Why do some peope buy at more than one DV resort?

[pmaurer74]

Please excuse me if this is in the wrong place. I am new to the DVC board. We just got back from our 3rd trip in 3 years to Disney and we have considered eventually getting a DVC membership since we are Disney buffs and our kids are young. We love WL and consider that "home" but have thought the BCV would be more practical when the kids are older because of it's close proximity to EPCOT and HS plus the pool! We are considering only small DVC right now maybe 150 points, I will need to think about it. Do people buy say 100 points at one and 50 points at another for the 11 month window?

If I book 11 months out for BCV does all your points pool together each year or do I only have 50 points for BCV every year and 100 points for WL each year. Thank you and sorry for the newbie question.

 

[bobbiwoz]

At 11 months the points can only be used at their home resort. At 11 months you can use banked and borrowed points from that home resort. You have to wait until 7 months to use the points from another resort.

We own at more than 1 resort because we like the 11 month home resort booking. We use our VWL points for mainly December visits, and our BCV points for the warmer weather visits.

 

[chalee94]

do I only have 50 points for BCV every year and 100 points for WL each year.

basically this - at 11 months out, you have a 50 pt BCV contract and a separate 100 pt VWL contract.

your BCV pts are not valid for booking anything but BCV until 7 months out and your VWL pts are not valid for booking anything but VWL until 7 months out.

then at 7 months out (assuming they are under the same member number), you can combine both contracts together to book whatever is available.

 

[Checkers]

We initially bought at OKW and then added more points several years later. We stay there often and use those points (since we have more of them) at the 7 mo. window if we want to stay elsewhere. A few years ago we decided we wanted to also own at the BWVs so we bought points there as well. We use them mostly for our Oct. vacations and love the 11mo. window which so far has ensured we got the accommodations we want for the F&WF.

All of our contracts have the same Use Year as it makes record keeping easier.

 

[pmaurer74]

Thanks for the replies so far. Would you recommend then having all the points at one location, is it tough to get what you want 7 months out? Right now we go early March or mid May that will change to summer when the kids are in high school.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for the replies so far. Would you recommend then having all the points at one location, is it tough to get what you want 7 months out? Right now we go early March or mid May that will change to summer when the kids are in high school.

Waitlists often come through, but how disappointed would you be if you couldn't get that resort you wanted? Right at 7 months seems to be the best time to change resorts.

Of the times you mention, mid May would be the easiest to get a non home resort. March could be dependent on spring breaks, and where you want. The summer seems to be pretty easy right at 7 months. These are assuming you are not trying to get AKV concierge or certain grand villas at 7 months.

I waitlisted for a 2 bedroom at HHI for spring break one year right at 7 months and that never came through. We bought HHI points and are going this year over the 4th of July!

 

[LauraLea]

Unfortunately you like 2 of the smallest DVC resorts, BCV and VWL. This makes 7 month booking a little more difficult than if you were trying to book a larger resort.

If you think you will be adding on later, I would go for all 150 pts at the resort you like to stay at now. When you are ready to add on (and yes, you will want to add on and probably sooner than you hoped to) I would get points at a 2nd resort.

Starting out with just a small amount of points at 2 different resorts can be frustrating for new owners.

Laura

 

[disneynutz]

We own at 5 resorts because we are the kind of people who want to guarantee availability at 11 months.

I don't know what will happen in the future with booking at 7 months, it does seem to be getting tougher and there are more posts of unhappy members trying to figure out the best way to book at 7 months.

Bill

 

[MouseMomx2]

You should look into resales rather than buying directly through Disney. The savings are significant. There are some restrictions to points purchased through resale, but all of those restrictions (no DCL cruises, no non-DVC resort booking, etc.) are not great uses of your points. The best use of points, financially, will always be using them at the DVC properties.

An example, we just bought Hilton Head, Boardwalk and Old Key West points via resale and saved at least 35% over purchasing through DVC. Just something to consider when making your decision.

 

[Greysword]

Would you consider purchasing 200 points to start (100 at each resort)? This would allow you to alternate and book every other year at 200 points.

If you had a 50 point contract and a 100 point contract and wanted to alternate, it would look something like this (at the 11 month window):

Year 1: Bank 50pt contract, use 100 point contract for short or off season visit

Year 2: Borrow 50 point contract from year 3 and book room (using 3 years worth of points: banked, borrowed and current) at 150 points

Bank 100 point contract.

Year 3: Book 150 point vacation using 100 point contract (banked and 50 current points)

Bank remaining 50 points from 100 pt contract.

Year 4: Bank 50 point contract

Book 150 point vacation (using banked 50 points and current 100 points) from 100 pt contract.

Year 5: Bank 100 point contract.
Book 150 point vacation using 50 pt contract (using banked, current, and borrowed points from year 6).

Year 6: Book 150 point vacation (using banked and 50 current points) from 100 pt contract

Bank 50 points from 100 pt contract

Year 7: Book 150 point vacation (using banked and current points) from 100 point contract.

Bank 50 point contract

Year 8: Book 150 point vacation using 50 point contract (using banked, current & borrowed points)

Bank 100 pt contract

Lather, rinse repeat.

As noted, it is doable. The biggest concern would be the number of days you could get at the desired resort for 150 point each year.

Good luck!

 

[taaren]

The other idea that you could do with a 100 point contract and a 50 point contract is to book yourself a split stay, then try to make it a continuous stay at 7 months.

Ie. 100 points at BCV, 50 at VWL (1 bdr) = Book 3-4 nights at BCV, 2-3 nights at VWL. At 7 months try to switch the VWL nights over to BCV and link for a seamless stay. Whether or not it will be available at 7 months is anybody's guess. Next year reverse resorts.
Alternately with your larger contract you could get a larger room at one resort, then with your smaller contract get a studio at the other. Most people like to put the studios at the beginning of the stay in order to have the laundry in the middle-end of their stay. But that's only if you like moving in the middle of your trip.

Probably the easiest thing, as others have mentioned is to either get a medium sized contract at both resorts and alternate years, or perhaps get just one resort for now and add on later if you feel you need more points, as most of us inevitably seem to ...

 

[pmaurer74]

Thank you so much for the advice! I am learning a lot! So is it easy to rent points then for the off years both renting out an needing points?

One of the reasons I am considering this is there is a lot of family that can never afford to go on vacation at Disney and I love to spread the Disney love! Not that I can afford it either but I may inherit a little money in the next few years and I was thinking that this may be a good place to put it.... more as an investment in memories and spending time with my family since we would be unable to do that otherwise. My children are 5 and 2 and are big Disney fans and I have dreams of them enjoying Disney with us for as long as we can and then hopefully with grand children someday. There are many things I do not like about the DVC including the MFs which worries me a great deal. Anyway thanks!

We enjoy the deluxe resorts. Stayed at Poly, WL and GF so far. The GF was an upgrade! And I want to try BC and AK some day. We usually stay on a promo like free dining or a 40% off pin and spend about 2-3k on the resorts alone which is why I was thinking DVC. I hate waiting for promos and pins to come every year.

 

[Greysword]

... more as an investment in memories and spending time with my family since we would be unable to do that otherwise.

This is the reason we signed up. As a DVC member, we are forced to take a vacation (at least) every other year to our favorite spot.

 

[chalee94]

Thank you so much for the advice! I am learning a lot! So is it easy to rent points then for the off years both renting out an needing points?

i'm not clear what this means.

renting always carries some risk on both the renter's side and the owner's side. it's not necessarily hard to do, but i wouldn't buy pts intending to rent them. buy what you intend to use yourself.

if you need more, you can get up to 24 from disney directly (but only at the 7 month window). you can try to get a transfer from another member or you can try to rent a reservation from another member.

There are many things I do not like about the DVC including the MFs which worries me a great deal.

the MFs pay for clean, up-to-date rooms and resorts. but they will go up, so don't rush in without counting the cost ahead of time.

take your time and keep reading threads on the DVC forums to get a sense of risks and benefits...