Which Home Resort and How Many Points?

[deannaf87]

We are getting ready to purchase our first contract. We are leaning towards one resort and a certain point level but wanted to see other people's conclusions to see if there is anything we aren't thinking through. We would be purchasing resale (barring a great direct deal) and wouldn't purchase until this summer at the earliest (waiting to close on the house we are building).

Here are the factors we are considering:

1. We are mid thirties so would prefer longer contract
2. Prefer home resort studios / 1 bedrooms to have a 3rd sleeping surface. Kids are 14 and 10 and getting to the age they don't want to share anymore.
3. Initial plans are to vacation to WDW every other year and would probably gravitate towards 1 bedrooms. However, we would also probably sometimes do one year in a studio at WDW and next year at non WDW resort (Aulani, Hilton Head, etc). Would also occasionally get a 2 bedroom and bring along friends/family (already adding on points to my theoretical contract )
4. Typical length of stay would be 6 nights
5. Months we tend to travel are January, May, June, or July
6. Prefer a home resort near a park

 

[Sandisw]

I’d try for a Dec UY as it meets your travel needs but it sounds like you have a good plan.

Since Poly has no 1 or 2 bedrooms, that wouldn’t be a good choice so for MK area, you are looking at VGF as a good option for sleeping surfaces in Studios, But BLT is great for the 1 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms buy studios are small and only sleep 4.

RiV would also be a nice choice if you were considering direct, but won’t meet your needs in any other way.

Good luck!

 

[RoseGold]

Really depends on exit strategy to me. If you plan to sell in less than 10 years, I'd buy resale. If you plan to hold forever, it's hard to argue with the current BLT deal for direct points and that BLT chart for the excellent 1BR and great value in the cheaper view option.

10 and 14 is tough because a lot of the school holidays will overlap with things like sports. DVC does not play well with changing plans around, and your kids are at the age where their activities will have time demands.

 

[deannaf87]

Really depends on exit strategy to me. If you plan to sell in less than 10 years, I'd buy resale. If you plan to hold forever, it's hard to argue with the current BLT deal for direct points and that BLT chart for the excellent 1BR and great value in the cheaper view option.

10 and 14 is tough because a lot of the school holidays will overlap with things like sports. DVC does not play well with changing plans around, and your kids are at the age where their activities will have time demands.

Yeah- I am seeing a lot of summer travel over the next few years until they graduate. I mean even once they graduate and are in college.

We aren't planning on selling at all right now, but who knows.

The BLT deal is great - I agree. I just don't think it will still be around by the time we can purchase (summer). Will be interested to see if there are any direct deals at that time. Really curious how the release of VGF2 is going to play out.

 

[Ruttangel]

For resale You've kind of narrowed it down to VGF or BLT with the requirements to be near a park and a studio/1BR sleeping 5 and non2042 resort.
Im expecting VGF resale to tumble a bit over the summer as VGF-2 could be close enough to current resale pricing to push people direct, so could be a good time to buy

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I assume there's been no conversation about potential resale at Beach Club or Boardwalk, probably because they expire 2042? In some ways, I understand that. In other ways, 20 years is still a long time. When our kids were teen-agers, they really lost interest in the amount of time we spent at the MK, and really preferred the easy-access options at EPCOT, HS, and the BC pool area. I doubt it's what you're going to settle on, but wanted to add at least a comment about how nice the BC/BW area is, especially with older kids. Good luck with your decision!

 

[RoseGold]

The BLT deal is great - I agree. I just don't think it will still be around by the time we can purchase (summer).

Summer is a long time from now. Who knows what the market will be like then. If there are no APs, or at least something similar, I plan to sell some DVC. I can't be the only one thinking that.

Heck, who knows what the market will be a couple weeks from now. If DVC prices VGF2 near RIV, it will disrupt the entire market.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Do you and the kids have a favorite park? Our kids are already kind of over MK (ages 9 and 10,) and prefer the rides and scavenger hunts at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, plus water parks, which are a bus ride away from anywhere. We have Riviera direct. IDK what promotions they'll have direct to make it worthwhile, but there was a nice 435-point on resale that is reduced. If we didn't already have 300 at Riviera, I'd be all over that resale contract. It's too many points with the 300, and we still want the direct perks for the APs.

AK is very economical and gorgeous, but location is tough.

 

[KVacc]

Do you have a style or theme in mind that you really like for a resort? We recently stayed at CCV and we loved that style, especially around the holidays. We(well I) watched a lot of touring videos to see what other resorts looked like, although over the years we have been in almost all of them. I wanted to make sure that we really liked our home resort and it had the rooms we wanted since we were buying resale in case Disney does something crazy in the future and limits us resalers to home resort stays only. And I know that once the 2042 resorts start dropping we wont have that much choice anyway.

 

[deannaf87]

I assume there's been no conversation about potential resale at Beach Club or Boardwalk, probably because they expire 2042? In some ways, I understand that. In other ways, 20 years is still a long time. When our kids were teen-agers, they really lost interest in the amount of time we spent at the MK, and really preferred the easy-access options at EPCOT, HS, and the BC pool area. I doubt it's what you're going to settle on, but wanted to add at least a comment about how nice the BC/BW area is, especially with older kids. Good luck with your decision!

We stayed at Yacht Club on our last trip and totally agree about that area. We absolutely love it and it would probably be our first choice if it didn't expire when we'd be early/mid 50s. At that point we'd probably be taking more trips than ever OR we could be totally over it (who knows) It is wild how this purchase has me thinking about taking trips with grandkids when I'm 34 years old lol.

 

[deannaf87]

Do you have a style or theme in mind that you really like for a resort? We recently stayed at CCV and we loved that style, especially around the holidays. We(well I) watched a lot of touring videos to see what other resorts looked like, although over the years we have been in almost all of them. I wanted to make sure that we really liked our home resort and it had the rooms we wanted since we were buying resale in case Disney does something crazy in the future and limits us resalers to home resort stays only. And I know that once the 2042 resorts start dropping we wont have that much choice anyway.

We love Wilderness Lodge theme. We visited that resort for the first time on our last trip and were blown away. Don't love that studios and one bedrooms only sleep 4. Otherwise it would be perfect for us. Do love the price and point chart.

We also love VGF (surprisingly my husband liked those rooms more than CCV rooms) and it is the resort we are leaning towards to purchase 180 points. However, then I see we could do CCV or BLT and get more points for the same price and have a better point chart and start second guessing. I guess it just really depends on how the market reacts to the VGF2 drop.

 

[deannaf87]

Do you and the kids have a favorite park? Our kids are already kind of over MK (ages 9 and 10,) and prefer the rides and scavenger hunts at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, plus water parks, which are a bus ride away from anywhere. We have Riviera direct. IDK what promotions they'll have direct to make it worthwhile, but there was a nice 435-point on resale that is reduced. If we didn't already have 300 at Riviera, I'd be all over that resale contract. It's too many points with the 300, and we still want the direct perks for the APs.

AK is very economical and gorgeous, but location is tough.

They don't have a clear favorite. Honestly, based on our last trip they were all about resort hopping, shopping, and pin trading.

We've stayed at AKL and it is truly one of a kind, but I don't like being so far removed from everything. I'm sure it would be a great 7 month option for some trips, but we're thinking home resort near MK or Epcot.

 

[KVacc]

We love Wilderness Lodge theme. We visited that resort for the first time on our last trip and were blown away. Don't love that studios and one bedrooms only sleep 4. Otherwise it would be perfect for us. Do love the price and point chart.

We also love VGF (surprisingly my husband liked those rooms more than CCV rooms) and it is the resort we are leaning towards to purchase 180 points. However, then I see we could do CCV or BLT and get more points for the same price and have a better point chart and start second guessing. I guess it just really depends on how the market reacts to the VGF2 drop.

Its so stressful isn't it!!

 

[Her Dotness]

Much though we love VGF, I doubt its studios will meet your family's needs for long with kids their ages.

First piece of advice, buy 200-300 points at the very least if you can. Harsh experience leads me to give that advice.

Here's why--While 180 pts. will get you a VGF studio, either the new resort studio or the deluxe, it won't likely do that for more than a few years the way DVC shifts points around. You've already no chance on the 2023 points chart of a 1br there any time of year with so few points. You'd be into the bank-and-borrow cycle to go every other year for a VGF 1br sooner than you'll prefer--which I can tell you from experience is not the fun you think DVC will be. While you'd have some leftover points to reduce the points cost of a 1br in succeeding years, it's a not-so-fun cycle.

Here's the 2023 points chart for VGF so you can see what I mean: https://dvcfan.com/2021/12/07/2023-...s-into-new-resort-studios-at-grand-floridian/

Furthermore, the VGF studios are unlikely to suit your family well in a few years for sleeping spaces, depending on how fast your kids may grow. If it were my younger sister and I (about that same age difference), the fights would have been legendary for who got the Murphy bed in the deluxe and who the pulldown twin bed. The new resort studio beds could be even less satisfactory since the 5th bed is a twin convertible sofa bed with two regular queen beds.

When the deluxe's pulldown bed is in use, there's not much free floor space even though its double bathroom might be very convenient.

If you've not looked at points charts for the various resorts you're considering, do that immediately (better still, last week!). Calculating precisely how much of a stay 180 points will get you at various resorts when you're most likely to go is essential before buying in. In fact, doing that could lead you to conclude that buying into the huge DVC resorts--Old Key West or Saratoga Springs will be much more workable. You could later sell that contract and upgrade to a resort you'd rather have if finances permit adding still more points.

Here are points charts for all the DVC resorts:https://dvcfan.com/2021/12/02/2023-disney-vacation-club-points-
charts/

ETA: Oops! Sorry if I've insulted your intelligence. I notice you mention a points chart so may already be familiar with studying those to determine best use of points.

You're welcome to PM me for details on VGF if you like. We've owned there since 2017 and the place.

 

[Her Dotness]

We(well I) watched a lot of touring videos to see what other resorts looked like, although over the years we have been in almost all of them....I wanted to make sure that we really liked our home resort and it had the rooms we wanted since we were buying resale in case Disney does something crazy in the future and limits us resalers to home resort stays only. And I know that once the 2042 resorts start dropping we wont have that much choice anyway.

Terrific advice, IMO.

It's wise also to watch room tours for the sizes you're most interested in booking.

We bid on an OKW resale that got ROFRd not long ago, and now, I'm actually glad it did even though we could have used the points elsewhere at 7 mos.

Upon watching room tour videos more closely and examining floor plans while in The Great ROFR Wait, I realized I thought the floor plans were odd, not nearly as appealing as SSR's, for instance.

An apology to the OP--I read far too speedily before posting and overlooked that you were planning a studio every other year. That many points will keep you going for longer than our every-year greed did us. Silly of me!

 

[deannaf87]

Terrific advice, IMO.

It's wise also to watch room tours for the sizes you're most interested in booking.

We bid on an OKW resale that got ROFRd not long ago, and now, I'm actually glad it did even though we could have used the points elsewhere at 7 mos.

Upon watching room tour videos more closely and examining floor plans while in The Great ROFR Wait, I realized I thought the floor plans were odd, not nearly as appealing as SSR's, for instance.

An apology to the OP--I read far too speedily before posting and overlooked that you were planning a studio every other year. That many points will keep you going for longer than our every-year greed did us. Silly of me!

No worries! I do have the thought in the back of my mind that every other year won't be enough, so the advice is welcome! My husband is pretty adamant that Disney can't be our only vacation spot lol, so I do think every other year will work better for us. That is about what we have been doing with our cash trips over the past almost 10 years.

I have watched a lot of room tours and gotta be honest.... I'm in love with VGF. Hopefully the VGF2 pricing doesn't break my heart.

 

[deannaf87]

Terrific advice, IMO.

It's wise also to watch room tours for the sizes you're most interested in booking.

We bid on an OKW resale that got ROFRd not long ago, and now, I'm actually glad it did even though we could have used the points elsewhere at 7 mos.

Upon watching room tour videos more closely and examining floor plans while in The Great ROFR Wait, I realized I thought the floor plans were odd, not nearly as appealing as SSR's, for instance.

An apology to the OP--I read far too speedily before posting and overlooked that you were planning a studio every other year. That many points will keep you going for longer than our every-year greed did us. Silly of me!

Would you think I'd need more points if I wanted to do a one bedroom every other year in July? 2023 points right now if I had to go with lake view due to no standard availability it'd be 359, which would be almost exactly two year of 180 points. Obviously that is subject to be disbursed differently in future years, but barring point reallocation, is there something else I might not be thinking of?

 

[Her Dotness]

I have watched a lot of room tours and gotta be honest.... I'm in love with VGF. Hopefully the VGF2 pricing doesn't break my heart.

Thanks for your gracious reaction. I'm claiming my oversight was due to a decade+ love affair with the GF, regular and villas. Yeah! that's my excuse.

Somewhat facetiously, I solemnly warn you: BEWARE the VGF 1 bedroom unless you can buy enough points plus cushion of 20 or so to stay in one at any time of year you're likely to go EVERY year. Then, you'll be well-equipped should the VGF 1br sink its claws into all of you as it did us.

They are soooooo comfy and spacious--and gorgeous. Big closet, that marvelous full kitchen...I could obviously go on and on. ❤ ❤ ❤ Love that 1br to tiny pieces!

Ahhh, just read your question about sufficient points. You'll likely be okay for a 1br in July with that many points for at least a few years staying every other year since bank and current points will more than cover the standard (since I'm looking at the full week total), and lake view, as you suggest, would be the fallback if standard is fully booked. You can hope so, anyway, for lake view since it's a close call unless you fall back to a 5-6 night stay as we do. Any leftover points can go on a cheaper 1-2 nighter elsewhere added on--also as we do.

What's worrying us about 1br availability is that if rumor bears out and the VGF2 rollout prices at about where Riviera is, bunches of us VGF oldtimers are highly likely to glom onto enough more points to trade up to the 1br from studio. It could get somewhat harder at 11 mos. to snag a 1br any time of year, particularly for points-poor folks like DH and me.

Not to mention that I bet we VGF veterans are not on the whole thrilled by the new studios. That alone will drive the fight to grab a deluxe studio or 1 br to whole new levels of cutthroat.

No point endlessly speculating, of course. We'll soon see what Disney's going to do...the agony!

 

[deannaf87]

Thanks for your gracious reaction. I'm claiming my oversight was due to a decade+ love affair with the GF, regular and villas. Yeah! that's my excuse.

Somewhat facetiously, I solemnly warn you: BEWARE the VGF 1 bedroom unless you can buy enough points plus cushion of 20 or so to stay in one at any time of year you're likely to go EVERY year. Then, you'll be well-equipped should the VGF 1br sink its claws into all of you as it did us.

They are soooooo comfy and spacious--and gorgeous. Big closet, that marvelous full kitchen...I could obviously go on and on. ❤ ❤ ❤ Love that 1br to tiny pieces!

Ahhh, just read your question about sufficient points. You'll likely be okay for a 1br in July with that many points for at least a few years staying every other year since bank and current points will more than cover the standard, and lake view, as you suggest, would be the fallback if standard is fully booked. You can hope so, anyway, for lake view since it's a close call.

What's worrying us about 1br availability is that if rumor bears out and the VGF2 rollout prices at about where Riviera is, bunches of us VGF oldtimers are highly likely to glom onto enough more points to trade up to the 1br from studio. It could get somewhat harder at 11 mos. to snag a 1br any time of year, particularly for points-poor folks like DH and me.

Not to mention that I bet we VGF veterans are not on the whole thrilled by the new studios. That alone will drive the fight to grab a deluxe studio or 1 br to whole new levels of cutthroat.

No point endlessly speculating, of course. We'll soon see what Disney's going to do...the agony!

I do like the look of the new studios too and seems like they should be easy to come by at 11 months. Our recent stay at Yacht Club w/ the 5th sleeper couch was really the perfect size for us (right now). Although, the one bedroom would be preferred, and I do worry about the availability with all the new points being added. I figure we could try to snag a BLT one bedroom at 7 months if we couldn't get VGF. Or a Poly studio if the whim hit, or...... So many theoretical trips already planned.

 

[KTownRaider]

Would you think I'd need more points if I wanted to do a one bedroom every other year in July? 2023 points right now if I had to go with lake view due to no standard availability it'd be 359, which would be almost exactly two year of 180 points. Obviously that is subject to be disbursed differently in future years, but barring point reallocation, is there something else I might not be thinking of?

The point allocation that you referred is where I'd be concerned. Point charts adjust every year, and literally 1 point of breathing room leaves no margin for that adjustment. The current trend in DVC has been to raise Fall and December points, and lower summer months. However, if you're making this purchase for the long term, then I think you have to be prepared for that trend to possibly reverse at some point.

Just to add some color- In 2022, a 1BR Lake view is going for 366 pts for a full week in July. In 2023, the points required for the same room was reduced to 359. If DVC ever reverses course and added just 1 extra point a night to account for hypothetical increased summer demand in 5, 10, 15 years from now, would you have wished you had bought a few more points now? Just something to think about...

I'll add that it's good to be anticipating scenarios regarding the 1BR LV which should be available longer than Std. There are only 47 1BRs currently (30 Std/17 LV), and there is a lot of speculation on whether 1 & 2 BR units will be tougher to get after the influx of the additional VGF2 owners/202 'resort' studios. Best of luck as you continue to digest all of this information...