Why not SSR?

[yyzgurl]

I've been trying to figure out why so many people are willing to pay more per point to get a shorter contract?

I understand that some people like a certain resort, but it doesn't make economical sense to me to purchase a contract that costs more and ends 12 years sooner. Even if you don't plan on using your SSR points until 2054, at least you have some resale value in 2042. With the other resorts, you have lost all interest in the resort once 2042 comes around. And this is especially puzzling since you can book other resorts regardless of where you own.

Please help me to see the logic in this!

 

[Scoootch]

With the other resorts, you have lost all interest in the resort once 2042 comes around. And this is especially puzzling since you can book other resorts regardless of where you own.

Well, personnally, we've owned now for 7 and a half years and we still LOVE our home resort of OKW. I don't see us ever loosing interest in it at all! Also, as of yet, I have Zero interest in ever staying at SSR...I'm originally from up north and the New York theming does not appeal to me. If (or I should really say ~ WHEN) we add on again, we will most likely add on more OKW points as we really like having the 11 month advantage at OKW. If we go re-sale it may not cost quite as much either...we'll have to wait and see. The extra 12 years isn't too much of a big deal though as by 2042 I'll be in my 70's (God willing I'm still alive). I also definetly wouldn't want to buy into SSR with the intention of alwaystrying for other resorts at 7months as IMO it's going to become more and more difficult as membership continues to grow and competition at the 7month mark will be increased. sooo....that's some of our reasons.

 

[Scoootch]

Just realized after reading your post again a second time that obviosly you meant "interest" from a financial standpoint...but again, even so, with DVC it's really more of a purely for enjoyment/entertainment investment for us. We didn't buy in with the intention of our points being a money maker or something and because it is going to gain in value (although I must admit considering we bought in for only $67 or so a point when we bought, it has gained value). We bought in because it's paid for itself quickly and is much less expensive than to have stayed at the deluxes with the room rate increases that happen year after year. So even though our OKW contract ends in 2042.....NO regrets...and it's still a great value as far as we're concerned

 

[jarestel]

You don't necessarily pay more per point for a shorter contract if you buy resale. Regardless, you will pay much more in annual dues over the life of your contract than you'll pay for the initial contract price. If someone doesn't plan to be around to take advantage of the extra 12 years and doesn't want to stick their survivors with the annual dues cost for those years ( which again could amount to more than the original purchase price just for the extra 12 years since dues tend to rise more often than they fall ) then it's not a "bargain". If you buy where you're going to be happiest vacationing during the time you plan to use your DVC, contract length not withstanding, you won't go wrong. This might be SSR, or another resort. But we bought for fun, not profit.

 

[jaysue]

yyzgurl, it is logical from a financial perspective to buy into SSR if you place value on the 12 years from 2042-2054 - we did buy into SSR for our most recent points purchase - we now own at BCV, VB and SSR. If we were going to add more points to our stash, we would buy at SSR to have the 12 additional years for our kids and hopefully their kids when the time comes around.

We have been tossing around the idea of selling our BCV points and buying into SSR to get lower dues and longer contract term however the location appeal coupled with SAB has stayed our hand to date

Cheers
jaysue

 

[goodcook5]

we bought a majority of our points at ssr and a small contract from disney for bwv because

1. 12 years will be well used when the time comes, I think since I am 34 with 3 small children

2. I wanted to book bwv for new years and needed the 11 month window.

3. I believe many people are hesitant because ssr will be very large when it is completed, and it may be more difficult to book at the 7 month window into other resorts (especially the smaller ones)

 

[mikesmom]

Location, location, location!!

 

[Tramp68]

We just became members by buying 2 - 120 point add-ons at SSR. My parents own at OKW and we only intend to stay at OKW, but could not pass up the free year of dues, $2 less per point and a bonus 200 points this year.

My Parents have never had trouble making reservations for us at OKW within the 7 month window (even though they had 11 months to do it) I doubt that we will ever have trouble doing it. OKW does not seem to be the most popular resort and only fills when the rest are filled first.

Again, the 200 point bonus was a big seller for us. The thought of having 680 points to use next year is very appealling. (we already stayed at OKW for 9 days in February so we wont be using our points this year)

I also agree though that it is hard to really weigh the extra 12 years as a reason to purchase at another resort. If you go during easter and/or christmas is is important to have the 11 month reservation window, of course that would also require that you maximize your timeframe with the right UY.

I mean, what is the world going to be like in 2042? For all we know, we wil be using Star Trek like transporter technology and we will be able to "beam" to Disney in 10 seconds. Would you even need to stay a night there? What if they decide to level OKW and rebuild in a new location? Can they even do that? A lot can happen in 37 years...why base a decision on what might happen then?

I am happy with my purchase at SSR even though I have no intentions of ever staying there. I just can't justify spending extra points for a place that is smaller in size (and smaller whirlpool tub!)

Anyway, just my 2 cents....

 

[crisi]

We ended up purchasing BWV back before SSR was even announced. We really ended up buying a resale contract that was available, rather than really buying "where we wanted to stay" (would have been fairly happy anywhere) but...

I'll be OLD when the contract expires. And I'm not interested in passing one 150 point contract to two children.

We love the Epcot location.

We really like the SV room option at BWVs - and I think the booking window advantage makes a lot of sense.

DVC isn't an investment to me....its a prepaid vacation plan.

Frankly, I don't think Disney vacations make any economical sense for any of us. We've all decided to spend quite a bit of money on yearly (or so) luxury vacations when we could be going camping or staying with relatives in Iowa (everyone has relatives in Iowa, right?). So its really a matter of "how much do you spend?"

 

[DeeCee735]

I agree - Location, Location, Location!

Also, I'll most likely be dead (or really close to it) by the time 2042 rolls around. My kids will be in their 50's, and my grandkids (God willing I'll have grandkids) will, according to averages, be in their twenties - having had years of growing up Disney. Besides, we bought for us and our kids, looking that far down the road hasn't really made much of a difference in our decision to purchase - that and the fact that SSR wasn't even there yet! I'd bought at BW anyway! Goes back to the location thing!

 

[ArRzrbk]

Honestly, I am still not sure our choice of BCV over SSR and BWV will turn out to be the right one. FYI...all three of those resorts were being offered by DVC when we bought in. We have never stayed in any of them.

I agonized over the decision, researched myself to death, put up post after post seeking advice and help. In the end, I guess I chose BCV over SSR because...

1.) Theming - Seemed to fit us better - we love the beach. Though, we also love horses

2.) Mini-water Park - The idea of having exclusive use of a mini-water park was very appealing. Good way to save money.

3.) Popular Spot - I had been told the Beach Club resort was the most popular, so it might be harder to get into at 7 months, as apposed to some of the others. Our Guide told us that. Wonder if it was a sales tactic

4.) Location - Near Epcot, MGM, and Boardwalk!

5.) Oasis After Parks - The idea that the resort seemed to be a quiet place to return to after a busy day in the parks.

As I said, I am not 100% sure we made the right decision to choose BCV over SSR or BWV or OKW or VWL for that matter. I really think DVC has made each resort a little special on purpose. No one resort has it all. And even without having stayed at any of them, I can certainly make a case for why one might consider buying in at any one of them...

VWL - cozy, great December holiday spot, near MK!
OKW - huge rooms, peace and quiet, lower points, GVs!
BWV - great theaming, location, standard points view option, comunity hall, and GVs!
SSR - extra years, GVs, community hall, playground, proximity to DTD.

Our first trip "home" to the BCV with Gram, DH, DS #1, and DS #2 to celebrate #1 DS's 3rd birthday is in just three weeks, so I guess we'll see what we actually think of the BCV then. I also plan to tour the other resorts. I really, really, really want this trip to turn out well and to validate my "home" resort decision and the purchase in general. Wish me luck

Char

 

[fmed845]

We bought at SSR because we fell in love with the resort itself. Thats where we plan on staying most of the time. We didn't care about the extra years, just the resort itself. Things you should know-All the DVC resorts are beautiful and none of the resorts are too far from anything you want to do at Disney (In our opinion). You should buy for the location and the theming your most interested in. As you can see on these boards there are alot of different preferences so GOOD LUCK!

 

[mydogdrew]

I wouldn't make the argument that it makes sense to purchase DVCI resorts through Disney for more money than SSR. However, you can make a compelling argument for resale. Today you can buy a 220 point BWV contract for $80 which includes all 2004, 2005 points plus another 124 banked from 2003 (September UY). If you rent the 2003-2004 you can get this contract for a net $66 (including closing costs). I believe this compares with ~ $87 for SSR. Resale is not for everyone but if BWV is where you want to stay, it can be cheaper than SSR.

 

[littlestar]

My husband and I just plain don't care for SSR. My husband thinks it has a "warehouse" feel to it. We also don't like being that close to downtown Disney. My husband said he would rather pay cash for Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans French Quarter. I don't want to own somewhere that I have no intention of ever staying at. 12 years of extra dues for a place (and after 2042 that would be the only DVC I could stay at the way it stands right now) is not something we would ever do. I would rather pay cash for somewhere I want to stay at.

If you love SSR and want to stay there, then yes, it makes sense. To each his own.

 

[N&B'smom]

For us, we didn't pay more per point because we bought resale. And frankly, I have NO desire to stay at SSR AT ALL. It's too far from MK which is where we want to be. We bought at VWL and will not be staying anywhere else unless at the 11 month window we are unable to get in! That would be the only reason we'd ever stay anywhere else. We KNEW we didn't even want to buy into DVC unless we could be owners at VWL. It's where our heart is.

Shelby

 

[tjkraz]

I've been trying to figure out why so many people are willing to pay more per point to get a shorter contract?

Probably for some of the same reasons that people would pay more for a used Lexus, BMW or Hummer than they would for a brand new Ford, Pontiac or Dodge. Although you can analyze the dollars and cents, there's still a large degree of emotion involved in the decision.

In addition, some people are convinced they want to use the majority of their points at one resort, meaning that it's in their best interest to own there for the booking advantage.

 

[StormTigger]

To me it translates to if you are concerned where you stay on property. If you are like me and all you care is that it's a home away from home resort (or deluxe resort) then it doesn't really matter where you buy into at Disney. If you prefer (require) a particular resort over another - then buying at the resort you want most to stay in is your best bet, esp if you travel during the heavy DVC seasons.

 

[jnrrt]

We bought resale and one of the agents I talked to had an interesting point. She said that Disney was surprised that the 12 extra years did not seem to be as big factor for many people (she worked there for many years and still knows a lot of people there) as they were expecting it to be. But since no one knows what will happen to the other resorts when they expire, those extra 12 years are only for SSR. Many people buy because they like that they can stay where they want - once that option is no longer there, the resale value for SSR contracts will also go way down.

Of course, all this assumes that Disney doesn't build any more properties that you could trade to for those extra 12 years which is pretty unlikely as they're making scads of money.

So in the end, we love the BWV because you can get a SV (and we wanted to make sure we could by having the banking window) and because we love the location! We'd probably do BCV and WLV sometimes because we also love those and their location, but we will have to reserve points at least every other year, and SV BWV was the only way to do that and be where we wanted to be in proximity to the parks.

Besides, I can't possibly know what my vacation plans will be or how Disney will look, or what else they will think of to offer by the time I'm in my 70's (or even, heaven forbid, if we will be *gasp* tired of Disney by the time we're 70). So we decided to plan for what we wanted to be doing now, since, well, that's what we're doing now.

'Nuff said.

 

[Greysword]

Wow, all this negativity towards SSR is kind of depressing. I mean it is a warehouse equivalent to a Ford or Chevy where all the others are equal to a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, etc? Maybe the comment made a couple months ago about DVC selling to the unwashed masses are true (at least in some of the non-SSR people). Lets just change the name to the proposed Redneck Villas!!

Oh, and along the lines of where WDW will be in 37 years, just remember back to Disney World in the 70's. Although new things will pop up, I am sure Disney will still be a fun a vibrant place to play. Many of the Magic Kingdom's rides have not changed at all. It will only get better from here

 

[athenna]

Wow, all this negativity towards SSR is kind of depressing. I mean it is a warehouse equivalent to a Ford or Chevy where all the others are equal to a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, etc? Maybe the comment made a couple months ago about DVC selling to the unwashed masses are true (at least in some of the non-SSR people). Lets just change the name to the proposed Redneck Villas!!

Oh, and along the lines of where WDW will be in 37 years, just remember back to Disney World in the 70's. Although new things will pop up, I am sure Disney will still be a fun a vibrant place to play. Many of the Magic Kingdom's rides have not changed at all. It will only get better from here

Not to sound fresh, but, if a lot of people dislike SSR, that's fine with me, easier to get a good room!