What home resort would you choose if you were us?

[LauraLap]

We are a family of four: Me (30), DH (33), DS (4) and DD (3). I think I have almost convinced DH to buy DVC......but now we need to decide WHICH home resort to pick. Is it me or does this seem like a HUGE decision? We will be in WDW in a few months, but only for 3 nights and I'm not sure we'll be able to get a chance to tour any of the properties.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for us? Are there any that provide better kids programs than others??

We LOVE the idea of AKL as our kids ADORE animals, but I'm not sure how inconvenient it will be to take the bus everywhere.

I love the idea of BCV because of the closeness to EPCOT.

 

[vicki_c]

It's really a personal preference thing, but I assume you are aware that Disney is only selling AKV with all the incentives for purchasing now? If you want the other sold out resorts (not sure of the SSR status - I think it's sold out), like Beach Club, you would have to pay full price without any incentives, you might even have to go on a waitlist to purchase.

Purchasing by resale vs. direct from Disney, there are a lot more resorts available, probably all of them.

 

[Kmango]

Whether or not your home resort matters depends on how far out you plan your vacations and when you're wanting to go. If you think you'll usually be booking your vacations 11 months in advance because a) you want to come at a peak time for DVC* and b) you're that organized, then definitely pick the home resort where you want to spend the most time.

If you're a little more spur-of-the-moment, if planning 7 or less months out, then it doesn't matter as much which resort you choose, as you won't be using your home resort advantage anyway.

*Peak times for DVC tend not to correspond with peak times for the parks in general.

 

[kim_d]

Our children are similar in age and we LOVE BCV. We just did an add-on to AKL. I thought those 2 resorts work well for our family. BCV- has a great theme, wonderful pool and location. We love walking to Epcot and HS. The beach with the movies and campfire is another thing my kids love. We also like having the Boardwalk nearby for more food options and we have rented surry bikes.

AKL appealed to us b/c it was different from BCV, offered an additional bathroom (which will be handy as our kids get older), great pool and theme. We have stayed at the lodge and loved it as well.

Good luck!

 

[305gang]

Home resort is not as much of driver if you plan trips around 7 months out.

 

[kim_d]

I agree with the others. If you vacation plans allow for off time trips it won't be a huge issue. Since my kids are young we have be able to vacation at off peak times at stayed at other DVC resorts- OKW, WLV, BWV. Now my DS is in K- but his school is "year round" so our breaks still allow for non peak vacations if we want.

 

[wdw1972]

Ignore the kids!! DVC is a 50-year plan, and the kids will be kids for maybe 20-25% of that time. Pick the resort that appeals the most to you & hubby.

 

[lildeb724]

My husband I both loved the wilderness lodge so that is where we bought. With or without kids we would always be happy there.

 

[culli]

All the resorts are nice, but if you like EPCOT I would go with BWV or BCV. We got great incentives and own at SSR and OKW.....love them both but my wish I had my points at BWV. Ability to walk to EPCOT and HS is a HUGE HUGE plus to our family, we love EPCOT and HS in not bad.

However, when I plan a trip I really strugle with which resort to stay as we really like SSR and its atmosphere.....really nice to go to Disney and actually relax!

 

[disneynutz]

You're going to spent a lot of money and your decision needs to be a informed one. Your wouldn't go out a buy a new car without seeing it would you?

Everyone has different tastes and you really need to plan a DVC vacation to check it out for yourselves. I suggest that you rent where you like to stay then buy where you love to rent.

Good luck and most of all have fun.

 

[DebbieB]

I stayed at AKV in late June and always thought it would be inconvenient for busses because of the location. We used the busses alot and it turned out not to be bad, they got around pretty quick. When Kidani opens it will probably change but the busses were not crowded.

You are young, I would go for one of the longer term resorts.

 

[bookwormde]

You need to figure into it also whether you are buying from DVC or resale.

bookwormde

 

[culli]

You're going to spent a lot of money and your decision needs to be a informed one. Your wouldn't go out a buy a new car without seeing it would you?

Everyone has different tastes and you really need to plan a DVC vacation to check it out for yourselves. I suggest that you rent where you like to stay then buy where you love to rent.

Good luck and most of all have fun.

We bought ours site unseen and renting would have not done anything except get me more excited. I did a great deal of research on these boards, other sites and crunched some math. Now if you can rent pts from other people get what you want that wouldn't be a bad idea. Only regret I have is I wish I would have known about DVC earlier and bought in long time ago. We would be happy owning and/or staying at any of the resorts (except maybe AKV.....but have to admit have never been there, for some reason just doesn't appeal to me) and we got what we thought was a great deal/incentive to buy in.

Just make sure DVC is for you and if you are very particular about where you would stay then heed disneynutz advice.

 

[DVC Mike]

Deciding which home resort to choose is very subjective. People consider a wide range of things when deciding if they like a particular resort or not.

This includes:

• Purchase price of points
• Annual maintenance fees
• Point Chart
• Years remaining on contract
• Theme/Décor of the Resort
• Room size
• Room décor and amenities
• Proximity to a particular theme park or entertainment area
• Pools, Community Hall and full range of recreation opportunities
• Range of dining options (onsite and nearby) and room service
• Transportation options
• Types of accommodations (GV? Value? Concierge?)
• Views available
• Hotel or Condo/townhouse resort style
• Destination resort or not
• Self-park/valet parking options
• In the middle of the action or a quiet secluded spot
• Size of the resort

Everyone’s personal tastes and individual preferences are different. Some may value certain of the above items more than others or not at all.

On the other hand, everyone really knows that BCV, BWV, VWL and AKV are simply the best!