Sight unseen - WWYD?

[blueant315]

As we get older we like to know where we will be staying, if I had to stay at BLT we would probably stay home. For a few years MK was an every year must do, then we started feeling that it's the same thing every time and we grew tired of waiting in a 30 to 50 minute line for a 4 minute ride. The crowds keep growing and growing, and we found ourselves enjoying (sick) watching the people rushing through the park as we sat on a bench in the shade having a dole whip. The point is we don't do the parks like before, the resort is the destination just like any other non Disney vacation and the parks are there when we feel like going in. As far as noise at BWV, never been an issue for us and we stay there every year.

Bill

lol - I am probably one of the people you laugh at rushing through the parks on my way to my BLT stay . My husband gets a bit frustrated with some of my itineraries and would enjoy sitting on your bench with dole whip.

Changing our strategy over the years is definitely what makes me most apprehensive of buying both BLT and BWV. I don't think I'll ever hate either, but I will definitely look longingly at the Poly and probably several other resorts as well. Our Boardwalk contract will expire shortly after our kids reach college age, so maybe we will be ready to try something new then or will be Disneyed out.

 

[blueant315]

Why can't visiting the resorts be a vacation? Do you have to hit the parks each trip? If so, buy the least expensive resort close to the parks. We feel like we are staying in any high rise hotel when staying at BLT, we feel like VGF has some beautiful grounds and a feel of an older indulgence. BWV boardwalk view is the best view on property IMO but like I said each resort has something to offer. BWV has a model room on the boardwalk over by Big River Grill.

Bill

We already have the low key beach trip each year, so we anticipate our vacation time will be spent "doing" instead of relaxing. And we plan on doing Disney trips just every other year, so I assume our kids would prioritize park time over resort activities. Of course we may be surprised and they may prefer lounging by the pool. In which case we would probably sell our DVC points and go to Great Wolf Lodge, which is much closer to home for us.

We will definitely hit up the BWV model when we are there in December since we were unable to book a room there - thanks for the tip!

 

[blueant315]

I didn't mention, we don't do studios anymore, 2 adults, a 1 bedroom, 3 adults, a 2 bedroom. All part of our resort vacation experience.

Bill

Oh man. My husband and I are both CPAs, so we are "numbers people" and have a really hard time seeing how much a studio costs compared to a 1 BR. I was adamant we would stay in a 1 BR after our WL trip last year, which had no room left in it after adding a pack and play. Plus we hang out on the balcony during nap time and after the kids go to bed, which can get a little dark and cozy. Then I saw the price differential and booked a studio for our upcoming trip. My husband dreads the day I will finally work myself up enough to pull the 1 BR trigger.

 

[blueant315]

Just know that (as of right now) DVC seems to be holding value if not have appreciated in value. I bought in 2015 and already now i could sell for $20-30 more per point than i bought, not that these will continue to increase, but chances are if you decided one or both resorts was not right for you, you could sell and likely have a few trips under your belt and sell for close to what you paid for your contract. So it is a big decision, but i feel like it is a safer bet than if you bought a car and decided in a couple years it wasn't right for you -- you wouldn't be retaining any value in this situation.

Keep in mind that you are not locked into BLT or BW -- if you have some flexibility you will have the opportunity to book other resorts.

We definitely think it is a sound purchase, which is what has won us over so quickly. But that kind of thinking will also help me justify a small point purchase at each and every resort. I was a little "traumatized" by my experience of renting points and not getting what we wanted at the 11 month mark - twice. We moved back our original travel plans by a couple days when we couldn't get the BWV studio view we wanted and then lost out altogether at BWV (though this was partially due to a computer glitch at the rental company we used not picking up on our selection of a studio with ANY view). But it sounds like a lot more opportunities exist at 7 months once we are ready to move up to 1BR units. Thanks for the pep talk!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

So we bought SSR sight unseen in 2005 after visiting the preview center at BWV in 2004. The best advice we got was to buy the points for future trips, not just for today. While DD was 5 at our first trip in a studio, being constrained to the balcony in the evenings or an 8:30 bedtime very quickly lost their appeal. Buy for the 1BR at a place you would enjoy spending time; frankly your BLT enthusiasm would not have me recommend that you buy there. Yes the location is good but unless you plan on going during high demand times you probably can trade in for a 1BR. So I’m going to recommend that you don’t buy until at least you can visit each resort that you are interested in to get the feel for it.
Good luck.

 

[pineapplepalms]

Well, we won't be able to swing buy during work trip - it would be a significant change in plans since it would push me from driving from home to requiring flights. And that is a bulk of the price differential. So even staying in a value would still cost us ~$1,500 more than just going on my work trip (which is at a luxury beach resort, so we really can't complain to have a completely free beach vacation for our whole family of 4). My husband absolutely does not think it's worth it to change our plans and add $1,500-$2,500 onto our trip (an not even touch a park). I am on the fence on if it would be money well spent or not.

Glad to hear you like BWV over BCV - that's one of my bigger doubts. Will we regret not spending a little more for BCV so we could access SAB? I don't think so, since it would be cheaper to just stay at BWV and buy tickets for a water park when the kids are older and want a more adventurous water experience. Plus, we have water slides at home - I'm not going to Disney for the pools.

I do feel like we will try our best to buy the MOST points we'd ever use. It will be hard to buy BLT at $130 now and then add on points to the same resort for 40% higher many years down the road. And even more difficult to do so at BWV when it will have a really short life at that point. So we will definitely try to avoid that. We are definitely not 2BR people. My husband grew up NEVER going on a family vacation and I grew up with a very frugal step father, so we had only 2 family vacations during my childhood with all 5 of us in 1 small hotel room. So luxury vacations are fairly recent experiences for both my husband and I and it's somewhat difficult for us to enjoy a splurge. Hence part of our apprehension on perhaps making a "bad" decision. Even though it's hard to say any DVC purchase would be bad. Thanks for your advice!

You never know where life will take you! DH and I both grew up in frugal families and never took any luxury vacations until we were adults and could afford them ourselves. We've been fortunate and have also worked really hard, and it's nice to be able to now afford these nice family trips without worrying about breaking the bank.

 

[lovin'fl]

I didn't mention, we don't do studios anymore, 2 adults, a 1 bedroom, 3 adults, a 2 bedroom. All part of our resort vacation experience.

Bill

This is us now too. Our kids are all in college now. When we first bought, 2006, we did 1BR with twins sleeping on pull out and DS on airbed. Then they got to bickering too much and hogging the one bathroom we all shared in the 1BR, so we upped to the 2BR. Then they all went off to college and DH and I did studio trips and also did a few with the twins and realized we are NOT studio people. DH is an actuary and also a numbers cruncher and 'el cheapo' so he does push for studio stays. But then when we are there, he says never again when he can't get the privacy to work when he needs to...or when he wants to get up and going at 7am and the twins-19 sleep until 11ish. Yep, no more studios unless it's just a 1 night add on to something (like we have 1 night BWV studio before a cruise in Oct....though I see BLT Lake View 1BR is available and I am so tempted to switch....anyone think I should???).

Also, we all switch what locations we like. Currently we are big Epcot people especially during the several festivals. But when we have all three kids and our inlaws with my kids' cousins....they like SSR for DS. If we aren't there during any Epcot Festivals, we like a little jaunt at AKV for animal watching and dining....need to get our AKV fix every other year or so. We're not big MK folks but could see being that when we have little grandbabies. We started DVCing when our kids were 7, 7 and 9 so they were starting to fade out of the MK love. And the VWL resorts...we'd love to be there during Xmas decor time. We are trying to get in to CCV to try it out...DH loves VWL and I may be able to talk him into buying there (I do have a studio there waitlisted for the night in Oct and plan to switch half my March BWV 1BR stay over at 7 months).

So you can see how to make the best of whatever you end up buying. We own 200 OKW and have never been super fans of there so we use those points at 7 months out to get whatever is the best open option. We have been lucky but I will say that studios are tough to get at 7 months so it's another plus that we prefer 1BR units...more availability at 7 months.

 

[kmc8826]

Not OP but same topic: we are going down in May and will do the tour. I am not interested in current resorts want either BLT, AKV, or OKW. I understand they have rooms available at Saratoga Springs welcome center. I don't suppose it is any of those 3 resorts? If I ask do you think they would show us the one bedrooms in those resorts? Or at least BLT? (Sorry if this is posted somewhere elsewhere...if it is please direct me). Thanks.

 

[disneynutz]

Not OP but same topic: we are going down in May and will do the tour. I am not interested in current resorts want either BLT, AKV, or OKW. I understand they have rooms available at Saratoga Springs welcome center. I don't suppose it is any of those 3 resorts? If I ask do you think they would show us the one bedrooms in those resorts? Or at least BLT? (Sorry if this is posted somewhere elsewhere...if it is please direct me). Thanks.

The rooms on display at SSR are the current new resorts that they want you to buy. There is a model room at BWV but I think that the BLT model at BLT was closed. Sometimes the front desk at the resort can get you access to see a room but that can be hit or miss, they aren't in the selling business.

Bill

 

[ktmo]

We didn't buy sight unseen, but we do own at BLT and BCV (the other Epcot resort). I feel like it is the best of both worlds. One year we stay at BLT and the other we stay at BCV.

 

[limace]

i Totally get your excitement! However-you asked what we would do, though your mind seems completely made up -I wouldn’t buy two resorts site unseen, especially right before a trip. You haven’t done a ton of trips, and this is a big commitment, especially if you aren’t going back for two years. Resale prices seem to be stabilizing somewhat and I don’t think there’s the same urgency to purchase as there was say in a December.

Walking distance is important to you and it seems like you have some worry about expiration date too. I’d just buy at BLT then-take the monorail to Epcot and not have to move resorts with little kids every day.

 

[zavandor]

I have bought site unseen and it was a great decision. However I bought SSR because I knew I wanted to stay in all resorts over time and I have the flexibility to travel during slow DVC times.
Buying SSR points would allow you to switch to a 1bed earlier because the buy in is cheaper as well as MF. You won't be able to consistently get standard views, but BWV garden and BLT lake are always available at 7 months outside fall frenzy and race week ends, most of the time studios too.
And if you realize SSR is not for you, using it to try different resorts for a few years and then sell to buy what you'll discover will be your favorite won't cost much (broker fees and closing costs).

 

[sndral]

... I have already done a lot of research and have logical reasons for picking each one. So I'm torn. We obviously have the option of waiting until 2019 to buy, when we will have experienced BLT but not BWV. But we assume prices will just go up and then we will still be out $2,500 (or more).

I too had done tons of research and had even stayed pre purchase in my first resale resort in a room and then in a DVC 1br villa so I bought my first contract there at AKV. My plan was to buy a second contract at BWV, where I’d never stayed, but I had stayed at the YC several times (pre DVC) and love the area and knew I didn’t like the views from the BCV.

...
Poly is my dream resort, though I've never stayed there. We had dinner one night on my 1995 trip and I remember absolutely loving the atmosphere. But I just can't make peace with how much more expensive it is than BLT and WL without being in a more convenient location (IMO). I am adamant that I will stay there at some point - either using points from a different home resort or just paying cash, but it will probably just be for a short portion of our stay. And hopefully I'll hate it so I won't be tempted to go back again

...I don't think I'll ever hate either, but I will definitely look longingly at the Poly and probably several other resorts as well...

After I bought, I used those AKV points to stay at BWV and also my favorite resort GF in the villas there, I knew I loved the GF based on a pre DVC stay in a room there, but thought the pragmatic, frugal thing to do was to buy BWV points and by staying at VGF I’d realize it wasn’t that special for me.
What that split stay did, though, was convince me that what I really wanted was VGF and so I bought there and I haven’t regretted that choice.
If you love the Poly, it has some of the largest studios, the MK monorail is right at the resort and you can easily walk to the TTC to monorail over to Epcot.
My grandmother used to say ‘don’t be penny wise and pound foolish’ - DVC is a luxury purchase, you’ll be paying MFs, travel costs, park tickets etc. for years, think about whether you’ll be happy settling for less than your ‘dream resort.’

 

[mustinjourney]

Well, we won't be able to swing buy during work trip - it would be a significant change in plans since it would push me from driving from home to requiring flights. And that is a bulk of the price differential. So even staying in a value would still cost us ~$1,500 more than just going on my work trip (which is at a luxury beach resort, so we really can't complain to have a completely free beach vacation for our whole family of 4). My husband absolutely does not think it's worth it to change our plans and add $1,500-$2,500 onto our trip (an not even touch a park). I am on the fence on if it would be money well spent or not.

Glad to hear you like BWV over BCV - that's one of my bigger doubts. Will we regret not spending a little more for BCV so we could access SAB? I don't think so, since it would be cheaper to just stay at BWV and buy tickets for a water park when the kids are older and want a more adventurous water experience. Plus, we have water slides at home - I'm not going to Disney for the pools.

I do feel like we will try our best to buy the MOST points we'd ever use. It will be hard to buy BLT at $130 now and then add on points to the same resort for 40% higher many years down the road. And even more difficult to do so at BWV when it will have a really short life at that point. So we will definitely try to avoid that. We are definitely not 2BR people. My husband grew up NEVER going on a family vacation and I grew up with a very frugal step father, so we had only 2 family vacations during my childhood with all 5 of us in 1 small hotel room. So luxury vacations are fairly recent experiences for both my husband and I and it's somewhat difficult for us to enjoy a splurge. Hence part of our apprehension on perhaps making a "bad" decision. Even though it's hard to say any DVC purchase would be bad. Thanks for your advice!

I honestly wouldn't worry too much right now about the 2042 expiration date. If you want an Epcot resort -- then go for BWV. 24 years is still a long way away...and I'd be willing to bet that most people don't keep their contracts more than 10-15 years. I'm 37 and I bought BCV a couple years ago -- but I figure it's better to enjoy the stays now rather than worry about what happens when I'm 60. If I still want to go to WDW at that point, I'll just buy more DVC.

Bottom line -- if you want to stay at BWV or BCV consistently, you pretty much need to own there. So giving up 10-15 years on that back end is, in my opinion, worth it.

 

[mustinjourney]

Oh man. My husband and I are both CPAs, so we are "numbers people" and have a really hard time seeing how much a studio costs compared to a 1 BR. I was adamant we would stay in a 1 BR after our WL trip last year, which had no room left in it after adding a pack and play. Plus we hang out on the balcony during nap time and after the kids go to bed, which can get a little dark and cozy. Then I saw the price differential and booked a studio for our upcoming trip. My husband dreads the day I will finally work myself up enough to pull the 1 BR trigger.

what I bet will happen once your kids are teenagers, is that you'll look at getting the 1BR, and then look at the 2BR and decide that getting a completely separate living space for the kids is totally worth paying approximately 50% more for.

 

[mustinjourney]

I'm going to be devil's advocate apparently -- I personally think buying site unseen is actually not the worst thing you can do. The idea of paying out of pocket for a bunch of stays at the various resorts is quite expensive -- and if prices continue to go up, it will cost you a ton more in the long run. Even if you buy a resort you hate -- you'll get to learn the ins and outs of the booking system, which will help you with your next point purchase. Plus, if you really hate the resort, you can always sell it, and your downside is basically the commission fees of 6-10%. So even if you got a big $30000 contract, you'd be "losing" $3000 on flipping the contract (assuming resale prices stay stagnant). Seeing as this is the cost of 1 trip -- I'd say the advice of staying at a bunch of resorts is actually somewhat poor advice...financially speaking.

I say check out all of the youtube videos and consider how you like to travel to/from the parks. If you want to stay in strollers as much as possible, then Poly is a great choice since you can get to MK and Epcot without breaking down the stroller. BWV and BCV also give you Epcot and DHS via walking/boats.

While these are big expenditures, it's not impossible to get rid of a contract (at least for the last few years).

Of course -- if a recession hits, be aware that you might get stuck with your contract. It is a risk -- but I do think it's a manageable one.

 

[rg35]

I know a lot of people are real advocates of not buying without touring, and I appreciate that approach.

However, we bought AKV in 2012 without ever having been to the resort. I looked at room plans and occupancy of all resorts, amenities, online photos, etc of the resort and that was enough for us. I was already familiar with OKW from prior stays, so I had a general sense of what to expect from DVC. We were also limited by where we could buy because we wanted a room that could "officially" sleep 5 in a 1BR, and there are only a few resorts where that is the case. We're extremely happy with the purchase and the price we paid. Delaying until we would have made another trip and visited the resort probably would have cost us thousands of dollars.

 

[disneynutz]

Can you buy without touring, yes. Can you get lucky and like what you bought, yes. If your are willing to accept your decision either way then it really doesn't matter. If you are particular about making sure that you love your new home, then tour.

Bill

 

[blueant315]

So we bought SSR sight unseen in 2005 after visiting the preview center at BWV in 2004. The best advice we got was to buy the points for future trips, not just for today. While DD was 5 at our first trip in a studio, being constrained to the balcony in the evenings or an 8:30 bedtime very quickly lost their appeal. Buy for the 1BR at a place you would enjoy spending time; frankly your BLT enthusiasm would not have me recommend that you buy there. Yes the location is good but unless you plan on going during high demand times you probably can trade in for a 1BR. So I’m going to recommend that you don’t buy until at least you can visit each resort that you are interested in to get the feel for it.
Good luck.

I do believe in the location, location, location real estate motto, so to be honest if all of the studios were the same size at each resort it would be a no brainer for my family. But the thought of the tiny studio does make me a little apprehensive that we would stay in that size more than once. So your comments do have me researching the Poly a little bit. I 100% love the Poly atmosphere, but wrote it off because it takes so many more points. But since the studios have an extra bath and 1 more bed, we'd probably get to stay in a studio for our planned 5ish years before upgrading to a 1 BR. Unfortunately the Poly will be off the table then since they don't have 1 BRs, and we will be locked into peak times around that point in time since we'll have to follow a school calendar. But I'm definitely considering this as an option. Thanks for opening my eyes on this possibility!

 

[blueant315]

You never know where life will take you! DH and I both grew up in frugal families and never took any luxury vacations until we were adults and could afford them ourselves. We've been fortunate and have also worked really hard, and it's nice to be able to now afford these nice family trips without worrying about breaking the bank.

Unfortunately for my kids, this is more of a philosophical decision than a financial one. My husband and I have worked with a lot of people who grew up in much more affluent families than we did and some of them seem entitled and unappreciative. So we try to limit the luxury items and experiences they have to some extent in the hopes we can help them develop a better sense of appreciation for the opportunities they are given. I mean they will be getting annual beach and bi-annual Disney trips - their only "concession" is they have to share a studio with their parents. There will probably be some day I want to book a 2BR, but I'm fairly certain my husband will pull the plug on that idea faster than I can pull up Youtube videos of them - he keeps me grounded