Who has purchased sight unseen?

[kniquy]

We are in the process of closing on our first AKV contract. We have never been to that resort nor have we ever done the DVC tour. My husband commented and said "nothing like purchasing something sign unseen".
Then i thought --should we have actually planned a trip to figure out our preference?

We stayed at SSR (via DVC rental) over new years last year and although it was a nice resort and the studio room was nice, I just couldn't believe i was in FL with no palm trees in sight. Despite the good pricing and MF of SSR I knew i would probably never want to stay there unless it was our last option. When we considered buying we wanted something that would provide a unique environment and I figure AKV probably fits that description. I know we have the flexibility of staying almost anywhere and we will hopefully get the opportunity to do so.

How many of you have purchase your DVC resort contract having never actually stayed or visited that particular resort? Any regrets in do this?

 

[Deb & Bill]

We bought BCV and VWL preconstruction (or at least when they opened sales to existing members). We bought our OKW points without staying there, just on the first trip to WDW and staying at the Polynesian.

 

[DVC Mike]

Take a look here: How familiar were you with your home resort when you first joined DVC

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[disneynutz]

We bought BLT without staying there first and we regret it, it is our least favorite resort but others love BLT. For the amount of money that you are spending I suggest that you try the resorts first or be prepared to buy the resort that you really want at a latter date.

AKV is another resort that we own but it isn't our favorite and we sold several of our contracts there.

Bill

 

[RobbW]

While we have stayed at a few DVC resorts, we've never stayed at BLT, which is where we just purchased. We've never even stepped foot in the building. When we finally made the decision to buy DVC, the choice of home resort was purely based on numbers and calculations.

We aren't strangers to buying things sight unseen either. We bought an electric vehicle (Mitsu iMiEV) sight unseen a couple years ago. Never test drove the car. Never sat in it. Heck, we had never even seen one in real life before we signed the purchase documents. But, there were no dealers within a 250-mile radius that had them in stock, and there was a truly awesome incentive on the vehicles. So, we purchased one and had it delivered to our local dealer. Lucky for us, we ended up loving the car!

 

[Deb & Bill]

While we have stayed at a few DVC resorts, we've never stayed at BLT, which is where we just purchased. We've never even stepped foot in the building. When we finally made the decision to buy DVC, the choice of home resort was purely based on numbers and calculations.

We aren't strangers to buying things sight unseen either. We bought an electric vehicle (Mitsu iMiEV) sight unseen a couple years ago. Never test drove the car. Never sat in it. Heck, we had never even seen one in real life before we signed the purchase documents. But, there were no dealers within a 250-mile radius that had them in stock, and there was a truly awesome incentive on the vehicles. So, we purchased one and had it delivered to our local dealer. Lucky for us, we ended up loving the car!

We bought a car over the phone once. We had a Mazda MPV (about 9 months old) and wanted a 4WD version of the same vehicle. We worked with the car dealer over the phone and he worked up a cost. It was too high and we hung up. He called us back about a half hour later and had a better price. We closed the deal and they called us when the car came in. We traded vehicles and we drove home. The dealer was about 160 miles from where we lived.

 

[disnikki08]

I'm waiting on estoppel now for an AKV contract, our first DVC, without ever seeing it in person. Actually haven't been to WDW in probably 12 years but will be taking the kiddos (DD7 and DS8) and other family members for their first time in 2017. From what I want to spend on accommodations for that trip, I said I might as well go ahead and buy into DVC. I've done tons of research and can always sell later. We only plan on going every 2 years as we like Universal too (had a pre-Disney cruise stay) and want to alternate.

I did the same when I bought a Marriott timeshare almost 13 years ago, bought sight unseen and purchased over the phone. Never regretted my decision then and I still have that timeshare, using it to go to Aruba next spring break. Timesharing is part of our future retirement travel plans so it works for us. Looking forward to our first AKV stay!

 

[RobbW]

I'm waiting on estoppel now for an AKV contract, our first DVC, without ever seeing it in person. Actually haven't been to WDW in probably 12 years but will be taking the kiddos (DD7 and DS8) and other family members for their first time in 2017. From what I want to spend on accommodations for that trip, I said I might as well go ahead and buy into DVC. I've done tons of research and can always sell later. We only plan on going every 2 years as we like Universal too (had a pre-Disney cruise stay) and want to alternate.

I did the same when I bought a Marriott timeshare almost 13 years ago, bought sight unseen and purchased over the phone. Never regretted my decision then and I still have that timeshare, using it to go to Aruba next spring break. Timesharing is part of our future retirement travel plans so it works for us. Looking forward to our first AKV stay!

If I may be so bold, you're going to LOVE AKV! It is one of our absolute favorites! We would have bought at AKV, but BLT won out the numbers game in our calculations.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If I may be so bold, you're going to LOVE AKV! It is one of our absolute favorites! We would have bought at AKV, but BLT won out the numbers game in our calculations.

I'll agree with RobbW. We didn't like AKV-KV when it was first built (thought it looked prison-like), but it has grown into a wonderfully landscaped resort. We like it there now.

 

[ToddyLu]

I was set to purchase SSR due to pricing and availability when we purchased in 2009. But DH put his foot down and said "NO, I only want to stay at AKV!!"...soooo we purchased there to "make him happy". Sight unseen. It didn't really matter to me. I just wanted the luxury of those rooms and amenities...fast foward to Halloween Night 2013.

We booked a night at BLT...it was a lake studio, on the monorail, yada, yada yada....we hated it. We pulled up and I could hear and feel our disappointment. But it was only for one night. Because we did not care for resort, we will not ever stay there again. It made my DH more of a purist. I mean the room location was terrific we could see the MK from our lake view and watched Hallowishes from the balcony....it wan't enough.

DVC changes the way you visit WDW...just like a Corvette changes your drive to work...but you really don't understand that going in. Sure you have read all the info on the DIS but it isn't the same as being there.

Maybe you like the condo feel of pulling up to your resort room in the car, maybe you like enclosed "hotel" like hallways. Do you like dark decor, do you like riding buses to every park. Do you care if you are 20 minutes away from MK?

We lucked out. We LOVE AKV and are so glad we purchased there...but it was dumb luck...You definitely need to visit the resorts. There may be some aspect to it that drives you bananas...now you are locked in...what a disappointment....40 years of that unless you sale?

 

[erdoc38]

We are waiting on ROFR for our first contract at BLT, and we've never stayed there. We have stayed at OKW, VB, and AKV before, and enjoyed all but OKW (too spread out for our liking). We loathe the bus system, so BLT was the best choice for us.

 

[ToddyLu]

It sure is a lot of money to find out the clown pool really creeps you out...and up at night, or the loud squawking of the weird bird on the savannah that woke you up at 4 a.m. There is the tumbleweed quiet that is SSR when you think the apocolypse happened while you were on the bus because you haven't seen a living soul for 10 minutes due to the resort size. Do you really like the sand under your feet in a swimming pool at BCV...it has been a long day in the park and now you are stuck on the monorail twice in one trip with a child that has to go potty.....I can think of a million reasons to choose one resort over another. You should really feel like it is home before you purchase...but that is my 0.2$ worth.

Oh, then there is the walk to the main building at VGF, or the boat horn every 15 minutes at the Poly...ALL DAY LONG. Everytime that bird squawks or boat toots...I am hearing ca-ching, ca-ching... Lets see..oh yeah having trouble getting a studio in Dec. at VWL because the decorations there scream " MERRY CHRISTMAS" to all DVC members.

 

[ToddyLu]

No palm trees on the African Savanna either....but I love it so....

 

[Snurk71]

Bought BLT sight unseen, as our first foray into DVC. We never toured a room, don't think we even knew what the decor would be. We had never stayed at the CT,but knew we would like walking to MK.

Our other resort purchases, we were more familiar with. We had stayed at GC 2-3 times before buying , had stayed at BCV once before buying, and stayed at GF 8-10 times and toured the model before buying.

 

[disfanforlife]

We bought AKV sight unseen in 2008. Didn't stay there until 2011. We like it, but also like every DVC resort that we have stayed at.

 

[pangyal]

We've never stayed at BLT either! That contract was purely a "location, location, location" decision. Our first stay there will be December 2016. We've also never stayed at OKW, and haven't stayed at the Villas at GF yet.

 

[JPDtheJD]

We bought VWL resale in the spring of 2014, we didn't stay there until summer 2015 but it was perfect. We loved it and are so happy.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

We bought at BLT sight unseen although it was based on a stay at the Contemporary. We just returned from our first trip "home", and all the reasons we bought there (walking convenience, decor, etc.) were exactly why we loved it. We commented many times about how happy we are that we bought where we wanted to stay even if it was at a premium. So, definitely no regrets. We know those reasons will work while we have little kids and when we're older so we feel quite good about it.

Our first couple nights were at AKL-Kidani - we really loved the animals and the theme - but by the second day the practical concerns were already wearing our patience thin (we had a room at the very end of the building, everything was so far, no quick service, stroller folding, etc). Seeing all the animals from my balcony was totally awesome, but BLT was definitely home the minute we got there.

Only you can tell if your preferences are certain and known and thus you are good with buying before you stay - or whether you might need to taste before you buy. We knew we put immense value on that walk to MK and the compactness of the resort...but you may have strong feelings or you may need to explore.

 

[NoleFan]

We bought BWV having never stayed but having visited the BW area from staying at BC.I like the how far my points would stretch with the standard view rooms & loved the BW area. I also did you tube videos of the resort and pool areas prior to purchasing. It turned out to be a great purchase and our favorite for non-summer visits (for summer visits, we love BCV & own there as well). Good luck

 

[Cindyel]

We bought VGF sight unseen on the Disney Fantasy. Don't see how you can go wrong there! Did the tour years ago and saw models of AKV and BLT. Hated AKV and BLT was ok but needed a ton of points back then to accomodate our family of 5.