So many questions... About This Page:

[notjustamom]

I have contemplated DVC for years and may be ready to take the plunge with the new Copper Creek Villas coming up for release. While I'm more of a beach themed person - LOVED YC - the WL holds a place to n my heart as it's the resort we had our first 2 WDW family vacations. It's also where we were when my DS independently played with other kids for the first time. Huge for an autistic kid. Anyway, have a few questions which after all these years you'd think I'd know the answer to:
*Obv WL would be my home resort BUT if I also purchase add on points at another resort would that too be a "home resort" giving me the 11 month window??
*If not, how does that work?
*Can the contract be willed / passed on to my children?

A big draw is to be able to pass it and not my kids. We will be relegated to school breaks and/or summer until DD graduates in 2019. Thanks for any and all direction.

[His Drewness]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

*Obv WL would be my home resort BUT if I also purchase add on points at another resort would that too be a "home resort" giving me the 11 month window??
*If not, how does that work?
*Can the contract be willed / passed on to my children?

Yes, it would be a second home resort with the caveat that the points you have at the second resort are what can be used at the 11 month window. So if you purchase 100 points at Copper Creek and add on 25 points at the Poly, you only have the 25 points to spend at the 11 month window. If you want to spend all 125 points at one or the other, you would need to wait till the 7 month window.

No, the contract is not inheritable, but if you want to make an adult child a co-owner, then they would keep it if the primary owner died. However, that would make them legally responsible for yearly dues at that point.

[Her Dotness]

The problem you might have with just 100 points at CCV is the same one we have with our 100 at VGF, our home resort. The points-per-night for CCV aren't appreciably less than at VGF, and we've only enough for five nights in the cheapest studio at the cheapest seasons points-wise.

In short, we aren't going to be booking at Christmas anytime soon without banking and borrowing to possibly have enough points.

That's why, unless you can afford at least another 100 at the add-on home resort, it's not necessarily an advantage to add another resort rather than adding more points at your original home resort. Studios at the really popular resorts go fast to those whose home resort it is, meaning that your chances of booking your full stay at one of those at 7 months can be a challenge.

So, let's say you bought 25 VGF points to have it as your second home. You could only book one night in a standard view studio at the cheapest seasons at 11 months, just two nights if the 25 were at AKV.

Not that much of an advantage unless you don't mind an uneven split with the bulk at your main home resort or at the less expensive SSR or OKW which are pretty easy to get at 7 months.

[IdahoDisneyMom]

Her Dotness did a great job describing how an add-on works, however I did want to mention that contracts are able to be passed on to your children. They are property that you own (we have 3 contracts/deeds), and can therefore be willed to someone. They have an expiration date, but if DH and I passed on, our contracts would be passed to our daughter for the remainder of the life of the contracts.

[Her Dotness]

Oops! I think I told Drew they weren't. Wonder where I got that mistaken idea? Sorry and thanks for the correction.

I've read that it's better to leave a single contract to only one child. If left to more than one, that could present difficulties sharing points equitably, deciding who owes what on dues, etc.

Not to mention that--perish the thought! --kids crazy about Disney now may grow up with very different vacation preferences. I have no interest in revisiting most places where my family vacationed when I was a child.

[sleepydog25]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

I have contemplated DVC for years and may be ready to take the plunge with the new Copper Creek Villas coming up for release. While I'm more of a beach themed person - LOVED YC - the WL holds a place to n my heart as it's the resort we had our first 2 WDW family vacations. It's also where we were when my DS independently played with other kids for the first time. Huge for an autistic kid. Anyway, have a few questions which after all these years you'd think I'd know the answer to:
*Obv WL would be my home resort BUT if I also purchase add on points at another resort would that too be a "home resort" giving me the 11 month window??
*If not, how does that work?
*Can the contract be willed / passed on to my children?

A big draw is to be able to pass it and not my kids. We will be relegated to school breaks and/or summer until DD graduates in 2019. Thanks for any and all direction.

The replies before mine each make good points, and I agree with them (though as corrected, the contracts can be willed to others). I simply wanted to add that before signing any contract, I would urge anyone to first visit the resort. While you had experience at WL, it has changed a bit over the years, and the new rooms at Copper Creek might not be your cup of tea. The overall vibe of the Lodge remains largely intact (though I mourn the loss of some if its "wilderness" feel to the new construction), but the new CCVC rooms haven't been met with universal acclaim. Further, unlike the studios at some other resorts (including VWL), the new studios only sleep 4, as do the 1BRs. If a friend ever wanted to come along, that could be an issue.

I was also struck by your comment about liking a beach theme. My first instinct is to give you the old DVC adage, "buy where you want to stay." If you like YC, then perhaps the Beach Club Villas would be a good fit. Moreover, you can buy those on the resale market and, literally, save thousands of dollars. Yes, you lose some perks and discounts, but none of those separately or together will ever make up the money you can save buying resale. Just a thought.

[Her Dotness]

I agree with sleepydog in suggesting you look carefully at photos of the Copper Creek villas. I found the floor plans odd (probably because they're converted WL rooms) and decor really weird. It doesn't say "wilderness homey" AT ALL to me the way the decor of the original villas does. Instead, it's bizarre standard modern hotel with a very few rustic touches. UUUUGGGLY, I think.

You guys liked BC as I recall. I suggest considering a resale there. I think you'd be much happier with that in the long run.

[Her Dotness]

A very good point made by DISboards member Crisi--

"Another thing to keep in mind - do you want to pass the maintenance headaches (i.e. the expense) of a 70 year old hotel to your kids and grandkids? That is a long time in the life of a modern building (a short time if you are the Tower of London, but DVC doesn't build fortresses)."
https://www.disboards.com/threads/ab...-date.3307138/

Even the Tower isn't immune to horribly expensive upkeep. I recall seeing a story a few years ago about the massive restoration project needed to preserve Big Ben. During that, significant structural damage was discovered.

You might not be doing your kids any favor by willing them a DVC contract you may have used for 20-plus years on a building nearing age 50 at your demise.

Besides, they could then have school loans they're still paying down, rent or mortgage payments, kids in college or getting married, etc. They might not be able or eager either one to acquire the additional burden of constantly increasing member dues to keep up a heavily used aging structure.
 

[notjustamom]

Thank you all so much for the insight. Being able to will the contract to my kids is a huge plus! I am giving serious thought to BCV or BWI resale. I love BWI but hate that there's no QS. If I could move Hurricane Hannah's to BWI it would be a no-brainer! I know everyone fawns over SAB but my DS enjoys the clown slide more - says it goes faster than SAB . I love the location of the Epcot resorts and think entering and leaving Intl Gateway is so much easier than the main entrance. And I can grab a cocktail at R&C to enjoy on our walk over to my DS' fave SE
Don't think I'd miss the perks of buying direct from DISNEY as they don't appear to be anything that interest me, unless I'm missing something? lol. Thanks again for all the awesome info!!

[sleepydog25]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

Thank you all so much for the insight. Being able to will the contract to my kids is a huge plus! I am giving serious thought to BCV or BWI resale. I love BWI but hate that there's no QS. If I could move Hurricane Hannah's to BWI it would be a no-brainer! I know everyone fawns over SAB but my DS enjoys the clown slide more - says it goes faster than SAB . I love the location of the Epcot resorts and think entering and leaving Intl Gateway is so much easier than the main entrance. And I can grab a cocktail at R&C to enjoy on our walk over to my DS' fave SE
Don't think I'd miss the perks of buying direct from DISNEY as they don't appear to be anything that interest me, unless I'm missing something? lol. Thanks again for all the awesome info!!

No, I don't think you're missing anything re: perks and discounts. The discounts largely run in the 10% range, with an occasional 15%-20% offer; however, those are largely discounts on merchandise and restaurants. A quick scan of just one resale company shows that BCV is going for roughly $105 per point; BWI is running slightly below at about $95 pp. (Obviously, depending on UY, size of contract, and how stripped the contract is affects pricing.) If you were to purchase only 100 points, then BCV would run you around $10.5K, BWI approximately $9500, and the new CCVC over $17,000. It would take a lot of merchandise and restaurant purchases to make up nearly $7K! As for the perks, those aren't ideal, either. No, you can't use points to reserve the Disney Concierge Collection, or Adventures by Disney, or Disney Cruise Line, et. al., but using points for those is not financially wise, anyway, due to the high cost of points for those reservations. Sure, some of the members only gatherings are cool, and the occasional offer to members can be nice. . .but again, not worth the extra money other than the emotional aspect of owning DVC. As others have noted, purchasing a small contract direct from Disney then gives one the advantage of discounts and most perks. Owning DVC has been wonderful for us, but it is a long-term financial commitment.

[Amy L]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

Don't think I'd miss the perks of buying direct from DISNEY as they don't appear to be anything that interest me, unless I'm missing something? lol. Thanks again for all the awesome info!!

I really recommend looking into the perks of buying direct through Disney before you make your decision. We originally bought in through resale 10 years ago and quickly added on through Disney (a few times). We love being DVC members. Just a few perks we really enjoy are the discounted AP passes, the 20% merchandise discount, being able to go to the Top of the World at Bay Lake Tower and the new DVC members only lounge at Epcot. Both places are great! These are just some of the things you do not get if you buy through resale.

[mickeypj]

you can buy BCV thru DVC - they just won't tell you they have it.

Now if you buy BCV resale you are saving a ton of money - but if you want BCV thru DVC - just demand it. They will get it. You might have to wait a while to buy directly from DVC.

oh another thing if you buy BCV directly from DVC - you don't get to pick your use year (month) - they will try to get what you want - but I would except whatever they have.

[Timon_HakunaMatata]

We wanted some OKW points and told our rep. (already had 310 at AKL). We waited for a bit as DVC found them on the resale market. We bought 100 points from DVC. Even though it is 'resale' and at OKW, we get all the perks. The loss of perks is resale from someone other than DVC. Not that we needed the extras from OKW at that point.

Interesting thing was the end date was the same as our time at AKL. So it was extended from when OKW opened. Officially points should expire in 28 years or so at OKW but we have it for something like 46. No matter...I'm not concerned about points when I'm going to be late 90's. lol

[sleepydog25]

Originally Posted by Timon_HakunaMatata

Interesting thing was the end date was the same as our time at AKL. So it was extended from when OKW opened. Officially points should expire in 28 years or so at OKW but we have it for something like 46. No matter...I'm not concerned about points when I'm going to be late 90's. lol

Agree with not being worried over my end date at VWL as I'll be in my late 80s. DVC opted to extend OKW expiration date a number of years ago for a fee and strong-armed owners to sign up for that. Many balked and refused--it was an ugly PR incident for DVC. So, some contracts exist with the original expiration date while others have been extended, such as the one you bought from DVC.

[Kynna]

We have been members since 2007 and the only times we weren't able to book the resort we wanted at 7 months out were during holidays and "DVC" peak times like Epcot resorts during Food & Wine, Marathon Weekends, and I hear people have had trouble in early December as it's a busy month for DVC due to low point costs and holiday cheer.

I agree that you should buy where you like to stay but don't feel like you are stuck there all the time. Owning DVC offers plenty of chances to try the other resorts. Unless you can only travel over Christmas or 4th of July week you should be fine.