Best Home Resort?

[isyace14]

Looks like DVC is going to be a definite for my wife and I. We have been 5 times in 4 years of marriage and have been staying at deluxe resorts more and more. It is also something we want for our future-planned children. My biggest concern is decided which property to select as the home resort. My personal favorite is BLT for the proximity to MK but it is also incredibly more expensive. After doing some checking, we would be buying 160 points and here is the latest pricing I could find...
BLT $165/pt
AKV $135/pt
SSR $130/pt

I guess the question that could sum this up for me is how difficult it is to book a room at a resort that is not your home resort? I'm sure you all have much more experience with this than I do so I am just looking for opinions. Essentially, is the added cost worth it to guarantee that we can book a stay at BLT? Or is it not that difficult to accomplish if you own at a different resort?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[bobbiwoz]

Hi! Direct sales cost so much more than resales do these days, that it's very hard to recommend to someone to buy direct. Have you looked at resales?

There are restrictions on resale points, you can't use them to stay at any other Disney hotels, for Disney Cruises, for Adventures by Disney. These options are not seen as good use of points by many members here. I am in the process of trying to buy 100 BLT points from the resale market and the amount I'm hoping to pay is $95 per point. (Disney has a right to buy the contract from the seller at the price I agreed to. So, it is possible that I will not be able to buy this contract, Disney would buy it. That's what the ROFR, right of first refusal means.)

Whatever you do, study all of the stickies on the boards about buying DVC.

It is hard, but not impossible to get into other resorts at the 7 month time frame. IF you wanted to book SSR that would practically be guaranteed to do most times of the year. If you wanted to book one of the Epcot resorts from October to the Marathon weekend in January, that would take pixie dust in many cases.

Keep asking questions and reading. The owners who post here are mostly happy ones, and many are willing to add their 2 cents into any buying conversation!

Bobbi

 

[hakepb]

FYI, there is the resale market which is much cheaper.

A lot depends on when you go, room type and view.

Booking a 1 BR Lake View is usually available at 7 mo, but getting a 2BR or studio is much more difficult. MK or Standard view is very problematic. (I once booked a 1BR standard, but had to move that trip)

FYI Sept-Dec is a DVC busy season with Food and Wine and then Christmas decorations make all of December home resort booking a necessity.

In general, if you do not like the idea/possibility of staying at SSR, buy where you want to stay.

 

[EeyoreEma]

We own at BLT, and LOVE it. So far, we've had more trouble getting rooms there when we've waited too late to book there and have had no trouble booking at other resorts, such as SSR and AKV. I do really love BLT, and when we add on (it's inevitable!!) we'll probably choose to add on there again. If staying at BLT is important to you and you think that is where you will want to stay most of all, that is where I'd recommend that you buy. Good luck!

 

[drusba]

First suggestion: look into the resale market (see for example the Timeshare Store's logo at the top of the threads page). You can get any of the resorts you mention and any of the others in the resale market for a lot less than the direct sales price from Disney.

Second suggestion: look into the resale market.

As to which resort, it depends on what you want to be certain to get. You can reserve your home resort 11 months out and others at 7. There is generally little problem getting your own 11 months out. The major issue is what can you get 7 months out. For that be aware of the folowing:

1. SSR is open at 7 months out year round. AKV savanna and standard view and OKW other than Hospitality House are are also usually open at 7 months out although you could face some issues at AKV in parts of Oct and first two weeks of Dec and at OKW first week of Dec.

2. From end of Sep to Tuesday after marathon weekend in Jan, BLT, BWV and BCV can be often difficult to get late Sep through Nov and first part of Jan and impossible most of Dec. VWL can also have issues at times during that period particularly mid-Oct and Thanksgiving and after.


3. AKV concierge and value and BLT standard view are very difficult to get at 7 months out almost anytime of year; BWV standard and boardwalk views are also difficult many times of year although you can often get them in summer months, end of Feb through first part of March, late April, and sometimes in May. BCV, besides as noted in 2 above, can be difficult some some hoiliday times from mid-Jan to end of Sep and sometimes some other weeks. BLT theme park view can also sometimes be gone during that period although not often.

Also, be aware that the 7 month window is just that. If you don't reserve exactly 7 months out, many of the things mentioned above will quickly disappear even when available. In other wordsa, wait until 6 months out and all that may be left is SSR and possibly OKW and AKV.

In the resale market, SSR is considered the best bargain at a lower price than other WDW resorts and if you are happy with SSR whenever you cannot find something else 7 months out, it is definitely something to consider with its 2054 end date and mid-level annual dues. BWV and BCV and VWL, and part of the contracts at OKW, suffer a downside of having a January 2041 end date. AKV and the rest of OKW is 2057 and BLT is 2060. I do not recommend considering Hilton Head or Vero beach if intent is to stay at WDW because they have a 2041 end date and suffer from being on the high end of annual dues.

 

[JJSWDW]

Another thought is that if you like BLT for its location, check out VWL. It's a short boat ride to MK. On the larger boats you don't have to fold your stroller. You still get the nightly electric water pageant. Several restaurants and a counter serve. Nice trails to fort wilderness for walks. Even though they expire in 2041, you could get double the points on the resale market vs BLT new points. Obviously, if you want those extra 20 years then buy from a newer resort. VWL contracts are turning pretty quickly these days at TSS so you'll have to keep an eye on their website.

Last, my parents found that once they stopped going with kids and such that it was more cost effective for them to do a room at a moderate or value. In fact, the savings from not paying the DVC annual dues more than pays for those rooms and they don't have tens of thousands of dollars tied up in DVC. Keep in mind DVC is only a good value if you'd keep doing deluxe resorts instead, IMO.

We have kids of all ages (1,8,17) and totally enjoy DVC! Bottom line, buy somewhere you don't mind staying. Don't buy at one resort with plans to never stay there as this may lead to frustration in the future.

Enjoy!

 

[lovin'fl]

Looks like DVC is going to be a definite for my wife and I. We have been 5 times in 4 years of marriage and have been staying at deluxe resorts more and more. It is also something we want for our future-planned children. My biggest concern is decided which property to select as the home resort. My personal favorite is BLT for the proximity to MK but it is also incredibly more expensive. After doing some checking, we would be buying 160 points and here is the latest pricing I could find...
BLT $165/pt
AKV $135/pt
SSR $130/pt

I guess the question that could sum this up for me is how difficult it is to book a room at a resort that is not your home resort? I'm sure you all have much more experience with this than I do so I am just looking for opinions. Essentially, is the added cost worth it to guarantee that we can book a stay at BLT? Or is it not that difficult to accomplish if you own at a different resort?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks

We have gotten into every resort (except BLT but we have never tried to get in there yet). We have had trouble sometimes and maybe had to tweak dates or go for our 2nd choice, but we have been able to try them all out (well, our 1st visit to AKV is booked for Dec...not sure we will try BLT because it takes so many points to stay there...maybe a split stay some time). We bought OKW via resale in 2006 as that was the best deal going for a WDW resort (SSR was selling new for close to $100...we paid @$72-74 for our OKW). OKW is not our fave resort so we just try for where we want to be (we like Epcot area resorts). We got into HH for a couple nights one summer and realized that we'd love to go there more (maybe alternate years to save $$ by not buying park tickets and airfare to FL)...HH was tough to get a full week during the summer so we added on a small contract there. We also do WDW with DH's family a lot...his sister also owns DVC and we prefer to stay in the same resort when we travel with them. They own SSR and AKV and won't stay at OKW, while we won't stay at SSR...so we added on another contract to AKV so that we can stay there and book at 11 months out for the value or standard views (to save points). I will say that we wish we bought BWV instead of OKW...though we would have gotten less points for our money but we could book the standard view there and save points (we can only ever get the garden/pool view). Bottom line, though, is that in a pinch we don't mind staying at any of the WDW resorts...so OKW will do and even SSR (our least fave...along with VWL) will do...it's all way way better than a Holiday Inn in Kissimmee. DH is very happy to have gotten the most points for his $$$ (back in 2006...was not too thrilled we added the AKV, he would have just added the cheapest again). I will also say that the number of points you'll need will go up as your future kids age. We have 3 kids and did fine in a 1BR for years...now we need a 2BR (3 teens sharing the living room and our master bathroom...yikes!!!). Maybe get a small-ish contract and then add on later...you could start with the best deal (SSR...or OKW) and then when you know where you like to stay the most, add on a small contract there (maybe BLT)....or vice versa (start with a small contract where you like and then if you know that's the bomb for you, add more there...but if you know that you can stay anywhere, add on a deal resort like SSR).

And resale is the way to go...we just added 100 AKV points via resale and paid $66/point. It took 2 months, we closed in March and have our 1st vacation to AKV booked for Christmas. We bought the 75 HH points in Jan 2012 for $50/point.

 

[mulberrybush]

First suggestion: look into the resale market (see for example the Timeshare Store's logo at the top of the threads page). You can get any of the resorts you mention and any of the others in the resale market for a lot less than the direct sales price from Disney.

Second suggestion: look into the resale market.

As to which resort, it depends on what you want to be certain to get. You can reserve your home resort 11 months out and others at 7. There is generally little problem getting your own 11 months out. The major issue is what can you get 7 months out. For that be aware of the folowing:

1. SSR is open at 7 months out year round. AKV savanna and standard view and OKW other than Hospitality House are are also usually open at 7 months out although you could face some issues at AKV in parts of Oct and first two weeks of Dec and at OKW first week of Dec.

2. From end of Sep to Tuesday after marathon weekend in Jan, BLT, BWV and BCV can be often difficult to get late Sep through Nov and first part of Jan and impossible most of Dec. VWL can also have issues at times during that period particularly mid-Oct and Thanksgiving and after.

3. AKV concierge and value and BLT standard view are very difficult to get at 7 months out almost anytime of year; BWV standard and boardwalk views are also difficult many times of year although you can often get them in summer months, end of Feb through first part of March, late April, and sometimes in May. BCV, besides as noted in 2 above, can be difficult some some hoiliday times from mid-Jan to end of Sep and sometimes some other weeks. BLT theme park view can also sometimes be gone during that period although not often.

Also, be aware that the 7 month window is just that. If you don't reserve exactly 7 months out, many of the things mentioned above will quickly disappear even when available. In other wordsa, wait until 6 months out and all that may be left is SSR and possibly OKW and AKV.

In the resale market, SSR is considered the best bargain at a lower price than other WDW resorts and if you are happy with SSR whenever you cannot find something else 7 months out, it is definitely something to consider with its 2054 end date and mid-level annual dues. BWV and BCV and VWL, and part of the contracts at OKW, suffer a downside of having a January 2041 end date. AKV and the rest of OKW is 2057 and BLT is 2060. I do not recommend considering Hilton Head or Vero beach if intent is to stay at WDW because they have a 2041 end date and suffer from being on the high end of annual dues.

This ought to be a sticky good stuff!

 

[isyace14]

Wow tons of information. It is very much appreciated. Do you all have any recommended sights to check out the resales?

 

[hakepb]

Click on the Timeshare Store link at the top of this page

There are a few others, TTS gets good reviews, and seem to be a fairly consistent process.
I think its Fidelity that pays DVC the extra money to be the "official" resale partner, that "official" mark +$5 will get you a cup of coffee.

 

[isyace14]

Great thanks again everyone

 

[lovin'fl]

And Fidelity (http://www.fidelityresales.com/dvc.php) does not work evenings or weekends...where the others do. Fidelity also charges a $195 buyers fee (others do not)...for what I don't know, since they aren't available except 9-5 Mon-Fri (and from many reports on these boards, they aren't very good with communication and responding).

 

[LimoFam5]

BLT is always very very popular and limited past the home resort booking window. Generally AKL and SS will have plenty to chose from past the home booking window

 

[ccigliano]

While you may consider BLT to be more expensive you need to calculate the long term cost. For instance, BLT maintenance fees are less than other DVC resorts so over time it may be a wash to buy BLT on the resale market as compared to say VWL. The bottom line is that you should own where you love if its one of the smaller resorts. SSr, AKV, and OKW are usually available whenever you book so owning at these doesn't have the same advantage as owning at VWL or BCV. Good luck!