Which resort for resale pts?

[DannysMom]

Anybody want to help me think it through? DH & I are finally at a place that we can afford DVC -- at least resale DVC. Thought about buying direct but financing for the privilege of paying more seemed just wrong.

So I think I need to focus in more on a resort. Problem is I can't seem to decide which one I want to buy in at. One issue is we are a family of 5, so I'll need enough points for a 2BR at least every other year -- unless we want AKV or BLT where we could fit in a 1BR. And while AKV looks nice, I am not crazy about the location. And the BLT resales are priced crazy high (IMO) but I do wonder just how good of a deal might be struck on BLT points. Having young children and a son with a disability, being in the MK area would be awesome. How low of a price per point could be gotten?

WL never seems to have any inventory available. BC contracts do seem readily available and it might be a great home resort as the kids get older. The massive amounts of available inventory of SSR points means I could probably get my best deal there & thus afford more points there. Last trip we stayed at SSR and while the location was not ideal, I don't think I would mind being "stuck" there.

So you can see I keep bouncing around on home resort. It makes looking at resale contracts a little difficult, or at least more confusing than it needs to be. Leading contenders seem to be SSR & BC. But I keep coming back around to BLT location and wondering how good of a deal you get there. Any thoughts?

 

[mjc2003]

Anybody want to help me think it through? DH & I are finally at a place that we can afford DVC -- at least resale DVC. Thought about buying direct but financing for the privilege of paying more seemed just wrong.

So I think I need to focus in more on a resort. Problem is I can't seem to decide which one I want to buy in at. One issue is we are a family of 5, so I'll need enough points for a 2BR at least every other year -- unless we want AKV or BLT where we could fit in a 1BR. And while AKV looks nice, I am not crazy about the location. And the BLT resales are priced crazy high (IMO) but I do wonder just how good of a deal might be struck on BLT points. Having young children and a son with a disability, being in the MK area would be awesome. How low of a price per point could be gotten?

WL never seems to have any inventory available. BC contracts do seem readily available and it might be a great home resort as the kids get older. The massive amounts of available inventory of SSR points means I could probably get my best deal there & thus afford more points there. Last trip we stayed at SSR and while the location was not ideal, I don't think I would mind being "stuck" there.

So you can see I keep bouncing around on home resort. It makes looking at resale contracts a little difficult, or at least more confusing than it needs to be. Leading contenders seem to be SSR & BC. But I keep coming back around to BLT location and wondering how good of a deal you get there. Any thoughts?

One thing to consider is that BCV points have come down quite a bit, I've been seeing contracts selling in the mid 60's, and while SSR might be cheaper you can always use BCV points at SSR, but won't always be able to use SSR points at BCV b/c it is hard to book. Also, consider that the extra cost of BCV could be justified by having what the kids would consider a water park at the resort. You might find yourselves having more "resort only" days, which can equate to more relaxation!

Also, not having to deal with 5 people relying on buses to go to every park is nice. While we love MK, we find it great to be so close to Epcot and DHS. We have had days at BCV where I've taken my 6 year old over to Epcot just for Soarin and Test Track in the morning, we've eaten lunch at Beach Club and swam for a few hours, and gone over to DHS just to walk around for an hour or two (my girls want to see the Beauty & the Beast show about 5 times per visit....), and all of that without setting foot on a bus (maybe the boat to DHS, but that's different in my book). We also like the walk back from DHS to BCV b/c it's good exercise, and it's quiet which usually lulls my kids into a nap!

We are a family of 5 as well, and encountered a similar dilemma but ultimately we love BCV too much to go elsewhere and are just going to suck it up and deal with the point cost of 2 BR's (though our next trip might be our last in a 1BR as our youngest is still an infant.)

I am obviously partial, but we really like BCV, whatever you choose, Good luck!

 

[DougEMG]

Another options is BWV which you might be able to get for $10/point more than SSR. While it has higher MF, the standard view rooms there are an excellent deal for the points, as cheap as OKW but with the Epcot location.

 

[DannysMom]

All good thoughts. Thank you. I do tend to overlook BWV. Not sure why. I think there had been less BW available than other resorts, at least in the short time I have been (more) seriously looking.

Anyone have any clue on a bottom number price per point at BLT?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't rule out OKW. The one bedroom villas sleep five with the addition of the sleeper chair in the living room. The kitchen is very big and the single bathroom is almost like two with the jacuzzi tub (largest on the property) and a sink are in one room, with another sink, the toilet and the shower in the other room. And a full sized washer and dryer instead of stackables. And you get both a queen sized sleeper sofa and a love seat in the living room (plus the sleeper chair). None of the others have both the sleeper sofa and the love seat AND the sleeper chair.

BWV still only officially sleeps four since they can't put the sleeper chair in those one bedroom villas because the living room is too small. Same with VWL, SSR and BCV. But DVC will currently allow a fifth person age three or older, but you have to provide your own bed/bedding/linens for that fifh person. It doesn't mean you can add a sixth, though. Just five.

 

[ToddyLu]

There is a sticky on picking your home resort. But our decision went like this .

BLT....do not like the decor at all and that was more important to me than location, the "feel" and theming were a very big deal to me. DH and I do not have children but I can certainly understand why a young family would want to own there.....but childhood is brief and will you want to stay there 10 years from now. DH and I walked out on the sky bridge in May on our last trip and the parking lot view was bothersome.

OKW and BCV...not too much into pools...yet the past two years we have been for a week in May....and I am beginning to see the light. So now I am interestd in the amenities at the resort and I love the pools at AKV. We live on the Gulf Coast and OKW and BCV seem too much like home.

While I love the SSR spa, it is a huge and very quiet resort. Very quiet. The grounds are beautilful but it has a very sedate feeling that did not appeal to us. However DH has expressed an interest in staying in a THV one day....

BWV...yes I have to say the clown pool is a big turn off especially when it is lit up at night. I love the location, but again the decor....eh, not so much. I find that with DVC DH and I spend more time at the resort and actually relax more now on our Disney vacations..DVC has changed the way we vacation so the way the room looks and feels is more important. I never regret leaving a park to come back to our room at AKV any more, couldn't say that when we stayed at Pop.

WL, next to AKV is my fav because of the feeling it evokes in me. It just seems grand and takes you from FL and dumps you in CO near the Grand Canyon somewhere. Even the trees and geyser set the tone. I am OK with the decor because I like the dark woodsey vibe.

VB and HHI are not on property so they did not enter the running. If I lived on the West Coast Aulani or VGC would be great. Wonderful location and decor but we only live 10 hours from WDW so they didn't enter either

So by process of elimination we feel in love with AKV. We had never stepped foot on that property but it was always my dream to stay there. DH loves the animals and photography and he was adamant about AKV. So he I guess put the final vote in and there you have our decision in a nut shell. I must have looked through the rooms a hundred times. AKV is perfect for us

I know you will make a great decision for your family and it is such a fun decision too. Let us know about your contract when you find one.

 

[ELMC]

All good thoughts. Thank you. I do tend to overlook BWV. Not sure why. I think there had been less BW available than other resorts, at least in the short time I have been (more) seriously looking.

Anyone have any clue on a bottom number price per point at BLT?

You're definitely right about this. Over the past 6 months there has been a run on BWV contracts and simultaneously a dip in supply. So the prices have definitely ticked up a bit.

I understand what you are saying about SSR and being able to get more points for the same purchase price. If you are not going during the peak DVC times of the year, you very well may be able to get a BLT reservation at the 7 month mark, in which case you'll get the best of both worlds (lower buy in and convenience of staying "at" MK). In the end you need to rank your priorities. During our buying process I thought much like you did. Eventually I realized that my priorities were location #1, cost #2. So I ended up buying at BWV (for proximity to DHS and Epcot and because it was less than BCV) as well as BLT (because walking to MK is super duper important to me). Yes, I paid more than if I bought OKW or SSR, but I have the peace of mind that at 11 months out I can get my home resorts, and that is worth it to me. Good luck figuring out what is most important to you, because once you do your decision will be much easier.

As far as pricing goes, check out this thread for the recent sales for all resorts:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2661661&page=171

Specifically, look at post #2552. My best inference is that the lowest you can probably get BLT for nowadays is about $85, but that might take some work. I would also read up on the threads relating to valuing and buying contracts to learn about the benefits of buying loaded contracts as well as tips for negotiating closing costs and maintenance fee reimbursement. Good luck on your decision!

 

[DannysMom]

I was sort of dismissing OKW mainly, I think, because of the reported spate of ROFR's being exercised by Disney. But it seems like some are getting through again. Hmmm, more to think about. All the point charts I have seen still list OKW 1 BR occupancy at 4 people. The 5 is now "official?"

So judging from the prices that are getting through I think BCV may be my best buy --with the possibility of SSR (or maybe OKW) as fallbacks if I can't hit my sweet spot on price. Although I am already thinking as soon as we can afford it, getting a second contract so that we can continue to go every year, might be the thing to do. Start with what you can afford now, right?

 

[juncker]

You sound very much like we did last year when we became DVC members (except we are a family of 6). We ended up at SSR based upon the long term costs and lower MFs. We almost went with BCV, but decided not to based upon higher costs and longer contract at SSR.

Our approach is that we want to visit every DVC property eventually. We stayed at SSR for our first stay and enjoyed it. We also were able to stay at BCV last April. It isn't impossible to get reservations there if you plan properly. A lot of it depends on what time of year you are travelling. While the BCV pool can't be beat, I wasn't that impressed with the rooms, but the location is sure great.

I wouldn't buy SSR if you won't be happy staying there. We're thinking with proper planning at the 7 month mark or with wait lists, we'll eventually get to all resorts, but will be happy with SSR. One other bonus about SSR with a larger family is the ability to book the THVs at 11 months. We'll be trying this for the first time over NYE this year. So excited.

The one thing that I was most happy about with us buying resale is that we found a fully loaded contract with all points banked. We only paid a couple of dollars more per point than most contracts, but had an immediate vacation available from the start. My recommendation would be to wait for the right contract to become available rather than just taking what is currently listed.

 

[catpainter]

All good thoughts. Thank you. I do tend to overlook BWV. Not sure why. I think there had been less BW available than other resorts, at least in the short time I have been (more) seriously looking.

Anyone have any clue on a bottom number price per point at BLT?

We also were unsure of which resort to choose, but we really like being able to walk to MK. (Granddaughters Love contemporary too!) SIL is a teacher, so we are limited to school breaks and figure we need the 11 month window. MF are not bad either.

We had an offer accepted for $85, 210 pts, no banked points but all 2012 pts avail. Asking price was $90.48. Still in ROFR but was 3 wks yesterday so hopefully that is a good sign???

It looks like they have been exercising ROFR in about 2 weeks but I know it could still happen. Hope to find out Tuesday and will def. post on ROFR thread..

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I was sort of dismissing OKW mainly, I think, because of the reported spate of ROFR's being exercised by Disney. But it seems like some are getting through again. Hmmm, more to think about. All the point charts I have seen still list OKW 1 BR occupancy at 4 people. The 5 is now "official?"

So judging from the prices that are getting through I think BCV may be my best buy --with the possibility of SSR (or maybe OKW) as fallbacks if I can't hit my sweet spot on price. Although I am already thinking as soon as we can afford it, getting a second contract so that we can continue to go every year, might be the thing to do. Start with what you can afford now, right?

Initial buy in isn't the only cost so don't forget to consider how much the MF's are. In the long run BCV will cost a lot more than SSR and actually in buy-in it will cost more today than what you can find an SSR contract for.

I don't think you said for certain how many points but if you are looking at 160-200 and do not have a certain UY requirement I think you can get BLT fairly easily for $80-$85. Some people have gotten it for less but that will be finding just the right seller and could take time and a lot of work. If MF's continue on average to rise at similar rates at each resort you could pay $80 per point for BLT, $65/pt for BCV or $74/pt for SSR and end up at close to the same total cost after 10 years. Now unless you will stay standard view at BLT the resort will require more points than BCV and BCV requires more than SSR.

All the 1BR DVC's will allow for 5 but you must provide the bedding for the 5th person everywhere except for BLT, AKV (non-value category) and OKW because they have the sleeper chairs. And #5 will also be sleeping on the floor or airbed that you bring because there isn't a bed for them at most resorts. Most families will probably decide they'd rather have the 2BR if they can't get the 1BR at the 3 mentioned resorts.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...All the 1BR DVC's will allow for 5 but you must provide the bedding for the 5th person everywhere except for BLT, AKV (non-value category) and OKW because they have the sleeper chairs. And #5 will also be sleeping on the floor or airbed that you bring because there isn't a bed for them at most resorts. Most families will probably decide they'd rather have the 2BR if they can't get the 1BR at the 3 mentioned resorts.

Plus, it wasn't always that way and DVC could go back to the original occupancy - four in a one bedroom for those that don't have the sleeping space for the fifth person.

 

[DannysMom]

As of today I am in my ROFR wait for a 200 pt BCV contract!!! :cool1

And since I hear that dancing bannanas distract the monkey........

 

[DougEMG]

As of today I am in my ROFR wait for a 200 pt BCV contract!!! :cool1

And since I hear that dancing bannanas distract the monkey........

Great, I wouldn't mind picking up a BCV contract myself.

Now comes the horrible waiting...good luck

 

[JOEJENN]

We too have a family of 5 and own OKW for 15 years. The 2 bedroom/2 bath is great and is more spacious than the other resorts. It's also a quiet resort. So, after running the parks, it's a great place to kick back.

The main pool is great for activities unless you want some time at the quiet pools. There's also a boat to the Marketplace. Less points for more vacation time...