"I bought it sight unseen"

[Amy5000]

Add me to the "sight unseen" bandwagon. I did do a lot research before we bought (resale). I understood that it would provide me with a less expensive way to stay at a nicer disney resort. I own at SSR and OKW. I'm happy to stay there or try other resorts. I wasn't willing to pay a premium to own at Beach Club. But I'm sure others with more disposable income might want to consider such things.

Good luck. Amy

 

[VanessasMom]

Also, bought OKW "sight unseen". Been to WDW almost 25 times now, but have never seen OKW. I've stayed at BWV and toured others. Loved every one I saw. We choose OKW because the price and point level was right for us at the time. We would be content to stay at OKW or any of the DVC's and want to try HH, VB, GCV, & Hawaii someday too.

The way I look at it is--you can research a hotel or rental villa online and decide to book it without a second thought. So, what is the difference? I have been happy with every DVC I've seen so far, and I'm sure I'd be happy with OKW. I have researched it and looked at pictures and videos. Looks great--who knows if we will ever stay there though. With all the flexibility to book other locations, I intend on taking full advantage of that option. Experience Disney from every angle.

 

[staceymay00]

We also bought OKW sight unseen. We had not even toured a DVC room or model, however we had stayed at Disney resorts and visited the parks several times over the past few years. I did a lot of research on line and looked at a lot of pictures of different resorts. For several reasons we decided OKW was the best location for us to buy into, and when I saw just the right resale contract we went for it.

We just stayed at OKW for the first time and the experience was pretty much what I expected. The villas and verandas are super spacious, and we like the quiet, more laid back feeling of the resort. I would be content to use all of our points at OKW, however I do think every other year we might try a different resort if we are able to switch at 7 months (and if resale pts aren't restricted to home resort only!).

 

[Tink415]

We've been going to WDW since 1994. Stayed at lots of the resorts. When WLV was for sale I called and priced it, decided it was too much. When SSR was for sale my husband wanted to see it so we took a tour during our vacation. I still thought it was too much but we liked SSR very much. Then I learned about resales on these boards. Saw an OKW contract that I was comfortable with and we purchased sight unseen (except for pictures) in 2006. It was a good decision for us.

We've stayed at OKW once since then. The 2 BR was great but the location was bad (bld 38 with Bonnet Creek Pkwy, ugly brush and black snakes to look at from the deck). Hopefully next time we stay at OKW we get a better location. Usually I call last minute and take what's available, its worked out OK.

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

We also bought sight unseen.

We had stayed at the Disney Institute years ago. Then we stayed in the Fort Wilderness Cabins. When we outgrew the cabins we were trying to figure out where to stay. We really need a kitchen. Eating out with 5 kids 3 meals a day for a week is not my idea of "fun" or "relaxing". I was looking to stay at SSR for Cash. We love the location. We didn't even know what DVC was. Finally, saw something about DVC, requested information and bought within a week

Can't remember the exact numbers, but it was like $3000 for a week or $10,000 for 50 years! We took the 50 years.

 

[cpbjgc]

We bought sight sort of seen. On our first two family trips we stayed off-site at the former Holiday Inn & Suites (Now the Nick) hotel. During the second trip we had dinner at Cape May Cafe and wandered around the Beach Club resort. On getting home, I started to look into the cost to stay at the Beach Club, as we tend to save up for vacations. That's when I found out about DVC. We live in a part of Canada where DVC guides are not allowed to contact people, so we ended up gathering up as much information about DVC as we could, including room photos and reviews. One spreadsheet later, we deteremined that the cost of staying at the Beach Club for a week could instead be applied to the purchase of a small resale contract at OKW (which we had never visited) as we intended to go every two years. We purchased through The Timeshare Store (thanks again Jason!) and have stayed at OKW every time since as the resort fits us to a T, while doing a couple nights elsewhere onsite if we can find a suitable discount for room only.

We have been very happy with our sight sort of seen DVC purchase. The every two years thing never worked out (we have gone every year ).

 

[Dziactor]

We bought at BLT "Sight Unseen", infact I probably hadnt been to WDW in over 5 years and only been a handful of times. Now we have been 3 times within the first year since my purchase and purchased more at GCV. My only regret is not buying more points. When I went in 2004 I saw the people selling it, but I never could have bought then, so it wasn't something I even thought of. One day i was bored at work and looked it up. Saw the BLT video only, called DVC and purchased within an hour. Biggest impulse buy I ever had. My motivation? Making myself vacation, My wife and I love Disney and had been to DL so much (used to live in L.A. and had season passes for over 10 years on and off), and with a new kid we wanted to give him all the fun we had together there, but somewhere that was new to us. Now he has been to DL 4 times, WDW 3 times, and we have a cruise booked in May for his 4th birthday.

 

[Pirate4Ever]

We bought points at SSR without ever stepping foot on the property. We'd been to Disney 4 or 5 times and knew that we wanted to join. After much discussion, my wife and I decided to buy in at SSR due to the price. We looked at it this way- whenever we decide to go to Disney, we can try to get in at another resort, but worst case scenario, we'd stay at SSR. Doesn't sound too bad to me!

We're taking a weekend trip over MLK weekend with my parents and are staying at our home resort, so I guess I'll get to see exactly what we bought into

 

[downontheBW]

Us too! We bought BWV sight unseen in 2000. We had previously stayed at YC so we knew the neighborhood

I want to try all the resorts so I'm working my way through them but DH always wants to stay at OKW. Whatever!

The purchase was a great decision - no regrets!

 

[simmons_m]

We looked at the BWV on our honeymoon in '98, we were young and poor, and decided we could not make the financial commitment.
Fast forward 10 years later, we rented points in '07 for an '08 trip with our two kids. Less than 8 weeks after we returned from the '08 trip we passed rofr and closed on a BWV resale. (... for more $ per point than if we would have purchased in '98 )
We added on at BLT at the end of '08, and enjoyed 10 days with family at BWV (2 bedroom boardwalk view) with a split at BLT in '10, and added on again when we returned home.
Now we have an '11 trip planned with friends and their little ones. Caution to those who traditionally stay in studios.... Once you stay in a 2 bdrm, it is hard to look back. The is what drove the '10 add-on.
I am excited about the new DVC rumors, and look forward to many great vacations to come.

 

[WDWBlue]

We bought sight unseen, Vero and HHI.

 

[waltsgirl]

We bought Vero without seeing it. We love it!

 

[hockey6]

We had never heard of DVC when we visited in '07, I was waiting w/baby while 3 of my fam members were on big-kid ride I wandered to the booth @ Magic Kingdom & the sales guy started telling me about it. Once I heard we got free fastpasses I jumped at the opportunity to listen to the guides. I had to make an appt, I figured I keep the baby while the others hit the rides but my husband decided he wanted to stay. The kids were so entertained they didn't want to leave. We purchased AKV & went to SSR office to check out the models the next day to finalize the deal. Our guide is great, no pressure at all. An all around great decision

 

[hockey6]

We had never heard of DVC when we visited in '07, I was waiting w/baby while 3 of my fam members were on big-kid ride I wandered to the booth @ Magic Kingdom & the sales guy started telling me about it. Once I heard we got free fastpasses I jumped at the opportunity to listen to the guides. I had to make an appt, I figured I keep the baby while the others hit the rides but my husband decided he wanted to stay. The kids were so entertained they didn't want to leave. We purchased AKV & went to SSR office to check out the models the next day to finalize the deal. Our guide is great, no pressure at all. An all around great decision