A few DVC questions from a newbie

[golphergirl10]

Hi there everyone -

I just got back from Disney about two weeks ago and decided to go talk to the DVC people while I was there and needless to say I am really interested. Some background, I am 24, no kids, lots of friends that like to vacation togeather (we go to disney at least once a year).. I love disney (and hilton head and vero beach) and I have the money to pay cash for a good chuck of points... but I do have a few question prior to purchasing (I am looking at resale and from the mouse)

1. Does it really matter what your home resort is?

Say I bought Animal Kingdom but want to book at Hilton Head...does it matter in any way? I don't have a preference on resorts, in fact I would like to try and stay at all different ones!!!

2. Can someone please explain to me use year and how it could effect me? Is one month better than another?

3. How hard is it to actually book vacations if you can't book at the 11 month or 7 month point? Is it hard to play off cancellations?

Any general advice is appreciated.

Thank you

 

[shortypots]

1. Does it really matter what your home resort is?

Say I bought Animal Kingdom but want to book at Hilton Head...does it matter in any way? I don't have a preference on resorts, in fact I would like to try and stay at all different ones!!!

2. Can someone please explain to me use year and how it could effect me? Is one month better than another?

3. How hard is it to actually book vacations if you can't book at the 11 month or 7 month point? Is it hard to play off cancellations?

Any general advice is appreciated.

Thank you

1) Only if you want 11 month priority of booking at your home resort. All other resorts can be booked at 7 months out. High demand times might be difficult to get at the 7 month timeframe.
2) UY is important since it should be based on when you typically travel. Although some will argue that your travelling tastes will change over time and say that it doesn't matter as much. But if you typically travel in the Summer, you would probably like a Feb or April UY. You want to make sure if you have to cancel your vacation that you can still bank your points.
3) I have only owned for a couple of months, but it seems that Dec since it is low points and gorgeous at that time, is a high demand time for DVC. Looks like Oct gets more difficult as you get closer since the food and wine festival is going on. Depends on the time of year you are going and your home resort.

However, if you go every year and stay in deluxe resorts every time, DVC is a great alternative. Personally, I love having the full kitchen and laundry in the room in the 1bd's. And if you can pay cash, you are better off than a lot of people purchasing points.

I forgot to mention that youcan buy AKV and stay at HH, you just can't book it until 7 months out, otherwise points are points.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[chalee94]

1. Does it really matter what your home resort is?

Say I bought Animal Kingdom but want to book at Hilton Head...does it matter in any way? I don't have a preference on resorts, in fact I would like to try and stay at all different ones!!!

"buy where you want to stay." you'll hear it over and over on the DIS. (or at least "buy where you don't mind staying" - it's silly to fork over thousands of dollars to buy at SSR if you'd hate having to stay there.) if you want to stay most often at BCV or VWL, don't bet on being able to book inside the 7 month window, especially as DVC gets larger and the number of rooms in those smaller resorts stays the same.

home resort also affects your annual dues. HHI dues will be much higher over time than for SSR, for example.

if you can't book more than 7 months out, you can't take advantage of the booking window, so just buy the cheapest pts with the cheapest annual dues.

2. Can someone please explain to me use year and how it could effect me? Is one month better than another?

it can be an issue if you have to cancel...if you are past your banking window, it can limit your options. if you have a consistent set of dates for vacations to wdw, getting a UY just before you typically travel is recommended.

other than that, UY is a nonissue.

3. How hard is it to actually book vacations if you can't book at the 11 month or 7 month point? Is it hard to play off cancellations?

HHI during the summer is pretty tough. BCV and BWV during food&wine at epcot is tough. most anything from thanksgiving to new years can be tough inside 7 months...

if you typically don't book more than 5 or 6 months in advance, i wouldn't recommend DVC for you. (it can work sometimes inside that window, but it's a risky way to go.)

 

[Caskbill]

1. Does it really matter what your home resort is?

Say I bought Animal Kingdom but want to book at Hilton Head...does it matter in any way? I don't have a preference on resorts, in fact I would like to try and stay at all different ones!!!

Home resort is important if you want to book a specific resort during popular times, and therefore need the 11-month booking priority window.

2. Can someone please explain to me use year and how it could effect me? Is one month better than another?

A use year is simply the beginning month of a calendar year which begins your 12-month vacation (use) year. It has absolutely no difference except in the one case where you may have to cancel a reservation you made. In this case, use year 'might' be important, depending on when you cancel, and whether or not you're still within your banking window.

Examples: You have an October UY and have a December reservation. You cancel it. You can bank the points returned because you are still within your banking window. OTOH, you have a February UY with that December reservation which you cancel. You are past your banking window (Feb-Sep) and must use the points prior to the next Feb 1st, or lose them.

If you don't cancel reservations, then use year makes absolutely no difference.

3. How hard is it to actually book vacations if you can't book at the 11 month or 7 month point? Is it hard to play off cancellations?

If you're going to book at less than those windows, you'll find that certain reservations will be difficult to get, or impossible. Example, a standard studio at BWV for New Year's eve will all be booked within days (or hours) of the 11-month windows. Busy times vary by resort, but for VB and HH, it's the summer months. For WDW busy times include spring break, summer months, October, and most of Nov, all of Dec, and the 1st week in Jan. Thus the later you wait to book, the fewer choices will remain. For example, for this coming October there is very little left. Most rooms have been booked for at least a few months already.

If you will not be able to make your reservations until only a month or two before your vacation, then DVC is not for you. Keep in mind also that at 60 days, any unreserved DVC inventory is open to CRO for general cash reservations, so at 60 days or less you're not only competing against other DVC members but also the general public, for whatever rooms are still available.

Any general advice is appreciated.

Thank you