should we buy ?

[sznk]

hello -
I've been studying this extremely helpful forum full time for the past several days and I'm so impressed by the wealth of info here!
I know that 'should we buy?' is not a new question, but I'd appreciate any feedback from DVC Members (or prospective ones.)
We've been Central Florida residents for the last few years, semi-retired empty-nesters, and long-time WDW fans. We would be looking to stay a few nites at a time, in a Studio, Sunday thru Thursday period, mostly Oct to Feb time frame. Our dates would be very flexible - long or short notice.
We qualify for FL res discounts for rooms and passes.
We're considering ~ 160 points at SSR with an add-on of ~60-75 points at BCV (if/when available) with a Sept UY. Probably a TSS resale for SSR, & BCV from Disney(?)
We'd be happy at SSR, VWL, or OKW most of the time, but figure getting in to BCV will be difficult without the Home Resort advantage. I guess I'm taking a combo approach of where-you-want-to-stay-the-most and where-you-wouldn't-mind-staying. Since we don't need BCV all the time and the points there cost more, we'd be happy with 5 or 6 nites a year there, but it sounds like we'd need the extra 4-month window.

Does this make sense, or do I need to do more research and math?
thanks so much - all input appreciated.

me - , dh -

 

[ss0414]

Subscribing...

 

[CarolMN]

Random thoughts for you -

Ar you sure you need 220 - 235 points? Studios will cost between 11 &13 points per night for the months (and days of the week) you plan to visit. That's between 17 and 21 nights per year. That seems like a lot of nights for someone who lives in Central Florida. Have you considered just buying a small resale package to see how it works out for you?

Since you are Florida residents and probably won't go during peak park times, you can take advantage of the Florida resident seasonal pass and room rates. Unless you are looking to upgrade your accommodations to a 1 bedroom or want to treat visiting family & friends, I can't see DVC being much of a value for you. Have you had trouble finding/booking Florida resident rates at your preferred resorts(s)??

 

[sznk]

Random thoughts for you -
Ar you sure you need 220 - 235 points? Studios will cost between 11 &13 points per night for the months (and days of the week) you plan to visit. That's between 17 and 21 nights per year. That seems like a lot of nights for someone who lives in Central Florida. Have you considered just buying a small resale package to see how it works out for you?
Since you are Florida residents and probably won't go during peak park times, you can take advantage of the Florida resident seasonal pass and room rates. Unless you are looking to upgrade your accommodations to a 1 bedroom or want to treat visiting family & friends, I can't see DVC being much of a value for you. Have you had trouble finding/booking Florida resident rates at your preferred resorts(s)??

You make some excellent points. Yes, we have Seasonal Passes. Several times a year, we say "It would be nice to stay here for a few days..." I'm not an early riser, and making the hour drive early in the morning isn't my thing. If we're already there, it's a lot easier to get going.

We typically can get a FL Res rate at a value or moderate, but we'd like to stay at a deluxe resort / villa for less than $300 - $400 a nite. We often want to stay with short notice, and I've found consistently that the FL Res rate for deluxe is elusive.
We're also interested in going to VB occasionally. We've been disappointed a few times staying at hotels for the first time. We figure with DVC villas, we have a good chance of it being a very decent place.

Any input on booking at BCV without BCV points?

thanks.

 

[VrBchJ]

I too am a FL resident and own at BWV. I purchased specifically to be near Epcot for Food and Wine. My travel is probably similar to yours. I go several times a year for short visits. Other than Food and Wine and Dec. I am pretty flexible with my travel dates. I've stayed at BCV a couple of times but always have a pretty wide range of dates available. I've never tried for a Holiday periods but have had good success during Flower and Garden at 7 months. But again, I am only looking for 3-4 days during the Sun.-Fri. time period, usually in a studio and with a pretty open ended time frame. I prefer the BWV because of the standard view rooms are lower points so I can make my points go farther.

 

[crisi]

Have you stayed in the DVC side?

If I were looking for a Deluxe room, I'd be disappointed with every DVC Villa I've ever stayed in. They are nice, but they can be a little shabby (which is fine, keeps dues low). On the other hand, studios can be wonderful for empty nesters - since they have a couch and queen bed (except at OKW) - often a much nicer layout than a regular hotel room for a coupel.

 

[DMKEDM]

We've owned DVC for about 15 months now...have booked BCV three times--once in late May, once for August and once for January, 2008. For the May and January trips, I booked at 7 months out and did not waitlist either time. For the AUgust trip I booked at 5 months out and had to use the wait list to fill in four of 10 days that were not available at the time I booked. All four days came through at different times, and all came in within three weeks. Last May's and AUgust's trips were in a studio; this upcoming January's is in a one bedroom.

From reading DISBoards, it would seem booking BCV at 7 months is more of a challenge than I've found it to be--altho I note that May, August and January are not "high use" times like October-December are. Although I note for the record that our upcoming January trip "butts up" against the Marathon...we'll be checking out a day after most marathoners will be checking in...

So, if I were you, I'd be inclined to calculate the points I'd probably use for a year's worth of trips, and buy half that many--planning on borrowing next year's points to "test out" the first year of travel planning. (Also, the year you buy you seem to get the functional equivalent of "extra" points if you buy thru Disney...for example, we bought in June and got a Feb UY...so we had all 150 (the minimum buy-in at the time) points in June, and another 150 in Feb...felt like "extra points" to me)...

Then, after a few months of seeing how it goes, you can plan your add-on. If you had trouble booking BCV at the times you thought you might like to go there, you can plan to add on BCV points. If you find you have no trouble w/BCV bookings that fit your travel patterns, then you can decide whether you want your points at BCV for other reasons, or if you need more points at all...don't forget: the home resort booking advantage is only an advantage for bookies from 11 to 7 months out...after 7 months, it won't matter at all.

Sounds more complicated than it is. But in retrospect, I'm glad we started with the minimum...it gave us a chance to discover how we're using our DVC (at least for now). We have added on (3 times!) and now seem to have hit the right number of points with the right combination of ownership (we have most of our points at SSR, and a few at BCV so we can do an occasional holiday/Food & Wine at BCV)...

Good luck w/your decision...

 

[mikesmom]

Since your preferred travel time is Oct through February I would say you will need that BCV home advantage unless you want your BCV time to be in February. Starting 1st week of October (for Food & Wine) straight through the first week of January, just about all the Epcot resort area sells out before the 7 month window. The F&W fest rolls into Thanksgiving, followed by the early December preferred time for DVCers, followed by the Christmas holidays. Both BWV and BCV can be a real challenge during that time. During Jan and February there are still spots of business: the Marathon, Presidents Day and MLK birthday come to mind. If you can work around those, you will probably be fine.

I would say your strategy to have a few points at BCV is an excellent one. Remember, though, for that 11 month window to really be of value, you have to be prepared to actually use it - make reservations 10 or 11 months out. It won't do you any good for last minute spontaneous trips.

 

[sznk]

thanks so much for your replies. no matter what they tell you at WDW, the feedback from Members is invaluable.