Newbie question

[eugtrav]

We are new to the forum and have a couple of questions. We are at Disney World now and just went to DVC presentation. Presentation was quite good and pretty low key, but still am not certain whether we should purchase though Disney or resale. We live on the West Coast and our goal is to go to Disney World and to Hawaii.

1. Not certain if we should purchase at Disney World and then trade into Aulani? The salesman at the resale office and at DVC didn't think trading into Hawaii would be difficult. If would certainly be cheaper to do it that way, but wondering if that is indeed the case.

2. If we purchase resale then we do not get the cruises, Adventures by Disney and the concierge collection-is this value really not good as I am reading? The salesman made it seem like a very good value.

3. We talked with the people at the Timshare Store-are they good people to work with if we go the resale route?

4. Right now Disney is giving from $8-14 per point off as a perk, depending on how much you purchase and since you do not get your points until August of 2012, they are giving you the amount of points you purchase now, and then again in August as a bit of a perk. Is this at all a good deal?

Thank you,
John

 

[dvcersinceday1]

resale saves a bundle. i have worked with the timeshare store on several resale purchases. all went smoothly.

if you are not planning to visit hawaii regularly, my vote is for buying at wdw and trading in.

 

[littlestar]

The Timeshare Store is great. I've bought and sold multiple contracts through them. They stayed in touch with me and answered any questions I had promptly.

You can save a lot by going resale. SSR is quite the bargain resale (it has a longer ending date of 2054). But, since you live on the west coast and are talking Hawaii (and maybe Disneyland?) I would probably take a good look at owning at Aulani or at the Grand Californian if you think most of your trips will be west coast vs. Florida. Also, would you need to book school vacation holiday time? Those can be hard to get and to be guaranteed high demand time you pretty much need to own where you want to go so you get first crack at availability.

There's a slight chance that DVC could limit you to your home resort, but personally I don't see them ever going that route. I've read it in my legal documents.

I don't think using DVC points for cruises or the other options is a good deal. I can do better paying cash. In 10 years of DVC membership, I've only used our DVC points for booking DVC resorts.

 

[eugtrav]

We plan to vacation every other year at either Disney World or Hawaii. Not so much at Disneyland, only occasionally.

We like the Animal Kingdom, but also want to make sure we get into Aulani. We are considering a 250 point contract. Yes, we can only go on school holidays and the summer as I am in education-if we have several weeks in summer, would that be difficult to get Aulani?-at the seven month window?

 

[littlestar]

We plan to vacation every other year at either Disney World or Hawaii. Not so much at Disneyland, only occasionally.

We like the Animal Kingdom, but also want to make sure we get into Aulani. We are considering a 250 point contract. Yes, we can only go on school holidays and the summer as I am in education-if we have several weeks in summer, would that be difficult to get Aulani?-at the seven month window?

I know some of my family that have to book summer vacation dates have better luck with availability with early summer weeks or late summer weeks. Some schools don't let out for break until mid June and go back to school in early August. I think if I were you I would split my points - say purchase part of them at Aulani and resale the rest at a Florida DVC resort.

If I were you I wouldn't buy all the points as one 250 point contract anyway. I would split it into two contracts. That way in the future after the kids grow up, if you want to downsize you can.

Keep in mind you can bank and borrow, too. Say one summer you want to go to Aulani and the next summer you want to vacation at Disneyworld. Also, are you completely set on Disney for Hawaii? Have you looked at HGVC, Marriott, or Wyndham (Waikiki) for vacations on Oahu? A combination of some DVC points and another ownership might work out for you, too. We own DVC points, Wyndham points, and an independent resort that we trade through Interval International. Sort of a portfolio of ownerships. We like to tag on say three or four days with our DVC points to week exchanges using our Wyndham points or Interval membership trades.

 

[eugtrav]

We just returned from WDW where we had a great time and only confirmed our decision to purchase a DVC contract. We settled on an OKW resale contract -300 points for $52 a point with loaded points for 2011 and 2012. We are wondering if this seems like a reasonable deal? Also, we are still concerned about possible changes to resale owners in the future-do any of you see many changes happening-such as the changes in the 11 month window for booking your home resort. Some feel that these first restrictions were only the beginning. We are still primarily interested in going to Hawaii and WDW, but are really nervous about things changing after reading posts on mouse owners.com

Thanks,
John

 

[wmafh]

Aulani at 7 months

We are new to the forum and have a couple of questions. We are at Disney World now and just went to DVC presentation. Presentation was quite good and pretty low key, but still am not certain whether we should purchase though Disney or resale. We live on the West Coast and our goal is to go to Disney World and to Hawaii.

1. Not certain if we should purchase at Disney World and then trade into Aulani? The salesman at the resale office and at DVC didn't think trading into Hawaii would be difficult. If would certainly be cheaper to do it that way, but wondering if that is indeed the case.

2. If we purchase resale then we do not get the cruises, Adventures by Disney and the concierge collection-is this value really not good as I am reading? The salesman made it seem like a very good value.

3. We talked with the people at the Timshare Store-are they good people to work with if we go the resale route?

4. Right now Disney is giving from $8-14 per point off as a perk, depending on how much you purchase and since you do not get your points until August of 2012, they are giving you the amount of points you purchase now, and then again in August as a bit of a perk. Is this at all a good deal?

Thank you,
John

I own at BLT and was able to book a 1BR at Aulani for this July at the 7 month window. I was surprised it was available, but they had studios and 1BR. Since I won't go to Hawaii every year being able to trade in is great.

 

[eugtrav]

Being able to trade into Hawaii is important us, but like you we don't plan on going every year. Our concern is will Disney change things for resale owners and will that make it difficult to go places other than your home resort.

 

[glypnirsgirl]

Being able to trade into Hawaii is important us, but like you we don't plan on going every year. Our concern is will Disney change things for resale owners and will that make it difficult to go places other than your home resort.

They could change it. Your deed makes it very clear that you are only guaranteed the points for staying at your home resort.

That provision was in my original deed at OKW in 1994. Back then, it was just DVC as it was THE only resort. It is still my favorite.

The Disney Adventures and cruises are HORRIBLE deals. If you compare cash price to what it costs in points, it is a real loser. If I wanted to do something like that, I would rent out my points for cash and buy the tickets with the cash I made. You come out several hundred dollars ahead that way.

About your specific deal, it isn't bad. If it is an already extended contract (to 1954 as opposed to 1941) it is even better. If it is an original contract, you would have been better off buying at SSR --- the MFs are lower and the contract is longer.

On the other hand, since the contract is loaded, it is a better deal. Depending on your use year, it could be a great deal (November or December UY) or not so great (January UY). If the points were banked points, they will need to be used in the UY that they were banked to.

In 1994, I paid $65 per point for my OKW contract. I could sell it today for about $50 per point. Pretty darn good for a timeshare that I have used every year for 17 years.

I am happy to help if you have some specific questions. Also, mouseowners is a terrific site. It is how I first found forums.

elaine

 

[eugtrav]

Thank you for the information. We also were looking at AKV resale-have you been there? We really like the layout of OKW better than Saratoga Springs, but do understand that SS is probably the better deal. The contract we are looking at is not the extended at OKW-ends in 2042 and the use year starts in March. I have been reading online non stop and everyone seems to have a different opinion about the resorts-People seem to say that OKW bus system is not good-do you find that?

Do you foresee Disney putting in more restrictions to resale owners? My DH is nervous about this and is now leaning toward Disney Direct, but I am more concerned about the cost and want to go resale.
Zeline

 

[littlestar]

We have been to Animal Kingdom and stayed. I liked staying in the main lodge better vs. the new Kidani wing. The theming is nice, but Animal Kingdom is my last choice because of the location. Also, I feel the dues will be higher because of the upkeep of the animals.

OKW units are large - the 1 and 2 bedroom units compared to the other DVC resorts are way bigger. Of course, any of the 3 bedroom Grand Villas at any DVC will be large. I also like the tropical Key West feel of the buildings and the porches. And of course, it sits on a golf course.

SSR is close to downtown Disney and you have the option of a 3 bedroom treehouse villa for the same cost points wise as a 2 bedroom. I like SSR and with the addition of the new Paddocks themed pool feel that there's not a bad section in the resort. And of course, it's on a golf course.

Depending on your age and expiration date of resort you buy, Animal Kingdom or SSR might be the better deal vs. Old Key West if you're looking at an unextended OKW contract.

I really don't think Disney will limit us to just home resort, but if they did, I'm happy with my home resort of SSR. I also own other timeshare products besides DVC and I can use those other ownerships for stays in Orlando or Hawaii (or trade into DVC occasionally for that matter) so I really don't worry about what if's with DVC.