Home Resort Adv - July/August 1br

[JakeGoof]

I compared the availability and point cost of the various 1br villas at the various resorts. I also looked at how far 15k would go towards points at each resort. For the sake of simplicity, I used the median cost per point in March 23 per dvc-market and ignored closing and dues cost. Based thereon, 15k would buy:

OKW - 150
SSR - 143
AKL - 125
BWV - 121
BLT - 101
BCV - 101
CCV - 97

When I look at 1br availability for stays inJuly & August at 7 and 6 months out, I saw excellent availability at CCV, OKW, & SSR (both std and pref). AKL standard and savanna view have good to great availability, value and club level are poor but availability isn’t great at 11 months either, lol. At BWV, boardwalk and standard view availability is poor but garden/pool view has good availability. BCV has some availability at 7 months but looks like it goes quickly at that point. For BLT, good to great availability for the lake view, theme park view is so-so, and standard view has poor availability at 7 months, even at 11 months it’s spotty.

So, taking that together, 143 SSR points appears to give me much better options than 101 BLT points. With 280 points to use, I would have a good chance to book a 1br at BWV, BCV, or BLT at 7 months and possibly have my pick of more than one of those. The 200 BLT points would basically limit me to studios at BLT or a 1br at OKW or AKL (std view). I think that was a good exercise though.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I think you’re doing the right analysis, but really consider the future too, and whether you will change up the times you visit, etc.

 

[RoseGold]

Yes, something to consider is AK value 1BR is not impossible. It is sometimes available. If you can get that sometimes, even for half the trip, it would flip the math. It might make AK points more appealing to you. If you're willing to stalk and mess with this, maybe AK is looking better for you.

Also, AK club 1BR is also sometimes available, even at 9, 10 months for a couple nights. This room does cost more points, but free food for everyone might shift this math. It's a room I really love and would have been able to use AK points for.

 

[JakeGoof]

Yes, AKL is on my radar. The somewhat higher MF as compared to SSR may be outweighed by the potential access to Club level and 2 bathrooms in its 1br villas. I'm building out a buy box for several home resorts. It appears that an SSR contract is more likely to fall into my buy box, but I'll probably actively pursue at least a few home resorts.

 

[RoseGold]

Yes, AKL is on my radar. The somewhat higher MF as compared to SSR may be outweighed by the potential access to Club level and 2 bathrooms in its 1br villas. I'm building out a buy box for several home resorts. It appears that an SSR contract is more likely to fall into my buy box, but I'll probably actively pursue at least a few home resorts.

I think AK value 1BR is one of the best values pound for pound in DVC.

 

[lilsonicfan]

AK value 1BR is indeed an amazing value with points coming in at or lower than some studios. It looks like for August, it could be not too difficult to get these at 11 months, but hard to tell. I'm guessing owners at AKL walk their reservations for these coveted rooms. It is also 3 years longer than SSR.

 

[intamin]

Yes, AKL is on my radar. The somewhat higher MF as compared to SSR may be outweighed by the potential access to Club level and 2 bathrooms in its 1br villas. I'm building out a buy box for several home resorts. It appears that an SSR contract is more likely to fall into my buy box, but I'll probably actively pursue at least a few home resorts.

IMO its more expensive than SSR obviously because of dues and slightly higher buy in but its also a more desirable resort. Duration of the contract is about the same but having a chance at the 2BRs, club/value rooms makes it worth it. The theming of the resort and pools as well just make you feel like you’re at Disney. Its also nice to be able to guarantee you can stay at Jambo if thats your preference. But that’s personally why I bought in. Idk, it may seem dumb but for me buying into the resorts I want to feel proud of where I own and knowing how my family will react when walking through that lobby makes it worth it for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Brian Noble]

OKW [...] sound proofing

One thing to watch out for: All the 1BRs at OKW are lockoffs. The design of the lockoff is such that the hallway to the main bedroom acts almost as a waveguide for noise from the connecting door---and that door is not particularly good at eliminating noise from the studio side if folks there are rousting about. Closing the door to the main bedroom helps.