2 Quick Questions about DVC

[annnewjerz]

1. Are "Adventures by Disney" vacations something you can use your points towards (for trips to Europe, Africa, etc.)? Has anyone had any experience with doing this and if so, did you like it, was it a good value?

2. I read that the Contemporary is going to become available sometime soon to use as your "home" resort...how long do these usually stay available before the hotel you would purchase your points for changes? We were thinking of signing up in early 09 and I would LOVE it to be at the Contemporary, but didn't know if they only had it available for a certain length of time or a certain number of units.

Thanks!

 

[eliza61]

1. Are "Adventures by Disney" vacations something you can use your points towards (for trips to Europe, Africa, etc.)? Has anyone had any experience with doing this and if so, did you like it, was it a good value?

2. I read that the Contemporary is going to become available sometime soon to use as your "home" resort...how long do these usually stay available before the hotel you would purchase your points for changes? We were thinking of signing up in early 09 and I would LOVE it to be at the Contemporary, but didn't know if they only had it available for a certain length of time or a certain number of units.

Thanks!

Yes you can use your points for the Adventures series. I haven't done it but I have used my points for the Concierge collection. Depends on your point of view regarding value. The general consesus (sp?) is that you do not get the best value once you use your points outside of the DVC resorts. I'm not a budget traveler, I pick a place, if I can go on points, I use them so for me it's a great value.

The Contemporary will only be your "home" resort if that is where you purchase. I purchased at the BCV's so it (the Contemporary) will never be my "home" resort and if I want to stay there I will have to wait until the 7 month window.

 

[drusba]

1. Yes as to using pints, but no personal experience with it.

2. Rumors have abounded for a long time that the new building being costructed at the Contemporary resort area will be Bay Lake Tower, a new DVC. Disney has filed documents with government agencies showing an intent to make it DVC. However, it has yet to be formally announced as DVC, and it is unknown, when, if ever, it will actually go on sale. Rumors currently have Disney likely to make announcement soon -- this or next month, but those are nothing but rumors at this point.

3. If it does go on sale as DVC, the speed with which it will be sold depends on many factors, including total number of points at the resort, price per point, and the economy as a whole. Nevertheless, you can safely assume that even if they were to start sales today, it would be available in early 09, and we do not even know if sales will even begin by the time you go to WDW. No resort has taken less than a year to sell out and that includes the smaller VWL and BCV resorts.

 

[annnewjerz]

1. Yes as to using pints, but no personal experience with it.

2. Rumors have abounded for a long time that the new building being costructed at the Contemporary resort area will be Bay Lake Tower, a new DVC. Disney has filed documents with government agencies showing an intent to make it DVC. However, it has yet to be formally announced as DVC, and it is unknown, when, if ever, it will actually go on sale. Rumors currently have Disney likely to make announcement soon -- this or next month, but those are nothing but rumors at this point.

3. If it does go on sale as DVC, the speed with which it will be sold depends on many factors, including total number of points at the resort, price per point, and the economy as a whole. Nevertheless, you can safely assume that even if they were to start sales today, it would be available in early 09, and we do not even know if sales will even begin by the time you go to WDW. No resort has taken less than a year to sell out and that includes the smaller VWL and BCV resorts.

So glad to hear it! I wouldn't mind AKL at all, or really having my "home" resort being any of the others, but with Magic Kingdom as my favorite park, having the Contemporary as a resort I could book 11 months in advance would be fantastic!

Is the only way I can make the Contemporary (or any other resort for that matter) my "home" to purchase it on-site at the resort?

Our next trip to WDW isn't until December 09 but I was under the impression that if you were interested, you could make the purchase from home. If that was the case, how would they determine what our "home" resort was? Whatever was available at the time we signed?

 

[chalee94]

Is the only way I can make the Contemporary (or any other resort for that matter) my "home" to purchase it on-site at the resort?

you can buy onsite or call them and have them send you the documentation. (there's also a DVC store in chicago.)

Our next trip to WDW isn't until December 09 but I was under the impression that if you were interested, you could make the purchase from home. If that was the case, how would they determine what our "home" resort was? Whatever was available at the time we signed?

all the home resorts have different pricing (and many have different expiration dates). you can buy direct or (for the resorts other than BLT), you can buy resale.

 

[Lynne M]

Our next trip to WDW isn't until December 09 but I was under the impression that if you were interested, you could make the purchase from home. If that was the case, how would they determine what our "home" resort was? Whatever was available at the time we signed?

Your physical location at the time of purchase doesn't have anything to do with your 'home' resort.

When you buy DVC, you're making a real estate purchase. You're buying an interest in one of the DVC resorts; that resort becomes your home resort. You can make your purchase at the DVC sales center at WDW, from home, or from a reseller like The Timeshare Store. You don't go to a specific resort to buy into that resort.

The very first decision you need to make if you're interested in buying DVC is which resort you wish to purchase. It's an important decision, because you'll be able to book that resort at 11 months out. You can book other DVC resorts at 7 months. That 4-month booking advantage is very important for certain resorts and certain times of year, so we always tell prospective buyers to 'buy where you want to stay.'

Your home resort also determines the annual maintenance fees you'll pay. Fees vary for the different resorts, and over the term of the contract, they'll be a much larger expense than your initial buy-in price, so you should take that into consideration as well.

 

[Dean]

It's unlikely the CR will come off the Disney Collection for 2009 (but possible). I'd guess that the 2010 list is the first that won't contain the CR as an option for the DC but depending on when it's destined to open, it could easily hang around until 2011..