Purchase Resale at BLT or VGF

[eticketplease]

We are COO.

I’m too old can you tell me what that is?

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I’m too old can you tell me what that is?

Carry-on only when flying.

 

[Sandisw]

Given all you said, I’d still lean toward VGF because IMO, I do think the studios there are nicer plus the number of resort studios increased the total studio option there.

You mention pretty busy times for DVC travel and while SV might not be easy, right at 11 months, getting the others should be doable

The resort studios at VGf also connect so if you did travel with your kids, you can request that and end up with two rooms for the price of a 1 bedroom. No kitchen or washer dryer, but you do end up with sleeping surfaces for 10.

We are staying at VGF in August because the pool and splash area for my grandkids is nicer than at BLT.

Good luck!!

 

[Chili327]

Maybe Poly would be a good idea, definitely best for the two transportation options you want, and just get 2 studios (if needed) until you only need one. (2 studios is way cheaper than a 2 bdrm)

 

[eticketplease]

We are staying at VGF in August because the pool and splash area for my grandkids is nicer than at BLT.

Agree 100%

 

[AC168]

If your times are flexible and the potential dates have availability, I’d think about 250-300 points at SSR or something like that and take your chances on VGF and BLT at 7 months.

We are Marriott owners and the Marriott 2 Bedrooms are great, all of your kids may find they love WDW if you stay in a DVC WDW 2 Bedroom.

 

[AstroBlasters]

If your times are flexible and the potential dates have availability, I’d think about 250-300 points at SSR or something like that and take your chances on VGF and BLT at 7 months.

We are Marriott owners and the Marriott 2 Bedrooms are great, all of your kids may find they love WDW if you stay in a DVC WDW 2 Bedroom.

I’d go look at all of the threads about people not being able to find availability at the room(s) they want at 7m before going this route. There are millions of more points in the system than there were even just a few years ago.

Then go read the threads about walkers and professional renters booking up the most desirable rooms and locations.

Then compare the total cost to own over the life of the contract including dues of BLT/VGF vs SSR. Is it worth the additional savings to potentially get locked out of where you want to stay?

For people who will never book further out than 7m… almost certainly yes… for others… I’d think really hard about it.

 

[blancaster]

We are in the process of buying 220 points at BLT (just waiting on ROFR). We chose BLT for several reasons:

• We prefer 1 bedroom suites with 2 bathrooms
• It's an easy walk to MK
• Plenty of amenities at Contemporary (and a quick monorail ride to the Poly and Grand Floridian)
• Lower annual dues
• Price per point much lower as compared to the Gran Floridian
• Plenty of listings
• Refurbish will start soon

Two additional points of interest. We stayed at the newly refurbished Grand Floridian this past summer while at a conference and the noise in the room was horrible. I'm not sure if it's that way in the DVC villas, but I would verify. Additionally, I was looking at average wait times for the ROFR on a website and the only contract taken by Disney was for the VGF. Just food for thought.

 

[NVDISFamily]

From a value and practical view I think BLT would win this contest. I'd give the nod to BLT due to the much larger quantity of the non studio rooms that you can get, better point chart, lower cost per point to buy in.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

I’d buy BLT just for the dedicated SV 2BR’s, which tend to have a partial theme park view. I like structural advantages rather than hoping for “room requests.”

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

I’d buy BLT just for the dedicated SV 2BR’s, which tend to have a partial theme park view. I like structural advantages rather than hoping for “room requests.”

Btw the same can be said about RR. In fact it’s an even bigger advantage there…

 

[JackosinDIS]

I would go BLT, for the lower points charts and much lower buy in cost. The home resort advantage is just as valuable there as it is at VGF, but you will still be able to get VGF at the 7 month mark if you feel the need (although in slightly higher points rooms). The resale prices at BLT right now are low, you can easily pick up in the $120s

 

[dvc lover 1970]

depends, if booking studios, i think you really need home resort for standard view at VGF and also for the connecting studios. studios at BLT are really small. If going with one bedrooms or twobedrooms, I would probably pick BLT because you need home resort priority to get the standard view rooms there, which point wise, are a much better value than VGF. Also BLT has the extra bathroom in the one and two bed units.

 

[DarthDadMan]

Hello all. I have been stalking these boards for the last 8 months or so. It appears that my wife and I are finally at the stage where we are very serious about buying into DVC for our first time. We have narrowed down our list of home resorts to Bay Lake Tower and the Villas at Grand Floridian. At this point we are thinking about purchasing 200 points resale. However, we are stuck here right before the finish line of choosing which resort. So I am looking for opinions.

Is it hard to ever book at VGF at the 11 month window? I can understand Christmas time but what about the other times of the year. But it would certainly suck if you pay the premium for points at VGF and then not be able to use them there.

Does BLT have a "resort" feel at all?

Can you walk from BLT to the TTC? Or do you need to get on the Monorail and do the loop?

Of course feel free to share any other opinions you may have. Thanks!

We spent the first few nights of a split stay last time in a BLT 2 bedroom when we brought some family along. Beautiful room. I'm a lodge guy, however, that needs a "resort" feel. I like feeling like Im coming back to a vacation from my vacation if that makes sense. In my humble opinion, BLT is the opposite of a "resort" feel. I dont know what your other factors are in determining which is right for you, but if resort feel is important, Id go with any other resort. Just my opinion.

 

[eticketplease]

We stayed at the newly refurbished Grand Floridian this past summer while at a conference and the noise in the room was horrible. I'm not sure if it's that way in the DVC villas, but I would verify.

In the original DVC building it is not an issue. BPK building I have heard the same as they were just hotels rooms that were converted to DVC.

 

[AstroBlasters]

you will still be able to get VGF at the 7 month mark if you feel the need (although in slightly higher points rooms).

I’ve read posts by the people who run the availability charts that they are noticing decreased availability at VGF relative to history…. no doubt due to the flood of points sold over the summer….so no guarantees there….

Agree with all of the positive BLT points.

 

[eticketplease]

I’ve read posts by the people who run the availability charts that they are noticing decreased availability at VGF relative to history…. no doubt due to the flood of points sold over the summer….so no guarantees there….

Agree with all of the positive BLT points.

I agree. I think the 11 month window is more valuable at VGF if you are seeking larger accommodations.
VGF sold a lot of studio only points with the BPK conversion and as those families grow it is going to be much tougher to get compared to BLT which has a good mixture of accomodations.

 

[intamin]

Thank you all so far for your thoughts. I guess I should have given a little more background on my life situation which certainly plays a factor in the decision.

We are a family of 5. Our children are now getting older in age 15, 12 and 9. As a family with our children we have visited Disney World 5 times since our oldest was 18 months old. We currently live full time in New York. Besides one stay at Caribbean Beach with my extended family, we have stayed at our families Marriott timeshare resorts.

We are getting to the point that the “family” vacations to Disney are going to be slowing down after 5 or so years because our children will be older and moving on in life. After that the plan is for my wife and I to enjoy it until hopefully our family starts to grow (marriages/grandkids). We intend on traveling a lot more in the future and would like to make Disney World a regular visit (ok I would like to make it a regular visit way more then my wife does lol).

We have typically stayed in October because we love Halloween and food and wine at Disney. We also have stayed over Thanksgiving break. But when it transitions to just my wife and I then I imagine food and wine along with early December Christmas visits will be the priority for us. Until down the line it transitions back to family visits.

For these reasons the access to Magic Kingdom and the monorail to Epcot is very appealing to us.

With the kids getting older and your wife seemingly not wanting to go as regularly are you sure you want to do this?

I know we’re a pretty big group of enablers here on disboards but there’s nothing wrong with renting points or maybe doing a smaller amount of resale points so you can make the trips happen every 2-3 years. One of the biggest benefits of renting is not only flexibility with your travel plans but you essentially have 11 month home priority at all resorts. It seems like you’re onboard with DVC but maybe your wife isn’t? Do you think your kids will age out of it? Will that affect how many points you will want to own?

If you're certain that DVC is something that you want to get into, the way I'd do it would be to buy 250 resale points at BLT, maybe split it into a 150 and a 100 or 2 125s or something. This is enough to get you a standard 1BR at BLT which will soon receive a refurb and you'll still have 2 bathrooms for you and the kids while they're growing up. Once they're a little older and spouses and etc. start coming into the mix, maybe consider adding on additional 100 points at BLT to get into 2BR land.

If you're certain you would rather stay at VGF over BLT, essentially do the same plan as above, but add 100 points to each level. For 1BR, estimate around 350, for 2BR estimate around 450 for a week.

Again though, I advise you to try them out before hand by renting points. There are things you just don't think about until you've stayed there. We thought we LOVED Grand Floridian based on what we saw in the lobby and was originally planning to buy there. We bought Riviera because we wanted an Epcot resort. About 2 months after buying RIV, we had a chance to stay at GF and quickly discovered we didn't really care for the room theming. We also didn't like the multiple building set up. On the other hand though a lot of people LOVE it and for good reason. Amazing dining, location, theming but it all comes down to personal preference which you won't know until you stay there.

 

[anytimeuwnt]

We are in the process of buying 220 points at BLT (just waiting on ROFR). We chose BLT for several reasons:

• We prefer 1 bedroom suites with 2 bathrooms
• It's an easy walk to MK
• Plenty of amenities at Contemporary (and a quick monorail ride to the Poly and Grand Floridian)
• Lower annual dues
• Price per point much lower as compared to the Gran Floridian
• Plenty of listings
• Refurbish will start soon

Two additional points of interest. We stayed at the newly refurbished Grand Floridian this past summer while at a conference and the noise in the room was horrible. I'm not sure if it's that way in the DVC villas, but I would verify. Additionally, I was looking at average wait times for the ROFR on a website and the only contract taken by Disney was for the VGF. Just food for thought.

This is EXACTLY what we did on my side. In the ROFR period for 250 at BLT for almost identical reasons.

Will probably own GF at some point as well but BLT was our #1.

 

[Disdreaming479]

New BLT owner here. I just booked late January week in a studio. Standard view was not only being walked, but filling up without much left over. So I booked lake view and WL SV. Waitlist took 5 days but GF still available for standard.
Also, does GF have Theme Park view for studios? I didn’t see any?? Not sure.
The number of points needed for your desired trips should be a consideration for sure.
Edit ok resort studio available in tpv.