DVC for Annual RunDisney Trip

aliwolly

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 24, 2004
Hello!

I've been a DVC renter a number of times, and I'm finally ready to make the leap - a birthday gift to myself for my 40th next month! 🎂

I'm thinking that I'll end up with more than one contract when all is said and done, because we like to take two different kinds of trips: I go annually for Princess Half Marathon weekend, and then we do a separate vacation. My Princess trip is usually just me, or me and my sister, and we usually stay 5 nights (Thurs -Tues). Our vacation trips are usually, me, my husband, and my son, and we usually stay in a 1 BR villa for as many nights as we can squeeze in (at least 7, we've done some trips that were 10 nights). So I'm thinking that my first contract will be one that can get me a studio for 5 nights in February every year, and then eventually we'll add on a contract that can get us something like 8 nights every other year in a 1 BR.

So, having said that... I've been actually considering Riviera because of the Tower Studios. I could actually get away with only 100 points and be able to do my yearly Princess trip. That's assuming that I can actually book a Tower Studio, though - not sure how many of those rooms will be available and I'm betting they'll book up quickly. I always thought that I'd buy resale, but that thought started back in the day before they started restricting access to member benefits. I do totally get that the ROI on the discount on the AP, etc, usually doesn't outweigh the savings you'd get by going resale, but... I still kinda want to access Top of the World Lounge as that totally plays into my type of WDW vacation LOL!

If you were me, what would you do? Risk the small and expensive and maybe useless (because of the limited rooms for a popular weekend) Riviera contract? Buy somewhere else? I'm a huge fan of the Boardwalk and Beach Club (we usually stay there when we rent points), but don't know if it's worth a contract with such limited years remaining on them...
 
That's assuming that I can actually book a Tower Studio, though - not sure how many of those rooms will be available and I'm betting they'll book up quickly.

There are a total of 24. They are NOT selling Guaranteed Weeks for these units, and I would not buy points on the assumption that I would get them. I would absolutely bvuy enough to get a studio or 1BR.

I still kinda want to access Top of the World Lounge

TOTWL is open to resale buyers. At least, when it's open to anyone. New DVC policy is shutting it down whenever they have a renter or want to use it for a paid event. Doesn't matter for that if you're resale or direct, although certain events can only be bought into by direct (for extra $$$ not as a real perk). You can count on the other member events (Moonlight Magic and the like) NOT occurring during runDisney weekend periods, and they're hard to book for most people anyway.

If the BCV and BWV contract lengths worry you, what other resorts do you enjoy? For runDisney weekends, home resort is pretty useful, even for Princess, but especially for marathon and W&D.
 
This is an interesting topic to me too, mainly because DW and I have been talking about the same thing over the last couple weeks.

We own at CCV now but throw around the idea of buying another contract that we'd set aside mainly for rD events. The boardwalk resorts and Riviera are intriguing for sure because of the access to Epcot. Not only for festivals but the ease of getting back home after a race. Of course, some of that is still TBD with the gondolas going in. I'd probably lean towards having enough points for a 1BR and hope for studios. There's always the option to bank, or if you have two contracts try to combine any leftover points at the 7th month mark with a second contract and try to upgrade your room category for that other trip you like to take.

Have you stayed at OKW before? It was surprisingly convenient when I did Dopey this past year. The transportation was great to and from the races. I haven't stayed at other DVC properties for race events yet so my experience is limited compared to a lot of others I'm sure.

Also, happy early birthday! Getting a DVC contract is definitely the way to go for a present!
 
Those tower studios are really not much of a deal in the first place. They cost more points that a full, normal studio at BCV, BWV, Wilderness Lodge, and plenty of other resorts. Buy at a place where you would want to be every year. And with the amount of points you are looking at eventually getting, I reccomend starting off going the resale route to save a little along the way.
 


Make sure you buy where you want or need to stay for your RunDisney events because you probably aren't going to have any choice at seven months out at changing to a different resort.

As for TOTWL, you don't want to buy with that as the main reason to buy. Disney is already changing the rules for entry to the lounge, with only weeks to go before July 4 when it was supposed to be entry for any DVC owner staying at BLT. Now you must pay for the special event at the TOTWL in order to watch the fireworks from the lounge for July 4. It could be like the free valet parking DVC owners had until Disney cancelled it without any notice at all and owners who had valet parked the night before were presented with a bill. Perks change all the time, they are dropped, they are modified, they are added.

If you plan to buy direct next month, you'll need to get a reservation for your February trip by contacting your salesperson because it is going to be booked up soon if it isn't already booked up for the half marathon. Make it a requirement for you to buy direct. If they can't get you that reservation, the deal is off.
 
If you plan to buy direct next month, you'll need to get a reservation for your February trip by contacting your salesperson because it is going to be booked up soon if it isn't already booked up for the half marathon. Make it a requirement for you to buy direct. If they can't get you that reservation, the deal is off.

That's a really good tip! Want to come help me negotiate?? LOL
 
Those tower studios are really not much of a deal in the first place. They cost more points that a full, normal studio at BCV, BWV, Wilderness Lodge, and plenty of other resorts. Buy at a place where you would want to be every year. And with the amount of points you are looking at eventually getting, I reccomend starting off going the resale route to save a little along the way.
Thank you. I obviously needed a little sane thinking - excellent point about them not really being much of a deal!
 


Have you stayed at OKW before? It was surprisingly convenient when I did Dopey this past year. The transportation was great to and from the races. I haven't stayed at other DVC properties for race events yet so my experience is limited compared to a lot of others I'm sure.

Also, happy early birthday! Getting a DVC contract is definitely the way to go for a present!
I haven't stayed at OKW! I was just thinking though that SSR might be another one for me to look at since it's so large and when I do Princess DH doesn't come along. He's not a fan of SSR.

And thanks for the birthday wishes :D
 
I say this to people, and some don't agree with my thinking, but I don't recommend ANYONE buy RIviera until it is for-realisies open.

Yes, there is a model room an pictures.

Model rooms and pictures don't have a lobby smell or the overall feel of the real resort.

And with any new resort, if you buy and get buyer's remorse, it's like a new car. You lose a lot of value when you try to sell. Riviera may be worse than most in that regard.
 
Those tower studios are really not much of a deal in the first place. They cost more points that a full, normal studio at BCV, BWV, Wilderness Lodge, and plenty of other resorts. Buy at a place where you would want to be every year. And with the amount of points you are looking at eventually getting, I reccomend starting off going the resale route to save a little along the way.

Tower studio at DRR is 11 points during low season (18/21 points during princess races). BCV/BWV/BRV studios are all 15 points during low season (17/21 points during that race week). If you're referring to BWV standard view studio -- then yeah, BWV wins that one.
 
Those tower studios are really not much of a deal in the first place. They cost more points that a full, normal studio at BCV, BWV, Wilderness Lodge, and plenty of other resorts. Buy at a place where you would want to be every year. And with the amount of points you are looking at eventually getting, I reccomend starting off going the resale route to save a little along the way.

That is not true in some cases. For instance, adventure season BCV studio is 15 and RIV tower studio is 11. Now the BWV standard studio is 10, if you can actually get one.
 
Tower studio at DRR is 11 points during low season (18/21 points during princess races). BCV/BWV/BRV studios are all 15 points during low season (17/21 points during that race week). If you're referring to BWV standard view studio -- then yeah, BWV wins that one.

But it's a tie for BWV preferred and a Tower studio during the stay. And you get a queen and a pull out sofa and the full kitchenette with BWV. A tower studio gives 1 bed, 1 chair to sit in and some hidden kitchen items. Has anyone seen pictures of those yet?

Between the two accommodations there's a bit more one gets with BWV for the same or less points (standard view). It's a shorter contract but a little less to buy in.

@aliwolly - OKW, SSR and even AKV (standard view and the tough to get value rooms) also require less points during that time than the Tower studios. The Tower rooms are probably going to be very difficult to book and still aren't the cheapest on property - they are the cheapest at Riviera.

As mentioned, if TOTWL is one of the drivers for direct over resale it actually is open for resale buyers too. And DVC is tipping their hand that they probably are looking at renting it out for private parties more or maybe even removing the lounge as an option for everyone. Buying for benefits needs to have consideration that those benefits can be removed anytime DVC wants to.
 
If you were me, what would you do? Risk the small and expensive and maybe useless (because of the limited rooms for a popular weekend) Riviera contract? Buy somewhere else? I'm a huge fan of the Boardwalk and Beach Club (we usually stay there when we rent points), but don't know if it's worth a contract with such limited years remaining on them...

Riviera, I feel, comes with some draw backs. The points charts are higher -- If you are looking for a tower studio then you are still looking at a fairly high point cost for a room with one bed -- do you want to share a bed when your sister travels with you? I feel the resale restrictions are something to factor in as well.

One thing to look at is the points charts - go use Davids DVC calculator (it is a rental site) it gives you an at a glance look at all points cost, for all room categories for all resorts. This can be an eye opener when you can get into one resort for less points -- this can ultimately be a savings when you don't have to purchase such a large number of points.

As for other resorts you like - If you are going to be 40 this year then in 2042 when they expire you will be in your 60's -- you still do get ~22 more years of use. And at that point in your life who knows if you are still going to want to vacation at disney. If you do then you will probably still have the option to buy resale at other resorts. So the big motto around here is buy where you want to stay and pretty much if you want to stay at BC or BW you better own there and book at 11 months.

You could purchase a smaller BC or BW resale and then buy some resale points at a more economical and longer contract such as SSR, BLT, POLY, AK or OKW extended - these resorts will give you a longer contract.

You really need write down all your options, all the financials which come along with them - basically a big pro/con list to narrow down your choices.

When I first looked into buying -- for us our budget was the first limiting factor, then the remaining years of use - for us this eliminated all the 2042 resorts, then we had to figure how we could get the most number of points to afford the room we wanted. We ended up deciding between SSR and AKL - we bought AKL because despite the dues being slightly higher we still felt it was worth it for a truly unique resort.



I've been a DVC renter a number of times, and I'm finally ready to make the leap - a birthday gift to myself for my 40th next month! 🎂
DVC was my 40th gift to myself too!!
 
That's a really good tip! Want to come help me negotiate?? LOL
When you purchase direct, they will usually help you make your first reservation. It might not be exactly where you wanted, but they should be able to get you something. Just tell them you really need that reservation or you might just have to reconsider purchasing DVC at this point. That salesperson (they call them guides) will bend over backward getting it for you.
 
I've looked over the thread twice and maybe I'm just missing it, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the guaranteed event week that's being offered at CCV:

https://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-p...ek-offers-unprecedented-flexibility-to-buyers
If CCV is still being sold directly (and maybe even if it isn't) you can buy a guaranteed week that automatically books your reservation to coincide with a Run Disney event. Seems like it would be something for OP to at least consider.
 
I've looked over the thread twice and maybe I'm just missing it, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the guaranteed event week that's being offered at CCV:

https://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-p...ek-offers-unprecedented-flexibility-to-buyers
If CCV is still being sold directly (and maybe even if it isn't) you can buy a guaranteed week that automatically books your reservation to coincide with a Run Disney event. Seems like it would be something for OP to at least consider.

It's a good thing to ask about although I think they may not be offering the race week anymore.
 
It's a good thing to ask about although I think they may not be offering the race week anymore.
In November I think only Marathon weekend was sold out for tubs. I believe they told me walk in shower was open.

It also guarantees registration for the race even too. If I recall correctly.
 
If you like the Polynesian for your runDisney trips, and can swing an extra 20 points (108 points for 5 nights in Feb plus a buffer in case of point chart reallocation), I recommend a PVB resale for the following reasons:

1. PVB studios aren't the cheapest, but there are abundant standard view studios. Once you are comparing PVB standard vs preferred view elsewhere, the point gap narrows. We have four home resorts (PVB, BLT, VGF and CCV), and PVB rooms have been by far the easiest to book. No problem securing 2 SD studios at peak times well after the 11m booking windows opened. In contrast, I have had to try for multiple days at exactly 8am to secure BLT standard studio and 2BR, VGF studios, CCV everything. rD events are high demand periods. It would be annoying to have to walk studios every year.

2. Amazing location. Nice running path on the lake, amenities at PVB and VGF (800m walk), great access to MK and Epcot.

3. The rooms are spacious for 2 people. 2 showers/1 toilet.

4. You should be able to get a resale around $140pp, and Disney hasn't been exercising ROFR on PVB aggressively.

Good luck with your decision. Have fun shopping!
 
Have you considered OKW? It's the cheapest point resort direct at the moment and has 2 actual beds in the studios. So if your sister comes with you, you can each have a real bed. Just an idea.

If you're looking for most economical point usage you're going to want BWV, AKV, or OKW I believe.
 

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