Multiple Resort Owners, Which and Why?

w1kk3d

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Hey there everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster! We are newbie owners at BLT and although we have made several trips to DisneyWorld in the past, June 2018 will be our first "Official DVC" trip. Sooo Excited! We are a family of 6 (Me, DW, DD 21, DD 18, DS 15, DS12) and need a 2 BR minimum. We chose BLT mainly due to the location of MK and flexible room arrangements (1BR can sleep 5, 2BR can sleep 9, etc.). Starting off with 150 points and plan on purchasing an additional 150 at either BWV, BCV, or SSR so we can alternate between resorts each year. Main reasons for BWV and BCV is the location relative to Epcot (we love the Food and Wine Festival and often plan our trips around it) and SSR mainly due to the affordability factor. We toured BWV 2 years ago and LOVED it but plan on touring the BCV and SSR in June before making our final decision. The only concern we have with BWV and BCV is the expiration date compared with the other resorts.

My question to you all is which resorts did you choose and why? TIA and happy to be part of the "DVC Family"!
 
I know this really isn't what you asked, but IMO, availability should be an important consideration as you make your choice since you say you often plan your trips around the F&W Festival.

If you want to stay at BCV or BWV during the F&W Festival, you 'll need the 11 month window and you'll need to book as soon as it opens if you want standard or Boardwalk view at BWV. I would recommend doing the same if you decide on BCV, especially if you will be traveling over the Columbus Day holiday week.

SSR is beautiful and very convenient to DS, but it's not walking distance to EPCOT (as of course, you know, LOL). Will you be happy staying at SSR in the fall if you can't get into BCV or BWV? The good feelings that come with "saving money" evaporate pretty quickly when you are wishing you were staying somewhere else.

BCV & BWV will only get more difficult to book at 7 months as Disney builds more DVC resorts - more people will be competing at 7 months for villas at BCV & BWV. I think that the opening of Star Wars Land will increase the demand for BCV & BWV even more. Also, the people who are buying/bidding up those BWV & BCV resale contracts are doing so to stay at BWV and that decreases availability at 7 months.

Some people do believe length of contract is very important. I don't. For me, being where I want to be, when I want to be there is much more important. I don't like the stress of waitlists that may never work out.

If you haven't already, take a look at these threads on availability:

drusbal's 11 month booking summary (9/23/2016)

drusba's 7 month booking summary (10/13/2016)

Skier_Pete's Predicted DVC Booking Patterns for Studios /Some 1 Bedrooms (from 2015)

Good luck with your decision.
 
We own at SSR and OKW. Reasons are pretty simple... when I 1st bought in it was between SSR and AKL. We don't really stay at either or have a strong affinity for 1, so we went with the cheapest dues. The OKW contract was an add-on and was significantly cheaper than the other options being sold at the time (BLT, Aulani etc...).

The majority of our stays are at BWV or BLT. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to find good availability at the 7 month mark. Especially for Studios. 1 bedrooms have maintained a bit more availability and flexibility. We've yet to run into an issue where we haven't gotten our preferred resort, usually BWV, at 7 months but you can certainly see the way things are trending. We're basically able to get a BWV Garden/Pool view at 7 months whenever we want, but Standard and Boardwalk view are difficult at 7 months and they are some of the best values DVC has to offer. Standard view is incredibly cheap considering the location and Boardwalk view is the same per night as a G/P view making it a great value. Most of the time you're unable to take advantage of these at 7 months. Our next add-on (likely through resale) will most likely be at BWV as we expect availability to only become more difficult with the additions to DHS (and eventually EPCOT) and with an influx of new DVC members with new resorts opening. In the past we always had expected our next add-on to be SSR due to it being (what we considered) the best combo of price per point, dues cost and contract length. However with the way we've seen availability trending and our love for BWV, we're gonna be pivoting to a BWV add-on without a doubt.

So my advice to you would be to go ahead and make that commitment to BWV/BCV if that's where you want to be. Don't stress too much about the contract length and the price difference between BWV/BCV and SSR through resale is not significant enough to deter me. Standard view rooms at BWV are often considered (and I wholeheartedly agree) the best values on site. You're going to need the 11 month window in order to have a chance at BWV Standard view rooms.
 
I know this really isn't what you asked, but IMO, availability should be an important consideration as you make your choice since you say you often plan your trips around the F&W Festival.

If you want to stay at BCV or BWV during the F&W Festival, you 'll need the 11 month window and you'll need to book as soon as it opens if you want standard or Boardwalk view at BWV. I would recommend doing the same if you decide on BCV, especially if you will be traveling over the Columbus Day holiday week.

SSR is beautiful and very convenient to DS, but it's not walking distance to EPCOT (as of course, you know, LOL). Will you be happy staying at SSR in the fall if you can't get into BCV or BWV? The good feelings that come with "saving money" evaporate pretty quickly when you are wishing you were staying somewhere else.

BCV & BWV will only get more difficult to book at 7 months as Disney builds more DVC resorts - more people will be competing at 7 months for villas at BCV & BWV. I think that the opening of Star Wars Land will increase the demand for BCV & BWV even more. Also, the people who are buying/bidding up those BWV & BCV resale contracts are doing so to stay at BWV and that decreases availability at 7 months.

Some people do believe length of contract is very important. I don't. For me, being where I want to be, when I want to be there is much more important. I don't like the stress of waitlists that may never work out.

If you haven't already, take a look at these threads on availability:

drusbal's 11 month booking summary (9/23/2016)

drusba's 7 month booking summary (10/13/2016)

Skier_Pete's Predicted DVC Booking Patterns for Studios /Some 1 Bedrooms (from 2015)

Good luck with your decision.

This is basically 100% spot-on. I couldn't agree with this more.
 


Starting off with 150 points and plan on purchasing an additional 150 at either BWV, BCV, or SSR so we can alternate between resorts each year.

This is what we have done for many years with our two contracts....bank one contract's points and borrow from the other to make a reservation. It works well since our two contracts are pretty much the same number of points. So your plan on buying another 150 point contract should work well if this is your intention.

My question to you all is which resorts did you choose and why? TIA and happy to be part of the "DVC Family"!

Since F&W is a big part of your plans, I would definitely purchase at either BWV or BCV. BWV has the great Standard View rooms which are an amazing way to stretch points as long as you are not worried about the view from your room.

We originally purchased at VWL and then bought another similar sized contract at BWV. VWL was purchased because we loved our stays at WL...the theming, the majestic lobby, the music, the ambiance all were perfect for our family. We purchased at BWV because we stayed there once and really enjoyed the resort, the Boardwalk amenities, and the convenience of walking to two parks. And again, the Standard View point schedule is such a bargain! It also helped that we didn't find the big Stormalong Bay pool at BCV to be as much of an attraction for us as it is for so many others.

For you, I would definitely purchase BWV or BCV. I know that the expiration dates are in 25 years, and if you are fairly young I can see why that would be a consideration. But if you buy any other resort, you may have many years of trips to F&W when you are thinking that you wished you had purchased one of those two resorts.

Good luck!
 
BWV was our first purchase. I absolutely love that area and the convenience of being able to walk to two parks. We also enjoy mini-golf, so it's nice that we can walk to the Fantasia Gardens from BWV. I will jump on with what others have said about buying here if this is where you want to stay. Over the past few years it's grown increasingly difficult to get a Studio. I know you said that your family will usually need a 2br, but some of the 2BR's are lock-off's, so if the studio side gets booked, that 2br is now a 1br. Another thing to think about is this: within the next few years your kids will be grown. After they are out of the house, will they still travel with you? You might go from needing a 2br to needing only a Studio.

We also recently purchased at BLT. We really like that area and the convenience of being on the monorail. I also like being able to walk to MK.
 
We own at 3 resorts-HHI, OKW, and BCV. The reasons why those three are that it depends on why we're going on vacation. Is it Thanksgiving? If so, it has to be HHI. Is there an event in Epcot, or is there a race going on? If so, BCV. Do we just want a relaxing vacation-maybe a little parks, golfing, lots of balcony sitting? If so, OKW.
 


It's becoming increasingly important to own where you want to stay, something that wasn't necessarily the case back when we 1st joined.
 
Yes. Own where you want to stay. I have my first contract at AKL and because we love it. We love it just for the resort but don't mind the "it's so far away" thing. Frankly, it's not that far and we are locals (80 miles away) that drive to WDW so another 5/10 min anywhere is no big deal for us.
Second contract is at Poly. Only because I love it there and location, location, location.
I love WL too but I really can't afford another contract right now but maybe an add on in the future. Right now, I have more than enough points for how we stay (mostly weekend trips) so buy where you want to stay having the 11 month window.
I often wait list BCV & BWV for anything from Sept-Nov or March-June because of the festivals. I just can't get in the 7 month window.
 
We started off with 150 points at BCV. Over the last few years, I have added on points at BLT. I am now up to 160 points at BLT. This will get us 1 week in a 1 bedroom during the summer. My plan is to use two years worth of points one year at BLT and the next use two years worth of points at BCV.

The most important thing to us is location, location, location. I want easy access to parks. It was worth it to us to pay a little more for these parks, in order to ensure we get what we want. I didn't want to have to worry about trying to book at 7 months. So, I bought where I wanted to stay.
 
Another reason to buy BCV or BWV if you want to be there most of the time is the increasing popularity of rentals. Renters are becoming more and more familiar with the 7 & 11 month windows. BWV/BCV owners who aren't using their points can easily rent them and many of the rental requests are for studios & 2 bedrooms during F&W time. BWV/BCV points command a premium when used to book during the priority period. Every rental booked before the 7 month window opens decreases availability at 7 months for other DVC resort owners.
 
If you are worried about the expiration date of BC/BWV you might want to wait for Riviera, scheduled to open 2019, and it will have gondola access to Epcot & DHS.
 
We bought resale BLT because Magic Kingdom is our favorite park and being close to it is everything! We added on a small contract at Animal Kingdom because we stayed there twice on rented points and LOVE everything about the resort. I love how it's dark, calming, cool. Kiddo loves the animals and the community hall. I don't even notice the bus distance, it doesn't seem any longer than anywhere else.
 
We live on the West Coast so we first bought VGC. The reason being that I thought it would be too difficult and stressful to try and book VGC at 7 months. I’ve been to DL 30+ times so I had no doubt we would keep going for a long while. We also like to go to WDW though. We did an add-on at PVB, and plan to use that to go to WDW every other year or so.
 
We own at BWV so we can stay there over New Years Eve and walk to Epcot. We own at AKV so we can book concierge.
 
Thank you all for your input! Really gives us a lot to ponder.

Some people do believe length of contract is very important. I don't. For me, being where I want to be, when I want to be there is much more important. I don't like the stress of waitlists that may never work out.

At first I really didn't care at all about the length of contract but the more I thought about it and because my BLT contract expires in 2060, I now cringe at the fact that both BVW and BCV expire in 2042. It's not a deal breaker but in a perfect world, I would prefer that any/all contracts that I own expire at around the same time.

Standard view rooms at BWV are often considered (and I wholeheartedly agree) the best values on site. You're going to need the 11 month window in order to have a chance at BWV Standard view rooms.

Great information! Been researching all the resorts and it does appear that aside from AKV, OKW, and SSR, they indeed offer great value (especially considering their proximity to Epcot).

For you, I would definitely purchase BWV or BCV. I know that the expiration dates are in 25 years, and if you are fairly young I can see why that would be a consideration.

Fairly young? Don't remind me! Where does the time go? Definitely young at heart!

Another thing to think about is this: within the next few years your kids will be grown. After they are out of the house, will they still travel with you? You might go from needing a 2br to needing only a Studio.

We often travel with, not only our children but with my mom, DW's parents, and DW's sister + her family (soon to be DVC owners as well) so I don't see downsizing to a studio any time soon. We do however, plan on taking a few "adult" getaway trips so a studio will definitely be in our future.

My plan is to use two years worth of points one year at BLT and the next use two years worth of points at BCV.

This is exactly our plan!

If you are worried about the expiration date of BC/BWV you might want to wait for Riviera, scheduled to open 2019, and it will have gondola access to Epcot & DHS.

"Insert Monkey Wrench"... You've piqued my interest with this statement. My understanding this that The Riviera will be the first "moderate" DVC resort? How will this differ from the other resorts? Lower cost per point? Less amenities? And if this resort is scheduled to open fall of 2019, when will they begin selling memberships?
 
"Insert Monkey Wrench"... You've piqued my interest with this statement. My understanding this that The Riviera will be the first "moderate" DVC resort? How will this differ from the other resorts? Lower cost per point? Less amenities? And if this resort is scheduled to open fall of 2019, when will they begin selling memberships?

There is no indication that Riviera will be a moderate DVC resort. That rumor was based on the fact that its location will be on land that was formerly part of Caribbean Beach Resort. But it is clear from the releases that this is being touted as a deluxe resort. It just happens to be near a moderate resort. I don't see Disney going backwards with the price per point. But the point schedule for reservations will be interesting to see. The sales opening will probably be dictated by when PBV and CCV are projected to sell out.
 
I own most of my points at BCV for Epcot proximity.

I own some at SSR that I bought due to Pleasure Island proximity. Cest la vie.

Haven't heard anything about Riviera being a "moderate" resort.
 
We purchased SSR and AKV because we have two children and some day they will belong to them.
In the mean time we enjoy them and hopefully some day will take our grandchildren before we are
too old to enjoy it.
 

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