Question for you DVC owners

[disneynutz]

I agree that VWL can be difficult to book during certain times of the year, that's why we bought there after not having luck at 7 months.

I also wonder how DVC Revenue assigns the inventory. We assume that it's first come first served but what if they hold back some 2 bedroom lock-offs and don't release the studio portion. Their goal is to maximize the DVC occupancy across all resorts and controlling the available inventory is one way to do it.

Bill

 

[bighoo93]

No need to get chippy with me.

Sorry Andrew. Just trying to explain what you called my "sound advice".

I'm not trying to ruffle your feathers. Rather, I'm just trying to point out that your previous statement, " Wilderness Lodge is among the easiest resorts to book for any room type at any time of year", is simply incorrect.

That's good because you'd have to work a lot harder if you wanted to ruffle my feathers. We're all friends here trying to help each other out.

In my experience, VWL was among the easiest resorts to book for any room type at any time of year (I also said "unless you expect to go during the Thanksgiving through New Year's period", during which almost every resort can be challenging). I mentioned later that I have not yet checked April or May, so maybe those will prove difficult as well and that would be consistent with your difficulty getting 9 nights in May. Of course, the other resorts might be similarly or even more difficult to book at those times...

SSR was definitely the easiest. OKW and VWL were right behind, and pretty close actually. That is just overall across the resorts/room types. And really, if you look across all of WDW-based DVC for the whole year, there are a lot more room types available than not at the 7 month mark. That doesn't mean you should buy points at a resort you would never want to stay at, but the cases where you need the home booking advantage to get a week are fewer than those where you don't, so it is worth at least considering whether you want to pay for it. Or, I should say, I find it worth considering, for me.

Just because you have had luck in the past, and because you can book VWL today at the 7 month window, doesn't mean that is the gospel for everyone.

I'm pretty sure I didn't say it was the gospel. I think I said it was what I would do, based on my experience. Anyone who wants to ignore it is free to do so. Things could certainly be different in the future, so in that sense we're all guessing. I find the past easier to predict than the future...

 

[bighoo93]

And for the record, I checked availability for 1 week in a studio in March at Today's 7 month window, and this is what I found:

Then maybe I am just lucky, because DVC let me reserve that timeframe LAST week, and it was available for every room type. Today, I can reserve the following week (and again, I won't disclose whether it was available or not...). If I am getting special reservation privileges from DVC, then I guess others should not go by my experience. Please don't tell DVC though!

 

[bighoo93]

I also wonder how DVC Revenue assigns the inventory. We assume that it's first come first served but what if they hold back some 2 bedroom lock-offs and don't release the studio portion. Their goal is to maximize the DVC occupancy across all resorts and controlling the available inventory is one way to do it.

That's a good point and an interesting question...

 

[Andrew015]

Sorry Andrew. Just trying to explain what you called my "sound advice".



That's good because you'd have to work a lot harder if you wanted to ruffle my feathers. We're all friends here trying to help each other out.

Glad we're starting to get on the same page! As I mentioned, some of it is luck of the draw, and it appears you have had good luck in your past experience. I think the general concensus around these parts is that VWL can be a little trickier than others, and for that reason, I would recommend to someone looking to purchase that they consider buying where they want to stay.

If you really don't care where you end up and have lots of flexibility, than I think the "buy where you can get points the cheapest" theory applies. I'm not quite sure where our OP, Steve, fits into this, but I think our dialogue back and forth has been productive and hopefully gives him a better idea of what he might come to expect at the 7 month window.

I'm pretty sure I didn't say it was the gospel. I think I said it was what I would do, based on my experience.

Perhaps I put a few words in your mouth, but you did say something to the effect of "I wouldn't pay extra to get the home resort booking window there unless you expect to go during the holidays". While Christmas is definitely the peak time of year at VWL, I think it's important to clarify that it doesn't guarantee you the room you want at 7 months. If you must have VWL, I would spend the extra money to buy there. If you are more flexible, then you might consider price as a bigger motivating factor.

Then maybe I am just lucky, because DVC let me reserve that timeframe LAST week, and it was available for every room type. Today, I can reserve the following week (and again, I won't disclose whether it was available or not...). If I am getting special reservation privileges from DVC, then I guess others should not go by my experience. Please don't tell DVC though!

Yes - you should be able to book the following week. I can book VWL 11 months out, so I quickly tried to back into the 7 month window manually, and forgot that you can actually reserve 1 week starting today. As of right now, the studio is available at the true 7 month window, but the fact that last week is already booked goes to show that things can and do change very quickly.

 

[DougEMG]

I am considering a Key West or Saratoga Springs resale. We've stayed at both and I like the point price. My question is: if I can book at any resort 7 months out, why would I spend more money on say Wilderness Lodge as opposed to Key West? Do available rooms get booked that fast?

Simple answer is that you can not always book what you want at 7 months out depending on what you want. If that wasn't true then everyone would buy SSR and then book at their favorite resort at 7 months.

If you are happy staying anywhere and taking your chance at the 7 month mark, buy at SSR.

If you won't be happy unless you get to stay at your favorite resort, buy that resort.

SSR, OKW and AKV are always the last resorts to book up and that is because they are the largest. VWL, BCV, BLT and BWV are always the first to book up. Looking at the number of rooms at each resort you can see why. Given that you have to take a bus from each of the 4 largest resorts is another reason they always book last.

Maximum rooms at each resort is
SSR 1320
OKW 761
AKV 708
BWV 532
BLT 428
BCV 282
VWL 181

I own SSR and OWV because they were the most economically to buy, but I own BWV because I want to make sure I can stay there.

If it was me and I was wanting to always stay at VWL, I'd buy there.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Steve, ignore the bickering. Sometimes being an owner ruffles your feathers if someone denigrates your home resort that you love so well.

Just take it at this. Seven months can be hard some times of the year. A few months out of the year, and a few resorts can be easier to get at seven months out. Just don't plan on the most popular resorts and locations during the DVC popular times.

If you give us an idea of when you might be booking your DVC stays, we could offer a little more information.

 

[staceymay00]

My family and I have been going to Disney about 1.5 times/year, for the last several years. We've stayed at both moderates and deluxe. Our children are 11 and 13; I foresee us going to Disney at least annually for quite awhile. We usually travel there in the summer/fall.

I am considering a Key West or Saratoga Springs resale. We've stayed at both and I like the point price. My question is: if I can book at any resort 7 months out, why would I spend more money on say Wilderness Lodge as opposed to Key West? Do available rooms get booked that fast?

Thanks so much!

Steve

It can be hard to switch resorts at certain times of the year. Our most common time to go to WDW is Thanksgiving week, Christmas/New Years and spring break (we have three busy kids in elementary and middle school and it works best for us to travel during school breaks). We own at OKW and really like it there, but we've started trying some new resorts when we can. It is tough to switch to most resorts Thanksgiving weekend, even if looking right at 7 months. We have stayed at OKW at Christmas/New Year's - never tried to switch resorts, but I imagine it is similar to Thanksgiving weekend for the actual holidays. This past spring break (not Easter), I could have booked a 2br anywhere I wanted right at 7 months. We never go to WDW in the summer because we prefer to go when the temps are lower and our kids are not busy with sports over the summer, but I think summer in general can be easier for switching at 7 months than a holiday weekend like Thanksgiving. Buy where you don't mind staying if you can't switch at 7 months, and if you have your heart set on a certain resort, I think it is worth spending more to own there.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[SteveW8002]

First of all thanks for all of your help. I now understand that 7 months out will be tuff for busy times of the year.

I made an offer for a loaded contract, and it was accepted at OKW for 270 points. My family and I really enjoyed staying there; we had a 1 bedroom and it was huge.

One of my favorite disney memories happened at OKW. My kids and I were coming back from the pool late one night and we decided to cut across the golf course (I know that were are not supposed to do that, but we didn't hurt the course any). We had just crested a hill when the fireworks from Epcot? started. We sat on the hill and watched them as long as they went on. It was magic for us.

Anyway I would like to try some other resorts; however would be happy to stay at OKW; so I guess it works for us.

One question; for those of you that have contracts at multiple resorts, can you combine points?

Steve

 

[DMKEDM]

Another crucial data point: CAN you (routinely) book 11 months out? If you can't, then home resort preference (ability to book 7-11 months prior to arrival) is pretty irrelevant.

This is pretty much the story of my life...I've owned DVC since 2006 (one master contract and 5 add-on's)...for a number of years we knew we would go to WDW for T-giving and so I did book that vacation at the 11-month mark...and for four of those years I wound up arriving a day or two early, or leaving a day or two late, because my son could not nail down his travel schedule that early...it was ok, as I didn't in the least mind "having to" spend an extra couple of days...but that was the only time of year I could plan 11 months ahead of time--and I could only do that while he was in college/law school. Now that he's working the best I can hope for (from him) is 3-4 months early...

DVC works best if you can plan 11 months out...but it can still work even when you're "trusting to luck" more like 5 or 4 or 3 months out--and believe it or not, I've found booking 6 weeks or so out is actually easier (at some times of the year--NOT the holidays, of course!) than 3-5 months out.

Anyway, when I bought my add-on points (5 separate times), I determined very quickly that home resort advantage is not a big factor for me (but since I love all the WDW DVC resorts, I don't care if I have "no choice" for a place to stay when I do go to book)...

So, do consider whether your life (and your traveling party's lives) will allow a commitment to travel 11 months ahead of time (or any sooner than 7 months)...if it doesn't, then the home resort advantage really doesn't matter much...

 

[DougEMG]

One question; for those of you that have contracts at multiple resorts, can you combine points?

If the points are under the same membership, then points at different resorts can only be combined at the 7 month mark.

So for example, if you owned at SSR and OKW under the same membership number, you could combine those points at 7 months to book a stay at BLT.

 

[DizBub]

I made an offer for a loaded contract, and it was accepted at OKW for 270 points. My family and I really enjoyed staying there; we had a 1 bedroom and it was huge.

Steve

Congratulations on making the decision and best of luck with ROFR!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...One question; for those of you that have contracts at multiple resorts, can you combine points?

Steve

If you have different master contract numbers (contracts are numbered 12345.001, 23456.001 instead of 12345.001 and 12345.002), you would have to transfer points from one contract to another. And transferred points retain their use year and resort. So you can't use OKW points and BLT points at 11 months out for BLT.

 

[Golden Rose]

Congratulations on your purchase!

I'll add a few quick thoughts. We've had good luck booking most resorts at the 7 month mark when we've only wanted to do between 1 and 3 nights, but had a lot more trouble when we wanted longer. If you don't mind doing split stays, you won't have any trouble most of the year. (We pretty much always do split stays right now because DS absolutely adores AKV, but we prefer the convenience to parks of other resorts.)

We've gotten Aulani, BCV (but just one night), VWL (just 2 nights), SSR, AKV, and BWV (we own at AKV and BWV, but were planning last minute trips) at 7 months or less. We have not had luck getting BLT, but I know several people who have, so I think we just had bad luck.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I will add that through the life of your contract your preferred resort will change.
A family with small children will spend a majority of time at the Magic Kingdom. A monorail resort is convenient for one parent to go back with a napping child.
Older kids will love the pool at Beach Club. Then as teens they will be annoyed by all the kids there. Our older teens' favorite parks were Epcot and DHS so Boardwalk was very convenient. As empty nesters we love the peace of Old Key West and hubby loves the golf so convenient there. As new grandparents I can't wait to take grandson to the waterplay area at Kidani when he is big enough and sit on the balcony with him watching the animals. When our married kids go the cycle begins again with them wanting near MK with the little ones.
Who knows what new parks, attractions, and resorts will be built in the next 20-30 years.
We bought both our contracts based on where we like to stay and the fact that BWV has cheaper standard points (and we love location well we love everything about it even the clown pool) and AKV has the various categories that we might not get at the 7 month window.
We love OKW and thought about buying there but did not because we feel we can always get in there. We felt the couple thousand dollar price difference to get the other resorts was worth it over the many years of the contracts.

 

[bakerworld]

First 3 years we owned DVC we were happy with anything that came thru but after year 4 we started to get 'picky'. We like the F&W and couldn't get anything at BCV or BWV for the month of October/November. This year and last year we've done pkgs thru SW for the Dolphin. This year we bought 55 pts at BCV so that every other year we'd be sure to be able to book BCV for the F&W.

We own our largest contract at AKL but we've only stayed there twice for short stays - this coming March will be our longest stay at AKL (5N) but we're going for Spring Training. Our park tickets expire in February so we might drive over to Universal for a day and do an evening at City Walk.

Sometimes it's not about where you own but other times where you own becomes an issue.

 

[wn01aa]

I was wondering if you need to already have your year points available when you book? For example, if I get my 200 points in June but want to travel in November, would I have to wait till June and get the points first or could I book 11 months before November knowing the points will be added in June before I go?

Thanks

 

[lovin'fl]

I was wondering if you need to already have your year points available when you book? For example, if I get my 200 points in June but want to travel in November, would I have to wait till June and get the points first or could I book 11 months before November knowing the points will be added in June before I go?

Thanks

You are talking about booking this Dec for Nov 2014 and your points come in June 2014, right? If so, yes they will book that and use those points as they are your points for that UY (from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015)...you can also borrow from the following June UY points for the Nov trip (and could have banked this June UY points and used them as well). When booking it goes by the date the vacation falls, not really when you book.

 

[kristenrice]

...AKV has the various categories that we might not get at the 7 month window.
We love OKW and thought about buying there but did not because we feel we can always get in there. We felt the couple thousand dollar price difference to get the other resorts was worth it over the many years of the contracts.

THIS is exactly why we chose AKV over OKW. On our honeymoon, back in 2002, DH and I walked into the lobby at the AKL and the first words out of my mouth were, "If they ever build a DVC here, I HAVE to have it!". When we decided to buy, we only wanted 100 points. We loved the 1BR's at OKW and we'd already stayed there twice, but then we saw the points chart for AKV. The value category would really allow us to stretch our points and go two out of three years instead of every other as we'd initially planned. I knew that with only 10 value 1BR's available, we would need the home resort advantage. I also knew that since we prefer 1BR's, we would have no problem booking at OKW at the 7-month window.

We've since added on 50 points at HHI since spring break is becoming almost impossible at 7 months. We got lucky in 2011 and snagged a 1BR without waitlisting for Easter week, but I don't want to chance it again. There are only 21 1BR's and 21 studios at HHI so the home resort advantage has become necessary there too. Perhaps even more so because there is only ONE choice. There is no resort swapping at 7 months. If it is booked up before 7 months, most people are not planning on changing out at the 7 month window. Our 50 points get us our 5 nights in a 1BR every three years (our "off" WDW year) for 135 points. The extra 15 points get used at WDW if we decide to stay somewhere besides AKV.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I was wondering if you need to already have your year points available when you book? For example, if I get my 200 points in June but want to travel in November, would I have to wait till June and get the points first or could I book 11 months before November knowing the points will be added in June before I go?

Thanks

As long as your June 2014 points are available for a trip in Nov 2014, you can book that in December 2013. But if you have borrowed them or banked them or sold them or transferred them and they are gone, you would have to borrow from June 2015 to book that stay.