Can RCI trade into Disney?

[ahill004]

ccgirl - ok I haven't spoken to him yet but I am assuming he must've deposited in a red week bc he was able to pull up offsite places like Vacation Villages which is read all year round. And he was offered over the phone the week in August at a DVC. What I am not sure about is how the search he put in works. Is that all he needs to do or should he be calling or looking in person. (He enjoys this part of it or I wouldn't put him through it).

 

[ccgirl]

A search is supposed to work that if a requested accommodation becomes available during the week you requested they will put a "hold" on it and call the member. However, in my experience I would still check online myself every day. Disney is in such a high demand and tricky in that it is possible to get places outside Disney and not inside. Obviously, for the demand factor. If you do end up outside, Orange Lakes is wonderful. Stay away from Westgate Vacation Villas - and I used to own there. The accommodations are nice; you just need to unplug your phone as they constantly get you to try to take the tour. DVC members can make reservations at their home resort 11 months out. Since your request is within the 11 month window - I would say it would probably be a slim chance anything in the park would come up. You could always look into renting points if it is that important you stay in the park. Good luck.

 

[Suzyq9241]

Also... Please be very careful... Because we own at silver lake (rci points) and it states... If you own within a 30 mile radius you can not use the points for disney..


I did not know this and we did .. Paid for it and all... And about a week later i get a call from rci telling me this .. It was for our 20th wedding anniversary...so we had to stay at sheraton vistana rather than a disney resort... So please please be careful.. Call before you book and pay..

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It takes a very good trader, rci points, or a lot of cash to get anything more than a studio through RCI.

RCI has been taking a lot of the DVC inventory and renting the reservations, usually for more than it would cost to rent points from an owner to get a reservation.

Also when they provide inventory through rci points the fees to rci are usually higher and thus more lucrative to RCI.

Back in the Interval International days a trade into DVC was not all that hard to get (even the larger units), if you went during off or shoulder season, and looked every day for availability. I actually booked 2 2 br units at OKW and Saratoga for the same week on 2 different occasions and did an extended family trip.

I hope they haven't been doing this lately with any resort deposits. RCI was recently slapped with a class action lawsuit for doing this. All deposits should go into a pool for members to trade for. Taking a deposit and renting it is sooooo wrong yet they got away with it for a long time since it's hard for reg members to prove.

Finally I could search and see oceanfront 2BRs in Myrtle Beach in Aug even with my little 1 BR lockout. (too bad I couldn't get that week off work.) This was my 1st deposit since the lawsuit and it's a noticable difference. Soon I'll deposit my 2010 whole 3br w/o separating it and hopefully can try again for oceanfront Myrtle Beach for 2011.
I wasn't aware of the 30 mi radius rule. We own in Kissimmee so I guess we'll never get into DVC in Orlando. I did see some search results for HH, SC.
OP: What is the Williamsburg resort's rating? Gold crown? Silver crown? Seems many Wills. resorts ratings have dropped lately and that also affects trading power. Good luck!

 

[ahill004]

ruadisneyfan2 - It is a gold crown resort.

Suzyq9241 - I'm so sorry about what happened to you! I would've been so excited and then so disappointed when they took it away! Fortunately, my in-laws definitely own outside of Orlando - several states away!

 

[Brian Noble]

RCI was recently slapped with a class action lawsuit for doing this.

The suit has been settled, affirming RCI's right to rent out inventory given some very modest limitations. However, a few class members have appealed the settlement---pointlessly, in my opinion, but that's another discussion for another board.

 

[Suzyq9241]

I just wanted people to know how stupid that rule is... and how disappointing it was to us... we were really mad... My dh said that if we knew that we wouldnt have bought in orlando...

 

[ahill004]

So, now that i am beginning to get a grasp on this I pulled up the point value assigned to the different weeks of the year for the resorts. I initially thought going in early November would be considered low season but the first two weeks of December have much lower point values assigned to them Does anyone know why this is so?

 

[Brian Noble]

My dh said that if we knew that we wouldnt have bought in orlando...

For what it's worth, buying with an expectation to exchange for anything in particular usually leads to disappointment in the long run. If you really want to stay somewhere, you have to own there. For example, people who bought II-affiliated timeshares to exchange into Disney were pretty ticked off when they switched to RCI. Other folks who used to have tigers in RCI were pretty ticked off when the ability to trade up was curtailed this past May. Exchange is best viewed as a roll of the dice and/or a way to explore places you hadn't thought to try before rather than an alternative to owning in some specific place. DVC could add a 1-in-N rule tomorrow, and that would clamp down on things even further.

I initially thought going in early November would be considered low season but the first two weeks of December have much lower point values assigned to them Does anyone know why this is so?

Point values tend to be set based on overall supply and demand for the area, which RCI has a pretty good grasp of. What's more, that doesn't always track other metrics of "value". But, in this case, DVC's own point charts do require more points for November than early December.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

So, now that i am beginning to get a grasp on this I pulled up the point value assigned to the different weeks of the year for the resorts. I initially thought going in early November would be considered low season but the first two weeks of December have much lower point values assigned to them Does anyone know why this is so?

Kids are still in school with no days off during this time and with a long holiday break coming soon. Also it's a busy time for most people preparing for the upcoming holidays.
We cruised Thanksgiving week once and boy it messed me up. I spent a lot of Nov. getting ready for the cruise then the weekend after (early Dec.) unpacking, doing laundry, going to dry cleaners, etc.
It left me around 2 weeks to do a lot of Christmas shopping, wrapping, decorating, etc. Working FT left me very little time to get it all done. Won't be doing that again any time soon or if I do I'll get all shopping done in Oct.

 

[ccgirl]

ahill are you looking at the DVC point values? If so, that doesn't really come into play while looking for a weeks exchange. A week is a week. As long as you own (or your family in this case) a gold crown week during Red season, it SHOULD trade. However, it may be a bit late in the game as DVC owners can reserve units at their home resort 11 months out. That's why I traded 11 months out. Did you not see anything for Saratoga Springs or Old Key West? I always see a ton of those units. If you go on the RCI website, look at the Exchange section. They offer "tips".
1. Exchange early. The first step in exchanging is depositing! It’s important to remember that your deposit’s Trading Power will often impact your available exchange options. Depositing early, can positively impact the Trading Power of your deposit.
2. Plan early. As soon as the travel bug hits you, visit RCI.com. Just keep in mind that the Trading Power needed for an exchange will vary based on supply and demand, so plan early!
3. Search for a range of dates if your trip is not date specific.
At RCI.com you can see all exchange availability that’s available for a specific date using the calendar filter. Just select the range of dates you can travel, and you’ll see ALL your available exchange vacations

On the RCI website, You can click on Member Perks then Resort Directory. You will then see Seasonality Grid on the right. Click that and look at the grid for the resort that is owned in Williamsburg. Although the DVC resorts aren't listed, they are red all year round.

For your best trades, I deposit my weeks 1 year in advance and place my exchanges then. As other said, if you are currently not seeing any availability, chances are not good that something in DVC will become available. I see a ton of availablity for your desired weeks. I would probably have a plan B in place and reserve that one within the next few months so you can be assured a place you really want. Good luck!

 

[Brian Noble]

As long as you own (or your family in this case) a gold crown week during Red season, it SHOULD trade.

Unfortunately, this is an oversimplification.

RCI is built entirely around a notion of supply and demand---both for your speicfic resort and week, and the general area and time of year you are depositing. Crown status doesn't factor into the equation significantly, beyond the fact that higher-rated properties tend to have a bit more demand than lower-rated ones, all things being equal.

For example, someone depositing a 2BR gold crown in Branson during the summer is unlikely to have enough trade power for DVC, because Branson is literally awash in timeshares. There are many more people wanting to trade out than wanting to trade in.

On the other hand a summer studio in an older "standard" resort that happens to be oceanfront in North Carolina can probably trade for anything in RCI's spacebank, because everyone wants to go to the beach during the summer, but few who own those weeks deposit them---they either use it themselves, or rent for a sum sufficient to allow them to rent most anything in the spacebank with money left over.

 

[ahill004]

ccgirl - out of the available resorts you see, what would you recommend in the area?

Brian Noble and ccgirl - I looked at the seasonality grids and my in-laws own at their resort is red for the weeks between March 25th and Nov. 4th and then again Nov. 18th - the Christmas holidays It is white for the rest.

 

[ccgirl]

Your in laws would have had to have been assigned and deposited one of the red weeks then to even have a shot at Disney. One of my timeshares is floating and I request a week the beginning of the year and then bank it so I can be assured a great week. As for area timeshares, it is probable you and I see totally different resort choices because the week I can search against is my Hawaii week so just about everything appears. If they appear, I have heard good things about Vistana and Orange Lake. My in-laws stay at Grand Beach and love it. If there are any in particular you see, ask away and I can let you know any thoughts I may have. You can also search on this website using the name of the resort as a search string and see what has been discussed before. Honestly, staying outside of the park is not bad. That is primarily what I have done in the past 15+ trips. You will still have an incredible time!

 

[ahill004]

They've traded into Bonnet Creek and Sheraton Vistana and Cypress Pointe in the past. CP was ok - they really liked the other two. If Bonnet Creek is showing availability then I would be interested in that one I guess. Also, I've heard mixed reviews about Vacation Village on the Parkway which I know showed up when he searched the other day.
I guess i need to decide if I should go in September or mid-November first. I am flexible but I want low crowds since it may just be me and my two little girls (Husband is not into disney).

 

[ccgirl]

Hi there,
I will pm you some choices. There are really great ones. If you are looking for the lower or crowds between Sept and Nov I would say Sept as parents are more hesitant to pull their kids out since school just started. Plus, the weather will be warmer for you.