Realistic Number Of Points?

[allie5]

We looked into DVC this year, and DH showed much more interest than I dared hope!!! We did the tour and would want to stay at the Beach Club for 10 - 14 nights every year. The best way I could see to do this was to buy 160 points, bank at the start and take our first trip after the second set of points was banked (giving us 320 points). We would only need the studio for the first few years whilst kidlets were small! I think 2 weeks at the BCV is around 106 points per week in choice season.....that leaves us 108 to add to the NEXT vacation. Have I got this right, if so does 160 points sound enough or are we going to need more pretty fast (DHs main concern!). We PROBABLY wont join until sometime next year (other boring stuff to buy first!!) so I want to get all the facts!

What do you all think is a REALISTIC number of points to be able to enjoy a 2 week vacation yearly (which would possibly be 10 nights DVC and 4 night on the Gulf non DVC)????

Thanks!
Allie.

[OKWTink]

Do you mean to visit and use your points once every two years? That is what you seem to be describing.

The best way to determine how many points you want to purchase is to decide during which season you would be most likely to go most often and what size accomodations you will want to use most often.

Having stayed in a studio in the beginning (for lengthy stays) it was fine. Once you make the switch to a one bedroom though, look out. It is so much more convenient to stay for a length of time in a villa that has a full kitchen and complete laundry.

Once you've determined how many points you think you should need, add as many more as you can afford. You will always need more, and you will never get them cheaper than right now (unless you buy resale which is a very viable alternative).

Most frequent complaint of DVC members? Wish I'd bought in sooner with more points!

Good luck with your decision making and feel free to ask any questions you may have. We'll be more than happy to give you our opinions or explain how things work, but please remember your guide is your only authoritative source of information.

[Scoootch]

Originally posted by OKWTink

Having stayed in a studio in the beginning (for lengthy stays) it was fine. Once you make the switch to a one bedroom though, look out. It is so much more convenient to stay for a length of time in a villa that has a full kitchen and complete laundry.

Once you've determined how many points you think you should need, add as many more as you can afford. You will always need more, and you will never get them cheaper than right now (unless you buy resale which is a very viable alternative).

Most frequent complaint of DVC members? Wish I'd bought in sooner with more points!

Have to totally agree with OKWTink here
Once you stay in a 1bdrm or larger villa, it's very hard to go back to just a studio for the longer stays

The other thing is as OKWTink just mentioned, buy as many pts as you can afford when you're ready. There never seems to be enough and if you are looking to buy into BCV's as you say, you may not want to wait too long unless you plan to buy resale as they are getting close to being sold out through Disney and Saratoga Springs will be what's up for sale next. One of the biggest pieces of advice most DVC members will tell you is to buy your points where you plan to stay the most as it will give you an 11 month booking window vs. only a 7month window if trying to book at a resort that is not your home resort. BCV's is a very popular and books quickly so having the extra 4 month advantage may be important to you.

Best of luck and hope to be saying "WELCOME HOME" real soon!

[dcfromva]

allie5,
Hmmm. I was wondering about what type of accomodations your normally get when staying at WDW...

If you normally stay in a hotel room, then staying in a studio is probably a reasonable plan. But, if you normally rent a villa, you might wish you had more points so you could get 1 or 2BR accomodations.

I think adding on over time is a reasonable plan. I think our family would have been quite comfortable in a studio when DS was younger, but now that he is older, we want more space!


-DC

[allie5]

Thanks for the replies.

Tink.....I wish we could join now and with oodles of points but our family car is on its last innings as baby is getting bigger. We have to get a new one in the next few months which will take away a big chunk of cash! Car cost a lot more here than in the US (doesnt everything!!....DH was in tears at the price of MPVs in Florida and what we will have to pay ). Realistically, next year is our only option and we wont have too many points to start with, unfortunately! I would LIKE to be able to buy in at 200 points as that pretty much guarantees a 2 week stay each year in a studio, we will have to see if thats possible.

Scoootch, thanks for the info about the Beach Club being almost sold out. Saratoga Springs looks like it will be OK for us too, so we will just have to see. If the Beach Club IS still available (looking unlikely) then that would still be our top choice.

DC....we have never stayed on Disney Property, but have rented an offsite villa in recent years. We looked at the Open House models of room and the studio would be adequate whilst the children are under 8. I wouldnt be so keen with the baby under one, but he will be nearer two before we buy in. We dont spend much time in the room anyway, so its not much of a big deal to us, just BEING THERE is!!!

[BigThunder]

We just joined a year ago & one piece of advice our salesguy gave us was to think about the future. Right now most of our visits are in November. We pull our oldest out of school for a week. That works now but by the time she's in high school, maybe even in middle school, she may not be able to miss a week of school & (God forbid) we may have to go during summer for our big stay. It costs more points in June, July & August than it does NOvember.

We didn't buy an ungodly amount of points though I wish we had been able to. We had to be realistic about what we could afford monthly payment for the next 5 years on top of dues. We got 220 points. Our plan was to stay in a studio one year & a 1 BR the next. Just rotate every year. But I have been told once you stay in a 1 BR it's hard to go back to a studio. I will soon find out as when we go back in November we are staying in a 1 BR at the BC (our home resort). With as few of points as we have though we've stayed the first year for 8 nights at OKW in a studio, banked the rest of the points. Just spent a week at VEro Beach in a studio & will be going to a 1 BR for 7 nights in November. And we were still able to bank 36 points into next year. So we've done well I think with not a ton of points. I would LOVE to add more at BCV.

I also agree that BCV is probably going to be sold out by end of year. But I am sure that SAratoga Springs Resort is going to be fabulous. I think the 11 month window though is a handy thing to have & I do know BCV do book up quickly.

I hope all of this has helped in some way!