Oh-Getting Shaky!

[KAT4DISNEY]

Have you stayed anywhere other than the Poly? Perhaps you should try a stay at one of the DVC resorts first to see if you would truely be able to enjoy WDW while not being at the Poly.

 

[nwhitehead1214]

Have you stayed anywhere other than the Poly? Perhaps you should try a stay at one of the DVC resorts first to see if you would truely be able to enjoy WDW while not being at the Poly.

I have stayed at CSR , BC , Poly , GF WL : , AK , POFQ + POR , All Star Sports (ugh the bus!). Always go back to the Poly. We have the best time there. I have never stayed at a DVC. As a matter of fact I am thinking of posting on the DVC point renting board to rent Spring Break at OKW to check it out (only if I can get a point deal don't want to spend alot).

 

[nwhitehead1214]

Yes, if we didn't own DVC we wouldn't be going on vacation this year. My dh has a very stressful job and he needs to escape for a bit. IMHO There is no better place to do that than WDW.

That's such a great point. Both my DH and I are attorneys and we are always running at mach speed. I like the idea of a vacation whether you like it or not! That is really something I didn't think about. When the kids get older it will be a nice reminder that each year you will do a family vacation. Good point.

 

[hockeyprincess]

One thing I might add, staying and owning at OKW is NOTHING like going to a "hotel room". More like a condo? Busses (vs monorail--we never rent a car) are no big deal to me, esp. the DVC busses that are dedicated. Love love love OKW and do not regret our purchase at all, even tho we had to finance it. There's no time like the present, and my kids are not getting any younger, neither am I for that matter! LOL So for the security of knowing I can go any time I find a decent airfare, we're loving it! It's 100% not the trip we would be taking every year if not for DVC. We would love to, don't get me wrong, but man, how could we afford it?? So DVC lets us go to Disney and maybe the parks one or two days, and **relax** the other days, knowing full well "we'll be back next year" if we didn't catch something we wanted to see. For instance, we are considering a Sept/Oct trip this year for the halloween party, and Space Mtn is scheduled to be rehabbed during that time if I'm not mistaken. No problem! We rode it last year and will ride it again next year. No big deal. But if it was my ONLY trip in a lifetime to Disney, I'd be really upset.

It is a hard decision in a way. But for us, it was a no brainer. Going 2x by chance, in a row, and seeing how much we spent on renting points, we jumped on the first loaded contract we saw. And still loving it! OKW is home for us, in fact we've never stayed anywhere else. Might consider that someday, though!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I have stayed at CSR , BC , Poly , GF WL : , AK , POFQ + POR , All Star Sports (ugh the bus!). Always go back to the Poly. We have the best time there. I have never stayed at a DVC. As a matter of fact I am thinking of posting on the DVC point renting board to rent Spring Break at OKW to check it out (only if I can get a point deal don't want to spend alot).

If I were you I would definitely consider doing this since the Poly preference is so strong. For us, any place at Disney is a good place and I've enjoyed all of our stays, but we do really love WL for it's theme, location on Bay Lake and proximity to MK. Buying a VWL contract to start was pretty much a no brainer after we realized how we were going to WDW more frequently and wanted to continue to do so.

 

[jimmacmn]

Would we do it again??? Hmmmmm.....Since we have added on twice since our original purchase in 1994, I think you could say ABSOLUTELY!!!

Before we purchased, we either stayed at the Grand Flordian or Yacht/Beach. We now find our stays at OKW or SSR very satisfying. We have discussed buying a block of points at the Beach Club, but we have just never gotten around to it.

 

[parrotheadmom]

We felt the same way before we bought in September. We enjoyed our first DVC trip in a different and much more relaxing way compared to our past WDW trips. My dd swam every night even when it was 40 degrees outside, we checked out DVDs in the community hall, and they played in the arcade. We never would have done that before, we would have been at the parks all day until they kicked us out! Since we have been home my younger dd looks at the dream book and starts to plan our next trip. She has the next 10 years planned! She is anxiously awaiting the 2010 planner! After our first trip I can without a doubt say I'm sooo glad we bought!

 

[Golden Rose]

We were where you are for a couple of years. We love the GF, the Y/BC, and the BW, and for many, many years have stayed where we could either ride the monorail to MK or walk to Epcot. We almost always got either two rooms or a suite, as my mom likes to travel with us. We have stayed Club level for years; they built it, we came.

By the time you added in taxes and fees (don't forget to add them in when crunching your numbers), we were averaging more than $600 a night per trip, before you take dining plans into account.

For us, SSR and OKV are not selling points, they are fall back positions if nothing else is available. We want easy access to MK or Epcot, or we want a one of a kind experience like animals outside your room. (The lure of AKV for us is savannah view and club level.) That said, we enjoyed using our developer points at SSR. My DM and DSF are big golfers, and as a golf resort, SSR is perfect for them. (If they ever do a no-parks golf vacation without us, they will almost certainly choose to stay there again.)

As far as the advantage of being able to dine in the room goes, DH, DS and I left snacks and drinks (including wine) in the room, and treated it like Club level. We did eat breakfast every morning there, but we ate every lunch and dinner out. My DM and DSF also ate breakfast there, and had a couple of late lunches and dinners in the room as they brought bread and fancy cold cuts along. Where we saved the food money was in buying the discounted APs, then getting the TiW for the first time. We love V & A, and we more than paid for our TiW with a dinner for two with the wine flight. We almost exclusively do TS restaurants, usually signature dining, and the TiW card saved us hundreds of dollars.

We are very solidly in the "wish we had bought sooner" camp. We did buy where we want to stay, which is very good advice. We would have been happy with BWV or BCV, but we knew we needed an Epcot resort. We bought AKV so we could always get SV, and would have a shot at Club level. We will probably eventually buy at a monorail resort, but CR/BLT is my least favorite of the monorail resorts. I hope they'll add either a Poly or a GF DVC in the next few years. If they don't, we'll probably buy a handful of BLT points if we consistently can't book it at the 7 month mark when we're hoping to go.

For us, it wasn't a matter of not being able to afford going to a deluxe resort annually. We could, we did. But in this uncertain economy, and even before it got this bad, we recognized that what we could afford to do now might not be the same thing we could afford to do 5 years from now. We hope we'll be living as well, or better, in the future, but we don't have a crystal ball to let us see for certain. With DVC, we know we can go to WDW for the next 40+ years no matter what else is going on in our lives. If there is a year we don't want to go, we can bank the points or use them somewhere else. I certainly wouldn't call DVC an investment, but I would call it vacation insurance. For us, it was the right decision.

 

[bumbershoot]

"DH, DS and I left snacks and drinks (including wine) in the room, and treated it like Club level."

Love that!

 

[smcabee]

Yep would do it again. Bought into SSR in 2004 and it has paid for itself already. Taken the extended family on several trips that would not have happened if it wasnt for the DVC. While its not for everyone, if you can afford it go for it.

 

[Buckalew11]

As long as I didn't make payments on it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If I had to finance it, I would not buy into it. I waited 6 or 7 years to be able to purchase it outright and I have not regretted my purchase once.

 

[Disneydonnam]

YES we would definately do it again. We love being owners. We started at BWV and then added on at BCV and just purchased at BLT.

 

[kikiq]

Count us as a Poly family that bought DVC. And we LOVE the Poly. My DH didn't really ever pay attention to the room bill until after our first DVC presentation. When he saw how much we paid for 5 Poly days for our 32nd anniversary, I could see numbers flying around his engineer mind. Between reviewing our past Poly expenses and knowing he needs his vacations (can you say workaholic), we were ready to buy. I always thought that he would want BWV or BCV because he loves Epcot and DHS, but the SSR grounds/facilities condo feel brought back the fun times we had with our DDs in resorts in summer time Colorado.

As for our Poly fix, we take the red eye from the west coast and take a no park day to get settled. Have dinner at Kona's or Captain Cook's, pick up DH's refillable mug, and find a place on the beach to wait for Wishes. Then right before Wishes, I run in to get a Dole Whip. Watch the water parade, Wishes and take a stroll along the beach and instead of returning to our Poly room, we walk to TTC and take the bus back to SSR. AND my dad who wasn't happy that we weren't staying at the Poly ended up loving the space at SSR. He got to sit on the patio looking at DTD and read his paper, took morning walks with my DH, even ditched my DH while visiting the Poly during lunch and took the monorail to the MK by his 87 yr old self to spend the afternoon.

It's possible, but I also suggest renting points, touring ALL the DVC resorts and see what it is that you might miss by not being at the Poly.

 

[WorknFires]

YES! I would do it again! I have done it again! and I will do it again!

Buying OKW in 2000 was the BEST decision my husband and I have EVER made (maybe even better than getting married... ) We've added on 4 times and that includes 1 resale. As soon as Hawaii opens, we'll do it again!

2 OKW, 2 SSR, 1 AKL

Cheryl

 

[WolfpackFan]

I would do it over, but not with the contracts I have. We have 150 VWL, 80 HHI and 60 AKV. I wish we had 200 HHI and 100 VWL, just because we love HHI so much and see us going there a lot more in the future than WDW.

 

[Tink&PirateMama]

We're in a similar boat! We just passed ROFR on our first contract (SSR 170 points at $67 a point!), and about a half hour after my excitement wore of, I totally freaked out! I thought, what am I doing!! That whole buyers remorse thing set in (and yes, I have major commitment issues to anything I have ever purchased). However, after a few days, I've been sitting here looking at all the things we can do with our points. OMG we are SOOO excited now. I mean, we thought it all through before hand, and we were Poly people (well, we stayed their once, and at SSR once, so I don't know if that counts, but we just LOVED them both and are 'deluxe' accomodations people. However, with our family, having a kitchen is HUGE because we've got food allergies, so it makes travel a ton easier for us. Even the studio mini kitchen I think would be a big help. There are so many options for travel. And honestly, we bought this assuming we'd add on more points, but I'm so pleased with what we can do with the 170 points, it's really lovely! Now we're already planning a fall trip (to do the halloween party!) with the extra points that were on our contract- and we're thinking of staying at OKW or AKV, we'll see what is actually available when I can book our trip in another month or so. We would NEVER plan out a second trip in one year, or a fall trip most likely, if it weren't for the DVC. So that is pretty spectacular! But there are so many trips I just can't wait to plan and experience- and you know, when our family goes to DW, it has been the best experience, we're just so happy and close- and I'm thrilled to be making a committment to that together. And when our kids are grown, I hope to take their children too! But even if it's just me and DH, we are thrilled If you can afford it, I say do it!!

 

[logan115]

We're in a similar boat! We just passed ROFR on our first contract (SSR 170 points at $67 a point!), and about a half hour after my excitement wore of, I totally freaked out! I thought, what am I doing!! That whole buyers remorse thing set in (and yes, I have major commitment issues to anything I have ever purchased). However, after a few days, I've been sitting here looking at all the things we can do with our points. OMG we are SOOO excited now. I mean, we thought it all through before hand, and we were Poly people (well, we stayed their once, and at SSR once, so I don't know if that counts, but we just LOVED them both and are 'deluxe' accomodations people. However, with our family, having a kitchen is HUGE because we've got food allergies, so it makes travel a ton easier for us. Even the studio mini kitchen I think would be a big help. There are so many options for travel. And honestly, we bought this assuming we'd add on more points, but I'm so pleased with what we can do with the 170 points, it's really lovely! Now we're already planning a fall trip (to do the halloween party!) with the extra points that were on our contract- and we're thinking of staying at OKW or AKV, we'll see what is actually available when I can book our trip in another month or so. We would NEVER plan out a second trip in one year, or a fall trip most likely, if it weren't for the DVC. So that is pretty spectacular! But there are so many trips I just can't wait to plan and experience- and you know, when our family goes to DW, it has been the best experience, we're just so happy and close- and I'm thrilled to be making a committment to that together. And when our kids are grown, I hope to take their children too! But even if it's just me and DH, we are thrilled If you can afford it, I say do it!!

Know what you mean about the buyers remorse. Faxed over our signed contract this AM and it should be off to the ROFR gods soon. Kept asking myself, is it worth all the $$ that I'm putting up right now, but here was the clincher :

A few weeks ago we (me, DW, DS 5 and DD 5 mos) went to Doorway to Dreams and saw the BLT models. DS has been to WDW twice so far and has had a blast. Although not familiar with all the ins and outs of timeshares , DS quickly picked up on the idea of having "our own room" at WDW each year and was excited.

We decided against buy direct and getting BLT/AKV, as SSR resales seem to be a much better fit for us. We stayed there on our last trip and had a great time so if we're "stuck" at SSR it's not an issue. When our guide called and said the incentives that he offered are going to end I told him we're going to pass (although we had already decided to buy-in via resale). When I hung up the phone, DS started crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Daddy, did we really lose our room at Disney ?"

That kind of sealed the deal, and we haven't yet surprised him and told him that we're still going to end up with "our own room" yet. To add to it, yesterday he had a loose eyelash near his eye (I know, where else would it be) that I grabbed. He blew it and made a wish. He said his wish was "that we can get back our room at Disney so I can take my sister to Disney and we can go together forever."

Well, 2054 isn't forever but it's close enough. For us buying DVC makes sense, and if all goes well we'll be able to take the kids and Grandma and Grandpa next year (which we wouldn't otherwise have been able to do financially) with the banked points on our contract.

Funny how that buyers remorse things can go away so quickly........

Chris

 

[mybabesuz]

Like others have said our only regret has been not doing it sooner...

Already saving for adding on...

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

In a heartbeat.

 

[jamie&Greg]

YES YES YES - would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

It works for our family! We just added more points and are allready talking about when / where we will add more!!

It is a big investment - but if you have crunched the numbers and you can do it - then go for it!