opinion on 11/7 month ressies

[carlos1117]

Friends,

Opinions please. What do you think is a better strategy; 1. purchase points at the lowest possible cost, i.e., HH @ 67 per, or 2. Purchase at DVC on property, paying a 6 or 7 dollar premium for the privilege.


Thanks!

 

[kathleena]

I would say it depends on where you want to stay and what season. And how disappointed you can be if you don't get what you want when you can finally book on property.

If you want prime seasons at WDW, you may have difficulty getting what you want at 7 mos. Remember that prime season for DVC includes Oct and the beginning of Dec - I'm not just talking prime season for WDW. You need to understand the popular DVC seasons too.

But if you want the slower months, the 7 month booking should suffice.

And remember, DVC can take away the cross-resort priviledges. Unlikely, but if they did, would you be happy with HH?

Hopefully, some VB and HH owners who bought there, but primarily stay at WDW, will come along and let you know their experiences.

 

[Dean]

In part it depends on how you would use the points. IF your strategy is simply to use the points at WDW, I'd never buy HH or VB. You will not be able to save enough to make up for the built in risk and hassle. Plus VB has the highest fees of any DVC resort. OTOH, if you will use the points at the home resort a signficant portion of the time, I could not argue with buying either off property resort.

The reason I feel so strongly is this. If you own at WDW, say OKW, you have essentially a guarantee of getting the time you want if you plan at the the 11 month window. You might have to call day by day right at opening for some times and options but even that's unlikely other than BWV standard or BW view, 3 BR and the top demand times. You simply book what time you want at the 11 month window and then try to change over at the 7 month window, waitlisting if necessary.

That's not to say that members who own at HH and VB aren't being successful, just that I don't think the risks are worth the meager savings, or in the case of VB, appearance of savings.

 

[timC]

Spread that $6-7 savings over the life of your contract, and you'll see that this strategy has little value, long-term. Dues would be a more important factor, and I have no idea how you'd predict dues into the future.

My advice is to buy into the resort you want think you'll enjoy the most. Over time, as the DVC member base grows, we all may find the 11-month window becoming more important.

 

[carlos1117]

And remember, DVC can take away the cross-resort priviledges. Unlikely, but if they did, would you be happy with HH?

Thanks! I never heard the above, is this really true and where is it stated.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by carlos1117
Thanks! I never heard the above, is this really true and where is it stated.

It is in the POS but IMO, that really isn't a risk. A resort could be removed it it was damaged and unavailable or not rebuilt. If the members voted out DVC or if DVC dropped or sold the management contract of the resort. None likely issues, IMO. While I'm skepticle, this is certainly not an issue I'd lose one minute of sleep over.

 

[DIZNYFAN]

We bought our original contract at HHI couldn't say no to the 13.00 per point magical beginings buy back of the first years points. We have never had any issues with booking at the 7 month window at any resort for any room size. The dues at HHI are also quite a bit cheaper than most of the resorts.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by carlos1117
Opinions please. What do you think is a better strategy; 1. purchase points at the lowest possible cost, i.e., HH @ 67 per, or 2. Purchase at DVC on property, paying a 6 or 7 dollar premium for the privilege.

I would buy on Disney property if that's where you want to stay. You never know what will happen over the next 38/50 years and what makes sense now may not make sense in 5 years. Buy at the place you know you will want to stay.

HBC

 

[Muushka]

Originally posted by DIZNYFAN
We bought our original contract at HHI couldn't say no to the 13.00 per point magical beginings buy back of the first years points. We have never had any issues with booking at the 7 month window at any resort for any room size. The dues at HHI are also quite a bit cheaper than most of the resorts.

Wow, either you have been very lucky, or you go at "DVC" slow times. There is no way we would have been able to book at DVC for the time we always go (first 2 weeks of Dec) had we bought at HH or VB. We usually get a 1 or 2 BR at VWL. We had to buy there or we would have been on needles a pins EVERY year. Not my idea of fun vacation planning.

 

[CarolMN]

I'm a big fan of "Buy where you want to stay" and the 11 month window. Reasonable airfare out of MSP can be tough to find, so using the waitlist is very stressful for me. I like/need to know my lodging is set, so that I can book airfare when the deals (few and far between) show up. If we were in reasonabkle driving distance, it wouldn't matter so much to me.

Best wishes -

 

[jel0511]

I also believe the buy where you want to stay credo. We bought at VWL first, because we loved it, and that's all DVC was selling at the time. We fell in love with BWV this summer, so we just added on points there to ensure we could always stay there. All the other options of DVC are GREAT to have, we might try Vero at Easter, but for me it's options. I always want to travel to WDW and stay at VWL and BWV. Sometimes I might stay at BCV, just to mix it up, and if it's not available, oh well, I still have two great resorts. Now, I also ALWAYS travel in the summer, and have NEVER had problems getting reservations at the other resorts. I've successfully made 7 month ressies at BCV and BWV (boardwalk view). The summer is a VERY popular time for WDW, but not for DVC usually, due to the high point requirements. Remember the high occupancy times for WDW usually don't correlate for high demand for DVC. If you really plan on going to WDW most, if not all the time, you really should buy a WDW property.

 

[ksoehrlein]

We bought at HH 2 years and 4 trips ago and have not had a problem staying on property yet. Just one time on the wait list for a studio for one night (grandparents-in-law were joining us), and we were willing to pay cash if it didn't work out, but we ended up getting that room using our points in the end.

We know that this won't always suit our needs, but our financial status should change (for the better) around the time our vacation needs do. At that point, we plan to add on at one of the WDW resorts. We couldn't say no to the value of HH as our buy-in, but I doubt that is where we will add on when the time comes.

DIZNYFAN, you commented that the dues at HH are usually pretty low. Is there a comparison anywhere on the DISBoard that breaks it down by home resort? Annual dues may be a factor in where we decide to add on and I would love to have that info.

 

[carone0318]

I agree with the "buy where you want to stay" motto, but I do own at HH in addition to BWV. We originally bought at BWV and they added-on at HH and have yet to stay there. We have used our HH pts to go on the cruise or rent out, I do plan to go to HH at some point, just haven't gotten there yet. I think that HH is an ideal 2nd contract, but not necessarily worth it for your 1st, if you normal intentions are to go to WDW most of the time.

 

[SimbaCub]

Buy where you plan to stay most of the time. I travel during one DVC heavily visited period--early December--and one where I have, for the most part, my pick of resorts at the 7 month window. For my trips in December I book at 11 months out to secure my trip at the VWL. For my other trip in the year I book at whichever of my two resorts I have points available for that period of time and then at the 7 month window decide if I want to move or stay. The smaller resorts like BCV and VWL are harder to get into during the busiest times for DVC members. Remember, our "busiest" times don't necessarily match the "hotel" peak seasons either. . .

SimbaCub
VWL/SSR Nov/Dec 04