So you can buy at one resort and never go there?

[Dean]

There are other differences in ownership, if a disaster like a hurricane or fire destroys your home resort, or even just the "unit" in which you own, you could be prevented from using your points until your unit is rebuilt and re-opened.. If DVC decides it is too costly to rebuild, or or isn't worth it (like if it is fairly close to the end of the contract) you will receive your percentage of whatever proceeds are received from insurance, and you'll no longer be a DVC owner. There are a lot nuances and "what ifs" some of them highly unlikely, but still possible.

Certainly if the section of the resort you own at is out of commission permanently, you cease to be a member of the club. However, the POS states that members who are temporarily without a home still can use their points at other resorts during the interim. IMO, HH and VB are at the highest risk of such issues but still not that high.

I've been one of the buy where you want to stay people over the years but have changed somewhat recently due to changing information and economics. IMO, the price difference has become large enough to make the risk worth it for many people to take the chance at the 7 month window esp for buying SSR and possibly OKW extended. You're talking a potential $35 a point difference currently for a 6 year difference in RTU with no real anticipated long term difference in fees. HH and VB will still likely be more, esp VB. BLT may cont to be a little less simply because the fees are spread over more points. If you want a specific resorts almost every visit and/or a difficult to get time or room type it still may be worth it to spend the extra but for many it is currently not. At $20 a point difference it made sense to buy the planned destination, it may not at $35 a point differential.

I say SSR and possibly OKW because they're cheaper to buy resale, likely will have controlled if not lower fees long term and you can still reserve your trip at 11 months out then WL if necessary at 7 months. And as others have noted, it's not necessarily an all or none as you can have some points at one resort and some at others.

 

[bnlbebes]

We own all of our points at HHI but have never stayed there.

Just wanted to add that we are also HH owners who have never stayed there on our HH points. We bought in after staying for a week on our BWV points.

I used this as an example for another DVC owner, new to the membership, to reassure her that she should never be "stuck" with points. There's always a way to put them to good use.

 

[melanie18]

We bought DVC in 2001 at VWL. We go to WDW at least 2x a year and never stayed at VWL until 2007!

 

[yitbos96bb]

It actually holds true up to a point - and you are seeing it with Christmas right now. There are people who want to move around - which will free up rooms for other people to move around - but everything is booked up so tight that very little moving is happening.

Also, it doesn't really hold true for some rooms at some resorts at some types of year. Enough people bough BWV/BCV to stay there specifically for Food and Wine that those resorts don't tend to have a lot of availability for non-owners. Other times of year - sure (well, except December). A similar situation happens with VWL over the holidays - its such a Christmasy resort that a lot of people bought points there specifically for those rooms at those times.

The other issue is that there are resorts people LOVE and bought into because that is where they want to stay - no one was paying a $10 a point premium two years ago to get ten less years at BCV because they intended to stay over at SSR. So while SOME BCV owners will stay other places, many stay home - and probably at a greater proportion than some other resorts. Combine that with a small resort - when the post BCV trend has been much larger resorts - and BCV availability is often much tighter. (And I know that some people love SSR and bought there only to stay there as well).

I got in to BWV with no problem for F and W this year.

Yes, some room types you will have issues with. That is of course unavoidable.

As for Christmas... if you mean the holiday season, then most people I know have had little problem. If you mean the week between Xmas and New Years then yes, that's a little more challenging... however, I know several people who booked then and had no problems getting what they want, including BCV and BLT at the 7 month window. Not sure who you have been talking too... and certainly there is always a chance that you can't get in...

Ultimately, I agree... its not always easy to get EXACTLY what you want... like a std view BWV for example... unless you are an owner... but if you are somewhat flexible (Another type of BWV room, or a BCV room) and are willing to call right at 7 months... then its not as hard as you insinuate...

The one point I will concede it this... It WAS much easier when people had to call in daily instead of the current booking policy. However, I have had no problems getting either the exact resort I want or a good alternative (BWV instead of BCV) during Christmas or F and W and the people I know who book at those times have not had issues either.

 

[mickeymom629]

We own at HH & VB. We have never been to VB and have only stayed at HH 2 nights on the drive back home after a Disney cruise in January. At the time we bought at HH, the dues were the cheapest there. We bought an add on at VB because of the incentive at the time.

We go to WDW during peak times, needing 2 bedrooms and I have not had a problem staying somewhere on property. I don't always get my first choice if I call too late, but we can usually count on OKW. Best luck was calling day by day, but I don't know how the new booking system will affect my future luck.

 

[crisi]

I got in to BWV with no problem for F and W this year.

This year seemed really atypical for F&W bookings. My guess is that a lot of people who take two trips - one a F&W trip - decided that with the economy they would only take one longer trip - and it wouldn't be over Food and Wine. There have been people who have called for any Epcot resort over F&W in the past at seven months and never gotten it, not even with the waitlist.


And I suspect you and I are saying the same thing - I'm not saying its impossible - or even unlikely - that moving around will be easy - I'm saying that certain rooms at certain times will be difficult (never impossible - I've seen people report amazing things - Boardwalk Views for F&W five months out), but that if your hearts desire is to always stay at BCV, you'd be foolish to buy anything but BCV and book eleven months out.

I'd rather set people's expectations at "we might get lucky" and have them delighted when there is availability, then set expectations at "there won't be any problems" and have them disappointed when things are tougher than they think. Particularly when someone is making their purchasing decision.

(I'm a fan of "Buy where you won't be disappointed to stay" - in fact, I think I'm the originator of the idea that "buy where you want to stay" might be too strong for a lot of people and that most people, who don't have their heart set on something, will do fine owning any DVC resort. But we are sort of the poster children for this idea - I love VWL, we own BWV, which I like, and I'd stay at BCV, AKL or BLT. I dislike SSR and OKW enough that if I was regularly getting 'stuck' there, I wouldn't own DVC. And we almost always plan more than a year out.)

 

[CarolMN]

I got in to BWV with no problem for F and W this year. ...(snip)..........

...... I'm not saying its impossible - or even unlikely - that moving around will be easy - I'm saying that certain rooms at certain times will be difficult (never impossible - I've seen people report amazing things - Boardwalk Views for F&W five months out), but that if your hearts desire is to always stay at BCV, you'd be foolish to buy anything but BCV and book eleven months out.

I'd rather set people's expectations at "we might get lucky" and have them delighted when there is availability, then set expectations at "there won't be any problems" and have them disappointed when things are tougher than they think. Particularly when someone is making their purchasing decision...........)

There are always far more who try and don't get in, than those who do get in. There are far more reports of people asking about waitlist prospects for the smaller resorts than there ever are for the larger resorts.

As membership grows, the competition increases for space at the smaller WDW DVC resorts. It's mostly about the numbers.

Space at the smaller resorts is fixed. AND, ss already mentioned, there are many who specifically bought at the smaller resorts to stay there (many of them after being shut out a few times at 7 months). That further reduces the space available at 7 months.

Couple that with the increasing numbers of members who own elsewhere that want the space, and you can see that the odds of getting in at 7 months are decreasing. It is not a good idea to buy with the idea that you can always stay at one of the smaller resorts by booking at 7 months.

As crisi posted, it's not impossible, but it's certainly not likely. Most who are successful either called the exact minute the window opened, booked for a slower time or were able to successfully use the waitlist process.

 

[CMOORE185]

We rarely stay at the resorts we bought at. We travel mainly spring break, F&W, and summer and have rarely had a problem getting resorts we want.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I own at BW and BLT because that's where I want to STAY ALL THE TIME.

I recently got developer points for SSR and had NO desire to stay there. I just didn't want to give up the BW location. But to me that is what is important to me. Even though your rooms are paid for, you still have to buy tickets, plane fare and food. We usually go 1 time per year and for me staying at SSR just wouldn't have the magic that the BW has. You may feel differently. But after experience a resort close to the parks for a few trips will you like SSR location? I love just being close to the parks, I feel that the less time I spend traveling to the parks, the more time I can enjoy them.

Also, I love VB and like to stay there for about 2 nights per year(but I don't own there (at least not yet) However, right now I'm up in the air about whether or not I will be able to get in at 7 months as its President day weekend that I will be going. So I have my BW and BLT stay all planned, my plane tickets, rent a car- BUT no guarantee at this point if I have VB.

Right now with the economy the way it is, there is so much availability. I was speaking with MS and telling her that I"m always in borrow mode and she said that your lucky!! Lucky? For being in borrow mode? Yes, she replied because so many people are letting their points expire because they don't have the money to come here. Once the economy is booming again, and more and more people start going to Disney again, what will your chances be to get into the BCV, BW or the BLT?

 

[stampinshauna]

I own at SSR and have never stayed there. I do have intentions to stay there, but since it is such a big resort, they (almost) always have availability, so I figure I'll stay there sometime. I just find out what is available when I'm booking and I try different places. If some of the smaller, more sought out resorts have rooms available and I haven't tried them, that is what I book.

I also own at the VGC and I have every intention to stay there. Since that is a small resort and is the only one in California, the 11 month window is pretty important. I did take the standard advice on this one to buy where you want to stay.

 

[Goofy DVC]

I love posts like this, because when we bought in 93 OKW was the only game in town and that was all we really ever expected.Boy has DVC changed in 15 plus years. I wonder what we'll be posting 15 years from now

 

[Crystal_27]

but that if your hearts desire is to always stay at BCV, you'd be foolish to buy anything but BCV and book eleven months out.

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. When we were looking into buying DVC, DH and I discussed all of our options. And, while buying resale is sooooo attractive due to the fact that you can basically get twice the number of points for the same cost as buying through Disney (or, alternatively, pay half as much for the same number of points), it's tough to not go that route. However, as we discussed it more and more, we realized that it was worth paying a premium to buy BLT through Disney so that we could stay at BLT with no problems every time. We did have our heart set on staying at BLT so that's why we ended up buying there.

To those who don't care where they stay as long as its on-property, I would endorse getting in as cheap as you can. For those who want a particular resort, it's very wise to do some soul searching before you buy to make sure that you would be happy if you bought somewhere else yet didn't get to stay at your first choice.

This has been a very good thread to read with everyone's different perspectives.

 

[Dean]

To those who don't care where they stay as long as its on-property, I would endorse getting in as cheap as you can. For those who want a particular resort, it's very wise to do some soul searching before you buy to make sure that you would be happy if you bought somewhere else yet didn't get to stay at your first choice.

This has been a very good thread to read with everyone's different perspectives.

i would qualify that one needs to stay most stays (60-80%?) and reserve consistently at the given resort and that it be a difficult destination to get to make it reasonable to pay more for a shorter time as in this situation. I still think the dollars have crossed over where the risk is worth it for many where it wasn't before.

 

[ckg]

Here are factors to consider:

1. If you are a flexible traveller, meaning you can arrange going various times of year and don't always need exact dates and particular resort, then you are one who can easily consider buying at a resort even though you may want to stay elsewhere most of the time because you will usually find something available 7 months out. In picking where to buy you should also consider the resorts' end dates (for example BLT is 2060, BCV is 2042) and thus consider one with a longer end date, point price (SSR is lowest priced WDW resort in resale market right now and has a 2054 end date), and annual dues (BLT has the lowest per point by far and will likely remain the lowest, although it has the highest purchase price).

2. However, if you are any of the following, you should should consider buying at the resort you plan to stay at most of the time so you can use the 11 month window:

(a) There are limited times you can go, e..g, you are tied to school schedules (have kids or you are a teacher) and you can only go holidays, spring break, or summer and, like many, summer isn't your favorite choice of those three. With such limitations you risk not being able to get a trip at 7 months out because everything may be booked by then for the particular time you want

(b) You really want to go Christmas time often -- for that week it can be extremely difficult to get anything 7 months out. You also risk the same first two weeks of December, Easter time, other holidays, and October (if you want an Epcot resort for food & wine fest).

(c) You want one of the following when you go : (a) BLT MK or standard view (you should own at BLT to assure getting those 11 months out); (b) BWV standard or boardwalk view (you should own at BWV to assure getting those 11 months out); (c) AKV concierge or value rooms (you should own at AKV to assure getting those 11 months out); (d) VWL or BCV many times of year -- those smaller resorts can fill many times of year before the 7 month window.

Have to agree with all this. We are very flexible with the where we stay more the room type matters than anything. With that said if you have a need for "event" weeks or a limited inventory room type such as AKL Concierge etc. and have fairly fixed plans then you would be better served with owning there. As an SSR Owner I know it pretty much not going to happen to get a FW week at the Epcot walkable resorts. We have only stayed once at SSR on points in our 5 years of owning and have stayed at every resort just not during super peak times. If that is ok then SSR is the way to go. Especially with the amount of available inventory causing a "best value" price.

 

[Slakk]

Have to agree with all this. We are very flexible with the where we stay more the room type matters than anything. With that said if you have a need for "event" weeks or a limited inventory room type such as AKL Concierge etc. and have fairly fixed plans then you would be better served with owning there. As an SSR Owner I know it pretty much not going to happen to get a FW week at the Epcot walkable resorts. We have only stayed once at SSR on points in our 5 years of owning and have stayed at every resort just not during super peak times. If that is ok then SSR is the way to go. Especially with the amount of available inventory causing a "best value" price.

We have stayed at BWV and BCV during F&W and did so at 7 months....both times using SSR points. I sold them to buy AKV and now I regret it - SSR is one of my favorite places and I don't think AKV will be difficult to book at 8 months.

We did buy BLT too since we want to stay there during F&W and I am concerned with getting a MK view during that time. In hindsight - SSR and BLT would have been perfect.