BLT 1 bedroom availability end of February/early March

[mjb347]

Hi all! We’re about to purchase DVC resale soon. We are a family of 5 (2 adults 3 children under 5) and were looking at home resorts with 1 bed sleeps 5. We often travel the very last week of February into March.

We’re thinking we’ll need 250ish points. While BLT is our ideal location the cost pp is a little much for us at this moment.

Should the 11 month advantage of a home resort be high on our priorities since we are only looking for 1 bedrooms or can we look for cheaper cost pp options like AKL or even resorts that don’t sleep Five 1 bed? We generally don’t care about the 11 month advantage as we usually don’t plan that far out. I’m also considering multiple contract options.

What’s the availability been like at BLT around this time if we book 7 months out?

Thanks! - Mike

 

[JETSDAD]

This will give you a bit of an idea what to expect in normal times.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-bd-charts-september-2019-2-bd-added.3689931/

 

[DVC Doctor]

Should the 11 month advantage of a home resort be high on our priorities since we are only looking for 1 bedrooms or can we look for cheaper cost pp options like AKL or even resorts that don’t sleep Five 1 bed? We generally don’t care about the 11 month advantage as we usually don’t plan that far out. I’m also considering multiple contract options.

save money, buy SSR resale or AKV and for 250 points, I would try for one contract or two, but not more than that as closing costs are higher and matching up use years are a challenge

 

[princesscinderella]

We are a family of 5 and love AK Kidani and BLT for the two bathroom one bedrooms. AK has a higher annual dues than BLT so over time I think the higher purchase price of BLT will balance out with the lower MF. For short trips though we make due with the 5 person studios too like VGF and BWV and Poly.

 

[Bobby2443]

Personally I would pay a little more to be in a better location like BLT that’s closer to MK. AKL is a nice resort but it’s far from everything, even if you don’t mind driving I feel like you can’t beat the location of the MK reports and I would even include BCV and BWV due to their walking distance from Epcot and Hollywood studios.

 

[drusba]

With one exception, BLT Lake View 1BR’s are usually open during very late Feb through early March at 7-months out. That is generally true for most of the time between mid-Jan and late Sep. That could change in the future. If desire is to get standard view, then you will need the 11-month reservation window most of the time.

The one exception is when the Princess half-marathon weekend is very late in Feb, like it will be in 2022 if the race is held (it did not happen this year due to covid). That weekend Is always the weekend after Presidents’ Day and in 2022 that weekend ends Feb 27 because Presidents‘ Day is the latest it can possibly be, Feb 21. That weekend has for many years been the highest DVC demand time that has existed between mid-Jan and late Sep, and is a time when even usually available 1BRs may disappear before 7-months out.

 

[mjb347]

Thank you! I definitely would avoid race weekends. Our trips are usually during the week as well.

I think my play is definitely get the most points in my UY where we can afford right now. If it becomes an issue we can always add more points somewhere we prefer to stay and sell the other contract.

Our tentative 2022 Disney Travel plans are 6 night WDW trip very end of Feb with the family and a 6 night Aulani trip Oct 24 just the wife and I. Was hoping to get a contract to potentially cover those but I’m also open to renting points to cover those until we can find a good deal on a contract.

 

[RoseGold]

Exit strategy matters here. If you just plan to hold a few years, I'd go SSR. Easy to buy, easy to sell. If you plan to leave this to your kids or hold for 20 years or something, I'd pay for BLT.

This is my travel plan, and SSR would have historically worked for this. I did this pre-Covid, actually. 1BRs are the worst value in the DVC system, so availability is great off season. Maybe you can't get your top choice, and get stuck at AKL -- or you have to spring for BLT theme park view, but with SSR points, still great value. If you aren't so picky, and aren't traveling peak, you'll be able to get a 1BR somewhere.

 

[kboo]

This is my travel plan, and SSR would have historically worked for this. I did this pre-Covid, actually. 1BRs are the worst value in the DVC system, so availability is great off season. Maybe you can't get your top choice, and get stuck at AKL -- or you have to spring for BLT theme park view, but with SSR points, still great value. If you aren't so picky, and aren't traveling peak, you'll be able to get a 1BR somewhere.

On the 1br being the worst value - yes. especially "preferred" views. I sat on my 2br std at Riviera (for this summer) past the 7 mo window, and had to waitlist a 1br standard to downsize. The DVC site helpfully tells me that the 1br preferred is available for my whole length of stay, 4 nights, and I can save a whopping *6* points! Um, no. I can save 30 points going down to a standard, but if that's not available, I will splurge with the extra 6 points and stay in a 2BR.

That said - 1br standards are still a decent value compared to 2br stds.

I would stick with looking at a resale home resort that has beds for 5 in the 1BR - otherwise at some random date in the future one of your kids is going to say it's not fair that they have to sleep on the floor! you're right that AKV's MFs will probably over the long run make the cost savings not so great with BLT. My kids are 5 and 9 and they still want to go to MK a lot more than I do! We haven't stayed at BLT (our home) since 2019, and by the time we used our banked 2020 points we were within the 7mo window so we ended up snagging an AKV value - our first time "sleeping around". But every day that we have visited MK we have missed the easy walk back to BLT. If you are managing strollers, it is SO worth it.

The nice thing about AKV and BLT 1br is that they also have 2 full baths - 2 toilets, 2 shower spaces.

Another one to think about: VGF. Compare resale prices with BLT. Now that VGF also has the walking path (albeit longer), a longer expiration date, and is one of the few resorts where studios *and* 1br sleep 5 in beds. Studios at BLT are small and will only work as long as one of your kids is under 3. Studios at VGF still cost less than 1brs at other resorts, sleep 5 in real beds, have 2 shower spaces but only 1 toilet, and only 1 studio has a bad view. And you will need home resort advantage for standard studios. And as your kids grow, you can move into a 1br. The resort is lovely and we have been known to stick our family of 4 into a studio there to stretch our points. It's still super handy to take the monorail TO MK (1 stop) and at park close you can walk or take the boat back. (Boats require stroller folding though). We own at BLT, VGF and RIV (direct) and we own the most points at VGF for a reason.

 

[kboo]

Also: the VGF kids splash area and feature pool are wayyy nicer than BLT.

 

[RoseGold]

I sat on my 2br std at Riviera (for this summer) past the 7 mo window, and had to waitlist a 1br standard to downsize. The DVC site helpfully tells me that the 1br preferred is available for my whole length of stay, 4 nights, and I can save a whopping *6* points! Um, no. I can save 30 points going down to a standard, but if that's not available, I will splurge with the extra 6 points and stay in a 2BR.

I have many issues with the RIV point chart, and one of the least offensive is overvaluing 1BRs even more than the rest of DVC to squeeze out some more points. In the broader scheme of DVC, 1BR is overvalued and not as good compared to cash as some other categories, but not as expensive as 2BR, like on the wacky RIV chart.

But I bought knowing that and planning to book 1BRs.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You might not always go end of Feb/early Mar. Buy the resort you like the best so you can reserve it at 11 months out. Once the kids are in school, your trips will probably change to match their school year unless you plan to homeschool.