We have never had a problem so far getting resorts other than SSR. We normally call right at the 7 month window and have always has success. We have a March use year and tend to travel in the summer months and occasionally the first weekend of October.
Yikes - I may have found the one thing that would make me change my mind on the BLT location being awesome. I don't need easy access to food, but I do need Coke Zero readily available. Hopefully Amazon Prime Now carries CZ for me.
I would not buy at this time in this situation. A less than ideal choice can cost significant money and create much aggravation. I'd rent for a trip and allot some time to explore the DVC resorts. Then if it made sense to purchase, I'd only buy one location and try it before finalizing the additional purchase, like in a couple of more years.
Don't they have the drink stations still at the BLT pool?
Certainly DVC will change and our preferences will change over the years. IMO that makes it more important to make good choices up front, not less. The cost (lost savings) for 1-2 trips renting privately is relatively low, the cost of making a bad choice up front could easily be 5 figures but could be as low as 10%. Basically no new buyers new to DVC truly know what they want long term but they can educate themselves enough to make better choices. A retail purchase that's a bad choice can be very expensive but a SSR purchase that ends up not fitting isn't so bad. I'm a big fan of coming to the middle. Don't buy too small (usually under 150) but for larger projected need, underbuy in terms of resort and # of points and give it a try. Maybe buy SSR or BLT (2 best values) and maybe 150-200 when you think you need 300. That way you can easily adjust with little to no cost later.
At this point I foresee our needs changing significantly over the course of the years since we will most likely change which parks we visit and will need more space as our children age. So we currently plan to buy 50 points each at BLT, BWV, and Poly. That should get us a 1 week split stay in a studio at Poly and BWV approx every other year for now and then we can hopefully combine the points for a 1 BR split stay between BLT and BWV when we've out grown the studios. We like split stays since that allows us to mostly avoid buses and gives us the opportunity to buy the dining plan for only a portion of the trip. That should also give us the option of adding on a few days in the summer when my work trip is close by (some years we're an hour away from Orlando and others we are 3+ hours out), or we can hopefully sell any excess points in these early years when we don't need a 1 BR. The only potential down-side is if 1 BRs get harder to obtain at the 7 month mark - we will be obligated to follow school calendars at the time we will start needing the 1 BR and will have to go at peak times. Or squeeze ourselves into studios forever with a 3 way split stay
We're definitely "make do" kind of people, so we are much more likely to live with a "bad" decision than to sell what we bought and buy in the "better" location. Especially since we think our ideal will change from trip to trip. Thanks for your help!
Great attitude and I appreciate everyone's two cents! When you're switching at 7 months out - is this for 1 BR or studio? We plan to get studios for a while, which seem kind of hard to obtain on the shorter notice.I debated posting to this thread, as I have yet to make my first DVC trip. However, I will throw my two cents in and you can decide if it is worth the asking price.
We purchased SSR resale last October sight unseen. Why? Because we knew we were going to Disney on a reoccuring basis, we needed more room than a value room could provide, and we liked the idea of staying at any of the DVC resorts - even SSR. Resale was the only economical choice for us - perks or no perks. We were able to switch to AKV Kidani Savannah room at 7 months for our first trip. I have my second trip scheduled and have 3 different resorts I am willing to change to at 7 months for that, but if we have to keep our ressie at SSR I am still going to Disney. I am not picky - as long as I am in the Disney bubble.
So, I am more than comfortable with our purchase without seeing SSR. I DID buy where I wanted to stay: Disney property.
PS Dean - we did exactly as you posted above and bought in at the 150 point level. It seems to be the right amount... for now.
Bill
No one will make the perfect choice unless they just luck out. But the better choice we can all make, the better off we will all be. IMO it's about limiting risk and making the best choices possible which usually means missing out on a trip or 2 on points and spending TIME investigating.I debated posting to this thread, as I have yet to make my first DVC trip. However, I will throw my two cents in and you can decide if it is worth the asking price.
We purchased SSR resale last October sight unseen. Why? Because we knew we were going to Disney on a reoccuring basis, we needed more room than a value room could provide, and we liked the idea of staying at any of the DVC resorts - even SSR. Resale was the only economical choice for us - perks or no perks. We were able to switch to AKV Kidani Savannah room at 7 months for our first trip. I have my second trip scheduled and have 3 different resorts I am willing to change to at 7 months for that, but if we have to keep our ressie at SSR I am still going to Disney. I am not picky - as long as I am in the Disney bubble.
So, I am more than comfortable with our purchase without seeing SSR. I DID buy where I wanted to stay: Disney property.
PS Dean - we did exactly as you posted above and bought in at the 150 point level. It seems to be the right amount... for now.
One of the reasons I'm not a fan of just buy and try is your last statement, that people won't sell if they made a bad choice but they will be unhappy with the system because of the situation they put themselves into. Personally I'm not a big fan of multiple small contracts at multiple resorts, esp going into the system. It has a significant cost involved and creates other aggravations and risks. As a minimum I'd buy the one that you think is your best option and see how it goes before proceeding. In this situation I also think one needs a cushion of at least 20% above the projected usage and possibly more. Possibly enough to get a 1 BR at least part of the trips. I don't like the bank/borrow plan as it adds significant risk if one has to change/cancel or can't get the desired reservation.At this point I foresee our needs changing significantly over the course of the years since we will most likely change which parks we visit and will need more space as our children age. So we currently plan to buy 50 points each at BLT, BWV, and Poly. That should get us a 1 week split stay in a studio at Poly and BWV approx every other year for now and then we can hopefully combine the points for a 1 BR split stay between BLT and BWV when we've out grown the studios. We like split stays since that allows us to mostly avoid buses and gives us the opportunity to buy the dining plan for only a portion of the trip. That should also give us the option of adding on a few days in the summer when my work trip is close by (some years we're an hour away from Orlando and others we are 3+ hours out), or we can hopefully sell any excess points in these early years when we don't need a 1 BR. The only potential down-side is if 1 BRs get harder to obtain at the 7 month mark - we will be obligated to follow school calendars at the time we will start needing the 1 BR and will have to go at peak times. Or squeeze ourselves into studios forever with a 3 way split stay
Exactly, Murphy was an optimist. Things happen, limit risk wherever possible both on the DVC side and the personal side. I've seen too many things happen to people that could have been prevented. The savings on one or 2 trips is not worth a bad decision that could be prevented. But there does come a time when one has to decide whether they are in or out.I try to offer information that may keep readers from making the same mistakes that we have made. Reading about something is much different than living it and it seems that we all need to live it to see things for ourselves.
My advice isn't going to fit your thoughts all that well. Once you get up to around every 36 months, IMO, DVC no longer makes sense. So the question is how likely would it be to go over 36 months and how soon would you get there. Personally I disagree with the idea of buying smaller contracts to have resale options, rarely it makes sense for home priority options. It has has cost, roughly $2500 on 150 points for 3 contracts and since I don't feel buying to sell is reasonable, it's cost that's unnecessary. I also am not convinced they'll be worth more long term, they may be but they may not, I give it 50/50.
I'm jealous. We decided to stop by Disney for 3 days after my work trip mid-June and there are no studios available to rent during our stay and very limited 1 BR options. So we are debating if we'll get a villa direct with Disney or keep checking to see if anyone cancels. Seems like a long shot at this point for us.
