Play the Devil's Advocate

[Scholarma]

Convince me I should not buy my first contract at SSR...For the most part, it'll just be two adults using the contract, no small children.

 

[LYSE]

SSR 11 month booking window is rarely useful

 

[CSLucas]

I have nothing against buying SSR, but here is our personal reason for not buying it (assuming you are buying resale, not direct):
2042 rolls around and suddenly the legacy options start to look limited. All the direct buyers at new and old resorts can book everywhere, but you are now limited to just a few resorts. I imagine it's going to be much harder to use those points as SAP points since I can't imagine monorail resorts losing appeal, plus all the people at those resorts with resale contracts (betting a large percentage by 2042) will probably be booking at their home resort at 11 months and not trading out as much since the Epcot resorts have expired.
In the long-run the upfront cost difference between SSR and even VGF doesn't matter that much - VGF has lower dues which eventually chip away at that difference, same with BLT. I would buy where you would be happy staying all the time once resorts start expiring.

 

[Meglen]

Doing the math it takes a very long time to break even. Unless you must stay deluxe it really makes no sense. If you get 100 points that's 1k a year in fees which could go twords tickets or a room. 2 person. 5-6 night package is usually about 3-3500. So you will be paying the points bill (unless you pay in cash) plus fees and it will be far more than a trip at a moderate would be.

The reason I bring it up is cuz ssr is so close to 2 moderates.. and they don't really seem much worse in acodmations.

 

[Sandisw]

If you want to visit anytime in the fall, and be close to a park, especially Epcot for all the festivals, SSR won’t get you that because 7 month bookings are tough.

 

[RoseGold]

Two adults can travel anywhere. You don’t need to be at a theme park full of kids. DVC locks you into going to WDW and buying theme park tickets every single year, when you could go to a beach somewhere with drinks with umbrellas instead for this year.

Heck, even if you did want to go to Orlando and parks, there are tons of very nice hotels that are more adult focused, like margaritaville.

DVC math doesn’t work against Pop, maybe not even against Caribbean beach. If you’d be happy there, then just book that and keep your options open.

 

[808blessing]

Other options.

 

[PackPride]

these are all great points. The 11-month window for SSR is rarely useful because it’s available always for the most part even 5 months out depending kn the time of the year, it’s not really near a park, and there are nearby moderates that are less.

But, as you can tell from my profile pic, I’m bias to SSR. Here’s the reasons you should, and they’re financial reasons if you choose to commit to a DVC contract:

1. Less expensive at direct pricing. We paid $160 for 150 points. At 200 points it drops another $5 per point, and from there even further the more you buy.
2. Dues are near the bottom of all DW resorts. Members pay $7.11 a point. It’s easy to forget dues until you have to start paying them monthly, then you’re reminded quickly when it’s drawn out of your account each month. Just for reference at the next nearest resort, OKW is around $1 more per point in dues.
3. Refurbished rooms. I think someone said they are slated to complete the last building in the summer, which leaves you with a guaranteed refurbished room, and they are very nice.

 

[The Jackal]

It is stress free owning there that you do not have to walk any reservations or try to get one at 11 months at 0800 AM ( CCV studios are almost all gone at 11 months at 0803 AM) Short walk to Disney Springs. Beautiful view of DS from Congress Park section. Low points charts, Newell refurbished rooms with a queen size Murphy bed, lots of pools. If you enjoy golf the course and clubhouse are there. Senses Spa is located there, the other is at Grand Floridian. AK is really the only park that seems to take a while to get to, Epcot and HS are very close. Some of the lowest dues in DVC. Just to name a few.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Definitely not enough info to tell you why not to. Or on the other hand why you should. Why are you considering buying DVC in the first place?

 

[Brian Noble]

Convince me I should not buy my first contract at SSR...For the most part, it'll just be two adults using the contract, no small children.

First, why you shouldn't buy DVC: DVC only makes sense if you are *absolutely convinced* you would visit WDW at least every other year for the next 10 years or so, you would never dream of staying offsite, you would often find yourself in Deluxe-class hotels, and would never consider Value-class hotels. There aren't many people without younger kids that fit that description.

Let's be honest, there aren't many people with younger kids that fit that description!

I think DVC also works better for folks who take at least a couple of vacations a year: one at WDW, and one or more somewhere else. I'd hate to have all of my vacation attention consumed by just one destination.

Second, if you already have decided to buy DVC, why you shouldn't buy SSR: There is no need to own here to book here. It is not near a theme park. It has the least desirable of the DVC Villa layouts (SSR, BRV, BCV, and BWV share the "2nd Generation" villa design.) The resort is spread out. You have to go all the way to Disney Springs to find a sit-down restaurant open for breakfast or lunch.

(I have plenty of reasons why you should, but you didn't ask for those.)

 

[sethschroeder]

It is stress free owning there that you do not have to walk any reservations or try to get one at 11 months at 0800 AM ( CCV studios are almost all gone at 11 months at 0803 AM) Short walk to Disney Springs. Beautiful view of DS from Congress Park section. Low points charts, Newell refurbished rooms with a queen size Murphy bed, lots of pools. If you enjoy golf the course and clubhouse are there. Senses Spa is located there, the other is at Grand Floridian. AK is really the only park that seems to take a while to get to, Epcot and HS are very close. Some of the lowest dues in DVC. Just to name a few.

Well you don't have to walk reservations elsewhere either since you can just get SSR at 7 months if you miss your home resort at 11.

Also point charts are lower for a reason and that's because of its location.

 

[sethschroeder]

I couldn't see owning there. The price difference is not big enough with what I bought to not just get what I want to purchase.

Have you figured out how much you could save? In exchange you are giving up the 11 month booking window at the better resorts.

If you are buying cheaper upfront then BWV, OKW, AKV, BRV are all better.

If you are buying cheaper long term look at the most affordable resorts and everything is within a $1 or so per point with Poly being cheaper with a better option if it's just 2 of you.

 

[AvidDisReader]

There is nothing that cries Special at SSR. The rooms are nicely renovated, but the room layouts are not good. It is far from all parks so you may want to factor in a rental car on visits (if you are not driving your own).

 

[davidl81]

I own 350 points at SSR and for resale it is the best value in DVC (although that is quickly changing given the increases in resale prices). But the caveat is it's only useful if you plan to swap out at 7 months to various resorts, and understand that at 7 months nothing is guaranteed.
Pros:
Good value for SAP on resale (both buy in and fees)
Good value point chart
Lots of options on room sizes including the tree house villas
Nice Resort, golf course on site.
Cons:
Cannot walk to any park and buses are longer because there are multiple stops within the resort itself
Resort is nice, but nothing special about it.
Layout reminds me of a giant apartment complex.

Overall we don't mind staying at SSR, but honestly it's generally the last place we choose to stay. At seven months we have had great luck at swapping resorts, but we understand that it will not be 100% successful.

Overall to me the only reason to buy at SSR is just for inexpensive points to use across the DVC system. SSR always has rooms at 7 months, and if there is a resort you prefer to stay at, and want to guarantee you can stay there it becomes a cost delta issue. If you always want to stay at BLT just see what the difference in buy in cost between those two resorts are (factoring in the amount of points per night needed etc) and see if that savings is worth it to you.