Which home resort did you choose & why??

[byoung]

Bough BWV because it's my favorite.

 

[lisaviolet]

Bought SSR in 2005 mainly because of the booking window. Wanted VWL or BWV. But couldn't see booking, wanting to and being able to, at more than 7 months out. So SSR made sense.

Then we stayed at BWV and that was it. Forget the booking window. We can be planners! We sold one of our SSR contracts to buy some BWV points (active resort, beautiful, peaceful standard rooms) in 2006. Love the standard points savings. And ability to have BW view.

And you know what? We still haven't used our BWV booking window. Have for a renter!??!??! And snagged her a BW view at that. So funny.

But we will.

Do you have time to walk around all the resorts. If you go at a low DVC time you might be able to see some rooms. We did at OKW before we stayed. We've stayed at all DVCs except VB. (soon I hope!!!) And it's such personal taste. So excited to stay at BCV. And just thought it was okay. So your mind/thoughts doesn't always match your reaction.

CRV. I was intent in 2005, with money saved up after ten years of dreaming, to wait for the CRV too. A DISer pushed me to go for it and not wait on something that might not come (you could always buy small resale and add-on if it comes). And really I would hate to have missed these years of DVC ownership. We've taken 8 trips!! Eight! 11 family members once. And twice friends. It's been so lovely.

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

Thanks to all for the replies! You are right about it being personal taste. We really love Epcot, and the World Showcase, so we are leaning towards the Epcot DVC's. But the only thing that holds us back is the extra years at SSR and AKV. But we could also add on at any time.
Do they have model rooms of all the resorts? B/c if they did, that might be a good thing to do before deciding. Everyone on these boards have stressed how important your home resort is, so we really want to ponder and make sure.
Thanks to all for you opinions! It's fun to see the "why's".

 

[lisaviolet]

I believe they still have the BW models. Just go down the BW toward Jellyrolls and you enter right from the BW if they still have them open. I obviously don't have a keen eye I just passed by last week.

As for BCV the chances of seeing in one are slim to none because of 100% occupancy. No models. I would go in and walk the halls though. The doors are sometimes open with the maids cleaning. So you might get a chance to peek after someone has checked out.

Ditto for VWL. Small DVC.

But just ask at OKW. No models. But as I said we were able to see some suites.

 

[lisaviolet]

Thanks to all for the replies! You are right about it being personal taste. We really love Epcot, and the World Showcase, so we are leaning towards the Epcot DVC's. But the only thing that holds us back is the extra years at SSR and AKV. But we could also add on at any time.
Do they have model rooms of all the resorts? B/c if they did, that might be a good thing to do before deciding. Everyone on these boards have stressed how important your home resort is, so we really want to ponder and make sure.
Thanks to all for you opinions! It's fun to see the "why's".

Honestly, if I had to do it all over again I would buy a small resale contract first to become a member. And then slowly, or quickly if I were wealthy, add-on the rest from Disney. There are no closing costs for DVC members adding on. And it's painless.

The trick for getting a small resale contract is to let the resale companies know what you are looking for and give a high per point price to get through ROFR. High price per point is nothing on small contract.

Even if in the end you spend more money adding on with Disney and paying for a small contract initially I think it's worth it. Worth it to own multiple small contracts (even at the same resort), which are great for future resale if needed, and the exact inventory that works for you. And sometimes, for some of us not all, that means trying places out and taking your time.

Good luck to you. Exciting times....

 

[lisaviolet]

It's also exciting to have financial room and points room for future developments.

 

[AlwaysEeyore]

We are in the middle of buying a resale at BWV. We love that it is within walking distance to Epcot & MGM. That was the big draw and it was cheaper then BCV per point. We also spent a lot of time going over photos of decor of each resort. We liked how BWV looked the best also. Our timeshare is technically our vacation home and we want to enjoy our surroundings while we are there. We love VWL also but don't care for the furnishings. We may do an add on in the future at AKV but not until we see the new building in person. We will definately do an add on at the Contemporary if it becomes available.

 

[crisi]

If I were you I'd make a list of all the resort attributes, weight them, and then rank the resorts against the attributes. And it will be your perception of them. You have two that are important to you right now (and are at odds with one another) - location of the Epcot are resorts and longer contracts. But there may be other attributes you find important - like decor or room size or the pool.

I'd also do the math on contract length. Some people are young enough that the extra years make a big difference and some of us are old enough that it doesn't make a difference. Some people find the idea of passing DVC to their kids vital, others don't want to burden their kids. But where ever you are, just the 35 years on the BWV/BCV contract is a long time, much less the 50 years, things can change - Me, I'd rather have 35 years at a resort I want than 50 years at a resort I'm not thrilled by, but I might feel differently if SSR had any appeal to me. About the only thing I like about SSR is that it has a very nice pool (actually, most of the public spaces are really nice - they are just so far from the ends of the resort).

We bought BWV because we bought resale about five years ago. BCV was only selling through Disney at the time and a guide didn't call us back for weeks - in the meantime we'd found the resale market. We wanted onsite, so our choices were OKW/BWV and VWL. I wanted VWL, but at the time it was new to resale, supply was low and price was high. So frugally I chose a cheaper OKW contract. The deal fell through and the resale salesperson had a "like" BWV contract (same number of points, same price) so we bought that. I think we'd have made ourselves happy anywhere, but we do like where we ended up. We like the cheaper standard view rooms. We like walking back from Epcot. We like not needing a car. We like interior hallways and the hotel feel of the resort.

 

[dizplanner]

I bought VWL in fall 2004. Here is the logic I used.
1. I wanted something at WDW - that eliminated VB and HHI.
2. OKW and SSR are larger so I figured I could probably get a room there if I wanted to stay there - the home advantage didn't seem as necessary.
3. That left BWV, VWL and BCV. (This was before AKV were available.) We had previously stayed at the Boardwalk Inn and it was not our favorite. We didn't like the fact there was no fast food option for breakfast, etc.
So I eliminated BWV.
4. I think we would have been happy at either VWL or BCV, but we had previously stayed at Wilderness Lodge and enjoyed it. It is my husbands favorite resort. And it was a bit cheaper than BCV on resale (although I don't think the difference was quite as much as now). Plus I wanted to stay at VWL at Christmas and I figured I needed the home advantage for that. So I went for VWL.

We have had two stays on points - one at OKW in a Grand Villa with extended family (March 2006) and one at VWL in a studio (just husband and I) in early December 2006. Both stays were great and we enjoyed both resorts.

I now need to figure my next stay - maybe next March, during the kids Spring Break.

Karen

 

[WDWLVR]

We bought BWV because of the location to Epcot! I love being able to walk there or to MGM and to walk home after Illuminations.

We added on to Vero Beach because my in-laws aren't big WDW fans and love beach vacations. We've used the VB points to send them there a couple of times and other times use the points for ourselves to stay at WDW (at the 7 month window).

 

[disneynutz]

Choosing a resort based upon location and looks is only one part of the equation. Learning the DVC MS ins and outs is also a large item in my opinion. I recommend buying a smaller contract resale. Take DVC out for a test drive. Experience the different resorts for yourself and rent additional points if necessary. We bought AKV and are now having second thoughts. Last month we stayed at BWV and loved it. Only you can decide for yourself.

 

[deerh]

We choose BWV because our kids were young, but not babies, and I was looking down the road when they get older that they would like the "action" of the BWV with bars, etc.

We choose HHI because we wanted a beach property without worrying about someone burning a hole in the carpet, and have to replace the carpet. Disney does it for us, and we have it for 40 years!!

HTH..

Buying the DVC was the 3rd best thing we did after buying a house and having kids... You can go on great vacations for 40 years and never have to worry about is the place rented, or is the carpet clean, etc. Compared to if you bought a place at the beach/Fla....

DeerH

 

[bcvdreamer]

We bought BCV sight unseen because of the location. I would have been happy with BW, but my dh was nervous about buying resale. We love bcv...and every other resort we've stayed at too!

 

[salmoneous]

We have had two stays on points - one at OKW in a Grand Villa with extended family (March 2006)

Just curious - do you have any trouble getting a OKW GV at the 7 month window?

 

[HUFF590]

We bought SSR sight unseen just because we love WDW, and we go 3 times a year. We thought the Vacation Club would be best for us and boy were we right. For us it did not matter which resort, just so we were there.

 

[cooko4cocoapuff]

question: what resort does "CRV" stand for, and what does rumor say about when it may be available?

We just purchased AKV based on the resort theme, animals, room flexibility... meaning choices btwn a value accomodation upto suite accomodations for upto 12 guests, restaurants - Boma is one of our favorites, and the resort atmosphere creates a feeling that you have stepped over into a far off Safari lodge... what a nice retreat from the hussle and bussle after a long day in the parks.

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

question: what resort does "CRV" stand for, and what does rumor say about when it may be available?

We just purchased AKV based on the resort theme, animals, room flexibility... meaning choices btwn a value accomodation upto suite accomodations for upto 12 guests, restaurants - Boma is one of our favorites, and the resort atmosphere creates a feeling that you have stepped over into a far off Safari lodge... what a nice retreat from the hussle and bussle after a long day in the parks.

CRV stands for Contemporary Resort Villas. There is construction going on at the Contemporary resort, so a lot of people have been speculating about it being DVC. From what I've read on these boards, whatever it is they're building, it should be done by the end of 2009.
Hope I've helped.

 

[tdodd]

Sorry, I am new to this board and am considering a purchase into the DVC. What is the CRV/CRV rumor?

Thanks.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Hi Tdodd! to the DIS.

The CRV rumor is that there will be a new Disney Vacation Club resort installed at the Contemporary Resort in the (semi-near) future. I think it is going to happen but Disney has not said anything official to verify the rumor.
Unofficially lots of bus drivers, CMs (non DVC CMs that is), ferry boat captains... all are happy to tell you that CRV is the next DVC at WDW.

 

[Disney Doll]

We chose OKW. We bought in 1997 and the only 2 available then were OKW & BWV. OKW had larger sized units, a cheaper per point buy-in cost and less expensive maintenance fees. We liked the casual, tropical "feel" of the resort.

Which isn't to say that I don't love the Boardwalk area, because I do. But we have been very lucky about being able to stay there pretty much when we have wanted to. We travel at sort of "off" times of the year, so it isn't usually an issue.