All About Fixed Weeks (RIV/CCV/AUL/VGF/POLY/TOWER/VHD/FWC Charts)

[OPDman]

And me tempted to get FW 39 instead of no FW at all!

I've yet to be convinced that a FW is not a total PITA!

It can be. But if you always travel at the same times, or go occasionally at a popular time at a popular resort that has fixed weeks, it can be a godsend.

We always go in early December. Getting into either Wilderness Lodge was always difficult. But we have a fixed week for a shower studio at Copper Creek. Now the reservation just happens. No walking. No stressing. And since we got it the premium has fallen from 10% to about 3% with point chart adjustments.

The painful parts: dealing with member services to cancel, or dealing with member services to make any changes to that reservation, including adding or changing guests. And as I referenced, recently another issue is not seeing the reservation being made until quite late. For many years, the reservation for the following year was made while we were there on the current year’s reservation.

We love it. But we are creatures of habit. For folks like that it is wonderful. Others should really consider the possible PITA downsides you referenced. I do think that for sales restricted properties, the Riviera, the Cabins, and Lakeside Lodge (?), it could be a positive on your resale if you select a popular room type at a popular time to go, even if you never use it and always opt out yourself.

 

[ShaneDJ]

Dang now you guys have me tempted to buy a week 39 instead of a week 49..

But in week 49 the weather is so much cooler and pleasant! That was our reasoning.

 

[intamin]

But in week 49 the weather is so much cooler and pleasant! That was our reasoning.

I have a week 50 already, my plan was to do 49 and likely benefit from the eventual change in December point charts. IMO summer charts will decrease even further and December will go up slightly over time. But yeah owning 49 and 50 would give me the option to pick which week I want to take my family to Disney if I decided to use it that way.

Week 39 is relatively close to our birthdays so that's why it would be tempting but I imagine the kids wouldn't be able to go around that time since they'd have just started school but the savings are so tempting!

 

[Brian Noble]

Dang now you guys have me tempted to buy a week 39 instead of a week 49..

I bought Week 9. It is not a "bargain." If anything, the points required to book that week are likely to go down, not up. I bought it because (a) it was in my budget, (b) in a room category that is at least somewhat competitive, (c) at a time of year that I know I will enjoy, year after year.

We on the DIS sometimes get wrapped up in working the angles, and there is nothing wrong with getting a deal! But, it might be wise not to let the tail wag the dog.

I've yet to be convinced that a FW is not a total PITA!

I've only had one cycle so far, but the reservation was made, made on time, and easy to opt out of afterwards. Very little effort on my part.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I bought Week 9. It is not a "bargain." If anything, the points required to book that week are likely to go down, not up. I bought it because (a) it was in my budget, (b) in a room category that is at least somewhat competitive, (c) at a time of year that I know I will enjoy, year after year

This is why week 3 or 4 appeal to me! I love that time of year. Week 3 is probably best when considering school schedules and my preferences, but week 4 might be the “better deal”. If I was really deal hunting, I’d choose week 50. But I have no desire to travel then!

 

[OPDman]

I have a week 50 already, my plan was to do 49 and likely benefit from the eventual change in December point charts. IMO summer charts will decrease even further and December will go up slightly over time. But yeah owning 49 and 50 would give me the option to pick which week I want to take my family to Disney if I decided to use it that way.

Week 39 is relatively close to our birthdays so that's why it would be tempting but I imagine the kids wouldn't be able to go around that time since they'd have just started school but the savings are so tempting!

Those are our 3 weeks! 39/49/50. We love going in the summerish fall and before Christmas. Our travel patterns were always early December or late January, Early May, and late August to mid September. We looked at weeks 4, 18, 34-36, and 49/50.

We chose weeks 49 (Riviera) and 50 (Copper Creek) to give us flexibility and a different experience depending on the week we used. And a great time if we used both! . If we didn’t, we figured that weeks 4 (if we wanted a quick return) and 18 would be easier to just book. We have some free range points at Copper Creek ( that we got before the fixed week) to supplement the fixed week in that event. We could do a split stay to use up all the fixed week points. ( Honestly a bit of a PITA issue.)

We loved going in the summerish fall, but worried that going then with a December use year was a risk. So when we were investigating options and the savings for week 39 ( more for the impact dues wise then anything else.), we decided that 39 was close enough to when we’d normally go, plus feel more Halloween like than August. Win! Win! We also insisted on an August use year to calm the banking/weather nerves.

I don’t think it should be a strategy, but DVC made it that way with Resale restrictions. If our needs change (Riviera), we wanted to have flexibility in resale that also provides a benefit to the potential buyer. As time goes by, more and more contracts will be limited to only the Riviera. All those points will be trying to book popular times. I feel a guaranteed week for December will give that owner an advantage as the resort becomes more restrictive. In our case, the strategy of fixed week buying, the reality of resale restrictions, and our personal needs and desires all aligned. We were truly blessed in that way.

Best wishes to all!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Dang now you guys have me tempted to buy a week 39 instead of a week 49..

I almost bought the better value FW, but in the end decided to buy a week that we would be happy to use if it ever came down to needing to use our FW.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

And me tempted to get FW 39 instead of no FW at all!

I've yet to be convinced that a FW is not a total PITA!

If I haven’t single-handedly convinced you of this, I am failing at my job

 

[VGCgroupie]

If I haven’t single-handedly convinced you of this, I am failing at my job

You for sure aided in my decision.

 

[tx911]

If I haven’t single-handedly convinced you of this, I am failing at my job

I'm sorely tempted by week 39! I want to get another 100 points at Riv, and that's only 114!

 

[tx911]

You for sure aided in my decision.

I'm not convinced you two aren't just trying to spread the pain around. Misery loves company, after all.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I'm not convinced you two aren't just trying to spread the pain around. Misery loves company, after all.

I did forget to cancel ahead of time and got a "we cant wait to welcome you home" email and I was like.. what the!!! Who hacked my account I didnt book anything!! Then realized what it was. I chatted in and cancelled it, easy peasy.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I'm sorely tempted by week 39! I want to get another 100 points at Riv, and that's only 114!

There is an entire #week39 crew at Riviera!!

When I’m stressed at work I think about spending week 39 living it up at Riv!! That’s money well spent right there!!

 

[tx911]

There is an entire #week39 crew at Riviera!!

When I’m stressed at work I think about spending week 39 living it up at Riv!! That’s money well spent right there!!

I can already picture myself trying to rearrange my whole life so I can go to WDW on the 39th week of every year

 

[tx911]

There is an entire #week39 crew at Riviera!!

When I’m stressed at work I think about spending week 39 living it up at Riv!! That’s money well spent right there!!

In all seriousness though, isn't that a pretty low demand time of year?

Is the thinking that the demand will get so bad that the resort studios will be super hard to get?

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I almost bought the better value FW, but in the end decided to buy a week that we would be happy to use if it ever came down to needing to use our FW.

Us too! We considered week 7, but ultimately went with 49.

 

[tx911]

Us too! We considered week 7, but ultimately went with 49.

I would love week 7 because I love Festival of the Arts and weather that time of year. 153 points is a bit too rich for me though! Week 49 is great but probably not so good for my Feb UY.

 

[intamin]

In all seriousness though, isn't that a pretty low demand time of year?

Is the thinking that the demand will get so bad that the resort studios will be super hard to get?

It's not about demand, it's that week 39 has a nice discount for a fixed week.

The guaranteed week 39 price for Poly tower in a standard studio is 114 points.

Week 39 this year runs from September 28th to October 5th.

On the website for this year that week costs 136 points.

https://www.redweek.com/calendar/month?week=39&dow=7&year=2025&submit=Change

The more days there are in October during week 39, the bigger the discount will be for week 39 owners.

But yeah, I should probably just stick with 49. Were a lot more likely to go then and that's the time that is actually difficult to book.

Edit: actually can someone verify this? Why is the standard studio price less than the duo? I get the room view is better but it shouldn't be that much higher..

 

[JackosinDIS]

It's not about demand, it's that week 39 has a nice discount for a fixed week.

The guaranteed week 39 price for Poly tower in a standard studio is 114 points.

Week 39 this year runs from September 28th to October 5th.

On the website for this year that week costs 136 points.

https://www.redweek.com/calendar/month?week=39&dow=7&year=2025&submit=Change

The more days there are in October during week 39, the bigger the discount will be for week 39 owners.

But yeah, I should probably just stick with 49. Were a lot more likely to go then and that's the time that is actually difficult to book.

Edit: actually can someone verify this? Why is the standard studio price less than the duo?

If you are looking at the Poly FW chart, then they don’t sell a standard view duo for week 39, only preferred or premium, which in both cases work out significantly more points than the SV studio!

ETA: 130 points for duo v. 114 for a studio. Go figure

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

In all seriousness though, isn't that a pretty low demand time of year?

Is the thinking that the demand will get so bad that the resort studios will be super hard to get?

All of October tends to be busy with Food and Wine/Halloween so while I did buy 39 for the point chart advantage, I also anticipate resort studios being challenging to secure…but who knows!