Possible change to contract, opinions needed...

[88golf88]

We bought into DVC a few weeks back. We bought in at AKV for 100 points. We bought AKV because of up front costs. It isnt our favorite resort, but I figured it was the most affordable for us and would get our foot in the DVC door and we can quit wasting money at "regular" Disney resorts.

After giving it even more thought, we may be giving into the temptation of buying 160 points at BLT!!! We would definitely utilize BLT much more as we are crazy about MK.

At first I was confident that we would be able to get the resort that we wanted at 7 months, as we tend to go at down times, but the more and more I think about it, I am afraid we will get shut out of BLT.

Now, I am finding ways to justify going with the more expensive contract in BLT as I am telling myself that we will be saving in the long run and we will have the best advantage at 11 months at BLT.

I am thinking with my head and not my heart, right....?????

 

[JimC]

It depends when you go and what you want. We had no trouble getting a BLV 1 bdrm in January at 7 months, but MKV was not available. BLT will require more points then AKV, so that is a consideration for you as well.

 

[disneynutz]

Have you stayed at AKV or BLT? How do you know the BLT is your favorite?

I get the feeling that many members bought BLT sight unseen due to Disney's great job of marketing the resort. Now that is is opened and folks have stayed there, the excitement is wearing off and some might be rethinking their decision to buy there.

Don't get me wrong, each resort has something for everyone, and BLT is a nice resort, but it is currently our least favorite, subject to change of course.

Bill

 

[88golf88]

Have you stayed at AKV or BLT? How do you know the BLT is your favorite?

I get the feeling that many members bought BLT sight unseen due to Disney's great job of marketing the resort. Now that is is opened and folks have stayed there, the excitement is wearing off and some might be rethinking their decision to buy there.

Don't get me wrong, each resort has something for everyone, and BLT is a nice resort, but it is currently our least favorite, subject to change of course.

Bill

We have not stayed at either of those two resorts because we didnt own a DVC property. I am basing on us wanting to stay at BLT based on the proximity to MK and the food options at CR. We are a relatively young couple and while we have been to Disney several times, we have not grown tired of MK. And we dont have children yet, Im sure MK will be come even more appealing once the little ones come along. We have stayed on the Monorail loop before and we absolutely love the convenience of it. Even if we just jump on and take a ride.
We are not a fan of the food options or the location of AKV.
I believe you, Disneynutz, are one of the people that told me in a post about a month back, to "buy where you want to stay". Thats what I think we are doing. While we still plan at stayin at some of the other resorts, we want the security of booking somewhere at 11 months that will make us happy in case we cant in somewhere at 7 months.

 

[chalee94]

We bought into DVC a few weeks back. We bought in at AKV for 100 points.

aren't you well past the point of recission?

you would take a huge hit to sell AKV and buy BLT...and at this point, i wouldn't expect DVC to just make a trade...

 

[88golf88]

aren't you well past the point of recission?

you would take a huge hit to sell AKV and buy BLT...and at this point, i wouldn't expect DVC to just make a trade...

We havent sent the contract back yet and I spoke with my guide yesterday and they have no problem taking back their 100 AKV pts at $97/pt and selling me 160 BLT pts at $115/pt.
We only received the contract a few weeks ago and I had been out of town on business and we just filled everything out last week. We started having second thoughts over the weekend about buying AKV based primarily on price point. Our true desire is to own BLT for several reasons and location is by far the biggest.

 

[chalee94]

if you haven't signed anything yet, then you're good.

i really liked BLT (although the studios are a little small). the higher pt costs per night are offset by the lower annual dues.

if the extra 60 pts isn't a big deal financially and you prefer the MK area (and can book more than 7 months out), then go for it.

 

[DenLo]

The advice you received before is still valid. Buy where you want to stay. However, we bought 160 points at BLT last May, then did a 50 point add on two weeks later when we realized we needed more points to cover our normal vacation days. BLT is expensive but it does have a great location.

 

[JenSop]

It sounds like you're still in a position to switch, so if that's where you want to stay most of the time, then make it your home resort.

We're exactly opposite. We own at AKV and it truly is our favorite. But we decided to try BLT for our upcoming trip this summer (had no trouble booking a studio at 7months). We were a bit reluctant though, since we love AKV so much. It might be hard to not be at our home resort. But ya gotta try new things, right?! Hopefully we'll have good things to report once we stay at BLT - but holy points!

 

[88golf88]

Thanks to everyone. We are giving ourselves til tomorrow morning, our guide is off today, and then we are going to make a decision. We really cant go wrong either way, its just trying to pick either option 1 or 1A.

Why do you like AKV the best? Location or the actual resort itself and its amentities?

 

[Sandisw]

We bought in to DVC last year because they built BLT and knew this was the resort for us.

However, we were not sure if we wanted to committ to the minimum purchase and figured buying at our 2nd favorite, VWL, resale would be a way to get in the door so we bought a 50 points contract.

I added on 130 points within a week of buying at BLT. I then began to plan our next trip and realized that I didn't like not knowing for sure we could be at BLT the whole time. With what I owned, I could not book the entire 6 night trip without borrowing.

We love the MK and have almost always (before DVC) stayed at the CR (even switching to it mid trip because we didn't like the other resort we were at) so knew that being within walking distance was key.

Within 2 months, I sold VWL and re-bought all my points at BLT. When my 11 month window opened up in September, I was so happy to be able to book everything at BLT!! We did trade out a few nights at 7 months to BCV (so we could try that resort), but I have exactly what I want for the stay at BLT and didn't have to stress until 7 months.

To me, the extra money I spent to KNOW I will be at BLT is worth every penny. And, over the course of the membership, it isn't that much to ensure I can get SV rooms (the bulk of what I want to book).

It is a big decision and a lot of money, but buying DVC is really for the long term so go with what makes the best sense for you in that regard.

Good luck!!

 

[thepops]

Two quick things... 1) make sure that your 160 points are enough to cover when you want to vacation since BLT is higher per night than AKV. 2) another option might be Wilderness lodge. Not on the monorail, but a quick boat ride to the MK. You CAN get points for there even though it's not on the main radar of the guides selling list.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

We purchased at BLT instead of AKV because we thought it would be harder to book BLT at 7 months instead of AKV. Who knows?

 

[88golf88]

Our thoughts are pretty much right in line with everyone else. Even without staying at BLT, we know we are going to love the location and from all of the pictures we have seen, we are excited to own there. We will have plenty of points for our vacation needs and we will have room to expand our vacation needs once the little ones start rolling along. Right now with the 2 of us, studios are perfect and this will allow us to take 2 trips a year and when we need to start booking bigger villas, we will be able to to that.

Thanks again!!!

 

[wildernessDad]

The purchase money is the up front money. The main cost over the long haul is member dues. The latter is definitely something to consider.

Remember also that points requirements seem a little higher at BLT than they are at AKV.

 

[bobbiwoz]

If you bought a few weeks back, are you trying now to change what you bought?

Bobbi

 

[JimC]

My advice is to buy based on what's most important to you.

1. If a specific WDW resort (location, style, theme, villa type and/or view) is important and you want the booking advantage, then buy that resort. The need for the booking advantage varies by resort, villa type, view and time of year that you most often vacation.

2. If contract length are important then your resort options are grouped based on that variable. This can also be a factor in number three.

3. If any resort is fine, then buy where you get the best deal for total cost of ownership. Recognize that the variables for that depend on purchase cost (price, closing costs and finance charges), dues, expected length of ownership and likely resale value upon disposition.

4. Buy HH, VB or VGC if you want to stay at those locations during peak times and WDW locations are not important.

 

[88golf88]

If you bought a few weeks back, are you trying now to change what you bought?

Bobbi

Yes. We put our deposit down a few weeks back and got our contract. We have been debating on going with a contract based on price point or the resort we really want to stay at.

 

[thelionqueen]

My best suggestions would be to "go with your heart"
I strongly believe that getting into BLT as time goes on will be very hard if you don't own there. AKV is such a big resort, I have always found availability there when I've checked.

Personally, owning at the resort I absolutely love is worth more than anything to me personally. The location and lower MF's didn't hurt, but I just couldnt stand going by BLT on the monorail and knowing I don't own there, I seriously couldn't take it

 

[ToddyLu]

Sounds like your heart is at BLT. Leave AKV for me!

I would definitely spend that kind of money where my heart is.