Please help us decide which resort to call home.

[disneynutz]

I, as well as many others out there I'm sure, am in the same situation as KingdomJack...weighing out my options and doing my homework to find out which DVC resort is the right one to buy at and call our family's "home away from home."

Just like KJ, I've seen that buying SSR resale seems to offer the best combination of purchase $/point, MF, and contract length. I also have a cousin that owns at SSR, takes her whole extended family down every Dec to stay in a GV and absolutely loves it.

As for my fam (me, DW, DD(4) & DD(2)), we've stayed at AKL twice now and absolutely love it. I'm eager to try out some of the other DVC resorts, esp BCV and BWV, but I really think we'd want to come back to AKL at least every 2 or 3 visits.

Do you see it becoming increasingly difficult to get ressies at 7 mo. out for a non-home resort? For me, that's going to play HUGE into my decision of where to buy. Saving $ by buying and paying MF at SSR won't do me much good if that's the only place I'm going to be able to stay!

As for the "test drive" approach, we're currently planning an '09 trip - probably to BCV - going on rented points to see how we like it before buying anywhere.

BIG THANKS to all of you DVCers for giving us future DVCers great advice based on your experiences. You all make the DIS boards an awesome resource!!!

Buying SSR because of contract length and MF takes a back seat to buying where you love to stay. Contract length doesn't count because you may get tired of Disney in 10 years. MF doesn't count because they will go up. Booking at 7 months is becoming increasing more difficult, why take a chance?

I can see it now, family asks why they can't stay at AKV and your answer is because I bought SSR because of the contract length and I save $50 dollars a year on dues.

 

[kikiq]

As for value, it seems that SSR offers the best cost/MF/contract lenght combination. However, no posts I have read seem to adress SSR. I have seen posts that extoll the virtues of owning at all of the DW resorts except SSR. But I have not seen any saying why owning at SSR is good or bad. I am interested in finding out if there is some reason not to buy at SSR.

SSR owner here whose DH loves Epcot and DHS. We toured all the properties and although Epcot and DHS are our two favorite parks, SSR was more home away from home for us. Our family is very active with 2 marathon runners, several bicycle riders and everyone loves to take early morning walks. SSR just made sense for us as a place to vacation even if we didn't go to the parks. We love being able to take the boat to OKW and eating at Olivia's or going to DTD. My DH doesn't like the long hallways and going thru the lobbies with all the other folks. We like the "condo" feel of SSR and OKW. We plan on going to SSR and not go to parks all the time. SSR fits the bill for us, take our morning walks around the lake, do some pool time or spa time, rent bikes and go over to OKW or just hang out and read.

 

[kiingor]

It all depends on the resorts- I think 7 months window is not a problem for SSR where as VWL or AKL might be.

 

[crisi]

Make a list of all the attributes of a resort, weight them, and then rank each resort according to the attribute.

What is important to me may not be important to you. What you value may not be what I value.

Take, for instance, location. I might think that location is really important. And I might rank the Epcot resorts as having the best location - because I really like walking in and out of Epcot. Someone else may also value location, but can't imagine a better location than SSR. Someone else may not care as long as they are on property.

Or contract length - I can't imagine an attribute that has less meaning to me...I'll be old or dead before the original contract expires and have no desire to pass it to kids. But for someone in their 20s or someone in their 50s looking to pass the contract on, it might be really important.

Some attributes may take a little research. For instance, availability at the seven month window. It really isn't necessary to own SSR to stay there - with the exception of maybe the GVs or Treehouse Villas. However, if you want a Boardwalk Villa standard view room, more often than not those are booked up before the seven month window opens. Those Standard View rooms may be a deciding factor to you - or they may be "I would never stay there anyway."

Decor or theming might be huge - a number of people hate VWL for its dark decor (I love it), some people dislike the clown pool at BWV enough to avoid the resort.

Parking may be a big deal - this one is less important to us than contract length, we haven't had a car at Disney in a decade - but for some people who drive everywhere, OKW's "park outside your unit" seems to have a lot of appeal.

There are two reasons to own a specific resort - one is the seven month window - there is OFTEN availability inside the seven month window - but certain units at certain times of year are very difficult to get - and in general the small resorts will be harder to book than the large resorts. If you want the Epcot area every year at Food and Wine and own at AKL, well, a whole bunch of BCV/BWV owners own there JUST for F&W - and a whole lot of SSR/OKW/VB/HHI/VWL/AKL/BLT owners think that maybe this year they'll try and get a room in the Epcot area for F&W.

The second is dues - some places have more expensive dues. No reason to pay BWVs high dues if you hate the resort.

 

[MommaX03]

Please help us decide which DVC resort to call home.

As for how we travel, we usually will go in late Feb-early March (Mardi Gras) and in late May-early June. We will always be looking for a 1BR-2BR and sometimes a GV.

As for where we would like to stay, we would prefer to stay at BCV or BWV most of the times we visit but we would want to try VWL, AKV and BLT at some time.

As for value, it seems that SSR offers the best cost/MF/contract lenght combination. However, no posts I have read seem to adress SSR. I have seen posts that extoll the virtues of owning at all of the DW resorts except SSR. But I have not seen any saying why owning at SSR is good or bad. I am interested in finding out if there is some reason not to buy at SSR.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Right now, we are frozen with indecision.

The statement that speaks volumes to me is that you want to stay at either BCV or BWV. Buy where you want to stay. Simple as that.

Now, you wanted pros and cons of Saratoga. I am a Saratoga owner. There are plenty of anti-SSR threads because, mostly, it was the largest DVC to open. SSR has greater availability. I called at a late date for spring break this year and SSR and OKW were available. I do not know if their GVs were available, likely not. SSR is walking distance to Downtown Disney. It has a wonderful spa, which has been well reviewed in travel magazines. It has Thomasville decor. It can be toured when you are in WDW. The rooms are slightly smaller than BCV and BWV. Check out this website for pictures and specs. It has lower MFs and a longer contract. BCV and BWV may get a longer contract life like OKW owners were offered recently.

Life is short. Buy where you want to stay. Will you be disappointed not to be in an Epcot-based resort? If so, then buy there. If you are definitely in need of a GV and want an Epcot-based resort, go with BWV. If Stormalong Bay is a pull, do BCV.

I own at Saratoga. I love Disney. I may have been pulled to do BCV if I really, really did my research beforehand. My husband and I loved BCV when we stayed there. I would love to walk home from two parks at closing if I was at BCV. SSR bus service has improved and I saw a CM at the SSR bus stop in mid-Dec 2008 so they are responsive to past issues with bus delays. But I have heard bus service from BCV to the other two parks is no great shakes either because of the shared service with Yacht and Dolphin.

I am a happy Saratoga owner, however, because I use to stay at the All-Stars and anywhere in Disney's DVC is awesome to me. I want to try them all. If extra cash comes through again, I would love to do a BCV add-on. But I am not crying at all because every single SSR visit has been wonderful. The two add-ons I have done were at SSR because I wanted to be there.

SSR is like a condo and affords that tranquil feeling away from the parks. BCV is like a hotel in the hustle and bustle. What do you want?

Lots of questions to ask yourself. If another question comes up, ask us. Hope this helps.

 

[KingdomJack]

Please help us decide which DVC resort to call home.

As for how we travel, we usually will go in late Feb-early March (Mardi Gras) and in late May-early June. We will always be looking for a 1BR-2BR and sometimes a GV.

As for where we would like to stay, we would prefer to stay at BCV or BWV most of the times we visit but we would want to try VWL, AKV and BLT at some time.

As for value, it seems that SSR offers the best cost/MF/contract lenght combination. However, no posts I have read seem to adress SSR. I have seen posts that extoll the virtues of owning at all of the DW resorts except SSR. But I have not seen any saying why owning at SSR is good or bad. I am interested in finding out if there is some reason not to buy at SSR.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Right now, we are frozen with indecision.

Thank you all for your input. I still haven't decided but I am much closer thanks to your sage advice.

I do have one more newbie question though. Can you trade points or reservations with DVC owners who have a different home resurt during the 11 month window in order to get the reservation you want. As much as I think the Epcot resorts would be great, I would like to stay at all the resorts.

 

[Kmango]

Thank you all for your input. I still haven't decided but I am much closer thanks to your sage advice.

I do have one more newbie question though. Can you trade points or reservations with DVC owners who have a different home resurt during the 11 month window in order to get the reservation you want. As much as I think the Epcot resorts would be great, I would like to stay at all the resorts.

In theory, yes, you could find another member to book you a reservation at their home resort at 11 months, and then book them a reservation at your home at 11 months, and then switch. In reality, however, the odds of this going swimmingly, however, are low, especially if you're a SSR owner. Here's why:

If I own BCV, I can get BCV at 11 months. I can also, almost always, get SSR at 7 months, because SSR is vastly less popular than BCV. Therefore, there's really nothing in it for me (unless you're paying a premium) to go through the hassle of switching reservations with you, unless I'm simply an uncommonly good person (you be the judge). When I say hassle, what I mean is that I have to trust you to make (and not cancel or otherwise toy with) my reservation for me, and not be able to modify it, confirm it, or otherwise access it, except through you, until the day I arrive on property. And I am similarly responsible for your reservation. Once again, that's a lot of trouble for me to go through to get something I could have gotten anyway without any hassle whatsoever. Beyond that, many of the people who own BCV/BWV own there because they want to stay there, further complicating matters. While finding a BCV/BWV owner who's trustworthy, trusting, interested in staying at SSR, inclined to do things the hard way, and has the points to do what you want to do is theoretically possible, I certainly wouldn't count on it. Far simpler would be to buy where you want to stay.

Similarly, you could rent/transfer your points to someone else, and then rent/transfer points from a BWV/BCV/Whatever owner, but this basically defeats the purpose, for all of the reasons stated above.

Buy where you want to stay. If you're interested in home court advantage at two resorts, you might consider splitting your points between those two resorts, and using them on an every-other-year/trip/time-period-of-your-choice basis.

 

[kiingor]

In theory, yes, you could find another member to book you a reservation at their home resort at 11 months, and then book them a reservation at your home at 11 months, and then switch. In reality, however, the odds of this going swimmingly, however, are low, especially if you're a SSR owner. Here's why:

If I own BCV, I can get BCV at 11 months. I can also, almost always, get SSR at 7 months, because SSR is vastly less popular than BCV. Therefore, there's really nothing in it for me (unless you're paying a premium) to go through the hassle of switching reservations with you, unless I'm simply an uncommonly good person (you be the judge). When I say hassle, what I mean is that I have to trust you to make (and not cancel or otherwise toy with) my reservation for me, and not be able to modify it, confirm it, or otherwise access it, except through you, until the day I arrive on property. And I am similarly responsible for your reservation. Once again, that's a lot of trouble for me to go through to get something I could have gotten anyway without any hassle whatsoever. Beyond that, many of the people who own BCV/BWV own there because they want to stay there, further complicating matters. While finding a BCV/BWV owner who's trustworthy, trusting, interested in staying at SSR, inclined to do things the hard way, and has the points to do what you want to do is theoretically possible, I certainly wouldn't count on it. Far simpler would be to buy where you want to stay.

Similarly, you could rent/transfer your points to someone else, and then rent/transfer points from a BWV/BCV/Whatever owner, but this basically defeats the purpose, for all of the reasons stated above.

Buy where you want to stay. If you're interested in home court advantage at two resorts, you might consider splitting your points between those two resorts, and using them on an every-other-year/trip/time-period-of-your-choice basis.

True- seems like booking at SSR is far easier than other resort- which makes SSR less of a bargaining chip in terms of booking. Just this reason alone, i was thinking trading in my SSR and get the BLT. Love how the BLT looks and the convenience to theme parks.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

The statement that speaks volumes to me is that you want to stay at either BCV or BWV. Buy where you want to stay. Simple as that.

Life is short. Buy where you want to stay. Will you be disappointed not to be in an Epcot-based resort? If so, then buy there. If you are definitely in need of a GV and want an Epcot-based resort, go with BWV. If Stormalong Bay is a pull, do BCV.

BWV is really great if you want the choice of a fantastic view or like to save points by getting the standard view. BTW, I think the BwV standard view is as good as or better the only view at other resorts.

 

[MommaX03]

By the way, another part of the analysis is the GV point. If you check out the number of points you need for 2-2 bedrooms as compared to a GV, it may be worth it to get two 2 bedrooms when you need it as opposed to a GV. That way you can house even more people and have more bathrooms. The downfall to that scenario is if you really, really want everyone to be in the same place/room as well as the dining room then you would want a GV. Some of us may need some separation from certain family members so the 2-2bedroom scenario would be the way to go!

Anyway, this is part of the analysis with respect to the fact that BC does not have a GV but BWV and SSR do.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Similarly, you could rent/transfer your points to someone else, and then rent/transfer points from a BWV/BCV/Whatever owner, but this basically defeats the purpose, for all of the reasons stated above. ....

But you would not be able to transfer both out and in during the same year unless you had two separate contracts. You are permitted only one transfer in or one transfer out per year.

 

[KingdomJack]

In theory, yes, you could find another member to book you a reservation at their home resort at 11 months, and then book them a reservation at your home at 11 months, and then switch. In reality, however, the odds of this going swimmingly, however, are low, especially if you're a SSR owner. Here's why:

If I own BCV, I can get BCV at 11 months. I can also, almost always, get SSR at 7 months, because SSR is vastly less popular than BCV. Therefore, there's really nothing in it for me (unless you're paying a premium) to go through the hassle of switching reservations with you, unless I'm simply an uncommonly good person (you be the judge). When I say hassle, what I mean is that I have to trust you to make (and not cancel or otherwise toy with) my reservation for me, and not be able to modify it, confirm it, or otherwise access it, except through you, until the day I arrive on property. And I am similarly responsible for your reservation. Once again, that's a lot of trouble for me to go through to get something I could have gotten anyway without any hassle whatsoever. Beyond that, many of the people who own BCV/BWV own there because they want to stay there, further complicating matters. While finding a BCV/BWV owner who's trustworthy, trusting, interested in staying at SSR, inclined to do things the hard way, and has the points to do what you want to do is theoretically possible, I certainly wouldn't count on it. Far simpler would be to buy where you want to stay.

Similarly, you could rent/transfer your points to someone else, and then rent/transfer points from a BWV/BCV/Whatever owner, but this basically defeats the purpose, for all of the reasons stated above.

Buy where you want to stay. If you're interested in home court advantage at two resorts, you might consider splitting your points between those two resorts, and using them on an every-other-year/trip/time-period-of-your-choice basis.

I wasn't thinking of trading reservations at SSR. I was thinking that I might but BWV/BCV and be able to trade for others. So they can't transfer the reservation to you after the 7 month window?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I wasn't thinking of trading reservations at SSR. I was thinking that I might but BWV/BCV and be able to trade for others. So they can't transfer the reservation to you after the 7 month window?

No, you can't transfer a reservation and book with another member's points. You can sell it or trade it and change the name on it. You could make a reservation with your points for the other person and put their name on it.

If you cancelled a reservation so another member could get it, it would go to the first name on the wait list and not necessarily the person you wanted it to go to.

 

[Inkmahm]

Have you ever stayed at a DVC Resort? If you haven't, I think that you are putting the cart before the horse.

You really need to rent and stay at the resorts that are on the top of your list. Only then can you and your family decide which resort will keep you happy for years to come.

Getting info from us is a good start but I wouldn't trust my decision to a group of strangers on the internet.

I hadn't stayed at any DVC resort ever when we purchased our first points at BWV. I think many of us purchased sight unseen and are very happy with our choices.

We picked based on resale value, where we wanted to stay (within walking distance of two parks), etc. Then we added on at other favorite resorts later.

 

[Inkmahm]

Exactly, I've tried booking at VWL, AKL, and BCV for my December vacation- and It was just impossible. Nothing was available except SSR, so I ended up at SSR again. And I doubt I will be able to get any bookings for the new BLT at all with 7 months window. That 7 months window is prbly good for adventure season.

Exactly why we own VWL- for our December vacations. And AKV for spring and BWV for October food and wine. I didn't need to see/stay at those places before buying (although I'd stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge many times) as I already knew they fit what I wanted based on the legwork I did for research ahead of time.

 

[kiingor]

Exactly why we own VWL- for our December vacations. And AKV for spring and BWV for October food and wine. I didn't need to see/stay at those places before buying (although I'd stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge many times) as I already knew they fit what I wanted based on the legwork I did for research ahead of time.

Ink, that is smart move. I was a newbie and wasn't familiar with all the other resort, and when I saw how beautiful SSR was, didn't even bother to check other resort.
I'm kinda like those that walks into a car dealer with the intention to buy a practical 4 door car or minivan and then they put you behind the wheels of a sports car- bam- you drive home with the sports car.

 

[Jperiod]

Buy where you want to stay. If you're interested in home court advantage at two resorts, you might consider splitting your points between those two resorts, and using them on an every-other-year/trip/time-period-of-your-choice basis.

I'm interested in this splitting the contracts idea as well. But I was reading on another DVC board that transferred points retain their original home resort.

Apparently you need to have all the points transferred for the ressie's dates prior to making the call. So say I own 100 at BWV and VWL, and I want to make a ressie at VWL 11 months out that needs 200 pts, I couldn't because 100 of those transferred points would be originally from BWV. I'd have to wait until the 7 mth window, right?

And I've read something further about different use years have different master contract accounts, but if both of your resorts have the same use year, one is the master and the other is a sub contract. (follow me so far? ) So now my question is, does the same 11 mth/7 mth pooling points rule apply to master/sub contracts as would apply to two master contracts?

Boy, this is a lot to figure out!

 

[Kmango]

I'm interested in this splitting the contracts idea as well. But I was reading on another DVC board that transferred points retain their original home resort.

Apparently you need to have all the points transferred for the ressie's dates prior to making the call. So say I own 100 at BWV and VWL, and I want to make a ressie at VWL 11 months out that needs 200 pts, I couldn't because 100 of those transferred points would be originally from BWV. I'd have to wait until the 7 mth window, right?

And I've read something further about different use years have different master contract accounts, but if both of your resorts have the same use year, one is the master and the other is a sub contract. (follow me so far? ) So now my question is, does the same 11 mth/7 mth pooling points rule apply to master/sub contracts as would apply to two master contracts?

Boy, this is a lot to figure out!

Okay, first we must clarify the word 'transfer'. Transferring is when points are, in an only-once-a-year-either-sending-or-receiving-but-not-both transaction, moved from one membership number to another membership number. Those membership numbers may be owned by the same person (if they have contracts with multiple use years, each use year must have its own membership number) or by different people. Transferred points do retain their home resorts (and use years, I think?), but are otherwise treated like the rest of the points belonging to that membership number.

What I think you're talking about here is combining points from multiple contracts under the same membership number, which have different home resorts, and it doesn't work at 11 months. You cannot, by any means, make 100 BWV points into something that could be used at VWL at 11 months. You could transfer in 100 more VWL points from another member, but you could not then transfer your BWV points out, as you'd have used you transfer for the year. Nor can you combine points from different resorts at the 11 month window. After 7 months, however, you can combine your points any way you want.

The way to accomplish what you're talking about is via banking and borrowing. Say you have 100 VWL points and 100 BWV points, and you want to use 200 VWL points at once. You call MS, say that you'd like to use all 100 VWL points from this year, and all 100 VWL points from next year for your reservation. So there's your reservation for this year. Then you can bank all of your BWV points forward, and use 200 of them for your vacation the following year. Banking and borrowing can be done on the phone with member services as you make your reservations -- there is no need to do this ahead of time*. This is this simplest way to make split contracts work for you.

*The exception here, of course, is that you must bank your points within the first 8 months of your use year. If you're planning on booking at 11 months using points banked from this year into next year, you must bank them at 8 months then book them at 11. You can borrow any time.

 

[Jperiod]

What I think you're talking about here is combining points from multiple contracts under the same membership number, which have different home resorts, and it doesn't work at 11 months. You cannot, by any means, make 100 BWV points into something that could be used at VWL at 11 months. You could transfer in 100 more VWL points from another member, but you could not then transfer your BWV points out, as you'd have used you transfer for the year. Nor can you combine points from different resorts at the 11 month window. After 7 months, however, you can combine your points any way you want.

Okay, if I understood you correctly, this is how I believed it would work. One cannot combine points from multiple contracts/resorts, whether under one membership number or many, and make a ressie 11 mths out. This can only be done at 7 months. Am I still understanding this correctly?

SO, then why would someone WANT to have multiple contracts or why would someone suggest splitting your purchase into two contracts/resorts as was suggested earlier? I thought the whole purpose of the OP was buying at the resort you need/want to book at 11 months out?

The point I'm at is this -- I don't want to go every year, but every 3 would be good for the next 15 years, then I'd probably use my points at GCV every year after kids are grown for shorter Sun-Thurs trips (we're closer to DLR). So I thought I'd buy about 60-70 points that would get me a full week somewhere every 3 years. But I can't decide where to have my home resort either (and haven't visited any). I forsee staying at a different one each time (unless I just fall in love with the first). I think that 11 month window is very crutial to our planning (we go in early Dec every year). So I thought if I could buy smaller 25 contracts at 3 resorts -- and there was a way to combine them to work at 11 mths, that'd be ideal.

But I guess there's no possible way to do that?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Okay, if I understood you correctly, this is how I believed it would work. One cannot combine points from multiple contracts/resorts, whether under one membership number or many, and make a ressie 11 mths out. This can only be done at 7 months. Am I still understanding this correctly?

SO, then why would someone WANT to have multiple contracts or why would someone suggest splitting your purchase into two contracts/resorts as was suggested earlier? I thought the whole purpose of the OP was buying at the resort you need/want to book at 11 months out?

If the different master contracts are the same resort, they can both be used at 11 months out to make the reservation. But you would have to use the points to reserve a complete day. You can't combine points from two different master contracts for a single night/day.

When you divide your contract up into multiple contracts, it is still under a single master contract number with different suffixes. It is easier to sell smaller contracts than larger ones.

The master contract number is the first five (I think it's five numbers) of the contract before the decimal point. For example: 54321.xxx

The suffix would be different for adds on to the same master contract number. For example: 54321.000, 54321.001, 54321.002.

Contracts with different UYs must be different master contracts. Contracts with the same UY can be the same master contract, but considered add-ons to the original master contract.

I have an original contract of 175 points at OKW for Sept UY. Plus I had three add-ons with Sept UY (OKW 75 points, BCV 100 points and VWL 100 points). I also have one resale contract Dec UY of 50 OKW points.

The 50 point OKW contract is a separate master contract from the other four. The other four are a single master contract.

If I want to combine my 50 point contract with my 175 point contract, I have to transfer points to one or the other. I usually transfer the 50 point to the 175 point. Then I can use the 225 points (175+50) for a single trip at 11 months out to OKW or at 7 months out to any other resort.

The point I'm at is this -- I don't want to go every year, but every 3 would be good for the next 15 years, then I'd probably use my points at GCV every year after kids are grown for shorter Sun-Thurs trips (we're closer to DLR). So I thought I'd buy about 60-70 points that would get me a full week somewhere every 3 years. But I can't decide where to have my home resort either (and haven't visited any). I forsee staying at a different one each time (unless I just fall in love with the first). I think that 11 month window is very crutial to our planning (we go in early Dec every year). So I thought if I could buy smaller 25 contracts at 3 resorts -- and there was a way to combine them to work at 11 mths, that'd be ideal.

But I guess there's no possible way to do that?

The only way to purchase smaller contracts is through resale if you aren't already a member. GCV goes on sale later this month and you will need to be a CA DVC member in order to get first shot at these and they may go very quickly. It is going to be hard to get GCV at 7 months out I'm afraid. This will be DVC's smallest resort.

Plus, there is no way to combine three different home resorts at 11 months to make a reservation at a single resort.