why buy expensive dvc?

[sndral]

I wouldn't buy gfv either but I also wanted a place that the contract didn't expire soon vs say animal kingdom lodge

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I'm confused - are you saying AKV's 2057 expiration date is soon?

 

[dsnydaddy]

I think that Jimim was comparing the resorts that "expire in 2042" as opposed to AKV that expires in 2057.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I have no intention of buying Grand Floridian but I do know folks who bought it because they just loved it.

I looked at it for a January weekend (just to stay there) but it was twice the points of OKW so I ruled it out. At this rate I may never stay there. GF villas is the smallest resort on property and it's hard to get in at most any time unless you own there.

 

[bakerworld]

We didn't put a lot of thought into purchasing our DVC. We do believe you should purchase at least a small contract at where you want to stay. Basically, you can transfer into different locations anytime except October thru early January. During those times you can pretty only stay in SSR - or at least that was our experience.

 

[johde]

We didn't put a lot of thought into purchasing our DVC. We do believe you should purchase at least a small contract at where you want to stay. Basically, you can transfer into different locations anytime except October thru early January. During those times you can pretty only stay in SSR - or at least that was our experience.

I own a small OKW contract and I'm slightly less than 50/50 at being able to transfer into Boardwalk Standard View or Animal Kingdom Standard or Value View during December/Early January (Marathon weekend). This year was a major struggle and for a while I had reservations at 3 different places but I finally got Animal Kingdom Villas Value View studio Jan 2-6.

To the original question, on where to buy. Most of of my recent trips have been solo so switching at 7 months to a resort with a sofa bed is nice. I like OKW, and if I end up staying staying at OKW I still enjoy my vacation. That is the question you need to ask about your home resort. Will I be miserable if I end up not being able to switch at 7 months? When I bought 13 years ago the choices were OKW for BWV via resale. At times I wish I'd bought waited for a BWV resale instead because OKW and now SSR is fairly easy to get during large sections of the year but standard views at BWV are not.

You didn't mention them but that's one of the problems with buy HH, VB, VGC, or AHV with the goal of primarily visiting WDW. (or not buying one of those if your goal is to primarily stay at one of the "off site" resorts).

 

[keysersoze981]

The reason why VGF isn't a bad option is because the dues are bound to not go up a lot because there's not a lot of need to renovate, fix the roof, sidewalks, etc. and it's for 50 years.

Saratoga isn't a bad deal either, just because the dues are low and the place is massive.

My best suggestion would be to find an Old Key West EXTENDED for $80/pt or less and enjoy 43 years of awesomeness for little to nothing.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

We've been to WDW for 4 separate trips since VGF opened. I've waitlisted there for each of those trips and haven't been successful yet. I know we'll eventually get in, and we've had wonderful vacations staying at our home resorts in the meantime. But the recommendation to "buy where you want to stay" most certainly does have merrit.

 

[Dean]

The reason why VGF isn't a bad option is because the dues are bound to not go up a lot because there's not a lot of need to renovate, fix the roof, sidewalks, etc. and it's for 50 years.

Saratoga isn't a bad deal either, just because the dues are low and the place is massive.

My best suggestion would be to find an Old Key West EXTENDED for $80/pt or less and enjoy 43 years of awesomeness for little to nothing.

I believe the VGF dues are artificially low and will outpace the rest long term. I think it's unrealistic to think they'll be stagnant or simply pace the rest.

 

[chalee94]

The reason why VGF isn't a bad option is because the dues are bound to not go up a lot because there's not a lot of need to renovate, fix the roof, sidewalks, etc. and it's for 50 years.

not sure you understand how this works. money is put aside in reserves over time for long term renovations like this. you generally don't see much of a jump in dues during a big refurb...

 

[bellablue2]

2042 is still an incredibly long time away (27 years) and these resorts continue to sell well, okw is the best deal on the market imo.

 

[jerseyduke]

I bought VGF because that is where I want to stay. It is a small resort.

There are two reasons to pay a premium:
1. the 11 month booking window - Huge
2. the contract "holding it's value" - questionable

I think it will be very hard to book at the VGF at 7 months (except as people have noted, short stays, and off times for dvc) for a long time.

If VGF were to suddenly become very unpopular (I dont know how), and became easy to book at 7 months, the resale prices would probably plummet. (A La reason number 1)

Also, VGF has almost double the amount of years left remaining on its contract when compared to the 2042 resorts. If you think you are going to live that long, or plan on willing it to someone, this may be of value.

SSR and OKW are cheap on the resale market, because booking there at 7 months is usually not difficult. Both resorts are still nice places.

 

[bellablue2]

i think most vgf owners have bought small contracts and will be competing with each other for studios. larger units can be had now easily within the seven month window. that may change somewhat when vgf is sold out. but i'm banking on being able to book a one bedroom most of the time within seven months....with my okw points. i want a one bedroom even when traveling solo.

i think the poly studios coming on will free up even more one bedrooms on the monorail...ready to be booked at seven months with relatively cheap okw and ssr points.

 

[Minniesgal]

i think most vgf owners have bought small contracts and will be competing with each other for studios. larger units can be had now easily within the seven month window. that may change somewhat when vgf is sold out. but i'm banking on being able to book a one bedroom most of the time within seven months....with my okw points. i want a one bedroom even when traveling solo. i think the poly studios coming on will free up even more one bedrooms on the monorail...ready to be booked at seven months with relatively cheap okw and ssr points.

We did exactly that we bought enough points for 3 nights in a 1 bedroom at the end of our trip every other year. We are not interested in studios though.

 

[jerseyduke]

i think most vgf owners have bought small contracts and will be competing with each other for studios. larger units can be had now easily within the seven month window. that may change somewhat when vgf is sold out. but i'm banking on being able to book a one bedroom most of the time within seven months....with my okw points. i want a one bedroom even when traveling solo.

i think the poly studios coming on will free up even more one bedrooms on the monorail...ready to be booked at seven months with relatively cheap okw and ssr points.

That is an interesting and valid point. Due to the VGF being "point expensive", the one bedrooms get hard to swallow, and because of the starting price per point, contract sizes may be smaller. Combined with the fact that 200 vgf points is not the same as 200 akv points, the one bedrooms may be an option that is often available at seven months

 

[Dean]

That is an interesting and valid point. Due to the VGF being "point expensive", the one bedrooms get hard to swallow, and because of the starting price per point, contract sizes may be smaller. Combined with the fact that 200 vgf points is not the same as 200 akv points, the one bedrooms may be an option that is often available at seven months

And like AKV for similar situations, it will likely be as cheap or cheaper long term buying/using lower cost points for the larger unit than buying VGF for the smaller unit. Ultimately it depends on the personal preferences and % attempted usage at VGF. Historically many have bought thinking studios and then ended up mostly using larger units. Certainly the high points will force many to avoid this trap and just the larger points totals may make them think twice about those type of choices choices.

 

[Merylj]

i think most vgf owners have bought small contracts and will be competing with each other for studios. larger units can be had now easily within the seven month window. that may change somewhat when vgf is sold out. but i'm banking on being able to book a one bedroom most of the time within seven months....with my okw points. i want a one bedroom even when traveling solo.

i think the poly studios coming on will free up even more one bedrooms on the monorail...ready to be booked at seven months with relatively cheap okw and ssr points.

So agree with you here, but still have bought a small resale contract for VGF - just to be certain of at least 3 days a year there.

 

[jessicaanne86]

I just bought a 300 point contract at VGF because of the length of the contract. I am 28 years old and it seems fitting. Also I love The Grand Floridian. I also feel confident that the location will help it to maintain its value. It is Disney's flagship hotel. It is a classic property. I even talked to a financial advisor and he told me that is would be a solid long term choice.

 

[Msmithmd]

I just bought a 300 point contract at VGF because of the length of the contract. I am 28 years old and it seems fitting. Also I love The Grand Floridian. I also feel confident that the location will help it to maintain its value. It is Disney's flagship hotel. It is a classic property. I even talked to a financial advisor and he told me that is would be a solid long term choice.

Respectfully, if your financial advisor told you at age 28 that buying a timeshare costing $50k was a solid long term choice, then you need a different financial adviser.

Don't get me wrong, VGF is a fabulous property and you will get several decades of good experiences there. And ignore my post if you're a professional athlete, or are blessed with a similar top 0.1% grade income. If so, good for you.

Just saying that for the other 99.9% of 28 year olds, spending $50k on a timeshare (ANY timeshare, even one with Mickey ears) isn't something a competent financial advisor would encourage.

 

[tubtruck]

I don't come to Disney very often these days, it will be two years since we were last here when we come for our next trip, we drove straight past Disney the last time we were here in August and headed south to Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal. Its a heck of a long way for us, 4500 miles and to be honest I prefer cruises but the DW enjoys it, I own at SSR and BLT but I managed to get a full week at VGF without any problem in the summer. The rest of our time when we are next in Florida will be spent cruising. Maybe it is because our school year ends much later than the US and always travel in late July or August, but I have since buying our first DVC in 2006 always got the resort which I wanted.

With regard to Msmithmd, given you can rent the points out, pay dues and still have a tidy lump it may not be such a bad investment with a resale contract. My points were purchased at around the $90 and $95 dollar marks direct, I own 375, rent through Davids at 11 per point, pay around $5 in dues leaving $6 so capital pretty much paid in 15 years, I imagine I would be past break even by now had I done this every year. In my case I use what I want and rent the rest, this year the income from what I rent out will cover the dues. For a foreigner like myself there is always currency rates to consider, in my case the pound has dropped against the dollar by around 15% compared to when I bought so a further exchange rate profit If I chose to sell at the present time.

 

[dvcdream4fld]

Why buy expensive dvc? I just looked up the price to stay grand Floridian per night for the second week in January (when we are vacationing)...+450/night. Yes. There are cheaper dvc, but there are cheaper accommodations at disney, and cheaper accommodation off-die as well. However, if I made the choice that I could not stay anywhere else than VGF, then I would buy vgf points, so I could be more certain to get the dates I wanted and still save a large amount compared to the regular room rates. Buying vgf is not my strategy, but as a dvc owner, I do see the value of paying upfront for savings in the future, but I guess I'm not as picky as some about paying to stay in one dvc or another.