In plain simple terms..

[LovesTimone]

DH and I just got off a DCL trip, one a day at sea we stopped by to hear the pitch for DVC. We both really never thought that this would be for us. But after listening and talking about it... We have decided that this would be something that we would be right for us and for our family.

So I have some questions, please respond in simple terms.

We are going to buy direct.

We want to book a tour ( I am one of those people that have to see it).. What is the best way to handle this? My DH travels a lot and with a busy family and friends. We have to plan and right now it looks like it will be the end of July or August before we can schedule. Our friends bought in a couple of years ago and she told me they just did a walk up at DTD?

Also what kind of incentives are normally offered?

With the new resort offerings.. I know that this will be the focus, what if we were interested in a older DVC resort? How does this play out?

Timeline from the time we go all in to getting our number?

I have been reading about time frame when you can book, home resort ~vs~ another resort. ?

We live in the Orlando area, and we like weekend getaways, or maybe 4 nights, we are AP holders. How easy is it to last minute get a DVC room?

I humbly ask for guidance.

 

[disneyberry]

I'm heading out in a few minutes so I'll just quickly answer a few things.

Last minute trips are fairly difficult, with the exception of SSR. Studios are extremely hard to book last minute. Usually it's not recommended to buy DVC if you primarily plan to do last minute trips.

You can book a room at your home resort 11 months in advance of your check-in date. For all other resorts you must wait until 7 months in advance.

The older sold out DVC resorts will be very difficult to buy direct from Disney. You might be waiting for a long time on a waitlist.

 

[Missyrose]

DH and I just got off a DCL trip, one a day at sea we stopped by to hear the pitch for DVC. We both really never thought that this would be for us. But after listening and talking about it... We have decided that this would be something that we would be right for us and for our family.

So I have some questions, please respond in simple terms.

Great!

We are going to buy direct. With the new resort offerings.. I know that this will be the focus, what if we were interested in a older DVC resort? How does this play out?

Any particular reason you want to buy an older resort directly when you could have that same contract resale for half of what you'd pay Disney? If you want to buy a resort not named Polynesian or Aulani through Disney, they will put you on a wait list for points. When the points come available, Disney will contact you and begin the contract paperwork.

We want to book a tour ( I am one of those people that have to see it).. What is the best way to handle this? My DH travels a lot and with a busy family and friends. We have to plan and right now it looks like it will be the end of July or August before we can schedule. Our friends bought in a couple of years ago and she told me they just did a walk up at DTD?

Just find one of the DVC desks at a Disney resort or at DTD and you can set up the tour.

Also what kind of incentives are normally offered?

Currently, there are no incentives for any resort except Aulani. And that incentive is a few dollars off the purchase price $7 to $10, I believe.

Timeline from the time we go all in to getting our number?

The moment Disney accepts your CC deposit, you will have the points loaded into your account. You would then receive the contract to sign and return to Disney.

I have been reading about time frame when you can book, home resort ~vs~ another resort. ?

You can book your home resort at 11 months out from your arrival day, all other resorts can be booked at 7 months out.

We live in the Orlando area, and we like weekend getaways, or maybe 4 nights, we are AP holders. How easy is it to last minute get a DVC room?

I humbly ask for guidance.

"Last-minute" when it comes to timeshares are 2 to 3 months out. If you're talking about wanting to book a week or two ahead of time, you will run into serious availability issues. SSR or OKW will be your best bets for the final few months before arrival day and 1-bedrooms will be more available than studios and two bedrooms.

 

[com_op_2000]

Can you do last minute - yes.
Get a diffcult to get room(IE: AKL-CL, BWV boardwalk view) - no.
Examples:
DW and I several times have been at DTD for the day and decided we wanted to stay the night. Called the resorts directly (back before MS was open on Sundays) or MS and checked in within 15 minutes.
At MK for the day in Feb ’14 for our anniversary, called MS @09:00, and booked a room at BLT for that night. Checked-in @11:00 and the room was ready. We did not plan on this day going like this until @05:00 while still in bed.
You need to be able to plan out as far as three years, to get the most useage of your points.

 

[chalee94]

So I have some questions, please respond in simple terms. We are going to buy direct.

not a question, i know. but you really should re-think this unless you are crazy rich and don't care about cost. there is no real benefit to buying direct (unless you want the poly - in which case resale options are very limited).

remember that if you need to get out of DVC (a major life change can make loan payments or even annual dues into a burden), disney will not buy back your contract. you will either have to resell it or give it back to disney for free.

We want to book a tour ( I am one of those people that have to see it).. What is the best way to handle this? My DH travels a lot and with a busy family and friends. We have to plan and right now it looks like it will be the end of July or August before we can schedule. Our friends bought in a couple of years ago and she told me they just did a walk up at DTD?

there are plenty of kiosks for scheduling a tour. i don't recommend tours because the salespeople sometimes confuse people in an effort to drive the sale. a number of times, posters have come back with very wrongheaded notions of how DVC works after a tour.

Also what kind of incentives are normally offered?

1) if you mean for taking the tour, you will likely have to schedule a tour a day in advance to qualify (from what i have read). sometimes they offer small giftcards...sometimes a bonus fastpass or 2 to compensate you for your time away from the parks...sometimes lemonade and ice cream are all you get. don't go for the incentives.

2) if you mean for the DVC contracts, dvcnews.com keeps track of current pricing. aulani has been slow selling and will probably have the best incentives.

With the new resort offerings.. I know that this will be the focus, what if we were interested in a older DVC resort? How does this play out?

you have to put your foot down and insist that you only want the older resort.

keep in mind that if you buy an older resort direct (say, VWL) that it will still expire in 2042 just like a resale VWL contract even though you might have paid twice as much.

Timeline from the time we go all in to getting our number?

if you buy direct (and DVC has inventory immediately available), you can book pretty much immediately. your salesperson may even be able to score you a special first-time-only reservation.

sometimes for the older resorts, you might have to wait months on a waitlist.

resale would usually take at least 6-8 weeks.

I have been reading about time frame when you can book, home resort ~vs~ another resort. ?

you can book home resort at 11 months out. sometimes this is very important.

you can book other DVC resorts at 7 months out. except for busy periods and certain low availability villa types (like AKV club level villas), you can often get a non-home resort option if you call early when the 7 month window opens.

if the DVC ownership as a whole gets more savvy, there is a risk that home resort will be extremely important. but you never know.

We live in the Orlando area, and we like weekend getaways, or maybe 4 nights, we are AP holders. How easy is it to last minute get a DVC room?

learn to love SSR, as it is the largest resort and easiest to get at the last minute.

honestly though, timeshares aren't a great option for last minute travel. there is a competitive component to booking as there are not always enough rooms to go around (to be clear, there are enough rooms in the year to accommodate all DVC owners but there is little excess - the main issue is that some time frames are more popular - like early december - and those periods will book solid by 7 months out.) even 3-4 months out is pretty much last minute for DVC. piecing together a patchwork reservation might be possible but getting 3-4 nights in a row at the same resort and same villa type is not a given.

it sounds like you want to pay premium direct prices and then will be sifting through whatever rooms are left over after other members have booked the most popular options...which is a recipe for disappointment. take your time and think carefully...

 

[disneynutz]

Buy resale and save a few thousand dollars, then send me the money because I suggested that you buy resale!

Rent from a DVC owner for a fact finding stay, visit the different DVC resorts. You can take the official tour at that time but do not buy.

Continue to learn about the DVC pros and cons prior to making up your mind.

Bill

 

[suebeelin]

If you don't plan more than 7 months ahead of time, and are exclusively looking at staying only at Disney world dvc resorts, Saratoga springs resale is extremely cost efficient (50% off current direct prices). That is what most ppl would recommend that you buy.

The only trade off for resale is being able to use the points for cruises, internationally hosted trips by Disney (adventures collection), and using your points last minute for Disney hotels (very expensive point proposition but a nice option should you need it). Most ppl have analyzed the cost per point for these options and have concluded they are not the best use of points. Of course, how you use your points is up to you.

This year, My SIL booked 9 months ahead of time for her family trip and was shut out of her home resorts (beach club and boardwalk) during a peak time (food and wine). She ended up booking Saratoga grand villa at the 7 month mark. She was disappointed but after having stayed at her home for 13/14 years (they bought in 2000), she is okay staying at Saratoga this year.

We once booked 4 months ahead of time and only had a choice between animal kingdom 2 bd or Saratoga 1 bd because every resort, including our home resorts, were 100% booked. The animal kingdom option was a 2 bedroom. Given the fact that we only had a 3 yr old, a 2 bd/3bath was wayyyy too big. What a waste of points! Note that there were very few options for 7 nights in a row- we went in October a few years ago. We learned our lesson and book at our home at least 10months in advance-- most often at the 11 month mark.

Buying dvc may not be your best option if you plan last minute and do not like Saratoga or animal kingdom. It may also be very expensive (not the best ROI) if you buy direct as well.

Good luck!

 

[LovesTimone]

Can you do last minute - yes.
Get a diffcult to get room(IE: AKL-CL, BWV boardwalk view) - no.
Examples:
DW and I several times have been at DTD for the day and decided we wanted to stay the night. Called the resorts directly (back before MS was open on Sundays) or MS and checked in within 15 minutes.
At MK for the day in Feb ’14 for our anniversary, called MS @09:00, and booked a room at BLT for that night. Checked-in @11:00 and the room was ready. We did not plan on this day going like this until @05:00 while still in bed.
You need to be able to plan out as far as three years, to get the most useage of your points.

We do this a lot of times, we might wake up and say lets go. So where ever we can get in would be okay for us. Even getting a 1 bed room would work okay, as normally some of our friends might meet us there.

Also can you use your points for a regular resort room? Deluxe? Moderate? while it might not be the best for your dollar, it would beat driving home late if we decided to stay late or have a few drinks.

 

[LovesTimone]

If you don't plan more than 7 months ahead of time, and are exclusively looking at staying only at Disney world dvc resorts, Saratoga springs resale is extremely cost efficient (50% off current direct prices). That is what most ppl would recommend that you buy.

The only trade off for resale is being able to use the points for cruises, internationally hosted trips by Disney (adventures collection), and using your points last minute for Disney hotels (very expensive point proposition but a nice option should you need it). Most ppl have analyzed the cost per point for these options and have concluded they are not the best use of points. Of course, how you use your points is up to you.

This year, My SIL booked 9 months ahead of time for her family trip and was shut out of her home resorts (beach club and boardwalk) during a peak time (food and wine). She ended up booking Saratoga grand villa at the 7 month mark. She was disappointed but after having stayed at her home for 13/14 years (they bought in 2000), she is okay staying at Saratoga this year.

We once booked 4 months ahead of time and only had a choice between animal kingdom 2 bd or Saratoga 1 bd because every resort, including our home resorts, were 100% booked. The animal kingdom option was a 2 bedroom. Given the fact that we only had a 3 yr old, a 2 bd/3bath was wayyyy too big. What a waste of points! Note that there were very few options for 7 nights in a row- we went in October a few years ago. We learned our lesson and book at our home at least 10months in advance-- most often at the 11 month mark.

Buying dvc may not be your best option if you plan last minute and do not like Saratoga or animal kingdom. It may also be very expensive (not the best ROI) if you buy direct as well.

Good luck!

The only trade off for resale is being able to use the points for cruises, internationally hosted trips by Disney (adventures collection), and using your points last minute for Disney hotels (very expensive point proposition but a nice option should you need it). Am I understanding that this correctly.. you have to buy direct to be able to use points for DCL, or other properties such at Hilton head, Disneyland, or Aulani? Right?

We are planning on buying direct and most definitely will if this is the only way to use the points at other locations.

 

[CMOORE185]

The only trade off for resale is being able to use the points for cruises, internationally hosted trips by Disney (adventures collection), and using your points last minute for Disney hotels (very expensive point proposition but a nice option should you need it). Am I understanding that this correctly.. you have to buy direct to be able to use points for DCL, or other properties such at Hilton head, Disneyland, or Aulani? Right?

We are planning on buying direct and most definitely will if this is the only way to use the points at other locations.

If you buy resale at any DVC resort you can use your points at all DVC resorts which include Hilton Head, Aulani, Vero Beach, and the Grand Californian.

 

[ziravan]

You can't use resale points for cruises or a few other things. You CAN trade into RCI to stay off Disney with resale points.

The uses of points restricted by resale are poor uses of points. Disney uses those restrictions to convince you not to look at resale. That is the only purpose of the restrictions and in a way, it's a ruse.

For example, we know you like to cruise. If you had DVC points, you'd be better off renting out the points in a reservation and taking that money and paying cash for a cruise. Your points are worth more than Disney will give you in trade.

Restricted resale points are a hook to get you to buy direct. It's also a ruse. So, you pay much more for direct points so that you can trade those points to Disney at a loss from their real value to take a cruise. Disney gets you coming and going: more to buy in, less to trade out. That's a very sweet deal for Disney. Not so much for you.

If you are interested in an older resort, buy resale.

My advice is buy a 100 point SSR resale contract to see if it fits your last minute booking desires. If it does, you've also gained enough experience as an owner to know where and how much to add on. If you find DVC meets your needs but SSR doesn't, you won't lose much by selling and buying elsewhere or direct. If you find DVC doesn't meet your needs, you can sell at a small loss and walk away. OTOH, if you buy a larger, direct contract and then find it doesn't meet your needs, walking away will be very expensive - you'll be buying direct and selling resale.

If you're concerned about resale financing, Monera will offer you similar terms as Disney will for direct points. No credit check, your down payment is your collateral.

 

[suebeelin]

The only trade off for resale is being able to use the points for cruises, internationally hosted trips by Disney (adventures collection), and using your points last minute for Disney hotels (very expensive point proposition but a nice option should you need it). Am I understanding that this correctly.. you have to buy direct to be able to use points for DCL, or other properties such at Hilton head, Disneyland, or Aulani? Right?

We are planning on buying direct and most definitely will if this is the only way to use the points at other locations.

You have to buy direct to use your points on the cruises. Most people will say it's not the most efficient use of your points to exchange them for a cruise if you "value" your points at $11.75 each (the lower end amount that you can get on the rental market-- certain resorts are $13 per point). The monies you can get from renting your points is always more than the price of the cruise. Some people rent their points, get the cash, turn around and pay 100% for the cruise with that cash while also pocketing extra money (a few hundred) for the same number of points that disney wants in exchange.

However, other people like the flexibility of being able to use their points for a cruise, and do not care about the few hundred dollars they may be "losing" during the exchange.

Direct points are about twice the price, so I personally think the trade off of not using my points for a cruise is not a big deal- considering that I saved 6 figures (I have 400 points and saved $20-30,000. With that $20-30,000, I can go on a few cruises....).

Once you own a dvc property, regardless of resale or direct, you can book at any of the 14 dvc resorts at the 7 month mark. These dvc properties include aulani, Hilton head, and the grand California at Disneyland. You can book at 11 months at your home resort.

I plan on trying aulani when the kids get bigger. For now, however, we are sticking with DW. We primarily stay at our home resorts (boardwalk and bay lake), but plan on trying out grand Floridian, Polynesian, beach club snd wilderness lodge someday. We've stayed at animal kingdom and Saratoga with our resale points and are not fans

Good luck!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The only trade off for resale is being able to use the points for cruises, internationally hosted trips by Disney (adventures collection), and using your points last minute for Disney hotels (very expensive point proposition but a nice option should you need it). Am I understanding that this correctly.. you have to buy direct to be able to use points for DCL, or other properties such at Hilton head, Disneyland, or Aulani? Right?

We are planning on buying direct and most definitely will if this is the only way to use the points at other locations.

Take the money you save by buying resale and use it to book a resort using cash when there are no DVC rooms available last minute. Cash is almost always a better deal (and more flexible) than using points to book at a non-DVC Disney resort. For example, it's 25 points to stay at POR for Saturday May 30 and about $210 to book with cash (or less if there is a last minute discount). -- Suzanne

 

[disneynutz]

Using DVC points for anything other than DVC resort stays is like buying the Disney Dining Plan and using the table service credits for a quick service sandwich. Can you do it, sure but why would you, some like the convenience and are willing to pay the price. To add insult to injury, it wasn't enough that Disney was charging high prices for point uses outside of DVC resorts, a couple of years ago Disney decided to charge a $95 transaction fee to make your non-DVC resort reservation. Need to modify the reservation, another $95 fee.

Bill

 

[LovesTimone]

You have to buy direct to use your points on the cruises. Most people will say it's not the most efficient use of your points to exchange them for a cruise if you "value" your points at $11.75 each (the lower end amount that you can get on the rental market-- certain resorts are $13 per point). The monies you can get from renting your points is always more than the price of the cruise. Some people rent their points, get the cash, turn around and pay 100% for the cruise with that cash while also pocketing extra money (a few hundred) for the same number of points that disney wants in exchange.

However, other people like the flexibility of being able to use their points for a cruise, and do not care about the few hundred dollars they may be "losing" during the exchange.

Direct points are about twice the price, so I personally think the trade off of not using my points for a cruise is not a big deal- considering that I saved 6 figures (I have 400 points and saved $20-30,000. With that $20-30,000, I can go on a few cruises....).

Once you own a dvc property, regardless of resale or direct, you can book at any of the 14 dvc resorts at the 7 month mark. These dvc properties include aulani, Hilton head, and the grand California at Disneyland. You can book at 11 months at your home resort.

I plan on trying aulani when the kids get bigger. For now, however, we are sticking with DW. We primarily stay at our home resorts (boardwalk and bay lake), but plan on trying out grand Floridian, Polynesian, beach club snd wilderness lodge someday. We've stayed at animal kingdom and Saratoga with our resale points and are not fans

Good luck!

We are looking at 300 to 400 points, just depending on how things are shaking out at the time we go all in. DH and I are nervous about buying resale, but after reading here and I think that we are going to look into Resale points. But to be honest it makes me super nervous. Any suggestions on which company's are reputable, and you have had success with them?

DH and I love the Poly, we honeymooned there so special place for us, also we have a brand new Grandson so being close to monorail, would be great.

Why did you not like Animal Kingdom? and Saratoga?

 

[LovesTimone]

Using DVC points for anything other than DVC resort stays is like buying the Disney Dining Plan and using the table service credits for a quick service sandwich. Can you do it, sure but why would you, some like the convenience and are willing to pay the price. To add insult to injury, it wasn't enough that Disney was charging high prices for point uses outside of DVC resorts, a couple of years ago Disney decided to charge a $95 transaction fee to make your non-DVC resort reservation. Need to modify the reservation, another $95 fee.

Bill

See there... I had know idea about the transaction fee's, This is why I started my homework on DIS. I am a planner and details person... so knowing for me is a must. Thank you

 

[Missyrose]

We are looking at 300 to 400 points, just depending on how things are shaking out at the time we go all in. DH and I are nervous about buying resale, but after reading here and I think that we are going to look into Resale points. But to be honest it makes me super nervous. Any suggestions on which company's are reputable, and you have had success with them?

DH and I love the Poly, we honeymooned there so special place for us, also we have a brand new Grandson so being close to monorail, would be great.

Why did you not like Animal Kingdom? and Saratoga?

What exactly makes you "super nervous" about buying resale?

 

[ziravan]

The Timeshare Store is a DIS sponsor and that's where I bought resale. You can sign up for their email and 2-3/week, they'll send you new listings. Even though I'm not currently in the market for points, I like checking out the emails to see how resale prices are trending: they're going up. I bought a 200+ point BCV contract right at a year ago for $84/point. BCV is currently trending north of $100/pt resale.

I also bought a 168 point fixed week Poly contract Direct from DVC. You won't find Poly on the resale market yet, and if you do, it'll be almost the same price as direct. So Poly is the exception for buying direct. Three resorts allow you to buy a fixed week that is fully convertible to points: Aulani, VGF and Poly (PVB). If you're thinking about buying PVB points, I'd buy a fixed week. That's another whole layer of research but worth investigating before you buy.

I'm going to post a few threads discussing pros/cons of a fixed week:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/fixed-week-speculation.3371946/

http://www.disboards.com/threads/fixed-weeks-is-that-new.3371456/

Fixed week adds a whole new layer and muddies the waters a bit. It may not be plain and simple like the thread title suggests, but you should spend the time to research DVC and all avail options before buying. I spent 2-3hrs a night for about 4 months, mostly here in Dis, before I made my first resale offer. Since I had about 250 hrs worth of research under my belt, I knew what I was buying, why I was buying it, and I also knew I was getting a good deal.

I even acquired a DVC guide and talked with him about buying direct. He didn't make that sell, but he did sell me PVB points several months later.

 

[disneynutz]

We are looking at 300 to 400 points, just depending on how things are shaking out at the time we go all in. DH and I are nervous about buying resale, but after reading here and I think that we are going to look into Resale points. But to be honest it makes me super nervous. Any suggestions on which company's are reputable, and you have had success with them?

DH and I love the Poly, we honeymooned there so special place for us, also we have a brand new Grandson so being close to monorail, would be great.

Why did you not like Animal Kingdom? and Saratoga?

50% of all sales are resales. It's you lack of knowledge that makes you nervous, once you complete your education, you will see things differently.

Bill

 

[disneyberry]

There's nothing to be nervous about resales. Just go into it well informed and with a lot of patience.

Despite people often mentioning how they call and get a room within 1 week of arrival, I still strongly recommend folks not buy into DVC expecting to be successful at that or planning to do that all the time instead of booking at least 7 months out. It's just not a good reason to plop down that kind of money.