[2017] Just Joined Marriott Vacation Club - Was it a good choice?

[CPNY]

Valid point about Orlando. I wasn't sure if SabresFan was interested in going to Orlando or was just using that as an example. No need to spend a lot of money if all you want to do is go to Orlando. Even the quality places are easy to get there. We own HGVC in Orlando, but only because in HGVC points are points and home resort priority desert mean as much as in other systems - so we bought where we could get into HGVC at the best price. No need or plans to go to Orlando any time soon. We did the annual Disney thing when the kids were young - been there, done that, got the mouse ears. Never again - unless we have grandkids some day before we get too old.

LOL I’m glad you got the mouse ears lol. You’ll def be back with grandkids. I go with friends and we all have no kids and we have a blast. Especially for food and wine festival. But I’m into universal myself. I digress, there is def no shortage of Orlando resorts. I own in orlando for the same reason you bought into HGVC in Orlando and would never use my points there. Just not worth it when I can score a getaway cheap. I’d rather reserve the star options for Bahamas or Hawaii. With that being said, I’ll be in Orlando in October and December this year. No mouse ears for me, Plenty of beer at the food and wine though!!

 

[JIMinNC]

LOL I’m glad you got the mouse ears lol. You’ll def be back with grandkids. I go with friends and we all have no kids and we have a blast. Especially for food and wine festival. But I’m into universal myself. I digress, there is def no shortage of Orlando resorts. I own in orlando and would never use my points there. Just not worth it when I can score a getaway cheap. I’d rather reserve the star options for Bahamas or Hawaii. With that being said, I’ll be in Orlando in October and December this year. No mouse ears for me, Plenty of beer at the food and wine though!!

My wife and I did plan a trip to the food and wine festival a couple years ago, and we actually had an HGVC reserved and anniversary reservations at Victoria & Alberts at the Grand Floridian, but a family medical emergency squashed that. Had to cancel. Haven't gotten around to rescheduling that one yet.

 

[CPNY]

My wife and I did plan a trip to the food and wine festival a couple years ago, and we actually had an HGVC reserved and anniversary reservations at Victoria & Alberts at the Grand Floridian, but a family medical emergency squashed that. Had to cancel. Haven't gotten around to rescheduling that one yet.

Ah sorry to hear about the family emergency. I do hope all is ok now. If you can reschedule I’d highly recommend that. It’s a fun day. Prepare yourself a day of eating and drinking all around Epcot. I’d suggest skipping restaurant reservations. The fun part is sampling all of the kiosks. The weather is perfect as well

 

[Dean]

Yes the resale market for Marriott is higher. Especially in regards to DC points. There are other options to buying into a program besides MVC. I own Vistana in mandatory resort so I get the ability to use star options to book in Vistana network. Also that comes with interval membership and I just booked a 2 bedroom in MVC grand vista prime week getaway for 375 bucks this week through interval. You don’t need to own MVC to get into MVC especially in Orlando! Interval getaways is cheaper than annual fees on points and you can pretty much always count on Orlando availability. If you wanted only Orlando, I’d suggest looking into DVC. Everyone loves their DVC membership.

DVC is a specialty product for those that can plan ahead and are willing to pay more to stay on property. While it's a timeshare, it's not the typical timeshare mentality for those of us that own. I wouldn't own Orlando to stay there routinely unless I needed something specific (like a 3 BR or Christmas). OTOH some of the better Marriott exchange options/13 month window helpers (esp GV & HL) are in Orlando.

 

[SabresFan]

Yes the resale market for Marriott is higher. Especially in regards to DC points. There are other options to buying into a program besides MVC. I own Vistana in mandatory resort so I get the ability to use star options to book in Vistana network. Also that comes with interval membership and I just booked a 2 bedroom in MVC grand vista prime week getaway for 375 bucks this week through interval. You don’t need to own MVC to get into MVC especially in Orlando! Interval getaways is cheaper than annual fees on points and you can pretty much always count on Orlando availability. If you wanted only Orlando, I’d suggest looking into DVC. Everyone loves their DVC membership.

We already own 300 points DVC, we totally love it, and would love to add more points, but they are crazy expensive. So I'm looking to get something cheaper than DVC that can still get me to Disney World, with the possibility of other options. DVC does participate in RCI, but all Orlando resorts are blacked out for DVC members, including things like last calls, so I'm not getting that benefit.
I've been leaning toward Wyndham for their Bonnet Creek property, plus they have Myrtle Beach and Washington DC as other places we would like to visit. And I can get access to the cheaper deals via RCI as well.
I've also looked hard at Sheraton Vistana Resort. It's a very cheap purchase and the MF aren't bad for a full week, depending on what phase you buy. I'm assuming it would only be a slight step down from the Orlando Marriott's based on reviews I've read. Since all we use the resort for is to sleep and eat breakfast, I'm not that picky - give me clean, quiet and comfortable and little else matters.
I've also considered a Marriott week, but would only consider a platinum week regardless of the resort. Haven't seen as much inventory in that category though.
We like the flexibility of the points system - some times we go for 8 days, other times 5 days, etc. So that would be one knock against the Vistana week or Marriott week. But if we went with that one, and needed a longer vacation, we could book Vistana for 7 days and then tack on DVC days before or after.

 

[CPNY]

We already own 300 points DVC, we totally love it, and would love to add more points, but they are crazy expensive. So I'm looking to get something cheaper than DVC that can still get me to Disney World, with the possibility of other options. DVC does participate in RCI, but all Orlando resorts are blacked out for DVC members, including things like last calls, so I'm not getting that benefit.
I've been leaning toward Wyndham for their Bonnet Creek property, plus they have Myrtle Beach and Washington DC as other places we would like to visit. And I can get access to the cheaper deals via RCI as well.
I've also looked hard at Sheraton Vistana Resort. It's a very cheap purchase and the MF aren't bad for a full week, depending on what phase you buy. I'm assuming it would only be a slight step down from the Orlando Marriott's based on reviews I've read. Since all we use the resort for is to sleep and eat breakfast, I'm not that picky - give me clean, quiet and comfortable and little else matters.
I've also considered a Marriott week, but would only consider a platinum week regardless of the resort. Haven't seen as much inventory in that category though.
We like the flexibility of the points system - some times we go for 8 days, other times 5 days, etc. So that would be one knock against the Vistana week or Marriott week. But if we went with that one, and needed a longer vacation, we could book Vistana for 7 days and then tack on DVC days before or after.

Don’t buy Sheraton resort. Buy Vistana villages in key west or Bella phase and get the benefit of using star options for the other Vistana resorts!