PLEASE HELP a potential DVCer w. a basic question!

[TigerLaw]

I am new to the DVC board and want to sign up for the Beach Club Villas, but price is somewhat of an issue (go figure!) anyway, after reading this board, I am now thinking about just buying resale points.

My question is this - if my ultimate goal is to stay at BCV, how hard has it been generally to get reservations at other, non-home resorts in the 7 month window? Obviously, the cheapest way for me to go would be to buy OKW resale points and just try to get into the BCV at the 7 month window. I guess the answer hinges in large part on the times of the year I would go. Right now, I think it would usually be either sept or oct. (off season should be no problem right?) and the week AFTER thanksgiving. This is where I am concerned b/c what I have done in the past is come down the thanksgiving friday to get an extra day at WDW, but with everyone booking for thanksgiving week, I am concerned with nothing being open for at least those first couple days.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Richyams]

Generally, buying where you plan to stay most is the rule.

The week after Thanksgiving is going to be difficult. Low season for WDW has nothing to do with easier booking at DVC resorts. These are also the lower point seasons, these are actually the busiest DVC times and the hardest to reserve.

I think that Sept will be easy. Oct, harder and the week after Thanksgiving, very difficult.

If spending less is the only way you can get in, buying OKW will be much wiser than buying HH or VB. If you take a tour, you need to watch out for DVC sales staff lying to you. They will tell you that "home resort doesn't matter", with a straight face some of them will tell you that reserving at the seven month window isn't an issue. Don't fall for it. They have been pushing HH and VB this way for a long time.

At least if you buy OKW, you have home resort on property.....besides the benefit of owning what many consider to be the only 'true' DVC resort. I also think that once you stay at OKW, you will fall in love with the palatial units, relaxed atmosphere and getting to park right in front of your unit.

 

[Dean]

If your goal is to stay at BC consistently, buy there. The price difference is not great enough to justify the hassle and risk involved. If you decide otherwise, consider resale AT WDW. OKW would likely be the easiest and cheapest for a number of reasons. That way you could make reservations at your home resort at 11 months out then at 7 months, try to change them over to BC. If you couldn't, you've still got a great place to stay. Still, I'd buy at BC if that was your goal.

Maybe you could buy less points now and add no later. While BC might or might not be available when you want to add on, there are other resorts planned at present and there's always resale for add ons as well. Good luck.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

You'll want to purchase where you want to stay. If Beach Club Villas is where you'll want to stay most often, then you should consider buying there. I wouldn't recommend purchasing at OKW if part of the reason you want BCV is the close proximity.

Certainly, there are many who really like OKW, but some members consider OKW the least desirable onsite DVC resort because it is more removed from the parks, your reliant on bus transportation to all parks, and some of the hotel like amenities are not offerred there. You don't want to be stuck with a home resort that you really don't prefer to stay at. If resales appeal to you, perhaps many of the reasons your looking at BCV also apply at Boardwalk Villas. Good luck with your decision.

 

[TigerLaw]

When I toured BWV last time at the world, they repeatedly said the home resort/7 month window was not an issue, so much to the point that it flew up a flag, so I am glad you are warning me now about that.

I did not know however, the the DVC itself handles resale-does it work any differently than other resale places?

As far as choosing a DVC resort, I have looked at the map of OKW and didn't particularly like the layout, but the above points about the layout do make sense. I guess I'm centering on the BCV b/c my goal has always been able to stay at BCR. (so far all I have stayed at was CBR). I was impressed when I toured the BWV, but then I have read negative comments concerning noise, one set of elevators etc. I guess I am more confused now then when I started to think about this!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

One option you might want to consider is to go over to the rent points board and rent some points for a stay in a DVC resort. You can use that experience to judge for yourself which resort is for you. You could even try to arrange your visit with a few nights in each resort. The rent board is a wonderful perk offerred by DIS, and can be a great help for both owners and renters.

Also, if you do a search, you'll find some great threads comparing the positive points about each resort. Each on has thier advantages and disadvantages, this is a wonderful place to explore both and get more information about your decision from owners who are geniunely interested in helping others.

Ask as many questions as you want, this is a great place for information.

 

[MikeScott8]

Just seconding CaptainMidnight's comment on renting points. I had been to WDW several times as a child and Young adult, NEVER staying onsite, was out of price range for a wonderful single mother (like mine was )

Now that I am 31 and on my own and pretty successful I was looking into buying into DVC and rented points last fall for a trip this past Jan. It was great experience and by the wednesday when out tour was scheduled my fiance was sold on DVC.

So I would ALSO suggest you look at renting some points and staying at any of the DVC especially the ones you might want to find a resale at.

Mike

 

[ripleysmom]

Buy where you want to stay. When NY opens up we plan on buying a small add-on at BCV just to be sure that we can use the pool (THE best pool on property).

If price is an issue you might also want to consider a BWV resale. The proximity to Epcot and ready availability of evening entertainment makes it an attractive property.

 

[Richyams]

When I toured BWV last time at the world, they repeatedly said the home resort/7 month window was not an issue, so much to the point that it flew up a flag, so I am glad you are warning me now about that.

We get mixed reports about this. Apparently there are some honest sales folk, but it appears that there are enough lying scoundrels to make the warning needed.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Richyams
We get mixed reports about this. Apparently there are some honest sales folk, but it appears that there are enough lying scoundrels to make the warning needed.

Rich, come on, don't beat around the bush. Tell us exactly how you feel. LOL

Seriously, I think the 7 month window can be an issue for many. That's especially true for high demand times like holidays, Xmas, Easter and the like.

 

[ilovebwv]

TigerLaw,
From experience I can tell you, if you want to stay at BCV then buy there. We made the mistake of buying at OKW because it was the cheapest on Walt Disney World property and we were very sorry we did. We had no intentions of staying at OKW because we do not like it or the location and only bought the contract there to save money, it was a BIG mistake! We then had a very hard time selling the OKW contract with no borrowed points and finally sold the contract for $54.00 a point and we paid the closing costs. Until we bought our first BWV contract we had a very hard time getting a reservation at either BWV or VWL so many times we had to stay at OKW and we were not happy. We live close to Disney and go often so the money we saved on the OKW contract was not worth it when we were not happy with where we had to stay. We now own 2 BWV contracts and are going to add on at BCV and possibly HH but we have been to these places and we know we like to stay there so we are comfortable with this decesion. Renting points or paying cash to stay in the different DVCs would be a good idea, you do not know if you like something until you try it. I wish we had done this, DH tried to tell me but I was too anxious to just buy and it was a mistake that DH will never let me live down!

 

[crisi]

By the time you pay closing costs, and figure the spent/borrowed points, you may not save substantially between a resale and buying from Disney. We bought our resale for $63 a point - 150 BWV points, offered in March. Closing costs were $400. So the total came to just under $10k. But we have very few points for this year (not that we cared, or we would have looked for a different contract). I think the Disney contract for the same number of points at the BCV would have been around $11k. Since then, there has been more upward movement in contracts, and watching the web sites for the resellers, I think I got a pretty good (although not the best ever) deal.

Don't forget, you are going to have to be able to pay for vacations. DVC is going to cover your room - but park tickets, airfare, food, and all the other goodies are going to come out of pocket with each trip. There are ways to make it cheap, but if you are streaching to buy into DVC, you don't want to streach yourself right out of your vacation!

 

[DeeP]

besides the benefit of owning what many consider to be the only 'true' DVC resort.

Would you please explain this statement? I've read it many times and it makes no sense, would love to hear your reasoning/logic/thoughts on why you repeatedly say this.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

it makes no sense

Agreed.

 

[JonHM]

that he is just being tongue in cheek and trying simultaneously to irritate you guys.

I still maintain that Rich is an undercover operative whose *true* mission is to convince people to make ressies at OKW so he can get his ressies at BWV more easily...

 

[sgtpet]

Buy where you want to stay and don't hesitate because the prices keep rising. It is important to have those extra 4 months over the other DVC members. The price is going to increase for BCV at the beginning of June so don't delay too long. I own at VWL and BCV. Hope you make a wise decision. Good luck

 

[DisneyKidds]

I'll continue the theme - buy where you want to stay. It can be very difficult to get resorts at the 7 month window during particular times of the year, especially the week after Thanksgiving.

Until BCV sells out (a year, maybe two??) it may not be that difficult to get BCV at the 7 month mark. I think that is generally true of new resorts. Seems they declare a little more inventory than they have sold. Last year we rented points for a stay at the VWL inside the 7 month window and availability was no problem. This year VWL is sold out and getting a ressie was a different story. We purchased DVC (via resale) and had to waitlist most of our stay at the VWL for the week after Thanksgiving. As of today, all but one night came thru, but it is not a comfortable feeling not having a confirmed ressie. Of course I just reserved a couple of nights at BCV at the 7 month mark so we can check it out. There are no guarantees on the waitlist. While there might be some short term prospects for BCV at 7 months, you really need to look at the long term picture and, once it sells out, BCV may be difficult to get at 7 months.

Do careful math on the resales. Banked/available/borrowed points can make all the difference in overall value of a resale. A resale in the low $60's with banked points is a better deal than BCV direct thru Disney. However, if that resale has no banked points and/or current year points are not available, or (gasp!) next years points are borrowed, a direct DVC purchase may be the better value.

If cost remains an issue and location is your big concern, BWV is great. But you have already seen it. At least at BWV you'd have the same location as BCV. OKW will not get you that. Of course OKW has it's high points if you bought and had to stay there.

I have to make a pitch for VWL, especially if the week after Thanksgiving will be a usual time for you to go. The VWL is great, but IMO it shines most between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just gives you another resale option. However, VWL resales are a bit harder to come by than OKW or BWV.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[CarolMN]

..... but then I have read negative comments concerning noise, one set of elevators etc. I guess I am more confused now then when I started to think about this!

If the above are the only reasons you are hesitant about BWV, I urge you to rethink the BWV resale idea.

I am almost positive that the BCV also have only one set of elevators. The distances between elevators and rooms are very likely similar. (Unless you have mobility problems, it really isn't all that bad at the BWV anyway, as there are stairway exits scattered throughout the resort).

IMHO, any comments about noise are overstated. Most have said that there can be noise from the Boardwalk, but that it is only a problem if you keep the balcony doors open. Also, I'm quite sure it is ONLY the rooms that overlook the Boardwalk itself (approx 17% -20% of the total number of rooms) that are "vulnerable". I do not recall any posts that said noise was a problem from any of the other preferred views. We have stayed at the BW several times in a standard view, and have only been bothered by noise once. That lasted less than 15 minutes and was due to several buses from the DCL arriving all at once. IIRC, BWV/BWI are no longer a DCL option.

I absolutely agree that you should buy where you want to stay the most. As Richyams said in his post, the week after Thanksgiving and early December will be virtually impossible to reserve without the 11 month window. (People do get lucky every now and then, but there are many, many more who end up making other arrangements). Since BCV are new, it is easier this year to get in. I predict that next year will be much more difficult for 7 month reservations. That is the same pattern VWL went through when it first opened. This time of the year definitely calls for the 11 month advantage at BWV. IIRC, BWV sold out completely during the first month ressies were allowed for Thanksgiving and the first two weeks of December.

I also agree that September will be easier and October more difficult than September.

I'm sorry the guides are saying the 7 month window isn't a problem. I can tell you from personal experience that it surely IS a problem for quite a few time periods at the BWV. I would expect that will hold true for the BCV as well.

Wishing you good luck with your decision.

 

[joepoe]

Originally posted by CaptainMidnight
You'll want to purchase where you want to stay. If Beach Club Villas is where you'll want to stay most often, then you should consider buying there.

I agree. If you really want to stay at BCV, then buy there. If you don't, then you will constantly be fighting the battle of getting in when you want at the 7 month window. To me, it is worth the extra money for 40 yrs of hassle free vacations.

We are at BWV and just reserved for Spring Break 2003 at the 11 month window. We also got standard view which is less points. We are happy because it was hassle free.

 

[Mary Ellen]

The only noise 'problems' we've experienced at BWV are:

1) People who don't know to use 'indoor' voices in the halls. Now this has been a problem particularly in the AM. Can't imagine that will be any different at BCV.

2) Boat horns as they go under the bridge by S/D. That was only a problem when we had the room at the VERY end of the hall - next to 'The Attic' and MGM opened very early that 1 day. I don't remember if the boats 'toot' as they go under the bridge between BC and BW. Maybe BCV will hear some horns too and the boats to Epcot run later at night than they do to MGM.

All of our other BWV rooms have overlooked the 'theme' pool. We've never had any problems with outside noise there. At BWV we've also never heard 'running toddler' overhead as we have at OKW.

Face it, at a 'family' resort like WDW, you'll most likely find some noise.