Pros/Cons to SSR Vs. BCV, & Opinions needed, :)

[mrudman]

Dh and I have decided we're definitely going to be buying into DVC at the end of this year.. just saving up the money to do it now. Also, this is giving us some good time to research everything, and really be comfortable with where we're going to buy into.

I have been browsing all the pics of all the DVC resorts for months now, and so far I *think* we've narrowed it to SSR or BCV.

I really like the looks of AKV, but dh is set against not owning there (that's ok by me.. I want us both to be fully happy with our decision).

So last night, we both sat down, started browsing through all the pics, accomodations, dining, pools, etc.

I showed him VWL, cause I really liked the looks of that, and its close to MK (my favorite park)... but (and I have to agree), it just doesn't seem "Disney" to either of us. It's theming is a lot like the state park lodges we go to every year here.

We both agree SSR is absolutely beautiful.. and the extended contract is very tempting (as well as the price)... we love the theming, the dining seems "ok", the pools seem really nice...

Then I showed him BCV, and he really jumped on the bandwagon on that one... we both LOVE the theming there.. the dining seems great.. pools are awesome.. but cons are the shorter contract period, and slightly higher MF.
Also, awesome that its so close to Epcot (my 2nd favorite park) and MGM (dh's favorite park).

I see us only going maybe once every other year.. and we're definitely going to do resale, so at this time, we're thinking of buying a 50-60pt. contract at SSR and a 50-60pt. contract at BCV.

With closing costs, etc.. we're looking at about $4000 for the SSR contract and about $5500 for the BCV contract.

Would it be wise to buy both contracts as resales, or buy one, then add on through Disney at the other resort? Can you add on at any resort, or only certain ones at this time? Not sure what closing costs are exactly, but know I've read on here, Disney doesn't charge closing costs on add-ons, so might be worth it to do that?

Also, I'm debating taking a long weekend trip down to see each of these in person (never have seen any of the dvc resorts actually in person)... but trying to decide if the $1500 we'd have to spend going down there would be better spent going toward the dvc purchase, and just purchase sight-unseen.

Any opinions? Thanks,
Michelle

 

[Desnik]

I am big on seeing things in person before you buy. We hated the way AKV looked in pictures. When we saw the models we fell in love and added on! We own at SSR too. We made both purchases through Disney and are glad we did. At the time we needed to finance and Disney made everything go so smoothly. We didn't pay closing costs, were able to get the same use years, and didn't have to wait for ROFR. Also the longer contracts really swayed us since we are in our early 30's and see ourselves vacationing at WDW every year for many years to come.

I do think it is important to buy where you want to stay, but to a certain degree. We have booked trips at other resorts that are not our home resorts and have been successful getting what we want 99% of the time. We have even booked weeks before we wanted to go and still got a room! We were able to book BCV with short notice too. I guess it depends on the time of year, size unit and a little luck!

First I want to say that the food at SSR is better than "OK". Artist Palette has great options for lunch and breakfast(love the flat bread pizza's) and the Turf Club is fantastic! Also, don't forget all the dining options at DtD which is a boat ride or walk away. There is also the Spa onsite if that's important to you. Also the golf coarse and Treehouse Villas.(you'll have the 11 month priority to book the THV)

BCV is beautiful and the location is great too! The only downfalls, IMHO(we were just there in Jan) is the lack of a "proper" counter service, the crazy birds that will swoop down and take your burger right out of your hand at the pool(Hurricane Hannah's) and the need for better TV's in the room and a rehab(which I think is going on now). The higher Member fees and shorter contract would be an issue for me.

Good luck!

 

[disneystick]

I own at both and here is just my opinion and has nothing to do with the cost nor the extended contract. SSR is a very pretty resort however, it has more of the feel of being in a apartment like setting, great location if you enjoy Downtown Disney. However at BCV, we felt like we were more part of a hotel/resort feel. We prefer not walking along the streets or parking lots to get to the eating/giftshop area of SSR main lobby. I have teenage kids and they both prefer BCV over SSR. Especially since, our favorite park is EPCOT, so a simple walk back and forth is easy from BCV. Also, we enjoy all the dining available at EPCOT and the Broadwalk area along with BC and YC. Plus SAB cannot be beat if you enjoy being at the pool. It is like a mini water park.

Some folks would want to visit before they invest that kind of money. Me, I bought site unseen at both resort....because I can view everything on line and I rather put that money towards the down payment. However, whatever you decide to do...you will have a great time. We really enjoyed our DVC membership and never once had second thoughts.

Best Wishes on which ever route you decide to go or buy.

 

[TwingleMum]

Another BCV Owner. I have owned for @ 7 yrs and there definately are times (holiday periods, school breaks & F&W) where you would not be able to get into BCV. Its smaller than SSR so less rooms in inventory at 7mos mark. I have not been able to get a waitlist many times when I did a last minute trip.. So its a Golden Rule around here BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY! We bought BCV because it is super convenient to 2 theme parks. No buses needed. BCV is so close to WS its a 5 min walk. Many times when my kids were babies and we were having an early night. We would take the babies in the stroller and get dessert from one of the countries and eat it on the balcony over looking the fireworks. My kids love SAB and lots of times don't want to leave they opt for swimming and dinner at B&C. BCV is also one of the few if not only DVC with a character breakfast right there (Cape May). There is also a fab steakhouse (Yachtsman) and the marketplace has awesome gelatto and sandwiches. We bought when our oldest was 1 yrs old (little did we know twins were in the near future ) Most true deluxe resorts (GF and Poly don't have big CS) SSR is a nice resort but is a bus to everywhere and a DTD Resort. I go to DTD maybe 1/2 day during a trip otherwise I'm all about convenience to the parks. But thats just MHO.

Also why buy a 50 -60 pt contract in 2 DVCs?? You know you can only make ressies at 11 mos at that home resort . For ex you can't combine pts to use for a ressie. At 11 months its all about your home resort and pts for THAT resort. So I'm missing the logic I guess. Also take a good look at the point chart and figure on the points needed to make that trip. You also don't say if your figuring on a studio, 1 br , 2 br etc... Are you newly married?? Kids?? Hope to have kids??? These things all need to be factored in. We bought figuring we would go every other year and stay in at least a 1br. And bought with our future family in mind. We have 300 pts and could easily use 300 more. And its easier to get a bigger contract now than later so if your going to do it I'd look carefully at the points, its expensive to add on. Look at maybe 150 if you can. Hope you don't mind the advise.

 

[WeLoveAriel0505]

I agree with disneystick. We purchased BLT site unseen and I would suggest that there is enough information online that you'd be best saving your money. Happy savings!

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I own at both and here is just my opinion and has nothing to do with the cost nor the extended contract. SSR is a very pretty resort however, it has more of the feel of being in a apartment like setting, great location if you enjoy Downtown Disney. However at BCV, we felt like we were more part of a hotel/resort feel. We prefer not walking along the streets or parking lots to get to the eating/giftshop area of SSR main lobby. I have teenage kids and they both prefer BCV over SSR. Especially since, our favorite park is EPCOT, so a simple walk back and forth is easy from BCV. Also, we enjoy all the dining available at EPCOT and the Broadwalk area along with BC and YC. Plus SAB cannot be beat if you enjoy being at the pool. It is like a mini water park.

Some folks would want to visit before they invest that kind of money. Me, I bought site unseen at both resort....because I can view everything on line and I rather put that money towards the down payment. However, whatever you decide to do...you will have a great time. We really enjoyed our DVC membership and never once had second thoughts.

Best Wishes on which ever route you decide to go or buy.

We bought site unseen also (BWV) and we like the resort, but mainly for the convenience of walking to Epcot. All things considered the resort accommodations will be similar everywhere. It is the theming and proximity to WDW that makes a difference for us. If my kids were 6 & 8, I personally would lean towards BCV. Epcot will become their favorite place to go to as they get older, and you can't beat a simple walk to it. Truly, it is like you have a back door to the park. Easy coming and going. Crowds are mainly headed to the front entrance at closing time. You, on the other hand, would be headed for the back door. You can take water transportation back to your resort, but walking back will just take a total of 15 minutes from gate to room. It will take you that long just to get back to the front gates otherwise.

Good luck with your decision, hope it works out for the best.

 

[Jaaron2]

We own at BCV and have stayed at SSR. We enjoyed SSR and would stay there again but BCV is our FAVORITE resort by far. BCV is almost like staying in a seperate "resort area" while having access to everything else (if you can follow me). BCV has such great pools, restaurants and ammenities (including the entire Boardwalk area) that at times we go there and rarely visit the parks. Some great things about BCV:

Storm Along Bay (the pool area is the absolute best)
Yachtsman Steakhouse (wow)
Beaches and Cream
Location
Theming
Proximity to Epcot (you can walk two minutes and be in Italy for Dinner!)
Proximity to HS
Epcot Fireworks (short walk to watch or from the Resort itself)
Beach area at Night (looking at the Boardwalk area)
Boardwalk at Night

Again, not to knock SSR at all. We just find that BCV has so much to offer.

 

[jadejazzkayla]

being on the boardwalk is the best. getting a reservation at bcv at the 11-7 month window is piece of mind to me.

anyone can get a reservation at ssr at almost anytime. not so for bcv.

remember what the real estate agent says. location, location, location.

 

[spiceycat]

would think OKW would work too.

It is similar to BCV - beachy - but it has some revised contracts that goes to 2057.

definitely go with BCV.

being close to Epcot is pretty wonderful.

that say if you first choice is MK - then you might get BCV now - then wait a couple of years for BLT.

SSR is the biggest DVC resort there is - so it is fairly easy to get a villa there.
OKW is the next in line - but since it has lower points it is filling up faster than SSR.


so look here for the points chart
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

remember that dvc has changed the points chart in 2010 - so look at them not 2009.

 

[mrudman]

Thank you all for the wonderful responses!!

Sounds like a ton of you like BCV,

If they both had the same contract length, I would buy there in heartbeat.. and maybe I shouldn't be looking so hard at the lengths, but can't help it.. just thinking for only the MF's, it'd be an extra 12 yrs of vacations at SSR.

I really am not positive why I'm thinking of 2 separate contracts.. only thinking it would give me more flexibility in staying at 2 different resorts.

Since we'd only be going every other year of so (at least that's the plans for now, lol), I'd be banking/borrowing on both contracts to make a nice-length vacation 2 out of the 3 yrs. We'd be staying in studios 99% of the time mmost likely, so if I knew it was guaranteed I could get a studio in any of the resorts, including SSR, at less than 7 months, I'd be more inclined to buy into BCV. But I know that's never a guarantee.

Although, one reason why dh really liked SSR is cause of the THV, and know we'd need the 11-month reservation time for those.. but then the points we'd be buying there would get us very little time at those (4-5 nights every 3 yrs).

We do have 2 young girls, which is another reason why the 2 contracts. Thinking it would be nice to pass one off to each of them when we get up in years. With the BCV, dh and I would be 70&68 respectively.. and with the SSR one, we'd be 82&80.

Just at this point, with our finances the way they are, we can really only afford about a 100-120pt contract... and refuse to finance it (not that I'm saying its bad to.. just not for us).

Thanks again for the replies!

 

[logan115]

Thank you all for the wonderful responses!!


We do have 2 young girls, which is another reason why the 2 contracts. Thinking it would be nice to pass one off to each of them when we get up in years. With the BCV, dh and I would be 70&68 respectively.. and with the SSR one, we'd be 82&80.


Thanks again for the replies!

Can only imagine the arguments in 30 years "I get the BCV contract," "No I get the BCV contract"

Just kidding, and good luck,

Chris

 

[Desnik]

Not to confuse you more, but....
Please consider how you will want to vacation 5-10 years from now too. Will your girls always be OK sharing a bed. Will only one bathroom work with 2 teenagers? You might want to just buy a resale at BCV for 120 points. That way you could have enough points if there is a time when you will need a 1 or 2 bedroom.

This is the one mistake we made. Well, that and not buying into DVC sooner! We only bought 150 points thinking we would always be fine in a studio. Now with 2 kids, a boy and a girl, and 5 years between them, our vacationing has changed. We added on 50 points at AKV. Now we find ourselves wanting to go to WDW twice and sometimes 3 times a year! We need another add on!

 

[jadejazzkayla]

Can only imagine the arguments in 30 years "I get the BCV contract," "No I get the BCV contract"

Just kidding, and good luck,

Chris

i was thinking the same thing! but the extra years on the ssr contract will be a plus for the kids.

 

[nyck]

I own at BCV and SSR. I have no kids, am 32 y old, and own 300 points at BCV and 200 SSR. And I NEVER have anything to spare! In fact, if they ever get a DVC at Grand Floridian, I will buy another 200 there too!!!!

I do agree it is a difficult decision about what to choose due to the contract lengths, but you do need to look in the future and decide if the length of the contract out weighs where you most want to stay. I only bought SSR for the extra points, I really wish I owned 500 at BCV. SSR is too big, the buses take forever, I do not know how people with little kids stay there since it takes FOREVER to get anywhere! Plus I feel like I am staying in a tall Best Western with the outside doors and the steps. I never seem to be able to find the dang elevator in those buildings. And yes I do think the THV will be busy for alittle while, but alot of people that do not have a car are going to get tired of being secluded over there and taking the already long haul SSR buses every place. LOL. BCV is great for kids and adults alike. You can walk or boat to 2 parks, have great dining options for families or a romantic couple, awesome pools for kids and adults, plenty of places for snacks between them and Boardwalk.... I could go on and on. I have owned BCV for 7 years and truly love it. I have to force myself to try new DVC's, but always look forward to coming home.

If anything, you should get 2 50 point BCV contracts if you want to have something to give to the kids. SSR is almost always available to book, BCV is hard enough to get at 7 months during the slows seasons, near impossible in the high. Plus something else you need to think about is as more people join DVC (They are still selling AKV, GCV, SSR, and eventually DVC Hawaii), the harder it is going to be for all of us to get 7 month reservations at the smaller, more popular WDW DVC's. I think in the next 5 years 7 month reservations at BWV, BCV, and VWL will be next to nothing. You may want to only go every 3 years now, but once you start and really enjoying your stays, you will want to go more like 3 times a year. When I bought I said "I will only go every other year." HA! I go every 6 months now. Plus the other places you can go with it make it easy to use up all the points.

 

[Dean]

It sounds like you don't have enough info to select a home resort appropriately. I'd agree with Desnik in that you should visit several of them before you buy. Maybe rent points to stay at a DVC and take a day visiting the various resorts. If you end up buying, the home resort is important for some and not for others. If you want a specific resort most trips, you should buy there. If you want to try all resorts over time, any will likely do as a home resort. I would rec buying on property unless you wanted to use HH or VB routinely. SSR is the best value due to the facts it's at WDW, has a lot of contracts available resale, is relatively low in price and has a longer contract length.

 

[edk35]

We own at SSR and we love staying there but we stayed at BCV last June and will stay there again this July. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. I think you need to go and check out all the resorts....at least visit them. Then try and rent points and stay a few nights at SSR and BCV. To me they are totally different. We love SSR for the closeness to DTD and we too like the theming and we love the BCV for it's location to EC/HS, love the Boardwalk area and love the SAB pool. Just two totally different experiences. HOWEVER a big one is the length of years that SSR gives you vs. BCV. I am just thankful that so far we are able to stay at the other resorts at the 7 month window. The only place at WDW we have not stayed at yet is the VWL. We have stayed at SSR 3 times, OKW 2 times, BCV and BWV 1 time although this summer we are staying at BCV again and AKV. We love the flexibility of DVC and the fact that SO far we don't have to always stay at SSR. We actually chose to stay at OKW the two times we did. It wasn't like that was all there way. Have fun trying to figure it all out. If you want even more years did you think about AKV or BLT??

 

[Cmbar]

i was thinking the same thing! but the extra years on the ssr contract will be a plus for the kids.

Or it could be a burden. While you can always sell, I was thinking that I didn't want to burden my children with the MF when I am older. When we are in our 70-80's my children will have had to take over the MF. Doubt that we will be able to afford them, or want to go to Disney at that point. While I do believe my children will love Disney, they may not be as in love with it as we are in 50 years or be at a financial point to deal with whatever the MF may be then. I figure if my kids love DVC in 32 year (when BC supposedly will run out) then they can buy on to some of the newer properties.

By the way, while it is not a guarantee, it is pretty possible that they will extend the BCV contract.

I would also comment that while we have stayed at SSR and do like the resort, It does not have a strong Disney theme such as you described. It does feel more apartmenty.. with outside corridors. It still is lovely, just does not make you feel like you are in a resort. Whereas, VWL, AKV and BC and BW feel heavily themed and resortish!

If you can swing a quick trip down to do just a resort tour you might learn more than you think. We went down for three nights, just DH and I and stayed at All Stars. It cost us less than $500. I figured if I was paying close to15 to 20 K on something I wanted to see it first.

What we learned was that our two previously "disliked" resorts AKV and VWL were actually really nice and we are considering buying there. We also discoved we didn't love BLT which was where we were going to buy.


However...... don't listen to me because I think I am about to call Disney and buy BLT! Sick! It is just so hard to make these decisions! If you go with your gut, you head says "what are you crazy".

Keep in mind that if you have two contract you can bank and borrow like you said. If you bank borrow and use SSR one year you can Bank Borrow and use BCV the alternating years. You will then have 11 months priority at those resorts. BUT keep in mind unless you want THV, you most likely will not need SSR priority since it is a very large resort.


I think you may want to buy 100 points at BCV or the resort you both really love. Use that to bank and borrow everyother year and save up some more cash to add on with another 100 points later for your other child. This way you can buy from Disney and get the same resort or you could have determined if there was a resort you like better for your second purchase!
Good luck!