A few questions.....

[wdwcoltsfan]

We are looking at purchasing AKV before the end of the year and I have a few questions that hopefully someone can help with.

1. We always vacation in late Oct., what would be the best UY for us? We go other times as well, but always in Oct.

2. Do we have a choice of UY? If a poor option is offered, should we decline it?

3. Does anyone know what UY are being sold for AKV?

4. Let's say I get a July or August UY, what would be my banking date? I know the rules changed and I can't wrap my brain around it.

5. If we bought in December, but didn't have a Dec. UY, would we get 2007 points or would we have to wait until our 2008 UY month?

Okay, I'll stop there for now, before I wear out my welcome!


Rachel

 

[JenSop]

I'm brand new, but I can at least share my experience. We bought into AKV near the end of July, and got an April UY. Most of our trips will be in the summer, since DH is a teacher. This seems like a good fit for us.

 

[flyerron]

This is a great site & will answer most of your questions. IMHO the uy is not very important except for banking purposes. The last I heard DVC does not give a choice in uy.

http://members.cox.net/disneyvacationclub/pages/Charts/charts.htm

 

[juliebrooks35]

I'm no expert either but we also bought in July and got an April user year

 

[browniemtb]

1. We always vacation in late Oct., what would be the best UY for us? We go other times as well, but always in Oct.

As some have said UY is really not that important some may feel otherwise. In your situation a UY just prior to your normal vacation time. So July, Aug, Sept would be fine.

2. Do we have a choice of UY? If a poor option is offered, should we decline it?

When we bought in we did not have a choice of UY. So I would say they will tell you what is available at the time you buy in and then you will have a choice from that, possibly.

3. Does anyone know what UY are being sold for AKV?:

This I'm not sure, you can always call you guide if you have one.

4. Let's say I get a July or August UY, what would be my banking date? I know the rules changed and I can't wrap my brain around it.

Aug UY would be by March 31st I beleive, July UY would be the end of Feb.

5. If we bought in December, but didn't have a Dec. UY, would we get 2007 points or would we have to wait until our 2008 UY month?:

Not sure of this.......depends on the deal at the time.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Thanks for the answers! I have been reading so much that sometimes I think I become more confused!


Rachel

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

This is a great site & will answer most of your questions. IMHO the uy is not very important except for banking purposes. The last I heard DVC does not give a choice in uy.

http://members.cox.net/disneyvacationclub/pages/Charts/charts.htm

That is a great page! Do you know if that's for the new 2008 banking rules or the current ones?


Rachel

 

[CarolinesMom]

1. We always vacation in late Oct., what would be the best UY for us? We go other times as well, but always in Oct.
I would say a September UY, but since I am new, I would go by what the seasoned DVCers say

2. Do we have a choice of UY? If a poor option is offered, should we decline it?
I chose our UY last week when we purchased. The default is April, but I asked for September, but settled for August
3. Does anyone know what UY are being sold for AKV?
See above

4. Let's say I get a July or August UY, what would be my banking date? I know the rules changed and I can't wrap my brain around it.
You can bank up to 4 months before your UY

5. If we bought in December, but didn't have a Dec. UY, would we get 2007 points or would we have to wait until our 2008 UY month?
I have my full 2007 points to use

 

[LisaS]

That is a great page! Do you know if that's for the new 2008 banking rules or the current ones?

That table is for the current banking rules. The new rule goes into effect in 2008 when there will be one banking deadline, 4 months prior to the end of your Use Year. You will be able to bank up to 100% of your points during the first 8 months of your UY and nothing during the last 4 months.

Here is the link to the top level of VAScubaGuy's website: http://members.cox.net/disneyvacationclub/

Re: your UY question, if you will always go in Oct, then an Oct UY would be perfect. But you mention you will go at other times as well and it's important to consider those as well when selecting a UY. For example, if you will also occasionally go in August, then Oct would not be the best choice. So what other times of the year are you likely to use your DVC points?

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

That table is for the current banking rules. The new rule goes into effect in 2008 when there will be one banking deadline, 4 months prior to the end of your Use Year. You will be able to bank up to 100% of your points during the first 8 months of your UY and nothing during the last 4 months.

Here is the link to the top level of VAScubaGuy's website: http://members.cox.net/disneyvacationclub/

Re: your UY question, if you will always go in Oct, then an Oct UY would be perfect. But you mention you will go at other times as well and it's important to consider those as well when selecting a UY. For example, if you will also occasionally go in August, then Oct would not be the best choice. So what other times of the year are you likely to use your DVC points?

Right now, we always go over fall break(Oct.) and I would say the next most likely times would be early January and late May. Of course, this can always change due to our children's school/sports schedules, but that's what we are planning on.

I know some people say UY is not that important, but I do want to make an educated decision.

Rachel

 

[LisaS]

Right now, we always go over fall break(Oct.) and I would say the next most likely times would be early January and late May. Of course, this can always change due to our children's school/sports schedules, but that's what we are planning on.

I know some people say UY is not that important, but I do want to make an educated decision.

I'm one of those people for whom UY is important due to DH's ever changing travel schedule. I've had to cancel two trips in the past month alone so I get great peace of mind from having a UY that works really well for us.

Our WDW visits alternate among Oct, Dec, Jan and May, pretty much the same dates you listed. We have an Oct UY and it works very well with the current banking rules and even better with the new rules where our 100% banking window will be Oct 1 - May 31.

A Sept UY would also work for you. The banking window would be Sep 1 - Apr 30 but would still cover your May trips because to be able to bank points from a cancelled May trip, you would have to cancel at least 31 days in advance of your check-in date. That would mean you must cancel some time in April and that would still be within your 100% banking window under the new rules. If you cancel 30 days to 1 day prior to check-in, your points go into the holding account. Points in holding cannot be banked and can only be used to book something 60 days or less prior to check-in.

So, assuming your travel pattern doesn't change over the years and assuming DVC doesn't surprise us with even more restrictive banking rules, an Oct or a Sep UY would work well for you.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Okay, this all makes sense now. Thanks! Hopefully a late fall UY will be available to us.

Also, thanks for the information on the holding account. I was wondering what happened to points if a trip had to be cancelled at the last minute.

Do you(or anyone else who would like to jump in)think the banking/holding of points is a negative when it comes to enjoying your DVC membership? I guess I'm trying to get the feel of how big of a deal this is.

Another question that kind of goes along with this--say I have points left for my current UY that I didn't bank, but they aren't booked for an upcoming vacation, can I still use those points to book a last minute trip? Of course, this is all depending on if something is available.


Rachel

 

[squirrlygirl]

We were able to choose a different UY at Saratoga than what they were actively selling. They were offering February, we wanted June. We did have to ask, though-it was presented to us like there was no choice.

 

[LisaS]

Do you(or anyone else who would like to jump in)think the banking/holding of points is a negative when it comes to enjoying your DVC membership?

I think the holding account provision actually helps members because it prevents people from holding on to speculative bookings until a few days prior to check-in. Think about how you would feel if you were on the waiting list for a room and read here that some people have several rooms booked because they weren't sure how many family members were joining them. So, they have both a 1BR booked for themselves, but also a 2BR just in case their college aged child decides to come along, and a studio in case Aunt Mary and Uncle Joe decide to come along and they plan to cancel whatever they don't need at the very last minute. The holding account encourages people to make final plans at least 31 days out, allowing those on the waiting list to get a room with at least a few weeks notice.

DVC is designed to be close to 100% occupancy. They have a challenging job to keep the number of points available for use and the number of rooms available to be booked in balance at all times. If they let people hold on to speculative bookings until the very last minute and then cancel without penalty, there would be a lot of rooms sitting empty and a lot of unhappy members who wanted something for those dates but who cannot travel on one day's notice when several rooms suddenly became available.

Of course if you are on the other side of this (forced to cancel at the last minute for a very good reason) it can be a challenge to reuse the points in holding. That's where your UY comes into play. If you normally travel early in your UY, you would have many months to try to use the holding account points.

Another question that kind of goes along with this--say I have points left for my current UY that I didn't bank, but they aren't booked for an upcoming vacation, can I still use those points to book a last minute trip? Of course, this is all depending on if something is available.

Under the 2008 rules, in the last 4 months of your UY you can try for a last minute reservation at a DVC resort and possibly also a Disney Land hotel (since there is not yet a DVC resort open there). I believe a last minute reservation in the last 4 months of your UY at a WDW hotel will no longer be an option starting in 2008 but I'm not 100% sure about that. I'm still a little fuzzy on the new rules.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

This information has been sooooo helpful!

I wouldn't be interested at a non-dvc resort in the last four months--I didn't think the point value was there. As long as we could try for a DVC resort, that's good with us. Of course, DL would be a great option if the point value is good.

I was reading an older thread and a question came to mind about waitlist and banking. See, the more I read, the more confused I get.

If we have our resort booked, but want to try for one that is waitlisted, I'm guessing it would be best to waitlist the entire reservation rather than one day at a time. We don't want to change resorts mid stay and I don't want to run the risk of losing my original reservation. Is there a situation where a waitlist could fall through in the last four months and a person could possibly be at risk of losing points? I guess, that's my question.

I think I have hijacked my own thread!


Rachel

 

[LisaS]

If we have our resort booked, but want to try for one that is waitlisted, I'm guessing it would be best to waitlist the entire reservation rather than one day at a time. We don't want to change resorts mid stay and I don't want to run the risk of losing my original reservation.

I'm not an expert on the waitlist, but the dilemma appears to be this: if you waitlist for the entire stay rather than day by day, your chances of getting what you want are much lower. But if you list day by day, you could get a day here or there but not the whole thing. Worst case would be you get every other day and have to move back and forth multiple times.

Is there a situation where a waitlist could fall through in the last four months and a person could possibly be at risk of losing points? I guess, that's my question.

I'm not sure I understand your question. One risk is this: you have something booked but are waitlisting for something that requires fewer points. Examples: booked at SSR, waitlisted for OKW, or you are booked in a preferred view room at BWV, waitlisted for a standard view room, or booked in a 1BR, waitlisted for a studio. If your waitlist comes through, your original reservation is cancelled and the points go back into your account. The waitlisted reservation is booked, but requires fewer points so you have some points left over in your account. If you are in the last 4 months of your UY, you cannot bank those excess points. The same is true if your waitlist comes through 30 days to 1 day prior to check-in: the excess points go into the holding account, so they cannot be banked and have the restrictions on their use I listed earlier.

If by "fall through" you mean you never got the waitlisted reservation, that's not a problem. No points are committed to the reservation until it comes through.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

I knew I would have trouble explaining that question. I think I'm starting to get the waitlist and problems that can occur. I hadn't thought abou a waitlist being less points and losing them if the reservation is for the last four months. That is good to know and something I'll be careful of in the future.

Until I get the hang of things, I think I will try to plan further out and be careful not to have a waitlist fall in the last four months of my UY.


Rachel