SSR- How does one decide?

[Nlihte]

I am partial about buying at the Beach Club. For those of you who have purchased at the new SSR can you convince me why this just might be a great home resort. It is difficult to get a handle on something that is not finished and void of any reviews as of yet. Is it a gamble to purchase 250 points at around 22,000 dollars without seeing it. Thanks Dennis

 

[5wdwnutz]

We purchased @ SSR in Jan 04 sight-unseen as well. Once going and talking to our guide we bought-in without hesitation. Our hope is to not always stay @ SSR but to use this as an opportunity to stay at as many resorts as possible. We liked what we saw as far as artist renditions, etc. To date we have not been unhappy with the resorts we've stayed at vacationing previously and figured SSR would be no different.

Only regret we have so far is the amount of points we chose to start with..150. Probably should have gone w/ 200 or 250. Guess we'll be doing an add-on as soon as possible.

Hope this helped.

Missy

 

[crisi]

We bought BWV sight unseen. The only DVC resort we'd been exposed to (and that from the outside and staying in the attached hotel) was VWL. We were pretty sure any DVC resort was going to be very nice and I truly think we'd be happy at any of them....but not EVERYONE is as easily content as we are. Our first visit to BWV was well rewarded - it was (as we had figured it would be) a lovely resort.

Why do you want BCV? Location and SAB you aren't going to get owning over at SSR - and it might be difficult to get in there at seven months - particularly if you travel during peak DVC seasons (BCV and VWL are very small resorts - and both are popular resorts - the difficulty in booking the small non-home resorts is only going to get greater as DVC adds more rooms and there is more competition at seven months. OKW and SSR are large - BWV is medium sized). The big thing SSR has going for it is the additional years on the contract (not important to those of us who will be dead before our contracts expire and don't consider passing the contract to our kids important, but important if you are buying in your 20s or even your 30s). And a slightly reduced point schedule (but if you are planning on staying at other resorts, the point schedule only does you good when you stay at "home"). Certainly there are BCV resales available if that is the home resort you desire.

 

[borncinderella]

We bought SSR for the following reasons:
1) Layout: being close to the car was important. We always rent a car, and stay for one long stay as opposed to lots of short stays as we are coming from Colorado. More importantly, when we stayed at CBR this last trip, my DH's parents kept saying over and over again how much they liked the cars being close to the rooms (DMIL has arthritis). My own mom has arthritis, so if she ever came, I wanted to make it as convenient as possible. Who knows how mobile I'LL be in 20 years!
2) We love DTD!! My husband and I met at PI, so being close is pretty romantic for us. The kids love DisneyQuest, and it is nice to get the Disney experience without having to use our PH pass every day.
3) 50 years was a big deal. Most of my family live well into their 90's.
4) The SPA!! My day-to-day is so hectic, I really wanted to be someplace a little removed from the parks to relax, and an on site SPA was exactly what the doctor ordered! (Let the kids sleep in, I'm being pampered!)

 

[DrTomorrow]

While we bought into SSR sight-unseen, we did know quite a bit about it - and the DVC - primarily through the wonderful people here on the DIS DVC forum. As to why SSR - it was just the right fit for our particular situation. We're empty-nesters, with one son; no grandchildren in the short-term. We plan on going by ourselves, inviting DS, and inviting other couples - so we liked the DTD proximity. But most important was the "large Resort" design of the place. We like big sprawling places - The Polynesian is a perfect example - so are the big Las Vegas resorts we love. Green space, the Spa (DW lurvs a morning at the Spa), places to walk, a sense of size, not so hotel-like - that works for us. I can see us making visits to SSR where we never hit a WDW Park (other than DTD), so the entire complex was key to us. There are other little things: parking close to units, we liked the furnishing design, not having to drive miles to get off-property. And since we'll be dead N' gone before 50 years is up, the extra time was only nice to pass on to DS - not a big issue for us.

Don't know if this helps - not trying to convince you, just sharing our reasons. But best of luck in your decision!

 

[Disney4ever4569]

I bought SSR, but my wife and I like all the Disney resorts. If you even think that you really want BCV then buy the resale. The money you save buying a resale now is great and you have to decide for yourself if the 12 year thing really means anything to you. A lot of people will tell you the same thing. If you like one particular resort then BUY AT THAT RESORT!!

 

[fkj2]

If I had serious thoughts of adding-on, I'd have absolutely no hesitation buying SSR. I think it looks great (from the outside) and the models set-up at BWV were beautiful. For the additional time frame, it seems to be a good choice.

 

[HookdonWDW]

I think that it's just a matter of looking at your family and your vacation habits, and deciding what works best for you. We just added on, and looked at SSR. It looks like it will be a beautiful resort, but we decided to add on at VWL instead.

Some of our reasons were:

- The extra 12 years just don't matter to us. If we make it past 2042, we'll be happy to pay cash for future reservations!

- Location: We like DTD, but we've never enjoyed staying at the DTD hotels. We stayed at the DI when it was the Disney Vacation Villas, and we felt like we were "removed" from the park areas. This would be a plus for some, but it wasn't for us.

- On Site Childcare: We like having a Kid's Club at our resort. I know that we won't always need this, and that it could disappear (ala Boardwalk), but we like it, and for us it factors in.

- Park Access: We aren't big fans of the Disney Transportation system, and like owning where we can walk/boat to one or more parks.

- Resort: Although it's a detraction for some, we like being attached to a WDW resort. We like having the shared ammenities, and access to things like room service.

- Size: Since SSR is going to be the largest of all existing DVC Resorts, it will probably be easier to trade into this resort in the future. We added on at VWL, which is the smallest on-site resort.

- Vacation Habits: We've already stayed at VWL twice, and we really like staying there a couple of days and then transferring over to BCVs. This will allow us to have the 11 month advantage at both resorts.

My suggestion is that you take a piece of paper, and write down the pros and cons of each resort, and truly figure out what works for you and you family. DVC is great, but it only works if it meets the needs of you and your family. There have been several posts on these boards from people who wished they had bought at a different resort. Some of them have gone to the length of selling one set of contracts to buy another that worked better for them.

Remember: "Buy where you want to stay", and you can't go wrong!

 

[joepoe]

If you are partial to BCV, buy there. Find a resale, pay less money per point and be happy. Because it is small, you can only be assured of getting in there when you want by buying there.

 

[Divamomto3]

I think that SSR will be beautiful. I think it's a home resort we can "grow into." Having Downtown Disney for dining options, Disney Quest, and the AMC movie theater will be great as my sons approach their teen years. I think the pool at SSR will be top notch. DH is an avid golfer and I would love some spa treatments. We hope to get a family vacation in and a weekend away for the adults as often as possible. I do LOVE the BC though and hope that I will somehow be able to trade into there at the 7 month window after I've enjoyed my home resort a few times. The kids love Stormalong Bay and the location at the Boardwalk and Epcot can't be beat. If I ever get the opportunity to purchase 200 more points, I will try to get a coveted BC resale so that I have the 11 month window at both resorts. When we bought at SSR in February, we briefly asked about available points at BCV and were told there were none. We didn't push the issue...we were happy with SSR.

 

[kaseyC]

We started the process of buying SSR, put our deposit down, got our package, signed and dated every thing and got it ready to go. We then started talking about our past vacations at WDW and how we have always stayed at the BC except one year the Poly. How we loved the ease of walking to Epcot in the evenings or taking the boat to MGM before closing so me and my oldest DD could ride ToT and R&RC over and over until closing.
That made us realize that we would be happier with the BCV since that 11month window seems crucial to this resort. So we are now on the look out for a resale at the BCV and have contacted all of the recommended resale groups and our guide to be on the lookout. Meanwhile, we are also researching BWV because it is in the area we are interested in and seems to offer many of the same things the BCV offer except SAB which is not an issue for us. (We are not Pool people)
Hey, we can always add-on at SSR!

 

[Nlihte]

Thankyou for the great advice. My frustration is that I feel that the BCV is for us but I am impatient because I have the money to buy but must wait until something opens up. Oh well !

 

[crisi]

Have you called the resellers (Timeshare store at the top of this page, Jaki at www.atimeshare.com, Shontell at www.dvcbyresale.com) and told them what you are looking for?

Popular contracts sometimes don't even hit the web sites. If the resellers know they have someone looking for that contract, when they get a seller with that contract in, they often just call through the list of people waiting.

Keep in mind that with a resale, you'll have a little less flexibility. You may need to take a few more points than ideal, or a use year that isn't perfect, to find something quickly....or you can be patient.