Starting to Get the DVC ITCH!! Need Help Please

[chrismiss56]

Hi

For years Dh and I have talked about DVC and never did anything about it. Well now the itch is getting so bad that we can't keep from scratching it.

DH is 58 yrs old and about 7 - 8 years from retirement. We have DD17 and DD20. Love the Epcot resort area -

Have some basic questions that I hope you can help with (sorry if this is repeat information).

How important is it to buy into the resort you want to stay at most. The only difference I see is the 11 month vs 7 month window. Is that really a deal breaker? We haven't been in a position to go at Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving so we have never run into trouble with renting. Would love BWV to be our home resort but OKW is so much cheaper on the resale.

Then there is SSR which would be Disney financed - stayed there for one night last summer and didn't like it at all .......would you consider buying there with the incentives and financing, the longer time offered but book at other DVC properties?

How does one determine how many points they need if you go at various times of the year? Or do you lock into a type of room such as studio or 1 bdr. I am really confused.

Can you ever use your DVC points for properties that are not Disney such as other parts of the country or international?

I have been reading the threads and know that if we go resale we should call Timeshare because most good deals don't make it to the internet.

Then people write about adding small amounts of points. Is that strictly resale?

Is it easy to rent your points to others? Been a renter but never a rentee.

Sorry about all the questions - we are going WDW in August staying in a studio at OKW and plan on hearing the DVC pitch. The more informed I am ahead of time the more educated questions I can ask.

Thanks for all your help!!

Have a Magical Disney Day!!
Linda

 

[ellenmiele]

I don't think you need to buy at the resort you love most -- we own at SSR and have never been there yet and probably won't go for a while because right now our kids really love BWV and BCV. If you have some flexibility to your travel times you can do fine with 7mo ressies. To figure out how many points to but you need to have some idea as to how often you would go and what time(s) of year. The figure out how many points you'd and just
GO FOR IT !!

 

[Granny]

How important is it to buy into the resort you want to stay at most. The only difference I see is the 11 month vs 7 month window. Is that really a deal breaker? We haven't been in a position to go at Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving so we have never run into trouble with renting. Would love BWV to be our home resort but OKW is so much cheaper on the resale.

Then there is SSR which would be Disney financed - stayed there for one night last summer and didn't like it at all .......would you consider buying there with the incentives and financing, the longer time offered but book at other DVC properties?

Linda....you will get some pretty heated opinions on the importance of buying where you want to stay the most. I guess the litmus test is would you be disappointed if you "had" to stay at your home resort several times? Depending on the time of year, and how people are making their reservations, it may be easy or difficult to book other resorts at the seven month window.

If you aren't picky about where you want to stay, then I'd agree that you don't need to worry about where you purchase. But if you really want to get VWL at Christmas, or BWV or BCV during the Food & Wine Fest, or get a BWV standard view room, or a BWV Boardwalk view room, or grand villas just about anywhere but your home....well, these can be quite challenging if trying to get them at a seven month window.

And remember, in the next 37 years, your vacation habits may very well change. Though you don't go in peak season now, you may want to do so in the future.

For us, it was important to be able to stay at VWL or BWV when we wanted to without messing with wait lists, etc. So we purchased contracts at both.

Good luck...there are no definitiive answers other than to say that various strategies work fine for different situations. You just need to know what you're getting into, and if you're comfortable then go for it!

 

[tamu91]

All very good questions and I'm sure there will be plenty here who can fill you in on their thoughts are here are some of mine

As a newbie, we considered BCV, BWV and VWL but "settled" for a VWL resale contract last summer because 1) I have small kids who are mostly interested in MK and 2) VWL is the smallest DVC property on-site and 11 month window 'almost' guarantees a unit during peak times. Most DVC veterans will tell you, "buy where you'd like to stay" and do you hear any complaints?
As more and more SSR owners come on-board, I think it's going to get harder and harder to book at the sold out resorts. OKW is an exception because of its size and proximity to SSR. So if you really don't like SSR, buying a resale contract at one of the two Epcot properties might be an option you should consider.

How many points you need depends on your travel pattern. How often to you visit and when, how many people in your party, etc.? Buy enough points to cover your most frequent travel pattern (i.e. your family of 4 during March when it's nice and cool in a 1 bdrm unit. boy can sleep on a sleeper sofa and you and your DH in a master bedrm suite = about 270 pts). That's 7 days but weekend stays take double points so you can probably get by with ~200 points.

If you buy direct from Disney, you must purchase at least 150 points. However, there is no such restrictions on buying resale. You have to go through ROFR, however, and closing process takes a bit longer but it might be worth it, especially if you can land one of those 'big fat loaded' contracts. Once you become a member, you can do small add-on sdirectly through Disney. Is there a 20 points minimum, I can't remember?

Lastly, points are fairly easy to rent and that was one of the big selling point for me. Of course, you are dealing with private parties so there might be some hair pulling days you might have to get through but it's an option that I'd rather have.

Good luck on your decision and hope to see you back here as a member

 

[Cruelladeville]

DH is 58 now--do you want a timeshare that he can use for another 40 years? You may find a resale at one of the sold out resorts that's a cheaper price--I just paid $75 for OKW--that will meet your needs, and be where you would prefer staying.
If you must have Disney's financing, then you will be paying $95. You can still get points at the sold out resorts, although you may have to wait awhile for them. You just let your guide know what you want.