Getting ready to pull trigger on joining DVC: SSR vs AKV

Hi - I have found this forum very helpful over the last few years. We are deciding on whether to buy into DVC. For a lot of reasons, we think it likely makes sense. We've crunched some numbers and were set on buying a small contract at AKV. The annual dues have given us pause. We realize they will likely stay high and have high increases due to the size and upkeep/maintenance of the property, animals, etc.

So we are rethinking this and wondering if it is a smart idea to buy in to SSR, with full intention of rarely staying there as our home resort. Although we wouldn't mind, we have been told that it is very easy to get in to AKV with the 7-month booking window.

Any feedback on this preconceived notion we've come up with? Also, any thoughts on a fair-to-good resale price-per-point at SSR? I'm thinking $70-72 per point would be very good?

Thank you!

We recently visited both resorts - stayed a week at each, AKV over Christmas and SSR over New Years. We own points at SSR - bought there because of the combination of reasonable entry price and low maintenance. Plus since I normally put in my request right at the start of eligibility, I can normally get us in anywhere except the newest ones.

That being said, this time I had to change our plans, meaning cancelling and re-booking our reservations. No problem at AKL, even for Christmas week. But SSR was the only thing available over New Years.

What a fun trip it was! We really enjoyed both resorts. So to answer one of your questions, AKV was pretty easy to trade into. I also would have no qualms about buying into SSR again, or staying there again, for that matter, It is quite large and spread out, but not THAT large unless you are physically impaired. We really enjoyed the close proximity to Downtown Disney, and with all the improvements being made there - transitioning into Disney Springs - it will only get better. We found that a 20-minute walk or a romantic boat ride got us to the heart of the action - a great way to wind down at the end of a hard day at the them parks.

I don't know about the $70-72/point availability. I see everything out there seems to be a bit higher, buy you probably should just make an offer an see what happens. Depends on how many points you want, as bigger purchases tend to go for less per point.

I know you are wondering about the ability to trade into other resorts, and how successful you are depends on how you trade. If you are after the peak crowd times, especially Easter and Christmas-New Years you should buy at the resort you want to visit. You get an extra four month window at your home resort. But if you can plan to be there at less busy times it gets much easier, especially if you can plan seven months out. In the past I've booked us at Boardwalk and Beach Club in April and May with no problem, as long as I stayed away from Easter.

The common advice is "Buy where you want to stay." Instead, I think the advice is "Don't buy where you won't be happy staying most of the time."

For most people, I'm not convinced that home resort is all that important. Over time, you are likely to want stay at all of them at least once, and if you are flexible about when you can travel and you can plan ahead, you'll probably get the chance to do so. That's particularly true if you aren't limiting yourself to studios, which are the highest-demand room size in the system.

There are some exceptions. For example, if you just can't imagine yourself being happy staying at a particular resort, you should not buy there. If you have very specific desires for a trip you want to take every year---VWL for the winter holiday decorations, BCV or BWV in October for Food & Wine---then it makes sense to buy that thing. Finally, if you just have one resort you are madly in love with, then that's where you should buy.

Based on what you've written, I'm not sure SSR is wise. AKV ownership will cost a little more, but if you really don't like the idea of staying at SSR this could be a purchase you end up regretting.

a couple of questions:
how far out can you plan/commit
what time of year are you traveling
how many in your party--would you want Value rooms @ AKV

We have a small DVC contract at another resort and have traded into AKV 5X. We have also traded via RCI 3X into OKW. We are in the process of buying AKV and then will sell our other small contract. We like getting the value AKV rooms, which save points. We feel that the slightly higher annual fees are offset by being able to get AKV value room, so we are buying AKV. Also, we were not able not get a DVC trade into a 1BR for Easter 2015 (after trading in @ Easter 2X prior), so we don't want to roll the dice again and lose as we want to go next Christmas and only want to stay at AKV.
The only time you will have trouble getting into AKV at 7 months is major holidays--but you might have to take a higher points room. You will be unlikely to get more than a day or in any value category.
So, if you are OK with that, then SSR is a fine resort--no reason not to buy there, if you are happy to stay there if you couldn't switch at 7 months. You should check over on disboards under "DVC purchases." $70-72 might be low, as DVC is exercising a lot of ROFR now. good luck. We love DVC! Elaine

We own at SSR

We own at SSR and are very happy with our purchase. We bought in 2003 before the resort opened. We have stayed at AKV several times, BWV, OKW and even at the Grand Californian; however, most of our stays are at SSR because we love it there. Since my wife is a teacher, we travel mostly during summer.

Generally, if we want to stay at a resort other than SSR, we book right at the 7 month mark and have never had a problem getting what we want. The exceptions would be early December, Thanksgiving and other high times.

I agree with the posts. As long as your are not opposed to staying at SSR, I'd buy there for the low cost to get in and low MFs. Only issue would be booking new year, easter and other high demand weeks and for those weeks stay at SSR and for other weeks you should pretty much get everything.

Thank you for the replies! To answer the questions: I am a planner. We would almost ALWAYS book 7-months out. We would likely travel in Oct/Nov or Feb. We would almost never go in the summer. While Xmas/Easter would be on our list at some point (as would staying at least once at all the properties), we actually prefer off times when the crowds are lower.
I should've mentioned...we've only ever been to AKV and BWV. Never SSR. However, I have done a TON of research. Truth is, BWV location cannot be beat but I prefer the resort-vibe over location. The buses were not a deal to us at AKV because they are direct and don't make 5 stops. But those annual fees sure do scare us.

Thanks again!

specmom said:

Thank you for the replies! To answer the questions: I am a planner. We would almost ALWAYS book 7-months out. We would likely travel in Oct/Nov or Feb. We would almost never go in the summer. While Xmas/Easter would be on our list at some point (as would staying at least once at all the properties), we actually prefer off times when the crowds are lower.
I should've mentioned...we've only ever been to AKV and BWV. Never SSR. However, I have done a TON of research. Truth is, BWV location cannot be beat but I prefer the resort-vibe over location. The buses were not a deal to us at AKV because they are direct and don't make 5 stops. But those annual fees sure do scare us.

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

If BWV is a preferred location, you may want to consider buying there. I believe it is a harder to obtain location for the reasons you've listed. Also, it's difficult to get the Standard View category at 7 months (for the lower point levels) and during the Food and Wine Festival.

We have owned at SSR for 10 years. and have gone multiple times per year to WDW often. We have never stayed there. We have always be able to get another resort at 7 months. One time we got AKV less than 30 days out for a last minute trip in August. We reserved at Aulani less than 7 months out.

I think once Disney Springs opens, we will likely actually stay at SSR as it looks like it will be fun.

Before you buy SSR.....

I suggest reading this very detailed write up of the 7 month vs 11 month availability on the DIS Board so you won't be surprised/disappointed (see post #3 in this thread) - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3281173

JMHO...I agree with the others that if you have your heart set on one specific resort you might want to consider buying there. If you're flexible in taking whatever resort is available including SSR then SSR makes sense to buy

SSR would be a good fit unless:

You want Club Level or the lowest point levels at AKV as those you will likely need the 11 month priority in these cases you need AKV as a Home resort.

As far as mf increases I believe they are similar across the DVC timeshares year to year (meaning they all go up approximately at the same rate, but some started out higher than others).

IMHO, SSR does not have a resort feel to me. It is more similar to a nice condo. It is not hooked to a resort hotel, like AKV and BWV (and BCV, VWL, VGF). That is one reason why SSR is our least favorite--it's just too similar to staying at a a nice off-site condo. We prefer the "hotel" feel with a central lobby, larger quick service restaurant, etc.
You might find it hard to trade into BWV in Oct/Nov b/c of food and wine festival. You should still be able to get AKV. When I asked about planning, I meant to ask can you plan at MORE than 7 months out--b/c if you are usually at 7 months out or less, then it doesn't matter where you own.
You can look on allears.net to view SSR photos. Also, SSR doesn't have an extra sleeper chair, if that matters to you.

Thanks so much, Elaine. This is such helpful info. My husband REALLY has no interest in SSR, so we are back to considering AKV. I really am unimpressed by those annual dues though. I can plan much farther out beyond 7 months. I am trying to locate/figure out how much I'd end up paying per night for a week at AKV as an owner, assuming we go 1x every 1-2 yrs. Basically, I'm trying to rationalize this. We are also interested in renting our pts from time to time. Thanks again for the helpful input!

My husband REALLY has no interest in SSR

Click to expand...

Then do not buy there.

Basically, I'm trying to rationalize this.

Click to expand...

Do you want it? Can you afford it? Would you rather spend that money on DVC than on something else? Then buy it.

You can do a more complicated analysis, but at the end of the day, money is for spending. Staying in DVC resorts isn't cheap, no matter how you slice it, but it's hard to do it reliably and less expensively than owning a resale deed at one of their established resorts.

In hindsight I wish I purchased my points based on MF. It makes a huge difference. Even an 80¢ difference means $160 for 200 points. That's a big deal for most people whether you're staying or renting your points.

I think that if you want to stay in a specific resort then you need to buy that resort. I bought AKV for the value rooms since it would be "cheaper" but my planned usage and actual usage are different.

DVC is an incredibly flexible system. I should have wasted less time worrying about whether it made sense and more time looking into exactly how it works and how different resort options and contract sizes would impact me.

I would say think long term about where you want to regularly stay. We bought a small VWL contract thinking we wanted to stay at Christmas. We did that 1X and were done. We have used VWL to stay at AKv 5X. We have only enough points to stay for 3-5 nights. We actually thought we would be flipping out of our contract by now (7 years later), as we would be "done" with WDW b/c our kids are older. We are currently flipping out of our small VWL contract and buying a larger AKV contract.
I want the 11 month booking priority to get value rooms and ensure holiday reservations. Our younger kids really like DVC and we all really like AKV. We do more than the parks--roast hot dogs @ Ft W, evening movies by the pool, rent bikes, crafts at community halls. We traded via RCI in the past for Easter, but are not assured anymore of getting a RCI trade (Easter never came thru this year) and want to be able to ensure a Christmas reservation for next year. We actually found that DVC is the most enjoyable, cost-effective family vacation for us, esp. at prime times. It's easy to get to, and we are not locked into flying. I know we could trade into a nice offsite timeshare such as OLCC, HGVC, Marriott, Starwood, but we just found that we enjoy the ambiance of DVC the best. We view DVC and the amenities of AKV as much as a "destination resort" as going into WDW. DH summed it up---"if I am going to Orlando, I want to be at AKV."

So, Specmom, it all comes back to you and what you value as tradeoffs. If you buy a couple of hundred points you're looking at spending $200/year, every year. If you plan on trading into a number of different places you will almost always be at the 7-month window. In my case, that is fine. I don't mind it. Plus we also have and RCI unit we use to trade in, so we're there anyway, looking to combine what we can get thru RCI with our DVC unit to get two weeks. And last of all, we do like SSR.

Regardless of what the others say, I would not buy AKV. It's just too easy to trade into. Once I decided to bite the bullet and pay the higher fees, I would choose either BWV or BCV, both because of their location. They are just SO easy to fall back on if I can't get something else.

Thanks. I think we have been persuaded against AKV. The annual fees scared us away and the reality of being able to book 7 months out seems like a risk worth taking. Thanks for all the help!!!

Great discussion on this thread. So one of hgvc Orlando will disqualify me from Orlando dvc properties via RCI?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

as long as you do not want/need concierge or value and are OK to stay at SSR if you couldn't get into AKV, I think a SSR purchase is fine. I should note that we also really like OKW, which is also usually very easy to get at 7 months. Good luck. We love DVC--so easy to use, so easy to book, and very good cancelation options, as well.

piyooshj--I thought that HGVC points did not count as being Orlando-based, even if your base creosote was in Orlando. Someone who owns HGVC will chime in and confirm--otherwise, post on the Fla or exchange BB in a few days to get your answer.

My sister (55yo at the time) did DVC with me - as her retirement trip. In May, I took her to VWL ... she thought she LOVE it ... the boat over to MK, the fitness center, the food, the theming of the lodge ....

The next trip was beginning of November to AKV. HANDS DOWN, she was just stunned. The animals under the balcony, the food, the theming .... She loved this place WAY over VWL. She still thought VWL was very nice; she just was more engaged and captivated by the savannas of AKV. And she liked the layout of the unit better ... much better (2 bathrooms). But I could count on her being on the big balcony almost all the time ... we spent maybe 20 minutes per day on the VWL micro-balcony (max).

She gave me a gift after the 2nd trip --- a collection of framed pictures; nothing from the 1st trip. Dang, my roosts for both trips ... she truly enjoyed the 2nd trip...I believe.

Discloser: I own a small DVC/AKV contract.

So one of hgvc Orlando will disqualify me from Orlando dvc properties via RCI?

Click to expand...

No. For the mini-systems (HGVC, Wyndham, WorldMark, Bluegreen) that trade with a fixed grid, where you own doesn't matter. You are treated as a (generic) member of the respective club.

At least, that's true today. Tomorrow? Who knows?

As long as you are not looking for concierge of the Standard/Value rooms at AKV, you'd be ok with buying SSR.

This normally means that you'd normally be getting Savannah rooms and they are more points.

As for renting, it's will be tougher to rent SSR than say BLT/BC/BWV since there's a lot of this type of points and very few people looking to book SSR at 11 months. If you're ok with that then go ahead.

As long as you will not feel bad if you HAD to stay at SSR since that's the only one you can book early. For the most part, you would most likely have to book SSR at 11 months, then change it at 7months to another resort like AKV.

specmom said:

Thank you for the replies! To answer the questions: I am a planner. We would almost ALWAYS book 7-months out. We would likely travel in Oct/Nov or Feb. We would almost never go in the summer...

Click to expand...

this is true of a lot of DVC owners, BTW. early december is peak period for DVC bookings (all of fall is pretty busy) and summer is not that bad for trying for other resorts at 7 months out.

Here's a link the Annual Historical Maintenance Fees (see post #2) - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2823609

Note: Post # 3 gives you the number of villas by unit size at each DVC resort