Will SSR make VWL impossible to book without the 11 month advantage?

[WelcomeHome]

I was reading all the resent posts about how the addition of all the new SSR units are going to make it harder to get reservations at DVC resorts without the "home resort" advantage. If that's the case, won't VWL become DVC's "hottest property" in the future?

VWL is by far the smallest DVC resort with only 136 units (compared to 383 at BWV and 531 at OKW and 208 at BCV) - won't that make VWL the best choice for a 2nd or 3rd home?

I own BCV at present, and while I was considering an add on at BWV, I think VWL will be a much smarter choice for a "2nd home advantage" (I LOVE all the DVC resorts EQUALLY - as a matter of fact, that's the best part about each resort - they are all unique!)

Any comments or suggestions?

 

[tjkraz]

Will it become harder? Sure. And it would absolutely be a wise add-on if you enjoy staying there frequently.

Will it be impossible? No. As long as VWL owners aren't booking their home resort to 100% capacity before the 11 month window arrives, there will always be rooms available. The problem is you've got more members competing for a relatively fixed number of vacancies.

As far as it being the "hottest property", I don't know if that's necessarily the case. I seem to read an unexpectedly high number of reports of people getting rooms on short notice at VWL. I'm not sure how to account for that, but it does happen.

Personally, I have no desire to stay there because of the theming. I've lived in the north my entire life and that backwoods feel just doesn't equal "vacation" in my mind. Maybe my POV on availability is tainted by my personal feelings toward the resort. But it would certainly be a good add-on for you if you like the resort.

 

[tamu91]

That's one of the reason why we purchased a VWL contract last year but I don't think it will be impossible to book at VWL even when SSR is fully sold out. If will certainly be difficult to book during Christmas season and perhaps during Easter but it's difficult now I had to waitlist for a couple of night in October this year at VWL and still waiting
Most people book at 11 mos to reserve a unit but plans have a way of changing so as long as you're persistent and plan as far out as you possibly can, I believe the changes will still be good.

 

[spiceycat]

you already own at the hottest!!!

there are more request for BCV than anything else.

I own at VWL and I love it. but lots of people don't - they claim it is dark. I don't think so at all - but hey everyone is entitled to their opinions.

In VWL case its location is great - but BCV is better. With BCV you can walk to Epcot, at VWL you have to take the boat/bus to MK. You can't walk there.

 

[littlestar]

That's a good question. It's hard now to get Thanksgiving and Christmas there. We have 200 points at VWL and the rest of our points are spread out over BWV and and BCV. I personally think the BCV's will be the toughest resort to get when Saratoga sells out. At BCV you have the ability to basically walk in the backdoor of Epcot and Storm A Long Bay pool (best pool on property). So I would rate them like this BCV, VWL, BWV, OKW and then Saratoga. But, who knows. VWL is the only DVC resort that is close to the Magic Kingdom (for right now ). So maybe that will factor in there, too. Personally, VWL is my favorite, then a tie between BCV and BWV and OKW is pretty close in there, too - love those big rooms and palm trees scattered about. Saratoga doesn't ring my bell, but my nieces and nephews love downtown Disney so being young might make a difference on loving Saratoga or not.

It should be interesting to see what happens.

 

[CarolMN]

If you want a standard view or a guaranteed Boardwalk view, you'd be better off buying your add on there. It's unusualto get one of those without the home resort advantage even now - it will only get more difficult.

Best wishes-

 

[Laurabearz]

We enjoyed our stay at VWL that was booked at the last minute, but I sure am happy we own a points at both BCV and BWVs for the 11 month advantage...

 

[goldilocks_63]

Yes, especially at high demand periods.

I called at 7 month window for 1st week of Dec for VWL studio. Got 2 days, but the other 3 days, I waitlisted immediately, with auto confirm, and still haven't received them....

So if it's Dec, Easter, or some other holiday period absolutely need the 11 month window.

Goldi

 

[bicker]

I suspect, considering BWV, BCV and VWL collectively, it will be getting harder and harder to book rooms at the 7 month point. It will perhaps never be "impossible" except during certain times of the year, but to some extent we have to assume that the average BWV, BCV and VWL member will prefer to stay at their home resort than at SSR or OKW. After the procrastinators get blocked from their home resort a few years running, because SSR, OKW, HH, and VB members have reserved those rooms at the 7 month point, they'll learn that to get what they bargained for from DVC they're going to have to book early. As more BWV, BCV and VWL members book early, the less chance there will be anything left available at those resorts at the 7 month point.

 

[lllovell]

One point I will make here is that DVC is a growing business. I don't see SSR being the last of the resorts to be built and sold. A lot about the demands on the "smaller" resorts will be based on where DVC decides to go from here, but I see no reason to expect smaller facilities in the future if SSR continues to work out well as it seems to be doing.

I also think that DVC will continue to look into things like the Contemporary, so there might be more "retro-fit" plans on the horizon. If that is the case, it will also take some of the "pressure" off the current smaller hotels by spreading the 7 month non-home resort demand even further across more smaller resorts.

From a numbers standpoint, this might not be true - more owners at larger resorts will definately be looking to visit other resorts rather than their home, because those of us buying in NOW are being sold 7 resorts by the DVC sales people. But what so many are failing to take into account is that these bigger resorts also will have a tremendous amount of "loyality" as well.

Buy where you want to stay will become more and more important, but I think we will pretty much always be able to get weeks elsewhere as long as its not peak times.

 

[crisi]

The relative size of future resorts is a smaller variable. Its the relative number of "not home" members to the number of rooms available at the resort you want. i.e. 200 rooms at the Contemporary probably won't make VWL any easier to get, it will add some Contemporary members to the mix who would like to stay at VWL. Granted there will also be members who would move their non-home preference to CR.

 

[vanstoj]

Will it make it harder? THe answer is I think it already is making it harder. Last year I couldn't get Beach Club for Thansgiving week at 9 months out and that is where we own. My attempts to get a studio at BCV dfor a 3 night stay during December and the first 3 weeks of January was unsuccessful at over 6 months out. Given that a fair number of people that have bought into SSR are saying that they plan on staying elsewhere most of the time, I think that the 11 month window will become very important. Disney would have probably been better off breaking SSR into 3 separate small resorts with different theming and amenities than having one big mega resor, though it is a very nice resort, the theming and location did not appeal to my family.

 

[lllovell]

Will it make it harder? THe answer is I think it already is making it harder. Last year I couldn't get Beach Club for Thansgiving week at 9 months out and that is where we own. My attempts to get a studio at BCV dfor a 3 night stay during December and the first 3 weeks of January was unsuccessful at over 6 months out. Given that a fair number of people that have bought into SSR are saying that they plan on staying elsewhere most of the time, I think that the 11 month window will become very important. Disney would have probably been better off breaking SSR into 3 separate small resorts with different theming and amenities than having one big mega resor, though it is a very nice resort, the theming and location did not appeal to my family.

Actually, there have been lots of polls and to say MOST SSR purchasers will be staying elsewhere is not true. MOST of us say we want to try the other resorts but if we only get SSR, then whoopie, still a wonderful vacation! There are some people that own at every resort that feel this way!

I dont disagree about breaking up SSR into three different themed resorts, but I can see how it would have cost much more money to do so. Either way, lots of us do really love SSR and more will as it is completed, so give the dust time to settle. By then, we will have moved on to how the next resort is destroying it all for everyone

 

[tjkraz]

Given that a fair number of people that have bought into SSR are saying that they plan on staying elsewhere most of the time...

Source, please?

...I think that the 11 month window will become very important.

It always has been for the smaller resorts. Your inability to book your desired room 9 months out is a perfect example. Your fellow BCV owners beat you to the punch. No outside influence there.

Disney would have probably been better off breaking SSR into 3 separate small resorts with different theming and amenities than having one big mega resort.

Better for whom? Three registration desks...three security booths...three theme pools...three gift shops...three bus routes...three restaurants. You really expect DVD to absorb those development costs when it can be avoided?

Get used to it. The next dedicated DVC resort (Eagle Pines or elsewhere) will be at least as big as SSR, if not larger. The days of tiny add-ons to existing resorts in the face of economic uncertainty are gone. DVC is a success and they will not waste resources on undersized developments that will sell out in 13 months' time as was the case with BCV.

 

[bicker]

Source, please?

Seems like we need a Poll.

Your inability to book your desired room 9 months out is a perfect example. Your fellow BCV owners beat you to the punch. No outside influence there.

Well, I did get the other poster's point: If it was already booked up 9 months out, then it surely would be booked up 7 months out, therefore demonstrating that ONLY BCV members were able to get rooms.

Again, the issue really is the relative percentages of members of each resort who will seek to book rooms at non-home resorts, not the actual percentages. Unfortunately, there is no way, using vBulletin software, to create a poll with enough answers to get real insight into how this will work out. We'd basically need to poll each resort's members separately, and get the answer to the question, "How many years, out of the next ten years, will you aim to reserve a room at a non-home resort?" I believe that the answer to that will always be less than 5, but the average will vary from resort to resort. What a lot of folks believe, and what we have no way of getting real numbers about so as to know, is that BWV, BCV and VWL will probably average, let's say 2, while SSR and OKW will average, let's say 3, and perhaps the others will average 4. Again, we cannot know what the actua numbers are or even what the ordering is, but I believe my guesses here match with what a lot of people believe, and if true, there will be stress on the system, stress that will prompt those folks at resorts where the number is lower than at other resorts to book early, thereby shutting more of the other folks out of their planned trips to non-home resorts.

Better for whom? Three registration desks...three security booths...three theme pools...three gift shops...three bus routes...three restaurants. You really expect DVD to absorb those development costs when it can be avoided?

Not only that, but the cost to maintain those things get rolled into the maintenance fees for the members.

 

[jarestel]

Probably, but who really knows. I don't think it will be impossible, but certainly more difficult to book. If being able to stay at VWL is an important part of your vacation plans , I would go ahead and buy a small addon there just to eliminate the anxiety about being able to get your reservations. On the other hand, if you're only planning on staying there once in a while, you'll most likely be fine by using the waitlist.

Good luck!

 

[lllovell]

Seems like we need a Poll.

Diane did several not all that long ago and basically, they showed similar things. There was a high percentage of people that are SSR owners that said they wanted to try other resorts, but they want to TRY them, not ALWAYS book them. The "new kids on the block" SHOULD want to try them all. Its what DVC is selling is a 7 resort package. Most everyone that responded did say that they do plan on staying at SSR as well. A certain percentage at EVERY resort said they would NEVER stay at their resort.

Nothing startling came of those polls that I remember. Anyone else remember it differently?

 

[gharrer]

I would like to try all of the resorts because of the variety of theming, but if I can only get SSR thats ok for me. Currently I have 3 reservations one at HH one at VB and Easter week at SSR. I am willing to be flexible so I can try other resorts, but I know that at popular times I will most likely be at SSR. Nancy

 

[magsmom]

No, I don't think so. I do feel that you have to book 7 months out, to get the best chance.

Suprisingly I thought that VWL in December would have been more difficult than a boardwalk view for my upcoming trip in October. My final waitlisted day just came through for VWL for December.

Still waiting for the boardwalk view at the Boardwalk (requested 7 months out for F&W).

I would have been fine at SSR if nothing else was available.

 

[vanstoj]

I am not technically savvy to link to the poll that polled SSR members about their planned usage of DVC resorts, but it was dated 4/26/05 and approximately 13% of the SSR purchasers stated that they would almost always choose to stay at other resorts (30 out of 216). The particular resorts and the reasons why were listed. In my mind, that is a fair number. Another 134, I beleive said they wanted to try all the resorts. I think around 42 said they would choose to stay at SSR. Another poster on another thread indicated that approximately 80% of SSR members would choose to try all the resorts while for other DVC locations that number was around 40%. Perhaps that can be attributed to a higher number of SSR purchasers being new to the system. This was my source for concluding that a fair number of people who purchased at SSR do not intend on staying there on a regular basis.

As for breaking it into 3 resorts, the posted about the additional expense showing up in member dues is probably correct, however, HH is a smaller resort with no hotel attached to it and traditionally they have been able to keep their dues down.