We are ready for DVC...but have questions :)

[TwistGrl101]

Hi all,

My family has finally decided we are going to purchase DVC through resale. We should have purchased ten years ago, but now we are ready and going to move forward with the process.

I am having a tough time deciding primarily between AKV and SSR. They both seem to have a good overall value. We are 2 adults, and 4 children. We love a great pool area, poolside service for food and drinks, and the kids love to participate in the daily activities. Close vicinity to parks is not important to us, although SSR gets the edge being walking distance to Disney Springs. If we stay at Kidani Village, are we allowed to use the pool at Jambo House?
We have stayed at deluxe resorts, but never in an actual DVC Villa (although we just did the 4BR Presidential Executive at Bonnet Creek and I know the rooms are not comparable), but by looking through photos and reading reviews, the rooms look nicer at AKL.

Another question...we love BC...is there a better time of year to get a 2 bedroom here at the 7 month window, or will we probably never have the chance to stay here again? lol

Lastly, the prices I see on the resale website, are they negotiable? Meaning, I can contact the seller and ask for a smaller price per point?

Thanks so much!

 

[Tardisblue]

Hi all,

My family has finally decided we are going to purchase DVC through resale. We should have purchased ten years ago, but now we are ready and going to move forward with the process.

I am having a tough time deciding primarily between AKV and SSR. They both seem to have a good overall value. We are 2 adults, and 4 children. We love a great pool area, poolside service for food and drinks, and the kids love to participate in the daily activities. Close vicinity to parks is not important to us, although SSR gets the edge being walking distance to Disney Springs. If we stay at Kidani Village, are we allowed to use the pool at Jambo House?
We have stayed at deluxe resorts, but never in an actual DVC Villa (although we just did the 4BR Presidential Executive at Bonnet Creek and I know the rooms are not comparable), but by looking through photos and reading reviews, the rooms look nicer at AKL.

Another question...we love BC...is there a better time of year to get a 2 bedroom here at the 7 month window, or will we probably never have the chance to stay here again? lol

Lastly, the prices I see on the resale website, are they negotiable? Meaning, I can contact the seller and ask for a smaller price per point?

Thanks so much!

I can only answer the last question: Yes, the price is negotiable. We just closed on a 200 point contract at BWV. The sellers were asking $102/point and after going back and forth we were able to agree to $96/point. Now, just because you and the seller agree on a price doesn't mean Disney will. They always have first rights and can take the contract back during ROFR, but ours passed. Waiting on our membership number now, hopefully this week.

Good luck!

 

[argmjs]

Hi all,

My family has finally decided we are going to purchase DVC through resale. We should have purchased ten years ago, but now we are ready and going to move forward with the process.

I am having a tough time deciding primarily between AKV and SSR. They both seem to have a good overall value. We are 2 adults, and 4 children. We love a great pool area, poolside service for food and drinks, and the kids love to participate in the daily activities. Close vicinity to parks is not important to us, although SSR gets the edge being walking distance to Disney Springs. If we stay at Kidani Village, are we allowed to use the pool at Jambo House?
We have stayed at deluxe resorts, but never in an actual DVC Villa (although we just did the 4BR Presidential Executive at Bonnet Creek and I know the rooms are not comparable), but by looking through photos and reading reviews, the rooms look nicer at AKL.

Another question...we love BC...is there a better time of year to get a 2 bedroom here at the 7 month window, or will we probably never have the chance to stay here again? lol

Lastly, the prices I see on the resale website, are they negotiable? Meaning, I can contact the seller and ask for a smaller price per point?

Thanks so much!

Hi,

Based on my own limited experience BC is tough unless you have a lot of luck or home report priority. You most likely will have to waitlist, employ some of the booking strategies (such as walking and stalking) and/or do a split stay. I believe that there are some threads on DIS that list how many 2 bedrooms are on each DVC property. That information might assist you in your decision if you need to have a 2 bedroom.

How negotiable are contracts? Depends on who the seller is. I have made offers and been shocked when they countered at list and when they accepted my first offer. Just be prepared to make several offers and move on to the next if the price is not right. Best of luck to you....

 

[disneynutz]

The benefit of owning a resort is the 11 month booking window. AKV and SSR are available at 7 months due to their size and popularity so buying there may not be the best choice.

Bill

 

[Sandisw]

Everything with resale is going to be negotiable. In terms of home resort, buy where you know you you'd be happy staying if that is all you could get when you go to book. Between SSR and AKV, I prefer SSR because of its proximity to Disney Springs. AKV is nice and if all you want is to just relax at the resort, it is serene. But, if at night you want something to do, being able to walk/boat to DS gives you so many options. As mentioned, these are big resorts and for the most part, are easier to get at 7 months. I have gotten rooms at BCV (studio) during the summer right at 7 month mark. I think that is going to be a harder time than others. But, if you are flexible when you can travel, I do think you'll be able to get BCV at some point, even in a split stay situation. However, if BCV is something you'd want more often than not, it is a small resort and I'd consider that. But, it does end quite a bit earlier than the other ones so take that into consideration. SSR does seem to give some good value in terms of price per point and MF's. Good luck!

 

[kniquy]

we love BC...is there a better time of year to get a 2 bedroom here at the 7 month window, or will we probably never have the chance to stay here again? lol

I have been tracking the availability at 7 months and the BC 2BR are available starting after the first week in Jan so far this coming year. Jan through September availability is pretty good at most resorts except GF - that is a little tougher to get into. Oct to first week in Jan is a busy time for DVC and thus at that time of year you might only be able to book at your home resort.

If you are looking to get the best deal then SSR is the best deal when factoring in price per point and yearly MF's. With that said we were in your shoes and ended up buying at AKV - we stayed on trip at SSR and although it is nice we did not care for the vibe or lack there of,.and you will be able to stay at most if not all DVC with some flexibility with travel times. If you want to get an idea of the resorts, besides reading here sometimes it is helpful to view some youtube videos of that.

 

[kniquy]

If you want to know more about pricing of contracts and what they actually sold for the look at the ROFR thread.

 

[disneynutz]

TwistGrl101, you listed several things that are important to you. If you continue the list we can make additional suggestions.

What's more important, cost or location, condo style resort or hotel style, activity center or DS, swimming at storm-a-long bay or another feature pool, close to MK or other, are you driving or plane?

Bill

 

[_auroraborealis_]

In a broad general sense, neither SSR or AKV are difficult to book at 7 months, unless you want AKV Value or Club. If you aren't after either of those two room types, SSR gets a nod for lower cost of ownership over time (member fees).

In a less general sense, what time of year do you typically think you will travel? Timing matters quite a bit for overall availability at 7 months.

 

[TwistGrl101]

These responses are great. The most important factor is cost, because we are a family of 6 and will need more points than a smaller family would need.

Next, is a zero entry pool and a lot of entertainment for the kids to enjoy as we do not like to do parks every day.

I read that Jambo House has a better pool area and is a little more lively, so if Kidani Village guests are allowed at their pool area we would enjoy taking the shuttle over there as well.

We usually travel for a week the end of August, but might use some points the last weekend of April if we are there for cheer.

Cleanliness of the rooms is also of importance, since we did just come from Bonnet Creek, and while we hated not being in a Disney resort, the villas there are second to none and we now have a higher expectation when it comes to the room...

We always fly and use ME for transportation to the resorts.

We have visited Saratoga for the DVC tour, but that was many years ago.

I think we narrowed down between AKV and SS due to the cost, although I did read an analysis on BLT being cost effective as well because of the lower dues.

Basically, I think we decided on 190 points, as that would allow us to finagle either 5 nights every year or a week every other year, depending on the resorts we choose.

 

[disneynutz]

If you buy based on cost, realize why the cost is low, less demand for that resort for a reason.

DVC rooms tend to not be cleaned as well as expected. They get a lot of use and maintenance can be an issue. We have reported a room issue like a missing kitchen drawer and over a year later the drawer is still missing.

Disney doesn't have to worry about 5 or 4 star DVC because owners are locked into repeated point usage.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

For those times of the year you will likely not run into any problems booking either AKV or SSR with any points, except for the afore mentioned concierge or value rooms. They are both large resorts so availability is easier. Since both the value and concierge categories are at Jambo which is only lock-offs and mean a pull out in the second bedroom for the 2nd bed and I'd think Kidani would actually be a bit better for your group with 2 queens in the second bedroom and 3 full baths so they may not matter anyway. So, really, you could buy either and SSR, with lower dues and similar or lower up front costs will be a bit better for value. And now SSR is getting a standard category that really makes it a good value and those are likely to book first so having it as a home resort might be handy for value. SSR also has the THV's with 3 bedrooms that you might find nice down the road.

The pools at Jambo and Kidani can be used by guests at either of the buildings. Kidani has a good splash area and has pool activities too so I don't know if Jambo pool necessarily will be the choice, but you'd have access to both to choose.

Personally we love the animals and also the decor better at AKV so stay there more but staying at SSR is fine also and that is when we enjoy access to Disney Springs.

I'd not go in with high expectations of room care however. We've been fine but Disney in general does not devote a tone of resources to it either on the DVC nor hotel side IMO. One of my worst hotel rooms I've had in travels was BC - so Disney hotel side. For what they charge it really was shameful.

Over the years you'll almost certainly have chances to stay at other resorts too since the times you go are currently not super busy DVC times. BCV 2 BR's are a limited category so less of a guarantee but I'll guess you'll even get that at some point.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

These responses are great. The most important factor is cost, because we are a family of 6 and will need more points than a smaller family would need.

Next, is a zero entry pool and a lot of entertainment for the kids to enjoy as we do not like to do parks every day.

I read that Jambo House has a better pool area and is a little more lively, so if Kidani Village guests are allowed at their pool area we would enjoy taking the shuttle over there as well.

We usually travel for a week the end of August, but might use some points the last weekend of April if we are there for cheer.

Cleanliness of the rooms is also of importance, since we did just come from Bonnet Creek, and while we hated not being in a Disney resort, the villas there are second to none and we now have a higher expectation when it comes to the room...

We always fly and use ME for transportation to the resorts.

We have visited Saratoga for the DVC tour, but that was many years ago.

I think we narrowed down between AKV and SS due to the cost, although I did read an analysis on BLT being cost effective as well because of the lower dues.

Basically, I think we decided on 190 points, as that would allow us to finagle either 5 nights every year or a week every other year, depending on the resorts we choose.

On a per point basis over the life of the contract (buy-in cost + annual dues), SSR is the cheapest of all resorts, BLT is the second cheapest, then AKV is somewhere further on the list (not sure exactly where) due to the higher annual dues.

BLT is a good value on a per-point basis and also has a more valuable Home Resort Advantage (i.e. it's harder to book there at 7 months), but the rooms cost more points than AKV and SSR so you would probably need to purchase more points at BLT vs AKV/SSR

 

[han22735]

I was in your exact shoes 2 years ago. Smaller family but same thought process. I choose SSR for the lower costs long term as I feel the costs at AKV will continue to rise at a quicker rate. I think if your going to travel primarily in the end of August you'll have great luck staying elsewhere at the 7 month mark.

We also have no issue staying at SSR in the event of it being all thats left.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

AKV is actually the third best value at current resale costs and maintenance fees.

 

[DizBub]

We have BLT and BCV points and have used them to stay at all but VGF. If staying at BCV is important to you you should look into buying a contract there. You can usually always get into SSR/AKV at 7 months. SSR is actually one of our favorite resorts.

We just bought a SSR contract precisely because we felt it was the best value and being located so close to Disney Springs is a huge plus for us. We feel we have the best of both worlds as far as booking windows for desirable, hard to get into resorts and number of overall points. We are glad we started with booking priority though.

Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Sammie]

Room cleanliness seems to vary. We have never not had a clean room. Any maintenance issues have been dealt with quickly.

We have also booked BCV many times at 7 months. So yes it will be possible. Will it be when you want it, hard to say. It is very hard to get at 7 months during food and wine. Easier during the summer months.

SSR has some great pools and more centrally located to all parks than AKV and actually the other resorts as well. They also have a very good counter service.

 

[saycindy]

OP what did you end up doing?

 

[bumbershoot]

Another question...we love BC...is there a better time of year to get a 2 bedroom here at the 7 month window, or will we probably never have the chance to stay here again? lol

You *love* BC?

Buy BC.

 

[kenspidey]

Before you buy BC.....How old are you? BC expires in 2042......... You should be able to get BC at 7 months in late summer early fall at least for now.