Which resort to pick?

[tink5]

Does it matter which resort you buy your membership from? I know that you can make the ressies 11 months out as apposed to 7 months. But is that the only difference. Does it really matter which one you pick?

 

[tjkraz]

You're bound to get a lot of different points-of-view on this question.

My personal opinion is that it only matters if you want to stay at one particular resort during the vast majority of your stays AND you have the ability to plan your vacations more than 7 months in advance. If you want to stay at the Boardwalk 80% of the time, buy your points at the boardwalk. Case closed.

However, if you will basically be happy with any DVC property or you have a job / life which doesn't let you plan 7+ months in advance (at which point you lose the Home resort advantage), then you might as well buy the cheapest resort. In this situation, your choices would likely come down to OKW (resale) or SSR (direct from DVC) as they have the lowest annual dues in the program.

OK, now here's the fine print: There are probably two classes of rooms that you will rarely be able to book unless you own at that resort. Those rooms are any of the Standard View accommodations at the Boardwalk and the Grand Villas at Old Key West. Demand for these rooms is high enough that they are often all gone at the 7-month mark when non-Home owners are permitted to book.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I think it matters, especially if you go at popular (school vacation or popular DVC times) of the year or own at the smaller resorts.

We like being able to make the reservation at 11 months and knowing what we have. Especially with the BWV, it is nice to be able to get a standard room or a Boardwalk view. They are difficult to get at 7 months.

Another widely debated factor is that the small resorts (BCV and VWL) could fill up quicker when the 7 month window opens in the future as more members are added to the mix. Someday you may have to call day by day right at MS opening for a 7 month reservation.

Buy where you want to stay the most. It will help you in the long run and help you sleep at night, especially if you can plan 11 months in advance.

HBC

 

[tink5]

Okay, next question. I have never stayed at any of these resorts~any recommendations? We normally stay at the Contemporary. So I don't have a clue which one to pick.

 

[las3888]

You can pretty much count that you won't get either a standard view or a boardwalk view room at BWV at the 7 month mark. We have also had difficulty getting anything at WVL or BCV after 7 months I think because they simply have fewer rooms. We have not been real determined on these 2 though (camping out by the phone at the exact 7 month moment). It also seems that OKW 1BRs and studios seem fairly available when we call and ask. That has been our experience so far.

The best advice we got when we purchased was buy where you want to stay. I am happy we learned this because we really like BWV and are happy to be able to book standard view rooms and save on some points.

Good luck with your decision-making!

 

[tjkraz]

Might help to provide a little info about yourself.

What do you like about the Contemporary? What is it that consistently draws you to that resort?

What sort of travel patterns have you established? How often to you go to WDW now, and do you expect that volume to increase or decrease?

Also, what time of year do you travel (if consistent) and how many people are in your family?

 

[tink5]

There are 5 of us the kids are 16,13 and 6. We like to do a one week vacation, usually at the end of July, per year. We would also like to go on a weekend trip in Dec. to New York. We enjoy the contemporary because it is so close the everything. Hope this helps. Thanks.

 

[Beca]

"so close to everything".....That sounds like a perfect match for BWV or BCV (they're both in walking distance to Epcot and MGM, plus the Boardwalk area has a lot of activity), or...if your kids like Downtown Disney, you might pick SSR.

I really would log onto www.disney.go.com, and take virtual tours of each resort. Here's a site map which you might also find useful.

http://www.disney.ca/vacations/disneyworld/VII/maps/pdf/propertymap.pdf



Beca

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by tink5
There are 5 of us the kids are 16,13 and 6. We like to do a one week vacation, usually at the end of July, per year. We would also like to go on a weekend trip in Dec. to New York. We enjoy the contemporary because it is so close the everything. Hope this helps. Thanks.

If that wil be your usual travel pattern for some time to come, it probably won't matter which on site resort you choose. The end of July is not that hard to book at the 7 month window (unless you want standard or guaranteed BW views at BWV or a Grand Villa anywhere). If you use DVC points for your trip to New York, it won't matter which resort - booking windows for non-DVC resort options are not restricted by home resort.

That said, my advice is to look closely at the EPCOT resorts. As your children grow, you and they may appreciate being within walking distance of EPCOT and MGM as well as the Boardwalk entertainment area. The pool at the BCV is also a big draw and is for the exclusive use of BC/YC/BCV resrot guests.

Best wishes -

 

[tjkraz]

Well, with 5 individuals you would need to reserve a Two Bedroom accommodation. A 2B for a week in July at the Boardwalk Villas would run you 350 points per year. That's for 7 nights. If you want to go down to 7 days / 6 nights it would go down to 275 points.

A few comments:

All of the DVC resorts are close to something. This is WDW, after all. The Beach Club Villas and Boardwalk Villas are walking distance to Epcot and MGM. Wilderness Lodge Villas are a short boat ride from the Magic Kingdom. Old Key West and Saratoga Springs are walking distance to Downtown Disney. Decide which holds the greatest desire to you.

Functionally, BWV, BCV and VWL most closely resemble "standard" hotels. The rooms are all consolidated into a single building, they have interior hallways, valet parking, etc. SSR and OKW are more "condo-style" developments. Rooms are grouped into smaller buildings. Parking lots are available right outside of the building. Give this difference some consideration when you are trying to decide on a property.

With the volume of points you are looking to purchase, you might consider buying at two different Home resorts--particularly if you go the resale route. You could get a 150 pt contract at VWL and a 200 pt contract at the Beach Club. In fact, smaller contracts are typically easier to sell than larger ones, meaning you would have a quicker sale if you ever decided to sell your DVC ownership.

In case you didn't pick it up elsewhere, Saratoga Springs is the only resort worth buying direct from DVC. Yes, they will sell you points at the other properties, but the costs are exhorbitantly high for a first-time buyer, IMO. In a nutshell, DVC will presently charge you MORE per point for the sold-out resorts than for SSR points, while you would get 11 more years of ownership with SSR.

Resales can take some time and energy to acquire, but the $$$ savings are significant over buying those same properties from DVC. And, if you find a contact with Banked points from the prior year, it can be a real bonus.

You will need to finance a resale purchase yourself--either with cash, credit card or other line of credit. If you buy direct from DVC, they will finance over as many as 10 years with as little as 10% down.

Hope this helps.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Originally posted by CarolMN
[...]That said, my advice is to look closely at the EPCOT resorts. As your children grow, you and they may appreciate being within walking distance of EPCOT and MGM as well as the Boardwalk entertainment area. The pool at the BCV is also a big draw and is for the exclusive use of BC/YC/BCV resrot guests.

Best wishes -

And, given the ages of your children, you might want to consider Saratoga Springs Resort - walking distance to DTD, Pleasure Island, the movies, Disney Quest, and close to the water parks.

Good Luck - yes, it's a tough choice, but only because all the options are good ones!

 

[MAC3]

I think taking into consideration your childrens ages, the Epcot area would be great. As you can just walk through Epcot to get on the monorail to go to MK.

But I agree, take a look at pictures of the resorts and see which one appeals to you.

Just for the record, I have 3 DVC stays under our belt, 2 of which were booked in less than 5 months.

Twice I wanted the BWV, once it wasn't available, the other time came through on a waitlist. When I have booked at least 7 months I have gotten where I wanted.

I have never stayed @ my home resort of VWL. We like to stay @ OKW(DH & DD's preference) or BWV(my preference).

We usually vacation end of June early July! But who knows what will happen with DVC growth.

Good luck with your choices,

 

[SoCalKDG]

Well, with 5 individuals you would need to reserve a Two Bedroom accommodation. A 2B for a week in July at the Boardwalk Villas would run you 350 points per year. That's for 7 nights. If you want to go down to 7 days / 6 nights it would go down to 275 points.

If you choose a standard view, you can drop your points down to 233 for the 7 day/6 nights at BWV for a 2 bedroom. You could also choose two studios and be under 200 points. Lots of choices, thats for sure. Study the DVC points charts at the top of this site.

 

[tink5]

All this information, I think my head is going to explode! Thanks for all your help.

 

[timC]

Originally posted by tink5
Okay, next question. I have never stayed at any of these resorts~any recommendations? We normally stay at the Contemporary. So I don't have a clue which one to pick.

Boy... I hate complicate things further, but the rumors are getting louder of a new DVC resort to be built on the current site of the north wing at the Contemporary. Just rumors... but being fueled by some of the DVC guides themselves....

Since you appear to be a CR fan, you might want to factor into your thoughts... the possibilty of a CR-villas become available in the next few years... maybe as a potential add-on in the future.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Originally posted by tink5
All this information, I think my head is going to explode! Thanks for all your help.

That's the test, tink5 - if you can survive this decision, you'll make a great DVC Member!

 

[kathleena]

Close to everything to me means you should look seriously at BWV and BCV resales. Although SSR is close to DTD, it's not as "close to everything" as the two Epcot resorts

The BoardWalk would be great for the kids - ESPN.
And then there's Stormalong Bay.
Easy to hop on a bus to water parks (they are equidistant from both water parks, I disagree with SSR being close to the water parks - only to TL)
and easy to hop a boat to MGM or walk to Epcot.
OKW is a long walk to DTD. The one from BWV and BCV to Epcot is short and it's longer to MGM.

The standard view rooms are about as low point wise as OKWs. The difference would be - if you own OKW you would have little to no chance of getting a SV room at BWV. But if you own at BWV, most rooms are easy to get at OKW. Yet to be seen about SSR.

I wouldn't hold my breath for CR Villa's! That rumor has been around for a long time.

Good luck!