Why did you choose the resort you did?

[JimC]

Bought OKW, BCV and AKV for 11 month booking window and intending to stay at my home resort the majority of time. I will have stayed at every DVC resort as of May this year with my first trip to HH. I have sufficient OKW points to stay there and elsewhere each year. So I get the best of both options.

 

[Lexxiefern]

I bought BCV because that is what disney was selling and I wanted BWV. My guide told me I could buy BCV and immediately do an add on at BWV (they had just released points for BWV to members only). I am very happy that I own both and we mainly stay at BWV and BCV.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

We bought SSR because we loved it. We stayed there through CRO in 5/2005 and 5/2006 and it sold us on DVC. SSR gives us that feeling that we belong there. Strange maybe, but true.

I also bought an add on at BWV because I loved it and want to stay there for one of our 3 yearly trips, the one we take in mid-September with just the little ones.

We may try out the BCV at some point, and the bus went through OKW on our last trip and I think I would like to give it a try, it is a lovely resort. But other than maybe one trial stay, I really do not have any desire to book at the other resorts. I don't dislike them, I just am not excited enough about them. I would rather book SSR or BW and let someone who IS excited about VWL or BCV or OKW take the room. KWIM?

SSR always feels like home. As much as I also love BWV, enough to add on there, it doesn't make me feel it is home. And if CRV comes to fruition, we will add on there, but I bet it won't feel like "home."

 

[Boardwalker]

I bought BCV because that is what disney was selling and I wanted BWV.

That sounds familiar to me. I looked at a map and decided that I wanted OKW but all that my guide was selling was BWV.
So I "settled" my way into my perfect fit.
God takes care of fools and dogs.

 

[wdw4life]

I bought at SSR because I wanted SSR. I had the opportunity to buy at the other resorts but chose not to. When I was at WDW in '03 and saw that SSR was being built I jumped on it. I love the location. I finish 98% of my nights at DD. It's the perfect resort for me.

 

[debloco]

Because the first time we walked into the WL, we knew we were "home". Four years later we bought a VWL resale.

 

[DisneyDVCdad]

We purchased DVC sight unseen after our 5th trip to Disney. At the time we did not even know about resales. On our Visit we stayed at OKW and toured SSR my wife thought it was kinda of high scale for us! My even said that if we would of toured SSR first we would of not bought in!Which I thought was funny! We have yet to stay at SSR. This year we are trying BWV. I would eventually like to try all the different DVC resorts. This will be 3rd visit this year as a DVC MEMBER.

 

[crisi]

We bought BWV having never seen the place. BCV was being sold by Disney and VWL had just stopped selling. We couldn't get a guide to call us back and found the resale market. Resale market was heavily weighted to BWV and OKW - we first tried an OKW contract but that didn't work out. We then bought a BWV contract.

When we bought, I thought we'd try other places. We haven't and the further down this path I go the less convinced I am that we will.

 

[UConnJack]

Well, at this point, its looking like about 20% of SSR owners bought to stay somewhere else. Out of 60 SSR owners so far, 12 bought to stay somewhere else, while 48 bought becasuse they preferred it. Not a surprise to me so far.

 

[dznymom1]

Bought our first OKW contract sight unseen because back then DVC was only OKW. Cried tears of joy when we saw our 2br villa for the first time.

Did an OKW add-on after we made lots of DVC friends and I suffered from Point-Envy.

Added on at HH after stopping there for one night (which turned into 3) on our drive home to NH. We loved it and knew we had to own there if we wanted to be assured of peak season.

Added on enough HH points to add a Fri nite to our summer stays. Amusingly, I have never used them for that because deep down inside I am way too cheap to fork over 66 points for one night!

Added BWV to have the 11 month window for Food & Wine.

Added BWV again after starting a BCV add-on, but changed my mind due to the massive amount of road views.

I have stayed at each of the DVC's, and I enjoy them all but I am partial to the ones we own. I should be downsizing now that the kids are growing up, but both AKV and CRV have me thinking again

 

[CHOPR]

Bought SSR to stay at all the resorts . I hope 10 years from now we have tried them all! But. our first DVC trip was at the GCH-Disneyland. Didn't plan DVC that way so almost two years into DVC now and have yet to stay at a DVC resort. Will this year though.

 

[mom2rb]

When I bought I had my choice of SSR or BCV. BCV had higher dues, less years and cost more.We bought at SSR. It worked out well for us because we mostly go in the off season and spend a lot of time at Downtown Disney. We bought at AKV because I love it there. Since we bought we have stayed at SSR, OKW, and BWV. We are staying at BCV and VWL in June. We have loved all the ones we have stayed at so far, but SSR is my favorite. I like being able to stay at the different resorts but if I had to spend the rest of my time at SSR and AKL I would be fine.

 

[DVCJones]

Bought SSR sight unseen in 2005. I had already done my homework on DVC. I wanted to buy in 2001 while on my honeymoon. We couldn't afford it then but I knew we would soon. (Wanted a house and kids first)

We bought SSR because it was what DVC was selling at the time. It was fine with me as I have enjoyed every resort I have stayed in WDW. I knew that I could buy at any resort. My DB and DSil were DVC members (BWV, BCV) and I was well informed of my options.

I chose SSR for a lot of reasons. Lower points chart,discount offered, Spa, DTD, lower dues, and the biggest reason was 12 extra years!!!(we have young kids) Seemed like a no brainer to me.

I look forward to staying there for the majority of our stays, however, I want to try all the resorts at least once.

I like having options. Last April we stayed at BWV because DB abd DSil talked us into it. This April we originally were staying in a studio at SSR, but decided to switch to OKW when my parents decided to join us. I thought we could use the extra room and lower points for a 2br. I am looking forward to finally staying at SSR in July for 9 days. This is going to be a low-key vacation with lots of rest and DTD. We only plan to ahve 2 park days. Plan to relax by the pools with the kids, spa, enjoy DTD at night. Maybe catch a bus to FW for campfires and movies, etc.

My point in boring you with my vacation agenda....Well it is to show an example of how DVC is designed to be used. Sometimes plans change year to year. It is great to have options. If we just want to relax or have an extended family vacation we have options!!!!. (My DB and I are planning to pool points for a grand gathering someday)

I think the poll shows how everyone "thinks" they may use their DVC. In reality, each owner will probably change their way of vacationing many times during their ownership. Thats the beauty of DVC!!!

 

[bigsmooth]

Not that surprised by the results either, but agree with the last poster that things likely will change over time. To say SSR was ridiculous because no one likes golf or DtD, that is pretty baseless (golf and timeshares is a huge draw, I don't golf but don't underestimate the appeal to others- I know plenty of people who only bought into a timeshare because of its proximity to a golf resort). But to say SSR is too big (relatively speaking) and is flooding the other resorts at 7 months, I think there is some base to that. Each resort is a theme, and not everyone wants to buy into that theme- but buying from Disney means your selection is limited. I do think Disney in the sales process oversimplifies trading in/out at the 7 months window for some people. My guide was frank that trading anywhere in December, spring break, parts of the summer would be difficult. But I have no doubts that other guides may not have been as clear.

But I think as people settle into their vacation habits and SSR sells out, this issue levels out over time. People buy in all excited about trying other resorts, they give them a try and they settle into where they own, or they sell and buy into somewhere else. I'm betting we will see people buying into the next resort (AKV- when opened to new buyers) wanting to try the other resorts as well. We may see gripes about that happening, since while AKV won't be as big as SSR, it will still be plenty big compared to BCV. And I guarantee that AKV will appeal to some, but won't appeal to all. That is how it works, Disney does a good job drawing people in with different themes with the themes appealing to different sets. I know some don't like it when others don't agree with them on their preferences, and post accordingly. But in general I don't see the 20% of SSR owners going elsewhere as that controversial and not evidence that Disney made a mistake.

I bought into SSR with the intent to stay everwhere at least once. Don't want to own at AKV, but want to try it once. I thought I would someday want to own at BCV, but after staying there realized it was not for me. Next on my list to try is VWL, but it may be years after several stays at SSR before I give it a try.

 

[tomandrobin]

Very flawed poll.

OKW had no other option.

SSR is singled out, all of the others are grouped together. No bias there.

BWV was the only option after OKW was done.

Why would someone buy BCV to stay at BWV or the other way around. They are next to each other. HH and VB are off site and are stand alone resorts

I know your dislike of SSR is well known , but get a life already. If your going to make a poll at least create a poll that is realistic. Your whole purpose, once again is to poke a proverbal stick in SSR's eye. If you don't like, don't stay ever stay there. I'm tired of reading your crap about SSR on almost every post you write. Its a great resort that doesn't appeal to you, but why do you insist on constantly try to find a way to make it third tier resort?

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Don't really have a spot in the poll to choose.

We bought BWV, but it was sight unseen in 1998 and the only DVC we had seen was one visit to OKW in 1994. We just knew we wanted to keep going to Disney every year and took the pluge. Later we fell in love with Vero Beach.

 

[UConnJack]

Very flawed poll.

OKW had no other option.

SSR is singled out, all of the others are grouped together. No bias there.

BWV was the only option after OKW was done.

Why would someone buy BCV to stay at BWV or the other way around. They are next to each other. HH and VB are off site and are stand alone resorts

I know your dislike of SSR is well known , but get a life already. If your going to make a poll at least create a poll that is realistic. Your whole purpose, once again is to poke a proverbal stick in SSR's eye. If you don't like, don't stay ever stay there. I'm tired of reading your crap about SSR on almost every post you write. Its a great resort that doesn't appeal to you, but why do you insist on constantly try to find a way to make it third tier resort?

No its not perfect, but it's not "very flawed" considering what it is asking.

No OKW had no other option when it was being sold, but this poll isn't limited to just direct buyers, but open to resale buyers too. As such, some people do buy OKW because its cheaper but prefer other resorts. I actually just didn't want to single SSR out totally because some people have indicated they bought OKW with the intention of staying elsewhere (and at HH or VB to stay at WDW in general).

And grouping the resorts I did makes perfect sense if you consider when they were opened, what kind of resort they are, and the collective size. I think its totally fair to group BWV, BCV, and VWL together since their combined size about equals SSR. And that doesn't stop anyone from indicating that they bought VWL to stay at BCV either, by choosing the 3rd option.

This goal of this poll was mainly to ask SSR owners what their purchasing intentions were, I admit that and said it from the start. It was never any thinnly veiled attempt to poke a stick in the eyes of SSR owners at you put it. In fact, I could have left it with only two poll questions (1 and 4) to get the info I was curious about, but I figured the SSR crowd would be screaming if I didn't give those BCV owners who really wish they owned SSR a chance to express their thoughts.

AGAIN, we are not saying that decision was wrong for you or any other SSR owner who prefers their resort. I'll repeat what I already said: All the reasons many SSR owners give for preferring SSR are valid. I don't agree with all of them, but I never said anyone is wrong for liking SSR. Nor do I believe its location (DTD) or style (stand alone townhouse) were mistakes, there is a definite market of people who this type of resort appeals to. We are not bashing SSR owners and their choice of SSR at their favorite resort!!!!! All we are saying is SSR is too big to big for that market of people to support, hence you get an imbalanced mix of people who own SSR just to get into the system with the intention of staying at the other resorts most of the time.

 

[UConnJack]

And by the way, my poll is so far showing that out of 76 SSR owners, 18 (or nearly 24%) bought specifically to stay at the other resorts most of the time. I know this is not scientific, but its the only cross-section of DVC owners we have access to, and 24% is still a pretty high percentage, much higher than the poll results of ALL other resorts combined (2 owners).

Does anyone know how many SSR owners there are total? I am curious how many owners 24% would be extrapolated across the entire SSR population.

 

[Marshay]

FWIW: We recently bought SSR sight unseen for the extra years and cheaper price. Our feeling is that we want to try all the resorts to see which one(s) we like best -- and besides, we really like variety. (We haven't stayed at the same WDW resort more than two times). We know we can always stay at SSR with our 11 month out priority, but at 7 months if others are available, we'll check them out.

If I had bought at BC or WL or BW or even VB/HH, I would have the exact same reasoning...I can always stay at my home resort so why not check out the others if/when they are available? Sometimes they will be, others times they won't. Either way, I'll have a great time.

 

[UConnJack]

And just for the record, I voted "bought BWV because I liked it", and not an SSR choice just to skew the poll.