Saratoga Springs

[lynnghoffman]

In sep05 I purchased 150 pts @ssr. I just received my contracts for an additional 50points Purchase. I was told by dvc that prices would go up in april,which motivated me to get the old price of $90 per point. my wife &I just returned from a 3 day stay @ saratoga. our 1st impression was the size a scope of the place! the staff was very courtious & helpful. we arrived 11am and was told there would be a room available close to the pool at 4pm,however they had a rm 4623 which was ready and we accepted. the studio was impeccable and the quite pool was a half mile from our room. ssr is beautiful but it was just to spread out and it just didnt feel as though it was in the park. the artist pallette was tiny.the menu left something to be desired as were the prices. the bus system in my opinion was was terrible. they operated on a 30minute schedule at best.we have decided to cancel our additional 50 point purchase @ssr and would like some input on how we can sell or tade our points at ssr and purchase @ wilderness lodge, which we wanted from the start. I thank the person who was surprised at how fast we made our decision, he really put things in perspective for me. ur visit was the best as usual. mt everest ride alone made our visit THE BEST. we look forward to staying at the wlv inlate june . we bkd a 2bdrm with our son and his wife and most importantly our 2.5 year old grandson erics 2nd visit to dw. he visited with us and stayed at the contempory during hurrcane charles! appreciate any suggestions re ssr to wilderness lodge. well, thats it for now. thanks lynn

[tjkraz]

The only way to "switch" home resorts is to sell your current contract and buy a new one. You can't just file paperwork and switch home resorts.

SSR resales appear to be selling in the $85 range, while VWL is closer to $90 per point. By the time you factor in broker commissions and closing costs on your new contract, my guess is that the VWL points will end up costing you $2500 to $3000 more than SSR. You also lose 12 years of ownership. Your VWL ownership would end in 2042, while SSR owners have until 2054 to use their resort.

Two of the more popular timeshare resale agents are The Timeshare Store and DVC by Resale. If you can find a buyer for your points on your own, it will save you commissions, but then you'll have to handle the entire negotiation / contract / closing process yourself.

Just a couple of comments about your trip report:

1. Regarding the dining, there is a second restaurant due to open later this summer. It will be a table service location with dining both indoors and out on a terrace that overlooks Downtown Disney. When the resort was first commissioned, less than 200 rooms were part of the initial design. Plans have since grown to 4x the original development, and DVC is responding with additional amenities.

The prices at Artist's Palette are on par with all other Disney dining locations. I hope you remembered to ask for your 10% DVC member discount!!!

2. Honestly yours is the first complaint I've heard about bus service there in about 6 months. Most folks have reported waits of 15 minutes or less (which is the norm for Disney) and great success particularly when leaving theme parks at closing time. It recently took me nearly 90 minutes to get back to the Boardwalk from the Magic Kingdom at closing due to all of the people waiting for that shared BWV / Swan / Dolphin bus. SSR busses normally accommodate all waiting guests in just one or two loads.

While SSR is "huge" compared to other DVC properties, it's the second SMALLEST Disney-owned resort on site. Only Old Key West is smaller. Currently SSR has fewer than 600 rooms, while the Wilderness Lodge has about 900 between the cash guest rooms and DVC.

If you like VWL that much, I'd definitely recommend adding-on points there. Even with 50 points you could use the banking and borrowing rules to give yourself 150 at the 11-month window every few years.

As for the SSR points, it's your call in deciding how to proceed. $3000 plus 25% of your ownership duration is a pretty steep price to pay for 4 months' booking advantage at VWL in my opinion.

Good luck!

[jaysue]

FWIW I agree as well - try and get a 50 point addon or resale at VWL and bank and borrow for a great trip every 3 years

I would not dis SSR after one trip only - we like the open spaces, playgrounds, quiet pools and the fountains and walking paths and find it quite relaxing and inspiring

We own at BCV, VB and SSR

Cheers
jaysue

[gopherit]

On the one hand, I can relate - we bought BWV because that's what was being offered. We had only stayed in OKW and loved it, but DVC said it was sold out, and naive souls that DH and I were, we bought what DVC offered and din't know about resale. Less than a year later, we were staying at OKW and visited the newly opened VWL - well, WOW doesn't nearly do our opinion justice. DH and I both agreed - maybe we had made a mistake buying BWV, perhaps we should have held out for VWL?!? We decided we owed it to ourselves to try the other resorts out first - then decide. Well, we've done that now, and honestly, we can tell you that out of all the resorts, yup, BWV is our least fave (and that includes SSR, by the way.) HOWEVER - I also know that the dynamics of a stay can be very dependent of who you are traveling with, your room, heavens, even the weather. DH and I both agree that there are perks to owning at BW, and perhaps when the kids are grown, we might like it better. We haven't tried a BW view room. The std view low-pts rooms are quite a bargain. And if we DID ever have to resell - BWV carries a decent resale value. In the end we elected to just sit tight with our purchase. It is important when purchasing to buy where you want to stay.... but once you have bought, it is probably a good idea to give all the resorts a try - or two or three - before making any rush decisions to sell/rebuy just to get a different resort. (You'll love those extra 12 years when the rest of us DVCI folks are crying, LOL!)

SSR is still a work in progress - I'd reserve final judgement until the whole painting is complete. The additions of full-service dining, more pools, etc. would likely enhance a future trip. FWIW - I've had slow bus service at VWL (it used to get SCATHING reviews!) and slow service at BWV (big time scathing reviews there as well!) but the best service we EVER had was at SSR! The transportation system may be undergoing some revision - as they make changes in routes, it seems invariably, SOME resort suffers for a while, then, it gets corrected at that resort (only to shift to ANOTHER resort!) You have so many years ahead, plenty of time to both let SSR mature and also use your points to try the other resorts as well. We almost always make our ressies at the 7 mos window and have never yet been denied a DVC resort of our choice. Certainly if you're looking to add-on, consider a complimentary resort.... if anyone ever plunks $7000 in my lap, I'd surely consider adding about 100 pts at Hilton Head! I think adding on at VWL is a good compliment to a contract at SSR - gives two very different options to bank/borrow! But I wouldn't jump ship on my home resort just yet - not until I'd sampled more of the DVC offerings, including SSR.

[Deep-Thots]

Bus service is hit-or-miss pretty much everywhere. :upsidedow

I can't remember whether you mentioned this in your original post, but if you tend not to book your vacations very far in advance (i.e., between the 7 and 11 month windows), then you might as well keep at least the original SSR points, simply for the 12 extra years.

Otherwise, you'll be paying an extraordinary premium for what everyone else in DVC can try to book at the 7 month window or later. After all, if you're booking your vacations at 6 months out, it gives you no advantage whatsoever to be a VWL owner -- even at VWL.

[AFMom]

I agree to give it a little more time. Not only will they be adding another pool, and the new restaurant option, I think the resort won't feel so large and gangly once it's landscaping matures. It's amazing what a big difference that can make.
I was surprised that out of all the pools we've gone to there pool hopping - my kids' favorire was the SSR pool - favorite slide and zero entry.
The resort certainly has it's plusses - and you will most likely loose money if you sell right now.....

[DVCerLee]

Well, we've done that now, and honestly, we can tell you that out of all the resorts, yup, BWV is our least fave (and that includes SSR, by the way.) .


Gopherit,
Why don't you like BWV? We did the DVC tour there 10 years ago and I was awed. I thought it was the most beautiful, charming place. Fast forward ten years, we buy into HHI, but I'm still hoping to stay one day at BWV. Tell me the negatives if you can so that I'll take them into consideration, and not be dissapointed.
Thanks,
Lee
(Dis)

[Deep-Thots]

Lee, I'd prefer it if we could stay on-topic in this thread. Perhaps you could PM gopherit? Thanks.

Kim

[DVCerLee]

OK! Sorry about that!
Lee

[Ginger]

FWIW I agree as well - try and get a 50 point addon or resale at VWL and bank and borrow for a great trip every 3 years

I would not dis SSR after one trip only - we like the open spaces, playgrounds, quiet pools and the fountains and walking paths and find it quite relaxing and inspiring

We own at BCV, VB and SSR

Cheers
jaysue

I agree with Jaysue. I would not base my feelings on 1 trip to anywhere. We've stayed at SSR (our home) and loved it. Thought everything was great. Each resort has it's points, and everyone has different likes and dislikes.
FWIW, we stayed at VWL last year, booked at the 7 month mark. While we own (and enjoy) SSR, we hope to stay at each of the DVC locations at least once.

HTH,
Ginger

[lynnghoffman]

hth, Jaysue Thanks forreply & info. I am cancelling my 50 point add on and going for resale in vwl of 50 pts if I can find that small amount of points. I booked a two bdrm @ vwl for late June 06. I am also going to try to book bcv for early dec this year. I hope seven month window will work out for us in dec. thanks LynnG

[tjkraz]

hth I am also going to try to book bcv for early dec this year. I hope seven month window will work out for us in dec. thanks LynnG

If you haven't already, I would call Monday morning and book your December dates at Saratoga Springs. Early December is getting virtually impossible to book outside of your Home resort due to the high demand during that period. Hopefully this won't ruin your day, but I think the odds of you getting BCV for early December are very, very slim. BCV owners will fill the resort at 11 mos...guaranteed. Even if you owned your points at VWL it wouldn't help you in this case.

Like I said, if you have your heart set on visiting this December, I'd call immediately and book at your Home. You can always try to switch to another resort when you are 7 months out, but I don't think there is a high probability of that happening.

[Deep-Thots]

lynng --

Instead of going for resale for VWL, why don't you just purchase the additional points through DVC? Just tell your guide you want to do an add-on at VWL, tell him/her how may points you want to add on (it can be more than 50), and he/she will make sure they're in the same UY as your current SSR contract. Current VWL pts are only $92 ppt through DVC, but you don't pay closing costs. What's more, if they have points available for your UY, you can use them right away; you can even finance your purchase if you'd like.

I guess what I'm thinking is, if you're willing to pay $90 ppt already (for SSR), why not go for the convenience of same UY, no closing costs, plus actual number of points you desire for VWL via DVC?? Just a thought.

And tjkraz is right about your chances of getting into a non-home resort for early December at thsi point: they're practically nil. That time is just too popular 9because of the low point structure) with DVC members.

Kim