How did you choose?

Disney Vacation Club
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DH has come aboard the DVC train and I’ve got the greenlight to buy… but now I’m having some anxiety about committing to a resort. We have it narrowed to two (one resale, one direct) which reflect the two types of trips we’re anticipating- big multi-generation family outings in the near term and small mother/daughter trips if the whole family thing peters out. They cost about the same so that’s not a great determiner (same for deed expiration). I’m curious how others picked their home resort? What factors did you weigh? Did it turn out not to be a big deal?

(Edited to add that my previous post was more about the direct/resale benefits issue where is more how are people choosing a specific resort- I’m about ready to flip a coin!)

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We picked… or rather my DH picked Aulani since we live near WDW. My DH loves Hawaii. But we are using some of our points to stay at OKW in a few weeks. We are going Aulani for 10 days in Sept. I share that b/c while you get a longer lead time for your home resort you can still use others. Also, we bought enough points for a full week at peek time for a 1bv so when we don’t need the extra space, and inevitable costs increase, a studio will work later (when it’s just us).

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I bought at CC. I had a stay at WL during the renovation that made me want to know I could always come back. I love WL. I never wanted DVC before then.

I added at BWV because I wanted a back up for when I couldn’t get a studio at CC. I am seriously thinking about seeking my CC and buying more BWV points. Since I will be over 80 when BWV contracts end- I don’t consider that at all.

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I first bought AKL (when it was just Jambo) because I fell in love with AKL and wanted to stay there -only there- forever.

Then DD and I started loving WL during visits for Artists Point, and so 2 years ago bought a contract there.

Now I’m starting to calculate for BWV given that I ended up staying there a couple of times this past year due to availability…

Bottom line: it is true: buy DVC where you love to stay.

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But then if you have 3 resorts do you get to spend enough time yearly at all three? I guess it is fun to try?

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well, if runDisney gets its act together I can start doing ALL of the races instead of choosing!

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IF our DVC purchase goes through (currently in ROFR), we will have purchased at SSR.

The decision to buy there wasn’t easy. We played out a LOT of scenarios, planning most-likely times of year we would want to go, staying at which locations, etc, while staying within our price range.

Most ideally, we would have found a contract at BWV, since that is our preferred resort. We loved staying there in December, and the location is great. BUT, finding a contract at the size and price we wanted was proving to be impossible. And even if we did, we were paying quite a lot for a smaller number of points and length of contract.

We spent hours watching DVC resort video tours for each of the other DVCs, and decided that once the refurbs were done at SSR, we found that one beautiful. Downside was proximity to parks. BUT, even at BWV, we would have to take buses to two of the parks. Still, it also has direct access to DS.

This led us to start playing out scenarios staying at SSR. We could get more points for a cheaper price there, and be able to book what we wanted around the early December timeframe (which is when we expect we want to visit most frequently). BUT, looking at other times we might want to go, such as late January, early Feb., we saw that there is a fairly decent chance in finding availability in a 1 bedroom at BWV or BCV. So, if we alternate trips, Christmastime one year, late January another, we could probably experience the best of both worlds.

With the extra points through SSR, it also opened the possibility to do some add ons…either more days, upgraded view, or perhaps tacking on a day or two at Vero Beach, etc (which is something we were thinking anyhow since we have friends who live in Vero Beach).

Without having money to burn, we decided SSR was the best financial decision for us, and a resort I feel we will be quite happy with overall if we can’t manage to book at other resorts. The contract length being 2054 was added value.

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We bought at AKL Jambo and Riviera with one main thing in mind — a hotel feel. There were lots of other reasons, but having the resort be a hotel was a must. By that I mean it has interior hallways and a quick serve location. DH wants to buy at BWV for the easy walking access to EP and HS, but without a quick serve I’m gumming up the works holding back. The main reason is my food allergies. If we bought at BWV we would have to stay in a 1bdrm on our couples trips so I had a kitchen, which means more points. Yes, we could walk over to BC, and I did debate that, but I really don’t want to.

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I picked BWV (160 points) for Food & Wine proximity. Basically the only time I would have a huge preference would be then. Any other time i can go with what’s avail 7 months out ( I usually only visit during value seasons). My decision to go with DVC was based on cost - for my style stays and amount it worked out to $165 a night to stay in a deluxe resort. I added on Vero (65 points) based on how often I was staying - I use this for 7 month out stays or split stays.

Big Mike

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I am in the same boat as @ryan1 - I have a bid into ROFR that may or not pass. If it passes, we will own at SSR. I picked this resort due to the low cost per point over its lifetime, based on number of years remaining, upfront cost, and historical dues (which go up, so you have to keep that in mind).

I spent a lot of time studying the availability charts, and since we plan to primarily book 2BRs, we noted that they are generally available at 7 months for the resorts we want to stay at. And if they aren’t - we will just bank our points or stay at SSR. I like SSR so I could handle that, though it’s not my first choice. I could do OKW for similar reasons (the extended contracts there are my first backup option).

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