Choosing a Home Resort

[luvdsny2014]

We are going to Disney this summer for the 3rd time in 4 yrs.....I think it's time to buy into DVC. I found a company that resales currently owned DVC properties that I think we will go with. My problem is how to decide on a home resort, points, and use year. I have a budget in mind for he initial purchase. My family of 3 usually goes the first week of June but we may travel with others so would need points for at least a 2 bdrm, for a min. of every other year. I have been looking into SSR and OKW. I have definitely threw out Beach Club, Bay Lake, Boardwalk, and Grand Floridian. Help!!!

 

[disneynutz]

The best help is that you spend several days reading the DVC threads here on the DIS. Information is power and most of your questions are probably repeated here often.

The more you know the better your cost savings and the happier you will be as an owner.

Bill

 

[MiramarQE]

We didn't think that an hour long visit during a vacation would be enough to pick a home resort either - so during one of our trips we took a day a visited each resort in which we had any interest (BWV, BCV, BLT) to narrow it down to the top one or two.

We then decided on purchasing BWV (I know, not on your list but the method should still work) by trying the resort - renting points for the next visit. It's really worth it to know how you will like both the resort and the level of service (we don't mind not having Mousekeeping every day - but some do).

Seems like you've already completed the first step - Bet you can still get a rental for SSR or OKW for your trip - or maybe even split the stay and try both.

 

[hakepb]

I think some people over analyze use year, especially since life (and vacation patterns) do change over time. With planning, you can book any day of the year, from any use year.

In general, you have more options to cancel/rebook/bank points if you travel towards the beginning of your use year. I would recommend Feb-April for beginning of June trips. A June UY would always work well for trips that begin in June, but what if you wanted to include a few days from the end of May? You may want to contemplate how likely you might want to take a spring break and/or Christmas trip.

You will probably see more Feb contracts because DVC sold more contracts in that UY.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We didn't think that an hour long visit during a vacation would be enough to pick a home resort either - so during one of our trips we took a day a visited each resort in which we had any interest (BWV, BCV, BLT) to narrow it down to the top one or two.

Great idea! As they always say, "Buy where you want to stay!" Remember, at your home resort, you get to reserve 11 months in advance, everywhere else 7 months in advance. Depending on where you want to stay and when you want to stay there, sometimes only owners at that resort can get reservations there. For example, during the F&W Festival, unless you own at BWV or BCV, it can be virtually impossible tp get a reservation there. And at AKV, it's almost always impossible to reserve a value view or Club Level Villa unless you're an owner. One other thing that DH said mattered to him was that he'll be paying dues for many years, so he'd rather be paying dues to a resort he feels ownership in, and that he enjoys staying at.

 

[disneynutz]

The correct UY and home resort only increases your enjoyment and may save you from forfeiting some points should you have to cancel a vacation past your banking deadline.

After years of ownership here is my suggestions for a happy, less stressful ownership.

Buy where you love to stay.
Buy DVC to stay DVC, don't plan to use points elsewhere.
Choose a UY that covers your 8 most favorite vacation months.
Buy enough points so you can keep banking and borrowing to a minimum.
Book at 11 months and keep the reservation.
Don't use waitlists.
Book online.
Use the contact form on the member website to communicate with MS, don't call.

Bill

 

[Simba's Mom]

The correct UY and home resort only increases your enjoyment and may save you from forfeiting some points should you have to cancel a vacation past your banking deadline.

After years of ownership here is my suggestions for a happy, less stressful ownership.

Buy where you love to stay.
Buy DVC to stay DVC, don't plan to use points elsewhere.
Choose a UY that covers your 8 most favorite vacation months.
Buy enough points so you can keep banking and borrowing to a minimum.
Book at 11 months and keep the reservation.
Don't use waitlists.
Book online.
Use the contact form on the member website to communicate with MS, don't call.

Bill

Good advice! Another option if you could do what we did-we did absolutely NO research. I went on the tour alone, just for something to do on a solo trip when the weather turned cold. The Guide said "This is the resort we're selling and this is the UY we're selling." He gave me all kinds of stuff to take home to DH, and after I went home with that "I want this" gleam in my eye, we bought. Sometimes, ignorance is so bliss! We spent a bundle of money so blindly, and are fortunate it worked out.

 

[disneynutz]

Good advice! Another option if you could do what we did-we did absolutely NO research. I went on the tour alone, just for something to do on a solo trip when the weather turned cold. The Guide said "This is the resort we're selling and this is the UY we're selling." He gave me all kinds of stuff to take home to DH, and after I went home with that "I want this" gleam in my eye, we bought. Sometimes, ignorance is so bliss! We spent a bundle of money so blindly, and are fortunate it worked out.

FYI - DVD sales people are expected to pitch to a couple, often they will not waste their time without both being present. I know that the ASA's are penalized if they set up a sales presentation without both being there.

I assume that's because both need to be there to execute a contract and they know that people who don't sign while the magic is in the air are less likely to buy. Often they will tell you that the "deal" is only good for 3 days to get you to sign.

Bill

 

[DebbieB]

One thing to consider - end date. OKW resales can expire in 2042 or 2057 if the owner bought an extension. SSR expires in 2054.

 

[Simba's Mom]

FYI - DVD sales people are expected to pitch to a couple, often they will not waste their time without both being present. I know that the ASA's are penalized if they set up a sales presentation without both being there.

Yes, I know that most timeshare salesmen won't deal with just one spouse. That's one of the things I really appreciated about DVC and I was impressed with how the guide treated me as a serious buyer, and not just someone on a lark. And since we ultimately bought from him a couple weeks later, I hope that gave him the incentive to continue the practice.

 

[goofy4tink]

We did absolutely no research! Went to WDW for my third time, dh's second time. Decided to take the boat to BW from Epcot, just to check it out. Walked around a bit, dh leaned against the railing by the lake, looked up at the building and said, and I quote, 'I would buy that vacation club thing only if we bought here.'. Okay. We were leaving the next day...dd and I went to MK after breakfast, dh stayed behind to get stuff settled and packed. We were at the Polynesian. On the way back to the airport, dh told me that he had given our number to a DVC CM to talk to us about DVC. That was in Aug '03. We were owners, contract in hand, early Oct! All without ever looking at a villa! That was kind of out of character for dh! We have since bought a smaller contract at BWV and a small one at BLT.

 

[js]

We are going to Disney this summer for the 3rd time in 4 yrs.....I think it's time to buy into DVC. I found a company that resales currently owned DVC properties that I think we will go with. My problem is how to decide on a home resort, points, and use year. I have a budget in mind for he initial purchase. My family of 3 usually goes the first week of June but we may travel with others so would need points for at least a 2 bdrm, for a min. of every other year. I have been looking into SSR and OKW. I have definitely threw out Beach Club, Bay Lake, Boardwalk, and Grand Floridian. Help!!!

I can tell you one big of the many reasons why I love my SSR points.
One day, your children will get older and they AND you, can walk to DTD.
I love being at SSR at night or late afternoon and having DTD right in our backyard. My dd is almost 21 and now it will be good for her too since sometimes my kids bring friends and they can walk to movies, dinners, bars, entertainment. We love a big resort so this fits into our stays.
I purchased SSR resale in 2009, prior to the new rules so can still use my points for cruises, ABD and paid about $67 for my 420 points. We have stayed twice in SSR GV, a couple of times at BLT in a 2 bedroom, a couple of times at BWV in a 2 bedroom and this year have a pre cruise one bedroom booked at BLT and in September staying 8 nights in a 2 bedroom at VGF.

As another poster said, do your homework (which looks like you have started to do since you ruled out some resorts). If you have SSR and OKW as your top choices, perhaps do a pros/cons of each. I do believe most stay that OKW rooms are bigger but not sure by how much. For me, one big reason I love SSR is DTD.

Let us know what you end up doing.

 

[butsy113]

I would also consider putting AKV on your list of possibilities. As an AKV owner I can easily get a reservation for OKW and SSR (which I absolutely love); however, there is nothing like the point savings on the value villas. We were able to spend a whole extra week at WDW this year because I was able to get a value studio for 69 pts. Love those value villas.

 

[luvdsny2014]

Thanks everyone for their input and advice. We have knocked out OKW due to expiration year but am now considering AK. It has higher annual dues but uses less points (for standard view) then SSR so it maybe an option. We watch the resale lists daily, just waiting on something with the number of points we want to start with and a good uy and then we purchase! Thanks again!

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks everyone for their input and advice. We have knocked out OKW due to expiration year but am now considering AK. It has higher annual dues but uses less points (for standard view) then SSR so it maybe an option. We watch the resale lists daily, just waiting on something with the number of points we want to start with and a good uy and then we purchase! Thanks again!

I personally wouldn't plan on standard views. We started out making our points stretch but soon switched to better views.

Bill