Which Home Resort for Young Family

[Leon O]

Greetings, I haven't seen a question like this on the board yet, so I figure as a newbie I'll ask. Which Home Resort would offer the most options for a younger family (Children 1 & 8).

While I like the idea of a longer contract for SSR, I'm thinking that the beach environment at the BCV may be more entertaining for the kids as they age (particularly as they become teens). BCV as a home resort would allow us to book 11 months in advance.

I'm still gathering information and learning new things about DVC everyday. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

:sunny:

[tjkraz]

Leon O:

Welcome!

I won't tell you which resort to buy but I will offer a piece of advice. Bear in mind that it will take you at least 6-8 years just to break even on your DVC purchase. If you are considering DVC, I'm assuming you are doing so because you're in it for the long haul. In other words, my assumption is that you aren't just buying because you know your kids will want to visit for the next 10-15 years, rather it's something that is also of interest to you and your significant other even further down the road.

With that said, I think you're better off leaving the kids out of your Home resort decision. Their tastes and interest levels will ebb and flow over the years. Choose a resort that YOU will be happy staying at for the 20-30 years after the nest is empty and the kids have started their own families.

I don't mean to sound uncaring--I have two young ones of my own. But I think it would be a mistake picking the Beach Club STRICTLY on the basis of a perception that your kids will like the pool--particularly if you find yourself drawn to another resort. Imagine the feeling if you arrive at the BC for the first time only to have your kids say "eh, I really don't want to swim". You could spend the next several decades longing for the backwoods feel of the Wilderness Lodge or wishing you'd gotten the extra 12 years at Saratoga Springs.

We've been owners for 3 years now and have already stayed a 4 different resorts. As long as you plan ahead (which you certainly must do to take advantage of the Home resort priority window), you'll have a lot of success booking resorts other than your Home. The only noteworthy period that can get really dicey is the three weeks or so between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The other 90+ percent of the year you're likely to have your pick of resorts when calling at 7 months out.

Hope that helps.

[Leon O]

Thanks for the input. Great points! Thinking about the long-run was one of the reasons I was concerned about the home resort. Since we have never had much desire to due "spa" vacations, I'm thinking that SSR might lose some of its appeal as a pure destination. On the other hand, we can easily spend 5 or 6 days at the beach. While the spa might be appealing to use in 25 years, at that point we might be thinking about entertaining the grandchildren:)

So many factors & choices... At least there's no wrong decision, since all of the resorts seem like winners

[PoohsPal]

If you're beach lovers, BCV may be a better fit.

I'm not a big spa person, although it's anice perk. SSR has other perks, though. One of their bus stops has a playground and a bathroom. I thought that'd eba huge perk for families. I'm a shopper and love closing down DtD every night. The ability to walk from there is a big plus for me.

Look at the ammenities of all teh different resorts and decide on what feels like the best feit. Keep in mind what Tim said though, don't fit a 5 to 10-year tiem frame, fit 30 to 40 years.

Good luck! Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll love DVC!

[JohnNJ]

I just read, in the Spring 2006 issue of the DVC magazine "Vacation Magic," that Travel & Leisure Family magazine published the results of their annual World's Best Awards survey.

The DVC resorts that are on the list of the "most family-friendly resorts in the Americas" were Boardwalk and Vero Beach.

John

[Stimpy]

Only you can make the right decision for your family :) I do agree that, while it's nice to take the kids into consideration, don't base your decision only on them.

I can give you an idea of what we did. We bought at BCV for us...me and DH. At the time we purchased, we had the option of BCV, BWV and SSR. We considered SAB for our children, now 6 and 22 months, and quite honestly, us too. We considered the location to Epcot which is mine and DH's favorite park. We also liked the dining options close by and the ability to walk and/or take a boat to places and not have to totally rely on buses like at SSR and OKW. The extra years didn't seem too important to us since we figure we'll be kind of old then anyway.

Good Luck with your decision!!

[Leon O]

Thanks for all of the great answers.:teleport:

[lllovell]

Just to add in the thoughts about OUR decision.

The extra 12 years mean a lot to me. I will be "kinda old" too :P but not old enough to have outlived my love for WDW.

But, what really convinced us to buy SSR was the fact that I am used to renting houses for vacations. We have done it for years at the beach and like the "seperated" feel of our accomidations. I also feel like my children (which are 6, 4 and 5 months now) are allowed more freedoms in the SSR/OKW setting than I would be comfortable with at a hotel type setting. They will grow up, but then we will be hopefully bringing grandchildren in the later years and it will again be a factor. I just HATE having to constantly try to keep them remembering their good manners when they are SOOOOO excited about being at WDW in the first place. They wouldn't intentionally disturb others, but they certainly ARE loud and vivacious and while I realize that most people at WDW are quite tollerant of children and their noise factor, I really cringe when it is 8 a.m. and we are walking to catch the bus and their voices ECHO LOUDLY down the hall about who is going to push the elevator button today! (just excited, no intentions of being bad - I am sure you get my point here).

We like the condo feel...many like the hotel feel. You might want to put some thought into which you prefer for yourself and your spouse.

Good luck with your decision!

Laura

[Stimpy]

Don't misunderstand me Laura...I still intend on going to Disney when I'm kinda old...I just want someone else making the beds, cleaning the room etc by then ;)

[lllovell]

Don't misunderstand me Laura...I still intend on going to Disney when I'm kinda old...I just want someone else making the beds, cleaning the room etc by then ;)


Oh yes - I understand that completely Stimpy! I am hoping for a minimum to be able to afford the $100 or so cost of daily housekeeping (inflation you know). :crazy: Actually, I am one of those that prefers to not have to worry about someone else coming into the room, so if I toss my undies on the floor at night and don't want to pick them up before going to the parks so the maid can clean, then whoopie!

(I am sure my needs and wants will change over the years. I am just thankful to have our DVC for as long as possible!)

Laura

[tjkraz]

The extra years didn't seem too important to us since we figure we'll be kind of old then anyway.

Even those who don't anticipate being able to use their points to the contract end should consider the long-term value of the purchase. While timeshares don't make good investments, as long as WDW remains a viable vacation destination, there will be value in contracts on the resale market. With that said, which is likely to be worth more in the year 2030:

A. BCV contract with 12 years remaining
B. SSR contract with 24 years remaining

I'd place my bets on the latter. While contracts at BWV, BCV and VWL have seen steady increases in resale prices, it's impossible to ignore the fact that they continue to lose total value (years.) No matter how desirable certain resorts may be, remaining years on the contract will eventually trump all other factors.

I'll turn 65 in 2035. If we should choose to retire to Florida or otherwise have reason to sell our points in that timeframe, I am content in the knowledge that my SSR points (with roughly 19 years left) would return a lot more than a contract elsewhere that only has 7 years remaining.

(Of course, this all assumes that DVC doesn't blow us out of the water with dues increases over the next 30 years, rendering our contracts valueless. :D )

[mushu]

Unless you are hooked on a certain resort, I would go for the extra years at SSR. Good luck on your decision. Hope I can be the first to WELCOME you HOME.

[Leon O]

Thanks for all the great input. It looks as though my retired parents will be going down next week to check out SSR and DVC before the current incentives run out. I've got my fingers crosses, since I think they would love it. It will force them to go on vacations. And, of course, they are going to want to share it with the grand kids :dancingba

Cheers!

[Daitcher]

You are my first post on this board. Others may know me from the Dis. I was recently banned there, so here I am.:footopenm I would recommend buying one of the smaller DVC Resorts. I own SSR and I can tell you I regret it. What advantage do you have by owning one of the larger properties? You guessed it, none. Large properties are much easier to get into at the 7 month mark. Seriously consider BCV or BWV for your family. Knowing you can get in there at 11 months is a big bonus when you own a small, desirable resort. If you want to stay at SSR you will always be able to. The resort is huge and seldom will be booked. Only you can decide what is best for your family but think it through. Can't say I'm a proud SSR owner because I regret my decision.

p.s. don't listen to the others, I'm a nice guy. :howudoin:


DAVE

[SaratogaShan]

DAVE!!!!!!!!

When you say RECENTLY banned, you must mean like 5 minutes ago! You posted on a couple of my threads TODAY! You know I don't agree with you, but I respect your opinion (and you are entertaining!)

Anyway,
I love SSR for many reasons and it suits our young family wonderfully.

[jnrrt]

Welcome to both of you!

I'll just dive in here and say that for us, we were weighing whether we wanted booking advantage somewhere versus the extra length of the contract. If you are happy staying anywhere, and especially if you would be happy staying at SSR everytime, and taking other things if they were available and suited that particular vacation, you should buy there for the longer contract. If you wouldn't be happy with that, you should buy where you want to stay most of the time, especially if where you want to stay is a smaller resort.

Of course, none of that means anything if you're planning your trips less than 7 months out. If that's the case, I'd also go for SSR.

We bought BWV because we wanted the booking advantage, and while I'm sad some days that it's not as long, I'm very happy with our decision.