I’m Making This Way Harder Than It Should Be!!

[Type1ofaKind]

I’ve researched, watched videos, talked to my guide and I just can’t decide on a home resort. I want to buy 150 points direct to buy into DVC and probably down the road add on resale. The three resorts I’m trying to decide between (yes, I know they are wildly different) are: AKV, Saratoga, and Riviera. A little about our family: we are a family of four including a 2year old and 11 year old. We would probably, at this point, be vacationing at Disney every other year and would like a 1 bedroom. While we enjoy the parks, we enjoy time at our resort just as much and tend to have occasional resort only trips. This is what has me considering these 3 resorts, please give me some input and advice.

AKV: We have stayed in the hotel part before and know we like the resort. Love the kids water play area and the restaurants. Bonus is the extra bathroom in the 1 bedroom villa which would be helpful with a tween daughter! Bummer that only transportation is buses. Love that the resort feels like a vacation in a vacation.

Saratoga: We have never stayed nor visited Saratoga but it seems like the economical best decision. Really like the look of the updated rooms on videos I’ve watched. The pools and kids water play areas look fun. We do tend to visit Disney Springs at least once per trip and would really enjoy being able to walk for dining/shopping.

Riviera: My daughter and I love the Riviera theme (hubs and son could care less)! We have not stayed here but have visited. Pool looks just ok. Restaurants are good. Love skyliner access to HS and Epcot. Do have some views of fireworks. I’m aware of the resale restrictions.

So what would you do?!

 

[JoeyPeligroso]

Those are all good choices - You will certainly find lots of advice here, especially as it relates to these three options. There are good threads on each of these DVC properties and sone excellent comparison threads. A lot of discussiom has been posted about the relative value of one bedroom units as well.

Personally, I found it very helpful to rent at the locations where I was considering a purchase. This allowed me to form a better opinion about rooms, locations, and theming. It also gave my kids a preview of what it would be like to stay at each of the resorts I was considering.

It looks like you are thinking about a purchase in the near term, and I suspect that renting would put this off a bit. However, it’s also possible that it would give you more insight into the purchase that you eventually make.

A direct purchase could allow you to stay at all three resorts. Animal Kingdom Lodge is relatively easy to visit using points purchased at another DVC location. Saratoga may be as well. Many here have had extensive experience with resale purchases and can consider those options with you.

Well wishes on your planning and purchase!

 

[pianomanzano]

Since you're going direct, I'd argue that AKV is actually the more "economical best decision". AKV currently has a $5 discount per point at 150 points for new members, so it's only a dollar more per point and you get 3 more years on the contract compared to SSR. I believe the current discount/incentive doesn't include SSR, but could be wrong. Also, the 11-month priority booking at AKV matters more than at SSR as well, especially if you want to go for the value or club level rooms. The bus situation isn't the best at either AKV or SSR (SSR has multiple internal stops and depending on where you stay, the bus could be packed and may skip your stop entirely although that really only happens during busy times). Dues at SSR are cheaper but at 150 points it's not that big of a difference.

We actually own at SSR and stayed in a 2BR for our welcome home stay last month which was great. Loved the expansive grounds of the resort and walking distance (and option for a boat ride) to Disney Springs. We also just added-on direct at RIV because we loved the resort, but we haven't stayed there yet. One thing to point out thought with RIV is that the point charts are higher/more expensive compared to the other two resorts, so 150 points won't get you a week in a 1BR (for 2022, the cheapest season costs 213 points for a standard 1BR at RIV, compared to 150 at AKV and 154 at SSR).

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[davidl81]

I will echo what Piano just posted and say that if you are looking for 1BR then RIV is a somewhat bad choice with only 150 points. That being said SSR and AKV almost always have 1BR availably at 7 months excluding the value and club levels at AKV (1BRs are almost always the last resorts to sell out at any resort) so you could buy RIV points and still use them for SSR or AKV at 7 months and save a decent amount of points. You do get more years at RIV (depending on your age that may matter to you or it may not). SSR expires in 32Years, AKV expires in 35, and RIV expires in 48 more years.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

We own and love Riviera, but 150 points won't go far, especially with current borrowing restrictions. I'd do AK for booking advantage. SS seems to almost always be available due to its size. You could always do split stays AK/SS and/or AK/RIV since you're buying direct, too, and just time your park days at Epcot and HS when you do a day or two at Riviera. Then you'd only need to deal with buses for MK.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

I know you are excited and are ready to make a move. You need to stay at these places (or at least visit for the better part of a day) before you buy. Its a big purchase and this will go a long way towards helping you decide. When I was considering DVC, I managed to rent inexpensive offseason DVC points or find priceline deals for the 3 places that sparked our interest: Saratoga, OKW, and AKV. Had I not done this, I would have chosen Saratoga based on price alone. After staying at the other two, it was hands down AKV. Even if you may be able to find availability at 7months, there will be busy times where you might not be able to find availability. Buy where you want to stay. (We rolled our eyes at this before, but its true) When we booked our trip for this Christmas vacation, Im glad we did.

 

[tlm345]

We were faced with your exact same conundrum last year…we ultimately went with Saratoga, at the time it was the most cost effective. To be honest, we have yet to stay at our home resort. We have upcoming plans at copper creek, Poly, boardwalk and beach club. In my opinion, the price we paid will never make us feel like we are missing out if we stay elsewhere. If we had bought Riviera I would have felt guilty every time another option popped up at 7 months and we personally love exploring all the DVC resorts.

 

[Carol_]

We have CCV and SSR. We bought SSR sight unseen based on price and don’t regret it at all. We’re happy anywhere on property, and we make good use of wherever we end up. I don’t like touting the wonders of my chosen home resorts because stay off my lawn.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

As previously mentioned on this thread, I would recommend renting at each place if you are that torn. You could do a split stay and do 1 or 2 nights at each one. That would allow you to experience them all in less than a week and make a more informed decision.

 

[RoseGold]

AKL has a lot going for it. Much better chart and meaningful priority for club/value/standard rooms. The 1BR club is not impossible at 9/10 months. I’ve wished I had AKL points for it many times.

Go watch the recent Paging mr morrow on club level. It had me ready to trade in my SSR.

The RIV 1BR chart is absolutely brutal. If I’m paying that, I’m booking VGF or AKL club level.

 

[Pluto1976]

Love that the resort feels like a vacation in a vacation.

You said it!

I would caution against buying into a resort one has never been too before. Looking at pictures is good. Experiencing the resort to see if it is for your family is another thing. Also, I think some of the best advice you are getting here concerns the point charts and how far 150 points will go or not go at the different resorts (looking at you Riveria).

My vote would be for AKL from both point and cost perspectives.

 

[Sandisw]

I own RIV and SSR. I am biased because I love RIV. I own both direct and resale points there because we will stay every trip as part of our split stays.

Not a fan at all of AKV. Beautiful resort just not my cup of tea.

SSR is great for a more relaxed trip and for ease DS. We bought a lot of points here so I could use them elsewhere at 7 months to upgrade to 1 bedrooms.

We do plan to add VGF direct next year for every other year Dec trips.

 

[limace]

If your kids are pool kids, I think RIV has the weakest pool set up of the three. The location is best but man, that point chart-brutal is right.

 

[wilkydelts]

If your kids are pool kids, I think RIV has the weakest pool set up of the three. The location is best but man, that point chart-brutal is right.

I agree I have stayed at all three. AKV has the best pools in my opinion but access between the two is not easy. SSR pools are very nice and much easier to navigate between to switch things up. Laying out at RIV and enjoying the views is awesome but the pools are very basic and has the worst slide of the three.

We debated resale between AKV and SSR and ultimately decided more points at SSR for less money was better for us. The other big factor was the food options as our kids grow up the simpler food options and access to Disney Springs made us feel like SSR was the better long term choice. Our SSR will expire when we are 70 (assuming we still own it) so the extra years at AKV were not heavily weighed. We saved 15,000 going resale $130 vs $180. I can afford alot of rack rate vacations at RIV if I want to take them. However both AKV and SSR are readily available at 7 months so you can still do both just may not have chances at some certain categories.

 

[Brian Noble]

For me, I don't think Riviera makes sense unless you love it and you know you want to stay there most of the time. The points have higher dues (though that may well change), but more importantly the point charts are hefty. It's just plain more expensive to stay there. My "normal" time to visit is late February/early March. During that time, a week in a 1BR costs:

174 points: AKV Value
230 points: AKV Standard
232 points: SSR Standard
270 points: AKV Savannah
272 points: SSR Preferred
321 points: RIV Standard
357 points: AKV Concierge
391 points: RIV Preferred

You're paying almost a 40-45% premium to stay at Riviera comparing Standard to Standard or Preferred to Preferred/Savannah.

You can still buy points at any of the three and likely stay at SSR---except for the very worst of Fall Frenzy, it's pretty easy to get a 1BR there at 7 months. AKV-Kidani availability is a little bit tougher at 7 months during the Fall, though the continuing reallocation might help with that. It's harder still to get Jambo 1BRs for some periods, and you absolutely have to own there to get Value/Concierge (and even then you might need to walk and/or be lucky.)

Among these three, I don't think the extra time horizon matters all that much. Even Saratoga is more than 30 years from now, which is plenty. The extra years of the others are not particularly valuable IMO given how the market has reacted to OKW.

Put it all together and I think you have two choices: buy SSR as the resort with the best price/dues combination, or buy AKV for better access to that resort at a slightly higher price/dues cost. You probably can't go wrong either way.

 

[davidl81]

For me, I don't think Riviera makes sense unless you love it and you know you want to stay there most of the time. The points have higher dues (though that may well change), but more importantly the point charts are hefty. It's just plain more expensive to stay there. My "normal" time to visit is late February/early March. During that time, a week in a 1BR costs:

174 points: AKV Value
230 points: AKV Standard
232 points: SSR Standard
270 points: AKV Savannah
272 points: SSR Preferred
321 points: RIV Standard
357 points: AKV Concierge
391 points: RIV Preferred

You're paying almost a 40-45% premium to stay at Riviera comparing Standard to Standard or Preferred to Preferred/Savannah.

You can still buy points at any of the three and likely stay at SSR---except for the very worst of Fall Frenzy, it's pretty easy to get a 1BR there at 7 months. AKV-Kidani availability is a little bit tougher at 7 months during the Fall, though the continuing reallocation might help with that. It's harder still to get Jambo 1BRs for some periods, and you absolutely have to own there to get Value/Concierge (and even then you might need to walk and/or be lucky.)

Among these three, I don't think the extra time horizon matters all that much. Even Saratoga is more than 30 years from now, which is plenty. The extra years of the others are not particularly valuable IMO given how the market has reacted to OKW.

Put it all together and I think you have two choices: buy SSR as the resort with the best price/dues combination, or buy AKV for better access to that resort at a slightly higher price/dues cost. You probably can't go wrong either way.

Seeing that RIV 1BR point requirement next to SSR and AKV is honestly shocking. I still feel as though that the point chart is the biggest drawback to RIV. RIV is a fine resort, but it’s so many points a night for the 1BR. And that’s not even looking at point charts for the better located 2042 BWV and BCV resorts.

 

[sndral]

OP you don’t say what time of year you plan to visit - but that may make a difference. SSR is great resale - comparatively cheap & easy to find on the market - & can work for SAP (unless you want to stay at Riv.) if you go during lower demand times but if you go during DVC high demand times & want to book elsewhere at 7 months it’ll be problematic. We tend to go around the holidays so 11 month booking was very important for us.
My first contract was resale @ AKV (before the newest restrictions) - I had stayed there in a room & also in a 1 br. villa both at Jambo & knew I liked the resort. My original plan was to then add on at an Epcot resort since I’d stayed at the YC several times & loved the location, so I used those AKV points to book a stay at BWV and when a couple days opened up for VGF I changed to a split stay - I’d stayed in a resort room in the past at the GF & loved the resort. I’m so glad I did, because I knew after that trip that I wanted VGF, I didn’t care if it cost more - it appealed to me in a way that BWV & BCV did not.
I’m probably in the minority, but I see buying DVC much the same as I see buying a new car - I needed a ‘test drive’ to make up my mind.
About AKV, only the villas in Kidani have the second bathroom in the 1 br.s. We have often stayed in the 1 br.s at Jambo & they only have 1 bathroom. Also the cheapest pointwise value villas & the expensive pointwise club villas are very tough to get. Jambo villas book faster than Kidani villas due to the larger no. of Kidani villas.

 

[Sandisw]

Seeing that RIV 1BR point requirement next to SSR and AKV is honestly shocking. I still feel as though that the point chart is the biggest drawback to RIV. RIV is a fine resort, but it’s so many points a night for the 1BR. And that’s not even looking at point charts for the better located 2042 BWV and BCV resorts.

I think that is why the point about it being a place you want to stay, at least some of the time, is important. Even if you buy there, you are going to be able to trade out to SSR and AKV a lot easier at 7 months than the other way around, and the way to soften the blow of the RIV point chart is to get SV rooms, which will be difficult at 7 months much of the year.

 

[davidl81]

I think that is why the point about it being a place you want to stay, at least some of the time, is important. Even if you buy there, you are going to be able to trade out to SSR and AKV a lot easier at 7 months than the other way around, and the way to soften the blow of the RIV point chart is to get SV rooms, which will be difficult at 7 months much of the year.

Yes, but when you look at total cost you have to factor every thig in. AKV standard is 230 points for the week and RIV 1BR standard is 321 (91 points more). So if buying only 150points as OP has suggested you can take a 6-7 day trip every other year at RIV. The same 150 points gets you a 5 day trip every year at AKV (or maybe 6 days every year if you get value which is super hard). And even direct AKV is cheaper upfront than RIV. I think really if OP wants to get RIV and stay at 1BR 150 points just makes it tough (even going every other year). They would likely need to get something like 175-200 points and bank and borrow to make 1BR work there, at least for the time being with the borrowing restrictions. They could buy RIV and switch at SSR/AKV at 7 months, but just have to be careful that they didn't borrow points to make a RIV reservation 1st and then potentially strand those points if they swap to a lower point resort. It's not impossible to make it work even with 150, but it would be tough at RIV.

 

[Vulnox]

I think that is why the point about it being a place you want to stay, at least some of the time, is important. Even if you buy there, you are going to be able to trade out to SSR and AKV a lot easier at 7 months than the other way around, and the way to soften the blow of the RIV point chart is to get SV rooms, which will be difficult at 7 months much of the year.

Yeah, and ease of time there is important. For us, and it will vary, being able to walk out the room/hotel and get on the skyliner is huge. There are hotels with great access that have lower point charts I know, but SSR and AKV don't seem to be among them. I would rather have a bit higher point chart at a location that makes my daily life easier. Doesn't excuse that it is a rather high chart though. But I think we will mainly be doing 1 and 2BR, but I was comparing the costs and it was interesting that for RIV the jump from 1BR to 2BR was often less than other resorts. I was seeing 58-62 points (for a week) between 1BR and 2BR at RIV, but 70-80 points for others. So it has its other interesting attributes.