Buyers Remorse...need advice please.

[Fractal514]

Last week I was down enjoying a lovely vacation with my wife and another couple we do theater with. During our stay I decided to join the DVC and bought in to the Grand Californian. I made my decision based upon the fact that the incentives made the most sense financially and that when my wife and I DO decide to go out to Disneyland, we will need to book further in advance than a trip to WDW.

Being a newlywed couple, I thought long and hard and decided that I wanted to give my family, both now and in the future, the type of vacation I remember having had ONCE in my childhood, and the DVC would make that possible.

I returned, and spoke to another DVC member who told me about how difficult it is getting bookings outside of your home resort, and she scared the crap out of me. My home resort is in California! I am sure that I will love visiting CA every so often, but WDW is where it is at for me. I plan to travel to WDW mostly during the fall and late winter, and would love to stay at all of the different VC resorts over the next decade or so.

I guess my question is, A. Am I SOL on having chosen my home resort in Anaheim. B. How difficult, on average, will it be for me to get into the other resorts. C. Has anyone else found themselves in this predicament?

Lastly, my ten day period for backing out or attempting to make a change is up at the end of this week, so I need to act quickly. Also, I DO plan to add points in the future as my finances allow for it, but it is not likely to happen in the next decade or so, so please don't suggest that as a solution.

 

[Fractal514]

I apologize for posting this in two different forums, but I wasn't sure where it belonged....

Last week I was down enjoying a lovely vacation with my wife and another couple we do theater with. During our stay I decided to join the DVC and bought in to the Grand Californian. I made my decision based upon the fact that the incentives made the most sense financially and that when my wife and I DO decide to go out to Disneyland, we will need to book further in advance than a trip to WDW.

Being a newlywed couple, I thought long and hard and decided that I wanted to give my family, both now and in the future, the type of vacation I remember having had ONCE in my childhood, and the DVC would make that possible.


I returned, and spoke to another DVC member who told me about how difficult it is getting bookings outside of your home resort, and she scared the crap out of me. My home resort is in California! I am sure that I will love visiting CA every so often, but WDW is where it is at for me. I plan to travel to WDW mostly during the fall and late winter, and would love to stay at all of the different VC resorts over the next decade or so.

I guess my question is, A. Am I SOL on having chosen my home resort in Anaheim. B. How difficult, on average, will it be for me to get into the other resorts. C. Has anyone else found themselves in this predicament?

Lastly, my ten day period for backing out or attempting to make a change is up at the end of this week, so I need to act quickly. Also, I DO plan to add points in the future as my finances allow for it, but it is not likely to happen in the next decade or so, so please don't suggest that as a solution.

 

[Sammie]

The only advice I can give you is, I would buy where you will stay most of the time if you can plan between 11-8 months. If you have to always plan your trips, due to work etc. shorter than 8 months, there won't be any difference where you own.

But yes at certain times of the year, DVC can be difficult to book at 7 months at WDW, if you want a particular resort.

October can be very busy for DVC bookings as is early December. Basically if the points are low, bookings are high.

 

[Tara]

Last week I was down enjoying a lovely vacation with my wife and another couple we do theater with. During our stay I decided to join the DVC and bought in to the Grand Californian. I made my decision based upon the fact that the incentives made the most sense financially and that when my wife and I DO decide to go out to Disneyland, we will need to book further in advance than a trip to WDW.

Being a newlywed couple, I thought long and hard and decided that I wanted to give my family, both now and in the future, the type of vacation I remember having had ONCE in my childhood, and the DVC would make that possible.

I returned, and spoke to another DVC member who told me about how difficult it is getting bookings outside of your home resort, and she scared the crap out of me. My home resort is in California! I am sure that I will love visiting CA every so often, but WDW is where it is at for me. I plan to travel to WDW mostly during the fall and late winter, and would love to stay at all of the different VC resorts over the next decade or so.

I guess my question is, A. Am I SOL on having chosen my home resort in Anaheim. B. How difficult, on average, will it be for me to get into the other resorts. C. Has anyone else found themselves in this predicament?

Lastly, my ten day period for backing out or attempting to make a change is up at the end of this week, so I need to act quickly. Also, I DO plan to add points in the future as my finances allow for it, but it is not likely to happen in the next decade or so, so please don't suggest that as a solution.

Buy where you are going to be happy staying is the best advice I can give. If that's CA *and* you can stay there OFTEN ENOUGH to make your membership worth it, then good. If not, cancel as soon as possible! We bought AKV last summer and then canceled almost immediately - we knew DVC was for us but realized AKV was not. It was the right thing for us to do, and 90 days later on October 1 we called and placed our order for BLT because that was right for us.

I don't know what the current price difference between VGC and other resorts is, but over the course of your membership, that price difference will seem insignificant. It feels big now - but cost it out over 50 years and see how you feel about it.

If you plan on visiting CA often and staying at VGC is important to you, then you are wise to buy there. It's a very small resort and it's unknown how easy or difficult it will be to get in for non-owners.

All that said, if you don't care where you stay, can be flexible with your dates and are not looking to visit at Thanksgiving and Christmas, or wanting to get into VWL in December (tough), then you're probably fine in any case. Just remember fall is popular with DVCers as the point requirements are mostly at their lowest. It's certainly not impossible, but not 100% a piece of cake, either.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Do you have any WDW DVC resort/room category in particular that you have to book? And what size room are you planning on? We've only owned for 1 1/2 years but I've now had reservations at every DVC resort. Can't believe I can say that! Oops - forgot about Hilton Head - ok, all but one. BLT is the only one that I've only used home resort points for but I've actually ended up cancelling those ressies and moving elsewhere. We have gone or are going May, Nov and mid-December and I haven't felt I've had a problem at all.

Caveats always are that you could end up being restricted to your home resort but I think that would be extremely unlikely.

If you have flexibility and are open to different options I don't think you'll have difficulty in getting to all the resorts eventually. Booking right at 7 months will help. You need to feel comfortable with your purchase however but what was shared with you from the other DVC member is very contrary to what I have experienced so far.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I have not found it difficult to book at 7 months. Shoot, I just booked a BWV VIEW, only eight months out. Depending on the time of you visit some may sell out more quickly that other.

Generally, you should buy your "home resort" , where you would like to stay the most.

 

[4Pluto]

first of all, anyone talking about how easy or hard it is to use VGC points to reserve in WDW is simply guessing; there's no history yet on which to base an answer. You are just as likely to read on these boards that if you don't own points in VGC that you'll never be able to reserve villas there at the 7 month mark. Personally, I hope sometime to use my WDW points to stay in California and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

At this point, I've made reservations at BC, BW, AKV, and OKW in October well after the 7 month mark and I've made reservations at BLT and AKV in late February and early March only 5 months in advance and at OKW for Presidents week less than 7 months in advance.

Things can change (I guess its possible that the demand for WDW will be greater than the demand for WDW owners looking to stay in California (Hawaii and DC). If you really expect to use WDW resorts almost exclusively, why not call your guide and ask if you can switch from VGC to AKV. I don't know how that would affect your incentives, but it can't hurt to talk to you guide about it.

Good Luck!

 

[Fractal514]

I think that by and large we would be looking at either 1BR or 2BR, not so much studios or Grand Villas. When my wife and I go just the two of us or maybe with my brother tagging along, I don't care as much where we stay, and we would have more flexibility, but I really have this dream of taking my parents, my sister and her fiance, my brother, and my wife for a 10 day stay at VWL. I was hoping for either Halloween or Thanks, mostly because that's when I could afford the rooms with the points.

The thought occurred to me though...say I wanted to stay at VWL during that time period, and someone else on here wanted to stay at VGC during an equally hard to get time period. Could I book for them and they book for me, and then swap? I see the trade boards, but that mostly seems full of people renting or seeking to rent. Anyone have any experience doing that sort of thing?

 

[Fractal514]

Sorry, but I also had the thought...let's say I really want to book a trip at one hotel, but am ok staying at AK as a back up. Well how would that work? Would I book AK and then if I can get into the other drop AK and book it? Or do I need points to cover both?

 

[Quilter007]

OK, look -- there's 1 DVC resort in California. There's ummm SSR, BLT, AKL, BCV, BWL, + the 1st one whose initials escape me at the moment & maybe something else that I'm missing in WDW (sorry!!! -- I've only stayed @ SSR so far @ WDW) ....anyway there's way more places to stay at DVC resorts in WDW than in California, so your chances of getting a great place to stay at 7 months at WDW are pretty darn good. Now, on the other hand, if you don't own at VGC and you want to stay at VGC once it's sold out, you might have a hard time getting that reservation at 7 months. It has 98 rooms. SSR has what 9000 rooms?

Eventually my little sweet petuntias will grow up and then we may not want to (or we may want to ) spend every vacation riding the real space mountain! (Ghost Galaxy was fabulous!!!!! DH is so jealous I snuck on it w/out him while on business trip!) but then we may go to HH, Vero or Hawaii sometimes on our points. Or we could go to a WDW area DVC and not buy park tickets, but go to the Space Center, the beach, other Orlando stuff, eat Key Lime Pie, etc. Whatever we do, it won't be be hard to use the points, even considering that I have freaky fears of the water and refuse to consider a cruise, don't care if you offer me a free incentive I won't go & my kids can't go either....made it tough for our guide when he had to offer that as one of the possible incentives when we bought...was funny......Even if they add more DVC in California, they can't do better than the location for VGC -- where would they put it? At the rumored 3rd park at the Strawberry fields? Renovate part of Disneyland Hotel? The Paradise Pier? None of these would be as close or as nice as VGC if they happened. Personally, I love Disneyland! We can't wait for Cars land to be finished. My DSes are so excited for our upcoming trip in November when we get to stay @ VGC, we're coming again in Jan & hosting some cousins -- should be a great time! We don't know when we'll go to WDW again. The last trip was exhausting & Eeyore's little black raincloud followed us around SSR, so we're waiting awhile on that one....anyway, I'd stick tight & be very happy w/ VGC.

 

[Tara]

Sorry, but I also had the thought...let's say I really want to book a trip at one hotel, but am ok staying at AK as a back up. Well how would that work? Would I book AK and then if I can get into the other drop AK and book it? Or do I need points to cover both?

Not sure if you're asking from the viewpoint of AKV being your home resort, but...

If AKV is your home resort, you can book there at 11 months out. Many people who want to stay at a different resort will book their home resort at 11 months, then try to book the non-home resort at 7 months. This gives them a back-up option. Yes, in this case if you get your back-up option, you cancel the original booking - you don't need the points available for both.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I think that by and large we would be looking at either 1BR or 2BR, not so much studios or Grand Villas. When my wife and I go just the two of us or maybe with my brother tagging along, I don't care as much where we stay, and we would have more flexibility, but I really have this dream of taking my parents, my sister and her fiance, my brother, and my wife for a 10 day stay at VWL. I was hoping for either Halloween or Thanks, mostly because that's when I could afford the rooms with the points.

The thought occurred to me though...say I wanted to stay at VWL during that time period, and someone else on here wanted to stay at VGC during an equally hard to get time period. Could I book for them and they book for me, and then swap? I see the trade boards, but that mostly seems full of people renting or seeking to rent. Anyone have any experience doing that sort of thing?

1BR's are supposed to be the easiest to get so that's a good thing. 2BR's and studios are the most available but more popular. I've booked all categories. Specifically I had a 1BR booked in early/mid Nov of this year at VWL then decided to invite others and switched to a 2BR 5 months out. I had to waitlist one out of 10 days and it came thru in a couple of weeks. If I had booked a couple of days earlier when I first inquired to see if it was possible I wouldn't have had to waitlist at all - it was all available.

I also booked a 1BR at SSR for May 1 1/2 months in advance. I booked a split OKW/BCV 2 BR stay for mid Dec 6 months out. I could have had the whole stay at either OKW or SSR. I really don't think my experience has been all that odd but I've been very flexible and willing to modify a day or two as well as being open to various resorts. Waitlisting can also work.

If you were really concerned you could attempt a trade but that can be difficult with point differences between resorts and then finding someone that wants to do it. Not impossible, but more difficult.

We live west coast and also bought VGC. We did this b/c it's the smallest and only resort on the west coast so it may end up being the most difficult. If not I actually have no concern about being able to use them at WDW at this time or into the future.

Sorry, but I also had the thought...let's say I really want to book a trip at one hotel, but am ok staying at AK as a back up. Well how would that work? Would I book AK and then if I can get into the other drop AK and book it? Or do I need points to cover both?

No, you don't need points for both. You could book AKV and even if you attempted to switch but your choice wasn't available you could waitlist for it. You would designate for them to cancel your original if the waitlist filled.

I don't really have a firm recommendation for you. As I said before you should be comfortable with your purchase. I'm just sharing our actual experience and so far I'd say it's easy to use points at other resorts if you are flexible. And really - I've gotten pretty much what I wanted.

 

[disneynutz]

Our family grew up in California and DL was a frequent vacation destination. DL is a wonderful place to vacation but it just doesn't come close to WDW. There is just so much more Disney at WDW.

That being said, you need to buy where you love to stay. Most DISers will tell you that there is plenty of availability at 7 months and not to worry about where you buy. In my opinion they aren't doing you any favors. As additional members are added, booking at your favorite resort will continue to get more difficult. Are you willing pay thousands and thousands of dollars and not stay at your favorite resort when you want to?

You will notice by my signature that we own at five resorts, why, because every time I tried to get a reservation at a non home resort we had problems. Now we own at all or our favorite resorts and we can book at 11 months and always get what we want, when we want it.

I recommend that you cancel your purchase, spend some additional time learning the ropes, maybe rent some points and try out the resorts for yourself.

Good luck

 

[Quilter007]

One other note -- it's less expensive to purchase at some resorts through the resale market (did your guide give you that crappy line about how you'd rather buy a car from the dealer?). So it may be a better strategy to buy say 100 points (or 50) on the resale market at one of the WDW resorts on the resale market which would be much less than whatever you purchased @ VGC through Disney. There are already resale VGC contracts available -- they'll be available later if you want them. Remember you can buy in with a smaller contract on the resale market than you can through Disney & if it's just the two of you for now, you can stay in a studio & have a ton of space.

We do truly love Disneyland & plan on spending the bulk of our Disney vacations there, so VGC is a no brainer for us. Frankly, we love the food @ WDW, Test Track, Animal Kingdom & a couple other things, but not enough to put up with those monkey fighting buses all over the place! Ultimately you've got to try to make a good financial decision and a good lifestyle decision. It's hard sometimes to get to the same result -- when we bought the best financial decision would have been resale @ SSR -- but we knew we would never voluntarily stay at SSR (because we hate buses) that was directly opposite the lifestyle decision to buy VGC through Disney. Ultimately, we purchased enough points that Disney offered quite a few incentives & we got a reasonably OK deal, but we still paid more than we would have through the resale market if we'd been willing to buy at a WDW resort w/ fewer years left or for whatever the reason currently has a lower value on the resale market. Ultimately, what the question you are asking does not have a simple answer because there are multiple sources of input which are controlled by you! Good luck!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I returned, and spoke to another DVC member who told me about how difficult it is getting bookings outside of your home resort, and she scared the crap out of me.

I have never had a problem booking other resorts at the 7 month mark. You may not get the exact resort you want in WDW, but there should be plenty of availability at 7 months. I've even gotten DVC resorst at 1-3 months out. Again, not the most advisable way to book this close. But at 5-7 months out...never been an issue for me in almost 10 years of being a Member.

Maria

 

[ToddyLu]

I see you may be new to the boards and it doesn't sound like you live in California. My husband and I live in MS and we go to WDW every year. We bought 210 points at AKV this past June. Why, becasue we go to WDW every year and we like the resort/decor. I am sure we will go to DL in a few years. If I cannot get a room at VGC we will just pay cash for it and hopefully get the DVC 25% discount. I have to say DVC is expensive, we are in our 40s and are just comfortable in life to make the purchase. I would have to say you maybe need at least more time to make your decision. There is a ton of info here. There is nothing wrong with taking a step back and considering the other WDW resorts---especially if you will go there more often. I think the VGC are beautiful but like you WDW is where it is at for us......I just think you may be happier in the long run if you read and think about it a bit more...especially if this was an "emotional" buy...you know ...you were there in the Magic when you made the decision. I wouldn't do it becasue I thought I couldn't get a room at 7 months.....for that I would be darn sure it was WDW and at AKV...where we love. Best of luck to you and your decision.

 

[JimMIA]

The thought occurred to me though...say I wanted to stay at VWL during that time period, and someone else on here wanted to stay at VGC during an equally hard to get time period. Could I book for them and they book for me, and then swap? I see the trade boards, but that mostly seems full of people renting or seeking to rent. Anyone have any experience doing that sort of thing?

Could you do that? Yes, provided that all of the planets aligned perfectly. Is realistic? Probably not, and certainly not realistic enough to count as a real option.

You seem to be trying to bend everything to justify keeping a bad purchase. Cancel, research thoroughly, and then buy if DVC really meets your needs. In particular, you should research the resale marketplace -- there are a LOT of great buys out there.

If I were you, I could concentrate on one of the WDW resorts -- IF, as Sammie said above, you can normally book >7 months out. If you can't plan vacations that far out, it really doesn't matter where you own because you will be taking whatever you can get.

 

[JimMIA]

...but I really have this dream of taking my parents, my sister and her fiance, my brother, and my wife for a 10 day stay at VWL. I was hoping for either Halloween or Thanks, mostly because that's when I could afford the rooms with the points.

This is a totally unrealistic dream unless you own at VWL. VWL is a very small resort and you are talking about one of the toughest times of the year to get a ressie there.

For that ressie (or ressies), you would have to book the minute MS opens on the day your 11-month window opens. Simply not likely to happen any other way.

 

[JimMIA]

Sorry, but I also had the thought...let's say I really want to book a trip at one hotel, but am ok staying at AK as a back up. Well how would that work? Would I book AK and then if I can get into the other drop AK and book it? Or do I need points to cover both?

As others have said, it is possible to switch ressies without having points to cover both ressies. However, the safest way is to have enough points to book the preferred ressie before you cancel the original one.

The reason is that the former strategy involves canceling the existing ressie to free up those points, and then booking a replacement. In the time that takes, the availability for the replacement ressie could go away. It doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough to be a concern.

In addition, waitlists are filled automatically. There have been situations where points were borrowed to fulfill a waitlist before the other ressie was cancelled. That can be corrected, but it's a pain in the neck.

Having enough points for both, and handling the transaction yourself on the phone with MS is by far the better way.

 

[CMOORE185]

I would not worry if I were you. I originally purchased at HHI and never once had a problem booking at 7 months at WDW. In fact I usually get exactly what I am looking for. I also travel at peak times. It is going to more of a problem for owners at WDW to get VGC than vice versa.