Best use of points

[dwight16]

I was wondering what everyone though was the best value/use of points. People who have been going for years now. Any resorts you felt like you used too many points for the week or any resorts you felt like you got a great room for the right amount of points. I know it's up to what people like but is BLT really worth all the extra points compared to say OKW? I have one been on 2 trips so far with my points planning the third. I am just trying to maximize my contract.

 

[disneynutz]

What is costs to stay at a particular resort and is it worth it is a personal decision. You may love BLT, Theme Park View, I may not.

I will say that IMO DVC points are best used for stays at DVC resorts only.

Bill

 

[jekjones1558]

If you are primarily concerned with getting the most days for your points, then you should book studios at OKW or BWV standard view or AKV value rooms. But some people buy DVC to change their vacation style. We are in that group. We do not do commando park vacations but rather spend time enjoying our resort. We book 1 bedroom units for the 2 of us. If we bring family and friends, we book them their own rooms so we do not have to share space. We like sitting on our balcony and taking in the view, so the extra points for a great view at BWV, AKV or BLT are a good investment for us. Each family has its own priorities and those priorities may change as your family and age change. Each resort has its own pros and cons. We have liked every one. We book a resort based on the time of year we are going and who will be in our travel group.

 

[DizBub]

We own at 2 resorts, BLT and BCV, both rather point expensive compared to say OKW, SSR and AKV standard and BWV standard. I will usually try to only book my home resorts during low point seasons, Sept/Oct/Jan and the first half of Dec. I booked BCV for Sept at 11 months and switched to BWV at 7 months. Still hoping to switch to a standard villa to save 49 points before my banking deadline. Just got home from a standard 2br at AKV....it was only 110 points for 3 nights....the absolute cheapest stay anywhere at that time.

Since we like to go 3/4 times a year we are perfectly happy staying at OKW or SSR at other times to try to maximize points.

 

[spiceycat]

in my younger days - OKW was great - low points and the studios are just fine.

now that I am older and have more health problems - BLT is worth it for me or BCV or BWV - because have trouble sometimes getting around.

broke my toe (really it is mostly foot) - so if at OKW would have to cancel - at BLT can walk over to the MK.

that is worth it for me.

 

[dwight16]

I have 190 points 160 at SSR and 30 and vwl. Bought in 2010 resale. I have been to bwv and bcv for my first 2 trips planning on next may I have about 250 to spend with out borrowing my 2014 points. Going for a 2 bedroom 8 people going. My list is bcv bwv(standard would be first but know that is an extreme long shot) then vwl. I just look at say old key west and wonder if it's just as good. That is why I am asking.

 

[minster22]

You are going to have people with opinions all over the place on this. For me....I own at BWV and it is my favorite resort for a number of reasons, location, the action of the Boardwalk, the ESPN club, the restaurants(Flying Fish),the gorgeous porch with the wicker furniture for people watching, sipping iced coffee or just chilling being able to just stroll over to Epcot or Yacht and Beach club, the quiet pools. Now many people love OKW but for me I do not like being so far away from everything, I like the fact that the BW has a feeling a having a large communal area. Until you try them all yourself you won't really know what does it for you. After seeing how magnificent the new VGF are, I'd love to stay there but also know I would very much miss my beloved BW (also really love the staff at BW!!).

 

[jekjones1558]

Given that there will be 8 in a 2 bedroom, OKW would be my first choice. The 2 bedrooms there are much larger than the other DVCs (except maybe the new VGF). You will get 2 queen size beds, 1 king, a queen sofabed and a sleeper chair. The living/kitchen area is very large. The balcony is very large with a round picnic type table and chairs. You will have a full size washer and dryer, not stackable units. This is a perfect example of how each DVC resort has its advantages depending on your needs for a particular visit.

 

[DizBub]

I have 190 points 160 at SSR and 30 and vwl. Bought in 2010 resale. I have been to bwv and bcv for my first 2 trips planning on next may I have about 250 to spend with out borrowing my 2014 points. Going for a 2 bedroom 8 people going. My list is bcv bwv(standard would be first but know that is an extreme long shot) then vwl. I just look at say old key west and wonder if it's just as good. That is why I am asking.

My DD thought she would never want to stay at OKW. We stayed there last Tuesday for 1 night in a 1br, last minute reservation. She declared that she could buy points there, just loved it. A total 180. In fact, now she is planning to stay there next year with her in-laws.

OKW is really nice. Very large 2br sleeps 9. Bus service is surprisingly good. If you drive parking is right at your door. Unless you won't be happy if you're not staying at an Epcot resort, give it a chance.

 

[ercrbc]

For our family OKW is the best use of points. We love the space and the fact we can stay in a 2BR for what it costs to stay in a 1BR at BLT most times of the year.

Our family is a family of 5 (3 small children including a 1yo). We like being able to spread out, we like the big porches, and putting the kids in their own room. The kids LOVE the big tub in the master, I love the regular size w/d. DH loves parking 10 ft in front of the room....(the hotel style resorts are a pretty good hike to the parking lot so the valet option becomes the easier choice, but it adds up over a week!)

I tried to convince DH and DD (7) that we should downsize to a 1BR to try BLT this Fall. I was outvoted

OH well. There's always next year, lol! But honestly, I think most of our planning will revolve around OKW, AKV, occasionally SSR and BWV standard when there is availability. Those are the cheapest 2BRs for the pts, and size trumps location for us

 

[staceymay00]

For our family OKW is the best use of points. We love the space and the fact we can stay in a 2BR for what it costs to stay in a 1BR at BLT most times of the year.

Our family is a family of 5 (3 small children including a 1yo). We like being able to spread out, we like the big porches, and putting the kids in their own room. The kids LOVE the big tub in the master, I love the regular size w/d. DH loves parking 10 ft in front of the room....(the hotel style resorts are a pretty good hike to the parking lot so the valet option becomes the easier choice, but it adds up over a week!)

I tried to convince DH and DD (7) that we should downsize to a 1BR to try BLT this Fall. I was outvoted

OH well. There's always next year, lol! But honestly, I think most of our planning will revolve around OKW, AKV, occasionally SSR and BWV standard when there is availability. Those are the cheapest 2BRs for the pts, and size trumps location for us

This is my family, also - we really like OKW 2BRs and think it is a great value for the five of us. We have never booked a GV, but those are a really great deal at OKW!

We recently tacked on a couple of nights at CR after five nights at OKW. We had an AP rate for a club level room and it was fabulous, a nice treat for a couple of nights. Walking to MK was of course great, however it took us longer to ride the monorail to EP than it takes us to drive to EP from OKW. We always have our vehicle and like to drive to the parks, so for us, OKW is great because it is centrally located. I would probably not be willing to use more points for BLT for more than a few nights.

We have stayed in an AKV Kidani standard view 2BR and I thought it was a good deal since it was the same points as an OKW 2BR, and the villa was almost as spacious. We even had a savannah view, albeit not a great one, so that made the villa and even better value.

This November we are staying at BWV. Standard view was not an option, so I had to use 25 more points to switch our four nights from OKW to BWV. I borrowed one point and paid $360 for 24 one time use points. I feel like the extra cost is worth it since we will spend a good bit of time at EP and DHS that trip.

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[nolanboys]

We have stayed at all the resorts except BLT. We own resale at SSR. We keep going back to OKW. We are going in March and all the kids want to stay at OKW again. They even notice the room size and they love that the basketball and tennis courts are right by the main pool. I really wanted to buy at OKW, but DH said SSR because of the longer life of the contract and THV. We stayed in the THV and loved them because we could separate the kids into different bedrooms. When they reallocated the points, we were very disappointed. We only have 200 points, so we need to stretch them as much as possible. Glad everyone in our house loves OKW. I will say that if we are going to splurge, we really enjoyed BCV and VWL.

 

[DMKEDM]

For us, the points "cost" is sometimes relevant, but mostly not...I can't wait to stay at the new Grand Floridian Villas (can't remember if we're using GFV or VGF) and don't care that it's wickedly "expensive" for anyone but a family of five who's happy in a studio...but absolutely LOVE OKW and frequently choose to go there not because it 'costs less,' but because we enjoy the resort so much...I probably wouldn't ever choose BWV--have encountered a few too many surly CMs and consequent extra difficulty in dealing with those issues that inevitably arise every once and while at BWV and so while I won't go so far as to say I don't like it, I will say I like it far less than all the other DVC resort choices--but there are times when the SV points cost makes it worth it...

I know there's LOTS of chatter here about availability post 7 months being tough for all sorts of things--and I've found, in my 8 years and 4 or so trips each year of ownership, that sometimes availabiilty IS an issue...but far more often than not, we've gotten what we wanted when I went to book (and other than for T-giving, that's always at 7 months or substantially later), so I don't worry about whether I can get the "cheaper" villas or not...sometimes I can; sometimes I can't...but so far I've always been able to get something, even just 3-4 weeks out--and the fact that I'm blissfully happy at SSR too helps...

Good luck w/your choices...

 

[loveswdw]

For us, we only own 150 points so I'm a point miser. We own BCV so love being able to get in there in October with no problem. But we stayed BWV std view a few trips ago. Those points are so much lower than BCV that I can stay 6 nights in a 1BR at BWV std for less points than 5 nights in a 1BR at BCV. Same area, same amenities (except no SAB). Walk or boat to Epcot. So we are WL'd for BWV std view. If it doesn't happen then I still have my BCV but less points.

We love OKW, too as the points are about the same as BWV std but the 1BR is so much larger! We love to have a huge balcony at OKW with a view of the golf course.

We still haven't tried BLT or AKV savannah because I don't want to spend the extra points. (And I'm afraid we'd enjoy it too much and need extra points!) VGF looks great but I'm having a hard time justifying the higher points cost per night. We might consider a split stay but we really, really hate switching resorts.

 

[DenLo]

In the past I would say staying wherever you get more days.

But now to me the best use of your points is staying at a DVC resort that you like. So you if stay at a resort that is just okay, but didn't love it, I wouldn't say it was NOT the best use of points. So cheaper points is not always better IMO.

 

[disfanforlife]

In the past I would say staying wherever you get more days.

But now to me the best use of your points is staying at a DVC resort that you like. So you if stay at a resort that is just okay, but didn't love it, I wouldn't say it was NOT the best use of points. So cheaper points is not always better IMO.

Agreed! We stayed at BLT and LOVED it. Even though it is more points we are going back there again in November. We are doing a split stay between AKL and BLT. Never done that before.....

 

[staceymay00]

In the past I would say staying wherever you get more days.

But now to me the best use of your points is staying at a DVC resort that you like. So you if stay at a resort that is just okay, but didn't love it, I wouldn't say it was NOT the best use of points. So cheaper points is not always better IMO.

I agree...I should have noted in my first post that we love OKW, and the fact that our points go further there is an added bonus. I am thinking about adding on at another resort in order to alternate with OKW EOY for some variety, and that is why we are trying a few new resorts.

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[dsneygirl]

For Sept we are split between 5 nights AKL value and 5 nights BLT standard view. I think it's a pretty good use of points as you are getting a lot o bang for your buck so to speak. But you'll get all kinds of opinions.

 

[Tiger926]

Best use of points is whatever works best for your family.

When we became members 9 years ago (my, how time flies!), we had a baby, and stayed exclusively in studios as we only had 175 points. We ate all of our meals on property.

We then had a second child 4 years later, and added on 185 points to stay in 1 bedrooms, as we were tired of eating 3 meals a day in restaurants. Love the full kitchen and laundry room!!!

Fast forward to today...hubby and I just made an important decision based on the needs of our family. We have decided to upgrade to 2 bedrooms for the 4 of us, as we need the space. We have a daughter and son, who are 4 years apart, so sleeping arrangements are very critical around here. Studios don't work, except for 1 night (1st night, as we usually arrive late afternoon, go for dinner and visit park) - had a very difficult trip in March in a studio for 6 nights.

I am sure that many people will think this is a waste of points, but as we looked at the point charts, we have realized that there is a big jump between studio and 1 bedroom, but not so much between 1 bed and 2 bed, so for us, this usage of points will be best for us, as it will allow everyone the space and amenities they need to be most comfortable for an almost 2 week stay each summer.

We will do a small add-on (can't believe it, as I said no way!), and we will be able to do 9 - 10 nights each summer in a 2 bedroom. We are pretty sure the kids are going to love having their own room and extra bathroom, and so this usage of points will be well worth it, as it is necessary to keep our Disney family happy!

Interesting thread, Tiger