Rookie

[Chancedog]

Hello folks. I am going to buy this week and not sure 200 pints will be enough. Family of 4 that does not mind a studio. Old Key West is where we are thinking because of the size. Any suggestions for a rookie before I buy?

Thanks,

Joe from NH

 

[disneynutz]

Hello folks. I am going to buy this week and not sure 200 pints will be enough. Family of 4 that does not mind a studio. Old Key West is where we are thinking because of the size. Any suggestions for a rookie before I buy?

Thanks,

Joe from NH

Take the time to do more research and decide which resort and UY will serve you best.

We didn't mind a studio, but now we are a 1 bedroom family. We use to spend all day in the parks, now we don't. BCV use to be our favorite resort, now BWV is. We bought BLT without staying there first, and it has turned out to be our least favorite resort.

Bill

 

[arthur06]

We bought BLT without staying there first, and it has turned out to be our least favorite resort.

Bill

We did the same thing. I gave DW the choice of picking where she wanted. She thought that staying with a MK view would be the best. Now, every trip she wants AKL!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We bought 175 points at OKW when all the choice we had was OKW, BWV, HHI and VB. We didn't like BWV and we knew we didn't want VB or HHI. Plus we really like the way OKW looked.

Fast Forward 13 years and we still love OKW the best. SSR is great, VWL is wonderful, BCV is very nice. BLT takes a lot of points. AKV doesn't take so many points, but we just don't like the looks. VGC might be nice, but we won't go there often.

Check out the various resorts. Look at what it takes for points. OKW studios are the only ones at WDW that have two queen beds (the rest have one queen and one double sleeper sofa). Do you like a hotel style resort? Or do you like a neighborhood style resort (like OKW and SSR)?

Is there a type of villa that you will want in the future that if you can't get it at 11 months out, you won't get it at all? Grand Villas, AKV Concierge, BLT MK view, etc are some that come to mind.

About Use Year. If you think you will go a certain time of the year, get a UY that is slightly before that. So if you have to cancel, you will still have enought time to make another reservation and go before the points expire or before it's too late to bank them (no later than four months before the end of your UY).

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ttepsich]

If you are buying resale, I would buy several small contracts. Maybe 75 or 100 points each. That way if you need to sell down the road, smaller contracts tend to sell quicker. You can always add on points through Disney as well.

 

[iloveokw]

Ok ....we've been owners since 1996...why buy and pay dues to stay in a slightly larger hotel room? The older your kids are the less likely you will want to stay in a studio and you will have to work around their school schedules and activities....no more off season. Been there done that....

 

[deerislemaine]

We were in your situation and just bought 250 points resale from SSR. We are very pleased-- have a family of 5 with kids 12, 10, and 3. We'll use two bedrooms or a treehouse. We could fit into the 1BR that are renovated, but we like the extra space. Last year we had grandparents too, and that worked out great.

We were also able to find a resale contract at SSR that was loaded with 2010 points and 2011 points coming. The price seemed to be close the same as those without extra points. We preferred to buy into one contract rather than several smaller ones, but we don't plan on selling any time soon. We also like both SSR and OKW, so we're fine with one contract. I can see the rationale if you wanted to stay somewhere else.

 

[wcpamotm]

You mention that you don't mind studios. It is important to carefully consider whether that will always be the case.

What you don't mention is how often you may want to visit the World. Twice are year (or more?) Maybe every other or every third year? Lots of owners plan for that, but you need to become familiar and comfortable with banking and borrowing.

 

[LSchrow]

Take the time to do more research and decide which resort and UY will serve you best. Bill

there is no better advice

add us to the ones who bought into a resort they don't care for (BCV, in our case). at least we also own at BWV (our absolute favorite), as well as SSR (the most gorgeous of the "quieter" resorts, imho).

initially, we had a guide who helped with use year, which has kept our membership usage easy (minimal banking/borrowing except with the BCV points).

it's a big purchase, and should be researched as such - enjoy

 

[Chancedog]

All very good advice and I can't thank you enough! We made the purchase yesterday and got 250 points at OKW. I tend to think we will want something bigger than a studio at some point, so 250 seemed to be the way to go for now. We booked our first week in February, but because we were so late, we ended up having to stay at BLT. Don't get me wrong, we are excited to stay there, but was hoping for our home resort the first time.

We are just so happy to finally be DVC owners!

We broke the contracts down in 100, 100, and 50 points per just in case we have to shed them down the line. We did end up going Disney direct for the piece of mind. It just worked out better this way and I have to say they were awesome. Even welcomed us home for our first reservation call. Sweeeeet

--Joe

 

[a742246]

You did the right thing buying with smaller contracts. Enjoy!!!!

 

[browniemtb]

Our main criteria was to be able to walk to at least 1 park or 2. So we bought BWV....I toured during a business trip at the Swan so I was familiar with the property but the DW did not. She actually trusted me with the purchase decision now she doesn't even want to stay anywhere else. She loves it there and the kids do to. Lots to do and great location. Good luck with your decision....

 

[ttepsich]

WELCOME HOME!!!!

 

[dmoore22]

Hello folks. I am going to buy this week and not sure 200 pints will be enough. Family of 4 that does not mind a studio. Old Key West is where we are thinking because of the size. Any suggestions for a rookie before I buy?

Thanks,

Joe from NH

Everyone has brought up great considerations. We were a family of eight at the time we bought at OKW. We started with 300 pts which we bought resale that included 286 banked points. We immediately found a 100 pt add-on at a reasonable price. We are now a family of three, soon to be two, with our youngest going away to college next fall. Even now we still discuss whether to add-on or not. Invariably at least one of our children that has moved away will come with us when we visit. For example, this Christmas we will be down there from Missouri with our youngest and our #3 daughter will be flying in from Boston to meet us at OKW. We now visit multiple times a year. Last fall we flew in for a long weekend to participate in the Food & Wine Festival, something we could have never done when we first joined and all the children were with us. Of course we now have grand-kids which we anticipate will again impact our vacation habits in the not too distant future. OKW is our home resort and, even though it wasn't our first choice when we were looking for a resale, it has turned out to be a much better than what our first choice would have been. I guess the short answer is that 200 pts may be enough for a start but, invariably, add-on-itis will kick in. You can always add on later.

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

good luck

 

[Candy Orlando]

Congratulations!! Welcome Home!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Everyone has brought up great considerations. We were a family of eight at the time we bought at OKW. We started with 300 pts which we bought resale that included 286 banked points. We immediately found a 100 pt add-on at a reasonable price. We are now a family of three, soon to be two, with our youngest going away to college next fall. Even now we still discuss whether to add-on or not. Invariably at least one of our children that has moved away will come with us when we visit. For example, this Christmas we will be down there from Missouri with our youngest and our #3 daughter will be flying in from Boston to meet us at OKW. We now visit multiple times a year. Last fall we flew in for a long weekend to participate in the Food & Wine Festival, something we could have never done when we first joined and all the children were with us. Of course we now have grand-kids which we anticipate will again impact our vacation habits in the not too distant future. OKW is our home resort and, even though it wasn't our first choice when we were looking for a resale, it has turned out to be a much better than what our first choice would have been. I guess the short answer is that 200 pts may be enough for a start but, invariably, add-on-itis will kick in. You can always add on later.

This is a very good post and says nearly exactly what I would also recommend. We started with 230 points and after a year added another 150. Our 380 have served us well for 13 years, but we added on a small contract a couple years ago when AKV opened. We now have 449 points, and it seems to be an excellent number for us. Bear in mind that we are in our mid 60's and have adult children but no grandchildren (probably never will have any), so our needs are probably a bit less than some. We usually do Disney 2-3 times a year.

 

[dmoore22]

This is a very good post and says nearly exactly what I would also recommend. We started with 230 points and after a year added another 150. Our 380 have served us well for 13 years, but we added on a small contract a couple years ago when AKV opened. We now have 449 points, and it seems to be an excellent number for us. Bear in mind that we are in our mid 60's and have adult children but no grandchildren (probably never will have any), so our needs are probably a bit less than some. We usually do Disney 2-3 times a year.

NO WAY!!! I could have sworn you were at least in your late 20's or early 30's!!!