Would DVC work for our needs in your opinion

[Pushthebutton]

I would be looking at a re-sale and not straight from the company to save money. We (2 people) go to Disney about once every year or at the least every two years. Personally, I love PORS for being on the water, taxi to downtown, water craft rentals, bike/walking baths/bike rentals and just the tropical atmosphere. I'm a sucker for upgrading to the king bedroom and water view. I have never been on a tour of any DVC property and don't know the differences between them. Which one fits most like PORS?

Another question is do these DVC have food courts or it that only in Moderate or value resorts?

We usually go in May and don't really have the urge to go during major holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Is getting a certain week hard to get if you call the day your window opens?

My other half want's to start staying at the contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridan but as you know its very pricey. I like to keep my trips under 2,000k for park tickets and room for 5-6 nights. Then add on Food to that number. Does owning DVC really make sense for me to buy?

I would not be looking at financing (hate paying interest) so at least that will save me money. For park tickets do you get any special rates if you are a DVC owner? What number of points should I be looking at buying if I wanted to stay for about a week in the May month each year. (During the flower festival)

Now the biggie- I would love to be able to bring my parents and sibling on a Disney trip every few years. This is why I started thinking maybe DVC would work for us with their two bedroom units. Otherwise I would just be paying for another room at PORS if we all went.

Hope this all made sense and I just have bunches of questions on this.

 

[Mom B]

Personally, I love PORS for being on the water, taxi to downtown, water craft rentals, bike/walking baths/bike rentals and just the tropical atmosphere. I'm a sucker for upgrading to the king bedroom and water view. I have never been on a tour of any DVC property and don't know the differences between them. Which one fits most like PORS?

If you like the king bedroom, water view, and tropical feel, OKW would probably be great for you. It's near PORS and on the same river, you can still take the taxi to DTD, etc. You might like BWV too, for similar reasons.

We usually go in May and don't really have the urge to go during major holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Is getting a certain week hard to get if you call the day your window opens?
I don't think you'd have a problem if you avoid the peak seasons, however, October and December could be tricky in some cases.

My other half want's to start staying at the contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridan but as you know its very pricey.
If you like the Contemporary, BLT would be perfect for you.

For park tickets do you get any special rates if you are a DVC owner? What number of points should I be looking at buying if I wanted to stay for about a week in the May month each year. (During the flower festival)
DVC members do get great discounts on annual passes, if you can schedule your trips so you can stay twice on one pass, you can save some money.

Now the biggie- I would love to be able to bring my parents and sibling on a Disney trip every few years. This is why I started thinking maybe DVC would work for us with their two bedroom units. Otherwise I would just be paying for another room at PORS if we all went.
With a family group, you would love having a 2 bedroom over 2 (or more) studios. The full size kitchen and the living area for group gathering/sitting space is a HUGE plus! Not to mention having the laundry in your villa is SO convenient!

Hope that helps a little!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Like the deluxe resorts, DVC resorts don't have food courts connected to them that would be like the Value or Moderate resort food courts. They do usually have a limited service counter service.

But with a full sized kitchen or even a kitchenette, who needs that?

 

[sleepydog25]

We usually go in May and don't really have the urge to go during major holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Is getting a certain week hard to get if you call the day your window opens?

I like to keep my trips under 2,000k for park tickets and room for 5-6 nights. Then add on Food to that number. Does owning DVC really make sense for me to buy?

I would not be looking at financing (hate paying interest) so at least that will save me money. For park tickets do you get any special rates if you are a DVC owner? What number of points should I be looking at buying if I wanted to stay for about a week in the May month each year. (During the flower festival)

Now the biggie- I would love to be able to bring my parents and sibling on a Disney trip every few years. This is why I started thinking maybe DVC would work for us with their two bedroom units. Otherwise I would just be paying for another room at PORS if we all went.

Hope this all made sense and I just have bunches of questions on this.

You've some good answers so far, and here are a few other thoughts to consider:
- You say you visit at least every other year. How long do you anticipate continuing to visit WDW? The longer you think you'll be making yearly (or so) trips, the more it makes sense.
- Have you sat down and figured up what it costs you just for your room at PORS for the last few trips? If so, you can compare that figure to what it would cost you stay in a 1BR at whichever resort you choose. It won't be an exact comparison due to a number of factors such as yearly maintenance fees for DVC or the inflationary cost of a PORS room as the years go by, but it should give you a fairly good basis upon to determine if in the long run DVC would cost you less.
- On how many points you need, that depends on a variety of factors from which resort you choose, to which season you visit (you say you visit in May, but what if you decide you want to go to the Food and Wine Festival one year?), to which type of accomodations you want (I assume a 1BR would work, but if you do bring family every few years, you'd have to bank and/or borrow points to afford a 2BR). If you're sure you'll primarily stay at your chosen resort during the same week in May each year, then figure out how many points it would take to stay for that week (or five days or however long you stay). You have a starting point.
- As for the booking window, usually getting your home resort at the 11-month window is not an issue, and only then during certain times of the year such as the Christmas holidays, spring break, or maybe F & W.

Hope this aids you in your quest. . .good luck!

 

[chalee94]

I'm a sucker for upgrading to the king bedroom and water view. I have never been on a tour of any DVC property and don't know the differences between them. Which one fits most like PORS?

http://allears.net/acc/faq_okw.htm

(you can check out information and pics for the other resorts while you are there.)

OKW studios all have 2 queen beds. OKW 1BRs all have 1 king bed + 1 pullout sofabed in the living room.

Another question is do these DVC have food courts or it that only in Moderate or value resorts?

no food court. olivia's for table service and some limited quick service options.

We usually go in May and don't really have the urge to go during major holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Is getting a certain week hard to get if you call the day your window opens?

if you call at 11 months out, you'll virtually always get what you want. for an OKW 1BR, you'll usually be able to find availability 6-7 months out - but thanksgiving through new years' is all pretty busy in DVC terms, so i would still try to book that at 10-11 months out.

My other half want's to start staying at the contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridan but as you know its very pricey. I like to keep my trips under 2,000k for park tickets and room for 5-6 nights. Then add on Food to that number. Does owning DVC really make sense for me to buy?

i believe so, but take your time and work out the math. edited to add: while you can stay at the BLT on the monorail on points, i would never use points to stay at the GF or poly. way too expensive. (and resales will be losing the ability to make such poor trades in the near future...so be aware of that.)

I would not be looking at financing (hate paying interest) so at least that will save me money. For park tickets do you get any special rates if you are a DVC owner?

$100 off APs right now - it could change at any time.

What number of points should I be looking at buying if I wanted to stay for about a week in the May month each year. (During the flower festival)

depends on the resort - an OKW 1BR would run about 200 pts for 7 nights in may. if you ditched the king bed and extra room/full kitchen/jacuzzi/washer/dryer, you could stay in a studio for half that. here are the point charts:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

Now the biggie- I would love to be able to bring my parents and sibling on a Disney trip every few years. This is why I started thinking maybe DVC would work for us with their two bedroom units. Otherwise I would just be paying for another room at PORS if we all went.

an OKW 2BR in may runs about 270 pts for 7 nights.

you can bank or borrow to move pts up or back one year, but that is about it. (and you can't rebank pts - you can move them once and that's where they will expire.)

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just remember, you aren't entitled to any of those discounts and special deals from Disney when you book a stay with DVC points. So no free dining, no kids stay and play for free, no 40% discount, etc.

 

[Sammie]

FYI: the discount on Annual passes is a perk that can be taken away at anytime, it is not something you are guaranteed on purchase.

Also the number of points needed for a week in May could also change. They recently made point adjustments and many people found that the number of points they had purchased to get a week at a certain resort at a certain time was not enough now.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The total number of points at a resort will not change unless they add buildings to the resort like they did at OKW and SSR. DVC can adjust the points from category of villa and time of the year and time of the week.

The last adjustment of points evened out the points a bit by reducing the points needed for the weekend, but raised the points needed during the week.

 

[Pushthebutton]

Thank You so much I will read through all the responses and check what the abbreviations mean so I know which resort is which.

 

[Pushthebutton]

Mom B- Thank You for recommending Old Key west and Boardwalk as a comparison of PORS.

In December, I would be really interested in staying the first week of the month. If I book right at the 11th month mark for a studio would it be likely that it would be available? rotfl2:not expecting that you can see into the future but rather just from experience)

(So far)I do love the style of contemporary and my idea would be to purchase a 100 point contract at that resort and use the borrow/bank method to go every other year while splitting it with another resort. Alternating vacation homes every other year. From what I've seen that is do-able. Is it possible to bank points for one year, use the current year and borrow points from the coming year for when I do family trips?

I've been doing a lot more research and like the idea of walkable resorts and walking to the park nearest to it. Are there any resorts with this walk to parks feature that also have bike/boat rentals?

I appreciate all the responses I've gotten!!

 

[wcpamotm]

In December, I would be really interested in staying the first week of the month. If I book right at the 11th month mark for a studio would it be likely that it would be available?

Availabilty is generally pretty good at 11 momths - for this year I've booked my studio at VWL (often considered popular for Christmastime) for December. Will hope to trade with Boardwalk Villas at 7 months. Some report that certain categories are difficult at any time, such as Concierge Rooms at AKL.

(So far)I do love the style of contemporary and my idea would be to purchase a 100 point contract at that resort and use the borrow/bank method to go every other year while splitting it with another resort. Alternating vacation homes every other year. From what I've seen that is do-able. Is it possible to bank points for one year, use the current year and borrow points from the coming year for when I do family trips?

Many people do this! Just be sure to understand the rules with banking and borrowing.

I've been doing a lot more research and like the idea of walkable resorts and walking to the park nearest to it. Are there any resorts with this walk to parks feature that also have bike/boat rentals?

Bay Lake Tower has easy access to the Contemporary's marina. From VWL, I like a nice bike ride to and through Fort Wilderness; either would be a quick boat ride away.

 

[Pushthebutton]

So very helpful! Thank You

 

[briand1023]

If you don't go every year, as someone else said, bank the points, or you could rent them, or you could "Donate" a week to a Make a Wish type organization or maybe to a charity auction, then you could use that as a tax write off(consult your tax person first)

 

[Deb & Bill]

...you could "Donate" a week to a Make a Wish type organization or maybe to a charity auction, then you could use that as a tax write off(consult your tax person first)

The only way to get a donation is to donate the property, not just a stay.

 

[Pushthebutton]

Just remember, you aren't entitled to any of those discounts and special deals from Disney when you book a stay with DVC points. So no free dining, no kids stay and play for free, no 40% discount, etc.

Understood! Thanks

 

[Pushthebutton]

I've got a spreadsheet going today and trying to figure out what regular trips to Disney would be with staying at the contemporary and other resorts and it seems like DVC would save me money in the long run. I've been playing with numbers and using a small contract for BLT. Looks like I'd be able to stay a couple days every other year at a studio with the standard view when its just us two. Even if they adjusted the points a bit It seems easy to have a Sun-Thur stay on a tiny 50 point contract. I'm just concerned now with BLT hiking up the fees each year per point. It seems like it would be the most expensive resort to maintain!

Then I could buy the larger contract at Beachclub or SSR for when family comes and I need the two bedroom unit with family approved decor. The number of points needed for larger accommodations seem much more manageable at these resorts. Allowing us to spend very few points on our stays with staying in a studio and banking whats left for a family trip. From what I've read on the forums it seems to be pretty easy (but not guaranteed) to switch to another resort at 7 months.

I do have a question about the tree house villas, are those hard to get because of the demand at the 11th month mark? I'm guessing I would have to call right when the day started to book one? Saratoga Springs also seems to be very unpopular but noone seems to explain why they don't like it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I've got a spreadsheet going today and trying to figure out what regular trips to Disney would be with staying at the contemporary and other resorts and it seems like DVC would save me money in the long run. I've been playing with numbers and using a small contract for BLT. Looks like I'd be able to stay a couple days every other year at a studio with the standard view when its just us two. Even if they adjusted the points a bit It seems easy to have a Sun-Thur stay on a tiny 50 point contract. I'm just concerned now with BLT hiking up the fees each year per point. It seems like it would be the most expensive resort to maintain!

Then I could buy the larger contract at Beachclub or SSR for when family comes and I need the two bedroom unit with family approved decor. The number of points needed for larger accommodations seem much more manageable at these resorts. Allowing us to spend very few points on our stays with staying in a studio and banking whats left for a family trip. From what I've read on the forums it seems to be pretty easy (but not guaranteed) to switch to another resort at 7 months.

I do have a question about the tree house villas, are those hard to get because of the demand at the 11th month mark? I'm guessing I would have to call right when the day started to book one? Saratoga Springs also seems to be very unpopular but noone seems to explain why they don't like it.

You'd have to book that BLT standard view right at 11 months out. It's very popular with the owners there because the point requirement is lower and they still have an opportunity for a theme park view.

Right now, of the 60 THV that exist, only about 30 are available for points stays because they haven't sold out yet. The other 30 or so are given to Disney Reservation Center to sell for cash stays. So they also go quickly at 11 months out. I don't think SSR is so unpopular, other than some more vocal types keep bashing it. Many members like it a lot. We've stayed there at least four times and had great stays.

But the real joy of DVC comes in staying in anything but a studio, which is more like a glorified hotel room (except most of them only have one bed and one sleeper sofa). When you stay in a one or two bedroom for the first time, you understand why you bought that DVC contract.