DVC Thread – It may be the “Best Kept Secret” in Australia even if it isn’t in Disney

[DVCAustralia]

Using the idea of Ms. Shuttergirl to start a thread specifically for WDW and taking inspiration from the detailed information provided by aussietravellers in this thread, I am starting a new thread to provide information and discuss DVC – Disney Vacation Club.

There are two ways to approach DVC, either ownership or renting. Given that there is already a Disney Vacation Club subsection mainly relating to ownership I will focus on renting, particularly since that is the most likely way Australians would use it anyway.

WHAT IS DVC?
Disney Vacation Club started in the early 1990s focused on one resort, Old Key West, and now includes the following resorts at WDW: -
Old Key West (OKW)
Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR)
Bay Lake Tower (BLT)
Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV)
Boardwalk Villas (BWV)
Beach Club Villas (BCV)
Villas at Wilderness Lodge (VWL)
Disneyland Resort recently received DVC as part of the extension of the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
There are also two off-site DVC resorts: -
Vero Beach Resort, FL (south-east of WDW)
Hilton Head Resort, SC (north-east of WDW)

A total number of points is assigned to each resort, and then a points table is developed specifying points for each night depending on the season and whether it is Sunday-Thursday nights or Friday and Saturday nights (www.dvcnews.com has all the current tables).
Gradually the points at each resort are sold to the public but Disney retains the largest number of points. Also if a DVC member uses points outside the DVC resorts then these points go to Disney. As such Disney can rent DVC rooms through their hotels division. Despite this Disney has no objection to members renting their points to other people for them to use as long as this is not done on a commercial basis in competition with them and is restricted to a reasonable number of rentals.

WHY RENT FROM A DVC MEMBER RATHER THAN DISNEY?
The most obvious is to save money.
Members do not have the overheads or the conflicting interests of Disney. Indeed they often rent simply to offset the annual dues bill through rental income.
Other reasons range from gaining access to rooms normally not available to the public to helping out a fellow Disney enthusiast rather than a massive corporation. Whatever the reason, it has certainly become a significant operation with many satisfied customers.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Instead of paying a fixed amount per night the renter pays the member a fixed amount per point, with the points table used to calculate the total amount due. The average amount seems to be US$10 per point with payment in one or two installments, but this of course varies.
Once the renter and member agree on the price, the resort and the nights wanted, sometimes in a written rental agreement, the reservation is made in the name of the renter with a written confirmation sent out by Disney.
The renter is entitled to benefits such as free use of Magical Express and transportation, and can add any of the dining plans on to the booking at the member rate, with payment made at the front desk on check-in.

MORE INFORMATION

I have of course only provided an outline and have deliberately not provided any specific examples given the wide range in room types, seasons etc. In particular I have rented to both Americans and Australians on a number of occasions and each one is a unique experience.

As such please post any general points or PM or e-mail me any specific questions.

 

[queenie82]

: sigh.....
Oh how I wish to be sitting on the deck of a 2 bed apartment at Hilton Head.
Or swimming in the pool at Bay Lake Tower...

DVC is the best thing since sliced bread!!

The quote 'best kept secret' though it downright hilarious. You can't take ten steps before you stumble across a booth
They are at the resorts, in the parks and in Downtown Disney.

If you are interested the resorts are often the best places to 'register' for a tour. And taking a tour is a REALLY great thing if you have the time because the new display suites they have at Saratoga are really great. They even have the same carpet as in BLT!!!
It isn't like normal timeshare presentations with no hard push sales. They encourage people to go back to where they are staying to think and come back. [especially if you are offsite...so you can be reminded how un-magical that is ]
If you want anything above a moderate it is something I believe that is worthwhile. We are very budget conscious but the moderate resorts are getting more and more expensive year in year out (and are the minimum we would stay in if onsite) so if you can make the outlay it is good value. And if you like deluxe and want to go back every 2-3 years...this is a no brainer...

Can't wait for Hawaii

 

[PrincessInOz]

DVCAustralia - you are a mind reader. We've come home this time with the aim of researching the DVC concept - ownership. I will definitely take you up on your offer to PM you as I am assuming that you are a DVC member ... but still have a ton of researching to do first.

 

[zaccy]

Thanks for posting this - I have seen lots of people mention DVC on the boards and knew a little of what it was but will be really interested to watch this thread and find out more.

 

[shushh]

What a great idea! I for one have learnt alot about the whole DVC process from DVCAustralia. Definitely an option worth considering that most Aussies don't know about.

 

[BecBennett]

We looked into this option before, but decided against it, as it still wasn't the cheapest option, it's the cheapest way to get a deluxe, but if that's not what you're after it's not that helpful

 

[DVCAustralia]

Originally posted by BecBennett
We looked into this option before, but decided against it, as it still wasn't the cheapest option, it's the cheapest way to get a deluxe, but if that's not what you're after it's not that helpful

That may have been true in your case, DVC point rental is by no means for everyone. However DVC point rental is typically cheaper than everything but value (or free dining), and even against value there are ways to make it work. As I said I deliberately did not provide any specific examples but if I get time I will post one later.

 

[DVCAustralia]

For the example I use January and the period between September 1 and December 23 to cover the most popular times to go for Australians, a studio villa as this is the closest to a standard hotel room, and Old Key West as it has the largest DVC rooms and the studios have two queen beds.
For Sunday to Thursday nights the price is 9 points, which at US$10, is US$90 per night.
For Friday and Saturday nights the price is 16 or 17 points, which at US$10, is US$160 - US$170 per night.
Obviously to keep the average night cost down you use as few weekend nights as possible, so you could go Sunday to Thursday (12 nights) for US$1,220 - US$1,240, an average of just over US$100.00 per night.

 

[Tracy72]

Hi DVC Australia,

We're going to WDW from the 3rd December for 8 nights. I've looked at doing DVC but found it quite confusing so stopped looking. You've made me wonder again.

Would you be able to give me an idea on 2 adults and 2 children (10 and 7 years) staying at the Bay Lake Contemporary. Or if you can think or one that might suit as better. At the moment we're booked at the Carribbean but would prefer to stay somewhere a bit nicer.

Do you then pay for your disney tickets separately through the disney site ?

It certainly looks like a great option for us.

Cheers

Tracy

 

[DVCAustralia]

I was going to wait until the 'official' announcement, but since DVC has just authorised early release of information and started pre-sales there is no need.

DVC will open Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Ko Olina, Oahu, Hawai‛i in just over a year on August 29 2011.

This is going to be a fantastic resort that offers both hotel rooms and DVC villas in a lovely part of Oahu (the next resort up the coast is the JW Marriott and Marriott have a timeshare resort in that location as well). Obviously as it is Hawaii and Disney only purchased the land recently the points required are not as low as the other DVC resorts, but when the points table was released last week it seemed better than expected. Studios start at 18 points/night and there is no premium for weekend nights so a week is just 126 points, comprable with GCV at DL.
This would make a great stopover on the way to or from DL or WDW or even add a Disney dimension to a non-Disney holiday.

 

[paulasillars]

We are DVC members and have been since 2003 - we own at Saratoga Springs. It works well for us going every 2-3 years. We have 160 points (family of 3) and are happy in a studio but we got a 2 bedroom in 2008 as we had a family friend join us so need the extra space.

Best thing we ever purchased. Offsite to deluxe in one step

 

[Nicsjtp]

DVC Australia - Im only a new member here so cant pm as yet - but Im really interested in finding out more. We are coming next May so far have booked in a disney cruise for May 13 departure but will be looking at a 10 day stay at WDW prior to this staying onsite. We will be travelling as a family of 6 - DH and myself, 2 boys aged 6 and 8 and our little girl who will only be 2 plus my mum so for room occupancy we are only 5 (as little girl is under 3) but we really think we are going to need 2 rooms for that length of stay.. however the cost isnt so good..... at this stage we were looking at POR X2 - cheapest option for us all and best spacewise. However if we can look at one room (studio, villa or the like) for a similar cost (or less!) that would be preferable. Even better if we can go to a deluxe for not much difference

Anyway I guess my first question is how you know ther person you are dealing with is reputable? And how do I find out who actually rents DVC ? Am I too late for organising May 2011?

Thanks in advance!

 

[queenie82]

DVC Australia - Im only a new member here so cant pm as yet - but Im really interested in finding out more. We are coming next May so far have booked in a disney cruise for May 13 departure but will be looking at a 10 day stay at WDW prior to this staying onsite. We will be travelling as a family of 6 - DH and myself, 2 boys aged 6 and 8 and our little girl who will only be 2 plus my mum so for room occupancy we are only 5 (as little girl is under 3) but we really think we are going to need 2 rooms for that length of stay.. however the cost isnt so good..... at this stage we were looking at POR X2 - cheapest option for us all and best spacewise. However if we can look at one room (studio, villa or the like) for a similar cost (or less!) that would be preferable. Even better if we can go to a deluxe for not much difference

Anyway I guess my first question is how you know ther person you are dealing with is reputable? And how do I find out who actually rents DVC ? Am I too late for organising May 2011?

Thanks in advance!

I'm sure DVCAustralia will come help you out.
A standard studio will give you a Queen bed and double sofa bed.

A standard one bed will give you a King bed and a queen sofa.
The occupancy of these if you book with points is 5 and you CAN use an airbed.
[we have used an airbed to stay in a studio with 4 adults. It works well. So you could use it for your 5th non infant body in a one bed]
If you don't want to use an airbed then one option is getting one of the one bedroom villas with a sleeper chair.
This will give you one king bed, queen sofa and a sleeper chair. These configutations are available in AKV
http://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/destinations/resorts/animal-kingdom-villas/rooms/

This is also available at Bay Lake Tower (my favourite DVC resort.) This location would be WONDERFUL for young ones as much of your time will be spent at Magic Kingdom and you can walk there in about 10 mins (with a stroller) You also get monorail access to other locations.
http://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/destinations/resorts/bay-lake-tower/

 

[DVCAustralia]

I will send PM to you with details specific to you shortly.
The bookings for DVC open up 11 months in advance for 'home' resort, basically if you have points for that resort you can book, so this is a good time to look at booking May nexy year.
disboards has a DVC rent/trade board.

 

[Travel Mum]

I will send PM to you with details specific to you shortly.
The bookings for DVC open up 11 months in advance for 'home' resort, basically if you have points for that resort you can book, so this is a good time to look at booking May nexy year.
disboards has a DVC rent/trade board.

DVCAustralia, would you mind PM'ing details to me too? We are not going until next October but plan to spend 7 nights onsite. I'm currently planning for my family-of-five to share a room at POR but would like to look at the other option.

Many thanks

 

[DVCAustralia]

The recent posts about Hawaii prompted me to provide further information regarding the DVC villas that make up a signficant portion of this brand new Disney resort opening by September this year.
The seasons for this resort are obviously different than resorts near the Disney parks and for the first time weekday and weekend points are the same.
The lowest season covers January & February as well as September & early October, a popular time for travel on these boards. The second lowest season, only a point or so more a night, covers May & June as well as October through to December (except of course Thanksgiving and Christmas), another popular time for travel from Australia.
Deluxe studio villas sleeping up to 4 with a kitchenette range from only 18 (standard view) - 26 (ocean view) points a night with island and poolside views in the middle of this range.
One bedroom villas sleeping up to 5 and including a full kitchen and laundry start at 36 (standard view) points a night, while two bedrooms start at 49 (standard view) points a night.
As always I can provide additional specific information, just PM or e-mail me.

 

[Travel Mum]

Many thanks DVC Australia - I may be interested when we are back from our big trip this year and I need a Disney fix closer to home! Will be good to combine with if Air NZ release some special fares

 

[ColinA]

DVC is the the best purchase we ever made for visiting WDW.

Following are the figures as I have calculated them for our DVC purchases.

1) Initial purchase in 1999 the Aus dollar was $0.49, later purchases were $0.66 and $0.75

2) On the per point cost I have included the initial purchase costs and the cost of the ongoing maintenance fees over the 42 year ownership.

3) Points used in DVC virtually double over premium weeks eg Christmas etc.

4) Cost for 7 nights over Christmas week in a DVC Boardwalk or preferred view studio room $1,137.00

5) Cost for 7 nights over Christmas week in Allstars or Pop Century, standard room $1,222.00

6) Cost for 7 nights over Christmas week in BWV equivalent room paying cash $4,500.00

These figures worked out on the dollar being $0.90

To me it makes sense under certain conditions to buy DVC if you plan on visiting at least every 2 years, and are prepared to spend some money up front. It would be beyond most peoples budget to stay at a premium resort and pay the cash rates.

 

[ColinA]

Last week I had points I was unable to use from a recent resale purchase. I listed the points on the DVC Rent/Trade section of Disboards at $10.00 per point and was inundated with inquiries. I had a deposit paid the next day.

 

[ColinA]

View from our Boardwalk View room.