Thank you and need advice (esp. from older folks)!

SecondEventuality

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 28, 2019
Hey All!

So first a big thank you shout to ALL of you as well as to 'The DVC Show' - we have learned an incredible amount in such a short amount of time, all because of what you have provided, in threads, videos, blog posts, etc.

We've been reading up a ton and we would like to know what you think about our situation.

By end of year:

Husband = 49 yrs old
Me = 46 yrs old
Son = 5 yrs old

Given our son's age, we need to avoid pulling him out of school, which puts us at an annual stay during Dream / Magic Seasons.

We are attracted to 2 resorts (resale) -

1) Beach Club, for its overall desirability, pool, proximity to Epcot / HS, and has a shorter contract. Cons would be that it's pricer, need more points and fees are higher.
2) Saratoga, for its low cost and proximity to DSprings (late-night bus service). Cons would be the plethora of other contracts (lower demand) and the longer expiration date (we are going to be in our 80's by the time this thing expires).

I know folks say buy where you want your home to be, but we are also not gamblers, always see the silver lining in everything, and want to get into this game with as little as possible. We are wondering if you have any input? So while we would be happy to stay at SSR, the longer commitment (expiration) scares us. We would be ecstatic to stay at BCV, esp given the shorter commitment, but the costs are higher.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!!!!

D :)
 
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Just because a resort has a lot of years left on it does not mean you need to keep it forever. It was reported (although with little documentation to back it up) that the average owner holds their DVC membership for 10-15 years.

Buy where you want to stay, especially if you are interested in studios.

The finances don't work for the price BCV is selling for direct, and only work for resale pricing if you assume huge price increases in BC cash rooms.
 
Just because a resort has a lot of years left on it does not mean you need to keep it forever. It was reported (although with little documentation to back it up) that the average owner holds their DVC membership for 10-15 years.

I guess what I am thinking that the resale value will go down given how large SSR is, the closer we get to the expiration date, even with 15 years of use, or it doesn't matter?
 
We're still a LONG way away from even the 2042 resorts expiring. It's been theorized that the 2042 resorts will begin to experience loss of resale value when they reach 10 years from expiration. In my opinion, however, some of the 2042's will hit their zenith in the next few years, and then begin a much longer period of decline. For folks who do the math, the "savings" buying some 2042 resorts today versus renting points or cash rooms is negligible at the current direct pricing.
 


From reading your threads, I'm still not convinced DVC is right for you. If you do buy, buy where you want to stay. There's more to it than cold hard number. Nothing about a WDW vacation makes financial sense. You don't want to spend 5 figures on DVC points at Saratoga and then regret every single trip you didn't buy at Beach Club where you really wanted to stay. We started off buying Poly direct, rescinded, planned on buying Saratoga as it's the best "value" but then realized I wouldn't have been happy staying there. It's a great resort, I've stayed there before, nothing against it, but I would have regretted not buying at Bay Lake where we really wanted to stay. The initial point buy in is a small fraction of the overall DVC expense anyway.
 
If you think the upcoming expiration is desirable, you might also want to consider BWV. Not positive about this, but pretty sure that BWV are less than BCV. And it still has the proximity to EPCOT and the benefit of a cool slide if thats what that little one is into. The theming is pretty different though, so make sure you know for sure which one you like before you decide to buy! Good luck!
 


Things are getting more difficult at 7 months so I would choose whichever one would make you happier if that is what you had to stay at.

It will be easier to trade in to SSR during breaks than going to BCV. In terms of resale value, I’d be very cautious to using this as much of a factor. We do not know what will happen as Disney makes changes so while prices are holding steady now, in 20 years, that could be wildly different.

Good luck!
 
I would not be concerned about SSR being a longer contract. DVC provides a room onsite to a popular vacation destination. Unless that destination becomes unpopular there's going to be an ability to sell a DVC contract as it's comparison is to cash onsite rooms. An SSR contract will cost less in the initial purchase compared to BCV so if it has some value to sell in 2042 you'll still come out better financially especially since the MF's for SSR are also lower. If you're giving it away in 2042 I think it's very likely someone would take it although I think is extremely unlikely that will be happening. And even if you were then you're no worse off in the financial comparison to BCV. It sounds like you'd like to stay at SSR and with lower point requirements, especially during the summer seasons, it's the best financial value. It's also a good probability you'll be able to find availability at other resorts to stay at. BCV studios can be difficult during warm weather so I wouldn't assume you'd be able to get into there but there's a decent probability that it would happen sometime. If the largest concern with SSR really is the length of contract then I'd not be concerned about it. The more important consideration is if DVC ownership itself makes sense for your vacations.
 
If you do buy, buy where you want to stay.

Oh, if we are talking dream resort, well then, it's the Poly!!

But, back down to Earth, I think the wanting never really stops, so I'm happy as long as I'm not in a value resort, have the extra microwave and coffeemaker and a little extra space and nicer pools for our new little man, as he grows. Proximity to parks is higher on my list since I like to order groceries so as to cut down on eating out costs. The 1x we stayed at a value resort, I didn't like it and want to avoid it for the future. We also would like to do WDW annually, to create a family tradition.

Thanks again!!!

Danielle
 
I expect BCV to get harder to book over the next 10 years, not easier. Anyone picking up a contract there over the last several years, and certainly going forward, is not doing it for sleep around points. All the new owners at CCV and Riviera and soon Reflections, buying their little 100 point contracts, will be stabbing each other (virtually) at 7 months to get into the small, popular and desirable BCV (as, in some cases, their guides said they could do easily, hah).

More owners in system makes popular and small resorts harder at 7 months. Even with 1BR points, even summer can be weird and seems to be getting weirder.
 
More owners in system makes popular and small resorts harder at 7 months. Even with 1BR points, even summer can be weird and seems to be getting weirder.

So, as far as from a purely renting points out point of view, BCV would be more advantageous as well, 10 years from now.

Thanks!
 
If price is not the deciding factor, I would choose BCV or BWV. The premium price for proximity to two parks is worth it and the resorts and pools are very nice.
SSR is great, don't get me wrong, but I think the Epcot resorts are nicer, smaller and the fact that you don't need to take a bus to two parks makes the decision easier.
We own at AKL and SSR, and have been lucky enough to split stay a few nights at BCV, but never have we been able to get a whole week at BCV at 7 months. SOOOO, if you want to stay there, buy there. I still debate buying BCV too, but the price is the deciding factor for me and I just can't do it. We have a great time no matter what DVC resort we stay at.
 
What do you mean by late night bus service to Disney Springs being an advantage?

I think parks have bus service to Disney hotels after the parks close.

I don’t think you will be spending a lot of late nights at Disney Springs with a five year old. It’s not really fun there. Mostly expensive non-Disney stores and restaurants.
 
SSR might be a bit harder to book in a few years once they complete the renovation there. Especially with the newer sleepers in the living rooms.
 
What do you mean by late night bus service to Disney Springs being an advantage?

During our last stay we ate at Trail's End and visited family at Fort Wilderness. We of course had to take one of the internal Fort Wilderness buses to the main hub at the front of the resort and were hoping to catch a bus to one of the parks to connect back to our value resort, however, the buses had stopped running from Fort Wilderness to any of the parks by that time.

Luckily the bus driver was able to make some magic happen and took us to MK even though his bus was going off duty. Since buses run from Disney Springs up until very late at night, it is a good transportation hub to be near.
 
Oh, if we are talking dream resort, well then, it's the Poly!!

But, back down to Earth, I think the wanting never really stops, so I'm happy as long as I'm not in a value resort, have the extra microwave and coffeemaker and a little extra space and nicer pools for our new little man, as he grows. Proximity to parks is higher on my list since I like to order groceries so as to cut down on eating out costs. The 1x we stayed at a value resort, I didn't like it and want to avoid it for the future. We also would like to do WDW annually, to create a family tradition.

Thanks again!!!

Danielle

Then why not Poly? It's often cheaper per point than BCV resale although more of a point hog. Because it's all studios they are often available at 7 months. If you didn't buy there you probably would have good luck booking at 7 months during the dinner with some cheaper SSR points.
 

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