A few questions

[ProudSoccerMom]

I hope I've posted this in the correct forum. We've been thinking about DVC for a few years now. We'd like to spend next year's WDW trip in a DVC resort to experience it first hand. The Wilderness Lodge is our favorite resort, so we're thinking of trying to rent points at the Villas next December. I have a few random questions:

Do the studios or one bedrooms have in suite washer and dryers? There are three of us, so we don't need a bigger room category.

Can we apply the Disney Visa free-dining promotion to a DVC reservation? We like the convenience of the dining plan, and now that soup or salad/fruit can be substituted for dessert, it's more appealing to us.

Do we need to try to book at the 11 month mark? Not sure how popular this property is in December, but I'm guessing very considering how gorgeous it is at Christmas. We'd be traveling the week after Thanksgiving (Sunday to Sunday) or the second week of December.

Any advice on the best place to rent points?

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[onestitchloose]

I believe it's only the 1 bed apt that have washer and dryers.

If you are renting, I'm not sure you can apply the Visa promotion. Normally you add the dining plan on via the dvc account, so not sure how this would work if you have rented points from someone else, again I could be wrong.

Only renting Wilderness Lodge points specifically, would allow you to book at 11 month mark. If you can book at 11 months, I'd suggest doing it just in case. We book non home resorts at 7 months often and have been quite lucky so far but you do constantly hear of nightmares.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

At VWL, the studios have a communal washer/dryer room. The larger units have in-room washer dryers. The washer/dryer rooms for DVC are free, whereas the washer/dryer rooms for hotel guests cost money.
You can see the status at this link. http://classic.laundryview.com/laundry_room.php?lr=4575691

 

[chalee94]

Studios do not have a washer/dryer in the units.

The dining plan is never included for free in ANY DVC points reservation. To get "free" dining, you have to book directly with Disney (DVC rentals are with a 3rd party) and you have to pay rack rates (and DVC points stays are discounted) along with a ticket purchase requirement. You can add the DDP to a DVC points stay with no ticket requirement but that's the only advantage generally.

VWL is extremely popular in November and December (this is the peak season for booking any WDW DVC resort) so booking at 11 months is a good idea.

www.dvcrequest.com (David's) is the best place to start IMO.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DVC points bookings are basically eligible for zero additional discounts from Disney. No "free dining," no discount on the dining plan. The DVC member you rent from has to book the DDP for you, and you will pay the DVC contracted rate. It's important to keep this in mind when considering DVC purchase, because once you buy, you will be paying the dues at published rate yearly, and you don't get many native discounts.

Agree that for early December, VWL is a mandatory 11-month booking. Early December is the top DVC demand period of the year for bookings, and many VWL owners own there specifically to book the holiday.

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

Thank you, all! I appreciate your help.

 

[disneynutz]

Depending on how the construction goes during 2017, I would probably skip VWL for a year.

Bill

 

[Lynne M]

Regarding free dining....

DVC isn't a way to get discounts on hotel reservations, or some kind of savings club. It's a timeshare - meaning, you are purchasing a small real-estate interest in the resort. You are becoming a part-owner of the resort. You, along with thousands of your co-owners, own something like 90%+ of the room inventory at that resort. So, when you make a reservation with your points, you're booking room inventory that's owned by the membership - not by Disney. It's even a completely different booking system.

When Disney's travel company offers special promotions like free dining, they're offering that as an incentive to get people to book the room inventory that they own, at the resorts that they own. They recoup their costs for that promotion because guests are paying them full price (rack rate) for the resort reservation in order to get free dining.

So, when you make your DVC reservation on points, you're not giving Disney's travel company any money at all. You're not even booking with them. And you're not booking room inventory that Disney owns. So you're not in any way eligible for any of their promotions. Which makes sense, when you think about it - the division of Disney that's offering those promotions isn't getting money from you, so they have zero incentive to give you free food.

 

[com_op_2000]

...Do we need to try to book at the 11 month mark? Not sure how popular this property is in December, but I'm guessing very considering how gorgeous it is at Christmas. We'd be traveling the week after Thanksgiving (Sunday to Sunday) or the second week of December...

Yes you need to book at 11 months out.
You are looking at going 2 of the 3 most popular DVC vacation weeks of the year.
This is a small resort (in terms of the total number of rooms) and therefor books up and stays booked for that time period very quickly. It has some of the best decorations for the Christmas holidays and lots of DVC members want to stay at that resort at this time of the year.

 

[sleepydog25]

Echoing what others have said, book/rent at 11 months; washer/dryer units only in 1BRs/2BRs; no "free" dining with DVC; can't help with rental agency though the one mentioned above has a very good reputation.

As for DVC, in general, it's a huge financial commitment over the course of many years, not the least of which are the dues which come around each year (say you buy 200 points and the dues are $6 per point, then you'd be looking at $1200 that year--dues go up each year around 3% on average). As Lynne said, DVC is strictly a timeshare and shouldn't be viewed any other way. And while Bill brings up a valid point about the ongoing construction at the Wilderness Lodge, I would say that would be a great time to visit in order to see the changes that will be just around the corner by that time. If you're still in love with the area then, you'll have the choice of either going direct into the new Copper Creek or buying resale at the classic VWL (ain't calling it by its new name).

Good luck with your upcoming decisions!