VGF direct or BLT resale? Which MK resort/contract is best for us?

[cncm]

Hi - so I was pretty set on buying BLT resale until the latest round of direct incentives hit and now I'm a bit confused. Not sure which option is the best for us.

We're a growing family of 3 (DD is 2-years old), never stayed at a DVC property before but we've been to Disney many times. Pre-kids, we'd stay mostly at Value or Moderate resorts and now we stay in a 1br suite off-site with the toddler. I don't mind driving to most of the parks, but having to park at the TTC and take the monorail to MK is such a pain. Hence the desire to own at a MK resort. The idea of being able to walk to MK from our hotel is just too good to resist.

Initially, I was set on BLT given it's the closest resort. Assuming I can get through ROFR at $140/point, how does that compare with the current VGF promotions (~$167/pt for first time buyers)? I don't necessarily care for being blue card members, especially since we already have Florida resident APs. How much further of a walk is VGF vs. BLT to MLK entrance? We did the walk from the Contemporary this past visit after dining at Chef Mickey's and that was what sealed my decision to buy DVC. I've only been to VGF for dining, never tried walking to MK from there.

Is the current VGF promotion "too good to pass up"? If I do opt for BLT resale, should I wait for prices to drop further? Obviously no one has a crystal ball but it's hard to believe this is the bottom when there's all this talk of impending recession.

 

[DianaMB333]

Hi.. both are awesome options it would depends on your priorities/preferences.

BLT requires less points to book than VGF.
The walk to MK is also shorter. Resort is smaller the less walking for the pools, food etc.

VGF fireworks view is usually better than BLT and food and pool options are also better.

Just based on points required I have added more BLT instead of the direct VGF, but current price is definitely tempting -mainly to book RIV and/or any new resorts.

 

[MyDogTink]

Others are much more knowledgeable than I am; however, I will give my opinion.

We are a family of 3 (DD just turned 4 when we stayed at BLT in March). I came home and bought resale. I then purchased VGF directly. BLT is extremely convenient and my absolutely favorite feature is the 1 bedroom with 2 full baths. I find the point chart fair For that. The walk to MK is quick. I haven’t stayed at VGF so I can’t really compare. I don’t think VGF has a character dinner like Chef Mickey‘s.

I think the VGF incentives are good if you want to stay at restricted resorts. That’s my reasoning for a mix of resale and direct points.

 

[kanerf]

You might want to rent some points and stay at both. I like BLT myself and own there.

 

[disneyfan123]

The walk between VGF and MK is about 15-20 mins, iirc. If you have access to AP, it may not be worth it going direct, however, you get a few extra years on the contract with VGF, so that adds some value. I'd probably fall back on the "buy where you want to stay" advice, if I were you.

 

[myth2001]

I currently own both BLT resale (bought in 2021 at $145, with almost fully banked 2020 points ) and VGF direct (bought just last week)

Cost wise the two are actually very similar:
I track my stay per point cost by 1) computing a per point premium by dividing purchase cost over all points to be received in the course of the contract, 2) add on the annual fee of that year
You would see annual fee actually is the biggest part of the cost (and BLT and GFV currently have the lowest annual fee).
For 2023, my BLT resale per point cost is actually very close to my GFV direct per point cost: $11.17 vs $11.21

Pro for GFV:
While you don't care about blue card benefit, the ability to use direct GFV points to book at RIV or any future resorts might be worth consideration.

Pro for BLT:
The points chart for standard view is great for MK resorts (you definitely need BLT points to book those).
And the walking distance to MK as you mentioned is great, the walk to GFV is a bit longer. (Resort studio in Big Pine key might be a little closer)

In short, if you are sure you are only going to stay at BLT, then maybe BLT resale is better.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

You've gotten some good advice and information already, but one thing I didn't see noted relates to room sizes.

VGF is tricky because the room allocation was dramatically changed with the addition of the Big Pine Key building into DVC. There's now an entire building of resort studios that competes with the original DVC building. If you are wanting a 1-bedroom, there is more competition for them now.

On one hand, having the 11-month home-resort advantage gives you a much better chance of snagging one vs the 7-month window, but BLT gives you more chance at a 1-bedroom overall as compared to other room sizes. At the 7-month mark, you're more likely to be able to get a 1-bedroom at BLT than at VGF.

Side note - 1-bedrooms are usually the last to go at most resorts because of the points charts and how they compare to studios and 2-bedrooms, so if that is your preferred room size, you may have a good bit of flexibility at the 7-month mark to switch resorts, depending on the time of year.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I own at BLT but this resort is so popular now you almost have to walk your reservation or be very lucky at the 11 month window.
Since your family is so young , I might agree with buying VGF . I think those points will increase the most in value should you ever need to sell.
Also VGF gives you the option to walk or take the monorail or take the water taxi… BLT only gives you the option of monorail or walk.
Obviously both resorts have bus transportation available.
I can’t believe I am telling anybody to give the Grand Floridian priority over BLT ...I truly love BLT . I never have to stress about my room location because the high rise building gives amazing views everytime I just step out of the elevator. It is almost a relief to have so many great views everywhere because i can relax and close the curtains when it is finally time to sleep.
I guess Im just not a GF personality . I love BLT and the Contemporary and the Polynesian Resorts . And the Riviera and POP Century.
I have stayed at the GF . Just don’t have a desire to stay there again .
Once you become a member , you will have your own favorites that just make you feel like it is Home .

 

[Counting Stars]

If you are Florida residents I would recommend renting points for one-two night stay at each resort prior to making any purchase. Try each resort and see what you think about them after a brief stay. DVC is a big financial commitment and vacationing there requires planning in advance for most of us. Residing in Florida won't necessarily allow for a last minute getaway if you are looking at a popular resort or room category. Even if prices drop a bit further, the cash outlay is still significant so I would recommend that you try each before you buy.

 

[Jayunit09]

Don't forget those 1 bedrooms at BLT have two FULL bathrooms too!

I'm still team go direct at VGF for the unrestricted points for your young family. But being Florida AP holders, really cant go wrong with either.

 

[StoweFoSho]

The BLT walk and VGF walk are pretty different. About as different as the resorts themselves. If the walk from the Contemporary is what is selling you, then I would go with BLT.

If you’re local and you’re not going to book 7 or more months in advance, then points are points. On the other hand, if you’re local and you have a chance to get some Moonlight Magic events in there, it might be nice to have the direct contract. If you’re not big into that then resale may be the way to go.

I like that BLT has its own pool that is just for BLT guests. I haven’t stayed in a 1bd there yet, but the studios are tiny. Would like to see how they update the rooms in the refurb.

 

[Sunnyore]

Hi - so I was pretty set on buying BLT resale until the latest round of direct incentives hit and now I'm a bit confused. Not sure which option is the best for us.

We're a growing family of 3 (DD is 2-years old), never stayed at a DVC property before but we've been to Disney many times. Pre-kids, we'd stay mostly at Value or Moderate resorts and now we stay in a 1br suite off-site with the toddler. I don't mind driving to most of the parks, but having to park at the TTC and take the monorail to MK is such a pain. Hence the desire to own at a MK resort. The idea of being able to walk to MK from our hotel is just too good to resist.

Initially, I was set on BLT given it's the closest resort. Assuming I can get through ROFR at $140/point, how does that compare with the current VGF promotions (~$167/pt for first time buyers)? I don't necessarily care for being blue card members, especially since we already have Florida resident APs. How much further of a walk is VGF vs. BLT to MLK entrance? We did the walk from the Contemporary this past visit after dining at Chef Mickey's and that was what sealed my decision to buy DVC. I've only been to VGF for dining, never tried walking to MK from there.

Is the current VGF promotion "too good to pass up"? If I do opt for BLT resale, should I wait for prices to drop further? Obviously no one has a crystal ball but it's hard to believe this is the bottom when there's all this talk of impending recession.

I didn’t read through all the comments but I am a BLT owner who’s most recent stay in May was at VGF so I would just like to share my opinion since convenience to MK seems to be important to both of us. I love BLT because I hate TTC so when I go to WDW I usually make sure one of my split stay resort is a monorail resort. I don’t have any insight on the walk from VGF to MK because the path was closed during my stay. I see a huge difference in the monorail position though if that might matter to you. When I stay at BLT I’ll usually walk to MK and then end of day ride the monorail back because I’m dead tired. Comtemporary as the first monorail stop is huge for me. Riding the monorail almost full circle end of night felt like a huge drag. Then walking down the stairs and then to the DVC building just felt extra far. I’m sure reality is BLT is probably the same distance but not having to go down any stairs just feels slightly more convenient for me. And if end of the night the monorail is a hot mess, I’ll just walk back to BLT. I don’t think the path will ever be close whereas the path to VGF seems to be closed often. You can take the boats I guess but in terms of convenience, BLT wins for me. Also I love if I’m lucky my standard rooms at BLT can still have views of the fireworks from my balcony. I also love Top of the World Lounge but if you’re buying BLT resale then it’ll be a perk you won’t qualify for.

Value wise the promo right now for VGF is pretty awesome though so it’s a tough decision. You can probably always stay at BLT with your VGF points if you don’t care about standard view rooms. Some people almost never stay at their home resorts.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

I would say get VGF the smallest contract to get a blue card and then maybe add BLT on later as a resale. I don’t know what size rooms you are planning on but when our family was younger we stayed in the studios. Now the kids are teens we need the 1 bedrooms. We fully utilize the kitchen. We have breakfast & dinner there. We usually rope drop and then head back in the afternoon so the kids get pool time. And then dinner in the room.

We originally bought 125 BLT resale and it was not enough for how we visit now. We are planning on longer visits and some golf days in between park days going forward (both girls are avid golfers). So we added VGF on with the current incentives.

 

[cncm]

I currently own both BLT resale (bought in 2021 at $145, with almost fully banked 2020 points ) and VGF direct (bought just last week)

Cost wise the two are actually very similar:
I track my stay per point cost by 1) computing a per point premium by dividing purchase cost over all points to be received in the course of the contract, 2) add on the annual fee of that year
You would see annual fee actually is the biggest part of the cost (and BLT and GFV currently have the lowest annual fee).
For 2023, my BLT resale per point cost is actually very close to my GFV direct per point cost: $11.17 vs $11.21

Pro for GFV:
While you don't care about blue card benefit, the ability to use direct GFV points to book at RIV or any future resorts might be worth consideration.

Pro for BLT:
The points chart for standard view is great for MK resorts (you definitely need BLT points to book those).
And the walking distance to MK as you mentioned is great, the walk to GFV is a bit longer. (Resort studio in Big Pine key might be a little closer)

In short, if you are sure you are only going to stay at BLT, then maybe BLT resale is better.

I own at BLT but this resort is so popular now you almost have to walk your reservation or be very lucky at the 11 month window.
Since your family is so young , I might agree with buying VGF . I think those points will increase the most in value should you ever need to sell.
Also VGF gives you the option to walk or take the monorail or take the water taxi… BLT only gives you the option of monorail or walk.
Obviously both resorts have bus transportation available.
I can’t believe I am telling anybody to give the Grand Floridian priority over BLT ...I truly love BLT . I never have to stress about my room location because the high rise building gives amazing views everytime I just step out of the elevator. It is almost a relief to have so many great views everywhere because i can relax and close the curtains when it is finally time to sleep.
I guess Im just not a GF personality . I love BLT and the Contemporary and the Polynesian Resorts . And the Riviera and POP Century.
I have stayed at the GF . Just don’t have a desire to stay there again .
Once you become a member , you will have your own favorites that just make you feel like it is Home .

I would say get VGF the smallest contract to get a blue card and then maybe add BLT on later as a resale. I don’t know what size rooms you are planning on but when our family was younger we stayed in the studios. Now the kids are teens we need the 1 bedrooms. We fully utilize the kitchen. We have breakfast & dinner there. We usually rope drop and then head back in the afternoon so the kids get pool time. And then dinner in the room.

We originally bought 125 BLT resale and it was not enough for how we visit now. We are planning on longer visits and some golf days in between park days going forward (both girls are avid golfers). So we added VGF on with the current incentives.

Thanks everyone for the comparisons - I'm increasingly leaning toward getting both but doing VGF direct first given the current promotions and hopefully getting BLT resale next year.

From everyone's comments, seems like we should own at BLT for MK proximity and better 1br availability (studios will not work for us since we like to stay up after kiddo goes to bed).

While I'm not dying to stay at VGF, I think owning there makes sense for access to Riviera and future resorts. Our second favorite park is Hollywood Studios so having skyliner access there would be great.

What do you guys think of this plan?

 

[cncm]

I didn’t read through all the comments but I am a BLT owner who’s most recent stay in May was at VGF so I would just like to share my opinion since convenience to MK seems to be important to both of us. I love BLT because I hate TTC so when I go to WDW I usually make sure one of my split stay resort is a monorail resort. I don’t have any insight on the walk from VGF to MK because the path was closed during my stay. I see a huge difference in the monorail position though if that might matter to you. When I stay at BLT I’ll usually walk to MK and then end of day ride the monorail back because I’m dead tired. Comtemporary as the first monorail stop is huge for me. Riding the monorail almost full circle end of night felt like a huge drag. Then walking down the stairs and then to the DVC building just felt extra far. I’m sure reality is BLT is probably the same distance but not having to go down any stairs just feels slightly more convenient for me. And if end of the night the monorail is a hot mess, I’ll just walk back to BLT. I don’t think the path will ever be close whereas the path to VGF seems to be closed often. You can take the boats I guess but in terms of convenience, BLT wins for me. Also I love if I’m lucky my standard rooms at BLT can still have views of the fireworks from my balcony. I also love Top of the World Lounge but if you’re buying BLT resale then it’ll be a perk you won’t qualify for.

Value wise the promo right now for VGF is pretty awesome though so it’s a tough decision. You can probably always stay at BLT with your VGF points if you don’t care about standard view rooms. Some people almost never stay at their home resorts.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks, this was very helpful - I too hate the TTC especially cos we have to come back to the hotel for naps during the middle of the day...enduring the TTC mess 4x a day is such a drag and time suck. Walkability to/from MK is super important for us and the number one reason we want to own at a MK resort. Seems clear BLT is the winner from that perspective

 

[myth2001]

Thanks everyone for the comparisons - I'm increasingly leaning toward getting both but doing VGF direct first given the current promotions and hopefully getting BLT resale next year.

From everyone's comments, seems like we should own at BLT for MK proximity and better 1br availability (studios will not work for us since we like to stay up after kiddo goes to bed).

While I'm not dying to stay at VGF, I think owning there makes sense for access to Riviera and future resorts. Our second favorite park is Hollywood Studios so having skyliner access there would be great.

What do you guys think of this plan?

Welcome to the scope/points creep.

 

[cncm]

Welcome to the scope/points creep.

Haha, right?! Although wondering now if I should just buy RIV resale rather than VGF direct. But since we haven't stayed at RIV yet, I don't want to lock ourselves in to a RIV contract given the resale restrictions. I figure if we love it there, we can always sell the VGF down the road and buy RIV instead.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Hi - so I was pretty set on buying BLT resale until the latest round of direct incentives hit and now I'm a bit confused. Not sure which option is the best for us.

We're a growing family of 3 (DD is 2-years old), never stayed at a DVC property before but we've been to Disney many times. Pre-kids, we'd stay mostly at Value or Moderate resorts and now we stay in a 1br suite off-site with the toddler. I don't mind driving to most of the parks, but having to park at the TTC and take the monorail to MK is such a pain. Hence the desire to own at a MK resort. The idea of being able to walk to MK from our hotel is just too good to resist.

Initially, I was set on BLT given it's the closest resort. Assuming I can get through ROFR at $140/point, how does that compare with the current VGF promotions (~$167/pt for first time buyers)? I don't necessarily care for being blue card members, especially since we already have Florida resident APs. How much further of a walk is VGF vs. BLT to MLK entrance? We did the walk from the Contemporary this past visit after dining at Chef Mickey's and that was what sealed my decision to buy DVC. I've only been to VGF for dining, never tried walking to MK from there.

Is the current VGF promotion "too good to pass up"? If I do opt for BLT resale, should I wait for prices to drop further? Obviously no one has a crystal ball but it's hard to believe this is the bottom when there's all this talk of impending recession.

I own at BLT and I love it, but it isn't as popular with many of my family members. They like the monorail coming through the Contemporary, and there are some wonderful restaurants, but the very 'modern-ness' of BLT is somewhat off-putting to them. If I was in the market to buy, at the moment, I think I would take the VGF choice. I think the price is close enough it definitely makes sense right now.

 

[tom1944]

Have you compared the point chart at both resorts? Let's say you could stay one extra day at one for the same number of points as you would need for the other resort would that impact your decision?

 

[cncm]

Thanks to everyone chiming in - we just bought VGF direct with the current promotions and already have 2 trips booked on points haha. Still plan to add BLT resale down the line but for now I like the flexibility that comes with direct.