Need help contacting DVC, and ?s.

[LisaF]

Just returned from a great spring break trip to WDW, and am trying to convince DH that DVC might be of interest to us. With that said, I need a phone number so that I can request information on purchasing into DVC. Can someone please help me with this?? Also, when you say member dues, is this a cost per point fee, or a monthly fee? We have stayed at OKW and loved the 2 room villa's there. Stayed at the Dolphin our last trip, and truly enjoyed the BW area, and thought the new BCV looked great! Any and all advice is welcomed!! LisaF

[Firefighter Mickey]

You can contact DVC at 1-800-500-3990

Annual dues are expressed as a dollar amount per point, and vary depending on resort, from $3 to $4/point. You can pay the dues annually, or have them deducted from your checking account on a monthly basis.

[JonHM]

about them breaking up the dues into monthly payments is that when they do this, they do NOT charge any sort of interest - you pay the same amount you would if you paid off the whole thing in January.

Do you have any specific questions about DVC or how it works? Do you understand the basic concepts? I'm sure that everyone here would be happy to help. :D

[Granny]

LisaF....you've already gotten great advice. I'll just toss in that if you get serious about DVC, you will need to keep in mind that you need/want the 2 BR accommodations. If you know that, it makes it easier to figure out how many points you will need and if you can swing the financials for DVC.

And don't forget to come back often with questions! I found it very helpful to get the information here and then confirm it with my guide. Made the purchase process a breeze (for him anyway).

[LisaF]

I think I understand the basic concept of DVC - # of points needed for vacation are reflective of time of year, resort, and accomodations needed (studio, 1 br, 2 br etc). You can borrow/bank points from past year, current year and upcoming year. I'm not clear on when you "lose" points if they're not used. Reserve at home DVC 11 months from "departure date", 7 months at a different resort. I'm sure I'm missing a lot, so fill me in:).

[JonHM]

if you haven't read it, here is Doc's DVC Frequently Asked Questions list:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1571

One thing you should be aware of is that OKW is different in a lot of ways from all of the other on-site DVC resorts. It is more like a condo 'home away from home' with an extremely relaxing get away from it all atmosphere, bigger villas, and far from the hustle and bustle of the parks.

VWL, BWV and BCV are all very close to at least 1 of the major theme parks, are much more like a luxury hotel and have somewhat smaller villas than OKW.

I *don't* mean to be starting anything here (there is often a lot of controversy here over which resort is 'the best'), but since it sounds like OKW is the only DVC resort where you've seen the villas, thought I should fill you in that it's not representative of what most other DVC villas look (or feel) like.

[LisaF]

Do all the villas have a washer and dryer in them?? That, along with the kitchen, were huge bonuses for us. We have 3 children and not having to luge a lot of clothing is a perk!! Not to mention we are early risers who like to eat breakfast and dash for the parks.

[Richyams]

All OKW one bedroom and larger units have a full laundry room.

The 'other' resorts have a laundry closet with a stacked washer/dryer.

Ahhh, OKW, aint it great.....

[JonHM]

Everything 1 bedroom or bigger has a full kitchen, a washer/dryer, jacuzzi tub - all of the amenities are the same between OKW and the rest of DVC - simply the square footage of the floorplan isn't the same.

[Doctor P]

None of the studios (or inn rooms at the off-site resorts) have washers and dryers (though there are free washers and dryers in central areas for our use at the resorts). The 1BR, 2BR, and Grand Villas all have washers and dryers.

[Terry S]

Lisa... You mentioned that you "thought the new BCV looked great". Did you get a chance to check out the model of the BCV over at the Boardwalk or did you see the outside of the BCV's by the BC?

[LisaF]

Sorry, only saw the exterior of the BCV units. Couldn't convince DH to visit any of the DVC open houses. He's not good with sales pitches at all :( THanks everyone for all your answers, I will call right now to get information sent our way!!!

[JonHM]

We put off going to the DVC Sales Pitch because we had such negative feelings about timeshares and high pressure sales tactics. *Finally*, on our last afternoon at WDW, it started to rain and I figured, what the heck. And it turns out that the DVC Sales Presentation is utterly, completely, ZERO pressure. It is extremely informative, one might even say fun, but no one put any pressure on us whatsoever. We took all of the paperwork home and read over it over the 3 or 4 days after we came home, then decided that we wanted to join.

So if you go to the presentation on the next trip, tell DH that he has nothing to worry about. :)

:bounce: :bounce:

[Terry S]

Lisa. Here are some good pictues of the insides of BCV that someone took. http://www.members.aol.com/suedvc/bcv.html

Also, if you want to see the layout of each of the resorts here is a link to the DVC site with the layout of each resort. http://dvc.disney.go.com/disneyvacationclub/resorts/resortshomeindex

[Doctor P]

Thanks for the link, Terry.

[DVC1996]

Lisa......if you plan to stay in a studio frequently then the studio layout is different at OKW than the other resorts. OKW has two queen-sized beds and the other DVC studios have a queen-sized bed and a sleep sofa. Personally, I like having the two beds vs. a bed and sofa. This is why I prefer inn rooms at Vero vs. a studio. Of course.....you may prefer the bed/sofa combo. Just thought you might like this info :)