Confused - Just Signed Up on Cruise

[Family-of-4]

Hello all,

This is our first post - not sure if this is the correct place or format to ask these questions. We just returned today from our first ever cruise - 7 days on the Disney Magic (amazing!), and a fellow cruiser told us about the disboards so we started checking them out today. While on board, we attended a DVC presentation (have seen DVC kiosks before but we really didn't know anything about DVC) and were sold. We bought 320 points at $104 per point at the Animal Kingdom Villas and received the following incentives for signing up during the cruise:

1) 2-for-1 bonus points
2) $1,000 off every 160 points bought (we received $2,000 off)
3) Use year starting Oct 1, 2008
4) No annual dues until May 1, 2009 (when building is completed)
5) Discounted Closing Costs (cost us $320)

They were also selling Bay Lake at $112 per point. We're nervous about the cost so went with AK and bought 320 points to establish two contracts - one for each child for estate planning purposes (suggested by the DVC personnel). We started reading this board and have realized that there is a vibrant resale market out there and that it apparently DOES matter which resort you buy at. We are not really interested in AK - we would much prefer to be associated with Bay Lake or an EPCOT villa. We have 10 days to cancel this deal. Are we better off joining through resale at a villa we would prefer - or are the double points with our on-board purchase the better deal??? Does the two contracts matter? Is there a cheaper way to get started? Not even sure what other questions to ask. Please help!


Jeff, Dane, daughter (9), and son (6)

 

[Lynne M]

Well, I'm always a believer in that old saying "buy in haste, repent at leisure". You got some good incentives with your deal, but it's not a good deal if you bought more points than you need, or if you are going to have trouble getting into the resort you want.

I'd spend the next few days doing some serious research, being sure to read all the paperwork and understanding what you bought and how it works. Ask all the questions you want here, we're always happy to help. If you're still uncomfortable with what you bought, cancel it. DVC isn't going anywhere, and there are always incentives available through Disney, and good prices on the resale market.

I guess I'll start by tackling the resort question. You say you don't want to stay at AK, but are more interested in the Epcot resorts or BLT. We really don't know how difficult it's going to be to get into BLT at 7 months yet, but I can tell you it's very tough to get the Epcot resorts at 7 months for trips from Oct 1 through the end of the year. BCV in particular is a very small resort, and very popular because it's a 5 minute walk to Epcot. Folks love to stay there during the Food and Wine Festival.

Check the resale sites, such as the Timeshare Store (sponsor of this board, and very highly regarded). Compare the cost of what you bought to a resale for BWV or BCV. Only you can judge what's the best value for your family.

As far as starting with a lower cost, lots of people buy smaller contracts at resale, and add on points as their needs change. Don't feel that you have to buy the whole 320 points up front.

How often do you plan to visit WDW? What size villa do you think you'll be needing?

 

[dzney2001]

I think the 2 for 1 is the developer points and you have only one time and one year to use them. Do what you feel comfortable with. I have only bought from Disney, but I have been doing research on the resale and I would consider it.

 

[Chuck S]

Welcome to the DISBoards.

You have several questions and I'll answer what I can.

First. most people do recommend that you purchase where yo wish to stay most frequently so that you can take advantage of the 11 month booking window. The initial buy-in is only part of the cost of ownership, there are also the annual dues/maintenance fees. These will vary resort to resort.

Another thing t insider is the overall size of the resort, for instance AKV, OKW and SS, because of they have more villas in general, will logically be easier to book at 7 months than a relatively small resort like BWV and VWL.

Bay Lake has a lot of units, but because of the MK location, will also likely be more difficult to book.

Is there a cheaper way to get started than buying through Disney? Yes. Resale is almost always less expensive, but there are other considerations, too. Resale will take longer to finalize, as you have to wait on Disney's Right of First Refusal, the sellers to complete the paperwork, the closing company to complete the sale, and Disney to get you into the computer system. Most folks don't mind the slight inconvenience, but it still need to be considered.

For a direct from Disney sale, the cruise incentives are very, very good. The double incentive points, I assume, are not valid at every resort, but include Disneyland and Saratoga Springs, like the more standard incentive points?

Also, if you are not in a position to plan your trips more than 7 months before travel, it really doesn't matter where you purchase (ther than annual dues), as you would not be using the priority booking window.

In short, it really only matters where you purchase IF you book 8 to 11 months in advance. There is still a good chance you will get to stay where ever you wish, but you won't get it each and every time.

 

[Family-of-4]

Thank you all for responding. We did buy hastily on the ship, but the main reason is that it just seems to be a very good long-term value as we’re Disney fans for life and we love to travel (that’s our main hobby). I’m sure most of you also believe in the DVC value as well. We asked about five different members on board and couldn’t get a negative word about DVC from any of them. We booked on the ship for the double points and the $1,000 discount per 160 points – we also knew we could cancel in 10 days. What we didn’t know on the ship was that there is a vibrant discounted resale market, we could’ve joined for less than 160 points, and that the club we join just might make a difference after all in where we get to stay. What we’ll do with our points in the future is this: More cruises, travel outside of Florida, and come to WDW typically once, sometimes twice, a year for 2 to 4 days. We don’t like coming to WDW during peak times (summer and holidays). We prefer to take the kids out of school for a few days either mid-November, early-December or Winter. We would want to stay at either an EPCOT villa (probably BCV) or a Magic Kingdom Villa (Bay Lake or Wilderness Lodge Villa) most of the time. We left the ship with the impression that it really didn’t matter what villa we were purchasing because availability is generally not a problem if we avoid the peaks of summer and holidays. If that is not accurate, then we respectfully ask for your help in figuring out what to do. Do folks typically buy small points in multiple villas? Do small points have the same booking priority in the 7 to 11 month window as big points? If we don’t generally want to be restricted to staying at the Animal Kingdom villa, should we try to change our purchase to Bay Lakes (maybe for 160 points instead of 320) and buy a small points package resale in Beach Club? Should we just cancel our purchase entirely, give up the double points and $1,000 off (per 160 points), and just buy small points of Beach Club, maybe Wilderness, and Bay Lake all on resale? We don’t mind the wait for a resale transaction.
Please help! Jeff and family

 

[disneynutz]

Rescind the contract and start from square one.

You should buy where you and the wife love to stay. Have you stayed at the DVC resorts before?

In my opinion, kids don't count. They don't care where they stay, and in a few more years they might not even want to vacation with Mom and Dad.

 

[chrisd596]

Also remember a resale contract will expire on 2042 and the BLT is good until 2062, AKV is good until 2057.

Best advise has been repeated many times "buy where you want to stay."
Our home resort is BWV, we have add ons at BCV and now BLT. I wouldn't resell them ever. We consider them prime location for walking into Epcot or Disney Studios and now with BLT....walking into MK.

Of course passing all this down to our children is an added feature when considering the 2062 date, when I'll be 107 and running to Space Mountain!

Rethink your decision. AK is absolutley beautiful and we have considered many times, but the transportation is limited to buses and Epcot resorts have boats and walking.

Personally I would look for a resale at Epcot resorts, going for about $80 or so a point, even though it expires at 2042. As you vacation and learn more you can always add on.

Either way you will really enjoy your stays and I think enjoy being a part of the disney community.

Good luck

Chris

Good luck

 

[aurorafan]

Another thing to consider is that slow times for WDW in general tend to be busy for DVC, especially early December. Low point costs and Christmas decorations/festivities mean those first 2 weeks book up very fast. If you want to stay in an Epcot resort during that time you will have a very hard time finding accomodations if history is any guide.

As the membership grows buying where you want to stay will become more and more important

 

[CarolAnnC]

Unless you own at BCV or BWV forget about staying at either one in early December. I learned the hard way. Several years of waitlists never came through for me. That is ultimate peak time for DVC and you will not (or rarely) get into those resorts then unless you have the 11 month advantage. I finally bought additional points at both - BWV via resale and BCV puchased while on a Disney Cruise. Both worth their weight in gold IMHO.

 

[DebbieB]

Also remember a resale contract will expire on 2042 and the BLT is good until 2062, AKV is good until 2057.

Not all resale contracts expire in 2042, it depends on the resort. It will expire when that resorts points expire. If you buy an OKW resale where the member extended, it would expire in 2057. An SSR resale would expire in 2054, an AKV resale would expire in 2057.

If you are not interested in staying at AKV regularly, I would cancel. It will be very difficult for a non-BLT member to get the coveted MK view. So it that's what you want, buy at BLT. I love the BWV boardwalk view and book it at 11 months, it can be hard to get at 7 months.

Splitting the contracts is a great idea. I wish I would have split up my 250 points to give me flexibility to sell part.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you go with a resale, you will have to buy the contract as it is. You won't be able to split a resale into two smaller contracts. You'd need to find two contracts, similar in size, with the same use year to make it easier to manage.

 

[Family-of-4]

Thank you all again. To answer a couple of previous questions - our 2 for 1 points are not limited to any resorts - they are good anywhere but must be used by Oct 2009 (or Oct 2010 if used on a cruise that is booked by Oct 2009). We like to travel all around, not just at WDW and would use points through Interval International every few years. We also plan on cruising more in the future. At WDW, our favorite parks are EPCOT and MK (with and without the kids). We have been to WDW many times and have two distinctive magical accomodation experiences that exceed all others - staying at the Dolphin and getting to leave EPCOT through the back entrance after Illuminations and once when staying at the Contemporary North Wing (at military rate when Shades of Green was being expanded) and getting to walk to and from the MK. So if purchased resort is important for reservations, it seems that we need to be a part of BLT and BCV/BWV. My question is how much value are we losing by cancelling our contract and losing the 320 use anywhere points and the $2,000 discount we received on-board? Perhaps since we'll only be traveling to WDW about once a year and will be doing other things (cruises, Interval International) we should keep one of the AKL contracts to keep the 160 bonus points and add-on smaller contracts of BCV and BLT? Can we even add on a small BLT contract in the future since DVC is only selling at 160 points or more (or can existing members buy into BLT for lower than 160)? Or can we convert our purchase in the 10-day time frame from AKL to BLT since they were selling BLT on-board as well (but at $112 per point instead of $104). Still confused but learning quickly.

Jeff and family

 

[5forDiz]

(1) .....What we’ll do with our points in the future is this: More cruises, travel outside of Florida, and come to WDW typically once, sometimes twice, a year for 2 to 4 days. We don’t like coming to WDW during peak times (summer and holidays). We prefer to take the kids out of school for a few days either mid-November, early-December or Winter.....


(2).......We would want to stay at either an EPCOT villa (probably BCV) or a Magic Kingdom Villa (Bay Lake or Wilderness Lodge Villa) most of the time. We left the ship with the impression that it really didn’t matter what villa we were purchasing because availability is generally not a problem if we avoid the peaks of summer and holidays. If that is not accurate, then we respectfully ask for your help in figuring out what to do.......

(3).......Do folks typically buy small points in multiple villas? Do small points have the same booking priority in the 7 to 11 month window as big points?....

(4).......If we don’t generally want to be restricted to staying at the Animal Kingdom villa, should we try to change our purchase to Bay Lakes (maybe for 160 points instead of 320) and buy a small points package resale in Beach Club?.....

(5)......Should we just cancel our purchase entirely, give up the double points and $1,000 off (per 160 points), and just buy small points of Beach Club, maybe Wilderness, and Bay Lake all on resale? We don’t mind the wait for a resale transaction.....
Please help! Jeff and family

For your questions above, some of our thoughts :

(1) Best "value" for your DVC points is to use them at DVC resorts. Although many members will use them for Disney cruises you probably can in most cases find a better cash deal; some members will opt to rent out their points (typically in $10-$13 point range these days) and put that cash toward a cruise. Also, if you search threads here there are excellent ones you should read concerning using points at other non-Disney destinations - if you plan to do that regularly most will agree you should buy less DVC points and buy another timeshare for vacationing at non-Disney properties.

As mentioned by other posters here, December is extremely popular with holiday decorations & events; also other times that you may not typically think of as peak will be at DVC because it may be low point usage season or other WDW events may be scheduled (such as Epcot Food&Wine Fesival). Check the points charts for DVC resorts (link is at upper right on this page) to get a better idea of how many points you'd need based on times of year you'd like to travel/resort & type of villa you'd want to stay in.

(2) Your Home Resort give you 11 month booking advantage. You can buy at as many or as few DVC Resorts as you want but the points remain "tied" to their particular Home Resort for months 11, 10, 9 and 8 (before check-in date you want). At 7 months or less before the check-in date you want all DVC resort points become "equal" regardless of what Home Resort they are attached to.

So you can't combine AKV points with BWV points to make a reservation during months 11,10,9 and 8 before desired check-in to reserve at BWV - - only your BWV points would be valid for BWV reservation during this booking window and your AKV points would only by valid to book at AKV during this window. You may book as many days at BWV that your BWV points will cover & then book as many days at AKV as those points will cover and then at 7 months try to switch the AKV dates over to BWV or switch the BWV dates over to AKV based upon availability of course. Or you can just keep the trip split between 2 resorts.

(3) Many members who own smaller points contracts at multiple resorts will often bank a resorts points into upcoming Use Year to reserve that resort every other year utilizing 2 years worth of that resort's points. You can also bank & borrow to have 3 years worth of that resort's points to use every 3rd year.

(4) As others said here "buy resort where you really would love to stay" is probably best (or own most of your points there) OR buy where you will NOT MIND having to stay if it turns out you can't get the resort you would prefer at 7 month booking window. But of course if you are not an advance planner and wouldn't make a reservation until 7 months or less before a trip then you can purchase points at any resort because you wouldn't benefit from months 11 - 8 booking window.

(5) This is a tough one to answer because the incentives are very attractive, but DVC is a significant purchase & each year you will have Maintenance Fees per point that you own with the price per point determined by which Home Resort(s) those points are tied to & this should be taken into consideration as well. See this link for MF info & how prices have changed over the years at each resort. I believe BLT MFs will start off at $3.67 per point.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21793879&postcount=3

It sounds like you & your spouse are feeling a bit rushed & many things that you'd like to still consider....imho it'd be best to cancel. Take your time until you both feel you've researched all details out and as you mentioned - the resale market; definitely worth giving it a good look. With a resale purchase you can buy into DVC with less points then the minimum required by Disney if you had made the initial first purchase with them.
You will still become a full DVC member (your membership will not be treated any differently if you buy resale or a smaller contract). You can start with a smaller purchase & do add-on contract(s) if you find you want more points at the first resort you purchase or are drawn to other DVC resorts & would like to own points there as well.

You can purchase add-on contract(s) at any DVC resort directly through Disney; it is a 25 point minimum purchase at present for all resorts but on
Jan 15 2009 the minimum add-on for BLT will be 100 points. If you want to finance an add-on purchase through Disney presently you'd need to purchase a minimum of 50 points. And you can also purchase additional contract(s) on resale market too.

I wouldn't get too caught up in concern about expiration year; what's most important is what you'd be comfortable spending to purchase & pay out in MFs each year and how content you'd be to stay at a particular resort but fyi the expirations are 2042 for BCV, BWV, VWL & unextended OKW (offsites HHI & VB are 2042 too); 2054 for SSR; 2057 for AKV & extended OKW and
2060 for BLT.

*** just noticed you last post : to give you an idea of "value" of bonus one time use points with this purchase : go look at Rent/Trade board; typically points rent for $10-13 per point but you would be responsible for trying to arrange a reservation for potential renter, get payment from them, etc. Many members do this successfully ( speaking for our family we've never rented any points since we always use them and I just don't want to have to contend with the rental scenario unless I was dealing with another DVC member ).

You would get $5 off per point on BLT price with 160 point purchase so your purchase price would be $107 per point. If you purchase at another DVC resort you can add-on points at any DVC Resort including BLT for 25 point minimum add-on purchase but on Jan 15 2009 BLT add-on minimum raises up to 100 points.

Yes, you've got some attractive incentives there but don't let it pressure you into making decision - - incentives are often offered so don't feel like these will be last incentives you will ever see.

You should research buying a smaller contract & another timeshare for your non-Disney resort vacations that you say you'd like to regularly take (DVC's best for using at DVC resorts not for trades).

Best wishes deciding what best works for your family

 

[RobDoc]

... So if purchased resort is important for reservations, it seems that we need to be a part of BLT and BCV/BWV. My question is how much value are we losing by cancelling our contract and losing the 320 use anywhere points and the $2,000 discount we received on-board? Perhaps since we'll only be traveling to WDW about once a year and will be doing other things (cruises, Interval International) we should keep one of the AKL contracts to keep the 160 bonus points and add-on smaller contracts of BCV and BLT? Can we even add on a small BLT contract in the future since DVC is only selling at 160 points or more (or can existing members buy into BLT for lower than 160)? Or can we convert our purchase in the 10-day time frame from AKL to BLT since they were selling BLT on-board as well (but at $112 per point instead of $104). Still confused but learning quickly.

Jeff and family

To begin with, I would ask for clarification/confirmation about your "bonus" points. Recently, these Developer Points have had some restrictions regarding where they may be used (SSR, DL resorts, DCL or World Passport - but not at any of the other DVC resorts). I'd do that just to fully understand what you are receiving since no one else has reported having no restrictions.

Beginning January 15, 2009 the minimum add-on at BLT will be 100 points - so if you decide to keep one AKV contract you might want to add-on at BLT before that date. Also, there will be price increase for AKV points on that same date - to $112, but still with a discount. There has been no announcement as yet about direct purchases at any of the other resorts.

As for using your DVC membership a significant amount for non-DVC options - there are certainly less costly ways to accomplish the same thing and it might be worthwhile educating yourself about that before deciding what to do. DVC's best value is to use your points for weeknights at DVC resorts. Using them for the cruise certainly has a value and is a good use for points you would not otherwise be able to use, but you may be able to accomplish the same thing buying fewer DVC points and paying cash for the other options.

I realize this is a lot to digest at one time and you are certainly in the best position to assess your real needs and financial position. There is no "right" or "wrong" regarding a DVC purchase and some of it is certainly an emotional move. There is definitely a value for the Developer Points you are receiving, a value on the lower closing costs (there are no closing costs on future add-ons by existing members) and value in the cruise credits you have received. You should do the math on the total value and compare that to what a resale purchase might be. In general, if your preference will be to stay at BLT or an Epcot Resort (BWV/BCV) it might be best to consider a purchase at one of those resorts. BLT won't be available via resale for some time, but BWV and BCV are both available thru resale now.

Feel free to ask more questions about DVC, resale and using your points while you are making any decision!

 

[Family-of-4]

To begin with, I would ask for clarification/confirmation about your "bonus" points. Recently, these Developer Points have had some restrictions regarding where they may be used (SSR, DL resorts, DCL or World Passport - but not at any of the other DVC resorts). I'd do that just to fully understand what you are receiving since no one else has reported having no restrictions.

Beginning January 15, 2009 the minimum add-on at BLT will be 100 points - so if you decide to keep one AKV contract you might want to add-on at BLT before that date. Also, there will be price increase for AKV points on that same date - to $112, but still with a discount. There has been no announcement as yet about direct purchases at any of the other resorts.

As for using your DVC membership a significant amount for non-DVC options -there are certainly less costly ways to accomplish the same thing and it might be worthwhile educating yourself about that before deciding what to do. DVC's best value is to use your points for weeknights at DVC resorts. Using them for the cruise certainly has a value and is a good use for points you would not otherwise be able to use, but you may be able to accomplish the same thing buying fewer DVC points and paying cash for the other options.

Feel free to ask more questions about DVC, resale and using your points while you are making any decision!

Thanks Webmaster Doc.

1) I am reviewing my contract and our bonus points are indeed the Developer Points restricted to SSR, California, Interval International, or DCL. My apologies - on the cruise we were focused on taking another 7-day cruise with these points and didn't really pay attention to the restrictions. But since the Magic will be in Europe in 2010 for a good while, I'm not sure a cruise will be the best way to go with our available vacation schedule. Still having a hard time figuring out if it's a big deal if we lose these points by canceling and starting from scratch.

2) To clarify add-on purchases. Are add-on purchases only available through Disney? What is the minimum add-on purchase for BLT prior to Jan 15, 2009? Are there never any closing costs associated with add-on purchases? Are there incentives with add-on purchases?

3) To clarify non-DVC options. Am I understanding that it really isn't cost-effective to use DVC through the Interval International program, Adventures by Disney, or any of the other programs outside of the DVC resorts? We intend to do quite a few other DCL cruises in the future - is it better to pay cash for cruises?

Thank you all so much for your help!

 

[disneynutz]

There is some value to the incentives, but remember they will be long gone and you still own points at a resort that you don't like to stay at. In fact you could own that resort for 50 years, that just doesn't make sense to me.

For us, we enjoy the resorts as much as the parks. Since joining the DVC our vacation patterns have changed. No longer do we go to the parks on busy days commando style. We take our time and now really enjoy the little things. The resorts really are beautiful and we seem to spend more time at the resorts, some days not going to any park.

You can't really appreciate the resort without staying there. We tried that before we became members and boy were we wrong. We have stayed at WL over the years but staying at VWL is a really different experience. The rooms are larger, the villas have a different feel, they are the best of both worlds. We stayed there last week and the rehab that was just completed makes the villas look brand new.

We are at BWV this week and my DW told me last night that BWV is now her number one favorite resort. It's a good thing that we own points here, getting reservations for her Boardwalk View at seven months might be impossible.

 

[Anal Annie]

We LOVE AKV but I think that the size of it will be such that 7 month reservations will be a lot easier to get than they will be at BLT. If you decide to flip over to BLT tho I would definitely study the point chart for that resort so you don't go TOO LOW on your number of points that you buy. It is a very point intensive resort...there is really no comparison for how far your points will spread other than to show you by comparing like views between the 2 resorts you are considering.

Example: A one bedroom unit for an entire week during the "Magic Season" will play out like this:

Animal Kingdom "standard view" will use 225 points
Bay Lake "standard view" will use 270 points

Animal Kingdom "savanna view" will use 268 points
Bay Lake "Magic Kingdom view" will use 360 points

If you would reduce to a studio you would be looking at:

AKV "std view" = 110 pts
BLT "std view" = 137 pts

AKV "savanna" = 135 pts
BLT "Magic Kingdom" = 182 pts

I believe the breakdown on the BLT rooms have been stated to be 11% standard view, 69% Lake View and 20% Magic Kingdom view, so your chances will be highest to get the Lake view whether you own there or not. If you were planning on a 1 bedroom unit as opposed to a studio then you would not have enough points for an entire week if you only purchase 160 (unless you bank & borrow & go every other year), even if you travel during the cheapest season. Just something else to think about before you finalize your decision. I find the point charts to be invaluable for planning. Good luck!

 

[Chuck S]

1) I am reviewing my contract and our bonus points are indeed the Developer Points restricted to SSR, California, Interval International, or DCL. My apologies - on the cruise we were focused on taking another 7-day cruise with these points and didn't really pay attention to the restrictions. But since the Magic will be in Europe in 2010 for a good while, I'm not sure a cruise will be the best way to go with our available vacation schedule. Still having a hard time figuring out if it's a big deal if we lose these points by canceling and starting from scratch.

If you have the ability to use them, there is value.

2) To clarify add-on purchases. Are add-on purchases only available through Disney? What is the minimum add-on purchase for BLT prior to Jan 15, 2009? Are there never any closing costs associated with add-on purchases? Are there incentives with add-on purchases?

Currently 25 points is the minimum add-on if paying cash, 50 points if financing. Received a flayer yesterday that seems to indicate minimum BLT contract for existing members, will be increasing to 100 points.

3) To clarify non-DVC options. Am I understanding that it really isn't cost-effective to use DVC through the Interval International program, Adventures by Disney, or any of the other programs outside of the DVC resorts? We intend to do quite a few other DCL cruises in the future - is it better to pay cash for cruises?

The interval International World Passport destinations aren't too bad, point-wise. The internal Disney collection, Disney Cruise and Adventures by Disney trades are pricey.

Again, if you are able to use the Developers Points for trips (or even to rent), they do have some value. If you don't have the travel time to use them, and don't want to rent them, then I would consider them of no value.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I'm not the OP, but I do have a question about using DVC points for Interval International trades.

I inferred from months of reading these boards that it is not as easy as one might think to trade out your points for a Interval exchange. I believe it has something to do with the glut of timeshares in Orlando and the preferential treatment of Marriot/Starwood traders before DVCers get to trade.

Is this correct, slightly correct or completely erroneous?

 

[RobDoc]

I'm not the OP, but I do have a question about using DVC points for Interval International trades.

I inferred from months of reading these boards that it is not as easy as one might think to trade out your points for a Interval exchange. I believe it has something to do with the glut of timeshares in Orlando and the preferential treatment of Marriot/Starwood traders before DVCers get to trade.

Is this correct, slightly correct or completely erroneous?

Partially correct ... as DVC members, we do not have direct access to the entire II compliment of resorts for exchange. We do have access to a partial list chosen by DVC and II. True, there are many, many timeshares in the Orlando area, but none besides DVC are onsite at WDW - so DVC resorts do still have some enhanced trading power for that reason. Marriott and Starwood owners are allowed to make internal exchanges for other resorts in their system before those resorts are released into the general II inventory - so if those resorts are of primary interest to you be aware that others have already had access to those trades before II and DVC.

There are certainly many other resort options in the Workd Passport Collection besides the resorts in this situation, but it is a fact that some timeshare systems have access to other resorts internally before DVC members will be allowed to enter into an exchange.