Want to buy Boulder Ridge but concerned about short contract

I would like to chime in on this as I am one of those "makes a spreadsheet for every purchase" people. I was also a big naysayer when it came to any resort that was expiring in 2042. However, I have changed my tune somewhat. There is a factor that MANY ignore which is that you don't need to own as many points for a stay with the older resorts. That means less upfront cost. You cannot ignore that when looking at everything. For example, to stay for 7 nights next March in a standard 2-bedroom is 468 points at VGF. To stay in a standard 2-bedroom at BWV is 301 points. That is a difference of a whopping 167 points for the same length of time. That's HUGE. Also, you can buy something like BCV, BWV, or BRV and just hang onto it until it expires. They will still rent out for a premium and more so (I think) as things get added to the parks. Is it as good of an investment as one with a longer contract life, maybe not, but it isn't a terrible idea either. However, with BCV at $130+ per point, I have a harder time justifying that one. BRV and to a lesser extent BWV are not that terrible to buy now as I originally thought. If we look at this in a vacuum regarding value per point, then they are bad buys. However, something that is hard to monetize is how far your points go at any particular resort. That does play into why people buy somewhere. Hopefully, this came together as concisely in this post as it is in my head...
I do agree up to a point but I would point out that for many of the options that are more, there are more for a reason. Looking at specialty views like value at AKV or standard at BLT/BWV one has to be able to book 11 months out to make them part of the purchase planning. For example, buying SSR and using for AKV standard is as cheap or cheaper than buying AKV and using for value for most situations.
 
I would like to chime in on this as I am one of those "makes a spreadsheet for every purchase" people. I was also a big naysayer when it came to any resort that was expiring in 2042. However, I have changed my tune somewhat. There is a factor that MANY ignore which is that you don't need to own as many points for a stay with the older resorts. That means less upfront cost. You cannot ignore that when looking at everything. For example, to stay for 7 nights next March in a standard 2-bedroom is 468 points at VGF. To stay in a standard 2-bedroom at BWV is 301 points. That is a difference of a whopping 167 points for the same length of time. That's HUGE. Also, you can buy something like BCV, BWV, or BRV and just hang onto it until it expires. They will still rent out for a premium and more so (I think) as things get added to the parks. Is it as good of an investment as one with a longer contract life, maybe not, but it isn't a terrible idea either. However, with BCV at $130+ per point, I have a harder time justifying that one. BRV and to a lesser extent BWV are not that terrible to buy now as I originally thought. If we look at this in a vacuum regarding value per point, then they are bad buys. However, something that is hard to monetize is how far your points go at any particular resort. That does play into why people buy somewhere. Hopefully, this came together as concisely in this post as it is in my head...
I think I get what you're saying- that even though the contract expires sooner, the points will go farther at BRV so in the short time that we have the contract, we may not need to purchase as many points as for a longer contract.
 
I think I get what you're saying- that even though the contract expires sooner, the points will go farther at BRV so in the short time that we have the contract, we may not need to purchase as many points as for a longer contract.

Exactly! We bought 200 points at VGF and quickly realized that didn't go very far with our 2-bedrooms. We added on 160 points about a year later. That's a lot of points to have to add on and at quite a large cost per point.
 
I do agree up to a point but I would point out that for many of the options that are more, there are more for a reason. Looking at specialty views like value at AKV or standard at BLT/BWV one has to be able to book 11 months out to make them part of the purchase planning. For example, buying SSR and using for AKV standard is as cheap or cheaper than buying AKV and using for value for most situations.

Funny you posted this. We are staying at VGF next spring. When I was bored and looking at the RAT today, I noticed that all standard 2-bedrooms are already booked at BLT. I had no issue getting my VGF standard view. If I had wanted to book my BLT standard view, I would have been walking it!

As a drift to this post, I really love that VGF owners don't seem to be as rabid about booking. I have had no trouble booking standard studios or standard 2-bedrooms. Granted, I am always doing it 10 or more months out, but still, it is nice to not have to be on the ball about it at 7am CST 11 months out.
 


From a financial point of view BRV is a loss-loss scenario:
- if you keep it, it will expire in 24 years
- if you'll want to sell, in 10 years price will start to drop and you'll sell at a loss (no way that 14 years resorts will sell for the same premium they sell now)

But then, from a financial point of view staying offsite is a much better deal than a Disney Deluxe resort. Yet Deluxe resorts are full year around because people feel they're worth the price, not everything is about the numbers.
If you really want to stay at the Wilderness lodge during the fall and more importanlty during Christmas season and would be disappointed if you don't get it, the cheapest buy in is BRV and the best value long term is CCV, if you do not finance the purchase.
If you're flexible with your travel dates, then SSR is the best deal, followed by BLT.

There is another issue: CCV has a lower "studios/total resort points" rate, this means it may become difficult to get a studio for Christmas season once the resort is sold out even for owners at 11 months. It happens with GFV and it's a risk with CCV as well. However a studio sleeps 4 at CCV, this could decrease demand enough to make booking at 11 months not as stressful as at GFV. However it's a risk to consider, BRV has never had this issue.
 
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From a financial point of view BRV is a loss-loss scenario:
- if you keep it, it will expire in 24 years
- if you'll want to sell, in 10 years price will start to drop and you'll sell at a loss (no way that 14 years resorts will sell for the same premium they sell now)

But then, from a financial point of view staying offsite is a much better deal than a Disney Deluxe resort. Yet Deluxe resorts are full year around because people feel they're worth the price, not everything is about the numbers.
If you really want to stay at the Wilderness lodge during the fall and more importanlty during Christmas season and would be disappointed if you don't get it, the cheapest buy in is BRV and the best value long term is CCV, if you do not finance the purchase.
If you're flexible with your travel dates, then SSR is the best deal, followed by BLT.

There is another issue: CCV has a lower "studios/total resort points" rate, this means it may become difficult to get a studio for Christmas season once the resort is sold out even for owners at 11 months. It happens with GFV and it's a risk with CCV as well. However a studio sleeps 4 at CCV, this could decrease demand enough to make booking at 11 months not as stressful as at GFV. However it's a risk to consider, BRV has never had this issue.
But it is also less expensive at around 60% of the cost of Copper Creek and the dues are marginally lower. Dollar wise it's likely a wash assuming one plans to hold either to the end and there's no guarantee one an sell later anyway. So the longer term could be an asset or an anchor, it's a gamble at best. One who books at 11 months out should be able to get anything but it's possible they might have to waitlist for the higher demand options, that's true at all resort to some degree or another.
 
Points are similar at CCV and BRV, although units are different for size and capacity.
 


I would like to chime in on this as I am one of those "makes a spreadsheet for every purchase" people. I was also a big naysayer when it came to any resort that was expiring in 2042. However, I have changed my tune somewhat. There is a factor that MANY ignore which is that you don't need to own as many points for a stay with the older resorts. That means less upfront cost. You cannot ignore that when looking at everything. For example, to stay for 7 nights next March in a standard 2-bedroom is 468 points at VGF. To stay in a standard 2-bedroom at BWV is 301 points. That is a difference of a whopping 167 points for the same length of time. That's HUGE. Also, you can buy something like BCV, BWV, or BRV and just hang onto it until it expires. They will still rent out for a premium and more so (I think) as things get added to the parks. Is it as good of an investment as one with a longer contract life, maybe not, but it isn't a terrible idea either. However, with BCV at $130+ per point, I have a harder time justifying that one. BRV and to a lesser extent BWV are not that terrible to buy now as I originally thought. If we look at this in a vacuum regarding value per point, then they are bad buys. However, something that is hard to monetize is how far your points go at any particular resort. That does play into why people buy somewhere. Hopefully, this came together as concisely in this post as it is in my head...
This is exactly right. Buying 200-250 points at BRV makes sense (and I think it’s only $90/point with that size contract). Point cost/night at BRV & BCV are good, even a little better at BWV. And, especially if you are buying it to use through expiration. I’ve no need for 55 years of commitment, nor can I guarantee an heir would want to take on the dues commitment. And, so you want to go somewhere else? Rent your points. There are people out there renting half there owned points every year to cover maintenance fees and actually vacationing on only 1/2 their owned points.
 
We are also considering a BRV contract, but the difference is we are in our late 40s/early 50s. I am still worried about the earlier expiration date. I will be 71 when it expires, and I'm hoping I can still travel often. We also own at AKV. I'll be 86 when it expires. To me, that's perfect. I wish BRV expired then. I figure we can just use the AKV points to travel solo after the BRV contract expires, but I'm starting to think my DSs are not going to give us grandkids for a good long time, so we may still want to do family trips after 2042. I figure if that's the case, we can always buy CCV then (or better yet--they can and take us!). The cost of CCV then will probably be what BRV is right now. It would still work out to be more though than just paying for CCV now though. I think if I was in my 20s though I would really consider CCV for the later expiration.
 
We are also considering a BRV contract, but the difference is we are in our late 40s/early 50s. I am still worried about the earlier expiration date. I will be 71 when it expires, and I'm hoping I can still travel often. We also own at AKV. I'll be 86 when it expires. To me, that's perfect. I wish BRV expired then. I figure we can just use the AKV points to travel solo after the BRV contract expires, but I'm starting to think my DSs are not going to give us grandkids for a good long time, so we may still want to do family trips after 2042. I figure if that's the case, we can always buy CCV then (or better yet--they can and take us!). The cost of CCV then will probably be what BRV is right now. It would still work out to be more though than just paying for CCV now though. I think if I was in my 20s though I would really consider CCV for the later expiration.
Or you could temporize, wait 2-3 years and buy CCV at a discount to retail. Between the 2, I'd likely go with BRV or try to catch one of the earlier CCV that go to resale but I would not buy retail unless the planets align and I also needed a fixed week.
 
We bought when I was 30yo in 2009. We are both Disney nerds/fanatics (can't think of a stronger word or I'd use it). We know we will be going to WDW every year until we can't physically do it. We really wanted all our points at BWV area, but the contract life scared us. We'll be 66/63 when BWV expires and I just really worried about being that age and still wanting to go. I know nothing is set in stone, but most of the people in my family have lived to their 90's and were extremely active well into their late 80's. I have my fingers crossed I'll be in the same position. We ended up buying BLT and actually have loved our stays there. We ended up also buying a smaller BWV contract that year for our F&W stays. While I could always use more points, I'm happy with my point allocation and resort choices.

I think buying multiple contracts might make sense in your case too. You can buy a bulk of your points at a resort that has a longer expiration to ensure you have many years of vacations and also a smaller BRV contract so you get to stay at the resort you truly love for the next quarter century. I think it all really depends on if you are WDW "lifers" like us. Which resort you buy first is trickier, as is how you split the point totals across two resorts. I can make cases for both. But if I was in your shoes, I'd probably buy a BRV contracts first, as that's where you want to stay. You can always add more points at longer-dated resorts when you have the funds and the desire.

Either way, good luck!
 

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