Thinking of buying direct, best use year and other q's

[Liquidice]

Been going back and forth considering buying DVC for over a year - wish I had considered it a bit earlier since some of the prices just went up, but anyway - we typically travel in late Spring / Early fall but with my kids getting to school age I am thinking we might start to travel in the summer. Does an April Use Year make the most sense - at least from a flexibility perspective?

Also - I am considering buying 100 points at BLT direct to start with. If I decide I need more points, I could buy another 100-150 points to BLT with the same Use Year as a re-sale contract and use both of them as if they were 1 big pot of points (except for booking Riviera and Reflections) right?

I actually like BCV/BWV better location wise but can't get over the 2042 expiration date which is too close in so I am thinking BLT makes the most sense for its good location to MK and low annual fees. But anyone think I should also be considering Polynesian or somewhere else? I prefer a location where there is transportation other than just the buses and Riviera's annual fees just seem way too high.

 

[Sandisw]

April UY is a good one for your suggested times of travel and will allow flexibility to still bank points if you had to cancel.

I think BLT is a good starting place, especially since you want to start at 100. It would give you home resort advantage for SV studios. However, those studios are pretty small and Poly is bigger, and allows 5 with a split bathroom.

But, Poly only has studios and 5e bungalows so if you own there and want any other room size you will have to wait until 7 months. Although In summer, I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding something at other resorts.

If you get same resort and UY, buying direct and then resale, those two contracts will function as if they were one big one for the home resort, and at 7 months for all resorts except new ones.

 

[Liquidice]

Thanks! Yeah I also liked the idea of being able to try and book 2 connecting studios at Poly since that ends up being roughly the same amount of points as a 1 bedroom at BLT and sleeps 10, but not sure how often that actually would be useful to us, while the full kitchen and laundry in the room is probably more useful if we went with a 1 bedroom (either by buying more points or borrowing / banking). Or worst case with BLT could cross my finger and hope for 2 connecting studios at the 7-month mark.

Are there a decent number of standard studios at BLT that it would be possible to get one relatively easily at the 11-month mark w/o having to walk it?

Also I already have a disney trip planned in January and bought an 8-day park hopper. If I manage to close before then and become a DVC member, can I upgrade that park hopper to a DVC Gold Annual Pass?

Sorry for all the questions, really appreciate the help and answers! Thanks again!

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks! Yeah I also liked the idea of being able to try and book 2 connecting studios at Poly since that ends up being roughly the same amount of points as a 1 bedroom at BLT and sleeps 10, but not sure how often that actually would be useful to us, while the full kitchen and laundry in the room is probably more useful if we went with a 1 bedroom (either by buying more points or borrowing / banking). Or worst case with BLT could cross my finger and hope for 2 connecting studios at the 7-month mark.

Are there a decent number of standard studios at BLT that it would be possible to get one relatively easily at the 11-month mark w/o having to walk it?

Also I already have a disney trip planned in January and bought an 8-day park hopper. If I manage to close before then and become a DVC member, can I upgrade that park hopper to a DVC Gold Annual Pass?

Sorry for all the questions, really appreciate the help and answers! Thanks again!

I
I think in the summer, you won’t have an issue with SV studios booking right at 11 months without walking. November and especially early December might be different.

In terms of Poly and connecting studios, while it is not guarantee, I have not yet ever heard of people not getting them.

If you buy direct, you will be able to convert thst pass in a DVC AP without a problem. As soon as you put down the deposit, you will get the points that day..or by the next at the latest and be eligible immediately for the discounts.

Resale is different, That process takes about two months or so from offer to points in your account for use.

But, if your plan is to go direct first, you will be all set for your January trip.

 

[Liquidice]

Thanks much for your help! Can't believe how quickly my Guide got back to me - after signing up on the wait list on Sunday, today he called and said the points are available (100 points at BLT for April Use Year). Put my deposit down tonight and he said I should have my DVC Membership number tomorrow already!

Feels really fast - and I didn't realize that I'll actually get 2019 points which I will need to bank as soon as I logon to my account since I won't be able to use them before April 2020. This gives me a lot more flexibility for the next few years as I thought I'd only have 100 points initially to work with - I'll actually have 200 of which I'll probably only use 110 points and then bank the remaining 90 2020 points.

 

[CarolynFH]

Or worst case with BLT could cross my finger and hope for 2 connecting studios at the 7-month mark.

I just wanted to make sure you know there are no connecting studios at BLT. Studios at BLT and the other DVC resorts (except Poly) are either dedicated (stand alone) or connect to the living room of a 1-bedroom villa to create a 2-bedroom villa.

This gives me a lot more flexibility for the next few years as I thought I'd only have 100 points initially to work with - I'll actually have 200 of which I'll probably only use 110 points and then bank the remaining 90 2020 points.

Yes, this should work out very well for you! In 2021 you could use the 90 2020 points, 20 points from 2021, and bank 80 into 2022, etc. - if nothing changes with the points charts, and you continue to book the same villa size, dates, etc. each year, you won't need more points for quite some time.

OTOH, you might want to try a 1-bedroom villa as the kids get older, and then....

 

[Liquidice]

I just wanted to make sure you know there are no connecting studios at BLT. Studios at BLT and the other DVC resorts (except Poly) are either dedicated (stand alone) or connect to the living room of a 1-bedroom villa to create a 2-bedroom villa.



Yes, this should work out very well for you! In 2021 you could use the 90 2020 points, 20 points from 2021, and bank 80 into 2022, etc. - if nothing changes with the points charts, and you continue to book the same villa size, dates, etc. each year, you won't need more points for quite some time.

OTOH, you might want to try a 1-bedroom villa as the kids get older, and then....

Thanks - yeah what I meant about the 7 month mark was I could book Poly (I thought 1 or 2 other DVC properties could do connecting studios too?) with 2 studios using my BLT points (assuming I have enough). But most of the time we really only would need to sleep 4. If we really need to sleep more, I could potentially book 2 BLT Studios (non-connecting). For now we'll probably be good with the studio.

Definitely considering eventually going to a 1 bedroom since it is so much larger than the studio too (and you get the full kitchen and laundry) but I figure I could go resale if I wanted to buy another 100 or 150 points and save a bunch of money

One of the drivers to go direct this time was to get the DVC membership perks - with the trips I already have booked at Disney in 2020 (renting DVC points for those) - I'll be able to "save" $400 buying Gold annual passes vice buying them if I wasn't a DVC member.

 

[CarolynFH]

Thanks - yeah what I meant about the 7 month mark was I could book Poly (I thought 1 or 2 other DVC properties could do connecting studios too?) with 2 studios using my BLT points (assuming I have enough). But most of the time we really only would need to sleep 4. If we really need to sleep more, I could potentially book 2 BLT Studios (non-connecting). For now we'll probably be good with the studio.

Definitely considering eventually going to a 1 bedroom since it is so much larger than the studio too (and you get the full kitchen and laundry) but I figure I could go resale if I wanted to buy another 100 or 150 points and save a bunch of money

One of the drivers to go direct this time was to get the DVC membership perks - with the trips I already have booked at Disney in 2020 (renting DVC points for those) - I'll be able to "save" $400 buying Gold annual passes vice buying them if I wasn't a DVC member.

Be careful about going to the 1-bedroom - the privacy for parents, not to mention convenience of full kitchen & laundry, can’t be beat and is addicting!