2 use years - possible?

[global_mom]

I know that someone will have some great advice for our situation.....

We have a Dec UY which we are very happy with b/c we like go to WDW in Jan and March (spring break). We have been members for 10 months and did not really choose the Dec UY it just happened to be the UY associated with our initial resale purchase. Sounds like all is perfect, right?

So here is the new complication: we went to WDW this past Oct and really loved that time of year. We celebrated 3 of our birthdays, enjoyed MNSSHP, loved F&W, and the weather was mild. To top it off, our children's school has just released the new school calendars and they have added a "fall break" that will take place the week of Halloween each year. This is great news b/c we have always pulled the kids out of school and we wont have to do that for an Oct trip. The problem is that a Dec UY is not ideal for travel in late Oct. And we would also like to start going for Thanksgiving every other year. Definately not good with a Dec UY.

Will Disney allow us to purchase another contract with a different UY? How would that work on the DVC website?

We want to keep the Dec UY contracts (3 of them) and then add another 200-250 points with a different UY so that we would have some wiggle room in case we needed to cancel an Oct/Nov trip.

What have others done in this situation?

TIA!

 

[JimC]

We have two use years Dec and Feb. There is no problem with this. We bought our December use year main contract resale and added on through Disney. Our February contract is all through Disney.

 

[global_mom]

We have two use years Dec and Feb. There is no problem with this. We bought our December use year main contract resale and added on through Disney. Our February contract is all through Disney.

So if bought direct from Disney with a different UY would that make it a "new purchase" and not an add-on? We would need to meet the point minimum requirements for a new purchase? (we plan to buy more than 160 points which I think is the minimum)

How does it work when you check your contracts on the website? Do you all the contracts show up in one place?

 

[RobDoc]

Yes, it would need to be a new "Master" contract (of at least 160 points - if purchased thru DVC) and would not be an add-on (which, by definition will have the same UY as the contract it it being "added" to). You can also consider a resale contract with the new Use Year.

We have 4 different Use Years and have had no problem keeping everything straight - thus far. With the multiple Use Years, we've been able to match our trips with the best Use Year. Thankfully, we've not had to cancel anything on short notice, so it's never been a problem anyway, but the additional Use Years do help with planning.

Yes, each contract will be listed on the members site along with a reminder about banking deadlines for each one.

You might take a look at Caskbill.com and download the free program written by Caskbill which can assist tracking multiple contracts, Use Years and Resorts.

Enjoy!

 

[global_mom]

Thank you Doc! We have yet to have to cancel a trip but with 3 kids under 12 it could easily happen.

I will check out Caskbill and I already feel better knowing that we can have the multiple UYs.

 

[disneynutz]

My 2 cents. A resale contract doesn't have to be the 160 points minimum.

Doc is smarter than most of us so take his advice with a grain of salt. We only have 2 use years and even with Caskbill's program, 2 years are a pain. You only need to miss your banking deadline once to learn a painful lesson.

We have enough problems with Member Services, you throw in 2 UYs and they really get confused.

 

[moredisneyplease]

I agree that it is manageable but it is easy to get confused, lose track of time, or make a simple mistake and then your points can disappear. If you're good with keeping up with that kind of stuff then go for it!

 

[CarolMN]

It's not especially difficult to manage more than one contract, but you will have to be mindful of the differences. As already mentioned, the banking deadlines will be different.

Another difference that occasionally catches members by surprise is the difficulty of combining points from two separate contracts to reserve one night. If you want to use points from two separate contracts, you have to transfer points between the contracts to do it. For example, you need one last night to complete a reservation and it costs 16 points. But you only have 12 available in one contract and 13 in the other, so you have to do a transfer to get 16 points (enough for a whole night) in the same contract. That uses up your one transfer per use year allotment for BOTH contracts.

If you had the same situation, but had a Master with an add on, there is no need to do a transfer - Master and add on combos work as though all points were in the same "pot".

 

[global_mom]

I will need a little extra organization but it could work it seems.

Just today I found an attractive OKW resale with banked points. It is an April UY which could be a good fit for an Oct./Nov trip although an even later UY could be better. Suggestions on the best use year for travel in the fall?

Thanks !!

 

[RobDoc]

I will need a little extra organization but it could work it seems.

Just today I found an attractive OKW resale with banked points. It is an April UY which could be a good fit for an Oct./Nov trip although an even later UY could be better. Suggestions on the best use year for travel in the fall?

Thanks !!

If you will usually travel in the fall - a September or October Use Year would be best (there are no November Use Years), but even a June or August UY would also work. Again, unless you will be cancelling reservations, Use Year is simply when you get your points each year.

 

[AdamJ]

When I decide to add on, I think I'll just go direct through Disney. I'm a big fan of simplicity and multiple UYs is a set of additional caveats I'd rather not deal with.

Doc:

You mentioned there are no Nov UYs. So what possible UYs are there? And how are they determined by DVC?

Thanks as always for your great information.

 

[RobDoc]

...
You mentioned there are no Nov UYs. So what possible UYs are there? And how are they determined by DVC?

Thanks as always for your great information.

There are no January, May, July or November Use Years. DVC has never offered any explanation and it has been this way since DVC began back in 1991.

 

[global_mom]

If you will usually travel in the fall - a September or October Use Year would be best (there are no November Use Years), but even a June or August UY would also work. Again, unless you will be cancelling reservations, Use Year is simply when you get your points each year.

Sept. UY sounds like a good plan. Then we would be safe for our Halloween and thanksgiving trips in case we had to cancel. Then we would have our Dec UY points to cover our Jan and March/April trips. The OKW resale with an April UY went under contract before I could get back to the Timeshare Store website so that one was not meant to be.

Thank you for the good advice everyone!

 

[Disney Doll]

We have 2 contracts with 2 different UYs. One purchased through Disney and one purchased through The Timeshare Store.

They are both, in essence, "master" contracts as opposed to one being a "master" contract and one being an add-on.

I don't find a real problem tracking them. I use up one first then go to the other.