Please help me get started

[1GoldenSun]

I'd like to purchase DVC resale within the next year. I keep starting to learn about the process only to get overwhelmed and back away for a while. This time I want to actually finish learning all I need to know before I begin looking in earnest.

Let me tell you about our needs/wants.

My husband and I are in our early 50s and have a daughter and a son who just turned 17 and 13. We are Florida residents and live about an hour and a half from Disney. We buy annual passes most years, although we occasionally take a year off and get Universal or Busch Gardens passes instead. We would still enjoy a resort-only stay in years we didn't have active passes.

Currently, if we stay on property we usually go for weekends here and there--one to three nights, maybe. We don't go in the summer or during most school breaks because it's hot and crowded and my husband's and children's silver passes are blacked out (I get a gold pass for the perks). We do often go for Thanksgiving in spite of the crowds. Besides that, there is no particular time we can plan on wanting to go. We are currently happy enough in a studio with two queens and a third bed of some sort. I'd like the space of a one-bedroom, but those usually only sleep four and my kids won't sleep together. We could possibly start just bringing an air mattress, though, as we're really right on the verge of needing more space as my son has just hit his teen years, and we drive so packing extra stuff isn't a burden.

So our current needs are just a studio or possibly a one-bedroom for a few weekends a year and maybe Thanksgiving (although we usually stay at the Dolphin on Marriott points for that). But in future, we'll probably want more space. And in ten years or so, we'd probably have to plan further ahead and take longer trips, once the kids have moved on, although my husband and I would probably still want weekend trips. And in about 20-ish years I hope we will have young grandchildren. At this point, we'd need much more space, a longer trip, and a lot more advance planning in order to coordinate three family's schedules.

We love Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk. We also like Beach Club. Being within walking distance of two parks (and HS is my favorite) is a big selling point for the Epcot resorts. I also really like the Contemporary for its nostalgia factor and its walkability to MK. I think BLT would be ideal with very young grandchildren. I very much like but don't love the GF, and feel the same about the Poly, although I wouldn't be at all averse to buying at either of these if it made sense. I'm ambivalent about SSP and OKW; I really don't think I'd want to buy there because I just wouldn't be excited about staying there. But those are also the only resorts at which I've never stayed and maybe I should give them a chance before I rule them out. I don't think I want to buy at AK, although I do like it and would probably want to stay there occasionally.

I have no idea what would be best regarding use year, how many points I need, how best to find a resale contract, etc. I'd really like some help with just knowing what to do to get started. I need a nudge in the right direction. Reading these boards aimlessly is probably not enough to teach me what I need to know before making the decisions I need to make.

Can anyone share with me the process you went through when you bought? Any regrets or things you wish you'd done differently? Most of all--how do I get started?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

First up: Resale probably is your best bet unless you were excited about Riviera. As Florida residents, the Florida resident pass menu that has existed beats out the DVC discounts. You already qualify for Tables in Wonderland, a dining discount card. The only soft benefit that you lose with resale is cetain DVC after-hours events, which have now been on hiatus for all of 2020 and will be for 2021; hard to say if/how they return in 2022+.

A key question I did not see you address is your booking timelines. When would you be looking to commit to dates? DVC is a timeshare. For an owner, they can book their home property from 11 months to check-in through 7 months to check-in. At 7 months, all points are basically equal save that resale points you purchase now cannot be used to book Riviera at all. But getting units at popular resorts (like BWV or BCV) can be difficult at 7 months, especially in the fall. 1BRs are more available than studios.

If you're not committing during home resort (11-7 months out), cheapest points are going to be SSR, although 2057 OKW, Poly and BLT are also good values. If you are, it is worth considering what resort you'd be most interested in committing to that far out, and if you'd be content if there were no options to switch at 7 months.

 

[RoseGold]

Studios are booked months in advance. If you are booking last minute, DVC might not be a good fit for you.

 

[Minniemoo15]

If you are planning to bring grandchildren in 20+ years you will want to rule out the resorts that expire in 2042 (Beach Club, Boardwalk and Boulder Ridge). The majority of OKW resale contracts also expire in 2042, though occasionally an extended contract (2057) will pop up.

We love our home resort of Poly for the long life, low dues and spacious connecting studios. It only has studios though.

Have you considered Bay Lake Tower ? Low dues, long life and a nice mix of room types.

 

[Lumpy1106]

DD is 17 and you think you'll want more space later? Not to be presumptuous, but isn't she headed off to college in the next year or so?

I am a family of 5 so we really need the 1br, but there are other advantages besides space. You also get a full kitchen and laundry in the room. 1BRs also have better availability. IIWY, I would get the phone app "DVC Calculator" and go through some 'what if's" to get an idea how many points you will want. I would then go to the page sponsor's website and peruse the available resale contracts to get an idea how much it will cost. As other's have said, DVC is really something for long-range planners. If you don't think you will ever plan a trip 7-11 months out, I would buy at SSR. That has the best availability and the best value (price plus maintenance fees). You lose the advantage of booking when others can't if you aren't going to plan 7-11 months out so you might as well get the best deal.

 

[princesscinderella]

If you want to purchase direct OKW would be the best value. It has the lowest point charts for all room types, besides AK value rooms which are crazy hard to get so I don’t even count them. If you want space their one bedrooms can’t be beat and they have sleeping for 5. BLT or AKV (kidani) have two bathrooms in the one bedroom which is a huge plus with teenagers. As for UY we are also Florida residents and have a Feb UY, we have never had a problem finding a room last minute in January if we had points to burn before they expire and I like that it more closely follows the calendar year and doesn’t get as confusing as a DEC UY which almost a full year behind. Ex with my Feb UY I’m using 2021 points now, DEC UY don’t even get their 2021 points until dec 1st. I would buy resale as you get a lot of discounts as a Florida resident and the DVC ones are not always as good. We are currently trying to add on at BLT now because the location definitely cannot be beat! It can definitely be overwhelming starting out especially with so many choices. Good luck

 

[1GoldenSun]

Thanks everyone.

Regarding timing of our trips, we could probably plan in advance for some of them; we just don't do that now because we've never really had to. And our situation is such that if we say "hey, we don't have any plans next weekend, let's go to Disney," we'd be fine with taking whatever is available, or not going at all, or just taking a day trip if it doesn't work out. We do usually make our Thanksgiving week reservations further out.

My daughter will be going off to college the year after next but all the schools she is interested in are in-state and not terribly far from Orlando; in fact one of them is UCF. She LOVES Disney, which is one of the reasons I'm eager to purchase DVC; I know I can lure her back into the bosom of the family with Disney trips. By that point I think we'd definitely want at least a one-bedroom, though, or maybe a two-bedroom if she wants to bring friends, which I'd love for her to be able to do. Right now my son just turned 13 and he is "young" for his age; he doesn't look or act like a teenager yet. Once he gets stinky and moody and wants to spend an hour in the bathroom getting ready, we'll definitely need more room to spread out, and an extra bathroom sounds great. My husband enjoys Disney but is not as big a fan as the rest of us, so it will often be just the kids and me or just me and one of the kids, or maybe just me, so there would definitely be times we'd only want a studio.

BLT sounds like it might be a good option for us. Most important to us is probably length of contract. It sounds like a February use year might be best for us. I'll take a look at the DVC calculator and see how many points I think I'll need.

For resorts that expire in 2042--what happens at that point? Can Disney sell contracts for these resorts all over again?

 

[princesscinderella]

No one knows the plan yet for 2042 resorts once they expire. Feb UY BLT contracts are very easy to find on resale.

 

[RoseGold]

"hey, we don't have any plans next weekend, let's go to Disney," we'd be fine with taking whatever is available, or not going at all, or just taking a day trip if it doesn't work out.

If this is your plan, then you are buying sleep around points. I book 1BR, and don't travel peak, so 7 month SSR sleep around points work fine for me. It won't do much good to buy more expensive points, if you never plan to use the 11 month advantage anyway. The long running best pick for this is SSR, but other choices are mathematically good as well.

Because you love BLT, I'd also consider it for sleep around points. The BLT cheaper categories go fast, and maybe the 11 month could come in handy at some point. BLT has great room variety and the 1BR with the extra bathroom for future plans.

Boy is BLT expensive right now, but if you plan to hold for a while, a $20 difference isn't earth shattering. I can also really see BLT resale aging well. Its point chart looks great, even next to RIV, and location can't be beat.

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resort-to-purchase-fall-2020/

 

[HappyThoughtsTees]

If you've got time, go to the DVC Fan youtube page and watch all of the DVC videos. And I mean ALL of them. That's what I did prior to my family buying DVC and I'm so glad I did. These boards are a wealth of information, but seeing the team discuss every topic thoroughly really helped me wrap my mind about all of the difference facets of DVC. Good luck and welcome to the boards

 

[DVCanadian]

I’m assuming resale.
I’d recommend as next steps to estimate how many points you need/want, price that out for a few contracts at the various resorts you’ve mentioned.
See if you want to pay that much for DVC or if you need to revisit your plan.
There are always lots of contracts, don’t be in a rush but first figure out if the cost makes sense.

if you need help figuring out how many points, pretend plan a few trips. We knew we’d want a week a year in a1 bedroom. Looked at options, I liked the price at SSR. Then we moved to stalking contracts and bought . Had never been to any DVC or deluxe resort, but guess what, they are all nice.

Have owned now since 2011, haven’t got to SSR yet.
What you won’t be able to accurately predict is exactly how owning changes your trips and plans. WDW is fine and all but we’ve also been to aulani, Hilton head and Vero beach. Great family trips that we wouldn’t have considered if we didn’t own DVC.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks everyone.

Regarding timing of our trips, we could probably plan in advance for some of them; we just don't do that now because we've never really had to. And our situation is such that if we say "hey, we don't have any plans next weekend, let's go to Disney," we'd be fine with taking whatever is available, or not going at all, or just taking a day trip if it doesn't work out. We do usually make our Thanksgiving week reservations further out.

My daughter will be going off to college the year after next but all the schools she is interested in are in-state and not terribly far from Orlando; in fact one of them is UCF. She LOVES Disney, which is one of the reasons I'm eager to purchase DVC; I know I can lure her back into the bosom of the family with Disney trips. By that point I think we'd definitely want at least a one-bedroom, though, or maybe a two-bedroom if she wants to bring friends, which I'd love for her to be able to do. Right now my son just turned 13 and he is "young" for his age; he doesn't look or act like a teenager yet. Once he gets stinky and moody and wants to spend an hour in the bathroom getting ready, we'll definitely need more room to spread out, and an extra bathroom sounds great. My husband enjoys Disney but is not as big a fan as the rest of us, so it will often be just the kids and me or just me and one of the kids, or maybe just me, so there would definitely be times we'd only want a studio.

BLT sounds like it might be a good option for us. Most important to us is probably length of contract. It sounds like a February use year might be best for us. I'll take a look at the DVC calculator and see how many points I think I'll need.

For resorts that expire in 2042--what happens at that point? Can Disney sell contracts for these resorts all over again?

With your stinky/moody son, you need at a minimum a resort that has an extra bathroom. So Kidani Village or BLT.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Haha, he’s not stinky or moody yet, but based on what some of my friends of teenaged sons have told me I need to prepare myself. If the day ever comes when I can’t enter his room without arming myself with a can of Febreeze, I’m not sharing a studio with him anymore. Good to know where the one-bedrooms with two baths are!

 

[CraigInPA]

I don't see anyone mentioned it yet, so I'm going to remind you that, except for at OKW, there are no DVC studios with multiple queen beds and an extra sleeping surface (sofa, sleeper chair, murphy bed).

A 1 bedroom is a huge step up in points from a studio, but you also get what amounts to a whole other room, albeit somewhat consumed with a laundry area and a full kitchen and table. At BLT, my home resort, you also get a full second bath in a 1 bedroom. With teenage children, I'd consider that a "required minimum".

 

[crisi]

If you are booking short notice, you won't have much choice in resorts (if anything is available) and it won't matter where you buy. Don't plan on staying at BWV/BCV or Wilderness Lodge, they aren't likely to have a studio available short notice (you might get lucky and snag a cancellation once in a while) - the majority of your trips are likely to be at SSR or Kidani. Buy the cheapest points you can with a decent expiration (although you are about our age, and we own BWV - we figure we will be old enough when it expires to not really want to spend a lot of time at Disney, and can book a hotel room for any trips we want to take in our last few years on this Earth). Understand that a DVC studio will be a Queen bed and a pullout couch - possibly also a mini-twin that pulls down from the wall - more of a cot - but not in all resorts (OKW has two queen beds in their studios). Points expire and you have to bank them six months in advance, which with limited availability when making last minute reservations may put points at risk and you may just end up wasting points.

One bedrooms will have better availability short notice, but won't save you anything if you are happy with a room over at the Swolphin or are taking advantage of Florida Resident specials.

BWV/BCV and the Wilderness Lodge resorts tend to book up right at seven months when not in advance of seven months. To book any of these resorts regularly, you want to own your points there - especially studios (one bedrooms would stay open a bit longer). And your best bet for snagging one you don't own is going to be knowing when you want to go and being online the morning your seven month window opens. So if by planning in advance you mean "three months" - that isn't going to work. And as the parent of a current college Junior - you can't plan seven months ahead with them - they won't know then if they will need to dedicate the weekend to a paper or have plans with friends or be working an internship.