Noob Question: Which Resort?

[J-Dog]

Hi. I am going to apologize because this is probably a constantly-repeated question by noobies.

We plan to buy a small number of points direct and usually plan on having a 2Br for our 4-person family. But may use a 1Br or maybe even a Grand if different numbers of people decide to tag along.

We will probably almost always be going in the vicinity of the last week of November to the first 2 weeks of December.

I guess I'm looking for any basic advice on which resort to choose - are any in short supply during that time (does that still count as "fall frenzy?) We are looking at AKV, but would certainly consider other options if the 11-month will benefit us more at another resort.

Thanks again.

 

[sndral]

A small number of points will not get you a 2 br. for very many nights. Take a hard look at the point charts & when looking at AKV specifically assume you will not often get those value villas because there are very few of them.
The first 2 weeks in December are very high demand times, so to answer your question ‘are any in short supply during that time’ the answer is yes, if that’s when you plan to go it is very important to buy where you want to stay IMO.

 

[J-Dog]

A small number of points will not get you a 2 br. for very many nights. Take a hard look at the point charts & when looking at AKV specifically assume you will not often get those value villas because there are very few of them.
The first 2 weeks in December are very high demand times, so to answer your question ‘are any in short supply during that time’ the answer is yes, if that’s when you plan to go it is very important to buy where you want to stay IMO.

Thank you for the advice!

Based on the points charts, which lists Dec 1-14 as the second-lowest points cost - I had assumed that would be a somewhat low-demand time. But that's why I'm here and I appreciate your advice.

By low points, I meant about 200 points-ish. Not sure how many that is in the grand scheme of things, but seemed to be enough to book a 2Br at AKV every-other-year at least.

 

[sndral]

In my mind 200 isn’t a smaller number of points and yes that’ll put you comfortably into 2 br.s, especially standard views for several nights.
Generally the lower point seasons book faster because owners want to stretch their points (I know I do.) Smaller resorts also book faster. AKV is a larger resort & doesn’t book as fast as others - but Jambo, which has fewer villas than Kidani, does book faster.
We generally go to AKV every other year in early Dec. & I’ve never had a problem getting a 1 or 2 br. villa at Jambo at 11 months.

 

[CarolynFH]

Based on the points charts, which lists Dec 1-14 as the second-lowest points cost - I had assumed that would be a somewhat low-demand time. But that's why I'm here and I appreciate your advice.

Way back in the early 1990s, when the Disney Vacation Club came to be, the first two weeks of December were indeed a very low-demand time for attendance at WDW. Cash resort rates were low during that time, and when the points charts were developed, points rates were set low too. Unfortunately, times have changed, demand has changed, but the points charts haven't kept up with the changes in demand. And actually one of the reasons the first two weeks of December are so popular with DVC members is because the points charts are so low. DVC is finally undergoing the very painful process of reallocating points costs across the different seasons, and for instance the 2022 points charts increased costs for early December and decreased them in the summer. Many of us expect this reallocation to continue over several years, but it's been difficult because DVC has tried to pull some shenanigans in that respect, and every new points chart that comes out is now scrutinized and analyzed to the extent that DVC has now revised two sets of charts - 2020 and 2022. So assume that points cost for the time you plan to go will increase, if those dates fall between mid-September and mid-January.

 

[J-Dog]

In my mind 200 isn’t a smaller number of points and yes that’ll put you comfortably into 2 br.s, especially standard views for several nights.
Generally the lower point seasons book faster because owners want to stretch their points (I know I do.) Smaller resorts also book faster. AKV is a larger resort & doesn’t book as fast as others - but Jambo, which has fewer villas than Kidani, does book faster.
We generally go to AKV every other year in early Dec. & I’ve never had a problem getting a 1 or 2 br. villa at Jambo at 11 months.

Thanks again. This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Way back in the early 1990s, when the Disney Vacation Club came to be, the first two weeks of December were indeed a very low-demand time for attendance at WDW. Cash resort rates were low during that time, and when the points charts were developed, points rates were set low too. Unfortunately, times have changed, demand has changed, but the points charts haven't kept up with the changes in demand. And actually one of the reasons the first two weeks of December are so popular with DVC members is because the points charts are so low. DVC is finally undergoing the very painful process of reallocating points costs across the different seasons, and for instance the 2022 points charts increased costs for early December and decreased them in the summer. Many of us expect this reallocation to continue over several years, but it's been difficult because DVC has tried to pull some shenanigans in that respect, and every new points chart that comes out is now scrutinized and analyzed to the extent that DVC has now revised two sets of charts - 2020 and 2022. So assume that points cost for the time you plan to go will increase, if those dates fall between mid-September and mid-January.

Thank you for the candid advice. That definitely does affect our decisions if it is generally anticipated that early December's point cost is going to increase a significant amount soon. We may need to rethink the whole thing..

Thanks again.

 

[Stargazer65]

Hi. I am going to apologize because this is probably a constantly-repeated question by noobies.

How dare you come here and ask a question about Disney!
FWIW, AKV should be pretty easy to book as long as you book in the home resort window. SSR is the easiest though.

 

[J-Dog]

How dare you come here and ask a question about Disney!
FWIW, AKV should be pretty easy to book as long as you book in the home resort window. SSR is the easiest though.

Lol! Well, on some forums (not the Dis necessarily), posters get pretty hostile if you post something that's repeated a lot.

Thanks for the advice. However, If it's so busy at that time of year, what are the chances of booking anything at 7 months for that time? Or would we be stuck at AKV every year?

Again - thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[RoseGold]

If you act soon enough, you might be able to get a whole year worth of points in a December use year with prorated dues.

The problem with this is that you can’t mix years, so a reservation late November to early December with a December use year is a mess.

This is where buying a resale contract with loaded points can really make a big difference in the math. If you bough an October UY direct, you’d miss out on a whole year of 2021 points and you’d have to pay the whole year of 2022 dues.

 

[J-Dog]

If you act soon enough, you might be able to get a whole year worth of points in a December use year with prorated dues.

The problem with this is that you can’t mix years, so a reservation late November to early December with a December use year is a mess.

This is where buying a resale contract with loaded points can really make a big difference in the math. If you bough an October UY direct, you’d miss out on a whole year of 2021 points and you’d have to pay the whole year of 2022 dues.

Thanks for the advice! Makes sense.

So, related to that, another noob question - if you buy direct, do you get to pick the Use Year? Or is it pre-determined?

 

[CarolynFH]

if you buy direct, do you get to pick the Use Year?

The guides will offer whatever UY they're selling as if it were your only option, but in truth you can buy the one you want. Many new buyers aren't aware of UYs and don't know that they can be important if you ever have to cancel a trip, so they take what's offered, but if you politely state that a different UY fits your family's anticipated travel patterns the best, they'll sell it to you. It helps if you have not just one but two or even three UYs that would work (you want one where your anticipated travel would occur within the first few months of that UY, not near the end of the UY).

 

[J-Dog]

The guides will offer whatever UY they're selling as if it were your only option, but in truth you can buy the one you want. Many new buyers aren't aware of UYs and don't know that they can be important if you ever have to cancel a trip, so they take what's offered, but if you politely state that a different UY fits your family's anticipated travel patterns the best, they'll sell it to you. It helps if you have not just one but two or even three UYs that would work (you want one where your anticipated travel would occur within the first few months of that UY, not near the end of the UY).

Thanks so much! These are the things that make the Dis totally invaluable. I really appreciate the advice

 

[Lorana]

Thanks for the advice. However, If it's so busy at that time of year, what are the chances of booking anything at 7 months for that time? Or would we be stuck at AKV every year?

It depends on which other resorts, but generally speaking, yes, you may very well be stuck at AKV (though SSR and OKW are likely doable at 7 months in early December). If you’re willing to stalk and waitlist you might be able to pull together a stay elsewhere, but CCV/BRV, VGF, BWV and BCV are highly unlikely that time of heat unless you own there.

If you had a set week you were willing to go every year and are concerned about rising point chart costs, CCV, PVB, VGF and RIV all have the option of Guaranteed/Fixed Weeks (and any year you don’t want to go during the specific week, you can use the points for another vacation).

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Have you done any YouTube of grand villas? They're honestly all amazing in different ways, and you can also look into Treehouses at SS and/or Cascade Cabins at CC or Bungalows at Poly (HUGE points though. Make sure you LOVE POLY if you plan on Bungalows.). Which parks do you anticipate hitting the most? Are you renting a car? Are you okay with buses from AK? Are you okay with Riviera resale restrictions? Do the online tours. They're really cool. 200 points direct is good for many resorts early December for studios/one-bedrooms, but right now the borrowing restrictions for the next year's points is limited to 50%. Just FYI if you are planning to have the full rolling 200x3 years=600 total points to play with. You'd have 200 to bank, 100 to borrow, and 200 current use year, so 500 v 600 to book -- as it stands right now. There's a glut of banked points from foreign travelers who were blocked from traveling and using their 2019 and 2020 points, so DVC is throttling the borrowing right now, and there is no stated time when (or if) borrowing the full amount will be reinstated.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

If you buy a December use year now, you should be able to get 2020 points with 2021 points and have them bank your 2020 points into 2021 as part of the deal. They used to do that prior to covid, now it is a bit more tricky, but as a potential new member, they might do that for you. That will give you 400 points that will expire in Dec 1 2022, 200 of which will be bankable to 2023

 

[sethschroeder]

1) Don't buy a December UY if you are planning on traveling in Nov/DEC since it makes booking a trip much harder if you cross between both months
2) Be aware you likely will never stay anywhere but your home resort if you want a 2BR at the end of Nov / early Dec (not sure if you are from the US but its Thanksgiving around that time as well)
3) Buy where you ultimately want to stay long term (do you want to stay in AKV every year? its not attached to any parks, you are taking busses everywhere, but does have the animals)
4) I would use caution with every other year, there is a 50% borrowing limit right now

 

[crisi]

DVC during the last quarter of the year means staying at your home resort. Even at other times of the year, availability is not wide open - it is almost always difficult to book at BCV studio at seven months - there are usually a few available, not nearly enough for the non-home resort owners looking to book, so they get snapped up fast. Grand Villas (there aren't many) and two bedrooms also often disappear quickly. One bedrooms book last - they are much more expensive for sleeping the same number as a studio. Understanding availability before you purchase is probably the most important thing you can do to keep from being disappointed.

Smaller near park resorts get booked faster. Value rooms - BWV standard, BLT standard, VAKL value - book quickly. DVCers are often bargain stayers who want to stretch their points. That can also mean that the first set of resorts (through VAKL) can book faster than some of the later resorts when the point per night cost went up (you pay a lot more points for a studio at the GF than you do for a studio at the BC). The bigger resorts and resorts that are transportation away from parks book last - since the biggest resorts are those that don't have direct access to parks - VAKL, SSR and OKW - those are the resorts that are usually available longest.

A not small number of DVC owners always book their home resort and always book it eleven months out. This is especially true for those smaller, more expensive resorts. Why spend the money on BCV if you want to stay at SSR? You buy BCV because you will take the majority of your trips at BCV

 

[CarolynFH]

You buy BCV because you will take the majority of your trips at BWV.

Typo, right? Did you mean to say buy BCV for trips at BCV, or buy BWV for trips at BWV?

 

[J-Dog]

Again, thanks very much for the expert advice and experience.

I have done some virtual tours, and we have stayed at AKL resort in the past and really like it, but I'm getting the impression here that the flexibility of changing resorts that the DVC salespeople are emphasizing may not be as practical as they made it sound, at least not at the time of year that we will likely be visiting. Just seems that 30+ years of visiting AKV might get boring - or maybe not?

Definitely something to think about.

Thanks again.

 

[crisi]

Typo, right? Did you mean to say buy BCV for trips at BCV, or buy BWV for trips at BWV?

Yep typo. Fixed it.

To make the rule more general - any resort that is selling at a significant amount more resale than other resorts - particularly one with an earlier end date - is being bought for the home resort advantage.