Which resort to choose???

[LizM]

We just returned from a wonderful vacation at DVC Vero Beach. We decided that we would like to become owners so we could have a DVC vacation every other year.

One question is which resort to choose? VB has the highest MF. But, we would like to go back on a regular basis. We would also like to go to Orlando -- of course BCV or BWV would be our first choice ...

Could we go to VB during peak season w/out owning that resort? Should we be able to make reservations there for a 1BR w/out the 12 month window? Should we try to buy BCV or BWV for the option to book there when we need it? My husband is a teacher so we always travel during the school breaks...

We're going to go resale, so the next question is which use year is best for us. We will go president's week (week 7) or the April break which next year is the week after Easter. We would generally avoid that week because it's the highest point value.

Do we need to buy a contract which a February use year to get the best choice?

Thanks so much for your insights. This is an incredibly helpful group of experts!!!

[Lisa]

You have a very good question. We own at VB and purchased so we could get a Beach Cottage during the weeks your are talking about. We were able to get 2 OVIRs for Pres. Week two years ago at 7 months. I believe I did call day-by-day. I think the OVIR are easier to get then the 1 bdrms because there are more of them.

From reading the boards I think that currently if you call right at 7 months have a good chance of getting any week. However, I think it may become harder as time goes on. As the shear number of WDW DVC members increase stay at WDW a few times then start looking for something different...

Perhaps someone with more direct experience will give you a better answer.

Is it possible to buy a small amount at both? 100 at each?

[7swans]

.

Is it possible to buy a small amount at both? 100 at each?

This seems like a good plan to me.

Oh & :welcome:

[Carol]

I don't think you need to own VB unless you want or need a Beach Cottage (there are six 3-bedroom stand alone units overlooking the beach which are very, very nice). That assumes you call right at 7 months to get your summertime 1 bedroom and can be at least somewhat flexible with your summer dates. In my experience, 1 bedrooms fill more slowly than the 2 bedrooms, studios or Inn rooms and usually don't sell out before the 7 month winodw opens.

If it were me, I'd buy BCV or BWV if that is where you'd prefer to stay on your WDW vacations. You will need the 11 month window to be sure of getting into BCV (that pool is so popular) or a standard view or Boardwalk view at the BWV.

If you don't mind staying at SSR or OKW, or can't book more than 7 months in advance, it probably doesn't matter much which resort you choose. Keep in mind that dues at VB are quite a bit higher than the others, though, and carry some risks the others don't have.

While it's only a remote possibility, DVC could decide to sell off VB and then your points wouldn't bo good for any other DVC resorts. Also, since VB is on the ocean, it is subject to damage from hurricanes. The sales documents even say that there is a 100% chance of the resort being destroyed sometime before the deeds expire (I'm paraphrasing the actual wording). If that happens, DVC has the option not to rebuild and just distribute the insurance proceeds. Another possibility is that there will be a "special assessment" to cover extraordinary damage. Note that no special assesment was made for the recent hurricane damage. Apparently, insurance covered the repairs and a special assessment wasn't needed.

Again, those are remote possibilities, but you still shouldn't buy there unless you plan to spend lots of time there and need the home resort booking advantage to make sure you get what you want, when you want it.

Other posters may not agree with me & of course you have to decide for yourselves. Good luck!

[LizM]

Thanks for these responses. I think I'm leaning towards BWV/BCV.

Could someone explain OVIR? I'm not familiar with the term.

Thx!

[LizM]

Does anyone have input on what use year makes the most sense if we want to go during the Feb/April breaks? Should we buy the Feb use year?

[Carol]

Thanks for these responses. I think I'm leaning towards BWV/BCV.

Could someone explain OVIR? I'm not familiar with the term.

Thx!

OVIR is Ocean View Inn Room.

It's a separate booking category from the Garden View Inn rooms.
OVIRs cost the same number of points as a studio, but are in the Main building. The rooms in the Main Building have different bed configurations than the studios. For example, you can get OVIR and GVIR with King beds or two queen beds. The studios all have one queen bed and a sleep sofa.

If we are getting an inn room, we prefer the OVIR because it has a guaranteed view of the ocean. We usually get a 2 bedroom or 1 bedroom, though.

A February use year would work well for you if you normally take vacations in February or April. It would also work well for summer vacations, because the banking deadline is the end of September. As long as you cancel at least 31 days in advance, you'd be able to bank the returned points if you couldn't use them before the following January 31, when they would expire.

[LizM]

Thanks for the definition and your helpful advice. The OVIR sounds great! Does it have the same kind of kitchenette as the studio?

[Carol]

Thanks for the definition and your helpful advice. The OVIR sounds great! Does it have the same kind of kitchenette as the studio?
Yes. At least the one we stayed in did.

Our favorite OVIR was a corner room we got in November of 2005. Our balcony overlooked the pool, but if you sat on it, you could see the ocean to your left. We had a whole wall of windows that overlooked the ocean - very impressive.

The room had two queen beds & a typical hotel bathroom. There was a short hallway that connected the sleeping area to the kitchenette. At the end of the hallway, was a small sleep sofa with a window that overlooked the lawn area and balcony for the Green Cabin room. The ktichenette was just to the left of the sofa and at the end of the kitchennete was the doorway to the hall. A stairwell was just outside our door - it led to the first floor of the Inn and came out next to the restaurant. Very convenient. We loved this room - probably won't ever get it again, though. Sometimes we just get lucky!

[Lisa]

We loved the OVIRs ...but we loved the Beach Cottages more!

As far as Use Year (UY), the best UY is one that has your most frequent travel times in the first 8 months so you an bank and points from a canceled reservation. So if you plan to travel most often in Feb and April than UYs of Feb, Dec, Oct, and Sept would be best. As long as you avoided Mar, April and Jun. Aug would still work OK since you have to cancel 31 days in advance anyway. Notice that not all months are represented with a UY. There are no Jan, May, July and Nov. UYs.

I find a well chosen UY is nice not only for the banking of a whole canceled vacation but the cancelation of a day at one end or the waitlist that came through that was less points and the ability to bank them. Also if you have extra points that you didn't need to bank yet (because of a good UY) you may be able to switch resorts by starting a new second reservation without canceling the first. You have that wiggle room.

We will have older children in school for the next 12 years so have to deal with the vacation schedule. We have an Oct. UY which I think works nicely for us. We would usually go in Feb or April but I could also see our family going for Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas vacations. One time of year our family would never go to WDW, even when the kids are out of school, is in the Summer. So having summer at the end of our UY is perfect for us.

[JimP]

I recently put a post on the other site that included one additional thing to consider regarding use year.

In addition to everything that Lisa said about choosing a good use year... I would also consider which months are easiest to book reservations... and then making sure that your chosen use year immediately follows it. The reason is simple... if you end up with some points in holding... you will need to book a reservation within 60 days... and some months are more difficult than others.

For example... let's assume that an Aug use year meets your needs well. The problem is that WDW is extremely busy during June/July.... and hence you might end up with points in a holding account, and find that it is difficult to get a reservation in those two months because availabiliy is low... and there are long wait lists already in place ahead of you. Come Aug 1st... your points dissapear.

Now consider October... it immediately follows September which is always one of the easiest months to book. If you end up with holding points... it is relatively easy to get a reservation in September... and even if it is not your top travel choice... it is better than losing points. Likewise, March immediately follows the "easy to book" Jan/Feb timeframe so it might be easier to recover from a holding account situation. It is also a great month if you think you will take lots of summer trips.

/Jim

[Lisa]

Never thought of that Jim!

[LizM]

Wow. This is a lot to wrap my head around!!! But, thanks for the great info.

So, to check my understanding ... we want to book in February and April (school breaks), then an October use year would serve us well? Would this allow us the necessary 7 month window to get in line for the President's week anywhere? Oct is 5 months away from Feb ... is this too late to get the coveted week? Should we consider August?

It sounds like it’s important to allow some time at the end of the year to accommodate cancellations and banking/using left over points. And, October and August would allow us to do that, right? I'm having trouble understanding that part. If we cancel a Feb/April vacation, we have a few months before August to rebook/bank points. Is that it?

We would most likely want a 1BR.

[JimP]

Wow. This is a lot to wrap my head around!!! But, thanks for the great info.

So, to check my understanding ... we want to book in February and April (school breaks), then an October use year would serve us well? Would this allow us the necessary 7 month window to get in line for the President's week anywhere? Oct is 5 months away from Feb ... is this too late to get the coveted week? Should we consider August?

It sounds like it’s important to allow some time at the end of the year to accommodate cancellations and banking/using left over points. And, October and August would allow us to do that, right? I'm having trouble understanding that part. If we cancel a Feb/April vacation, we have a few months before August to rebook/bank points. Is that it?

We would most likely want a 1BR.

If you want to travel in Feb and April... then the ideal UY would be February. The UY has nothing to do with when you could book reservations. You can always do that 11 months in advance of the check-out date for your home resort, and 7 months in advance for any other DVC resort.

For example... if you wanted to travel next Feb ('09), you would have been able to reserve this past March... and it would have used your '09 points. If you wanted to use your '08 points... you would have to bank them into '09, and then make the reservation.

/Jim