Love the Boardwalk, but...

[AdamsMum]

Makes you wonder how much they will up the point requirements when those 24 years are up. You are right, I bet it is killing them now.

I wonder how they would price it, but you too are right, I don't see them having those low point standard view rooms. I won't care, I'll be 85 when my contract ends after a lifetime (well half a lifetime) of great trips to my happy place.

 

[pineapplepalms]

We bought in for the 1bedrooms, and always book them. The GF is nicer, but it really is nitpicking. The furniture, bathroom, and kitchens are better at gf, but ironically we found the mattress better at BWV.
I've already emailed dvcstore and am placing my SSR points up for sale. Also found a bwv contract that works for us so, we now start the switch. Hopefully I'll be alternating between GFV and BWV for the next 24 years.

I also think the 1BR at VGF is nicer (love the Murphy bed and huge shower), but for us the location of BWV is ideal and the 1BR there was still great (we just bought BWV resale earlier this year and stayed there recently). 24 years is still a lot of vacations and being able to book there especially at busy times like Thanksgiving will be worth it! Hope your buying/selling process goes smoothly and that you’re a BWV owner soon

 

[bwvBound]

No, BWV isn't as nice at VGF. Nothing is as nice as VGF.

Ummm ... the Copper Creek Cabins are pretty awesome. I felt they were both functional and lovely. (I felt the VGF unit we toured lost points on function?)

That said, we've stayed in the cabins and only toured VGF units so perhaps we'd rank VGF differently after an an actual stay.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

We bought in 2000.......250pts....and in i think 2011 another 50...both direct....We are now retired over 10yrs....every few yrs we get 2---2bd rms and bring the family(about 12) adults at present....they all love BWV.....walk to Epcot and DHS or boat.....
DH golfs i go to the pool or DS....often we drive or fly down from northern Ill.......I am a planner I always book early and do the SV....standard view ...less points...
I am content with a studio...DH likes a 1 bd rm...
BUY BWV.....resale !!! or direct you won't be sorry..

 

[mustinjourney]

Ummm ... the Copper Creek Cabins are pretty awesome. I felt they were both functional and lovely. (I felt the VGF unit we toured lost points on function?)

That said, we've stayed in the cabins and only toured VGF units so perhaps we'd rank VGF differently after an an actual stay.

did you tour a studio room at VGF? B/c if you want apples to apples, you'd have to compare the grand villa at VGF. And those things are P.I.M.P. As are the cabins of course -- but the GVs are quite a quite a bit bigger and have a spectacular view of the fireworks.

But as far as comparing a BWV 1BR to a VGF 1BR -- there really is no comparison.

 

[VTNuke]

Ten years ago, the BWV rooms were looking very dated and almost dirty at times. They've since done a huge refurbishment and modernized the rooms. As everyone is saying, 24 years is a long time and who knows what will be going on at the end of the contract.

My wife and I have started talking about selling out BWV, but neither of us are done going to Disney yet. Even with the kids now being in middle school, we still see at least 10 more years of use out of the points. It's tempting since we purchased a resale at $84 in 2005 or 2006 and now we could sell it for a 50% profit. That's nuts for a timeshare. But the real reason we haven't sold is we've used it so much, and "saved" so much on the room costs, that if it expired today, we'd have still ended up ahead. Look at the deluxe hotel rates for Disney these days. A 7 night stay can easily be $2,000 for a studio on the inn side. We are easily saving $1,000 per trip. Now I get the point of "you'd never take that many vacations if you didn't have it, so you can't say you're saving money", but I love vacations. I live for vacations. I work hard just so I can vacation. Our retirement plans are centered around taking vacations. It's what we want to do and DVC really has helped make those vacations happen, especially when money was tighter during the recession.

If you're using the points, you are probably staying in a better room for less money than if you paid cash for a room on the inn side of the Boardwalk.

As far as getting the rooms at 7 months at the BWV, I'd say there are times when you can't get exactly what you want at the 11 month window. Especially the 2-bedroom standard view or the studio standard view rooms. Those get goggled up quick. The BWV is very busy between mid-October and mid-December. It can be hard to find exactly what you want during those times.

 

[mustinjourney]

Look at the deluxe hotel rates for Disney these days. A 7 night stay can easily be $2,000 for a studio on the inn side.

A 7 night stay can easily be over $3000 (and sometimes over $4000 depending on season). I just checked last week of April and the price was $520 per night plus tax -- which comes out to $4090 with tax. So you're saving even more money than you think.

Even at a max 35% savings over rack rate -- that would still be $2600.

 

[VTNuke]

Oh, I was being conservative. I am well aware the costs can get up there for the deluxe resorts. You can find deals, so I didn't want to over value the discussion. I'd say we'd probably stay in a moderate resort if we went before we got our BWV points. Now, I'd have a hard time not going to a deluxe and you couldn't get me to even think about a value resort. The hidden price of being a DVC snob.

 

[suebeelin]

This is our first trip to BWV. Currently own at SSR(impulse buy due to pixie dust in eyes) and at VGF(our favorite resort). The BWV rooms are not as nicely adorned as VGF, but truthfully we spend very little time in the room that it really doesn't matter...and truthfully they are very nice. The location is amazing...we love the whole boardwalk vibe and walking to either DHS or Epcot. Which brings me to my conundrum. Resale prices are around $120/point I believe, but with only 23, i think, years left is it worth it? We were able to switch into this resort at 7 months for July 1st, but we normally travel to wdw on Thanksgiving break...how difficult is a 1 bedroom been to get at boardwalk at 7 months?
I really wish Disney had a clear plan as to how to handle the expiring resorts. Decisions, decisions...( first world problems I know)

Nothing is as nice as VGF; but it costs way more points for a room there over BWV (for a reason)!

You might think about renting your SSR points instead of selling it... and buying BWV points as well.

You can use your BWV and VGF points at their respective resorts, and then use (or rent) SSR at the 7mo mark got poly, AKL, etc. — I use my BWV points only st Bwv and try to get the std rooms to stretch my points. I’ll use my BLT for all other resorts...

 

[intertile]

Nothing is as nice as VGF; but it costs way more points for a room there over BWV (for a reason)!

You might think about renting your SSR points instead of selling it... and buying BWV points as well.

You can use your BWV and VGF points at their respective resorts, and then use (or rent) SSR at the 7mo mark got poly, AKL, etc. — I use my BWV points only st Bwv and try to get the std rooms to stretch my points. I’ll use my BLT for all other resorts...

I thought about keeping ssr and renting those points, but I think in the end for me it's a bigger headache than it's worth. My net gains on SSR after dues is like $1500/year, and I'd have to buy another contract for $18k for BWV. Whereas if i sell ssr and buy bwv I have the resort that I want and actually get about $3k...(my ssr is 220 points, and bwv I only need 150) only thing I lose is 6 years, which after taking it all into consideration I'll be 68 at the time and will still have vgf.

 

[mustinjourney]

I thought about keeping ssr and renting those points, but I think in the end for me it's a bigger headache than it's worth. My net gains on SSR after dues is like $1500/year, and I'd have to buy another contract for $18k for BWV. Whereas if i sell ssr and buy bwv I have the resort that I want and actually get about $3k...(my ssr is 220 points, and bwv I only need 150) only thing I lose is 6 years, which after taking it all into consideration I'll be 68 at the time and will still have vgf.

BWV is 2042 and SSR is 2054 -- so I'm assuming you meant to say 12 years?

 

[ScubaCat]

Nothing is as nice as VGF

Meh. I'll take the Waldorf over VGF any day.

 

[intertile]

BWV is 2042 and SSR is 2054 -- so I'm assuming you meant to say 12 years?

Yes...12 years, ty

 

[intertile]

Reading through all the comments here I started rethinking this again(libra, every decision is a debate,lol)...if i keep my 220 point ssr contract and rent 220 points out every other year, I can use those proceeds to rent bwv ones from someone else....or I could use a service like David's and have them do the whole thing for me. $2 premium is covered by the extra points. The only negative I see is that i'm not in control of my reservation, but is that really a big deal? Is there a shortage of BWV points for rent? Ugh, I wish this was easier.

 

[CarolMN]

........The only negative I see is that i'm not in control of my reservation, but is that really a big deal? Is there a shortage of BWV points for rent? ....

Yes, there are many times that the brokers do not have BWV points available. If you want standard view villas (especially studios or 2 bedrooms), you won't be able to get them during certain times of the year. Even a 1 bedroom Pool/Garden View (booking category that sells out last at the BWV) will be a challenge for Thanksgiving week unless you are able to book at least 9-10 months in advance. Good chance you won't be able to do that for Thanksgiving week due to lack of available BWV points to rent. Prices may also rise beyond what you are willing to pay.

If your heart is set on staying at the BWV, my advice is to go ahead and sell SSR and buy BWV. There's still 20+ years left to enjoy your membership there. Who knows what your circumstances will be in 10 years, let alone 20? Or if you will still even want to spend a large chunk of your travel budget on Disney? (And you will still have VGF until 2060). I'd trade a few dollars now to be happy and avoid the stress of having to rent to stay where I want to be.

Good luck!

 

[mustinjourney]

You’d have an easier time transferring BWV points in each year than trying to get a rental set up.

However, transferred points must be used by calling in, so it’s very difficult to get a standard view room with transferred points.

As others have said, if BWV is where you want to consistently stay, I would just buy there.

 

[Cyberc1978]

No, BWV isn't as nice at VGF. Nothing is as nice as VGF.

Says who?....you?

That’s the nice thing about DVC there is a resort for everyone

 

[intertile]

Just an update...found the right UY, price, and size for a BWV contract this past weekend. Just entered ROFR.
SSR up for sale, but I expect that to take 30-60 days at minimum to get into contract. Anything sooner is a bonus.

 

[CarolMN]

Just an update...found the right UY, price, and size for a BWV contract this past weekend. Just entered ROFR.
SSR up for sale, but I expect that to take 30-60 days at minimum to get into contract. Anything sooner is a bonus.

Good luck!

 

[intertile]

Good luck!

TY!!