DVC Purchase - 7 month window?

[timelrod]

Hi!

So - my wife and I are avid Disney fans. We have a 21 month old boy and 9 week old boy. We pretty much did ourselves in when we stayed at BLT in 2010. Our oldest son was 3 months old at the time and we figured it would be easiest to stay at BLT... and boy were we right!

We go pretty much every September, and in 2010 went in FEB, SEPT and DEC. This September we will be heading to the Wilderness Lodge for the first time. Needless to say, we are finally at the point where we do see the value in staying at a Deluxe Resort instead of the All-Stars. We love the value resorts, but they just aren't for us anymore.

Here is our question. In general, what is everyone's luck in getting what they want (or close to it) when booking at the 7 month window? We are big Dave Ramsey people. No debt. So we would be paying for our DVC in cash, and would want the best bang for our buck. We know that Disney has changed the privileges of what you can use your points for in you by resale, but honestly, trading in our points for a cruise or adventure by Disney doesn't seem like that great of a value anyways. We normally go during "off-peak" times, so it isn't like we would be trying to get a room at BLT the week of Christmas every year or anything.

So, say we purchased somewhere pretty cheap like Vero Beach or Old Key West. We would most likely try and switch at 7 months for BLT/Beach Club/Wilderness Lodge/Boardwalk resorts. We just want to know how big of a deal it is where you home resort is.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

 

[disneypets]

The answer might differ from each dvc member depending on the factors of when you go how many points you have, and the kind of accommodation you want....studio, 1br, view, no view and so on. From my experience (dvc since 2003 s.s. home resort) when my daughter was small like yours we would always book a studio in various places and we stayed off peak because she was young and school was not a real issue. Now she is a teenager and we book a 1br and go more peak then off peak it seems. We are on a wait list for easter week this year for the first time for BW. We always have no problem booking OKW, SS and AK. Between good planning, the wait list and new dvc rooms being added to GF I think you will be ok. For our family the better more convienient accommodations are worth it.

 

[JAG107]

You'd probably only be able to get lake view at BLT at 7 months pretty much any time of year IMO. Don't know about the other resorts.

 

[alawrence]

I just booked the last two day of our upcoming Sept. trip at the Bay Lake Towers in Feb. Bay Lake is not our home resort, and I had my pick for a 1 BRV on Fri. and Sat. with Theme Park and Lake Views. We have the entire week before in the BWV with Boardwalk View, in a two bedroom villa. We also visit, like yourself, during off peak times, and have never had an issue with reservations. SSR is our home, we make 11 month ressies there, and then get on the phone at exactly the 7 month window. With the new online reservation system, it should be even more simple now. :wave:

 

[harryk]

We have been with DVC, VWL since 2000. During that time we have been waitlisted every year except 2 (when we decided to remain at VWL). At the 7 month window we have been able to change to another resort (BW) twice.
So - time of year is a major factor. We book 1 bedrooms, standard view and normally visit WDW after Thanksgiving and between 1 and 15 December.

 

[MaxsDad]

We own at AKV. Our thinking was buying at a resort we knew we would be happy with if we couldn't get a 7 month ressie.

I have booked studios at VWL at or within the seven month window twice, once in June and once in August. VWL is relatively small compared to OKW, SSR, AKV.

I have booked BCV 1BR in May at 7 months. BCV is the smallest resort.

I booked 4 nights in a Standard view Studio at BWV at 7 months for Sept last month. As I undersdtand it, these are high demand rooms as the points to book are a great value. For the rest of that week, I booked a theme Park view for a weekend at BLT in a studio at the 7 month mark.

Last month I also booked 6 nights in a Savannah view Studio at Jambo house just two months out for late April/early May. Now, to be honest, I wanted 7 nights and right now the only places available are OKW and SSR. They show studios all week.

You may want to look at the annual dues at those beach properties before you commit. They are traditionally higher than the WDW resort properties. Long term cost could eat up any front end savings.

 

[Phonedave]

I own at SSR, and it is a toss up.

Sometimes I get into other resorts, other times not. A lot depends on the room type (studios go quickly) and the time of year (EPCOTresorts during Food and Wine for example)

One thing to think about with a Vero Beach ownership. If you can't book elsewhere at 7 month out, you are then staying at Vero Beach. If you owned SSR or OKW, at least if you could not get into a different resort, your home resort is at least on property.


-dave

 

[tjkraz]

Your HOME resort is your fallback position. Many members will book their Home at 11 months (or as early as possible) so that they can lock-in the dates and proceed to request vacation time, look for airfare, etc.

Then at 7 months you can see what is available and switch the reservation to something which may be preferable.

With that said, I think it would be wise to buy into a resort that you can at least tolerate on those occasions where there is not an alternative available at 7 months. In other words, "DON'T BUY where you DON'T WANT TO STAY."

Just to pick a number, let's pretend that you would be successful getting your second or third choice 80% of the time. That still leaves 20% of your trips taking place at your home resort.

In my opinion, it would be incredibly foolish to buy into a resort like Vero if you plan to use the points at a Walt Disney World location.

Other general thoughts:
- Based upon my observations, most DVC members avoid the peak travel times. That would not make you unique at all. In fact, some of the hardest times to get a room at 7 months are periods when WDW--as a whole--is considered slow.

- Studio villas tend to book up fastest followed by Two Bedroom and then One Bedroom villas. Use that to temper your expectations based upon other members' experiences. Even as you read the posts on this thread, note that most people did not mention what size villa they were trying to book. Booking a One Bedroom at 7 months is much, MUCH easier than a Studio.

- In resorts with multiple views, expect the "better" views and cheaper views to be much harder to get at 7 months. At BoardWalk it will be very hard for a non-owner to get the BoardWalk view or Standard View. At Bay Lake Tower, it is hard for non-owners to get the Theme Park view or the Standard View. Those are the room categories owners tend to gravitate toward.

- When comparing and contrasting resorts, be sure to take the annual dues cost and contract end date into consideration. Vero has the highest dues in the program. Chances are whatever you may save in the up-front purchase will be wiped-out over time as you consistently pay dues that are higher than all others. Each DVC resort has a fixed ending date with the earliest wave expiring in 2042. That gives you only 30 years of ownership before those contracts revert back to DVC and their owners are no longer DVC members.

The contract end date isn't a reason to be wary of DVC, IMO. Timeshares with perpetual ownership have the potential to become a financial albatross for the owner or his heirs many years down the road. But you should consider how individual resorts' ending dates mesh with your future plans. For instance, if you hope to use the points after retirement in 30+ years, buying into BoardWalk or Beach Club--both of which expire in 2042--would not be wise.

In some cases it may make sense to pay more up-front for additional years of ownership on the back end.

Good luck.

 

[slappy magoo]

- Based upon my observations, most DVC members avoid the peak travel times. That would not make you unique at all. In fact, some of the hardest times to get a room at 7 months are periods when WDW--as a whole--is considered slow.

Not everything else tjkraz jibes with my experiences, but the one time we went in early December (which is Value season), we booked our home resort, SSR, before the 7-month window, we waitlisted other places at the 7 month window, and never got in anywhere else.

So as others have said, if you're thinking about buying Vero Beach points to save money, with the plan of switching at the seven month window, be mentally prepared to stay at Vero Beach. To be honest, you'll probably be able to switch at the seven month window for one of the larger resorts (SSR, OKW, maybe VAK or - and this is much less likely - BLT) ,but lord knows I wouldn't buy my airfare before then.

 

[hansel1]

The 11 month window is very important in the fall, especially if you want to stay at the boardwalk or beachclub. The food and wine festival will book those up pretty quick and unless you want a segmented stay you should buy the points at the home resort you want.

I have owned dvc at AKL and Boardwalk now for some time and since BLT opened I have tried to waitlist at 7 months without success. I currently have a reservation for OCT in a 2br boardwalk view and have been unable to get into bay lake tower for the same week. I am fed up with waitlisting BLT and will just keep what I have.

So, if you want BLT buy there, Boardwalk then buy there, etc.

Hoping just leads to regret.

 

[Thunderstruck]

Also don't book at Vero Beach because you pay higher fees there due to insurance premiums

 

[Thunderstruck]

Also don't buy at Vero Beach because you pay higher fees there due to insurance premiums

 

[dizzney]

Totally agree with the above dont buy where you dont want to stay.

We've stayed at all the DVC resorts except VGC and Aulani (now we have a reason to go to Hawaii - accomodations covered) and hoenstly usually end up now at our home resorts BE and BLT preferably BW since we love the resort.

I've even had to waitlist calling 11 months out at BW for NYE BW view (it cleared tho)

And try to buy into one of the newer resorts such as SSR or AKV as dues are lower AND they expire later.