Why does BCV cost so much more per point than BWV?

[kboo]

We own at BWV and love it for the location and for the standard view room points. Those standard rooms are the absolutely best deal out of any of the resorts.

When we go in the summer though, I try and do a split stay with some time at BCV. I enjoy SAB and the ability to walk all throughout the BCV and the BC&YC hotel under cover when it is raining out. Last summer it felt like it rain a lot, so it was nice just to get out and walk around or get a bite to eat without getting soaked.

I think this is what is ultimately selling me on BWV points: in the seasons when SAB matters most (summer), we should be able to use our cheaper BWV points to book BCV at the 7mo window, while in the winter, when SAB matters less, we can stay at BWV, rather than vice versa (using more expensive BCV points to book BWV p/g in the summer).

 

[SL6827]

I really want to stay at the Beach Club for around 3 nights at least once on points, but I didn't want to pay for Beach Club points. I figure the best chance I will have is to just use more points to snag a one bedroom at 7 months out at some point in the year. I just don't see many studios being available 7 months out. At least when its warm enough for SAB.

 

[lovin'fl]

I have been able to book BCV four times, with OKW points. 1) was a 2BR for five nights in January, 2) was a 1BR for just two nights in Nov (during F&W), 3) was a studio for Xmas week, Dec 19-26, for in-laws (booked at 8am on first day of 7 month window) and 4) was a studio for four nights over Memorial weekend (also booked at 8am on first day of 7 month window). Listed in time sequential order....from longest ago to most recent.

 

[SL6827]

I have been able to book BCV four times, with OKW points. 1) was a 2BR for five nights in January, 2) was a 1BR for just two nights in Nov (during F&W), 3) was a studio for Xmas week, Dec 19-26, for in-laws (booked at 8am on first day of 7 month window) and 4) was a studio for four nights over Memorial weekend (also booked at 8am on first day of 7 month window). Listed in time sequential order....from longest ago to most recent.

Hmmmm, impressive. Maybe I shouldn't sell those studios short just yet.

 

[kboo]

I really want to stay at the Beach Club for around 3 nights at least once on points, but I didn't want to pay for Beach Club points. I figure the best chance I will have is to just use more points to snag a one bedroom at 7 months out at some point in the year. I just don't see many studios being available 7 months out. At least when its warm enough for SAB.

I don't think it should be a problem if you are online at 8am on the dot. I checked yesterday midday and BCV and BWV studios (yes, including standard ones!) were wide open July 4th week. Just checked now and in most studios that you'd expect, there is pretty limited availability 36 hours later. (36 hours after the July 1 7 mo booking window opened)

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We bought our BWV contract for our adults F&W trips. We were able to switch to a studio at BCV this year for four days over labor day weekend. It was a beautiful resort and we really enjoyed our stay. I do think other than SAB, we felt the two resorts were pretty similar. Their themes are both somewhat nautical with BCV being slightly more posh feeling vs BWV which i think is a bit more whimsical. Both are about an equal distance to walk to DHS/EC. Both have some good lounges/bars/restaurants for when you want to do things at the resort. I feel like that $15 spread is almost completely due to SAB...and think it is very much deserved. It's an amazing pool. We don't have kids and it was PACKED on our trip. We did pool time every day of the trip and after day #1 we went to the quiet pool the other 3 days.

My suggestion is if you love SAB and will be bummed about not being able to use it, buy BCV. For people that love SAB I think the $15 premium is 100% worth it. It's the coolest pool on WDW property by far. But if not having access to SAB isn't that big a deal, I'd by BWV. I think the $15 savings plus a chance at standard rooms gets you a very similar experience. I also think that once Star Wars world is close to opening there's a chance you will see a narrowing of that spread. Which ever way you choose, I'd probably buy sooner rather than later.

 

[sndral]

I really think the biggest driver of the price disparity is supply & demand, that Econ 101 concept of the rarer a widget is the more it will cost. BC has a max of 282 villas, BWV a max of 532 villas. Thus access to BC villas is more competitive so having the 11 month advantage is more important.
Going forward I think we’ll see the same differences among the monorail resorts. BLT will always be least expensive with a max of 428 villas, Poly second with 380 max villas and VGF most expensive with a max of 147 villas.

 

[cjwags10]

As others have said, it is really a personal preference. Book the place you want to stay at. With more and more dvc properties added, it does get harder to stay at some resorts especially the smaller resorts and especially both BCV and BWV during food and wine. We own at BCV and we love it. We have stayed at BWV and love the boardwalk area, but the clown pool and the VERY long hallways made BCV the choice for us. During our stay at BWV, our room was so far away. It took longer than it takes to get to Epcot from BCV just to get to the lobby. Epcot is the main resort we go to, so this was a big deal. We also love SAB - we have been going since the kids were little and have always enjoyed the pool area. We enjoy the restaurants in both areas and always walk around the lake multiple times every visit. We just love the area in general - you really can't go wrong with either resort.

 

[pmcpmc]

Where do you like to eat and where do you like to play .
We bought Bwv
Just love walking to Hollywood studios.
The views from BWV are varied and breathtaking.
The quiet pool can be an enjoyable place to listen to my books .
Bcv has a sandy bottom ,my wife hates sand discussion over.

 

[BillPA]

We purchased BCV because it has dedicated 2 BR units, much shorter halls, and good parking. Didn't like the idea of the kids having a exit door from the unit, just hated the poor parking at BW and those l...o...n...g hallways. I think that is why BCV cost more, it's just more kid friendly. We since sold all our BCV points to add more at OKW. With all the Grand kids we need a grand villa now and we didn't have enough points in our original contracts at OKW to cover 10 nights in a GV every summer and a week in the fall at WL. I think we're done adding now.

 

[MSUmom]

Am I the only one who looks at the cost of the yearly fees too?

 

[kboo]

Ultimately I was leaning toward BWV for the lower point cost standard rooms and better walking to DHS. The lack of a dedicated 2BR is a good point. But after 2-3 failed offers on BWV (someone got an accepted offer in before me, including some full price offers), and 2 failed offers on BCV, we just did another analysis on cost relative to end date, and decided to buy a VGF contract instead! Of course, literally an hour after I had signed the sales contract, a broker emailed me about a BWV contract at an amazing asking price. Oh well. I actually don't regret the decision, now that we are looking at stays at VGF. It really is a lovely resort. And hopefully we now have enough points to get in at 7 months in lower season (end of summer).

 

[DougEMG]

Ultimately I was leaning toward BWV for the lower point cost standard rooms and better walking to DHS. The lack of a dedicated 2BR is a good point. But after 2-3 failed offers on BWV (someone got an accepted offer in before me, including some full price offers), and 2 failed offers on BCV, we just did another analysis on cost relative to end date, and decided to buy a VGF contract instead! Of course, literally an hour after I had signed the sales contract, a broker emailed me about a BWV contract at an amazing asking price. Oh well. I actually don't regret the decision, now that we are looking at stays at VGF. It really is a lovely resort. And hopefully we now have enough points to get in at 7 months in lower season (end of summer).

Congrats, VGF is one of my favorite resorts to stay. Would love to own there.

 

[drusba]

The main reason for the resale price difference bewtween BWV and BCV is historical and really has little to do with whether one resort is considered better than the other. Throughout its existence, BCV has usually cost about $10 to $15 per point more than BWV. That is because the original purchasers from Disney of BWV, the older resort, paid about $10 to $15 a point less than new purchasers of BCV. Thus, as the resale market developed those owners of BCV typically needed about $10 to $15 a point more than BWV owners to break even or make any money on the sale.