Want Home Resort Wilderness...but also want to stay several other places?

[drdengler]

Thanks everyone so far for all of your help!

I have posted a few times thus far and have settled on starting with buying small point resale, with eventually adding a small direct for perks. (We can add on/buy more points later, but we are also finishing our basement this year...so budgeting )

My question is we love Wilderness, but there are several resorts that I also want to eventually stay at! Poly, Boardwalk, possibly GF, HH and Aulani are on that list. Our favorite time to go is September, BUT I am a runner, so would also be looking at race time as well. We are once a year or every other year as family, but I have taken a girls trip several times on the opposite year.

That being said, is buying Wilderness (Boulder resale) the best option or should I buy OKW or SS with the thought they are the best value per point? I have searched the forums and am anticipating the answer, but wanted to see others recent experiences. Thanks!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

For races, you would probably stay home resort. If you buy SSR or OKW expect to stay there in fall or for races.

 

[disneynutz]

If you love BRV and want to stay there often, buy there. If you don't care and want to hit all of the resorts for years and years, buy SSR and take your chances on which resort will be available.

Bill

 

[rkstocke5609]

I bought 210 at VWL nearly four years back. Trips since I bought in order— AKL, VWL, PVB, VGC, VGC, and coming up a return to VWL post construction. If you love the lodge, own at the lodge.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd say to buy somewhere that you'd want to stay for the race weekends as studios usually book up prior to 7 months for those weekends. Otherwise with a September travel time you'll get to stay most locations over the years of ownership. When you can be flexible it's easier to book at non-home resorts. When you have specific dates it's sometimes harder to move.

 

[sleepydog25]

All good advice above. As a general rule, touched upon above, buy where you want to stay. Of course, that begs the question, "at how many have you stayed?" The primary reason people say to buy your most preferred location is due to the 11-month booking window, of course. If you love that resort, then if all you can book for the time frame you seek is your home, you won't be disappointed. If it really matters little to you where you stay, then the cheaper options make some sense. For me, I'd settle on the one resort where I'm at my happiest (and you can see where that is for me), then deal with staying at other resorts when I could. We've managed to stay at nearly every resort, though sometimes we haven't been able to do so when we wanted for every day.

 

[gharter]

When we first purchased our first contract, i read everything I could. I kept reading the suggestion to purchase where you want to stay. Since then, I have become an even bigger believer of purchase where you want to stay. That lets you reserve at 11 months. DVC only seems to get busier and depending on the time of year, booking at 7 months can be a crap shoot. We have at times been able to stay at a different resort at 7 months, but if you are looking for an entire week, they are becoming more difficult at 7 months.

 

[bashuck]

We love WL and bought our 150 points there for December stays, and that uses up most of our points but I have transferred in a bunch of points twice which I have used to get what I wanted each time. BC for two memorial day weekends, Poly, BW. Using transferred points is even more difficult. Now if targeting the established, most difficult booking at any particular season, you can expect an issue without 11 month booking. I envision our BC memorial days will become far less available once SWL opens. It was already something I was just barely able to get this year. I don't believe you need to buy WL to stay there anytime other than December.