Where to add-on

[WDWRook]

Hello all,

I could use some perspectives from your experience. We purchased 60 pts direct at Poly in 2017. We have two kids currently 14 and 10 who are not super adventurous for rides, but they love Disney. We have so far stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (pre DVC), Poly, Poly, SSR (weekend trip tied to a cruise), and just got back from a split stay at BWV (1bd) and AKL-Kidani (savanna studio) We LOVE Poly and can't wait to go back. But as this kids are getting bigger (almost bigger than us) a studio is a bit cramped. We really liked BWV location, the Boardwalk aspect of BWV and the room was nice but not great, but it was raining and we didn't get to use the pool there. We liked Kidani's pool area and loved Saana. The Savanna view was cool but were not as impressed by it as we expected. We also liked SSR but we stayed there and didn't go to the parks so travel to the parks didn't matter.

We tend to go for 6 nights and we usually have two pool days to relax and swim and go to Disney Springs. We seem to enjoy just hanging out and trying different restaurants as much as going to the parks. This last trip we did Epcot/HS and a day at Universal. The kids really liked Universal (mainly Potter land) even though they don't ride the real roller coasters. We also went to Hilton Head island this spring (not at Disney) and enjoyed the trip, especially since it's a manageable drive from home. The kids still seem to like WDW but I'm not sure what will change as they both become teenagers and we have not been to MK in a few years so I'm not sure how the more kid friendly rides will be viewed. So far we have not cooked in the room and I'm not sure if we will do so or not. Maybe at HHI but less likely at WDW.

Our future thoughts are to go every other year to a Disney Trip, either WDW or Hilton Head with an eventual one time Hawaii/Aulani trip thrown in (split stay for 4-5 nights at Aulani and 4-5 nights on another island). For resorts at WDW we like to move around a little, and would like to return to Poly (likely two studios), return to BWV when the Boardwalk is more open, maybe try out BCV or BRV/CCV. My current thought is to buy 150 add-on points but I'm not sure where. I know HHI in the summer requires owning there, but we would also want to use those points at WDW and HHI isn't the best value given the annual fee and doesn't provide an 11 mth benefit at WDW. I thought about buying at BWV but the shorter timeframe gives me a bit of pause. SSR or AKL then seem to work but both of those don't really give you much 11 month benefit. Lastly I thought about just adding one Poly points to make it easier to get two studios and less confusing to juggle two contracts, but that's the more expensive option.

My other alternative is buying HHI Marriott timeshare just for the HHI use, and DVC points for WDW use.

I've been pouring over numbers on what's the best value vs places we would like to stay most often. For the next 8 years or so we will be stuck to the school calendar for the most part. After that, I have no idea what life will be like as empty nesters (yaking just tying that).

Any thoughts or tips for those who have had DVC as their kids started getting older?

 

[FSUSammy]

We currently have AKV and for the last year were convinced we wanted to add on at Poly....we then stayed at BLT and changed our minds. Our kids have a 10 year difference so for us being on the monorail made sense with a little one and we wanted the ability to have a 1 or 2 bedroom option if say the older one wanted to bring friends along on a trip. Poly usually is easy to get at 7 months though (granted this year it's been challenging). Ultimately you want to buy where you are ok with staying if you can't make the switch at 7 months. Since you'll be stuck to a school calendar for the next 8 years picking the right UY and resort will be important.

 

[RoseGold]

You don't have to buy a timeshare to stay at a nice hotel in HH or in Orlando. It sounds like your kids are outgrowing Disney and locking into many years of timeshare isn't the right move.

There a tons of Orlando area timeshares and hotels that can meet all your needs and then some with awesome pools, and you can use the points you do have for, say, a couple nights at Beach Club.

You can always rent some points to do what you want to do in DVC for a couple years, you know the system. You don't need to buy a contract to do that.

I certainly wouldn't let Disney's far flung Hawaii failure dictate where you take your family. Why is Aulani even on this list? This is one of the downsides of DVC IMO, it locks you into these locations, which happen to be where Disney got the right permits. There are plenty of nice hotels and locations and resorts that have no relationship to Disney. Don't lock yourself into DVC, at least not now when so much is changing in your lives.

If you had said you want BW for an adult only F&W trip when kids are gone, this is a different discussion.

 

[WDWRook]

Yes, part of the dilemma is we don't know what we will want to do after the next 9 or so years, or if the kids will stop wanting to go to Disney at all. So far we have loved every minute of it and Epcot is everyone's favorite park as we like to eat around the world. We envision eventually taking kids and grandkids with us, but that's a long way off so it's hard to predict. We liked Universal and the kids liked the rides (the Popeye is way better than Kali River Rapids), but we also found sever instances where Universal was not nearly as good for simply cleanliness, friendliness of staff, etc. We seem to like our Disney bubble including the Disney cruise. We started to outline our twice per year trips for the next 9 years and found that most years we either have HHI or WDW on the plan, but we don't have the points to accommodate that.

 

[Melissa Perez]

I'll write from the other perspective... as the kid that got older

My parents purchased DVC when I was 4 at OKW and spent much of my childhood filled with disney trips. As I got into high school, my love for disney cooled off a bit and my parents used our points for a few trips to Hawaii (pre-Aulani) and other RCI adventures (they weren't as expensive back then). Our love for Disney picked up when I was in grad school, starting with taking grad photos at MK, to taking my boyfriend (now DH) to Disney for only the 2nd time in his life, to doing my bachelorette party there in a grand villa.

Despite being OKW owners, we often stay as a group at SSR 2 bd - like you said there isn't too much competition for that property at the 7 month mark. We love walking over to Disney Springs. But as our lives no longer revolve around school calendars, we are often flexible enough to book at other resorts - for example my bachelorette was in May 2018 in a BWV grand villa - snagged right at the 7 month mark.

I don't know if that will help you with your choice of where, but hoping it shows older kids can love trips to disney with their family

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I think there's 2 options that sound like they make more sense than others: If you're wanting to stay at different places then buy the cheapest points at a place you're still ok staying if you can't change to somewhere else (SSR or maybe AKV although you were kind of mixed on that). Or 2: since you have uncertainty what's going to happen as your kids get older then maybe adding on PVB with the thought you'll probably sell it down the road is the way to go and keep all your points in one pool that also allows you to book 2 studios during the home resort period. It sounded like that still was your families favorite resort and if you don't cook in the villas the studios are just fine.

 

[WDWRook]

Cheapest depends on how you value the points. Cheapest cost at closing will be HHI BWV, SSR. Cheapest total cost for ten years is BWV, SSR, HHI. Cheapest over 20 years, BWV, SSR, AKL. Over life of the contract SSR, BWL, AKL, Poly. Cheapest after ten years if I add a ball park resale value wit a discount of 25% with 25 years left, addition 20% with 15 years left: BWV, SSR, AKL. Changes a bit going to 2 bedrooms with Poly being best over the life of the contract and HHI best after 10 years adding a residual value.

** excluded OKW, CCV, BRV, RIV as I'm not interested in owning there.

My math is based on a one bedroom villa and the points I would need to buy times the average resale cost in December 2020 - no time value of money or escalation of MF.

I think we would be fine staying anywhere if staying at WDW. I'm sure we would have certain desires to stay certain resorts, and we are fine to do split stays and actually enjoyed it this trip as it added some fun to try new things. If BWV had 15 more years and if they updated BWV like they did SSR with the two murphy beds, I'd be sold on BWV. I'm still considering BWV just do to the proximity to the Boardwalk and Epcot and thinking we would like to stay there as a couple during the years the kids find other interests. I'd guess if we were going just DW and me, we would either go BWV, SSR, or Poly; or Aulani if we had the vacation time. But I also think we would trade off and stay occasionally at any or all of the others simply because we like trying out different things and eating at different restaurants.

 

[RoseGold]

If you live close enough to HHI, and you think you might go there without kids, HHI isn't a terrible choice.

You can do better on HH in general, and I don't know enough about SC timeshare law to know if I'd even buy a SC timeshare at all. And whew, those oceanside dues. But it conceptually meets all your requirements, and resistant to older kids having Disney fatigue. Does it matter if it's a few hundred bucks a year more expensive?

In this context, I'd view the short expiration as a plus.

The question is if you'd rather buy another timeshare brand, maybe even a better value, or maybe even a prettier place nearby?, or if you value being able to use the points in Orlando.

 

[WDWRook]

That is exactly the conversation DW and I just had. She really likes the idea of HHI now, for just couples trips, and eventually us paying for the whole family to vacation so we and ensure some time with kids/grandkids. WDW is about a 15 hour drive (not ideal but we drove this time and it wasn't terrible). HHI is about 9-10 hours and definitely manageable. We like our Disney bubble, but the one issue for Disney HHI is the lack of restaurants one site. But that is an issue many resorts have, including the Marriott's. Marriott vacation club would be cheaper to join, but their annual dues are crazy compared to DVC. And they are tough to sell.

Our conversation we just had was to buy enough HHI points to go every other year in a 1 bed; and buy enough Poly or BWV or SSR to go every other year in a 2 bed or 2 studio (at Poly). Alternate HHI or WDW and have the flexibility to do a split stay with WDW and Universal; or WDW and Vero Beach, or HHI and WDW, or WDW and a Cruise. I was thinking BWV for the boardwalk and Food&Wine. DW says we can do Food&Wine from Poly by walking to the TTC, which is not quite as fast but still easy enough.

When I asked her would we still go to WDW for couples only, she said absolutely. When I asked where to stay she immediately said Poly. After discussion, she said Poly or BWV or (to a lesser extent) SSR. So my current job is to run those numbers and see what works.

 

[Paul Stupin]

You don't have to buy a timeshare to stay at a nice hotel in HH or in Orlando. It sounds like your kids are outgrowing Disney and locking into many years of timeshare isn't the right move.

There a tons of Orlando area timeshares and hotels that can meet all your needs and then some with awesome pools, and you can use the points you do have for, say, a couple nights at Beach Club.

You can always rent some points to do what you want to do in DVC for a couple years, you know the system. You don't need to buy a contract to do that.

I certainly wouldn't let Disney's far flung Hawaii failure dictate where you take your family. Why is Aulani even on this list? This is one of the downsides of DVC IMO, it locks you into these locations, which happen to be where Disney got the right permits. There are plenty of nice hotels and locations and resorts that have no relationship to Disney. Don't lock yourself into DVC, at least not now when so much is changing in your lives.

If you had said you want BW for an adult only F&W trip when kids are gone, this is a different discussion.

Off topic comment here, but it’s hard for me to perceive Aulani as a “far flung failure.” Granted, its been years and it’s far from sold out, but personally I think it’s Disney‘s best hotel and property. Its one of our home resorts, it’s spectacular, and we love spending time there.