typical WDW guests. They tend to me more experienced and look for low-point, low-crowd periods. It's one of the toughest things to get use to with DVC. You can't always get what you want and need to always be booking as soon as you can. Good luck!

We stayed in a 2-BR villa from Dec 7-14 and paid WDW directly. That is why we started looking into DVC.
Thanks for your advice. This is a big decision and I want to make sure we look at it from all angles.

 

[Dean]

We stayed in a 2-BR villa from Dec 7-14 and paid WDW directly. That is why we started looking into DVC.
Thanks for your advice. This is a big decision and I want to make sure we look at it from all angles.

I don't disagree with anything above but I will offer a few thoughts. IMO, it does not make sense to buy HH or VB (or anything else not at WDW) to stay mostly at WDW. Specific to VB & HH, the price difference is not enough to justify buying to use basically at WDW when you consider both the higher fees AND no 11 month access. I will give a slightly different take on the buy where you want to stay idea, mine is that you should buy at the "cheapest" resort that gives you an 11 month window at WDW (assuming this is your goal) that YOU will be happy with if you can't change to something else at 7 months. This usually starts at SSR when you consider price, fees and RTU. Obviously those 2 approaches end up the same if you have very specific wants but if you just want to get to WDW and try all of the resorts over time, they can be very different to your wallet. I think one of the issues with the former is it often leads you to overbuy because you end up buying the more a expensive resort and you are often trading down. All else being the same you're looking at maybe a $30-40 per point difference up front plus maybe another $1 per point yearly difference in dues. Assuming resale of course.

The other big picture question is how important is it for you to be on property. Given you've paid large $$$ in cash for a stay, the answer is likely that it is very important. However, it's good to know that there are a number of very nice timeshares in the area that equal DVC overall except in location and theming. They can be had for a fraction of the costs up front (like basically free) and generally are cheaper than even SSR yearly plus they give you much better non WDW options overall.

 

[momto3pirates]

We stayed in a 2-BR villa from Dec 7-14 and paid WDW directly. That is why we started looking into DVC.
Thanks for your advice. This is a big decision and I want to make sure we look at it from all angles.

You should also know that cash reservations not through DVC are a different set of inventory. There are many times when villas are not available through DVC but available to book through Disney. Don't assume you will always be able to find something on short notice. With DVC, 4 months is very short notice.

 

[DisneyDiana]

We decided on a fairly last minute trip this year and tried booking AKV two months in advance for the second week in December. I had to book a couple nights at Jambo, a couple at Kidani, and waitlisted. We never got all our nights in one spot. We ended up in a one bedroom at Jambo for a few days and and then switched to a studio at Kidani. Not ideal but that time period is hard to book DVC. If I had been willing to pay cash we would have had a lot more options.

 

[Sandisw]

IMO, if you want to travel during the busiest DVC time, and can only book 7 months out, you may be surprised at how difficult it is going to be getting exactly what you want, for the time frame you want, even if you are willing to take any of the resorts. You may find you will need to change resorts mid stay or be at the mercy of waitlists which could prove stressful.

If you goal is to stay at WDW more often than not, then I might go with one of the less expensive resorts there and take the chances on HH for the times you will visit there...as mentioned, the MF's are much more expensive so in the long run, those extra 50 points, plus the additional will make it more than just owning at WDW.

Good luck!