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[Sirwalterraleigh]

We live in Maryland. Yes, used to live in Orlando in the late 70’s, early 80’s. Panama City as well for years courtesy of the Air Force. We bought in when we lived near San Antonio.

We love SSR because we are older, no young kids, prefer quieter stays, and parks aren’t a must do every trip. We are probably not a typical DVC member.

My bad…

to be fair…I like Saratoga a lot more than when we bought it…the springs redo and forced changes In Saratoga makes it much more attractive…

but early in its history we wouldn’t be there. First, the others were more available…so we would go to boardwalk standard for less points…no brainer. And beach could be had and was a better get all the way around. Then when DAKL opened and they had a lower than amenity chart…that became easy.
But in recent years…as they’ve flooded more and more points into a pool with like 400,000 members?…Saratoga became a lot easier. Might be there this year - in fact.

 

[Nunu]

We live in Maryland. Yes, used to live in Orlando in the late 70’s, early 80’s. Panama City as well for years courtesy of the Air Force. We bought in when we lived near San Antonio.

We love SSR because we are older, no young kids, prefer quieter stays, and parks aren’t a must do every trip. We are probably not a typical DVC member.

We've always liked SSR, and now (after the refurbishments), even more so. It's just two of us most of the time, not typical DVC members here either.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I wasn’t on this board when they announced riviera…

but what I said was it was likely a ploy to plop a DVC in a moderate and claim it’s “separate” and deluxe…

well…after extensive touring and topalino…i
Gonna go ahead and call the bet without taking any cards…

i’m good.

The absolute best part about it is it made pop, aoa and caribbean much better with the lift. Worth it for that.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

My bad…

to be fair…I like Saratoga a lot more than we bought it…the springs redo and forced changes In Saratoga makes it much more attractive…

but early in its history we wouldn’t be there. First, the others were more available…so we would go to boardwalk standard for less points…no brainer. And beach could be had and was a better get all the way around. Then when DAKL opened and they had a lower than amenity chart…that became easy.
But in recent years…as they’ve flooded more and more points into a pool with like 400,000 members?…Saratoga became a lot easier. Might be there this year - in fact.

We have stayed at BCV and it was a one and done. Just didn’t care for it at all. Have stayed at BWV multiple times and love it. Our second favorite after SSR. If it didn’t expire so soon, we’d be adding on there.

 

[CastAStone]

they have rebalanced the studios on the older sites that closed the gap between them and the newer…I guess that makes sense. The 8 point at old key west no longer exists (now 9)…the 11 Point minimum at Saratoga is now 10 (preferred offset there I’m sure)…and the 12 point at beach club is now 13…

More that they increased weekdays and reduced weekends.

They haven’t rebalanced the total points per room per year at OKW or BCV. They have done that though at SSR.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

More that they increased weekdays and reduced weekends.

They haven’t rebalanced the total points per room per year at OKW or BCV. They have done that though at SSR.

Right…totally legit from a contract perspective.

i remember the good old days when it was 5 “seasons” and and a simpler chart …no “preferred” either…

ah…the brilliant management of cast member Bob

 

[LuvtheGoof]

More that they increased weekdays and reduced weekends.

They haven’t rebalanced the total points per room per year at OKW or BCV. They have done that though at SSR.

We actually made out better at SSR since we prefer the standard rooms at Grandstand. Less points per stay.

 

[CastAStone]

We actually made out better at SSR since we prefer the standard rooms at Grandstand. Less points per stay.

I was thinking about 9 or 10 years ago when they took a few points out if all the room types and added them to the treehouses, but yeah, I guess they’ve done it twice with the split into standard and preferred.

 

[correcaminos]

Right…totally legit from a contract perspective.

i remember the good old days when it was 5 “seasons” and and a simpler chart …no “preferred” either…

ah…the brilliant management of cast member Bob

I miss some of the old days with charts and points. It's a wonder I can keep up at all.

Points per night…but see below.

I’m looking at the point charts now…admittedly for the first time in years…

they have rebalanced the studios on the older sites that closed the gap between them and the newer…I guess that makes sense. The 8 point at old key west no longer exists (now 9)…the 11 Point minimum at Saratoga is now 10 (preferred offset there I’m sure)…and the 12 point at beach club is now 13…

minor tweaks…but changes the overall picture.

I’m glad to see the two wilderness are the same…no reason they shouldn’t be…though 2-3x the purchase price is still laughable.

I am still waiting on my resale offer. I looked today and $190 for BRV for direct. Insane to me. Wouldn't do CCV either at I think it was $225?

We always stay SSR standard in the Grandstand section. Perfect for how we vacation there.

We’ll do RR eventually, but it’s last on the list, and probably for a shorter long weekend stay, instead of the 8-9 day normal stay.

My last stay all I could get was preferred which is fine. It was a last minute trip in November. I hadn't stayed since before they finished building. I have no clue where it was. Likely what is now preferred. My teen loves the CH and arcades though so I don't mind where I was. Nice walk over all. Loved the new interiors. The old left me cold for some reason. Like almost physically cold feeling. It was weird.

RR is nice. None of us were overly wowed. Just not our style

We've always liked SSR, and now (after the refurbishments), even more so. It's just two of us most of the time, not typical DVC members here either.

I don't think there is such a thing as typical anymore lol

We have stayed at BCV and it was a one and done. Just didn’t care for it at all. Have stayed at BWV multiple times and love it. Our second favorite after SSR. If it didn’t expire so soon, we’d be adding on there.

We did BCV a lot when we had a little one. Then we realized how much I hate the pool there. Oddly BWV was less loved by me but now it's above BCV by far. The balconies and views at BCV stink. We're done there for now.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We did BCV a lot when we had a little one. Then we realized how much I hate the pool there. Oddly BWV was less loved by me but now it's above BCV by far. The balconies and views at BCV stink. We're done there for now.

Beach club is all a location to me…straight shot to France…slightly better than boardwalk

the pool was a good idea that didn’t turn out that good…especially when our kids were little. Too deep and bad sight lines.

but there’s just too many fish in the pond now…I don’t even bother to look. We had a 4 night during Vid year one that I forgot to cancel on a waitlist and sold it.

boardwalk and DAKL are our first choices now

 

[correcaminos]

Beach club is all a location to me…straight shot to France…slightly better than boardwalk

the pool was a good idea that didn’t turn out that good…especially when our kids where little. Too deep and bad sight lines.

but there’s just too many fish in the pond now…I don’t even bother to look. We had a 4 night during Vid year one that I forgot to cancel on a waitlist and sold it.

boardwalk and DAKL are our first choices now

That's why we liked it with a baby/toddler. Once we got into pools more, it was a no go. I see it pop up but I'd rather do BWV or even try RR or be elsewhere. This year all of my trips are MK area. PVB location is phenomenal.

I need to try to sell SSR to the family. It really might be a great spot with teens.

 

[RememberWhen]

Really enjoying reading along with your discussion. My mom bought a ton of points at Boardwalk in 97, and recently added my three sisters and me to the deed. We’ve stayed at a bunch of places over the years. Coming up in February we have a huge family trip (17 of us) and we have a couple nights at Boardwalk, a cruise, then a couple nights at Kidani. It’s my first time at AKL, and I’m pretty psyched. Then just my family of 5 is doing a trip over the summer. We’ll be off property for a week, then the weekend at Beach club in a studio and a few nights at a 1 bedroom at BLT.
I’d love to see the APs be available again. My family bought gold passes in 2020 before Covid and we’ve just been hanging onto them for this trip. My parents and one sister had passes and renewed. But my two other sisters are buying day tickets since that’s the only option. They’d definitely make more trips if they had APs.
Also, to add to the data, we tend to do one big sit down a day. We usually go for 7-10 days (this year is an oddity). We like having the kitchen, but rarely cook. We make coffee and pop tarts and popcorn. Sometimes my dads will fry an egg, or we’ll make grilled cheese for the kids. Mostly we use the fridge and the dishwasher.
We eat at signature places and like the dessert parties and tours. We spend money. Probably not as much as if it was our only trip ever. But more than some. My family of 5 would definitely be staying at all stars if my mom wasn’t so generous with her points.

 

[HauntedPirate]

We are in the “used to not like SSR when we bought it but now we love it” category. The Paddock pool area addition plus walking to DS (after the changes) converted us. But we’re also eating more in-room than ever before. Skyrocketing food prices, plus lack of quality for the price, have meant we grocery shop and plan at least one meal per day in our room, and usually 2. We spent $150 in WS in 2 hours last March and no one was satisfied. Add ticket prices to food prices and it’s cheaper to cruise these days.

 

[correcaminos]

Well to update the seller won't negotiate at all. Like not at all. I'm not sure that's wise. So considering a 2nd UY for a lower priced contract and not as stripped. Hmmmm...

I will reiterate how much I liked the changes to SSR. I'd buy there if it wasn't so easy to get in booking wise.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We have stayed at BCV and it was a one and done. Just didn’t care for it at all. Have stayed at BWV multiple times and love it. Our second favorite after SSR. If it didn’t expire so soon, we’d be adding on there.

My kingdom for a DVC conversion at Yacht Club.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Well to update the seller won't negotiate at all. Like not at all. I'm not sure that's wise. So considering a 2nd UY for a lower priced contract and not as stripped. Hmmmm...

I will reiterate how much I liked the changes to SSR. I'd buy there if it wasn't so easy to get in booking wise.

Two use years is awesome. No need to worry about traveling outside of your banking window.

 

[correcaminos]

Two use years is awesome. No need to worry about traveling outside of your banking window.

I admit I worry about messing up. I already have 2 resorts and 4 contracts. I am dyslexic and sometimes numbers mess me up.

Got a message from the agent saying to try again for an offer. If it goes no where I will consider the other. It is a December UY which makes it a bit meh. Or I'll go after a fully loaded AKL as that's been harder to get. Not in a rush on this for sure.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

My kingdom for a DVC conversion at Yacht Club.

I’ve heard they are hesitant about it for 2 reasons, possibly a more crowded Stormalong Bay, and the fact it is a very popular convention resort. There isn’t a lot of expansion room, so they would have to convert existing rooms. Of course, it is the only deluxe resort without a DVC part, so may still happen some day.

 

[correcaminos]

I’ve heard they are hesitant about it for 2 reasons, possibly a more crowded Stormalong Bay, and the fact it is a very popular convention resort. There isn’t a lot of expansion room, so they would have to convert existing rooms. Of course, it is the only deluxe resort without a DVC part, so may still happen some day.

Not sure why it would be more crowded. Converting rooms to studios adds no extras. 1 bedrooms remove a whole room as do 2 bedrooms. So if anything it could help reduce if they do 1 and 2 bedroom conversions like at CCV. At worst it would be same.

The convention issue is totally understandable though and more likely I think.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Not sure why it would be more crowded. Converting rooms to studios adds no extras. 1 bedrooms remove a whole room as do 2 bedrooms. So if anything it could help reduce if they do 1 and 2 bedroom conversions like at CCV. At worst it would be same.

The convention issue is totally understandable though and more likely I think.

I didn’t think of the multi room conversion might mean fewer guests.