Choosing a Home Resort Anxiety

[Yacht Club Stitch]

1-bedrooms sound like a great fit for you!! I bought in with the thought of booking studios and 2-bed’s, but never 1-bed’s... however, I’m thinking more and more that those would be the best fit for us down the road (as my hubby works from home as well). But 1-bed’s, while easier to book, do mean more points... 100 points is definitely not enough to sustain annual weekly trips (I’m not sure your plan there). I’m sure you’ve considered this, but shifting to a 1-bedroom plan (vs studios), changes the numbers pretty drastically.

Yes, we are planning on doing 100 points direct and getting a resale contract as well. Maybe its better to do it all in one contract but in case we would need to sell (don't see it happening) smaller contracts seem to sell quicker. So that would be the plan, getting the minimum direct to get the blue card and add on from there

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

Yes, we are planning on doing 100 points direct and getting a resale contract as well. Maybe its better to do it all in one contract but in case we would need to sell (don't see it happening) smaller contracts seem to sell quicker. So that would be the plan, getting the minimum direct to get the blue card and add on from there

Gotcha! You did mention adding on a “small BCV resale” in your first post, but that might not work the best to fix the one-bedroom points issue... unless that is a third contract.

I would encourage you to get enough points at the one resort where you’d like to spend most of your nights. Purchasing smaller contracts definitely sells more easily -and if you're buying a split of direct and resale- it seems like the smartest move... so long as they’re working together toward your goal. Of course, adding on with a small BCV resale would be a great complement

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you will be happy only staying in a studio, buy Polynesian. Unless you plan to buy a whole bunch more points at Polynesian to be able to book a bungalow. But 100 points won't even get you one night in a bungalow during the cheapest time of the year. You'd probably be able to book a Polynesian studio at seven months out many times of the year because there are so many of them.

A lake view at BLT or a standard or savanna view at AKV would both likely be available at seven months out. Does your husband love BLT or does he just not like AKV? Is it Kidani or Jambo that he doesn't care for or is it the entire resort. BLT would give you easy access to more resorts and give you access to the standard view for booking at 11 months out. You won't get standard at seven months out.

 

[Zimwicket]

Our primary home is BLT (its where we bought first), and we are "25 pointers" in AKL because at that time it got us full membership. I picked BLT based upon some research showing BLT was one of the harder places to book. Then we stayed in a BLT studio, uhg it was so small, and it was only 3 of us. We did have a theme park view which was amazing, but out next location was OKW and the room size differences were enormous!!!

Now we are adding on another 200 points because we want to switch to 1 BR rooms, and while we did learn how much we love boardwalk and beach club, I want my points to last more then 20 years so we didnt go with that shorter contract, and at the 1BR size, it seems like even they are more open at 7 months so we went with AKL. AKL had a longer contract time and is a resort we loved, so if worst case scenrio came and they changed something to where we would only stay at your home resorts..we love AKL! Yes its far from everything, but between the restaurants and the animals, we could just stay there! (who am I kidding, we are rope droppers, we arenlt staying in the room!! lol).

I would 100% agree with buy where you want to stay if you are going to stay in studios, its getting harder and harder to get at 7 months (current insanity excluded). But if you are looking at 1BR, it has a bit more flexibility.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks! We don't have kids nor plan to but we love the walkability to parks which is why we have primarily stayed at YC and BC. I think we have decided not to worry about trying for Club Level but getting one bedroom villas when we go for added space, my husband works from home and tends to have to do small things from the rooms while we travel so the extra space may be more valuable to us. I really appreciate all the input from everyone here. It's a huge decision and bouncing thoughts off of others is helpful!

The PVB with studios only may not be the best choice for your home resort. Plus it's a HUGE premium to buy that direct vs resale. From your list I'd cross that one off if you're not positive it's the home resort for you. It also has decent availability at 7 month so you can own elsewhere and still book at PVB with decent consistency.

BLT gives you all room sizes and getting standard view can be a bonus and it helps to own there to book that but still can't be counted upon so plan on lakeview at least and you'll be happier. It's also a pretty big premium for direct though too but it currently has the lowest dues of the 3 you are considering. It does have decent availability in the lakeview category at 7 months for a lot of the year though - especially 1BR's. You could own elsewhere and still end up staying there fairly frequently.

I too would not recommend buying AKV for concierge. It can be a headache to book. It is the cheapest direct though it has the highest MF's but the rooms there are real point savers vs other resorts and if you own there you may get the Value (a steal for Disney) or even Concierge room category now and then. You'll be at a decent premium for direct but it's the lowest of the 3 but the lower point requirement for the rooms offsets that a bit as well as the MF's when you look at the overall nightly cost for your room. You'll be able to get the most nights at AKV with 100 points if you book at your home resort. It also has decent availability at 7 months although I think it is one resort that is tightening up more than some realize. Still, if you didn't own there you'd likely be able to stay there frequently.

 

[Yacht Club Stitch]

Well, we decided! We spent all day going back and forth and while its most certainly not the most cost effective choice or best contract length, we are getting 100 points direct at the Beach Club Villas and 100 resale.

The Beach Club is sentimental for us and we both kept coming back to its location and Stormalong Bay which we LOVE. BC is the first place my husband and I stayed at WDW and it was a trip that really pulled me into the Disney obsession. So while it may not make as much sense as some other resorts, for us, it suits what we really want and we feel very happy with our choice. We also discussed if all goes well, we will probably add on more in a couple years as we are hoping to increase the number of days we spend at Disney down the road as well. Thank you all so much! Hearing what you wanted in a DVC resort helped up narrow down what we wanted most.

 

[Lorana]

Well, we decided! We spent all day going back and forth and while its most certainly not the most cost effective choice or best contract length, we are getting 100 points direct at the Beach Club Villas and 100 resale.

The Beach Club is sentimental for us and we both kept coming back to its location and Stormalong Bay which we LOVE. BC is the first place my husband and I stayed at WDW and it was a trip that really pulled me into the Disney obsession. So while it may not make as much sense as some other resorts, for us, it suits what we really want and we feel very happy with our choice. We also discussed if all goes well, we will probably add on more in a couple years as we are hoping to increase the number of days we spend at Disney down the road as well. Thank you all so much! Hearing what you wanted in a DVC resort helped up narrow down what we wanted most.

Congrats and welcome home! Stormalong Bay is my favorite pool, and that walk to Epcot can’t be beat!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Well, we decided! We spent all day going back and forth and while its most certainly not the most cost effective choice or best contract length, we are getting 100 points direct at the Beach Club Villas and 100 resale.

The Beach Club is sentimental for us and we both kept coming back to its location and Stormalong Bay which we LOVE. BC is the first place my husband and I stayed at WDW and it was a trip that really pulled me into the Disney obsession. So while it may not make as much sense as some other resorts, for us, it suits what we really want and we feel very happy with our choice. We also discussed if all goes well, we will probably add on more in a couple years as we are hoping to increase the number of days we spend at Disney down the road as well. Thank you all so much! Hearing what you wanted in a DVC resort helped up narrow down what we wanted most.

Congratulations! So exciting!

Yacht Club is where I stayed on my first trip to WDW, back in 1992 with my family, so I totally understand that nostalgia!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Since you are buying direct, I would go with either AKV, RIV, or BLT, but I lean towards RIV for direct as I think they have the best prices. If not RIV then I would purchase AKV since 100 points goes far there with the option of the value view rooms.

 

[Ruttangel]

Since you are buying direct, I would go with either AKV, RIV, or BLT, but I lean towards RIV for direct as I think they have the best prices. If not RIV then I would purchase AKV since 100 points goes far there with the option of the value view rooms.

Based on pure direct costs, 100 pts at RIV is $19,500, AKV $18,600 and BLT $23,500, plus about $600 closing costs.

I think AKV points are more readily available than BLT.

Don’t forget the RIV resale restrictions!

the cheapest WDW 100pt buy in is at SSR or OKW at $165 with SSR having much lower dues to OKW but a 2054 v 2057 expiry

 

[Yacht Club Stitch]

Based on pure direct costs, 100 pts at RIV is $19,500, AKV $18,600 and BLT $23,500, plus about $600 closing costs.

I think AKV points are more readily available than BLT.

Don’t forget the RIV resale restrictions!

the cheapest WDW 100pt buy in is at SSR or OKW at $165 with SSR having much lower dues to OKW but a 2054 v 2057 expiry

My husbands boss owns at SSR and loves it. We ended up going BCV which doesn't make the most financial sense but its honestly our favorite place at Disney and it was really important for us to buy where we want to stay. We are talking if things go well with 200 points there, then we may add on 100 resale at AKL in the next year or so. So, our plans completely changed from the 3 we were considering but the pull to BCV was too strong even with the shorter contract.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

My husbands boss owns at SSR and loves it. We ended up going BCV which doesn't make the most financial sense but its honestly our favorite place at Disney and it was really important for us to buy where we want to stay. We are talking if things go well with 200 points there, then we may add on 100 resale at AKL in the next year or so. So, our plans completely changed from the 3 we were considering but the pull to BCV was too strong even with the shorter contract.

BCV is my first home, and we love it there. But I would not buy there today due to the 2042 expiration. If you love the epcot side and you are a young family I would purchase 200 at RR and break it into two 100 point contracts. Otherwise I would probably purchase 100 points at AKV. We also aded on at SSR after staying there - love it there too. Having said all that I certainly understand the pull for BCV, but if buying direct, I would look at 200 points at RR - you are still on the epcot side and the gondolas move pretty fast. Since it seems you prefer one bedrooms, those are the last to go so you should be able to book those in the 7 month window at BCV. Studios are harder to get and I am finding the two bedrooms , while avaialbe seem to go quickly in the seven month window

 

[LilyJC]

My husbands boss owns at SSR and loves it. We ended up going BCV which doesn't make the most financial sense but its honestly our favorite place at Disney and it was really important for us to buy where we want to stay. We are talking if things go well with 200 points there, then we may add on 100 resale at AKL in the next year or so. So, our plans completely changed from the 3 we were considering but the pull to BCV was too strong even with the shorter contract.

We just added another BCV contract as it’s probably our favorite WDW resort! We don’t obsess over the 2042 end date at all, obviously. Who knows what life will look like in 20 years?!? We choose to buy where we want/love to stay without overthinking the purchase! Walking to two parks trumps all for us. Congrats on your BCV contract!

 

[Ruttangel]

My husbands boss owns at SSR and loves it. We ended up going BCV which doesn't make the most financial sense but its honestly our favorite place at Disney and it was really important for us to buy where we want to stay. We are talking if things go well with 200 points there, then we may add on 100 resale at AKL in the next year or so. So, our plans completely changed from the 3 we were considering but the pull to BCV was too strong even with the shorter contract.

You threw us all a curveball there
Congratulations!

 

[Yacht Club Stitch]

We just added another BCV contract as it’s probably our favorite WDW resort! We don’t obsess over the 2042 end date at all, obviously. Who knows what life will look like in 20 years?!? We choose to buy where we want/love to stay without overthinking the purchase! Walking to two parks trumps all for us. Congrats on your BCV contract!

That's exactly what my husband said. He isn't the biggest Disney fan but loves their resorts and said that worst case we buy more later on. He really loves the Beach Club and we both are very happy with the choice!

You threw us all a curveball there
Congratulations!

For sure, haha! I like to keep life interesting. We are already talking about adding on more next year and the so on. The addonitis is very real.

 

[Ruttangel]

The addonitis is very real.

Yes, I bought AKV thinking that would be it forever but now have bids in at BWV and OKW, both small contracts with 2042 expiry. I love split stays so I can have a safari, a carnival and then kick back and relax all in one trip.

 

[RoseGold]

The Beach Club is sentimental for us and we both kept coming back to its location

You are going to have to change your name, Beach Club Stitch!

 

[TTA Rider Matt]

Great choice, congratulations, and welcome home! We are a Crescent Lake family. We stayed at BLT this July and while it was really nice (we had a 2BR lake view), I felt we really missed something by not being able to look out and walk around on the Boardwalk. And yes, addonitis is as real as any diagnosable illness!

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

The Beach Club is sentimental for us and we both kept coming back to its location and Stormalong Bay which we LOVE. BC is the first place my husband and I stayed at WDW and it was a trip that really pulled me into the Disney obsession. So while it may not make as much sense as some other resorts, for us, it suits what we really want and we feel very happy with our choice.

It makes perfect sense!! I’m so glad you sorted it out! I am 100% in the camp that a luxury purchase of this size should be about what makes you happy. Congratulations!!

That's exactly what my husband said. He isn't the biggest Disney fan but loves their resorts and said that worst case we buy more later on. He really loves the Beach Club and we both are very happy with the choice!

I like your husband’s thinking here... and it truly is the worst case, as clearly you will love what you’re buying into for the next 20+ years! Enjoy!!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Did you purchase bcv direct or resale? I certainly understand the pull. The only reason we purchased initially was for the bcv. Actually my favorite disney resort is the Yatch Club, although I liked the rooms better pre renovation. I miss the nautical design of the rooms.
Welcome home