Torn Between SSR (Resale) and VGF (Direct)

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

We go any time of year except in the summer. We went in summer once and NEVER again. It was so hot and the food didn't taste as good (could have been the heat) and a vast majority of the CMs were rude (could have been the heat as well). We never have had an experience like that before in DW.

Our 100% goal for the SSR points would be for SAP. I have read from other people that using SSR points for SAP is getting harder but still very doable.

When the kids are bigger I see us coming for smaller stays, but more often a year. Or maybe still week long stays but not doing DW the entire time, doing universal, discovery cove, etc. Also, we plan on doing Aulani in 3-5 years.

In your opinion (or anybody reading) what resorts and rooms are most likey to be open @ the 7-month out mark? We never travel peak times. (no week of thanksgiving, week of xmas, new years, run disney events, cheer comps, spring break, etc)

My biggest concern is that this is going to be the best deal VGF is going to offer (maybe ever, if it sells out.) And it's probably going to be the last new build that doesn't have resale restrictions.

Also, I know with buying direct, I can get the points immediately and go ahead and book our Jan stay now instead of having to wait another 4-8 weeks. That's what I meant by MS getting us a welcome home, I know they will have better access now than I will in those 4-8 wks to get my resale points loaded.

I'm also kind of scared my SSR contract will get taken by ROFR. 86pp is pretty cheap and they took 3 contracts not long ago. (none at SSR luckily)

Big Pine Key is not a new build. However, I do agree these VGF incentives are the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[intamin]

We go any time of year except in the summer. We went in summer once and NEVER again. It was so hot and the food didn't taste as good (could have been the heat) and a vast majority of the CMs were rude (could have been the heat as well). We never have had an experience like that before in DW.

Our 100% goal for the SSR points would be for SAP. I have read from other people that using SSR points for SAP is getting harder but still very doable.

When the kids are bigger I see us coming for smaller stays, but more often a year. Or maybe still week long stays but not doing DW the entire time, doing universal, discovery cove, etc. Also, we plan on doing Aulani in 3-5 years.

In your opinion (or anybody reading) what resorts and rooms are most likey to be open @ the 7-month out mark? We never travel peak times. (no week of thanksgiving, week of xmas, new years, run disney events, cheer comps, spring break, etc)

My biggest concern is that this is going to be the best deal VGF is going to offer (maybe ever, if it sells out.) And it's probably going to be the last new build that doesn't have resale restrictions.

Also, I know with buying direct, I can get the points immediately and go ahead and book our Jan stay now instead of having to wait another 4-8 weeks. That's what I meant by MS getting us a welcome home, I know they will have better access now than I will in those 4-8 wks to get my resale points loaded.

I'm also kind of scared my SSR contract will get taken by ROFR. 86pp is pretty cheap and they took 3 contracts not long ago. (none at SSR luckily)

Unfortunately summer has usually the best availability. Most people travel in the fall, winter and spring for the reasons you mentioned.
Most likely resorts at 7 months? OKW, AKV, PVB, BRV. More if you're okay with booking 1BRs. Keep in mind studios are the first to go.
This likely is the best deal VGF will ever have.
I would have the cash stay booked if you haven't already booked it as insurance just in case.

 

[PolyRob]

We go any time of year except in the summer. We went in summer once and NEVER again. It was so hot and the food didn't taste as good (could have been the heat) and a vast majority of the CMs were rude (could have been the heat as well). We never have had an experience like that before in DW.

Our 100% goal for the SSR points would be for SAP. I have read from other people that using SSR points for SAP is getting harder but still very doable.

When the kids are bigger I see us coming for smaller stays, but more often a year. Or maybe still week long stays but not doing DW the entire time, doing universal, discovery cove, etc. Also, we plan on doing Aulani in 3-5 years.

In your opinion (or anybody reading) what resorts and rooms are most likey to be open @ the 7-month out mark? We never travel peak times. (no week of thanksgiving, week of xmas, new years, run disney events, cheer comps, spring break, etc)

My biggest concern is that this is going to be the best deal VGF is going to offer (maybe ever, if it sells out.) And it's probably going to be the last new build that doesn't have resale restrictions.

Also, I know with buying direct, I can get the points immediately and go ahead and book our Jan stay now instead of having to wait another 4-8 weeks. That's what I meant by MS getting us a welcome home, I know they will have better access now than I will in those 4-8 wks to get my resale points loaded.

I'm also kind of scared my SSR contract will get taken by ROFR. 86pp is pretty cheap and they took 3 contracts not long ago. (none at SSR luckily)

200 SSR is 17,200
150 VGF is 25,050

Difference before closing is 7,850. IDK what points your SSR contract has, but how much is your Jan stay on cash going to cost you? If the SSR contract is stripped and your Jan stay will cost ~3k OOP you are looking at a smaller difference.

The worst season to book DVC right now is "fall frenzy." October to Jan will be more difficult for room selection. After that would be early May. Basically any low point season without extreme weather is popular. 1-bedrooms will be the easiest to secure in the 7-month window. Would you be ok booking VGF resort studios and then trying to swap out or waitlist at 7-months? Do you like VGF enough to have home resort advantage?

 

[intamin]

Something to keep in mind between the 17,200 and the 25,000 at VGF @wmm1126 is that the VGF contract is 10 years longer than the SSR contract. It also has a more valuable home resort priority and being on the monorail loop will hold resale value quite well although the deal you got for SSR is pretty good. It would also come with blue card which can translate to annual pass discounts and etc. Either way both are good options so good luck!

 

[tidefan]

200 points is going to go much further than 150, but @intamin makes a valid point about the years left on the contract.

 

[intamin]

200 points is going to go much further than 150, but @intamin makes a valid point about the years left on the contract.

Throughout the course of each contract they'll actually have the same amount of points in total but VGF over a longer period of time.

200*30=6000
150*40=6000

So really it comes down to would you rather have more points over a shorter period of time without perks vs. less points over a longer period of time with perks and desirable home resort. If you're paying cash for that stay in January it definitely tips things a little more in favor of VGF so you have access to book immediately through the Welcome Home stay and save the cash

 

[jodifla]

Given your age and the fact you feel certain about traveling to WDW annually I would do VGF.

We bought Old Key West in 1996 and consider it the best purchase we're ever made. We bought in our 30s before kids. Started with 150 and added 56 points a few years later.

We took full advantage of the pass discounts, which were terrific. Those benefits come and go, but we love being full on blue card members.

 

[thelionqueen]

I appreciate the input from everyone. We pulled the trigger on VGF. I was able to get a September UY which is what we needed for our travel habits, and my guide was able to get approval for them to do MB on 2022 points, so we will be receiving 2023 points in 10 days. All in all I am excited!

So now that you’ve decided, do you feel that it was the right choice? I only ask because I was debating as well but ended up buying direct and feels FANTASTIC! OH & welcome home

 

[thelionqueen]

I'm in a very similar situation. I have my 200 points @ 86pp SSR resale contract that I only signed 6-7 days ago. But the incentives for direct VGF is so incredible right now. I would love to buy both and have direct UY match the resale UY but that is not in the cards for us right now. Also, I would only be able to afford 150 points at VGF direct.

I don't know what to do. I could still cancel the SSR resale in the next 3 days and get my full deposit back if I wanted to do direct. But my goodness, 86pp SSR is a great deal.

Extra info:
-We are a family of 5 with the youngest kiddo being 2.
-We fly to Disney 1 time a year and stay for 1 wk. We rely on Disney transportation throughout our stay. (this could change as the kids get older)
-I love the idea of being able to stay at any resort on property old or new
-From the great info I got from DVC Availability Tables — DVC Field Guide, it looks like VGF usually has resort studios available at the 7-month out mark.
- We are going in Jan 2024 to Disney World and we would love to use our points for our stay. (I know that the only thing still available this late in the game is SSR 1 BR or some kind of split stay.) But I have heard if you buy direct, MS may be able to work a little magic and get us in for a non-split stay.

What are your thoughts? Help this crazy lady. I feel like a hamster on a wheel.

Having been in your shoes and looking back, (and being a staunch supporter of buying resale), I’d strongly suggest buying direct. This deal is unheard of and very likely, the last of the unrestricted resorts. Yes it’s a great deal on SSR but you have a young family, and DVC is almost certainly going to change many times as your family grows. If you buy direct, you’ll be grandfathered in and avoid any further restrictions DVC makes. Resale will always be there, and I’ve seen some Dis’ers get even better deals. With AP discounts and other Blue card benefits, the extra $ is well worth it imo.

Good luck with whatever choice works best for you!

 

[lilsonicfan]

I agree the incentives at VGF make buying direct a very tempting option. But with a family of 5 myself, I’m not keen on studios at all, and the points chart at VGF means 150 wouldn’t go too far for us. The longer contract is nice but of course also means 10 more years of dues that someone needs to pay. When I really boil it down the question is how many points do I need and how do I get those for a reasonable price. For us, the AP discount would never be worth it, the merch and food discounts are minimal and unlikely to be worth it, and I don’t need to sit in a DVC lounge. Oh, and I don’t have the flexibility to just fly down for special events. So resale made way more sense.

 

[xtinewashere]

One thing that wasn’t brought up is that likely you’ll be using a stroller for several years. Being able to walk to MK with your stroller intact or take the monorail where you don’t necessarily need to fold it would be a valuable perk.

Those late nites of pulling a sleeping child out of a stroller along with all our stowed gear to get on a bus was pretty challenging. I would have chosen a walk to a hotel in place of a bus any day!

I think you made the right decision- congrats!

 

[LittleBitGoofy]

And it's worth considering these VGF points as possible SAP that come with the bonus of being direct and unrestricted, if that's how you planned to use SSR anyway. VGF does have high point charts, but don't have to be used there. 150 pts will get you 4 nights or more in a 1bdr elsewhere. Certainly more costly than SSR but they do last longer and carry those nice benefits.

 

[wmm1126]

Well crummy news, they won’t let me pick an Oct or Dec use year for a direct purchase. So I could pick any use year between Feb and September. But I would be selling back the 2023 points and then have to borrow the 2024 to pay for our Jan vacation. He did say he could get me a studio at a good resort those dates bc they will let him pull a room from the cash side for our welcome home visit.

He said the only people allowed to get the Oct or Dec UY incentive, is the people that are already DVC members and have those UY already.

The stroller point is very valid and us loading up to head back to AOA at the end of the night is always a STRUGGLE.

My SSR contract is completely intact. So as
soon as it would pass ROFR and get loaded into my account I could schedule for Jan. But that is probably still 1 month from now.

I was leaning towards VGF but now that I know I can’t sell 2022 points and get 2023 points in Oct/Dec it makes me think I should stick to the cheaper option with more points per year.

Except the devil on my shoulder is saying this is going to be the last direct sale that doesn’t have resale restrictions.

 

[LittleBitGoofy]

That's very possibly true about no inventory for a new member Oct or Dec UY, but try to keep pushing back. Tell them it's one of those two or bust for you and see if they'll run it up the chain.

 

[thelionqueen]

Well crummy news, they won’t let me pick an Oct or Dec use year for a direct purchase. So I could pick any use year between Feb and September. But I would be selling back the 2023 points and then have to borrow the 2024 to pay for our Jan vacation. He did say he could get me a studio at a good resort those dates bc they will let him pull a room from the cash side for our welcome home visit.

He said the only people allowed to get the Oct or Dec UY incentive, is the people that are already DVC members and have those UY already.

The stroller point is very valid and us loading up to head back to AOA at the end of the night is always a STRUGGLE.

My SSR contract is completely intact. So as
soon as it would pass ROFR and get loaded into my account I could schedule for Jan. But that is probably still 1 month from now.

I was leaning towards VGF but now that I know I can’t sell 2022 points and get 2023 points in Oct/Dec it makes me think I should stick to the cheaper option with more points per year.

Except the devil on my shoulder is saying this is going to be the last direct sale that doesn’t have resale restrictions.

I’d strongly push back on this! If this guide doesn’t budge ask for another. My guide as many others are fantastic!

They’ll have to ask for an exception, just tell them your travel habits require a Oct or Dec UY. If they still do t budge, get a new guide.

I’d hate for you to miss out due to an unhelpful guide. I got December with no issues. She did say that most requests got approved but there’s a small possibility of a denial. I don’t think we’re allowed to mention names of guides but I’ve seen some listed. If we can post them I’m happy to provide mine.

Note that I just did my contracts and still haven’t signed, so my Dec UY was very recent

 

[wmm1126]

If I could get the Oct use year and the 2022 points, I would go with VGF. Let me call DVC again and see if I can get another guide. I feel bad bc the guide I had was very nice but I need the best deal possible!

 

[thelionqueen]

If I could get the Oct use year and the 2022 points, I would go with VGF. Let me call DVC again and see if I can get another guide. I feel bad bc the guide I had was very nice but I need the best deal possible!

I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t. The fact that this guide didn’t even offer an exception is concerning. Myia Williams is amazing!!

 

[LittleBitGoofy]

If I could get the Oct use year and the 2022 points, I would go with VGF. Let me call DVC again and see if I can get another guide. I feel bad bc the guide I had was very nice but I need the best deal possible!

If you do decide to try a new Guide, give Lu Bernatow a call: 407-827-5375. She worked hard to get us a good deal before.

 

[Zach197]

.

 

[wmm1126]

I called back and got a great guide who got me the Oct UY for VGF! I ended up buying a 150p and 50p contract which got me all the 200 point incentives. I'm so excited about the magical beginnings with the 4400 dollars back AND I will have the full 200 points on Oct 1. I will call MS tomorrow and have them book me my welcome home trip for Jan 2024. Eeekk! I'm so excited!

The only thing I thought was funny was he was very interested in why I wanted to split the contracts. He said he hadn't done that for anybody in years. It made me 2nd guess myself but I had to trust my gut. It only ended up being an extra $250 in closing costs.