Where to buy... BLT, BCV, BWV

[lovin'fl]

We are empty nesters with three in college, ages 21 and twins 19. SIL is also empty nester with kids aged 20, 23 and 25 and we all still do Disney, often together. We also do adults only trips together and DH and I do a couple trip every now and then. We just added CCV because we feel we need longer contract life. We'll add more CCV and possibly SSR. We, over the weekend, hashed out whether we wanted to add BLT or CCV and we decided on CCV for the Dec booking advantage and we bought on Tuesday. But my older kids still like going, not as often as they used to but still want to go. And I look forward to going with their spouses and kids someday.

But as far as BWV and BCV....we added on BWV in 2014 so we could book for F&W trips. We bought direct and could have went for BCV or BWV for same price. We decided on BWV in order to save points with standard view. It turns out that we love BWV for many many other reasons too....the Boardwalk for dining or having drinks, walk to HS and Epcot, pool is nice, lots of rooms so SIL can book there too with her SSR points, they kept the jetted tubs where BCV removed them, nice views, can get 3BR GV which is looking like we'll need down the line....

 

[Ray LeBlanc]

Thanks to all; very helpful information, I really appreciate it! The DIS Boards never disappoint. Some specific thoughts/replies are below.

We had the exact same dilemma and ultimately settled on BLT because our kids were 7 & 4 at that time. We felt like the majority of our time was going to be spent at MK so it was easier to be able to walk back and forth. Now that they are getting a little older we are staying at BW/BC for one week per year and the other 1/2 weeks at BLT. If you move up to a 1 bedroom you can almost always get those two locations at exactly 7 months. With Galaxy Edge opening next year I suspect that to change though.

I appreciate the insight and your experience. Galaxy Edge is going to be a major draw for us, as well as everybody else, which furthers our pull towards BCV/BWV.

We own at BLT and love it. We have two DDs 5 and 2. (We will likely treasure the extra bathroom in the 1br when the girls get older). We stayed in BCV this past March to use the pool, but it just never warmed up enough on our designated pool day. So, as a result we hung out over at BWV. I have said if we ever add on it will be there. We loved the location and I walked through the one bedroom they have as a model. There is so much more there to do for all of us than BCV (other than the pool) imo.

That extra bathroom at BLT does look/sound nice. We may find ourselves staying there a fair bit, especially outside of pool season. However, it doesn't seem like the 11-month window is quite as important there, especially if we look at the lake view rooms.

I know you said you don't travel to WDW in June, but can you make that guarantee for the next 20 years? I ask this because buying DVC has changed just about everyone's travel patterns. Once you experience Stormalong Bay you will be planning June trips just to stay at BC and swim there. Trust me on that.

I cannot guarantee anything for 20 years Which is part of why this is so hard! I completely agree and understand... As for Stormalong Bay, since I initially posted last night I had that exact thought... "I'm sure we will end up going there during the summer months, largely for the pool."

What you think you know and what others will post won't end up being your reality later. The only way for you to decide on a resort is to spend time visiting the resorts and staying at your top choices. We bought BLT based on posts and excitement during the pre-sale period without staying there. Others will post that they love BLT, we don't. Too much like staying at any hotel not Disney enough for us. Renting reservations might be a way to try resorts out for yourself but don't get caught up in the pixie dust, it will blind you. You also might want to think about DL. We grew up at DL and since vacationing at WDW we haven't been back since. The expanse of WDW, the number of resorts, parks, restaurants, things to do make WDW the best value and the better experience IMO.

I appreciate you cautioning me to not make mistakes made by others. I am not here looking for somebody to tell me what to do and be done with it. This is one part of the information-gathering process, and I think asking others who have experience is perfectly fair to do. I will also say that I tend to ignore the posts that simply say what THEY like, while ignoring the specific details I've provided about my situation. I didn't ask 'who likes BLT'; I asked, 'Given your experience, what do you think works best for our specific situation and parameters.'

And as for DL, I said that we returned from our first trip out there in June. I've been to WDW many many times, so I know/understand the differences. There are parts of each that I prefer better; it sounds like you've made your choice, but my conclusion is quite different. Mostly because we absolutely love California Adventure; it is our favorite park, and perhaps vacation experience, in the world. So when it comes to making this choice, you better believe we are going to prioritize buying points to the one property that has direct access to that park.

Now, will we still love it in 10 years? 20 years? Who knows? But why buy DVC at all if that's the case?

I'd also like to try out all the properties, but I've already explained in detail how that would be a multi-year process that I'm not too excited about. I'm not in a rush, but I want to have some decisions made so we are ready to move forward when we find a deal that fits us. Between the many past trips we've made and a fair amount of research and discussions with 'experts' (who reside on these boards), I think we can reach a good conclusion.

Some great advice from others, and especially agree that only you can truly determine what your needs are. However, I would urge you to think about the above as at least a small part of your consideration on where to buy, as IMHO a longer contract has benefits regardless of where you may find yourself later in life.

On one hand, it's entirely possible that life or your interests may change in such a way that selling your DVC may be something you may consider. If that ever becomes the case and you want or need to sell in, let's say, 18 years when the kids are out of the house, a contract with 24 years left is going to have a lot more resale value than one with only 6.

The flip side of that is that if you end up hanging on to your contract until the end, do you want it to expire when you are 54 and your kids are 24 and 28? Or go for the longer contract and have it through retirement (think empty-nester trips to WDW or taking the grandkids...)

This made me re-think things a bit. You are completely correct; the value in the longer contract is two-fold. 1: if we aren't interested in it anymore after 20 years, we'd something of greater value to sell. And 2: if we ARE still interested after 20 years, we don't have to buy back in; we just keep chugging along. When I look at the total price per point (meaning total point cost + all annual dues through expiration), BCV and BWV don't look too good.

But I would also think that if the Epcot area resorts had 40+ years left on them, their price per point would be a fair bit higher, too.

We also would have roughly 40% of our points at VGC, so those are much longer-term; we wouldn't be replacing our entire lot in 24 years. And aside from that, I'm sure we will add some here and there between now and then. So while the shorter life is a consideration, and I do recognize your very valid points, there's enough other stuff to consider that outweighs the shorter contract.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Mid-March tends to be harder than early March because of Spring Break and Easter. Studios are always going to be harder to book than one bedrooms. Standard views harder than preferred (because preferred takes more points and you get nearly the same thing). GFV studios are going to be very hard to book in March because they are so limited. We have gotten a one bedroom standard at GFV in early May twice in the past two years. But we booked exactly at seven months out when booking opened for the day. First and second week of Jan can be tough at seven months out because of the timing of the marathon. It just depends if it falls at the end of the first week or second week.

BLT studios are tiny, especially for four people. Almost no space at all when you have the sleeper sofa opened up. The bathroom is fairly roomy as is the kitchenette (so that is where all the space is).

 

[Disneykate605]

I say go with what feels most like you. When you spoke of BCV you can tell it's where your heart is. We always loved the vibe of Boardwalk, in fact it was the whole Boarldwalk area that made us decide to buy DVC...it had nothing to do with the easy access to Epcot and HS either...it was just how we felt when we were there! We didn't know about the resale market so we bought at Poly because that is what they were selling at the time. We are planning to add on very soon and we will be buying at BWV. Since buying DVC we have stayed a few times at BWV and we weren't wrong...we so LOVE it!

 

[zavandor]

Have you considered buying SSR points and aim at booking one bedrooms?
Buy in price is lower, MF are lower and 1B seem to be more available that studios by a couple orders of magnitude at 7 months. You should probably be able to book 1B for your travel dates. Possibly only early January could be a problem, but for 1/5-8 you have very good chances.
It's double the space but much less than double the cost.

 

[Ray LeBlanc]

Have you considered buying SSR points and aim at booking one bedrooms?
Buy in price is lower, MF are lower and 1B seem to be more available that studios by a couple orders of magnitude at 7 months. You should probably be able to book 1B for your travel dates. Possibly only early January could be a problem, but for 1/5-8 you have very good chances.
It's double the space but much less than double the cost.

I appreciate this suggestion and will look into it more; hadn't really thought about this much. Thanks!

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I appreciate this suggestion and will look into it more; hadn't really thought about this much. Thanks!

I think the "buy enough SSR points for a 1br anywhere" plan is worth looking into if you know you want 1 bedrooms and soon. However, if you are happy in a studio for awhile and budget is at all a concern, I'd go with the "buy where you want to stay" plan above all else. Especially since you're looking forward to Star Wars and being near DHS.

I randomly picked 3rd week of March 2019 and point requirements for a 1 bed are more than double that of a studio at BWV and BCV.

For BWV resale you're looking at maybe 25-30 dollars per point more than SSR. For easy math, let's say you'd buy 100 BWV points for a studio or 200 SSR points for a shot at a 1 bed.

Your buy in is roughly $12,000 - 12,500 plus closing for BWV vs $19,000 - 20,000 for SSR.

Currently (no guarantee on dues rising at same rate) dues on your pts @ BWV w/b $655 vs $1171 for SSR.

And this is probably "low". I'm guessing 100 (or 200) points isn't enough. I didn't try to figure out your point needs based on your anticipated travel plan. It made my head hurt a little. lol

I agree that a good argument for the higher cost can be made if you really want the 1 bedroom. SSR gives you 12 more years of contract, but you give up 11 mo home resort priority, you're out a decent chunk of change up front, and paying more than $500/yr extra for dues. If you're looking to stretch your budget and can be happy with a studio........

I'm more in favor of buying in "small" and figuring out what you really want first. It seems most people add on later anyway. Needs change. If you grow out of a studio, it's probably going to be when the 2 kids don't want to share a bed and you're more likely to go from a studio to a 2 bedroom anyway. Although, a studio that sleeps 5 (having a separate bed) can take you far if you're fine with the space limits.

 

[Ray LeBlanc]

I think the "buy enough SSR points for a 1br anywhere" plan is worth looking into if you know you want 1 bedrooms and soon. However, if you are happy in a studio for awhile and budget is at all a concern, I'd go with the "buy where you want to stay" plan above all else. Especially since you're looking forward to Star Wars and being near DHS.

I randomly picked 3rd week of March 2019 and point requirements for a 1 bed are more than double that of a studio at BWV and BCV.

For BWV resale you're looking at maybe 25-30 dollars per point more than SSR. For easy math, let's say you'd buy 100 BWV points for a studio or 200 SSR points for a shot at a 1 bed.

Your buy in is roughly $12,000 - 12,500 plus closing for BWV vs $19,000 - 20,000 for SSR.

Currently (no guarantee on dues rising at same rate) dues on your pts @ BWV w/b $655 vs $1171 for SSR.

And this is probably "low". I'm guessing 100 (or 200) points isn't enough. I didn't try to figure out your point needs based on your anticipated travel plan. It made my head hurt a little. lol

I agree that a good argument for the higher cost can be made if you really want the 1 bedroom. SSR gives you 12 more years of contract, but you give up 11 mo home resort priority, you're out a decent chunk of change up front, and paying more than $500/yr extra for dues. If you're looking to stretch your budget and can be happy with a studio........

I'm more in favor of buying in "small" and figuring out what you really want first. It seems most people add on later anyway. Needs change. If you grow out of a studio, it's probably going to be when the 2 kids don't want to share a bed and you're more likely to go from a studio to a 2 bedroom anyway. Although, a studio that sleeps 5 (having a separate bed) can take you far if you're fine with the space limits.

Thank you for the thoughts! I agree, after looking into it I would need twice the points for the 1BR. So buying double the points and having double the dues isn't really worth it for us. I like the idea of starting smaller where we want to stay and leaving room to build up in the future as we figure it out. This keeps our costs down in the meantime and gets us 11 month priority where we want it most. Thanks again!

 

[Mrs.Milo]

We own at Boardwalk. Started at Old Key in 1993, sold and bought at Boardwalk 7 years ago. It had become increasingly hard to get BW at 7 months and that’s where we wanted to stay every trip!

We have stayed at Beach Club, it’s a beautiful resort. I would suggest your next trip be a split trip between BW and BC as you may find you have a definite preference between the two. The pool is a big factor at BC, but there are a lot of people that don’t care for it, myself included. The “sand bottom” is a weird texture that is creepy to me, and the lazy river is hard for me, a good swimmer at 5’4”. The ceiling fans and whirlpool tubs were removed in the last update. The DVC rooms are in a separate building. The quick service is convenient, better than BW IMO.

We love the BW! The evenings down on the Boardwalk are fun watching entertainment, kids love watching Magic shows, just different from BC vibe. We love the standard view watching people and busses come and go. And the Boardwalk view rooms are fantastic of course, although some think too noisy.

You won’t go wrong with whatever your choice is and will have many happy family memories. Good luck!

 

[ray3127]

OP here with a new username...

Just an update, as we've continued to read up on these extremely helpful boards and made a few decisions.

We put several hypothetical schedules together to try to determine how many points we will want/need. Our conclusion is to buy points at BCV, BLT, and VGC.

Given the times of year we can travel, home resort priority is extremely important, so spreading our home resorts around made some sense. I definitely heard the BLT recommendations and think that's a great choice in addition to BCV. These 3 home resorts give us a fair amount of flexibility, and between banking and borrowing I think we will be able to get in elsewhere (for a few extra points at non-studio/standard rooms) most of the time.

BCV won out over BWV for us... Probably not a surprise looking at my previous posts. The vibe, the pool, and the look just get me... Boardwalk is beautiful, Beach Club is us.

Now I'm checking out exact point offerings, looking to piece together our total package. It will likely include one batch of direct points to get the incidental benefits... Probably 40-45% BCV, 30-35% BLT, 25% VGC... depending on what's available, of course, but that's our goal.

I've looked at DVC before, but always concluded it was simply not worth the cost... This time was obviously different. Even though prices are at all-time highs, we are now ready. Our son is 4, our daughter is 7 months, and DVC offers exactly what we want for our future. Of course, the future can change, but the nice thing is that we can resell and recoup some costs if needed. But we are a "Disney family", and Disney is clearly a major part of our life, so I find that a highly unlikely scenario.

I think a big factor was our stay at the Disneyland Hotel in June. It was incredible to easily walk to the parks and stay in Deluxe Disney accommodations. I really don't care to downgrade after that experience, but looking at the cash rates of the top notch resorts is sickening. As expensive as DVC is, it offers legitimate savings if you plan to visit Deluxe resorts at least annually... And I see us visiting every 6-9 months or so. Nothing new here, just explaining my thought process a bit.

Another factor is wanting to relax more... We love visiting the parks, but we still often visit with a checklist style. I want to get away from that, slow down, and take it all in a bit more. Relax at the pool. Not feel like we have to wake up before dawn for rope drop EVERY DAY. Come and go to/from the parks. Just take it easy and enjoy. Obviously we will have to plan; it is Disney, after all. But I know we will visit more with DVC, and hopefully be able to take it all in just a bit more, too.

Thanks for the feedback, and I look forward to continuing to read and post on these boards as a member soon!